Viver nos EUA

In 2015, I had the opportunity to do something for my personal and professional development. Then, I decided to live abroad, I was confused about what country would be the best one to choose. At the beginning, I considered two points, what I wanted to do there and how long I was going to stay. My main reason to live abroad was to improve my English. I preferred the American accent at that time, and I love NFL (American football) and NBA (American basketball), so the USA was the country I was going to. I was young, had just finished my university and could spend that year in that project.

I arrived in Boston in April; it was spring there. I loved the city, my school and meeting people from around the world, but my host family was a little bit of a problem. They were too dirty and didn’t like to cook a lot, so I had to spend a lot of time cleaning everything and extra money to buy food. I talked to the school manager and he found a new host family for me. They were from Malaysia and were in the USA for a long time. My new host mother was so cute, and she really cared about me. Meanwhile, I focused a lot on studying English. I had classes every day in the morning and did my homework in the afternoon. When I came back to Brazil in November, I was in the advanced level.

I went to the USA to improve my language skills, but when I came back the thing that I had learned the most was other countries’ culture. Once, I was in a classroom with people from twelve different countries! I could learn a little bit of their language, try their food and observe how they live their life. The cultural experience was more interesting than any other. I experienced how the Americans live too and it was super cool! When I returned to Brazil, I had a different point of view because of all the experience that I got living abroad.

In 2016, I went to the USA for the second time to study a course related to business and try to find a job. The course was very good and, differently from my first experience in the USA, I had contact with many Americans. After I finished the course and having a business bachelor graduation from Brazil, I applied for jobs in Boston. The main reason that I couldn’t get a job was that I needed a sponsor and my graduation in Brazil wasn’t very important to them.

Not having a job and consuming my savings in Brazil wasn't a sustainable plan. Then, I came back to Brazil to find something that I love to work with.

There are some possible ways to live in the USA. You need a green card, a professional visa or study there. The first option can be possible if you invest U$50,000 in the USA or get married to someone there. The second option is easier to get when a multinational company sends you to live and work there. And the last option is also a little bit expensive as the course price is around U$20,000 per year plus living costs. All the possibilities aren’t easy, so a scholarship, years working at a multinational company that can send you there or having a relationship with an American could be short paths to live the American dream!