NRIOL - FAQ for new Indian professionals to the US

What should I bring with me from India?

Required Documents

• Passport with valid Visa
• Employment papers
• Birth Certificate

Useful to bring

• Liquid Cash in Dollars (it is useful to have some change to make phone calls)
• Travelers Cheques/Bank drafts (Excess money, till you open a bank account)
• International Drivers license
• Passport size photographs (many copies)
• Address book of all contacts in the US and Canada.
• Photographs of family (particularly if traveling alone)

Medicines and Toiletries

• Medicines commonly used (headache, allergies, cold, cough, fever, upset stomach)
• Any personal medication (with prescription and medical history documents.)
• Spare pair of eyeglasses/contact lenses and prescription (if required)
• Lens solution, (These are much cheaper in India.)
• Basic toiletries (shaving kit, comb, oil, .. No need for spares, as it is not too expensive)

Clothes
Clothes are generally more expensive in the United States. This is particularly true for leather goods such as leather jackets, dress shoes, gloves. However, make sure that the clothes from India can be machine-washed (do not run colour). Clothes from home are also vulnerable to shrinkage in drying machines. In most parts of the country (except in the South), the winters are brutal. You will need sweaters and a heavy jacket during winter. The jacket should be bought here since most Indian jackets are not sufficient for the cold here. Sneakers are used a lot, however one pair on arriving is sufficient as you can buy them at reasonable prices here. Formal leather shoes are expensive in the US, so do get a pair from India. Chappals/sandals, Hawai slippers (with extra straps) are all useful.

Men Clothing

• Semi formal clothes (Dress shirts, slacks, most American companies have business casual dress policy)
• Formal clothes (Some companies have formal clothing dress policy )
• Casual clothes (T-shirts, jeans, sneakers. Some companies allow casual dress to work)

Women Clothing

• Western style dress (This is the norm in American companies)
• Churidhars and Salwars (Along with personal use, can also be worn to work in some companies)
• Few Saris and other ethnic clothing (Mostly at home and for social gatherings - not easy to get here)

Some Average Costs
(More expensive in cities - San Francisco, New York,.. cheaper is small towns)

• Apartment Rent (monthly) - $600 - 1500
• Utility bills (heating -air conditioning, monthly) $ 50 - 150
• Groceries (monthly) $ 100 - 250
• Jeans (Pair)$20 - 40
• Sneakers (Pair) $ 25 - 80
• T-Shirt (each) $5- $30
• Average meal $ 5 - 15
• Spectacles (pair) $ 100 - 150

...  Spices
Everything that you need for Indian cooking is typically available at the local Indian grocery stores. NRIOL.COM provides a comprehensive list of Indian grocery stores in the United States. They can be found at https://www.nriol.com/yellowpages/. You can however bring small quantities of the following to get you started. Coriander powder, Dhania powder, Red chilli powder, Turmeric powder (Haldi), Cloves (Laung), Cardamom (Elaichi), Cinnamon (Dalchini), Mustard seeds, Cumin seed (Jeera), Asafoetida (Hing). pickles, papads, and other ethnic specialities.

Utensils
A Pressure cooker with spare gaskets and valves is useful. Some utensils unique to Indian cooking like cooking tongs, rolling pin, are helpful. Commonly used crockery items (plates, small plates, bowls, spoons, cups, knife, forks, serving spoons, sauce pans etc..) can be purchased here at reasonable prices. If you get these items from India, make sure that they can be used in the microwave.

Linen
Do not bother too much about linen. The beds here are usually larger than the beds back home, and the bed sheets and bedspreads that you get from India fit very poorly. Its better to buy these items here.

Miscellaneous
Remember to get family photographs, deities and religious books (if so inclined) and ethnic gifts. Ethnic music cassettes are a good idea since non-English selection is limited and/or expensive. There is no value in getting electronic equipment as the voltage is different here (110 V).  Read more 

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