Preparing a plan to go to America – Part 2: What do you need to do in the first week of going to America?
Continued previous part of the series financial preparation for new doctors coming to the US, part 2 of this series of articles will be your experiences during your first week in the US. Hopefully these things will help you soon stabilize your life and quickly be ready for the next steps.
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First, our grandparents have a saying: Settle first, then settle down.
When you first come to the US, if you don’t have family or friends to prepare a good place to live, you should choose temporary accommodation to stay, before choosing a satisfactory place to live. I often share with students places like:
1. Hotel/Motel
- Advantages: Easy to book, good security, complete basic amenities, many prices suitable for budget.
- Disadvantages: Costs are often higher than other options for long stays.
- Hint:
- You can use websites like Booking dot com, Agoda,.. to find cheap hotels.
2. Airbnb
- Advantages: Many flexible options, from private rooms, apartments to whole houses, diverse prices.
- Note: Need to read review and terms carefully before booking. Prices usually range from 30 – 100 USD/night.
3. Short-term housing for students/intern
- Advantages: Lower cost than hotels, often located near schools, hospitals or city centers.
- Hint: You can learn about temporary housing programs through websites like HousingAnywhere, Craigslist, Roomster, Homestay.com.
4. Temporary housing through the Vietnamese community
- Advantages: Easy to integrate into language and culture.
- Disadvantages: Not every area has a large Vietnamese community (except CA & TX).
- Suggestion: You can join Vietnamese community Facebook groups in the city you visit to find people to rent rooms short-term.
5. Necessary notes when choosing a temporary residence
- Prioritize safety: Carefully read reviews of previous guests and learn about the security of the surrounding area before booking.
- Clear agreement: Read the terms carefully and ask clearly with the owner, save this information before paying to avoid unwanted disputes about later.
- Choosing a place to live near your study/clinical internship location or station will help you save a lot of travel time and travel costs. Besides, if in the early stages you do not have personal transportation, you should also choose a place to live near stations to take public transportation such as buses and trains.
6. Settle into a permanent residence
After you have settled into a temporary residence, the next thing to do is to find and move to permanent accommodation so you can have a more comfortable, private and stable living environment.
Take the time to carefully inspect your new room, making sure it is clean, comfortable, safe, convenient to move around, and suitable for your budget.
Once you have settled on a satisfactory place to live, you can start shopping for essential items that the place is not fully equipped with such as cooking utensils, toiletries, or blankets, etc. at stores like Walmart, Target, or cheap chain stores like Dollar Tree.
You also have You can order through Amazon if you are not used to traveling in your area or do not have convenient transportation. How to shop smartly and economically in America I have shared in previous articles, you can read it again here .
Besides, you can also start getting to know your neighbors and join groups for other people. local area, as well as learn about surrounding amenities such as shops, hospitals, bus stations or Vietnamese food restaurants to be able to more easily integrate into life in the new area.
Part 2 of the series “Preparing plans to go to America” would like to end here. Hopefully these shares will be somewhat useful for your journey.
Please comment “yes” if you like this article and look forward to part 3 – the necessary documents and procedures to do when you first come to the US.
Wish you a happy new day.
Dr. Christina Nguyen
Phoenix Medical Academy.
