10 Tips To Adjust To Your New Home: The USA

Immigrating to the USA as a permanent resident and beginning your career as a USRN, is an exciting new journey in your life! If you have never moved to a different city or country, there will be a few things that you will want to remember as you adjust to life in the USA! To help you throughout this process, a Medliant representative will meet with you in person for the first week upon your arrival to help you and your family settle in and to complete any fundamental tasks in the process. Here are 10 tips to help you adjust to your new home, the USA!

Tip #1: Settle Into Your New Home

When you live in a new home you will want to make sure you unpack early and have all of the essentials in place, so that you can begin to enjoy it. This may also include scheduling an appointment to have your TV and internet set up, purchasing cleaning supplies and toiletries, and making a trip to a local grocery store. Having the opportunity to decorate a new house will be exciting for you and your family!

Tip #2: Make New Friends With People At Work

The excitement of moving to a new community is the new friends you will make, especially early on. You may want to find people in the work place who have common interests as you, to show you around your new city, give you tips on what fun local activities are taking place, and to have people to talk to, as you continue to adjust to the USA.

Tip #3: Open A Bank Account

A Medliant representative will be with you in person to assist you in opening a bank account, which is important to get paid, withdrawing or depositing money, sending money back home, etc. Many banks will also offer annual tax services as well, which will be important during the annual state and federal tax season.

Tip #4: Find A Local Physician, Dentist, Optometrist, And Veterinarian (If You Have A Pet)

Medliant’s benefits include health and dental insurance, which will allow you to find practitioners within your network. In the event that you need to see a practitioner, such as with completing annual blood work during a check-up, to have an eye exam completed and to order contact lenses or glasses, or to complete an annual or bi-annual dental cleaning, it is important to establish who your care team will be.

Tip #5: Stay Connected With Family And Friends Back Home

Adjusting to a new country will take time as you begin to acclimate and it will be important to keep in touch with those who are important and close to you. For many people, it can take 6-12 months to feel comfortable in a new city or country, and having people to talk to you as you make friends and settle in will be important.

Tip #6: Learn About Local Transportation Options

Depending on how close your hospital or dialysis center is from your home you may want to explore what public transportation options are available to you. This may include knowing how the local bus or train system operates, schedules, and where pick-up or drop-off stops are. For others, you may choose to acquire a drivers license and either rent or purchase a vehicle when you arrive in the USA. Remember, Medliant will pay for one month of transportation expenses as you settle into your new community.

Tip #7: Find Your “Go-To” Places

Choosing your go-to places can include picking a grocery store, gas station, recreation facility or gym, park, restaurant, or coffee shop that you will frequent. Creating a routine and knowing where you will go when you need something or where you will go to enjoy a day off, can alleviate a lot of stress or uncertainty. If you are feeling adventurous, make sure to try some local establishments and try new things!

Tip #8: Enroll Your Children Into School

Medliant’s representative will assist you in enrolling your children into school if you are immigrating to the USA with a family. Just like you, creating a routine and structure for your children and family will help them in the adjustment period for everyone.

Tip #9: Explore Your New City And State

Part of moving to a new city or country is the excitement of getting to explore new places! Going for walks, spending time at a local park, or exploring the downtown core will surely provide you with ideas about what there is to do in your new community, activities taking place, and what locals get up to during their free time. Simply looking up information on the internet such as typing “things to do in Austin, Texas” into google will provide you with lots of ideas for things to do and places to explore! No matter where you are in the USA, entertainment is always a top priority here, and there is no shortage of music concerts, sports, culinary events, or theatre and arts to take in.

Tip #10: Get A Phone Plan

There are many great phone companies in the USA, of which will often offer you a free phone on a 1 or 2 year term with unlimited data and calling. Sometimes, these phone companies will also offer a discount for healthcare workers too, so be sure to ask about that! With a variety of social media apps you can easily stay connected to family and friends back home, while also having your phone maps to guide you around your new community, complete online banking, check your work emails, etc.

Give yourself time to acclimate to your new community! It is normal to experience a variety of emotions as you settle into a new country. While it can be lonely at times, this is part of the excitement of starting a new journey and chapter in your life to live in a new country, work at a different hospital, make new friends, and take in a new culture. Most importantly, remember that as your employer for your 2.5 year contract, Medliant will continue to be here to support you every step of the way and throughout your exciting new life as a Medliant USRN!