From evangelism to buying used cars, America offers a lot to new immigrants.

I arrived here in the Fall of 2,000 on the cheapest flight available from India. As I adapted to life here, my wife and kid joined me. This meant getting a car. I couldn’t afford a new one, so an experienced immigrant offered to help with the buying process. Within weeks, a fairly novice immigrant had already sold me  a car for $4,500, an old Honda Accord that he claimed would run for another 10 years. In less than a year, I had to donate the car to charity.

Little did I know anything about cars or used car salesmen. The immigrant here gets preyed upon by another immigrant, especially if you claim you are more educated than the rest. My education didn’t help, neither did my thinking.

I trusted another immigrant blindly, who led me to yet another one who wanted to make some money. So, if you are a new immigrant and if you want to buy a car, do your research well. The first rule is not to listen completely to what your fellow immigrant friends tell you.

America is a land of options, not opportunities. You can buy a car, or not buy one, be legal or illegal, trust an immigrant or not trust one, live in a state that sells pot or another that doesn’t sell pot. So, look at options, not opportunities!

(300 words or less. 239 words)