RN Life in The Great Lakes Region

 My name is Holly Musselwhite I am the Connetics Clinical Nurse Educator for two years now, and I'm welcoming you to our onwards and upwards show for Friday. Each week, we bring a lot of great content to you.

Today we're going to be talking about the Great Lakes Region, and what it's like to live and work and travel in this area. If you're interested in learning more about journeying to the US to work as a nurse, please go online and apply to ConneticsUSA.com/apply, and we'd be happy to take a look at your application and see if we can find a match for you.

When we talk about jobs, and we talk about where Connetics international nursing agency has contacts and where I am in healthcare and our sister company, O'Grady Peyton. We work with so many locations throughout the United States. So we're going to be talking about the Great Lakes region today. However, there's a lot of other places that you may be interested in going and we may be able to help you out with that. So take a look at this map and what you'll see is that every state has color which is staffing is O’Grady Peyton and we have locations throughout those dark blue states and then the green states are ones where direct hire which is Connetics has placements and openings and nurses that are already working in most of those states. And then direct hire and staffing combined have job orders in the purple colored states. So a lot of opportunity. As you can see. You can also go to our website AMNHealthcare.com/International to check out more information about that. 

o Daryl, tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. Oh, okay. Um, that's interesting. Okay, um, I am 34 years old and I work in the Philippines, I started to work as an ER nurse for around five years and then I worked as I worked as a triage nurse in a US based company, which is in the Philippines and then our rest our clients are here in the USA. And so I decided later on to move here in the USA, and I am now working in Indiana. That's awesome. And Daryl just for our audience. I know I introduced myself earlier. But I will tell you that my background is also in nursing, and predominantly in the med surg setting, which I have a passion for. But it sounds like you have a passion for ER. So that's the great thing about nursing is you can enjoy certain facets more than others. And you can find opportunities very widely to meet people's interests and give them the chance to pursue something that they love.

So sounds like you've done that within your career both in the Philippines and then when you got here. So tell me, why did you decide to come to the US? Okay, um, honestly, I really wanted to I really wanted to be appreciated as a nurse and to work in a hospital or set setting the setting that is more more bass. And I wanted to travel most parts of the of the USA as well. And I wanted to see my sister who is living here in the US. Oh, me. So I think that's basically it. Okay. No, that's, that's very important. I think that's something that's shared among international nurses is a desire to be recognized for the skills and knowledge that they have, and to continue to advance those skills and knowledge. So this definitely gives you an opportunity to do that.

Why Indiana? Was there any particular reason that you ended up in Indiana?

I applied under Connetics, it was introduced to me by my classmate, who is also here in the USA now, thanks to him. I have a relative in Indiana, which is in the northern part, so I did not really think much about it. So when I got paired with an employer, which is under Millers I did not decide did not have any. I did not really hesitate and then I just go on with the process.

So how long have you been here in the states now? Oh, just recently, I came here last June. So it's not been very long. You might even still be finding a lot of things are new and different and still kind of discovering more about Indiana. But hopefully you've had a chance to explore a little bit too. So how was your arrival when you got here? Was it what you expected? Yeah, actually came into move. So before I came here, I was advised by my travel partner that I will be that that, that somebody's going to take me from the airport to the hotel, and from the hotel to the first to the facility that I'm going to work. And then I stayed at a certain hotel for three weeks, and I think I'm really thankful about it. It does sound really smooth, that's good. I know sometimes it's a little bit stressful. When you're traveling that great a distance and you don't know what the place looks like, or how it's going to work. When you get to the airport and you walk through those doors. You know, you pass immigration and you walk out and it's like, okay, it's a big step. But where's my ride? So that can be nerve racking. So you said you had family here? So what had you heard about Indiana or that area of the United States before you got here?

Well, not really much. I heard that it is a suburb, suburb place in the USA. So wishes I really expected and one thing I know about Indiana is that it is famous about cars, if you've heard about Indy 500. So that gave me a maybe, I mean, that become one of the reason why I choose Indiana as well. So I wanted to visit the museum and everything else. So okay, so Daryl, I'm gonna let you in the audience in on a little secret. I grew up in the South, and my grandfather used to race cars stop cars, though. So I grew up around NASCAR and that that track that runs, you know, the Indy 500 and all those big races and the different types of cars, it runs. That's on my bucket list. I haven't got there yet. But yes, cars are a big thing in Indiana and in Indianapolis. So I hope you get a chance to go soon and observe some racing activity there. Because I've heard it's a great place. I've watched it on TV and I've always enjoyed the events that I get to see, but it's much more fun when you can hear the race live and be there. So I hope you get to do that soon. Yeah, I hope I got to. Yeah, gotta take a weekend or something. Um, okay. So let's see, we are going to see if our audience and if you know anything about these places, you can, you can check it out too. But we're going to see if our audience wants to participate in a trivia game. So guys get ready to share their your in the comments.

And, Daryl, you may have to speak up a little bit, I think some of our audience is having trouble. So make sure your audio is up a little bit. Because I'm seeing in the comments. Some of them are asking if you can speak a little louder. Okay, so where is our next slide, which shows our trivia game, so we're going to look at some photos and we're going to see what our audience might know about these locations. So can you tell us where this might be or what landmark this is, and this is in the Great Lakes region. So let's see. I'm gonna give you another bit of information about this, that you if you know what this is, you, you may already know it, or you may not. But this particular building, it looks kind of familiar. It looks like another famous international landmark in Paris. So at the Louvre, you'll see some glass pyramids there at that museum there in Paris and if you look at this, you go well, that looks kind of similar and this was designed by the same architect. So their slogan there kind of gives you a clue as to what this might be. It says Long live rock and if you zoom in a little bit, you might be able to see what it is but do you know where it is? So it's in the Great Lakes area all Oh, yeah, harsh but darn harsh. Fanon got it. It's in Cleveland Ohio. So if you're into rock and roll and museums, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located in Cleveland. I see quite a few of you guess. That one. So good job.

All right, let's look at our next location and see if you can guess that one. So this is a sign for a road. You might have heard of it. It's Route 66.  Sometimes it's nickname main street of America. But tell me where you think this particular sign probably is. If it's in the Great Lakes region.

So route 66, actually is a row that goes, it starts in Chicago, Illinois. And it goes all the way to you know, it goes all the way to LA California. This is actually one of the first US Highways that had a number on it. So in the old days, if you were on a road, there were no signs that could tell you okay, this is the road that, you know, is number one, and it goes through these states or it goes through these counties or whatever. So when the US started actually identifying roads, and putting in routes that people could travel especially long distances through multiple states, they had a numbering system. So route 66 is actually pretty famous. And there was a song about it, too, I think it's called something like, Get your kicks on Route 66 was out 1946. So there's a little history lesson for you to this road takes you through Missouri, so obviously Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and some of California. So it's a pretty cool route to follow. And a lot of people will do road trips on it, because you can stop and see other historical landmarks and points of interest along the way. All right. So, um, let's see, Daryl had you seen any parts of Chicago yet? It's a little No, not at all. Yeah. Yeah. I never visited any places since I arrived here. Oh, so we're gonna be talking about bucket list then.

Let's look at the next location and see if, if you guys can figure this one out. We might have given you a hint earlier as to what state this happens to be in. Anybody want to guess? While you're guessing ice Adebisi is saying hello. Yeah, Ruth. It is a racetrack. It's not in Chicago May. Although there is a racetrack in Chicago. It's not this one. So people on guessing Ruth, there you go, Indiana. And, yep. So this one is actually Indianapolis. Pretty cool. Right. So Indiana, where you are? So now you got an aerial view of where you want to go and check out those? You have to tell me the name of that. Yes, yes. So the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts events. So if you go online, to their website, you can actually see what kinds of races they have. Because obviously you don't race, just one type of car. There are lots of different cars and races and trucks and all kinds of stuff. They get raced at these big tracks, so you can check out the events. Sometimes the stock car races are really busy, but the truck races might not be as much and they might be more affordable. All right. So let's see. Can we bring up our next location looks like everybody kind of figured it out for that one. It is Indianapolis. Oh boy. This one is maybe gonna be a little bit harder for you. So check it out. And think for just a moment about where this is. You can kind of see obviously a lot of water but the

Great Lakes are lakes, they're not oceans. So this one might be a little bit harder to guess but obviously a lot of you know for those of you nature lovers who like natural beauty This is someplace that if you're ever in the Great Lakes area you might want to go looking for give you just a minute to think. Anybody? Somebody, I think put the state in already. So yes, this is on Mackinac Island, in you guessed it, Michigan. All right, good job. Maybe some of you have ambitions to visit Michigan. And if you do, I hope you will get this kind of a shot. This is my favorite thing to see and do in the United States, things that are beautiful landscapes, in all kinds of different weather. I love visiting these types of places. So of course, this one might be a little bit of a hike.

Let's see next photo. We've got quite a bit of great locations people might want to check out. Okay, so we've got some hints in here, but I'll let you guys take a look around. I will tell you America does have some castles like this one. However, they're not as old as the ones in Europe and other parts of the globe might be were a little bit newer in our castle building. So our designs kind of borrow from a lot of different architecture. All right. So we've got a hint there. No Rana. It's not Minnesota. But it is a neat place you know and Rana. If you know anything about Lisa McCollum then she probably knows a little bit more about this.  Cooke Castle in Ohio. So yes, this Cooke Castle is also called the Jay Cooke House. And it is on an island in Lake Erie. It's called Gibraltar islands. It's a National Historic Landmark. And as you can see, they do let people visit but this is actually owned by the Ohio State University where they host the stone library.

So it's also a some sort of a research. Yeah, it's a freshwater field research station, for the for the university as well. So a lot of great history, but it's continued to serve an important purpose for Ohio State University as well. So again, maybe something you want to add to your bucket list a little bit smaller Castle than I usually am used to visiting, but it's kind of neat. Alright, so I'm not sure if we have any more photos for trivia or not, but you guys have done pretty good. So either you recognize these places, or you're really good at fast web searching, which kudos to you if that's it, too. All right, White Fish Point. Light station okay, so another secret about me. I love climbing lighthouses. Now if you look at this one, it doesn't look very claimable. Right, so this is a site that has been made into a museum and place that people can go and visit and it's this light started up in its location in 1849 So it's been around for a while. Where is it? What state is it in? I need to know in the comments all right. I don't even see any guesses yet. You guys must be searching the web to see if you can figure it out. Rana yes, it is Michigan. Good job. Yep. So you're learning something about geography today. One of the interesting things about the Great Lakes though is when we think of lighthouses, we usually think that there to protect us from storms and currents and things that are close to the coastline on off of the ocean. So we're looking at like, ocean coastline and saying there's probably going to be lighthouses there, right? However, these Great Lakes sometimes get very, very, very strong storms, and actually this museum in particular whitefish point, it is, it is on the entry to whitefish Fish Bay. And it is the oldest active light on Lake Superior. There was a really famous shipwreck in that area was called the Edmund Fitzgerald. And this particular ship was coming in to the bay. And unfortunately, that night, the light was not lit. So the ship and it's 30 sailors perished. And it's become,

I think there's some songs or something else has been written about it. But this, the other name of this location, is the graveyard of ships. So, when you think about lakes, you usually don't think about strong storms and strong weather. But actually, the Great Lakes region does have some storms that come in, because you have to think about where it is to. So geographically, this is more in the north part of the United States. And it's also shares borders between the US and Canada. So we do see some strong storms. Another tiny bit of trivia for you about this. So the Great Lakes actually empties into a basin, all that water is flowing into a basin. And that water flowing into that basin is what is also flowing over one of another famous landmarks that's on both the US and the Canada side, we share it as a border, and that's Niagara Falls. So where the water starts and where it ends up makes for some really interesting scenery. Okay, let's shift gears and get back into talking about some of the some of the Great Lakes stuff. So you live in Indiana? What? What is the name of the city that you live in? I am currently stationed in Indianapolis. That's the main city in Indiana. Yeah, the Capitol. All right. And so tell me when it comes to like transportation, because it would be a big city since it's a capital city. So what's the transportation like? Well, the main transportation of people here is their private cars. However, we also do have Bozza buses, which travels from 5am Up until 11pm, during the normal days, so it's pretty accessible. And the good thing is, you only have to pay $1.75. And you are allowed to board buses back and forth. Unlimited for two hours. So that's very cheap. Yeah, that is very cheap. That's probably close to a gallon of gas in some places. So yeah, so you're very, you're very lucky that you can access that level of public transportation. But that is something that we see in a lot of big cities is there are buses that run. Sometimes there are trains, if you're talking about like Chicago, Chicago has, you know, some of the other big cities in Minneapolis, have Minnesota have this type of public transportation that's not only very accessible, but very affordable.

For folks that live outside of big cities, there's their city may still be big enough to have a bus. But it is not like what you probably would think. So it may be that the buses run in more limited hours and more limited frequency. And so it may not be workable, to be to not have your own car. So where I come from different areas of the United States, Central Florida is still relatively big community, we do have bus systems down there. But for me to get to and from work and not have to try and figure out how to get I don't like to get up really, really early to go to work. I like to like, make sure I'm on time but not like you know, have to count for the bus and whatever. So it's the convenience factor for a lot of folks. But I think what you said earlier about private car being the predominant way that people get around even in a city like yours is pretty normal, even when there's public transport available. Where we net less is probably in very metropolitan big cities like New York City, you know, yeah, if you're living in downtown New York, first of all, you probably can't even park a car there without serious expense and risk to your car. So public transportation there looks very different from what it looks like in Indianapolis.

Did you get your car yet? Oh, yeah, I just I just got a car. But however, it's just a rental car for now. So I applied in, in a certain company and then they provided me free car or rental car for like three months. So that's what I'm using right now. I know that program is really, really awesome to kind of get you into your first car without having to wait until you've built some credit here. So and it's good. You have a nice rental in the meantime. Okay, so you can't work all the time. What are you doing in your free time? Well, I just sleep actually. Because I'm a night nurse. I they honestly, they don't have enough staffs right now. So I don't have a choice about to work night shifts. I also do a render extra days for Judy's when I'm off, they will call me so I have to run there and work. But I make sure that I still have the I mean life work balance. So I sometimes we go to the gym, run for a bed, eat outside, and then stay at home sleep catch up on sleep. Okay. Um, so you did say you eat out So what kinds of places have you found to eat out there? I just like the regular fast foods that you can find like Panda Express. Just like that and I could not really catch up on those restaurants on those fine dining because when I wake up, they are already close. So you know I work night shift I need to sleep when I come here and I adjust my sleep. So I definitely could not go around the city and eat somewhere else. But just fast food.

All right, so another question. Have you when you're out and about have you seen any restaurants where you go you know what? When I get some time I want to go there? What kind of cuisine are you looking forward to trying now that you've had a little bit of time to navigate Indianapolis? So far, I've eaten most of Western cuisine. However, I would love to eat in a Chinese or maybe Asian restaurant, which I can find. I think there are lots of rest Chinese restaurants here that I would love to try when I'm when I get the time you know? Yeah. I really nice. Yeah, yeah. Good food and, and a lot of different options in Indianapolis. And you know, what I what I used to do when I was craving a certain type of cuisine and I was stuck at work is door to door that know if they were open and I could get the door Dasher to bring it to my work. Let me tell you, I was I would splurge a little bit so that I can get my craving or my fix. So very convenient to Yeah, it is it is an Indianapolis lots of you know, there's not just a couple other vendors I'm sure that you can order from and so Uber Eats and all of that stuff. It adds up financially, it's not the best choice for everybody. But it's nice if you if you're if you can't get to the restaurants, so many restaurants, even little mom and pop places will have that option for someone to be able to get food and bring it to where you are. So how's the weather out there?

Um, but I came here I was I'm very lucky because I arrived here with a nice weather so it's in the middle of the summer it's a little bit scorching hot however, it's transitioning to odd them right now. So I mean yeah, Autumn so i It's like breezy, it's cold at times. And the good thing is that I'm able to learn about their climate because I came from a country which is always hot. So I'm not culture they're really shot. I mean, I'm not shocked from their weather. I get I have I have some I have many time to ask people and elicit some advice and how I can adapt to certain weather. So right now I'm preparing for winter. And it's cool up there. So yeah. So the are your leaves? When you go outside? Do you see some of the leaves starting to change color from greens into like oranges and yellows yet? Oh, it's pretty much green. Let me just check. Yeah, it's still green. Okay. So autumn though it gets really awesome when you go outside because you do start to see that gradual change of leaves. And then they start to fall eventually and you get into winter. But yeah, it's good to hear you're preparing. So that's the other thing is your wardrobe, we'll have to have quite a bit of diversity, because you will have really hot summer some people are very surprised when they've moved somewhere in the northern part of the US, they're not expecting if they get here how hot it can really be during the summertime. And that's definitely you want your aircon. For sure. So the other thing is, if you live closer to the lakes, those bodies of water also are going to be cooler winters. And because there's more moisture coming off the lakes, you end up seeing more snow in those areas that are closer to the lake. So you have time to get ready, both from a wardrobe perspective, making sure that your driving skills are in order because of course when the weather starts up that's colder and you know, sometimes it's more rain than snow. But still, you want to be able to be comfortable with the roads. So I'm glad that you're gonna have a little time to kind of ease into it.

So I know you said you haven't done much since you've been here just yet. But have you heard about some places to go? That are maybe close by things that are like, Hey, you really should now that you're here, you should go here. Is there anything that your family or your co workers are telling you? You ought to go see? Um, they are telling me to go to the canal? It is. It is a tour tourist spot here in Indianapolis. And I think it's just right across. Yeah, however, I don't have time, but I would one day want to go there. It's pretty awesome. And they said, Yeah, sounds like you're picking up. Are you doing some extra shifts then? Yeah, yeah. Sounds like you're working a lot. And hey, that's good. That's good when you first start coming in, because you can kind of, you know, build up your, your finances and kind of recover from the from the move and everything. So yeah, it's close. So you definitely should check, check it out. And then is there anywhere in the US that you're thinking like, if I get to take a trip? Here's where I think I'd like to go? Yeah, if I am given a chance, I would want to go to Virginia, where my sister is that visit family? Yeah, well, hopefully you can do that. Virginia is really not that far. You just have to decide fly, drive, plane, sorry, train. There are a lot of different transportation options. And each of them comes with their own pros and cons. Up in that area, there's still trains that run for passengers. So if you want to be like, a little more adventurous, get on a train and go see your sister that way, rather than putting all those miles on that car. But there's a lot of neat things to see and do. So you have you gotten your driver's license yet in Indiana? Are you working driving on your International license? I'm driving through my Philippine license right now. So I, I am scheduled to take the exam next week. So I'm preparing. And hopefully I can get it. Yeah. But the good thing here in the USA is that they allow you to drive actually, using your international arming your foreign license. I don't even have the International license.

They told me to secure it like maybe three to six months. Yeah, most states will give you time to get the driver's license in that particular state, because you have to establish residency, which means you have to have your like you can't just be living out of a hotel and get it usually have to have an a permanent address bills that come to that address a lease agreement, blah, blah, blah. So there's a lot of paperwork that you have to take when you're ready to get your state either driver's license or state identification. I'm going to take a look at the comments for just a sec, Daryl, let's see what everybody's saying. So I know we've put some links in the chat for you guys on how to start your American dream on The 50 States Guidebook. So if you're interested in learning more about the states, in the United States, and what are some of the features of those states that's provided in that guidebook for you so you can download that for free. And, you know, take a look at your leisure. Learn more about the places as you consider where you'd like to go. Barbara, I see you're watching from Germany. That's awesome. And Mark says that everybody's old, reliable McDonald's. Yeah, it's interesting. Yeah, yeah, it is. And, and, you know, the funny thing is, when I'm on a road trip, anywhere in the United States, I know I can count on finding one of those. So if nothing else, you will find a McDonald's.

Shabazz says Darrel Ray, as you are great. So you have a fan at NVC says, with retrogression delays, how long will it take from the start of the processing to getting your visa after passing NCLEX. So currently, we are looking at some of our nurses who are being filed now probably coming in 2025. And it is very individualized based on obviously, your priority date, the date that your visa is filed, as well as whether you have English at that time, how long it takes you to get all of the requirements in place. So just bear that in mind. That's a very broad projection. However, we did just have a show last week or no earlier this week on the visa bulletin. So on Monday, we had an extra onwards and upwards show with our legal experts. And we talked about the latest with retrogression. And if you check out that show, you'll find some great information on what the changes are, how we are reacting as a as a industry and as a company. And what we are doing to try and help our nurses continue to come here as quickly as they can. So Schad is watching from the UAE Ruth mentioned Amtrak so yes, Amtrak is one of our train systems that that people can book trips on and travel to different places all over the United States. I have an aunt who likes to ride the train from South Carolina to Central Florida, she doesn't want to drive it. So she writes the train has a nice trip. All right. So Ruth mentioned, can you tell us again, how you were able to get a rental car? So Daryl, how you were able to get a rental car for free for three months? Can you give us a little bit of details on that? Oh, absolutely. So, um, I came here with Connetics. And I asked them, if I asked them about the process.

And luckily, if you process under Connetics, they have they are they have partners with they have, they have car companies that they partner with, and then they would not ask you any payment at all. So they will provide you a car like maybe three months or six months, depending on depending on the availability of the car. So when the car arrives, that's the time you are going to pay. So right now I'm not paying for anything. So they told me that the car will arrive within three months, three months, so it's absolutely free. So you have to choose. How do you call this, like Connetics or any other agencies that that helps you or direct hiring companies that that assist you if they have their speakers? Here in the USA is a must to have a car. Yeah, that's really good advice. And thank you for explaining the process. So to reiterate, what when you work with a company like Connetics, we oftentimes have contacts that we can connect to you guys with as healthcare professionals who are looking to establish yourselves because when you come to the United States, you don't have credit. And credit is how you get car loans for the Average Joe. So there are companies that understand that's going to be a challenge and they will work with international nurses and other health care professionals to try and help them get into what's likely their very first car. So, you know you want to be when you look at the selection, you may find that in your head, you were like, This is my dream car, this is what I want. And it's not, it's not available, but understand that having that vehicle, not having to worry about, you know, with brand new vehicles, you're doing regular maintenance, but it's not repairs all the time worrying about, you know, I've got a US car and something's happened where I need to get it repaired or worked on. So you kind of can ease into the process a lot easier by doing what Daryl did, as opposed to hoping that you're going to get public transportation hoping that you'll be able to walk to work, hoping that you can hitch a ride.

It's just not that simple. So Daryl, I'm glad you took advantage of that program, and that it's working out so well for you. So Leo says watching from India, Raya is watching from the Philippines. Salvy says how do you get the book. So I think you're talking about the book for the 50 states. So it's a download on our website, which we have the link and we can drop the link. And again, you click on the link, it takes you to the to the book download. And you can just basically pull it right off the internet and put it on your computer and take a look at it. Or you can not download it, open it there. And then look at it on the website. DIA is watching from the Philippines idea. Thanks for joining us. And Ruth is very glad to get that information about the car, Daryl. So thank you so much for sharing that. Um, so let's talk about the community. Is it very diverse? Where you are? You know, do you see a lot of cultures represented in Indianapolis? Yeah, I'm in Vienna is a place where every culture is present. So you can see Asians all around, you're going to see Mexican and you can see Puerto Ricans, blacks, basically Americans, everything so and the good thing is that they are not judgmental. They just I mean, you can just wear whatever you would like to wear, you can just go outside he have your hair pink like that. Nobody cares here. And they are very friendly. Yeah, that is something that's really nice about the Great Lakes region, and is that it's very much a melting pot, just like a lot of other regions of the US we have, you know, we are, you'll hear people say that the United States is a nation of immigrants. So yes, there were Native Americans here first, however, the bulk of the population is either descended from an immigrant or an immigrant themselves. And so I think it makes it, you know, sometimes more friendly than people expect. And sometimes it's I don't know, was it surprising to you how friendly some people were?

Not at all. Yeah, I figured out that most Americans and people who transition to Americans are trying to live together in harmony like that. But still there are there are people who is not really what, what we expected. But still, the majority I'm talking as the as great. So, I mean, I experienced that when I workout at the gym, people are people are very close. They would always say hi to you, that when they when you come across with their eye, they will always say smiled. I mean, they will always say an FA angry cue. And I feel welcome. Yeah, that's awesome. So I'm glad that the it lived up to your expectations. That's really that's really a relief, I guess, you know, I know, for a lot of people when they consider making such a big change, it's at first exciting and then the closer you get, it gets a little scary. So sounds like you got welcomed into the community already. And that's a really important part of being able to adjust with all the other changes that you're dealing with. Um, okay, so, how did you find your housing? Oh, okay. So my employer basically dragged me all the way to town, looking for apartments and he really spent hours with me even printed a mad nap. That's why I'm really thankful. Even though he's a very busy person. Sin, he used to be the administrator of all the Miller facility. But he's the he tried to make sure that they get me from the hotel and bring me back to, from the hotel to the work. And also after work, they would drive me around to, to the I mean, from the from the bank to the social, social security office and also to the apartment. So I ended up I ended up in Indianapolis, which is, which is in the heart of the city. And it's, they made sure that it is not expensive, for it is not expensive. And also

Oh, it is it is safe. And even my the even the parking space is locked, we have a gate on it. And I'm really thankful that I ended up here, you're very blessed to have a facility and an employer that that is taking that time with you. And I think that when you know someone locally who can take you to those places and let you look around or you have a liaison who maybe can also be available. Those are the folks like you can look online and go that looks perfect. The pictures look good, the price is good, the size is good. But when you get there, what if it's not in a place that you really want to be? What if it's not safe? So it sounds like you had some great support to find something that sort of ticked all the boxes and still wasn't all that expensive, comparatively speaking. So that's a, that's what we hope will be everyone's experience. And I think the other thing you want to do if you're not blessed enough to have an administrator like dare like Daryl, although I've heard a lot of similar stories like that. But if you're not, you still can ask questions, you can say I'm looking in this area, can you tell me? Have you ever been there? Have you heard of this area? Do you think it's safe, and a lot of times the locals are more than happy to tell you whether they think it's going to be a place you should be living or not, or your family should be living? So, Daryl, do you have a family with you at the moment? No, actually, I'm living by myself. Okay. So then I did have another question about childcare. But I don't know how much you're gonna know about that, since you don't have your kids to worry about. But in general, do you find that most of your co workers, they have childcare options? And, you know, is that is that a stressor for them, or they're usually able to find childcare and, or get their kids into school and things like that.

Um, I never really heard on that. But my Filipina friend, but my Filipino friend, she's, she is also at the same facility where I'm working right now. I met her there. She said she just have to pay extra for her kids. And she just get insurance for them as well. Because when you got when you came here in the United States and work with certain company, you have to work for like 90 days for you to get benefits, including your family. So yeah, so she just she just acquired, she shopped for insurances, and also she is planning to look for a school. But I'll update you if she has those. Hopefully, she does. Yeah. So that is something that you want to consider overall is what is the school system like in the area where you're looking, and just like you as a as a nurse immigrating here have gone through phases of culture shock and the adjustment process. Your children would go through that too. So prepare accordingly and think about, you know, Daryl is a little bit lucky in the sense that he doesn't have children to, to try and help get used to everything while he's trying to settle in. But there are a lot of people who come who bring their children and they're settling their children at the same time they are experiencing their own settling, getting used to the culture, you know, so they're you're getting used to the culture, at work and in the community and your children are getting used to the culture at school.

And again, because so many communities throughout the United States are so diverse, it means that your children are most likely going to be around other people who've immigrated to that area. But it can still be a challenge your you know, your friends and family networks that you had built, maybe over a lifetime. They're now so far away, and you've got to build new ones. So, so Daryl, one thing I did hear you say is that you've made a friend at work, who's also from the Philippines. And that's awesome. Because that also helps with that adjustment period, making those connections and being friendly towards other people and getting to know, you know, sometimes it's nice that you can connect with another Filipino because it's like, oh, they, they know what foods we like. And, and they know a lot about that country that I'm from and some of the things that are just nice to talk about and reminisce about and have shared experiences with, and then build those shared experiences here as well. So it's important to form those friendships. Once you're here, don't stay in sleep all the time, right, Daryl? Okay. So, you know, we've got a couple of minutes left, we'll delve into one of the final questions. So you have you have an apartment that you're renting, can you give us like a general estimate of how much how many bedrooms you have, and approximately how much you're paying a month for that.

Okay, so, since I'm alone, I am allowed to prevent a one bedroom apartment, and with one bathroom, apartment, one bathroom. So if you have family, like my friend, my co worker, my Filipino co worker, she has, she has to she has a twin, and a husband. So therefore for they, they the the apartment owners or the I mean, the apartment owners do not allow them to stay in a one bedroom. So yeah, so they needed to find at least two. So for luckily for me, I only get one room. And it's only for $850. That's pretty affordable, actually. And to be in a safe area that is very good for a large city like that. So kudos to you. And you mentioned something really important. So in every place, there are occupancy rules, some of them are set by local governments, some of them may be set by the the apartment complex. But many times, like I said, the local government or the state government, in some cases can be involved in setting those occupancy requirements. So if you are a family of four, living in a one bedroom apartment, would probably not be acceptable in most places that you would want to live. And so when you're, when you're looking at trying to save money, you also have to understand what are going to be the requirements for living in that particular place. And assume, if you have more than yourself and your spouse or partner with you, that you will have to have additional rooms depending on how many additional family members or whoever is with you. For instance, if you found a roommate, there are rules around, you know, the number of people regardless of whether they're family or not. So that's something to really kind of be aware of, when you know, don't assume I'm going to get a one room and it's cheap, and I'm going to save you may not be allowed to do that, and, and get housing in a safe place that you really want to be in. Okay. All right. So, dear Daryl, do you have any advice for people who are looking to move to the Great Lakes, you've shared some good insights already, but maybe a final piece of advice for them? Um, okay. So, number one is just to be prepared. Because when you come here in the USA, you cannot expect to have time to make to travel and enjoy. Like, in my in my situation. When I when I arrive, they started my training immediately for five days and then they let me work alone. So be prepared and always try to maybe have a have a balance of life and work. But and always enjoy. And oh and also be cautious always because Americans do read. We appreciate what you do.

So and also you have to establish yourself with them. They are very particular with that. So I think that's it. And also before you before you, before you leave your country, spend time with your family, because it's going to be said here. Yes, yes, you are definitely going to miss your family and your friends. And so having some quality time with them right before you come is something that a lot of people find sort of sustains them until they meet again. Thankfully, in this day and age, we also have the technology where you can see them, and do web calls and things like that. But like I said earlier, and that would maybe be something to tack on to your advice, which is very early on, you want to start making connections here. So as Daryl said, establish yourself, get to know people, let them know you. You know, sometimes when you don't open up and share more about yourself and explore the place where you are, it becomes very isolating for you. And that's very hard to cope with. So, you know, most Americans are very open, warm and friendly, as a culture. And if you reciprocate, if you give that in return, you'll find that you'll make friends very quickly. You don't have to be the life of the party. But you'll still be able to make those social connections. And you'll become part of families here. So then you have family in two parts of the world, or maybe three depending on how many places you've been.

Alright, so we do have some upcoming onwards and upwards shows we want to share with you. So we'll pull those up in just a second. Here we go. Oh, the topic. Everybody loves taxes in the USA coming next week on Friday, then we're going to do another immigration Q&A show on October 6. So if you want to join for that, you know, you'll have a chance to ask questions more about retrogression and other opportunities to understand what's happening, and what we are looking forward to doing in the future. And then on October 13, we're going to have a facility showcase with Northside they are a wonderful facility or group of facilities actually in Georgia. And we have a great partnership with them. So I hope you'll join and get to know more about Northside every Monday we have the Connetics college shows those are free educational shows that are alternating for NCLEX and English. So those of you who have NCLEX done, congratulations. Gotta get that English done. So keep working on preparing for those exams. If you don't have NCLEX. And you're like, should I wait, don't wait. Get it done, get your English done, get your visa filed. So you have your priority date. We have, we have a lot of people who get a little discouraged when they hear about retrogression, and then we go, I don't know if I want to do this right now. But you can be using the time between now.

And when your priority date comes current to finish up those things. And to be ready so that when the time comes that you are current with your priority date, you're here very quickly. So we're still filing visas for our nurses and continuing to have open orders from our client facilities. They're still interested in hiring international nurses and planning for their future arrivals, they understand retrogression isn't, isn't going to stop it sorry, isn't going to stop them from partnering to bring nurses here sooner rather than later. But they understand it's a process and that there's a lot we can do to get you in that queue and keep you moving. And then when that priority date is current. Here you go. Let's see. So we do have a referral program as well that you can participate in. If you go to our website, you'll be able to see information about that. So we have $500 referral fee with four nurses with NCLEX that goes on until December 31 of this year. Make sure that you follow the process on our website for how to get this referral process going for nurses that you know with NCLEX we have free English scholarships. So those their review courses are provided to all of our Connetics USA RNs who are reviewing and preparing for their English proficiency exams. We have a podcast great podcast called nursing in America, you can check that out. We do have a direct hire program for nurse aides. So you may be interested in in qualifying for that.