washyour hands in the u s of a

Murphy

cat malogen
Family mainly but as a range of places to visit and hustle with genuine interest? Through a lass, initially, a lily from south Philly on a student exchange
 

luka

Well-known member
how long were you there? did you get bored of you straight away or was there a honeymoon period
 

Murphy

cat malogen
Off and on about 10 years, pure diaspora Irish - Boston to Philadelphia, Baltimore and DC

i95 corridor still has pieces of my soul embedded in it
 

Murphy

cat malogen
Hospitality, grocery distribution from farm pick ups, yard work

No honeymoon period you go straight into grafting mode and it is a relatively piece of piss country to assimilate into, tricky visa system compounded by 9/11 though
 

Murphy

cat malogen
Eg: do a job, the man offers a cheque and looks good for it, give the cheque to your other half with a signature and they debit it to their account there and then

The culture to earn is unparalleled and as grim as it sounds you’re not latino so you get accent bonus points
 

Murphy

cat malogen
Black tie buffets in DC, city of embassies, $400 cash plus tips in 1995

Before Craigslist but when it did finally appear it got even easier to graft, eg using removal vans for haulage but piggybacking matters best left out
 

0bleak

Well-known member
No honeymoon period you go straight into grafting mode and it is a relatively piece of piss country to assimilate into, tricky visa system compounded by 9/11 though

Everything fell apart after 9/11 including culturally with good music scenes - and then the rise of electroclash and mnml :(
 

Murphy

cat malogen
Aye visa runs - Buffalo mostly, straight shot, stay in Canada over a week visiting aunts and then you’re as good as new

if you flew back home after 9/11 fuckin mare, Dulles especially, biggest bunch of cunts ever in there but architecturally it is a gift to the eyes
 

Murphy

cat malogen
AAA baseball first ever July 4th in the seating area, tannoy system crackles in baritone “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, arise for the national anthem of the UNITED STATES OF MERRRRRKA”

and everyone stood up instantly in a formulated choreographed group move you never quite see coming, immediately incurring Dixie wrath, “hey douchebag get the fuck up”, oops

they love booze, you can see the Northern European imprint immediately
 

Murphy

cat malogen
You meet other immigrants in a way, how can I put this, if you’ve been labouring all day working your bollocks off nearly every culture you encounter will welcome you and feed you but don’t take kindness for weakness either - latinos, visa hoppers, 2nd generation Jewish emigres from WWII, Vietnamese and it was through Vietnamese-Americans running pho gaffs that finally got too close to heroin
 

Murphy

cat malogen
cash is king - I broke my leg and got an x-Ray with two months aftercare ++ because of disposable income

if you can save you can keep moving - city to city, city to country or coastal rest stop

I miss pizza by the slice and ridiculous summer humidity the most, ie three shower days
 

Murphy

cat malogen
Pre 9/11 you could fluff your visa by a week if you went back smart, say, holding a pram with a couple doing the same run

Post 9/11 and biometric passports, the Dept of Homeland Security crawling up your erse, different world and much more tough to cover your spread/outlay

America doesn’t seem to realise what it does have without recourse to Civil War film wank- a bounty at times, built on slavery and genocide no doubt, eg if you want bad dreams just linger round DC suburbs for a while
 

Murphy

cat malogen
10 days holiday a year

just 10 yet sold as a fortnight

imagine the British facing such a dilemma, half would move to Ireland or France immediately
 

Murphy

cat malogen
Eating out cultures provided a raft of work opportunities for scum like me, that’s another point

It was so alien and so much fun, logistics and baking heat always moving

9:30 Club, The Shelter, transcending venues in very different cities. I remember Obama’s inauguration, Alexandria was dead, easiest run to Dulles ever
 
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