Nigerian Girl in America: The Biggest USA Culture Shocks I Wasn’t Ready For

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Living in Nigeria for America will humble you in the most unexpected ways.

[00:00:06]Because why did nobody warn me that adulthood here feels like a full-time subscription service?

[00:00:12]Living in America as a Nigerian genuinely comes with so many big and little culture shocks that nobody fully prepares you for. That is why in today's video I'll be exposing a few that I have personally experienced. This is actually a sequel to the first part of this video I posted sometime last year when I visited.

[00:00:32]>> [music] >> Hey y'all, Chantel here. Welcome or welcome back to my channel. If you're seeing me for the first time, I'm Chantel, the creator of this channel.

[00:00:44]Thank you for joining today. I know that you like what you see already. So let me know by clicking on that subscribe button and the bell icon next to you. So whenever I post, you'll be one of the first to get the notification. Also, if you enjoy watching, leave a comment, give the video a thumbs up, and share with your family and your friends. This video is going to be so relatable, so I'm sure you will enjoy watching. All right, thank you. Number one, one thing that shocked me immediately, Americans are busy busy. And when I say Americans, I mean both Nigerians and other people living in America. Back home in Nigeria, there's always movement. People stopping by, neighbors talking, family is always around, friends are randomly visiting you. Here, you need appointment for human interaction. You'll try to see somebody and they'll say, "How is weekend at 6:15 p.m.?" What's going on?

[00:01:31]Meanwhile, in my dear Nigeria, your friend is already at your gate telling you, "Come out." Honestly, it can feel lonely at first because life here is very individualistic compared to Nigeria. Even for someone like me that enjoys her company, it is very weird.

[00:01:47]Culture shock number two, everything is far. Especially in this Houston. I don't know of other states. Oh, yeah.

[00:01:56]Nobody warns you about the distance from your house to wherever you're going to.

[00:02:00]Why is everything from 20 minutes and above away? Residents here, let me know in the comments. Why? Why? Why? Why?

[00:02:06]Why?

[00:02:07]You want groceries? Drive or Uber. You want to go to the gym? Drive or Uber.

[00:02:12]Nails? Drive or Uber. You even just want to pick up a few things and just head home? Drive or Uber. In Nigeria, there's usually life happening around you. You want to make stew or soup? You can just go to the street vendor to get what you want. Even in the UK, you have the high street close to every area. So, you don't need to go that far to get what you want. But here, hm, if you don't have money for Uber or you don't have a car to get you from point A to B or someone to drive you, for lack of better words, you'll just hate coming here. To be honest, it's a lot. Having a car here genuinely feels like survival. It's a need, not a want. Mhm. Culture shock number three, you automatically become the helpful person back home. Now, let's talk about something every Nigerian abroad understands. The moment people know you're in America, somehow, you become customer service. Please, can you help me with this quickly? I beg, I need urgent support. It's my birthday next week. Please, don't forget my gift, though. You know what they mean already.

[00:03:12]Sending money back home becomes part of your routine as a Nigerian living abroad. Because we are naturally communal, which is why I always advise using Sendwave. Because if you're supporting family back home, you need something that's simple, stress-free, and offers great rates. What I really love about Sendwave is that you can send money directly from your phone to the recipient's Nigerian bank account without unnecessary stress or complicated processes. Convenience matters a lot when you already have enough things to figure out living abroad. One new feature Sendwave recently introduced that I think is so smart is called the send to wallet feature. With send to wallet, you can send dollars directly to someone's wallet and they receive digital dollars, which is redeemable one-to-one ratio with USD. What makes this really cool is that the value stays the same. When you send one USD, the recipient receives the full value of one USD. So, if you send $1, they receive one digital dollar. You send $100, they receive $100 digital dollars and so on and so forth. No confusing conversion drama, no surprise deductions as well. The part of the send to wallet feature I absolutely think is genius is the flexibility it affords the receiver. Instead of being forced to convert immediately, they can choose when they want to convert their digital dollars into local currency depending on the exchange rate at the time. And as Nigerians, we already know how much rates fluctuate. So, I think having that level of control is really, really useful. It just makes the whole experience feel a lot more convenient and stress-free for both parties. So, if you're Nigerian in America and you regularly send money home, then check out Sendwave. All first-time users get a $10 credit when they use my code Chantal10 on transfers $10 and above.

[00:05:03]You're welcome. Culture shock number four. The cost of living is insane. I've always known America was expensive, but I did not know it was this expensive.

[00:05:13]Why are people paying for Wi-Fi, parking in the malls, taking out your trash, electricity, gas, water, cutting grass?

[00:05:24]I know here in Nigeria we have bills, but we don't pay for water.

[00:05:28]Okay, some people in some states pay, but for the most part, we don't pay for water.

[00:05:33]We buy our own gas and we can regulate usage. But here, everything just has one hidden charge or the other and everything is taxable. Nigeria is trying to introduce that now, but we're we're still far, far behind. Here, you will have insurance, buy first insurance, delivery fees, subscription fees. At some point, they should start charging people for breathing the air in America.

[00:05:56]Then, my Nigerian brain starts converting everything to Naira. I buy one casual item and suddenly realize, "Ah, ah, this thing is almost 100,000 Naira." Just like that. I know people say when you stay here for a while, you don't do that anymore, but I'm just talking from my own experience, my real-time experience. And don't even get me started on grocery prices.

[00:06:17]>> [laughter] >> Thankfully, in Houston, food is not taxed, but even though even though >> [laughter] >> at some point, you stop shopping for vibes and start shopping strategically.

[00:06:29]What I do now is buying store-made brands instead of the external parties.

[00:06:34]So, if it's, let's say for instance, peanut butter, I'll buy the one that HEB made, not the one from TRS or I can't I can't remember the brand. You just save some coins here and there. Culture shock number five, which is the last point in this video. You miss Nigeria in random moments. One thing nobody tells you is how randomly homesickness hits. It can be from something small like hearing Afrobeats in public, seeing somebody wearing Ankara, smelling jollof rice, or even hearing Nigerian accent unexpectedly. When you run into somebody and they're talking to another and hear that accent, you're like, "Ah, this is my person. Oh, we're from the same place." And suddenly, you get emotional for no reason.

[00:07:16]>> [laughter] >> Weirdly enough, even though a lot of people hate to admit it, living abroad makes you appreciate Nigeria a lot more.

[00:07:24]I know someone in the comments who say, "But they have Nigerian or African stores." Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:07:28]If you know B Panadol, you no fit be Panadol.

[00:07:32]seller >> [laughter] >> Living in America as a Nigerian is honestly such a layered experience. It's exciting, stressful, funny, lonely sometimes, but one thing that remains is the fact that it is transformative. I know for a fact that every Nigerian abroad has at least one culture shock that still makes them laugh till date.

[00:07:51]So, share yours in the comment section.

[00:07:53]What culture shock hit you the hardest after moving to America or abroad in general? And if you enjoyed watching this video, don't forget to like, subscribe, join the Sisi Al Nation fam if you're not yet a certified member.

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[00:08:36]>> [music] >> Fashion, lifestyle, let's do it. I'm Sisi Al and