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Living in the USA
You will find this section a useful
guide to living in the United States throughout your stay in the USA. It
explains everything from the basics, such the US monetary and banking system,
to the intricacies of clothing sizes and national holidays. It also includes
tips on how to stay safe, secure, and healthy.
 Housing
Transportation
Money
and Banking
Shopping
Mailing
and Shipping
Safety
and Security
Health
Care
Family
with Children
Entertainment
HOUSING
Upon arrival in the USA, you will need to find a place to stay. Look here for
advice on finding accommodations, leases and landlords, and hooking up
utilities.
The available options include renting an apartment, renting a house, or buying
a house. Most international students cannot afford to buy a house, so we will
not discuss this option further.
Most university students in the US live on or near campus. Students who live
off-campus generally find a place less than a mile or two away. Not only is
this convenient for getting to and from campus, but much of the social life
occurs on campus. The US educational experience is not confined to the
classroom, and you will find yourself learning as much from your fellow
students as from the faculty.
If the school offers on-campus accommodations for international students, you
should seriously consider living on-campus, at least for the first year. Since
this is probably your first trip to the United States and your first time
living alone, on-campus housing will help cushion the transition to life in the
United States. Later, when you are more familiar with the neighborhood, you can
consider moving off-campus.
Renting a house is usually a viable option only if you will be sharing it with
several roommates. You will certainly get more for your money if you rent a
house. But most communities have limits on the number of unrelated people who
can live together, with most cities having a limit ranging from 3 to 5. These
laws are intended to prevent overcrowding for health and safety reasons. In any
event, the process for renting a house is similar to renting an apartment.
The cost of renting an apartment varies considerably depending on the part of
the country and the local supply and demand. A one bedroom apartment in
Pittsburgh might cost $400 a month while the same apartment in Boston or San
Jose will cost $1,200 or more. The school's housing office or financial aid
office can provide you with an estimate of the annual cost of renting an
off-campus apartment. 
TRANSPORTATION
Learn about the weird driving habits of Americans, from driving on the
"right" side of the road to the Pittsburgh left turn. There are also
tips about bicycles, taxicabs, and public transportation.
You probably don't need to own a car during your stay in the United States. A
car is certainly convenient, but only cost effective if you use it almost every
day. If you live near school, you will find walking, biking, and public
transportation to be reasonable alternatives.
If you decide to purchase a car, you can get a 10-year-old used car for $1,000
to $2,000 and a 5-year-old car for $5,000 to $8,000. It will probably need to
be repaired frequently, but the total cost will be less than a new car. Used
cars are advertised in the classified advertising section of the local
newspaper. After you take the car for a test drive, you can usually bargain
with the seller, knocking 10% to 15% off the price. If you haven't previously
owned a car, bring along a friend who knows something about cars. You may want
to pay a mechanic at the local gas station to inspect the car for you before
buying it. An alternative is to buy a used car from a car dealer. Such cars
often come with a 90 day guarantee, but cost more than the ones advertised by
individuals.
MONEY AND BANKING
Read about US coins and bills, the need for checking accounts and credit cards,
and traveler's checks and exchange rates.
The US Monetary System is a decimal system, with one dollar equal to one
hundred cents. One dollar is written as $1 or $1.00. One cent is written as 1¢.
One dollar and twenty-five cents would be written as $1.25. Dollar amounts are
written with a comma every three digits, so one thousand dollars would be
written as $1,000.00.
Paper currency is used for amounts of $1 or more, and coins are used for
amounts under $1. The most common coins and their dollar equivalencies are as
follows:
|
Coin
|
Figure on Front
|
Value (Cents)
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Value (Dollars)
|
Color
|
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Penny
|
Lincoln
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1 cent
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0.01 dollars
|
Copper
|
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Nickel
|
Jefferson
|
5 cents
|
0.05 dollars
|
Silver
|
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Dime
|
Roosevelt
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10 cents
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0.10 dollars
|
Silver
|
|
Quarter
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Washington
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25 cents
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0.25 dollars
|
Silver
|
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Half Dollar
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Kennedy
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50 cents
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0.50 dollars
|
Silver
|
|
Dollar
|
Anthony
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100 cents
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1.00 dollars
|
Silver
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SHOPPING
Find out about everything from sales tax to saving money and clothing sizes to
alcoholic beverages.
The hours of operation depend on the store, and can vary significantly from
city to city. Most stores will open between 9:00 and 10:00 am and close at 5:00
or 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Some stores will open as early as 8:00 am
and some will close as late as 9:00 or 10:00 pm.
Banks tend to close at 3:00 or 4:00 pm, restaurants at 8:00 or 9:00 pm, and
bars at 11:00 pm to 1:00 am. Stores in shopping malls keep longer hours, with
the typical mall store being open 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, Monday through Saturday,
and noon to 5:00 pm on Sunday.
When most stores in a shopping area close at 5:00 or 6:00 pm weekdays, there
will usually be one day a week when they are open late. Which day varies from
community to community.
Some stores will be open on Saturday. A smaller number of stores will be open
on Sunday. Stores with Sunday hours tend to open between 10:00 am and noon, and
to close at 5:00 or 6:00 pm, even if they are open until 9:00 or 10:00 pm the
rest of the week.
Large grocery store chains are usually open 24 hours a day, except possibly on
Sunday. Some pharmacies will also be open 24 hours.
MAILING AND SHIPPING
The US Postal System is one of the least expensive and most efficient in the
world. Unfortunately, this means you will get a lot more junk mail. If you need
to post a letter or ship a package, find everything you need to know here.
When addressing mail for delivery within the United States, don't forget to
include the zip code. If you don't include a zip code, delivery will be
delayed. You can use a five-digit zip code if you don't have the nine-digit zip
code. The zip code should be placed on the same line as the city and state,
after the state, not before.
The first digit of the zip code represents one of 10 geographic regions. For
example, zip codes in California begin with a 9, in Texas with a 7, in Illinois
with a 6, in Pennsylvania with a 1, and Massachusetts with a 0. The next two
digits indicate a mail distribution point, and the last two digits indicate a
town or post office. The additional four digits in a 9-digit zip code narrow
the location even further, designating a delivery sector and even a specific
address.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
This section will teach you a few simple precautions that can help protect you
from crime and let you know what to do in case of an emergency.
In most communities in the United States, but not all, dialing 911 on any phone
will connect you to emergency services such as ambulance, fire, and police. You
do not need to put money in a pay phone to dial 911. In cities that do not
provide 9-1-1 service, there may be a specific local telephone number.
Likewise, your college or university will have an on-campus emergency service
with its own telephone number. You should memorize these telephone numbers.
Another way to get emergency help is to dial 0, which reaches a telephone
operator. Tell the operator that you have an emergency and the street address
and city where help is needed. The operator will connect you to the appropriate
emergency service.
You can find a listing of local emergency numbers on the first page of the
local telephone directory. You should compile a list of the local emergency
numbers, including poison control and the local hospital emergency room.
Call the emergency telephone numbers if you need help immediately in a
life-threatening situation. For example, you should dial 911 if a crime is in
progress, someone is badly injured or ill, there's a fire, or you fear for your
life.
For non-emergencies you should call the non-emergency telephone number for the
local police station or campus police. For example, if a car is blocking your
driveway, someone broke into your apartment but is no longer there, or
HEALTH CARE
It is important that you read this section, because the United States does not
provide free socialized medicine. International students are required to have
health insurance in order to matriculate in college.
International visitors do not have to worry about any unusual health hazards in
the United States. Tap water is safe to drink nationwide.
AIDS is as much a problem in the US as in other countries. College students are
a particularly high risk group because of unsafe sex practices and unrealistic
beliefs about HIV transmission. It is not possible to tell whether someone is
HIV-positive just by looking at them. If you have unprotected sex with a
HIV-positive individual, you will almost certainly become infected. The condom
is the only contraceptive that has been proven to block the transmission of
AIDS. But even condoms sometimes fail; they break about 2% of the time.
If you need an ambulance or emergency medical care, dial 911 on any phone 24
hours a day. You can also dial 0 to reach the operator. They will send an
ambulance to transport you to a hospital emergency room. The hospital will need
the name of your health insurance company and policy number, so you should
always carry your health insurance card with you.
Your school may have a health center on campus for minor health issues. Most
such health centers are staffed by a nurse practitioner, with a doctor on
campus only one or two days a week. For genuine emergencies, however, you
should go directly to a hospital emergency room.
FAMILY WITH CHILDREN
If you bring your children with you, you will need to know about day care and
the US school system.
If your children are too young for school and both parents are away during the
day, you will need to enroll them in a day care center. Day care can be very
expensive, with fees running to hundreds of dollars a week. When selecting a
day care facility, it is important to ask whether the day care facility is
licensed and monitored by the state. Visit during the day, and check whether
the children are well-cared for, clean and happy. Count the number of children
and the number of adult supervisors. Ask whether employees are screened for
criminal records.
For temporary care during the evening, you can hire a neighborhood teenager or
college student to baby-sit your children for $5 to $15 an hour. Ask your
neighbors, friends, and colleagues for recommendations. You can also post an
advertisement on bulletin boards on campus. The baby-sitter must be old enough
and responsible enough to handle emergencies. When interviewing a baby-sitter,
ask her for the names and telephone numbers of two previous clients. Call them
to ask how satisfied they were with her performance. Before you leave for the
evening, give the baby-sitter information on where you will be and a contact
number. Also leave a list of local emergency telephone numbers, such as fire,
police, ambulance, and poison control.
ENTERTAINMENT
Here are our picks of good tourist attractions for international students, a
discussion about student discounts, and basic information about television,
newspapers, and magazines.
During your stay in the United States, you may wish to do a little touring. The
US has a lot to offer the international visitor.
Tourist season runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. During the off season
the attractions won't be as crowded and hotels won't be as full. But some
attractions, such as amusement parks, shut down when school is in session.
Some of the more popular attractions for international visitors include:
There are also several cities worth
visiting for their abundance of museums, culture, events, attractions, and
history. They include:
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