United States of America has been the dream destination for couple of centuries for people universally to make it big in their life till recently. The population of America is about 310 million. The total area is about 9.83 million square kilometres. The Country is third and fourth largest in the World in terms of population and total area. It has 50 States and a federal district. Its Independence Day is celebrated on July 4th every year. America is not just one Country. People from all over the Globe have settled here as citizens and are therefore called Americans. Many people out side America think it is the richest Country in the world,certainly not. Many Americans are also very crazy about lotteries like Indians may be because of financial insecurity. The fact is that global currency revolves around American currency since Global business is Dollar- Centric.
Spanish speaking population is said to be 1/6 th of America’s population. There are about 50 million Hispanics in America. This is an immigrant Country. All languages of the World are spoken here. This Country is unique in this respect. People are attracted to visit and settle in America mainly because of the huge difference in the currency exchange rate and also due to the better quality of life irrespective of severe and adverse weather conditions. Each locality is a Country by its self especially in a City like New York. It is extremely difficult to find an English speaking person in a Chinese large provisional stores. Even Bank ATMs are equipped with their language facility for ease of operation. Bank clerks and officers are mostly Chinese in their area. It is true in the case of Koreans even. It is shocking to know that millions don’t even care to learn to speak in English where the National language is English. American spelling, usage of words, phrases and pronunciation of English is different from that of British English.
There are various time zones in America. The commonly well known time zones being Eastern Standard Time, Central Standard Time and Pacific Standard Time. 8 am in New York (Eastern Standard Time) equals 5 am in California State (Pacific Standard Time) and 7 am in Chicago (Central Standard Time). There are many places worth visiting in America which include Niagara Water Falls, Statue of Liberty, Disney World, Yellow Stone Park, Grand Canyon, Universal Studios etc. There are numerous museums here. America is a very fascinating country in this respect.
Like any other Country , America also is the Country of illiterates, school dropouts and semi literates in plenty. Highly qualified people are in minority. Lack of higher education among the majority of the citizens is the main problem of America. America’s overall progress has suffered a lot since majority don’t meet the required qualifications for getting jobs that need higher educational qualifications in spite of technological advancement. Non Americans have benefited much due to this reason. America has also benefited from their contribution but it doesn’t help solving the employment problem of Americans in this regard.
The general standards of the Students in Public Schools is bad especially in mathematics. They don’t even memorize multiplication tables. The Students totally depend upon the calculator for petty calculations even. It is always better to learn as per the traditional method rather than being surrounded by too many electronic gadgets and learning practically nothing.They struggle in the College since their foundation is very weak. The College education is highly expensive and make the students debt ridden. Unlike Indian Municipal Schools American Schools are well equipped with computers but not helping their progress since the students seldom exercise their brains.The general standards of some Private Schools is said to be good but majority of the middle class People can ill afford to send their children to the Private Schools. The standard of education in certain Universities like Columbia, Stanford, New York University, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, M.I.T, Princeton and Harvard is said to be excellent. Some Universities may offer scholarships for certain PhD programmes.
The Americans in general don’t have saving culture. American life is based on Credit Card culture. Majority of the Americans are neck deep into Credit Card debt that include College Fee debt, Car debt, Furniture debt, Apartment or Independent house debt so on and so forth. Even the big retailors like Macy’s and Old Navy gives discounts only on their Credit Cards. So Credit Cards get accumulated. Its a big vicious circle.
The Wars have become a big economic burden. They have not yielded expected results. American People are openly expressing their frustration about the Wars. The unemployment and under employment has increased considerably. The unemployment rate is 9.1% in this present economic crisis.
Car manufacturing industry is one of the major Industries in America apart from Pharmaceutical and Airplane industry. There is no Public Transportation facility in Towns. This is the biggest lacuna here. Villages are called Towns. The Towns are generally provided with basic infrastructure such as shopping malls etc unlike India. People are compelled to purchase some kind of a Car for their transportation in Towns else they would be at the mercy of Taxi companies or their friends who may offer a free ride if possible. It is difficult to find People walking on footpaths in Towns. There is no such problem in big Cities like New York, Chicago etc which are far less in number where Population is more and also there is a provision of Public Transport by Buses and Metro Trains. Americans are said to use almost one fourth of the Cars used in the entire World. The number of Cars in use are said to be around 250 million. There is no parking space available in places like New York. People park their Cars on either side of the road. The major pollution that bothers Americans is vehicular pollution. However the Industries are located far away from the residential localities. However Industrial Pollution is another worrying factor worth looking into more seriously.
American life is based on the policy of consumer spending. They believe that the more the money is in circulation the more is the possibility of worker retention, job creation and more productivity. Consumer cheap goods that are available are generally made in China. It is extremely difficult to find the goods made in America.
Banks pay practically no interest on Saving and Checking Accounts thereby compelling the People to invest in the Stocks who can afford it. The profit from the Stock market is completely unreliable as experienced in India even due to the fluctuating Markets, the profit of the Companies and expansion thereof and prevailing economic situation in the World etc.
People entering America on any type of Visa have to be careful while obtaining Cable and Cell Phone connections. They should discuss minutely with the concerned Companies regarding various packages and contract period offered. One should be very careful while purchasing certain goods online. The authenticity of the web site should be checked. There are certain web sites which keep on using the Credit Card information available with them and then dump the material time and again which is not ordered. Some web sites may not even deliver the material.
Tenants can easily get Gas, Water, Heating and Electricity connection and disconnection in no time in their names, without any harassment and without paying any bribe, on phone. Apartment owner should provide compulsorily a huge Refrigerator and a Cooking Range comprising an Oven and four Stoves in the Apartment. The Apartment owner should also provide heating facility wherever required. Hot Water and Cold Water arrangement should be provided in the Apartment. Quality of life is far better than India since there is no other pollution except vehicular pollution. Middle class People can afford to have the luxury of Air Conditioner during summer. Roads are generally neat. Almost everyone has some kind of a Car. Many varieties of food free from adulteration is available at reasonable rates. Buses and Trains are provided with Air conditioners,Heating etc.
Summer is extreme in Texas State. The temperature even crosses 40 degree Centigrade. Winter is severe in Chicago and Milwaukee where it goes up to minus 30 degrees Centigrade. In New York it is around minus 15 degree Centigrade during winter. Frequent snow falls are quite common in these places. California State and Florida State weather is mostly like coastal weather in India.
America is a country of wastage. There is hell lot of use and throw here. People keep costly appliances outside their homes even for minor problems like loose Electrical connection since majority have no idea how to rectify them. The labour charges are very expensive since they have to call the concerned Company representative for everything which they can ill afford. So they prefer purchasing new Appliances rather than go in for repairs.
The unemployment problem in America can be solved to some extent if the firms of various Appliances provide training to People on a large scale and give an authenticated certificate so that they can carryout the necessary repairs at reasonable rates through out the Country and also avoid legal implications. Therefore huge National wastage can be avoided and also it helps in solving unemployment problem to a certain extent. Hundreds of thousands of jobs can be created since America has 50 States and a Federal district.
Indian provisions are available in most of the places. There are many Indian restaurants in big Cities. Americans in general are very much fond of Indian food. In places like Chicago and New York a complete street is exclusively meant for selling the Indian goods including Sarees, Jewelry, Indian provisions, Bangles, Indian Film DVDs etc. Some Theatres in big Cities show latest Hindi and Telugu films regular shows.
Readers can have a better idea of America after reading my articles ” External Appearance of People” and ” Positive Side of Western Culture”.
Readers may enjoy watching the Videos of Niagara Falls during night on the American side and also Statue of Liberty placed below.
http://youtu.be/AAoyCPgzUIo
http://youtu.be/l9e3rIUILUg