For many people, the transition to a new country is not the easiest despite what we might tell you. We miss the food, our families and our friends more than we let on. Still, I love living in the great US of A. I have also been privileged to live in Canada as well. It can also be an incredibly lonely experience as well. Below, I share tips I believe aided my settling in.
Unlearn Your Language
You might think ‘I am moving to America and they speak English…’ However just like Nigeria has its pidgin, the US (and every other country) has something similar. Depending on the state you are in in the US, accents are different and words have different meanings. In Nigeria, for instance, we say ‘boot’ to refer to the back of the car. In the US it is called ‘trunk’. There are many words like that. It helps to adopt the slangs in the country you are settling in. You can learn the language by watching tv shows and movies, reading the papers, getting into conversations with folks at work and church, etc. No need to fake accents though.
Find people before you port
When I got the opportunity to move to Toronto, the first thing I did was go on Facebook and look for friends in Canada. Back then, I had a total of 3 connections in all of Canada and just one was in Toronto. That one was enough. Within the first few days of being there, she had connected me with quite a number of folks and before you knew it, I had a whole community of friends.
Meetups
Meetups are greatly underrated. Especially in big cities where it is hard to find people to do things with. I like exploring neighbourhoods and hiking and so when I moved to Toronto, I looked up walking tours/groups on Meetups. There was quite a bit and my weekends were spent exploring and making friends in the process. Maybe you like art or music or technology. My husband is a photographer and every city he goes he connects with other photographers through Meetups.
Find your embassy
Especially if you are in a big city, there is likely to be a Nigerian embassy close by. The embassy is a great place to know who is doing what and connect with people from your country. If you are in a smaller town, know where the nearest consulate/embassy is and visit at least once.
Go to the local library
There is one thing that remains quite amazing to me about the West- the public library system!. More than just a place to hold books, libraries here have evolved to community centres of some sort. I saw this in Toronto and in all of the 4 cities I have spent considerable time in in the US. My current library is offering classes in Java programming for free. Yes, you read that right: free! They will help with taxes, resumes, finding a job, navigating the city and sometimes even provide free passes to fun stuff in the area.
What tips have helped you settle down faster to your new city/town? Have you tried any of the above?