2016-07-28 21:03:52

Hello.
Please sorry my english.
Help me please.
Due to the fact that Ukraine has a terrible attitude towards people with disabilities, I after 3 years moving to the United States.
In what city will advise to go?
In New York a lot of dirt.
I think of Charlotte, North Carolina, but it can still advise some sort of town?

2016-07-28 21:29:36

A city is probably where you'll want to live, just make sure you find one with a good public transit system, and you're living in a state with a good state agency for all your technology.

2016-07-28 21:37:13

My sugestion would be either Bauston or anyware in Washington State, especially since the schools there (perkins and the Washington state School for the blind) are top of the line (I graduated from the ladder)

be a hero and stop Coppa now!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dkm … DkWZ8/edit
-id software, 1995

2016-07-29 02:48:04

Don't move to Florida! That's where I live and the availability of services for the blind is minimal.

If I ever move again, I'd consider moving back to downtown Chicago, I lived there for about 7+ years and really liked it there. Though I have to admit, I wasn't legally blind then so I don't know how good or bad the availability of blind services is there.

2016-07-29 06:01:06

I more suitable climate Charlotte.

2016-07-29 12:39:29

My lady actually doesn't want to live in the states. I did believe it might be necessary for me to emmigrate if we didn't get the Uk settlement visa, but we did, and she's fairly emphatic that while she's happy to come back here to visit her family etc, she would much prefer to live in Britain.
One major reason for this has been obvious to me living temporarily out here, the State's public transport system is dam difficult!

Compared to Britain where pretty much every major city and most small towns have regular train service as well as busses (many of which have stop announcements), America seems far more difficult to get around if you don't have a car, since even getting! to a bus or train station takes a deal of navigation.

this is of course different in big cities, but they present their own issues for navigation, certainly when my lady and I visited new york it was busy as hell and so crowded it was literally hard to move even on a weak day afternoon, and even in New york trains and busses were only available from a few specific locations it'd be necessary to travel to

This isn't to say everywhere is like this, I've manifestly not seen too much of the states and America is a big place, only that it's one of the major differences I notice from Britain and one my lady notices from britain and germany.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)

2016-07-29 13:13:32

Eeeeh... Dark, New York City and the general New England Metropolitin area has the best public transit on the continent. We don't really even have trains outside of that area, Chicago, and maybe a couple other places (do they have trains on the west coast, or is it mostly buses?). I told you before but you didn't believe me tongue. In about an hour, I'm going to walk half a mile in the  hot and humid Louisiana summer to get to the LCB training building (oddly enough, will then start on "bus travel". I know absolutely nothing about how any bus system in the area works because apparently even the center full of blind people just doesn't use them that often, they're that useless. Cabs, walking, and sighted people with vehicles are the only ways anyone travels. And cabs in Ruston, LA are unusually cheap. Emphasis on "un!usually".)


As for the climate in Charlotte, NC... I should point out that everything from Maryland south has been record-breakingly hot for the past month. The heat index in some places got over 45C in the past couple weeks. It's mostly hovering around a slightly more sane 35-40, and a storm system came through this week which made things much less dehydrating (but also much wetter).

If you plan on going anywhere once you move in, I'd suggest Chicago, especially if you can afford to travel during the winter.
If you want a coastal area, there are lots of blind people in the San Francisco area. I haven't been there and find all the pressures in that direction kinda unpleasant, but it's an option. I have been to Las Angeles, and the weather there even in July is downright wonderful, but I would be surprised if it's all that blind-friendly.
Florida is a slightly better version of the blistering south I mentioned, climate-wise. In the Orlando area, you can set your clock by the afternoon thunderstorm, but outside of El Niño years, it's more the "Oh, hey, the water is cooler than it was as vapor" than anything troublesome. It's humid and hot, but less hot, somehow (sea breeze, or something?). Orlando has decent buses, because it's a tourist city. The shuttles you can hire, however, are outrageously overpriced. (I paid $50 to get from a hotel to the airport. I agree; I totally got ripped off.)

I should say, though, that these "nicer" cities are horribly expensive. If you can find an apartment for under $2400/month in any major city in California, it's probably a trap. I'm not sure about New York, but it sounds like the situation is similar. Things are much, much cheaper in Flyover Country, but of course, that comes with a lack of decent infrastructure and zany weather and wildlife. And I don't mean the wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, lynxes, or bobcats. The ones you gotta watch out for have more than 4 legs.

So, eh, maybe Charlotte isn't that bad a choice, with all of those things in mind. I haven't been there, and haven't heard much about it.

看過來!
"If you want utopia but reality gives you Lovecraft, you don't give up, you carve your utopia out of the corpses of dead gods."
MaxAngor wrote:
    George... Don't do that.

2016-07-29 14:14:39

'I'm with figment.  Unless you have a ton of friggin money or have managed to get yourself on the section 8 waiting list and are moving along quickly on said list, stay away from Florida.  It's staff for blind and vision impaired individuals seems to be nonexistent.  Of those who do work that I've met, every single one of them seems to be either too swamped with clients to deal with you on a personal, individual level, or too lazy to care.  Apparently Florida doesn't pay them well, either.  It's a nice place to visit, and if you come near my neck of the woods I'll treat you to the best I have to offer, but you certainly wouldn't want to live here longterm.
Scratch North carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Missouri, , Washington, Kentucky, and Illinois off your list of places to live as well.  Minisota has a great transportation system; Texas has a ton of resources if you live in the right places available for its blind and vision impaired population.  California, from all I've heard and researched, seems to have both.

When life gives you oranges, demand lemons since everyone else is obviously getting them.

2016-07-29 14:29:56

In Britain, there is no good life.
In Chicago in the winter a lot of snow. To get out of the house, you need to dig.
I want to find a place where a lot of Native Americans.
I was in New York. But I was told that there is very dirty.

2016-07-29 14:38:39

I must add a small correction: The storm did an amazing job and the weather this morning was about 25-30f cooler, making it fantastic somehow.

看過來!
"If you want utopia but reality gives you Lovecraft, you don't give up, you carve your utopia out of the corpses of dead gods."
MaxAngor wrote:
    George... Don't do that.

2016-07-29 14:39:11

Public transport is not necessary to me. I will hire a driver.

2016-07-29 21:28:37

I've lived in the states all my life.  My advice is move to Canada.  They have incredible services for the blind, even to the point of giving iPhones to every blind person who wants one, free of charge.  If you don't want snow, move to either Vancouver or Victoria, they get very little of it, and the temperatures are moderate year round.  They also have a substantial native population whom they call the First people or the First Nation.  They have universal health care, something you won't get in the U S.  And the people seem to be far less prejudiced and bigoted than most folks in the states.  As an American I say move to Canada.  I would do so in a heartbeat if they would have me.

2016-07-29 23:30:54 (edited by afrim 2016-07-29 23:33:06)

@jonikster
Why would you want to hire a personal driver for you while you could use the public transport which is far cheaper.

I'd also like to immigrate to USA, but my preference is UK since I love its culture and language. Here the services for the blind are very poor and teachers at public schools or universities are not trained to work with blind students. Migrating to UK from a country which is not in the EU is very difficult so I'm not sure what to do. I might migrate after I graduate from the Faculty of Foreign Languages here in my city, and that might be after four years or so. Hopefully, I live in a city which has always been a cultural place known for its music, diverse traditions, sport, humour, photography and a lot more.
I lived in the capital of Albania for nine years where the special school for the blind was situated, and that place was incredibly horrible; very unfriendly people, very few services for the blind community, and after all a crazily noisy city.
When I came back (hopefully) to my birthplace, I noticed a striking difference in terms of respect and friendliness towards blind people. I was never discriminated for the simple reason of being blind, being completely different from the capital where I was offended once or twice or thrice from people on the street. It was totally awful to see mature people react towards blind children in that unhuman way. So incredible to think about, knowing that they call it a civilised city, deserving to be a European one. But I wouldn't live there even if I was given all the property of that BS place.

2016-07-30 00:44:48 (edited by TJT1234 2016-07-30 00:57:06)

I know that you're looking for places to live in the United States, but I would seriously recommend that you consider Australia as well. Here are some reasons for why Australia--in my opinion--is a good place to live if you have a vision impairment. I am going to be focusing on Sydney because that is the city in which I live, but most of what I say applies to other cities and towns. If you want any more information, either ask me or check Wikipedia.

1. Climate: In Sydney, you can expect many sunny days throughout the year with only a little rain. This is echoed throughout most of Australia. We have some deserts which, as you may have guessed, receive no rain or extremely little of it. In winter, our daily average temperature is somewhere around 17°C, and in summer, our temperature average is in the high twenties. This being said, some days are definitely colder or hotter than other days, and we do sometimes have rain and thunderstorms. Sydney seems to have a fair amount of wind. It should also be noted that the Australian sun is very fierce compared to how it feels in other countries. In summer, being outside without sunscreen is a recipe for a lot of sunburn. There is no snow in Sydney, though there is snow in Australia, although definitely not as much as you would find in other countries.

2. Public transportation and getting around: This is where Sydney wins against many other countries. Here is a list of the more common forms of public transportation that I can think of that have extremely good service in Sydney:
- Buses
- Trains
- Ferries
- Light rail
- taxis
- Uber.
Buses, trains, ferries and light rail are all free to people with vision impairment. Trains and light rail have audible announcements of train stops. Buses, trains, ferries and light rail also have very accessible ways of checking what times transport will arrive and organising transport routes. And if you're struggling, you can call a telephone number and a human will help you to find the best transportation to get from one place to the other. Taxis are half-price to people with vision impairment, and Uber is already much less expensive than taxis, much to the annoyance of taxi drivers. I am not sure of the specifics, but to my knowledge, similar forms of public transport exist in other Australian towns and cities. Very recently, braille and tactile print signs have been introduced to assist people who cannot read normal print signs to know where they are. We also have audio-tactile traffic lights throughout Australia.

3. Services for the blind: Australia offers some very high-quality services for the blind. These are fairly similar to what you would find in most other developed countries, so I won't go into too much detail. I will mention that a new system is being rolled out across Australia that gives people with disabilities access to more individualised services and technology to help them. Much of this is free of charge to clients. If you are blind and between the ages of sixteen and sixty-four, you are entitled to a payment because of your blindness. Blind people who attend school attend mainstream schools with support from itinerant teachers; people who attend schools for the blind are generally blind people with additional disabilities.

4. Multicultural community: Australia has one of the largest multicultural communities in the world, and we are always welcoming new immigrants. Australia has the second-highest Human Development Index in the world, and many of our cities are in the top ten for the best cities in the world.

2016-07-30 01:44:00

No!
Since my childhood I love the United States, and I will not betray the United States!
In Canada, if I'm blind, I can not pass a medical examination.
In the US, people are very kind.
In the US, a lot of people live in houses rather than apartments.
In the US, people do not laugh at others.

2016-07-30 02:41:48

I agree that the United States is a very nice country. Both times I went there on vacation, I enjoyed it. However, a lot of the things that you are looking for can be found in other countries. Of course, the city that you live in dictates what kind of housing will be more common, but you can find kind people who do not laugh at other people in almost any part of the world. People generally have more positive attitudes to people with disabilities in developed countries, though. I'm not saying that you shouldn't live in the States; I am just saying that you should not always believe the stereotypes of countries and that you really should look around for the best place for you.

2016-07-30 03:05:23

Besides, if Trump gets elected president, you probably really won't be getting into the states, anyway. :d

When life gives you oranges, demand lemons since everyone else is obviously getting them.

2016-07-30 13:48:17

In the US, people are very kind.

From what I hear, people from the coastal regions are always struck by how friendly people are in the south.

In the US, a lot of people live in houses rather than apartments.

This is true. Again, not so much in the bigger cities, though.
Also, the housing market has done some very strange things in the past few years. Sure, more people live in houses, but unless you know someone who will offer you a place to stay, you'd almost certainly need a few years to afford one. It's not impossible to do it sooner, if you live in a cheaper area with lots of available space, and have enough financial security and credit history to get a good loan. My sister built her first house when she was 20, but my father is an electrician who knows lots of people in the construction business, and who has a curiously easy time of finding jobs for family at his company. In spite of all that, everyone agrees it was a very risky thing to do without having had time to build up much savings.
Oh, and you know how I complain about mosquitoes all the time? The first time I went to my sister's house is also the first time that I heard a real, cartoonish out-of-tune-orchestra swarm of blood-sucking doom.

In the US, people do not laugh at others.

Oh, they do that all the time. Just not at disabled people. Well, some people do. Some people do and then make sure to lament that they're going to Hell for it. (The going-to-Hell lament is practically obligatory if a comedian wants to make a joke involving disability!) People are still slamming Donald Trump for apparently making fun of a disabled guy (I don't know what happened. This election is terrifying and I am hiding in Louisiana until it is over. tongue ).
I suppose it might be worse in other countries. After all, the complaints around here are more about being treated as helpless or incompetent or in need of constant pity, rather than mockery. I've heard of a few places that come close to the sorts of things that Afrim has described; just a couple days ago, I heard someone refer to those sorts of places as "Happy Homes for the Blind". The "Happy" is meant disparagingly. However, these "Happy Homes" don't seem to be so well-known outside of their local areas (and the NFB, who meticulously keeps track of everything there is to be offended over), so far as I can tell.

看過來!
"If you want utopia but reality gives you Lovecraft, you don't give up, you carve your utopia out of the corpses of dead gods."
MaxAngor wrote:
    George... Don't do that.

2016-07-30 13:51:00

@jonicster, "Not the good life in Britain?" I'm not actually sure what you mean by that.

About the Us, Pencilvania where I am currently is pretty dam hot, but also very spread out and difficult for navigation. I will say people and culture here are more extravert generally and I will agree that usually you do tend to find people are prepared to chat and be overly accepting. In particular, I'm quite surprised how obliging normal service workers are over here, no sullen weighters or bar tenders or the like, then again new York wasn't like that so I suspect that varies across the united states.
I also like the fact that a lot of things here are rather cheaper and a lot of stuff you can buy, from pizza to coffee is pretty higher quality, albeit you have to avoid junk food.
About housing, houses here in pencilvania are huge and have lovely grounds, all rass and trees and rivers, however in big cities apartments do exist and are literally tiny, far smaller than you'd find in london or bermingham or any other cities with very high rent and crime.

Nice as people are though, I do notice the culture is also quite a bit more polarized on a lot of issues, for example political debates here about which party is best are almost like wars, anyone who is dark skinned tends to be perceived as "black!" with a capital black, gender relations are often more polarized, the guys go and hunt and shoot and do sport and the women talk about ladies things (one reason my wife as a girl who loves sf and fantasy literature was a bit of an odd bod), and in general a lot of the attitudes are somewhat insula and lacking in experience, both in terms of religion and in terms of perceptions of other cultures. I was for example slightly appauled when my lady's brother in law, a very gentle and otherwise quite relaxed man referd to a couple of local muslims as rug heads" quite casually, (and my lady's parent's attitudes towards trump are frankly a little scary).

I'll also say the hole health insurance thing over here is something that I find quite appauling having grown up in a country with nationalized health care, hearing someone in pain deciding whether or not to go to the doctor is just plane nasty.

Apparently that sort of polarization gets far worse in different bits of the states, a friend of mine who works for an American company but has a slightly arabic appearence (even though he's as English as Prince Charlse), has freely been told in places like Yutaar that he is going to hell, has been accused of being a terrorist, and has had people honestly believe they are gods chosen and that the rest of the world is full of demons and devils, ---- that frankly sounds a bit scary and I'm glad pencilvania is rather more moderate than that.
I also think the job and labour situation in the states is a bit loopy, at least my lady has relations who literally work 7 days a week, and I have no idea what getting a job over here is like even assuming you want one, though that seems pretty difficult all over the world, still the amount of hours people work in the states even for a standard wage does seem pretty excessive for a first world country.

As to Britain, it depends upon the part and what you get involved with, like most everywhere. I will say that transport and getting around is far easier, tactile markers and audio announcements on all crossings and at least a percentage of busses, as well as all underground trains and all regular trains as well, plus an ability to book assistance and get someone to point you in a direction from one transit to another through rail, even in huge stations like St. Pancrus. I'll say that is one aspect which is a little more problematic in the states, or at least it has been on the busses and planes I've seen thus far, while it's possible to arrange assistance it often takes political wangling rather than there being an existing system in place for things.

to conclude this rantt, I don't dislike america, albeit I do miss accessible money and electric kettles big_smile. I was quite prepared to emigrate here, albeit I told my lady I'd have been quite happy living the kongo, in north korea, or on the moon if that would be what it would take to be with her big_smile.
Still America isn't a bad place, albeit there are certain attitudes, particularly the frequent insularity, polarization on many topics and often a symplistic world view that I find a trifle urcsome, albeit there are lots of good people as well, even if I do sometimes feel I'm tiptoing around my lady's parents and having to hide the fact that their daughter has married a liberal commy who isn't! a die hard republican, absolutely against abortion  or a fan of Donald Trump, though in fairness they're quite aware their daughter isn't either big_smile.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)

2016-07-30 15:07:29 (edited by Socheat 2016-07-30 15:08:58)

Speaking of friendly people, People in Australia are also friendly and helpful... I would consider Australia in the future myself smile .
I know a few people in Australia, and they seems nice. I have lots of friends in there.

2016-07-30 15:26:02

CAE_Jones, In the US, easier to move. There is a chance to win the lottery Green Card. In other countries, need a visa. And it will be available if I study or work in the countryCAE_Jones.
People are kind if:
1. In the state of little migrants;
2. A lot of white people.
I'll choose between Texas and Florida.

2016-07-30 15:34:22

If you compare with the Ukraine, the USA is the best place.
That's what life in Ukraine and Russia
1. If you are a person with disabilities, it will laugh at you and insult you;
2. You can not take a university or a job just because you are a person with disabilities;
3. In the Ukraine and Russia, a lot of corruption;
4. In the Ukraine and Russia there is no room for large families.

2016-07-30 16:46:09

Jonicster, while I'd not disagree on what attittudes towards disabled people are like in Russia or the Ukraine never having visited either place myself, be careful not to assume that everything is rosy somewhere else just because it is elsewhere. 
My lady has occasionally experienced less good attitudes in The States, and I get the strong impression from people I've met that immigrants from none English speaking countries don't have the best time either, also university in America is uba! expensive even if you can get a place.

This isn't as a putoff, just mentioning that it's probably a good idea to actually go and live in the states temporarily before emmigrating, and I mean "live!" not just stay in a hotel for a week, also make sure you have a job, university course or something else to do over there before committing yourself, finding a place to live etc.


Btw, I find it odd what you say about Russia and the Ukraine not encouraging big families if that is what you want, because a good friend of mine is half Russian, half Ukrainian and her grandmother is constantly trying to get her to have lots of grandchildren, ---- quite amusing given that she is %100 not! child orientated.

Of course, that sort of thing really depends upon you and what your husband/wife wants as well, though again it's not something to rush into, since even one child takes a huge amount of work and commitment. It's certainly possible to be a blind paret, my mum managed it rather well as did her mum before her, but it's not something to begin on unless your absolutely certain of what you and your other half are doing.

With our dreaming and singing, Ceaseless and sorrowless we! The glory about us clinging Of the glorious futures we see,
Our souls with high music ringing; O men! It must ever be
That we dwell in our dreaming and singing, A little apart from ye. (Arthur O'Shaughnessy 1873.)

2016-07-30 17:38:30

If you're choosing between Texas and Florida, I am confident that most everyone will say that Texas is the better choice. Based on what I know about the two, I can't really decide, myself.
But everyone who lives in Texas at any point seems to talk about how great Texas is. Everyone from Florida seems to talk about how Lovecraftian Florida is. I've also heard bad things about one of the major Florida colleges, in terms of how they deal with blind students.

And Dark is on point with all the cultural comments. Especially the scary ones. However, it's apparently pretty easy to insulate one's self in a cultural bubble (Disclaimer: do not do this. it only brings civilization closer to collapse), these days.

看過來!
"If you want utopia but reality gives you Lovecraft, you don't give up, you carve your utopia out of the corpses of dead gods."
MaxAngor wrote:
    George... Don't do that.

2016-07-30 18:51:03

Yes, most likely, it will be Texas.
I was already in the United States. but I did not know English and I was 8 years old.