1. What to do first? It’s very important if you’re alone in a new place, or not. If you have your spouse with you it’s easier to start with your neighbors and organize a party for the people nearby to present yourself. For people that are alone they can go ahead and start from school or at the place they work. Meet as many new people as possible.

2. Be and stay positive. Know the saying that money come to money? It’s true. More to it it’s also true with people radiating positive energy. I for example, wouldn’t want to be with someone feeling sorry for themselves, but with funny and communicating people.

3. Other people’s friends. Have you noticed that if you are new people usually invite you out and many of the times it’s with their group of friends? Don’t say no. It’s a great way of meeting new people and maybe a boy/girl-friend.

4. Attitude. I remember when I was young my grandpa was telling me attitude is everything. Now I know he was right because success is a matter of having a positive attitude on a daily basis and mixing it with motivational principles, like Jeff Keller says.

5. Try not to be shy. This sounds hard, I know, but shyness is something you want to fight with to be successful at having relations with other people. One of the best ways of not being shy is to be funny. Tell a joke or two.

6. Talk smart. Yes, I told you to say a joke or two, but make sure what you say be certain it’s an appropriate moment. Another thing you could avoid is answering with “yes” or “no”, because if you do it’s like cutting a tree from the roots. No more communication with other people.

7. Dress smart. At least for starters. If you have your own style and it makes people weird, try to avoid it until you guys are better friends. The first impression is important.

8. Don’t be clingy. That’s a must. If you’ve met them but they’re not inviting you out for some fun the next week don’t be jealous, it happens. Try not to bulge in un-invited or they’ll have the wrong impression.

These are just a few easy tips that will probably help you find more friends and socialize with new people in a new city. If you have your own, let us know.

No one has time these days for a healthy lunch and eats something on the run, so I guess these five tips can help you out.

1. Convenience and lack of time

This is going to be your biggest enemy. Most Americans eat fast food because of convenience and the so called lack of time. The fact that you can’t take 20 minutes and step outside of the building to buy something healthy, is just a lie, so get yourself up from your office chair for a healthy lunch.

2. Watch out what you drink

The milk shake and that Coca Cola on ice are great but they’re not healthy. How about replacing sodas with water (still or sparkling) and the milk shake with low fat milk or soy-milk with all kinds of flavors.

3. Healthy food choices

If you don’t have a personal trainer or a nutritionist to take care of your meal plans you will have to make your own, so I’ve been thinking to a few healthy foods that you can buy either from a fast food or do them yourself at home.

Whole wheat rolls, fruits, yogurt, baked potatoes (add vegetables instead of sauces), grilled chicken wrapped on whole wheat tortillas, wheat bread or pita bread, salads (fat-free dressing if you need it) with olive oil, or sushi if you like.

4. Least healthy fast food choices

You enjoy chicken nuggets, fried fish or chicken, jumbo sized fries or onion rings? You also like to add some cheese or tartar sauce, sour cream, guacamole or gravy? These are extremely unhealthy. Not only will they increase the bad cholesterol but will also make you fatter.

5. Try to be partially vegetarian

Vegetables and fruits are the most healthy things you can eat and will translate into energy. I’m not expecting you to quit all sorts of meat and dairy but try to put them on the second place. If you feel like eating meat try to stick with chicken or turkey barbecue and make sure you add a big salad along with it.

Moderation is always key to eating healthier. It’s really hard to say no to what tastes great. Just make sure you don’t abuse it and eat a lot of greens.

Sold House by Dick_Phillips

So let’s start with what you need to do as a seller.

1. Talk with an agent about the process before you start. Ask what to expect from beginning to end. I did this for buying, but it is extremely important when selling, too. Do it months before you plan on selling if possible to be able to prepare yourself for what they might tell you.

2. Let go of the house. I am having trouble letting go of my apartment, and I have had trouble in the past letting go of my childhood home. The place you live in becomes more than walls and rooms. Letting go can be difficult when you have so many memories and emotions attached to the place.

However, look at it as a step forward in life, as being able to make new memories and a new home. I can assure you that finding a perfect place will help you let go of the ties you have to your current home real quick.

3. When selling your home make it sparse. This makes the place look bigger and the bigger it looks, the better. Looking at places that are cluttered makes me feel claustrophobic and unimpressed even if I know I will be cluttering the place myself if I were to buy it.

4. Pack away personal items that you don’t want buyers to see. They will want to see every nook and cranny in house. Embarrassed by certain toys you keep in your closet? Or by the magazines you have? Well, pack them away tightly. Buyers want to see what they are buying and will inspect your place inside and out.

5. Pack away items that you want to keep, for example light fixtures or chandeliers. The buyer may want it and if you don’t give it to them they may resent you.

6. Clean. A dirty house will not impress buyers. When cleaning, make sure you get outside as well as inside. You do not want a buyer to not make it inside because the grass was too long.

7. Do minor repairs and big repairs if you can. Minor repairs include painting, fixing dripping faucets, fixing falling shingles, broken windows and more others. However, for bigger repairs that you are unable to fix, it could be taken off the price of the place. Depending on what it is, you may get more for your house if you call in someone to fix it.

8. Make the environment feel good. Make sure it smells good. For example if you smoke, don’t do it inside. Play nice, light music in background, decorate with fresh flowers, and most importantly, make it bright and sunny to make the place look bigger and warmer.

9. Pets. Some buyers will not like pets, be afraid of them or be allergic to them. See if your neighbour can take them for a few hours or put the dog outside while the buyers are there.

Selling a home is just as stressful as finding the right place to buy. Of course you want to sell the place for as much money as possible. The tips provided are guidelines to making your place look and feel better to potential buyers.

Good luck and don’t give up.

Royce Hal, UCLA

This is why we’ve been thinking of the 6 simplest things you should consider about your eduction while you’re in the US.

1. Be fluent in English. This is the first thing you should consider. If math or geometry may not be such a big deal if you or your children can’t speak English fluently, history and science could be. This is where you should start taking lessons to improve it.
2. Public education is guaranteed. All you need to do is to find out which school takes care of your area. Get their phone number or pay them a visit to inform you or your kids will attend. Public schools are usually funded by property taxes.
3. Go private. If you think the public education system is not what you need private schools or private tutors may be what you’re looking for. Private schools have all different kind of fees considering the type of student they’re accepting, exceptionally gifted, special needs and so on. A private tutor however, will probably charge you from $10 to $20 per hour.
4. Grading scale. If you were used to getting grades from 1 to 10 things are changed in the US. Percentages from 0 to 100 and letter grades (F to A – highest) are being used here. The grading scales usually differ from school to school but usually they are like that
   
   If a D is usually a passing grade, in states like Texas or Virginia for example a kid with a D failed. This is why you need to make sure you ask the school about their grading system.
5. Transportation. I’m not going to give you tips how to take your kid to school in a safe way. I just want to tell you that for a young child if it won’t take him only few minutes to school when he is expected to walk, public schools usually have a door-to-door bus service (yes those yellow buses).
6. Higher education usually consists of attending colleges and universities which are decentralized institutions in the US and students have to apply by filling in a common application. Depending upon the type of school and program, annual tuition can vary from $15,000 to as high as $40,000, and usually the majority of students are considering student loans.

These are just some quick and simple things you need to know about the educational system in the United States and if you would like to read more, here is the No Child Left Behind act, that George W Bush signed in 2001.

photo by fd

Being a good neighbor yourself is what you should work on, but I’ll have to admit this isn’t easy. Why not? Because we’re all subjective. Remember when you praise your kid for being the smartest and the most beautiful in the world to whom you’re talking with? That’s the same case. We usually have a good impression about ourselves and can’t see that our behavior is wrong.

These 15 tips are going to help you minimize conflicts and build a stronger relation with the neighbors.

1. Get to know your neighbor

Not only this is the first thing you should think of but it is the simplest and easiest way of keeping communication lines open. You can’t judge someone for his beliefs if you don’t know him. Take the time to see what the person respects, what he wants/needs and discuss openly about the problems you have, using a clam and friendly voice.

2. Small things count

A smile in the morning when you set off to work, speaking gentle and polite would improve things between you. You can also invite them for a quick drink or send them some pie over to taste it.

3. Common sense

If you expect your neighbor to stay cool after you throw in a party at 2AM in the morning with all your friends making noise, you’re probably wrong. If you’re young and they are old you will probably understand for them sleeping hours are sacred. Go ahead and ask them before if they allow you to party, or invite them over. To summarize, don’t do to them what you wouldn’t want them to do to you.

4. Be the nice guy

Subjective again, I know, but when it comes to trouble in the neighborhood someone has to take the initiative. Why wouldn’t you be that someone if you have the time? It will make you look good in their eyes and will get your “score” up. Another good example is when two neighbors are fighting. Don’t take sides and try to come up with a solution for what happened.

5. Teach your kids to respect the neighbors, too

When it comes to neighborhood problems many could say kids are “the root of all evil”. This is because they have a lot of energy that needs to be consumed. A broken window, garbage thrown on the lawn or any other pranks they do, may not be “appreciated” by your neighbor.

6. Help if you can

A few years ago my neighbor’s daughter got sick and had to be seen by a doctor. The neighbor, which I was fighting over throwing junks in my yard, had no car and because it was a desperate situation he had to ask me. I helped him and enjoyed the fact that his little kid got better in a couple of weeks. This is where our whole relationship changed and we’re now great buddies. By the way, he’s not throwing junks in my yard, too.

7. Respect your neighbor

Frank Baron has a saying “Never take a person’s dignity. It is worth everything to them, and nothing to you” so you’d better think before you act.

I hope these helped you out and if you would like to add more to make the list even bigger, that sounds great.

photo credit: Peter

1. Set your goals! Be clear from the start on what you want with this new beginning. Acknowledge what you are leaving behind and what awaits you in the new country. Create your list of objectives while you have some free time and you are in a familar surrounding, so that you have time to think it clearly. This will be your motivation while you are moving. Focus on the good things, don’t leave little things get you down.

2. Carefully consider your choice! When you want to buy a new product or make a change, you try it before getting to it.You try on new clothes before buying them or take a sniff of the cake you want to buy. Similarly, when deciding where to relocate, visit the city to see if it will live up to your expectations! See what supermarkets are available, where you can go for a little relaxation or fun and what schools can your kids attend. Buy the local news paper, look for some communities where you’ll feel comfortable.

3. Build your network! Make it easier to fit in by finding a few contacts or making friends. Get in touch with a community that shares your interests, sign up for some class or go to a gym. There are many places you could meet some new people. Expatriates that have left their country a while ago are always happy to share their experiences and give you some advice. While your friends and family will always be there for you, they cannot do much when they are far away.

4. Stay informed! Gather all the information about where you will be living. The more informed you’ll be, the easier it will be to find your way there. Check out the information from other expats, gather all the data you’ll need, see what doctors, schools or companies are located in the new city. Write a list with all the information you’ll need and tick them off as you get them.

5. Find a job! Even if you have some money saved up, they wont last forever. That is why you need to start looking for a job, if you haven’t found one already! Make a little research to see what employers are looking for and update your CV accordingly. Ask around and see what employers expect from a new employee or check out the company’s profile. Make sure there are no surprises when you come to applying for and getting that job.

photo credit:imfwwdcc
The US government is also considering collecting all fingerprints, rather than the ones for the index fingers, considering the proposal coming from Discover America Partnership – a number of tourist groups. The counsil will also consider including another 10 countries in the “visa waiver” program.

Tom Ridge, a US governor and former secretary of Homeland Security, said: “Securing our nation’s borders and facilitating travel are not mutually exclusive. Our borders are the intersection of security and prosperity. We must have the will to eliminate inefficiencies and build the most secure and traveller friendly entry process possible.”

Further down the line, the US is also considering asking foreign visitors to state their travel plans on-line 48 hours before departure.

This holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King’s birthday, January 15. This holiday is one of the four American holidays to celebrate a person, being a time to remember his fight for freedom and that chance is possible without violence.