UndercoverPages t1_j17oued wrote
Reply to comment by Similar-Poem5576 in International nursing student Boston by [deleted]
You seem to know this already, but I wouldn't listen to the other people on this subreddit unless they have specific information about your situation. There may be a better subreddit on which to seek information, but I am not sure which one that is. I don't know anything about immigrating to become a nurse, but please don't be discouraged from moving to the US from the responses you have gotten here.
For some reason people on this subreddit are very jaded and try to discourage everyone from moving to Boston. Maybe the happy people in Boston are out enjoying their lives instead of answering questions on Reddit!
Boston is a very nice city. It is one of the nicest in the US. There is a lot of great art, music and culture in the Boston area. There are a lot of nice public spaces. There is a great variety of landscapes since Boston is right on the water, but also a short drive away from the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Housing in Massachusetts is very expensive for America, but most other expenses are roughly the same. As a nurse, you could certainly afford to live relatively comfortably in Boston.
Compared to many other cities in America, it's true that it takes longer for people to warm up and become friends. However, in practice this just means that you are unlikely to make friends with a stranger at a bar. If you are in school or work at a big hospital, it will be easy to make friends with your classmates and coworkers. If you join a sports league or other activity, you will develop friendships there as well.
I agree with other people that American medical system has problems, especially relating to the expense people incur getting care. Many people accrue debt as a result of treatment especially for diseases like cancer. Some people will delay or forego treatment because they worry about the expense. This is terrible and should be changed. However, it is illegal to deny people lifesaving emergency care on the basis of ability to pay. You may hear otherwise from people here, but surveys consistently show people who have medical insurance are satisfied with their insurance and medical providers. Anecdotally, my friends who are doctors and nurses are very satisfied with their careers.
Anyway, good luck making your decision! The US can be a great place to live especially when you have an in-demand job!
Similar-Poem5576 t1_j17xxq6 wrote
Mhm I was wondering why people on this thread are so discouraging... Most of them also seem to be European who moved to the USA and who have no idea how the immigration process of nurses work that is why I wrote that I am asking people who have SPECIFIC knowledge. It is better to not comment at all when you have no clue instead of just saying something because you are unhappy with your own life.
The medical system does not only have problems in the USA, in Switzerland and Germany there are problems too, not enough nurses, too much economy in the medical system, not enough drugs available, children have to wait hours before getting treatment, two nurses for 20 plus patients, so the USA is still heaven for nurses and some Americans do not realize how good you have it. I never experienced a bad doctor or nurse in the US during my vacation and short stay as an exchange student. I had a health insurance back then and it was a wonderful experience, doctors were available 24 hours, you were able to choose the doctor you want to go to etc. It is not a bad system at all although I agree it should be affordable and available to everyone in the States yet I do know Americans who are happy not having a health insurance ...
deadliftothersup t1_j19m5or wrote
Most of the replies are going to come from patients in the US healthcare system. On the whole, we spend more than any country in the world for worse outcomes. We still have wait times like everyone else, but medical debt is the most common reason for bankruptcy in the US. It's not just a little unaffordable, it can ruin you. The way our system is incentivized, we have an extreme lack of general practitioners and a lot of specialists.
If you have decent insurance (which you likely will have in your role) it's likely just annoyingly expensive, but fine. In MA we have only a small % of uninsured people, in states like Texas, they have about 20% uninsured. We have great disparities in the quality of care you get by state by your employer. You can choose your doctor...if they are in your insurance network. Basically this arbitrary aspect of your life is bound by how cool your employer is and your state.
In Boston and Massachusetts in general, we pay a little more than average for the US for healthcare, but it is pretty world class in this state and we have more subsidized options compared with the vast majority of other states. It's still bound by US issues, but it is an improvement.
I used to live in Maine and our rural healthcare non-systems are imploding and access is getting worse as these hospitals close. I know lot of folks that travel hundreds of miles for their cancer treatments /surgeries to Boston because of how much better it is here.
Being an RN is a grind anywhere as I'm sure you're aware, so I wouldn't let that bother you.
You'll find it takes longer to get folks to open up here, but it's exaggerated how different it is. New Englanders tend to be to the point and less likely to blow smoke up your ass to make nice. It wouldn't be strange at all for my older neighbor to tell me my car is shit for driving in the snow before digging me out of it.
Anyway, good luck in whatever you decide. We need all the nurses we can get.
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