Living in the USA - Some life advice for an Australian

[TJC]

It won't in Charleston. That far down on the coast generally stays warm. Just be prepared for hurricane season. I would live in apartments in Charleston. It gets you closer to downtown and the amazing food.

Air conditioning helps a great deal.. I was born in Georgetown, 70 miles north of Charleston. Back in the early 60's no one had AC, and the summers were tough! No so bad with AC, but if you are an active outdoor person you need to be careful.

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[BettaRanga]

Charleston, SC is a very nice area with low cost of living and mild winters. People are generally friendly in the American Southeast. I live near Raleigh, NC and love it here.

 

[WNCblueridge]

So work has thrown me a curve ball and is looking to relocate me to the USA for the next 4+ years. I’ll be living in the Charleston SC area (initially) and need some advice about housing, cars and general life. While we both come from “western cultures” the are some significant difference between our two countries.

A few questions I have:

Having just received my 6g Ranger, I am not sure I can go back to the 5g. So I have been looking at broncos on the Ford site, are broncos still impossible to get or have ridiculous markups? There looks to be a lot of available stock on the website.

Looking for somewhere to live I have come across a lot of “community” style apartment complex’s with loads of ammenities. Are these good places to live or should I be looking for houses in regular suburbs.

I have loads more questions to follow.

Welcome Mate!... I am duel AU/US citizen living I'n North Carolina not too far from Charleston S.C. Most my years have been in NC except for living /working in Perth WA from 2010-2015. Buying real estate is somewhat different process here re negotiations and closing. There are many similarities between the 2 countries ie lifestyles & ideology but nothing here compares to the beaches in Oz. The mountains in Western N.C. are worth the trip if you like to venture out. MY cousin lives in Charleston and it's fairly safe city with a small town vibe. Feel free to reach out with any specific questions. Would love to hear about your transition.

 

[Metal Geezer]

Charleston is a great area and has great nightlife and restaurants. It is the epitome of ”southern charm”. Charleston has become a worldwide tourist destination, so it’s a little on the pricey side for everything, depending how close in to town you live. Get out a bit and you are in rural USA and its much more reasonable.

Oh, and be careful about bringing up the Civil War, it’s still a touchy subject there among the natives.

So work has thrown me a curve ball and is looking to relocate me to the USA for the next 4+ years. I’ll be living in the Charleston SC area (initially) and need some advice about housing, cars and general life. While we both come from “western cultures” the are some significant difference between our two countries.

A few questions I have:

Having just received my 6g Ranger, I am not sure I can go back to the 5g. So I have been looking at broncos on the Ford site, are broncos still impossible to get or have ridiculous markups? There looks to be a lot of available stock on the website.

Looking for somewhere to live I have come across a lot of “community” style apartment complex’s with loads of ammenities. Are these good places to live or should I be looking for houses in regular suburbs.

I have loads more questions to follow.

Bear in mind: They’re not on the wrong side of the road, you are.

 

[Shoran12]

So work has thrown me a curve ball and is looking to relocate me to the USA for the next 4+ years. I’ll be living in the Charleston SC area (initially) and need some advice about housing, cars and general life. While we both come from “western cultures” the are some significant difference between our two countries.

A few questions I have:

Having just received my 6g Ranger, I am not sure I can go back to the 5g. So I have been looking at broncos on the Ford site, are broncos still impossible to get or have ridiculous markups? There looks to be a lot of available stock on the website.

Looking for somewhere to live I have come across a lot of “community” style apartment complex’s with loads of ammenities. Are these good places to live or should I be looking for houses in regular suburbs.

I have loads more questions to follow.

I can’t really speak on housing down there anymore but I can speak about how it was to live there.
I was stationed just a few minutes outside of Charleston for about a year. That whole area definitely represents what I consider the “south” very well. You get the classic trees native to that area and definitely a few alligators in the area.? I used to go running on the trails that led through the swaps behind our base, occasionally I’d see an alligator. It’s very hot and humid in the summers. Winters I don’t believe are too bad relative to some of the other areas in the us. There’s a ton of history in Charleston and really a lot of neat stuff to do from Myrtle Beach down to Disney-world in Florida. There was a lot of good fishing down there if you like that. There are a few areas outside Charleston you can look. My. Pleasant is probably one of the nicer areas if you can find housing and if it’s close enough for you to get to work. A lot of military guys lived there because of how nice it was and from what I remember it was a pretty safe area. Summerville is another area outside as well. We were stationed in Goose Creek.

As far as cultures go, it may be a bit different but not as different as you may think. I’ve been to Australia (Brisbane) and was very surprised to find that that area was a mirror image of say Los Angeles or similar large city here in the US. Well except for all the kangaroo purses and back scratchers lol. Life moves at a slower pace down there and in my opinion sometimes that is a great thing. I think people live longer that way, at least I think I would. You will see some of the thicker southern accents, but not everyone. There are a few military bases nearby, so Saturday nights you go can downtown Charleston and watch young sailors make fools of themselves at all the local pubs. You also may see what they deem the Palmetto bug, and in my opinion that’s their state animal for the number I saw. They’re everywhere. I kept telling people it’s just a damn cockroach but needless to say they insisted it’s the Palmetto bug. ?

All in all I think you will enjoy it, especially if you go out and do a lot of things. Charleston is a very neat area. When I was stationed in Japan for 2.5 years, I noticed there were people that either went out and did a lot and learned/saw the culture and others that just stayed home. One group was significantly more happy than the other. If you ever get up to southeastern Tennessee, hit me up. I will always be happy to show someone from another culture ours and learn more about theirs. Good luck and keep us updated on how it goes. Im willing to bet there are a few member in here that live in that area that could show you around once you get situated.

 

[TJC]

I can’t really speak on housing down there anymore but I can speak about how it was to live there.
I was stationed just a few minutes outside of Charleston for about a year. That whole area definitely represents what I consider the “south” very well. You get the classic trees native to that area and definitely a few alligators in the area.? I used to go running on the trails that led through the swaps behind our base, occasionally I’d see an alligator. It’s very hot and humid in the summers. Winters I don’t believe are too bad relative to some of the other areas in the us. There’s a ton of history in Charleston and really a lot of neat stuff to do from Myrtle Beach down to Disney-world in Florida. There was a lot of good fishing down there if you like that. There are a few areas outside Charleston you can look. My. Pleasant is probably one of the nicer areas if you can find housing and if it’s close enough for you to get to work. A lot of military guys lived there because of how nice it was and from what I remember it was a pretty safe area. Summerville is another area outside as well. We were stationed in Goose Creek.

As far as cultures go, it may be a bit different but not as different as you may think. I’ve been to Australia (Brisbane) and was very surprised to find that that area was a mirror image of say Los Angeles or similar large city here in the US. Well except for all the kangaroo purses and back scratchers lol. Life moves at a slower pace down there and in my opinion sometimes that is a great thing. I think people live longer that way, at least I think I would. You will see some of the thicker southern accents, but not everyone. There are a few military bases nearby, so Saturday nights you go can downtown Charleston and watch young sailors make fools of themselves at all the local pubs. You also may see what they deem the Palmetto bug, and in my opinion that’s their state animal for the number I saw. They’re everywhere. I kept telling people it’s just a damn cockroach but needless to say they insisted it’s the Palmetto bug. ?

All in all I think you will enjoy it, especially if you go out and do a lot of things. Charleston is a very neat area. When I was stationed in Japan for 2.5 years, I noticed there were people that either went out and did a lot and learned/saw the culture and others that just stayed home. One group was significantly more happy than the other. If you ever get up to southeastern Tennessee, hit me up. I will always be happy to show someone from another culture ours and learn more about theirs. Good luck and keep us updated on how it goes. Im willing to bet there are a few member in here that live in that area that could show you around once you get situated.

Well stated! Esp the roaches. They are BIG!

 

[AzScorpion]

Well stated! Esp the roaches. They are BIG!

Do they call them roaches there or Palmetto bugs? When my parents had a house down in FL people there would call them Palmetto bugs. I guess it sounds better than saying we have roaches. lol You're right, those things were the size of a '69 VW Beetle.

 

[Shoran12]

Do they call them roaches there or Palmetto bugs? When my parents had a house down in FL people there would call them Palmetto bugs. I guess it sounds better than saying we have roaches. lol You're right, those things were the size of a '69 VW Beetle.

They church it up and call them Palmetto bugs. They seem to get offended if you tell them they’re cockroaches, which by my eye they are. Just bigger.

 

[TJC]

Do they call them roaches there or Palmetto bugs? When my parents had a house down in FL people there would call them Palmetto bugs. I guess it sounds better than saying we have roaches. lol You're right, those things were the size of a '69 VW Beetle.

My dad was in the USAF, and we stationed at Homestead AFB 35 miles south of Miami right at the last speck of mainland before the Keys.

There are a LOT of bugs in South Florida. The American Cockroach is just as big as the Florida Woods Cockroach (Palmetto Bug), but they ARE different.

The American Cockroach likes living in your home, and looks like this. They usually are about 1.5" long(not counting the antenna), but I have seen them much bigger....MUCH BIGGER. They are bold and can fly when necessary. I've seen them in some of the best Hotels and Restaurants in Miami! I have watched them climb up a wall and "flick" themselves over to a nearby lamp shade!

The Florida Woods Cockroach likes damp and wet places, under rotting tree stumps / logs, and in the damp areas of your home. Under kitchen sinks, and in shower stalls are favorites places.
They look like this... and they can get pretty big too!

Notice how shiny they are... and they can't fly.

Mind you I detest them both.

Whenever it rained (often, almost every day in the monsoon season) these water bugs made their appearance in all of the mud puddles by the hundreds. They are double the size of the roaches and and have a tough hide! As a kid we would step on them and they would keep crawling! We'd build wood paddle boats powered by a rubber band or two, and had to compete with the water bugs in mud puddles that were 10-12' wide and >50" long. Usually 6-8" deep.

Did I mention the scorpions and mosquitos?

 

[AzScorpion]

My dad was in the USAF, and we stationed at Homestead AFB 35 miles south of Miami right at the last speck of mainland before the Keys.

There are a LOT of bugs in South Florida. The American Cockroach is just as big as the Florida Woods Cockroach (Palmetto Bug), but they ARE different.

The American Cockroach likes living in your home, and looks like this. They usually are about 1.5" long(not counting the antenna), but I have seen them much bigger....MUCH BIGGER. They are bold and can fly when necessary. I've seen them in some of the best Hotels and Restaurants in Miami! I have watched them climb up a wall and "flick" themselves over to a nearby lamp shade!

The Florida Woods Cockroach likes damp and wet places, under rotting tree stumps / logs, and in the damp areas of your home. Under kitchen sinks, and in shower stalls are favorites places.
They look like this... and they can get pretty big too!

Notice how shiny they are... and they can't fly.

Mind you I detest them both.

Whenever it rained (often, almost every day in the monsoon season) these water bugs made their appearance in all of the mud puddles by the hundreds. They are double the size of the roaches and and have a tough hide! As a kid we would step on them and they would keep crawling! We'd build wood paddle boats powered by a rubber band or two, and had to compete with the water bugs in mud puddles that were 10-12' wide and >50" long. Usually 6-8" deep.

Did I mention the scorpions and mosquitos?

One nice thing about living here (at least in my area) is we have very few bugs. There's only one Scorpion in my area. Yes there are spiders, snakes, scorpions and the usual flying insects but I rarely see them here where I live. Occasionally we'll get flies but that's usually from a lazy neighbor who doesn't pick up their dog ?. I think we'll see more mosquitos this spring because we've an unusually wet winter.

 

[SigOris]

Charleston is a great area and has great nightlife and restaurants. It is the epitome of ”southern charm”. Charleston has become a worldwide tourist destination, so it’s a little on the pricey side for everything, depending how close in to town you live. Get out a bit and you are in rural USA and its much more reasonable.

Oh, and be careful about bringing up the Civil War, it’s still a touchy subject there among the natives.

The war of northern aggression ????

 

[TJC]

The war of northern aggression ????

It's a touchy subject all over the South! We may have acquiesced, but we have not forgotten.

 

[BettaRanga]

Do they call them roaches there or Palmetto bugs? When my parents had a house down in FL people there would call them Palmetto bugs. I guess it sounds better than saying we have roaches. lol You're right, those things were the size of a '69 VW Beetle.

I’m a southern Florida native where we had roaches AND palmetto bugs!

 

[Synfulz]

My dad was in the USAF, and we stationed at Homestead AFB 35 miles south of Miami right at the last speck of mainland before the Keys.



There are a LOT of bugs in South Florida. The American Cockroach is just as big as the Florida Woods Cockroach (Palmetto Bug), but they ARE different.



The American Cockroach likes living in your home, and looks like this. They usually are about 1.5" long(not counting the antenna), but I have seen them much bigger....MUCH BIGGER. They are bold and can fly when necessary. I've seen them in some of the best Hotels and Restaurants in Miami! I have watched them climb up a wall and "flick" themselves over to a nearby lamp shade!







The Florida Woods Cockroach likes damp and wet places, under rotting tree stumps / logs, and in the damp areas of your home. Under kitchen sinks, and in shower stalls are favorites places.

They look like this... and they can get pretty big too!

 

Notice how shiny they are... and they can't fly.



Mind you I detest them both.



Whenever it rained (often, almost every day in the monsoon season) these water bugs made their appearance in all of the mud puddles by the hundreds. They are double the size of the roaches and and have a tough hide! As a kid we would step on them and they would keep crawling! We'd build wood paddle boats powered by a rubber band or two, and had to compete with the water bugs in mud puddles that were 10-12' wide and >50" long. Usually 6-8" deep.

 



Did I mention the scorpions and mosquitos? 

I was stationed at Homestead in 1983. Yepp end of Florida.

 

[OrangeStreak]

My dad was in the USAF, and we stationed at Homestead AFB 35 miles south of Miami right at the last speck of mainland before the Keys.

There are a LOT of bugs in South Florida. The American Cockroach is just as big as the Florida Woods Cockroach (Palmetto Bug), but they ARE different.

The American Cockroach likes living in your home, and looks like this. They usually are about 1.5" long(not counting the antenna), but I have seen them much bigger....MUCH BIGGER. They are bold and can fly when necessary. I've seen them in some of the best Hotels and Restaurants in Miami! I have watched them climb up a wall and "flick" themselves over to a nearby lamp shade!

The Florida Woods Cockroach likes damp and wet places, under rotting tree stumps / logs, and in the damp areas of your home. Under kitchen sinks, and in shower stalls are favorites places.
They look like this... and they can get pretty big too!

Notice how shiny they are... and they can't fly.

Mind you I detest them both.

Whenever it rained (often, almost every day in the monsoon season) these water bugs made their appearance in all of the mud puddles by the hundreds. They are double the size of the roaches and and have a tough hide! As a kid we would step on them and they would keep crawling! We'd build wood paddle boats powered by a rubber band or two, and had to compete with the water bugs in mud puddles that were 10-12' wide and >50" long. Usually 6-8" deep.

Did I mention the scorpions and mosquitos?

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