Living and Working in America: A Survival Handbook (Living & Working in America) [Paperback]

David Hampshire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 2006 | Series: Living & Working in America

Written in an entertaining style with a touch of humour, Living and Working in America is designed to provide newcomers with the practical information necessary for a relatively trouble-free life. It contents include finding a job, permits & visas, health, accommodation, finance, insurance, education, shopping, post office and telephone services, public transport, motoring, TV and radio, leisure, sports and much, much more. It is packed with vital information and insider tips to help minimize culture shock and reduce the newcomers rookie period to a minimum. Living and Working in America is essential reading for anyone planning to spend an extended period in the USA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 588 pages
• Publisher: Survival Books, Ltd; 6th Edition edition (October 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1901130398
• ISBN-13: 978-1901130393
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,707,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good starting point for practical matters but ..., May 9, 2002

By 

Patrick J. Brunet (LaCrosse, Wi United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living and Working in America, Fourth Edition (Paperback)

I purchased this book to get an outsider's view of the U.S.. Hampshire uses 20 chapters to cover such issues as finding a job, working conditions, permits and visas, arrival, buying a car, education, shopping, sports, insurance, health finance. The work's strongest point is that it is a checklist of possible concerns for a new arrival. He provides more practical info than any travel guide but certainly less than one might like if the reader wants a step by step guide. Some chapters, like visas and permits, are as good as you find in print short of getting a book just on visas and permits. Other topics cannot be more detailed because, as he repeatedly notes, there are many facets of daily life that, unlike so many other countries, are not handled or directed by the national (federal) government. Rather they are handled (or not) by individual states or even municipalities. For example, there is no VAT in the U.S. but there is a sale tax for many states but not all. Some cities and counties also have sales taxes. (My state has a 4% sales tax, the county I am in has one-quarter of one percent sales tax but the city that I live in does not have a sales tax). Then there is the fact that there are exemptions. My state does not tax food but others do. In Minnesota, there is a sales tax on clothing, EXCEPT in the city where the huge Mall of America is located. Another example is the licensing of vehicles. Some price a car license at the value of the car, so that a license for a new Mercedes might cost $2500 while if you go to another state, it is a flat fee, like $45. This can mean thousands of dollars of difference. I have two criticisms. One, so much of his material is based on New York and California and a few big cities. He pretty much dismisses the midwest, south, southwest and much of the west. In this geographic sense he is more superficial than he could be. Two, there is more than a little english condescension. This is particularily true of his comments on crime and race relations. Statistically, one is far more likely to mugged or burgled in the U.K. than in the U.S. while our murder rate is higher. Yet, if you avoid certain behaviors, like stay away from drug dealers and the roughest parts of cities, you'll be very safe. To be fair to him, he does note the contradictory nature of so much of the U.S.. For example, graduate schools at major universities are the best in the world but the U.S. also has more diploma mills than anywhere else--by a wide margin. I also think that ultimately he kind of likes and maybe even envies certain things but many of his comments on social issues come off as superficial, petty and wrong. Still it's much better than Culture Shock: a guide to Customs Etiquette for the practicalities of life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Outdated and some errors. A let down, February 9, 2008

By 

Steven Fincher - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living and Working in America: A Survival Handbook (Living & Working in America) (Paperback)

I have many of Hampshires books, My job takes me around the world to a new location every year. However this is outdated but does not go into detail with Visa's or Green cards.
The home buying section is OK but only for Florida. The other 49 States have different laws and this it give the wrong advice.

4.0 out of 5 stars I have found essentials in this book, August 13, 2007

By 

Marius Vilemaitis "marijonas" (Lithuania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living and Working in America: A Survival Handbook (Living & Working in America) (Paperback)

I have found all essentials in this book I needed, but rated it by 4 stars because of two things:
1. lack of some more detailed information;
2. design of this book. Text arranged so flat, that sometimes it gets hard to read.

I would recommend this book to anybody, who plans to move to US and has no information where to start from: from arriving, arranging visas to renting or buyng property.