10 Tips You NEED TO KNOW Before Visiting the USA
Hi.
I’m Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.
Do you want to visit the US?
Here’s what you need to know.
Have you already visited the US?
Would you like to visit the US someday?
Going to an English-speaking country is a
great way to get motivated or stay motivated
to learn English.
I asked you all in the community tab here
on YouTube where you would like to visit in
the US, and a lot of you said LA, San Francisco,
New York, Chicago, Florida, Texas, Boston,
a lot of places.
I hope your dreams come true and you get to
come visit the US.
To help you prepare, today I’d like to give
you 10 important facts that you need to know
before you come to visit the US.
Of course, these are all my opinion and just
from my experience, but sometimes it’s important
to know the cultural differences or what to
expect before you go somewhere.
All right, let’s start with the first category,
which is airports.
Number one, Airports are not the best representation
of the US.
Every time that I’ve landed in the US coming
from a foreign country, I’ve always had an
unpleasant experience.
Unfortunately, this is kind of a negative
way to start our list today.
But, often I’ve heard people just say, “Get
in this line.
Go over there.
Hurry up.
Let’s go,” or maybe that was just the Atlanta
airport.
But no, I experienced that in Chicago, New
York, DC, a lot of places.
So if you have a kind of negative experience
in an airport when you first land in the US,
take a deep breath.
This isn’t a good representation of American
people.
I remember arriving back in the US from Korea,
and in front of us in line at the customs
office, or something like that, was this kind
Korean grandpa.
I imagine he hardly spoke any English.
At least when he tried to communicate with
other people, it seemed a little bit difficult.
And when the customs officer was talking with
him, he kept just speaking louder and louder
and not really trying to understand or help
him.
I felt really bad that this was this man’s
first exposure to the US, and I hoped that
he would have other pleasant experiences with
other people on his visit.
I hope that’s the same for you.
If you have a negative experience, this is
just an airport thing.
I hope that you meet other people who are
friendly.
Tips number two and three are about restaurants.
Do you use TripAdvisor when you want to look
for new restaurants?
Do you think that Americans use TripAdvisor
when they want to find a new restaurant or
a good restaurant in their city?
Nope.
Every American I know uses Yelp.
If you want to find local places that local
people have recommended, download the Yelp
app.
This video is not sponsored by Yelp.
It’s just a common thing that we use here
in the US.
Download the Yelp app and search for restaurants
in your area or if you need to get a haircut
maybe hairdressers in your area.
TripAdvisor might be good for sightseeing,
maybe some landmarks or things like that.
But for restaurants or bars, for food, these
types of things, we always use Yelp, so make
sure that you use what local people are using,
which is Yelp.
Tip number three, if you go to a restaurant
or bar, you need to tip 20% if your service
was adequate or good.
If it was terrible, absolutely awful service,
you don’t have to tip it all.
You could give them 10%.
That’s up to you.
But if the service was at least normal, you
need to give them 20%.
In the US, the tip constitutes an essential
part of the server’s wage.
In fact, the server’s only money that they’re
getting are tips, so you need to give 20%.
An easy way to calculate this is if your bill
was $32, take that first number, three, multiply
it by two, which is six.
And there you have 20%.
$6 is 20% of 32.
So you can add that together, and your total
bill is $38.
You need to do this also when you get a drink
at a bar.
Typically, 20% is acceptable.
But if 20% is like 30 cents, the best thing
to do is still to give a dollar.
A dollar is the minimum tip that is polite.
I’ve been a server a lot, especially when
I was in high school, when I was in college
as part-time jobs, and if somebody left change
on the table, which are coins, you felt like
they were just trying to be rude to you.
Because in American culture, if you leave
coins, just coins … Of course, if it’s a
big pile of coins, who cares?
It’s a lot of money still.
But just a couple coins, it feels a little
bit rude, so make sure that you give them
at least a dollar.
When you take a taxi, tip 20%.
For Uber, I don’t use Uber that much.
But from what I’ve heard, it’s not required
to tip with Uber.
Uber drivers are paid a regular hourly salary
or per ride that they get, so you don’t need
to tip, but you can always tip.
It has always accepted.
Tip number four is about transportation.
I recommend renting a car when you visit the
US, unless you’re only going to stay in the
middle of the city center, like in New York
or San Francisco, really close, because the
US is spread out.
Even in LA, which is a huge city, it’s hard
to get from one side to the other.
Or if you want to visit Yosemite National
Park, that’s going to be a four-hour drive
from San Francisco, so you’re going to need
a car because Uber’s not going to take you
that far.
So, just think about your trip and realize
that the US is really big, really spread out,
so you’ll probably want a budget for renting
a car when you come to visit.
Tip number five has four different parts because
alcohol in the US is a little complicated.
If you buy alcohol in the US, don’t be surprised
if the person who’s selling you the alcohol
asks to see your ID.
In the US, it is very strict that you must
be 21 years old to buy alcohol.
And if someone looks under the age of 40,
the person selling you alcohol will say, “Can
I see your ID?”
Even if you’re 50 years old, maybe even 60,
they might ask to see your ID.
So, don’t be shocked about this.
In fact, sometimes Americans get a little
bit offended if the other person doesn’t ask
to see their ID.
So for me, I’m 31.
Yes, I’m 31.
I’m 31.
One time I went to the store and the cashier
didn’t ask to see my ID, and I thought, “Do
I look like I’m 40 years old?
Oh, no.
Maybe I look older than I am.”
But really, the cashier said, “Oh, you come
in here a lot.
I know you,” so it wasn’t really a negative
situation.
But, sometimes people feel a little bit offended
in this situation.
Quite interesting.
So, make sure you have your ID ready.
Tip 5.1 about alcohol is that the person buying
alcohol needs an ID, but sometimes in some
stores in some states the cashier will ask
to see everyone’s ID who is present.
So if you’re with your husband buying alcohol
… This happened to me.
We were at the grocery store, and we were
buying a bottle of wine.
He was paying for it.
It’s our money, but it was him who was making
the transaction.
The cashier asked to see my ID, too.
This happened to me only two times.
One time I had my ID.
No problem.
The second time I didn’t have my ID, and she
just said, “It’s okay.
Don’t worry about it.”
So, I guess this isn’t too strict.
But maybe if I had looked 16 years old or
15 years old, maybe they wouldn’t have sold
it because they don’t want someone who is
above 21 to be buying alcohol for someone
who’s a minor.
We say a minor for someone who is under 21
years old because they’re not allowed to drink
alcohol.
Do you think that people who are under 21
drink alcohol in the US?
If you’ve ever seen a movie about colleges,
the answer is definitely yes.
But, stores have to kind of follow these types
of rules.
Tip 5.2 about alcohol is that in some states
you cannot buy alcohol at the grocery store.
It’s kind of a state law that you have to
go to a specific alcohol store to buy alcohol.
This is called an ABC store.
So if you’re driving and you see an ABC store,
and you’re visiting somewhere like Pennsylvania,
if you go to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, I’m
sure other states are like this too, you cannot
buy alcohol at the grocery store.
Sometimes there’s specific grocery stores
that have a little section where you can buy
beer and you have to pay for it in that section.
You can’t pay for it with all your groceries.
Just check out this.
Check about this in advance to make sure that
if you’re going to the store you can actually
get what you want to get.
Tip 5.3 about alcohol is that in some states
you cannot buy alcohol on Sunday before a
certain time.
So in my state, in North Carolina, you cannot
buy alcohol before noon on Sunday.
One time, I went to the store to prepare and
get a bunch of stuff for a big dinner that
I was having on Sunday night at my house.
I was getting lots of food.
I was getting some wine, some beer.
And when I went to buy everything, the cashier
said, “Oh, I’m sorry.
It’s 11:45.
I can’t sell you alcohol until noon,” so I
just waited in the grocery store for 15 minutes
until noon and then I could buy it.
I think that this rule kind of goes back to
the idea that you should go to church instead
of drinking.
I’m not sure exactly.
But I’ll let you know something, it doesn’t
work.
It doesn’t stop people from drinking whenever
they want.
But you might encounter this, so just make
sure you think about it in advance.
Tip 5.4 about alcohol is that you cannot drink
in public places like the park or on the street.
The beach is a little bit different sometimes
depending on the state.
And of course, some beaches might be more
isolated or a lot of people drink there, so
they’re a little bit more relaxed about the
rules, so just look this up before you go.
Because if you’re going to a really popular
beach in Miami or a popular beach in California,
the rules are probably going to be different.
And if you want to drink a beer on the beach,
you want to be able to do that without worrying
that someone’s going to stop you from doing
that.
So, just look up the rules in advance or ask
your friends if they live in those areas.
After hearing about all of those alcohol rules,
is it any wonder that America gets called
puritanical?
I don’t really think so.
Let’s go on to the next category.
The sixth tip is about people.
Unlike the airport, I’ve heard from a lot
of visitors to the US that American people
are generally friendlier and smilier than
they imagined.
I’ve heard American’s often described as a
peach that on the outside we’re soft and easy
to get to know.
Maybe the first time we meet you we’ll invite
you to our house for dinner.
That’s not uncommon.
But maybe after we have dinner, if we have
a great time, I might not call you for another
month to get together again.
It doesn’t mean that I don’t like you.
It just means that maybe it’s not a priority
to get together right away, so there’s some
kind of hard center.
Maybe that’s just a generality, of course.
But, I think that when you walk down the street,
especially in medium-sized cities … If you
smile at everybody in New York, it’s going
to be a little bit weird.
But if you’re in a smaller or medium-sized
city like where I live, if I walk past someone
on the sidewalk, I’ll make eye contact.
I might say hey.
Maybe.
Depends.
But, it’s not unusual.
If you did that in a really big city, people
might think it’s a little bit weird.
But, don’t be surprised if people are pretty
friendly, pretty smiley.
That’s kind of the typical stereotype of the
US.
Personally, I think it’s kind of true.
Tip number seven is about health.
The US gets a pretty bad reputation for having
expensive health care, and it’s 100% true,
unfortunately.
So if you’re in the US and you have some kind
of minor health problem, like you need an
antibiotic or you need a couple stitches,
I recommend go into a place like a MedExpress.
This is the brand of this type of clinic,
but there’s other brand names of that as well.
But, it’s a kind of fast emergency room-type
service, but it’s not the hospital emergency
room.
If you go to the emergency room at the hospital,
that should be for serious issues.
That’s going to cost several thousand dollars
minimum.
But if you go to a MedExpress, you can walk
in, you can see a doctor usually within an
hour, and your visit will probably be less
than $200.
That’s what I do whenever I need something
quick and I don’t want to … Especially if
I’m in a different city where I don’t have
a personal doctor there, I’ll just go to a
MedExpress and it’s a kind of quick fix.
If you’re really concerned that something
serious might happen while you’re traveling
in the US and you don’t want to have to go
to the ER and pay full price for something,
you can always get travel insurance.
I don’t have any personal experience with
buying travel insurance for the US because
I’m a US citizen and I’ve bought it for traveling
to other countries, but you can always type
into Google travel insurance for visiting
the US or something like that, and you could
probably find some companies that will give
you short-term insurance for one week or two
weeks when you’re visiting.
That way you can kind of feel at ease that
if something happens you won’t have to pay
a lot of money.
Tip number eight is about sleeping.
Of course you could stay in a hotel when you
visit the US, but it’s really a great experience
to stay at an AirBnB so that you can experience
a real American home and feel a little more
comfortable and at ease during your experience.
If you’ve never used AirBnB, this is a service
where homeowners can rent out one room in
their house, their full house.
Or maybe they have a basement apartment so
you’re kind of in a private area and the people
who run this, they live upstairs, something
like this.
You have access to bedrooms, you have access
to the kitchen, and usually you have access
to your own living space so you can feel a
little more comfortable.
And if you would like, you can always talk
with the host.
You don’t have to.
You can just send them a message and they’ll
tell you how to get in.
But if you would like to get tips or advice
from the host, it’s a great opportunity.
Usually they have a little notebook of ideas
sitting in your AirBnB room so that you can
see their personal recommendations.
But, you can always talk with them.
You kind of have this personal one-on-one
advice travel tour guide who you’re connected
with no matter where you’re staying when you
stay at this type of place.
It’s especially good if you have kids, because,
for me, I have a toddler, and he goes to bed
pretty early, like 7:00, 7:30.
And usually at 7:30 I don’t want to go to
bed.
But if you have a hotel room, there’s nowhere
else you can go.
He’s sleeping in the same room.
So when you have an AirBnB, he can sleep in
the bedroom and you can still spend time in
the kitchen, spend time in the living space,
and you’re a little bit separated in that
way.
Personally, I really love staying in these
types of places.
Just make sure that you read a lot of reviews
and you write a nice message to the host so
that they feel comfortable hosting you and
letting you into their home.
Tip number nine is about safety.
Despite what you see in the media about shootings
and all of this, the US is generally pretty
safe.
Of course, there’s going to be specific areas,
specific streets that you don’t want to walk
on, but it’s generally a good idea to walk
around the city center.
I recommend being alert and aware as you’re
walking.
Don’t listen to music and look at the ground.
Look around you.
Look alert so that if there is a bad person
in the area you’re not an easy target.
You’re alert and aware.
For me, I generally don’t walk around after
it gets dark in my city.
I live in a pretty small city, but I don’t
feel comfortable walking around by myself
at night.
So when I go somewhere after dark, I drive
my car to the destination.
I get out of my car, and I walk inside to
that place.
I don’t just wander around at night.
If you come from somewhere that is extremely
safe, theft, murder, robbery, all of these
things are uncommon, I’m looking at you Korea
and Japan, just be extra cautious because
maybe you’re not used to keeping your purse
with you.
When you go to a coffee shop, maybe you leave
your purse when you go to the bathroom.
In the US, we don’t do that.
So make sure that you’re just a little bit
extra aware, but you don’t have to be scared
or worried.
Just be alert, aware, and try to stay with
someone else if you can.
Tip number 10 is about English.
Let’s end this video on a good note.
So if you visit the US, you definitely need
to use English.
I imagine if you’re watching this you are
a non-native English speaker because this
channel is for learning English.
So if you visit the US, make sure that you
have a little bit prepared, mainly just some
basics so that you can order at restaurants
or ask some questions about safety, these
kind of standard things.
But overall, if you really want to use English
and you want to interact with other people,
this is a good chance to do it.
Unfortunately, most Americans whose families
have immigrated from other countries several
generations ago, they don’t speak that native
language anymore.
They only speak English.
This happened with my family.
My great grandparents came from Italy.
My grandma can understand some Italian.
My dad remembers Italian food, but he doesn’t
speak any Italian, and me neither.
So in this situation, we have lost the ability
to speak Italian, even though I have some
Italian heritage.
So if you are from Vietnam and you’re visiting
Portland, if you’re from Brazil and you’re
visiting Texas, you’re probably not going
to find people who speak your native language,
so it’s really important to use English.
Two years ago, I made a travel survival series
here on YouTube along with a free PDF of all
of the expressions that I talked about in
that travel survival series.
You can click up here to watch that survival
series or you can click the link in the description
to download that PDF so that when you visit
the US you can study all of those expressions
and hopefully it will help to encourage you
to use English and use what you’re learning.
So are you ready to visit the US?
I hope that all of these tips made you feel
excited, feel pumped about visiting the US.
Let me know in the comments.
If you have already visited the US, where
did you go?
And if you would like to visit the US someday,
where would you like to go?
I hope that your dream comes true and you
get to visit.
Thanks so much for learning English with me,
and I’ll see you again next Friday for a new
lesson here on my YouTube channel.
Bye.
The next step is to download my free ebook,
Five Steps to Becoming a Confident English
Speaker.
You’ll learn what you need to do to speak
confidently and fluently.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel
for more free lessons.
Thanks so much.
Bye.