Single Women Staying Away From Family

Dear op, i have been in such situations quite a number of times, let it by my car doing 360 degrees turns on the major highway, car flat tyre in an unknown city, while i was moving from one city to another in the middle of the night, having a dead car battery in the boston cold winters, having fire broke out in the apartment building(not mine, but one of the apartments in the building) because of which had to live in without light and water for a week, when i had no car or friends around, having to walk out of house because of a mentally abusive roommate within in a very short notice of a day.. man now that i think of it i have had so many bitter experiences while i was in USA. but nonetheless, it has made me stronger and more prepared to face any kind of situation while i was away from my family. This was even before i was married, and just out of college, venturing out jobs as a fresher.

As others have suggested, having a social circle is always good. I am social as well, but i really do not like asking help unless its something that i cannot figure out. wierd but, could not change it, if i had, my life would have been little easier. So please take this as a worst case scenario. my lessons from the experiences that i faced are:

1) if you travel by car, please keep that well conditioned
2) Subscribe for AAA, so that they come and get you if you are stuck somewhere unknown because of any problem wiht your car. Trust me, i consider them my best buddies, they are near your with in 15 mins and you wont even feel stranded. excellent service and all it costs is max 100 bucks an year. Every year this is one thing i religiously renew.
3) Keep all the importnat numbers( office HR, Office building contact info if any, AAA toll free number, membership numbers, close co-workers numbers, Apartment Leasing office number, Car insurance office number saved in phone and also in a written format somewhere in your glove box)
4) Have data plan available on your phone.
5) Do not hesitate to call 911 if its needed.
6) These days you have uber services, so you could reach home safely in any worst case scenario(provided you have internet)
7) Keep your phone charged and keep a car charger as well
8) Keep money and keys and phone on you all the time, even your are stepping out of the building for the silliest reason . Put some money in the car as well.
9) Extra cautious of your surroundings when you are staying late, and alone in the office. Ask emergency numbers and if have a chance discuss working late scenarios wiht your HR(This is easy, if your office is a small size to a mid size company)
10) remember by heart atleast one number by heart(Super worst case scenario, where you dont have access to your phone or the car)

Always your safety first!

Good Luck!

 

@iliketotravel : super useful article

 

Other responders have provided a good checklist. In addition to already said above:

"I do not venture out outside of normal hours (6 am - 11 pm). Over the years, the more I see, hear and read, I have come to the realization that MOST BAD THINGS happen outside of these hours.

Unfortunately, whether we want to accept this or not, if we pay attention and read in between the lines, many of these bad things are also because of wrong choices people make. If I make an attempt to do everything right to the best of my ability and yet something bad still happens to me, it is my fate. At least I won't have the "If only had I not....." regrets.

DUI, sexual assaults, mugging, robberies happen early hours of morning or late hours of night.

Resources are limited outside these hours.

Even if I have friends/family to count on, I do not want to be in a position where I want to disturb someone in the middle of the night because it was my choice to hang out late or return from a movie at 1:30 am.

By choice, I have not taken up a job that would require travel or on-call outside normal business hours.

I stopped being paranoid about being stranded somewhere out of reach for I have realized that anybody in this world can be without noticing that I have gone missing but my manager will hunt me down! This is the reality of American work culture where fortunately/unfortunately, the first people to check on you if missing from work for a day is your manager!

 

Nothing will happen. Be bold and rest will follow. You cannot have back up arrangement where ever you go. Gain confidence girl. You can.