Without meaning to sound like a...

As a Brit never motioning abroad futher than spain (U.K larger-lout capital of Europe) can any of you either...
A) Tell me an honest opinion of the States
OR
B) Present me a url with an honest overview of life over there?

way better food.
way better weather.
cheaper than london.
everyone talks funny (think dukes of hazzard).
we call football soccer and dont pay attention to it.
the beer is cold.
you have to tip well but the bartender will set you up in return.

I've only been to the US a few times, mostly along the west coast (Washington, Oregon, California). Can't say the people were much different than those that I'm used to from Canada. Generaly nice, a few assholes. Got some stupid comments/questions about being from Canada eh.
The only thing that pissed me off was the beer that they were serving came in pitchers filled with ice. Like what the hell. Maybe I went to the wrong place to drink beer

I would say in a way, being as I have never been outside hte U.S.
That it's prolly everything you have ever heard about, at the same time.
In my limited xp I have found that life/living in the states, really very's alot "in feel" from state to state, city to city.
Yet you will find common things everywhere.
just don't go to helena montana whatever you do don't go

:g /^Yet/ s/f/w/

[Edited on Jun 20, 2003 by lindex]

We just got back from London a bit ago - my first time t here, and it seems to me that UK & US are exactly the same generic types of people. (UK & US = London & New York)

My husband said as we sped across Czech Rep in a sleeper car, "Honey, look! You're home in Johnstown, Pennsylvania!" Felt exactly the same.

Lessee. Life stateside. I've heard that the defining moment of living in America is when someone askes you 'Would you like your eggs fried, scrambled, or sunny side up? okay, and do you want toast or a buiscut? White wheat toast? and what kind of syrup do you want for your pancakes? we have maple, apple, strawberry, and blueberry." Apparently our diners just have more options than overseas diners.

Heh heheh....

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html

I thank you all

america is the most ass kickinest county in the world!

i think America kicks ass, new york and boston are great as is everywhere else i went, the only drawback is that women from New Hampshire who thought my home town was a ficticious place in a Jane Austin novel, she wouldn't believe me and thought i was just trying to take the piss.

A lot of red tape
A lot of guns
A lot of corruption
A lot of redeeming people
A lot of ignorance
A lot of brillance

For every bad thing there is a good thing, and there are plenty of bad things.


[Edited on Jun 23, 2003 by Caffeine]

hm. a big, big, BIG thing i've noticed different between europe & the states (including my trip to london recently, so i'm thinking this is a valid comparison):

clerks in the US are very nosey.

since i left the states i have yet to have a cashier ask me about my personal life... in the US it's normal -even in the large department stores- for clerks to ask you:

1) how you're doing?
2) (when buying anything remotely child-oriented: cereal, balloons, bean bag chair, you name it) so, you have kids? or how many kids do you have??

and my personal joy-maker over this difference now that i'm not in the US, #2 always leads to:

me: no. *smile politely*
them: oh, not long then.. how many do you want?
me: none, i've decided not to *still smiling politely*
them: oh, you'll change your mind.

at this point i become irritated, but still polite & it slowly escalates into a bit of ultra-polite ugliness. -or just the cashier full out yelling at me that i'm going to have kids.

thank god i'm in germany. i haven't had to put up with that ONCE in the past 7 or so mnths i've been here... in the US, those kinds of personal questions happen almost every day when you go to the grocery store... no matter in what part of the country you are.

-oh, and in the US most people think that this is perfectly ok behavior on the clerks part and any irritation is the fault of the person they're harassing.

god, that's a relief to not get that all the time now.....

sorry if that sounded like a rant, it wasn't. just had to give an example of how bizarrely nosey people who don't know you at all get when ringing up your items... 5min of standing across a counter & they try to get your personal life story...

Boy, that isn't a problem here in Kansas City. I'm lucky to get 2 words out of the grocery store cashier, and that includes them telling me what I owe!

I've found through my travels that where you are tends to flavour your general attitude. Suburbanites and rural people tend to have different outlooks on lots of stuff than Urbanites. In Missouri's last major election the state was evenly divided in its voting, St Louis and Kansas City went one way, the rest of the state went the other. City folk tend to be willing to pry a bit more, but rural folk seem to actually be more judgemental. Life is less expensive the further away from the coast that you get.
Some points for the US over the UK:
We have better showers.
We have better food.
Roundabouts are almost unheard of.
We invented cars, don't tell us what side of the road to drive on!

We got guns, beer, and loud pickup trucks. We trully are the best country in the world.

I'll let you know as soon as my parents let me out of this basement. see, that stuff's legal here.
however, through the cracks in the floorboards i can see what appears to be a blue sky through a window. this implies we have more clear sky days.

people on the east coast tend to be a bit more rude and quick with the insults, where as people on the west coast seem to be more self absorbed and snobbish. people in the middle lean more towards the "i judge everything that isn't like me"

granted this isn't true for everyone, but for the general population this is the vibe i get from everyone from everywhere i've been.

granted there's some awefully nice folks, and not everyone is a stupid hi-fiving yahoo that drinks piss beer drives a big truck does pilates and puts everything on their credit card.

some of us drink malt liquor, walk everywhere cos we don't have a car (or borrow their girlfriends) and never carry around cash cos we're broke all the time... real salt of the earth types.

The US = Jerry Springer and Cops
The UK = Fawlty Towers and AbFab
Canada = Kids in the hall and that one Monty Python skit, you know : "I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay..."

And halleluyah!

I'm from the US but I moved to Europe about three years ago. The big difference for me has been the convienences of America. Business hours are longer, lines are shorter, gas is cheaper. But you lose a lot of authenticity when you go to the US. A lot of things are chains, mass produced, cookie cutter clothing stores. Of course it all depends upon where you go and how hard you look.

Americans can be more friendly and outgoing than the locals here. America has bigger roads, better drivers, and cooler cars (most of the time.) We have a lot more diversity than your smaller Euro cities, food, clubs, people. Also, having an English accent will certainly get you friends and possibly laid with little effort on your part.

They both have their good and bad points. My advice when traveling the states is to avoid the fast food, stick to the cities, and enjoy the conversation.

Ha, fucking roundabouts. I was so amazed with these when I first got here. My question has always been, why do they get into the left lane just to get off on the next exit?

My Mother was born in England.
She came to New York when she was 11.
Her and my uncles had this idea in their head that life in America was going to be JUST like the television show Bonanza. Boy were they wrong (coming to New York anyway)

but if yr gonna come here, dont call cigarettes "fags" ... my grandmother did that when they first came here. she asked a police officer in NYC "where do they sell fags".
heh.

[Edited on Jun 23, 2003 by RxQueen]

Yeah, I know what you mean...I lived in D-land for a few years. You don't typically have to engage in a continual stream of mindless banter when you go out to do your Saturday errands. But sometimes, a little of that neighborly chat is okay sometimes even nice, as long as the clerk/waiter isn't being obnoxious about it.

Tthe Germans sometimes take their "we're-not-superficial" attitude a little too far.

Like they say...IMHO.

Actually, I think you're supposed to get in the left lane when turning left or going straight, to let other people making right turns use the right lane without obstruction.
Of course, reverse all this when in the UK.

Not that I have a drivers liscense...

Neil Gaiman, on the "audacity" of an Englishman writing about America.

I can tell you one thing, with an english accent -- if you're at least decent looking -- you're guaranteed to get some action.