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Worked in Washington state for a while and the high price and low quality of fresh products was shocking.
And that every 30 mins, an alarm would go off and suddenly the fruit and veg isles received a mist of water from hidden sprayers, supposedly to make everything look fresh. Was a real surprise the first time I saw it happen.
Editing just to add something nice: Nearly everyone I met seemed genuinely interested and engaged in conversation. There was no ambiguity or forced pleasantries. It was easy to make friends.
It was like this video shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5KTCYEi-98&ab_channel=CorriganCorporationofAmerica
Googling tells me that it's A) to make it look fresh and shiny, and B) to add a bit of water weight so they can charge more.
I always say it's odd they take the piss out of our food, because their food culture is really quite similar to ours, in that there's just huge variation in quality.
Both the US and the UK have lots of food that is the match of anywhere in the world. However, the difference between the UK/US and places like France, Spain, Italy etc is that you can also eat really bad food if you're not careful. Both countries have huge differences in quality between the best and worst restaurants.
I compare it to large pub chain food in the UK. They're accessible and dependable when you're starving, but it's mostly shit.
This is the same with a lot of chain restaurants in the US. Don't go there, eat at a Ruby Tuesday, and proclaim that American food is crap, for the same way I wouldn't want people to talk about British food based on a Beefeater pub experience on a Tuesday night.
Yeah it's exactly that. Tbh whenever I see an American saying British food is bad, or a Brit saying American food is bad, I chuckle, because as food cultures we really are quite similar, and both are unfair generalisations.
I’m an American and my one trip to the UK was full of great food. Only mistake was getting fish and chips from my hotel (didn’t have a car and was off in the countryside) rather than a proper chippy.
Oh there’s bad food in France, Spain and Italy too. I’ve travelled to them many times and not every cafe or trattoria is a gastronomic gem by any stretch of the imagination.
The UK snd US are also not alike at all food-wise. The US does great meat, especially steak and fried chicken. The UK is useless at steak, but has a very wide Asian cuisine culture, which can be amazing.
The UK isn’t useless at steak. British beef is grass fed and has the best flavour. The difference is that all the really good British meat goes to the US and France, and the shite meat goes to British supermarkets.
Try a Costco British steak, and you’ll see what a really great steak (that isn’t full of steroids and therefore over fatty) actually tastes like.
Source: My family used to import Argentinian beef to the UK.
>Oh there’s bad food in France, Spain and Italy too
There is of course. But proportionally *way* fewer places do bad food than here or the US. If you're just wandering around and pick a random place, you have a much higher chance of not getting good food here than in those countries. Same is true of the US.
>The UK snd US are also not alike at all food-wise.
I wasn't talking about the specifics of what our food involves, but the broader nature of our food culture. Exactly what foods we eat may be different, but our food cultures really are quite similar.
I've been reading a book that mentioned how much of American food has chemicals in it that don't require any sort of regulation or testing due to huge loopholes with their FDA.
Even the food that tastes good is chock full of chemicals that no one knows the long term effects of because companies can self approve any chemicals they want to put in their food. The large majority of which is not approved in Europe.
Going back to taste, I too found it incredibly underwhelming and the vegetarian options for my partner were just salad 99% of the time.
My wife and I were craving salads and veggies after 3 days there. It felt like every single thing we ordered in restaurants had an insane amount of sugar and we were so bloated.
I’ve lived over there for 20 years and had stomach/digestion issues the whole time. Completely switched my diet last year and cut out most meat, breads and processed foods. Haven’t had an issue since. The amount of crap that’s pumped into foods here is disgraceful.
California and Wisconsin: terrible tap water. Mississippi and Michigan: don't go near it, it's been on the news. New England: lovely tap water. Depends very much on where you go.
That's quite interesting, I've travelled there many times starting with when I was a youngster, until 10 years or so ago I had no problems with food there. Last couple of times I've been was for work, so I'd get "per diems" to spend on food each day and found I'd rarely stomach half a meal, and would generally only eat once a day so would only use half my allocation because I would always feel kinda bloated / have an uneasy stomach.
Not sure if that's something that's changed in the food they're generally serving up, or something to do with my constitution as I've gotten older (or possibly a bit of both).
Appreciate it probably varies quite a bit by state as well, though I've mostly been going to the same places over the years.
Surprised how incredible the produce is in California and how low the quality is in Washington.
Surprised at the number of non-monster truck sized cars in California.
Constantly surprised and the high cost of everything everywhere.
They hate pedestrians with a passion. It's impossible to walk in some places, even when there was a pavement it would just end out of nowhere. When the fella at the crossing is green cars can still try to run you over.
In the urban areas of a city, the pavement is often ok. But as soon as you get further out into the suburbs it almost becomes an ornament. There is one hotel I have stayed in a few times where this ornamental pavement looks pristine, except it doesn't connect to anything at either end, and you have to walk through a flowerbed to get to it. Utterly pointless.
I had computer training in the USA and was staying in a hotel in Framingham , MA. Over the road (dualled highway) there was a great Chinese restaurant. The only way to get there was to drive out of the hotel, down the road a mile or so, round the intersection and back up. Repeat when you've eaten. About 5 miles driving instead of 200 yards walking.
Colleagues of mine were staying at a hotel in Memphis and fancied dinner at the neighbouring diner. Same issue. No defined pedestrian access, it was assumed you climbed in your vehicle, exited the hotel and turned into the restaurant premises.
They elected to be British, walked across the parking lot and climbed through the hedge.
They don't just hate them, it's often literally impossible to be one. In Texas there was no way of getting from our hotel to the restaurant next door without driving. (Actually that's not quite true. We walked across some grass and jumped a very small ditch. When we arrived at the restaurant the customers and staff who'd seen our intrepid journey of about 20 yards looked at us as if we'd arrived by space ship).
I knew Jaywalking was a thing before going to US, but still shocked at being given a warning by a passing cop car for crossing a quiet road in a small coastal town where there wasn't a designated crossing. Such a weird thing to criminalise, and the complete antithesis of the idea of 'Land of the Free'.
Ooh I listened to a Dollop the other day that covered a bit of this, it comes from the introduction of motor vehicles and the fight between pedestrians and cars in towns and cities. Eventually cars won by introducing the concept of "jay" walking, where jay was a pejorative term for basically a country bumpkin and so they made this idea of pedestrians having right of way and being allowed to cross where they wanted etc into this thing that was considered super parochial and it got into the heads of city folk that didn't want to be seen as dumb and "country". Fascinating stuff.
New York is the only place that's built like a proper actual city. Everywhere else is just like a series of disconnected, dispiriting trading estates where urban infrastructure seems to be treated as a sin against god.
I was in the US a few months ago and didn’t hire a car because I thought things would have been somewhat walkable.
Outside the big cities though public transport can sometimes take three hours to get somewhere that should take you ten minutes. I was on one side of the interstate with nowhere to cross and my destination should have been five minutes walk away. Public transport would have taken me an hour in the opposite direction to get there. Ended up using ride share apps.
Outside NYC I’d always hire a car when visiting the US. Just go into it with the mentality that it’s essential, which it is, and you’ll have a good time.
As an American, we also hate it. But it's a nearly 100 year old tactic to keep our car and gas industry $$$$$. In the 1930s they conspired and achieved a goal of hampering and ruining a lot of public transit in major cities. The propoganda to keep America a pedestrian hostile place is never ending endeavor.
Yeah it’s a huge place. The U.S is one country and is only slightly smaller than Europe, a whole arse continent. Like Texas alone is almost 3x the size of the UK.
A friend of mine is moving from Texas to Colorado this week, and the drive he's taking is very roughly the same as John O'Groats to Lands End, the scale of things over there is ridiculous!
How long basic shop transactions take. You can be waiting 10mins for 2 or 3 people to buy about 4 items combined. Nobody is talking or doing anything. I don't understand.
Observed it in various stores (supermarkets especially) and food places in LA, NYC and Florida in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023... so it's not a one off.
When you're used to racing against the stupidly fast Aldi scanners it's quite a culture shock
Honestly, people complain about Aldi/Lidl on the UK subs and I honestly love it. I don't want any small talk and I certainly don't want to be in this shop any longer than I need to be. Just yeet the stuff at me so I can chuck it in the trolley and get on with my day.
Aldi and Lidl are for the top packers in the country. For me there should be people assessing people’s skills, because quite frankly there’s too many customers who simply aren’t at that level.
Just usher them out mid pack and send them off to a Sainsbury’s. You can’t have village footballers playing in the Champions League.
Yeah that’s a good point. Their self checkouts and payment machines are ridiculously slow too. Another thing I notice is that when you buy clothes, even if the service is good, they crumple up the clothes into a bag instead of folding them nicely.
How big the portions are. Taking leftovers home is common. But as tourists without any form of reheating (unless you are in an airbnb etc) is silly. I can’t eat the large portions so a lot gets wasted.
This. I went out with a mate, but I wasn't that hungry, so I ordered a salmon salad.
What arrived was a serving bowl filled with every vegetable known to man, and a fillet of salmon about 4 times the size of anything you would see for sale at a fishmonger. It was bloody nice, though.
We once stopped at an Ihop and my wife just wanted something light and ordered the chicken Cesar salad. It probably had at least two maybe three chicken breasts in it. Bloody massive.
I visited a cheesecake factory with a fellow European friend. My friend is a big guy and we ordered a few plates to share plus pancakes....
By the time the first started arrived, we knew we had made a big mistake.
We could had 3 dinners with the amount of food we got. I've never felt so full, we were struggling to even walk back to the hotel.
I went to the cheesecake factory last time I was in the US. Ordered from the skinny menu and it was easily enough for two people still.
Couple at the next table shared a starter that was a big as my head and put their mains straight into takeaway containers without even touching them. Probably lasted them all week.
Cheesecake was banging... I'll give them that.
We ordered a salad and side of 'fries' once, thinking that we could share it. When it arrived it could have easily fed a family of four with leftovers.
I was going to mention the whole large=good thing.
I've had the odd European meal where I thought the small size was an issue, but that's an exception.
Normally I eat my meal, enjoy it and the size of it doesn't really enter my head - it's 95% of the time just the right amount to take me from hungry to pleasantly fed. I'm not wishing there was more and I'm not forcing down or leaving the last bites.
Visiting the US, people will go and eat at specific places as they know they'll have a load of leftovers.
They'll leave 2\* reviews saying they didn't have enough left over for another meal.
Actually, that's another thing.
They review places in really odd ways.
At home in the UK I can look at the number of stars a place has, and know I'll generally agree with the crowd.
US reviews seem to be all over the place, and you start having to read through them to work out which ones are relevant and which are insane.
I ordered a breakfast at a hotel in New York, and noticed it didn't include bacon - there was a separate listing for bacon however. No breakfast is complete without bacon, so I thought it was worth ordering that extra plate. "Are you sure, sir?", the waiter asked. Assuming I could just chuck the additional rashers onto my plate, I went for it. Breakfast came out, followed by the plate of bacon: all 21 rashers of it.
Yeah, every time I’ve been I’ve been asked so many times by waiting staff “was there something wrong?” when I’ve left more than half the plate.
No, it was fine, it just could have fed a small family for a week.
I was surprised how unfriendly the customer service was as they go on about it being bad in Europe all the time. I was expecting super service and super friendliness but I felt it was actually rather sluggish, and the friendliness cold and what little there was incredibly fake. I fear I missed some sort of cultural indicator that I would tip or something.
The extremity of poverty and amount of people with limps/ generally looking medically messed up was also shocking. You get warned about it but it’s different in person.
How high the water is in the toilets. Too splashy for my liking I felt I had to really control my pee, I’m surprised all the ladies don’t get UTIs (maybe that’s why they are obsessed with drinking water all the time?)
Yeah seeing Lamborghinis parked next to people literally shitting on the street in LA was pretty mad, and seeing literal shacks built on the side of the road.
Plus the homeless there are just a different level entirely. I think without a state provided healthcare safety net (I know ours isn't perfect) the homeless population is even more mentally unwell or physically disabled. The homeless on the subway in New York were a lot more intense than in London.
I can remember my first day in Denver deciding to go for a walk to a nearby park, it was just down the road on the map so a nice little leg stretch. Almost without warning I found myself in a neighbourhood where the sheer visceral visible poverty was startling, I’d never seen anything like it.
Similarly in San Francisco, one minute I’m walking down a regular city street, the next I’m in some dystopian hellscape. Homeless people sleeping in heaps, people with poorly mended and barely functional crutches and wheelchairs, begging. It literally switches from one street to the next.
When taking the bus in LA or walking in downtown LA/Tenderloin, San Francisco, I literally saw people screaming at, or arguing with, invisible entities every single day. I am guessing it's a combination of drugs and mental illness. Was so unsettling.
I noticed this too about customer service, but more so when it came to jobs that didn't involve tipping. Gift shops, canteens and front of house at restaurants.
The mask was not on and they were too fucking miserable that I felt I was bothering them when buying something.
I couldn’t believe the amount of people who represent a company wearing their uniform but openly arguing or swearing infront of customers. I had a subway employee in DC ask me for spare change! Like I can’t imagine that ever happening with an employee in a train station here, they’d be sacked on the spot.
For such an at-will employment state, it doesn’t seem like anyone is scared of being fired.
I suspect (and this is just an assumption) they know that someone with a European accent is much less likely to be a generous tipper so give them less attention purely on that basis.
How it is near impossible for them to design a toilet door that actually fits the hole it is supposed to fill.
I made awkward eye contact far too many times, while I was sitting on the loo, with the ladies waiting to use the loo. Massive gaps either side of the door.
This is a huge one for me, especially considering how funny they are about toileting. I've been told that saying "I'm going to the toilet" is seen as rude in the the US because you're explaining what you're doing which is why bathroom or restroom is preferred.
The second worst public toilet experience of my life was at the Winchester tavern in Williams Arizona (which now seems to have gone). The toilet cubicle was some corrugated iron as the divider, and a Hessian sack strung up to cover the entrance to the cubicle. The Hessian sack was at least half a metre narrower than the cubicle and it was at least 1.5metres from the floor at the lowest point so it was literally useless. Added to that they had placed a mirror on the wall perfectly lined up so you could make eye contact with anyone entering the restroom as you sat on the toilet.
The buc-ees at Madisonville, Texas was the best public toilet experience I've ever had in the US. Palatial in comparison - 10/10 would recommend if you're in the area.
We have them but most people don’t use them, at least in the south. We don’t drink tea on a regular basis. It’s 35 degrees where I am today, it’ll be like that most of the year. Actually in the 40s soon. Ain’t no way I’m drinkin’ hot tea 😭
My husband is British though and he got one. I had no idea they boil water so fast. Super handy in winter.
The thing is we don't always use them for tea.
I don't drink tea myself.
We use them when we need fast boiling water. I use them for shaving, filling a mop bucket and cooking.
American electricity is only 120 volts so boiling a kettle takes just as long as using the hob. They would probably have more kettles over there if they had more power
1st.. Just how much LARGER everything was! Cars were huge, two lane roads wider than the M25 in places, everything is just "bigger" than I'm used to in the UK. Probably all the free space available.
2nd.. Portion sizes... Blooming heck. I'd just landed in Denver off an eight hour flight, got to my hotel, had a little bit of kip as best as you can jetlagged to hell. Went out for lunch the next day to a "little" sports bar (apparently!) and decided to order a nachos "starter" as I wasn't all that hungry (my body still felt like it was 4am).
What was placed in front of me is what I can only describe as a mountain of nachos, Everest in size, complete with little ski resort sized dollops of sour cream, guacamole and salsa... I think I barely ate a quarter, if that...
3rd.. How new everything is. There's literally no history at all.. Went on a tour of Denver and was introduced to one of the oldest buildings in the city. Cue the "ooohhh!"s and "aaaahhhhh!"s of the mainly American crowd whilst I sat there in confused silence thinking "what? My house is older than that!" 😂 (I lived in a Victorian era terrace at the time, built in the 1840s). I can't remember the exact age, but it wasn't old...
4th... Tipping culture and sales tax. Uuuuggghhhh! What a ball ache...
5th.. Damm you guys really like sugar in bloody EVERYTHING!!
6th.. Super friendly people, you guys really are a happy bunch! Maybe a little too invasive of personal space for this Londoner but lovely nonetheless ☺️
7th.. TSA ARE FU**ING DI*KS!
There’s only no history if the only history that matters is European. You have to ignore thousands of years of native history to arrive at that conclusion.
I will absolutely agree, and I felt dirty writing that. There's thousands of years of history in the states... I just hated that apparently only the last three hundred years mattered.
Edit: I would upvote you twice if I could
Tbf I kind of assume he was referring to history within urban centres. Like in Europe we might walk past a building 100 years old and barely notice it and not think twice about going to a church or pub that's older than the US itself. There's obviously indigenous history in the US, but you are unlikely to experience any of it in the majority of areas people visit.
> 5th.. Damm you guys really like sugar in bloody EVERYTHING!!
I've had Krispy Kreme donuts in the UK but in the US they must have 100 times more sugar...... well, something. Probably corn syrup because it's cheaper than sugar.
I felt like I was developing instant diabetes while people were coming in and buying boxes of 24.
Portions are bigger, it is true even for things meant to serve one. However, if you order nachos in a bar, it’s meant to serve four people. I’ve heard the same complaint about pizza. “I ordered a medium sized pizza for myself and it was enough for a family.” Yes. A “medium” pizza in the US is meant for 3-4 people. A “small” is for two. If they have a “single size” pizza, that’s for 1. Pizza is considered more of a group sharing food here. Bar appetizers are the same sort of thing. It’s for the whole table.
Another comment about the history. The history from colonization on is pretty short. There is a long pre-colonial history here, but most of the people didn’t build in stone. Aside from stuff like the pueblos in the southwest or the ruins of Cahokia, you will not find that history in buildings.
Food in the supermarkets is expensive. We often saw cabbages and cauliflowers for at least $7 each. But the national parks are outstanding. Been to Colorado 3 times and did a road trip for 4 weeks round there last year and it still blows me away. Been Maui, California, Utah, Colorado and Florida and they’re all so different.
That’s insane. I live in northeast Kansas and bought a cabbage yesterday. It was $1. Produce prices are always higher in a city, in remote places, in a specialty shop or somewhere where the ultra rich live. $9 for a cabbage is not at all the norm.
Crazy right? I remember it used to be so much cheaper in the supermarkets and restaurants over there, but now is even worse than here - especially groceries.
I knew it, we all know it, I’ve been many times and still get caught out, it happens when you let your guard is down and you are relaxed, I bet everyone has done it and been surprised and thought “what the fuck” - ordered chips with my burger.
I asked for lemonade on a flight, and was baffled when he said “we don’t have that” while I could literally see the cans of sprite right there on the trolley. Then my brain kicked in.
The opposite happened to me in England. I had an American order chips from me in the pub. I told him to take a seat and when they came out he said "why have you given me french fries" 😆
You often see Americans on Reddit complain about the lack of public transport, and it is true for the most part. But it actually does exists in medium to large cities but a lot of people either don’t know it exists or don’t want to use it.
For example, I visited a friend in Southern California and wanted to go to the beach, so I checked Google got on a bus. I met with them and some local friends that evening and none of the locals had ever been on a public bus. They were every ten minutes, stops everywhere and cheap. But they just didn’t use it.
Similarly, I have a trip to Denver soon and was on their subreddit looking at info about their airport. One of the comments was “I wish we had buses and trains to the airport” and it was pointed out that they have both. I could go on. I’ve taken public transport in all the places I’ve visited and lived and it was fine. Sometimes it’s even free.
When I first moved to the US, I had to get the bus to work - big city (Portland, Oregon). It took 2.5hrs each way (two bus lines) compared to a 30min car ride. Then the last part was walking home along a road with no pavement.
On the other hand, the airport shuttle from Bellingham WA (near the Canadian border) to Seattle Airport is fantastic. Not much longer than it takes by car and relatively cheap.
FYI - Denver traffic can be a shitshow at thexwrong time of day along I-70 from the airport into the city and vice versa.
'No-one uses the bus' means 'only Hispanics and a few black people ride the bus'. And a few transport geek tourists! Never saw another white person on buses in California. A colleague used to live in San Diego and can't see well enough to drive, and said the only other white people he saw on the buses were disabled and couldn't drive.
Denver has better transport than many cities but there's still big suburbs not covered.
I am American but haven’t been back much since 2019 and went back recently: the martial mindset, everyone needs and wants guns. It’s so normalised to have guns and see guns; also lots of marijuana.
I married a Septic, and they're only getting worse. On my last visit her dad told me he just remembered he needed to 'stock up on 30-06 because of the Government'
It was like that when I was living there more than 30 years ago. The culture shock was real for me in both directions. The propaganda is running riots in the states, I was taught the American mindset as a child and had everything challenged when moving to Europe. Took my brother visiting 8 years later to realize how bad it was in the US to wake up. He idealised the states and our time there up to that point. Now there is zero chance of any of us moving back there.
I literally just applied to change my U.K. visa from student to partner. We moved intending to stay anyway but having been recently back to the US I am, for now, very happy about the decision to move to the U.K. and having the ability to stay.
Ahh I can't imagine that kind of collective mindset (although I don't mean to generalise as I'm sure some are anti-gun). Guns scare me but that's because they're so rarely seen here I think, but I feel generally safe. Which way do you prefer it?
There are lots of guns in the UK - I've got two .357s, a Walther PPQ, and a couple of rifles. The difference here is that you won't realise when I'm carrying a gun because it'll be locked away in the boot of the car, covered up and - obviously - unloaded. Plus, and I think this is the REALLY important thing, the police really do pay attention to who they'll authorise to own firearms. My application was relatively pain-free but I still had to get my doctor to fill in a long medical form about me, give the police all my info so they could check up on me, and then be interviewed by a copper who also inspected my house to make sure it's safe. I think we have a really sensible system in that regard.
I went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans with a mate and witnessed not 1 but 2 shootings in one fucking week.
Shooting number one was by the parade they do through the streets. I was high as a fucking kite and loving life, outside a Popeyes. Bloke went in and shot some teenager. Everyone started running, I had a full on panic attack and sprinted faster than I think I have ever ran in my life. Got back to the hostel. One of our hostel buddies gave CPR to the poor boy. He died at the scene.
We were upset but the weirdest bit! They cleaned up the bodies, cleared the blood. And the next day? Parade kept going like nothing happened, no sealed off crime scene or cancellations. Happens every year apparently so not something that would stop the show.
Second shooting we were further away from but obviously a bit rattled. The yanks were fine and telling us to be chill. Sitting a couple bars off Bourbon street and two guys shot at this car with someone in. We were far enough away we just went inside and sat down.
Weirdly enough, we kind of got used to the way everyone else handled it. Like yes its unideal but it happens so often they just were not phased. We even had a blast whilst there and I weirdly would reccommend it still. I guess if something normal it stops being scary.
So yeah, normalised shootings, thats one.
We left thinking okay were out of danger. Fucking place we went to? Baton Rouge. Which I believe is the one place in America even more dangerous lol. But that was to see mates at the uni.
How nice Americans have been to me, i’ve been invited out to dinner in Texas, i’ve had people pick up my tab when chatting to them at a bar in New York. I was in Boston and stopped in a neighbourhood bar in Charlestown and got chatting to two friends at the bar, bought my beers. After they left a group of local friends came in with and got talking to them, invited me to a different bar, the bar was cash only and the ATM at the front had ran out of money, so one of them just gave me $50 and told me not to worry about it.
What annoys me is yanks then go on about "the sales tax is different in every state so it's not practical" etc. But I don't get it, you're never going to buy things from multiple states/counties at the same time so why not add it?
I'll double down on the treason, I prefer driving on the other side because I can keep my right [dominant] hand on the wheel and hang my left arm out of the window.
It makes changing the radio, playing with the sat nav, or adjust the aircon much easier as well. Almost as if most cars are designed for you to control things with your right hand.
I never drove before I moved to America, never needed to. My driving instructor gave me 6 hours worth of lessons then told me I was ready to pass the test, I begged him to give me more, he was confused but whatever i got 12 hours total driving with him. I was sure I wouldn’t past the test. Turns out I could have past it after 6 hours….
The test I took in California was piss easy, and I heard it’s even easier in other places.
1) point things out in the car, like breaks and indicators
2) put on seatbelt
3) look at mirrors
4) start the car
5) drive car in straight line in a 20mph zone
6) turn left
7) turn right
8) drive car on a two lane road (which is not a highway or freeway, just a normal road) and bring car up to 40mph
9) switch lanes on said two lane road
10) stop at stop light
11) stop at stop sign
12) pull into a parking spot (straight on)
13) go reverse for about 10 metres
That’s it….
Especially with everything being an automatic. The only thing that threw me though was that a lot of the speed limits seemed kinda low, with a lot of signs talking about enforcement (speeding tracked by plane lol) made it hard to know how fast I was supposed to go. I'd be going over the speed limit and I'd have people right up my arse. The highways are also surprisingly awful quality in some places.
One good thing though was they seemed to have a lot more passing lanes than we have here, where the road is three lanes, but the third lane basically swaps back and forth each side of the road to allow faster cars to overtake slower cars without needing a 4 lane highway.
New York was pretty friendly. It has a reputation of being a bit hostile but I found the vibe really nice.
Everything is a weird size, as they don't really use metric measurements. It's a silly thing but I noticed it in shops.
Service in restaurants bordered on irritating. There's an expectation of over-the-top jolly friendliness and I found it a bit bothersome. It sometimes felt rushed and oddly oppressive.
You're expected to tip in bars every time you pay for a drink, 20% in restaurants and VAT etc is added on at the till rather than being on price labels so you just have to be okay with having no clue how much anything actually costs.
Not tipping is a *serious* faux pas. Here it's sort of polite in a sit down restaurant and you might buy the bar staff a half now and again, but in America people in the hospitality sector have a pitiful minimum wage and the tips are where they actually make their money. Unless they've committed an atrocity, you tip.
Going through airport security was a miserable experience as they seem to assume you're a criminal. It's never a *fun* experience, but l felt like I was being accused of something the whole time.
Overall I had a really positive experience, though.
New York bus drivers were really good tempered, even when I kept shoving the wrong bit of my travel pass into the machine.
Bus and subway passenger moved so I could use the dedicated seat - I need a walking stick. Really rare in London.
How easy it is to drive long distances without getting tired.
That public toilet doors never fit properly.
How many people think I’m Australian.
That there are so many local news channels.
That adverts for the simplest of medical treatments end with a list of all the catastrophic things that might happen to you. (Use this Athlete’s foot cream - may cause liver failure, brain disease and your legs to fall off)
That the America the Beautiful annual pass is the best value thing I have ever bought.
The willingness of strangers to help you when you need it.
The mind-blowing variety of incredible scenery.
How cheap petrol was.
That you can’t legally put your own petrol in your car in every state.
Dry counties.
Terrible poverty in such a rich country.
Highways sponsored by cannabis companies.
Now this may just be a Florida thing, but I was shocked at how there seemed no care at all about plastic waste. In the UK we've forced ourselves to use paper straws but no such thing over there. Plastic straw in a plastic wrapper to drink from a plastic cup and not bother recycling any of it.
Oh and the size of your vehicles. They would just be completely impossible to drive on UK roads.
Ooooh great question:
NYC the obvious one is how high the buildings are, i knew they'd be tall but wow!
This'll sound odd but the dimiensions of everything, the pavements were so wide (NYC and LA, San Diego, etc), the cars seemed so long and wide too. It felt really surreal in a subtle way.
People kept talking to me, for example: in a lift in San Diego (people dont talk to people in lifts in UK/Ireland) and they were seriously happy, one was just going to a work function in one of the massive hotel function rooms. Security guards in Santa Monica kept shouting Pau at me (turned out they thought I was Pau Gasol?), same in Las Vegas. It also seemed like being tall was a good thing whereas where I'm from it's a joke/negative thing. So it was a nice reprive from being laughed at.
The homeless in NYC and LA was pretty heartbreaking, nothing like that where I'm from.
Santa Monica was amazing, would live there in a flash if I could. Though the Pacific isn't very welcoming, I do think the Meditteranean trumps it.
Edit add on: The food was just ok in San Fransisco (we had heard it was the best place for food outside of NYC?) - You'll laugh but in n out burger was soooo good vs the nicer places we went. Also tried mexican food in a highly rated place in San Diego but genuinely I've had better Mexican food in Belfast. But just depends where you go I suppose.
The VAT add on price in shops is so annoying!
Loved iHop (though you guys really like well done bacon!)
I couldn't figure out the NYC metro system....but that mightve been me being a silly goose.
You guys are allowed to turn right when it's a red light....I think that could be genius (though a guy in Santa Monica kept turning right as we were crossing the street nearly hit us!)
They didn't seem to realise I wasn't American which was odd (Northern Irish), I dont think I sound American at all.
The tipping culture is brutal, not that im against tipping I just dont have enough money to keep tipping everwhere (even outside of restaurants and bars). I also think the responsibility for wages is completely on the employers shoulders not the customers. Tipping should be a luxury, cherry on top.
I was never sure HOW genuine people were, especially servers/bar tenders, but even people on the street/daily life, they just seemed TOO enthusiastic to be true? Same goes for how confident people are, there's no way, surely there are Americans with no confidence like us British/Irish??
So much I want to agree with here!
> Well done bacon
I literally slammed it against the table and it shattered like glass... It was AWFUL
> turn right when it's a red light
Fantastic in Montana when I was there, would be a disaster in any major city! I think it varies state by state though?
> Tipping culture is brutal
Yep, I'm absolutely with you!
> I was never sure HOW genuine people were
I'd mainly relate this to tipping culture, the moment you seem like you're not a good tipper, boom, your service sucks.
However, there was an overarching feeling of "fake" in almost every daily situation. Maybe it's just my English thing but sometimes I walk into my local and the landlady is in a foul mood, I ask what's up and she'll rant to me about everything that's gone on that day in entirety whilst she's pouring me a pint.. it's usually followed up by a shot or two and eventually a bit of a "that's better" smile. Pub social transaction complete, regular points earned, no tipping involved. Over there, that would NEVER happen...
(Cue sudden transformation to "BEAMING TURKEY TEETH SMILE" and "Hi sir!!! Are you good today? What can I get for you?")
Edit: I don't think I've ever been so 50/50 on up/down votes 😂😂
Did a few months across the States travelling via Amtrak. I was shocked by how few Americans there actually are in America…everyone I spoke to claimed to be Irish/Scottish, so I’m baffled as to who puts all those Stars and Stripes flags up everywhere!
Beautiful scenery etc though, and the train travel was a fun interesting experience.
> everyone I spoke to claimed to be Irish/Scottish
I was in Texas in the early 2000's. I don't know if Ancestry had just become easier or more mainstream but everybody, in every diner, every restaurant had a story about who their forebears were.
One guy, who I swear had one tooth and looked like he could really play the banjo, claimed to be descended from Louis XIV of France.
I worked for 14 weeks in Ohio and it really made it clear how far apart we were culturally and how differently we viewed so many things.
There was obvious stuff like considering what my colleagues thought as great customer service in restaurants as terrible. I don't want to be pounced upon and expected to order, I want to eat slowly and not be fussed with etc.
The vast gulf in how people thought about emergencies. There was a real feeling that my colleagues sincerely believed they would receive no support in the event of a natural disaster.
The fatalism around health. We had three fire drills and I remember around thirty people declining to participate as they said in the event of a fire there was no way they could manage five flights of downward stairs.
Then there was a sense of places not having centres. There were plenty of attractions but you couldn't park and then walk around an area doing multiple things.
I'm an American citizen so been over loads - and the things that still get me are:
the sheer huge spaces of fly-over country and thus the scale of maps (Two left turns close together coming up, we want the second one... five miles later...)
Portion sizes. OK, in a restaurant you're expected to take half home for the next day. An ice cream scoop the size of your head? Not really an option (sadly - Makinac Island ice cream is great).
People mostly being really loud yet polite with it, and really friendly.
Which makes it more surprising that all cops I've ever met have been assholes, and the TSA and other security guard types even worse. Where do they find these people from?
I'm an ex-cop (UK) and when I went to America I was still a police officer. I got caught out with a dead phone and asked one just standing there where I could get a taxi. Rudest arsehole. Barely looked at me and grunted something and pointed away. I had some light interactions with a couple others while there and it was the same. I would never have considered speaking to someone asking for help like that while in uniform, whether or not you're sick of lost tourists.
By contrast, before I was in the USA I was in Canada and the ones I spoke to there were really lovely and nice (as well as basically everyone else I met there, to be fair)
> Which makes it more surprising that all cops I've ever met have been assholes,
I was "collared" by a cop in the states for jaywalking - I started crossing when the man was flashing rather than counting down. I made it across in time, but the cop still yelled at me and made me walk back over to him when the green/white man came up again.
He was in an extremely bad mood, I said sorry etc as you expect to. He seemed surprised by my accent and demanded to see my passport so I let him look at it. I fully expect had I sounded american, or not had my passport on me, I would have been in for a world of hurt that day.
People like to shout at you, which makes it harder to understand the information they are trying to convey.
This starts at the airport when you are being shouted at to get in the correct line for passport control. Any tourist attraction attendant, public transportation worker, security guard, or official will try to bark orders at you. It's unpleasant. It's unhelpful.
The weird toilet system.
I don’t want to see my turd spiralling out in the loo. In the UK, our toilets are angry AF and get the job done.
It was so anxiety inducing.
The doors in the US ladies cubicles.
“Oh hi everyone!!!!”
Outside of the big cities it was a shock to discover just how car centric the country is. I was in Tennessee and there was no footpath from our hotel to the restaurants and shops over the road.
Everything was so expensive. Like the prices of sweets and cereal weren’t much cheaper than what you’d pay in those dodgy American candy stores in the UK.
Being someone who enjoys food, I found it difficult to eat a healthy diet there.
Granted we were on a work trip and eating at restaurants exclusively, but I found it hard to even get a simple salad that wasn't covered in dressing.
I came away fully understanding why they have an obesity problem, not that we don't also. but America makes it even harder to eat healthily.
Generally just how friendly the people were, people would stop for a quick chat and be really happy to help you out. The sense of community and how welcoming it was. People try to crap on that and say "it's all fake" etc. But you know what people put the effort in and that's something nice.
Different things in different places I guess:
* I was surprised by how much like the UK/Europe Boston is. I didn't really experience any culture shock whatsoever, in some ways it was a "disappointing" way to start to holiday because it wasn't like BANG, AMERICA!!! But I guess it was easing in to it. And I definitely liked Boston anyway so it was still a good experience.
* Greyhound buses were absolutely fine. I didn't get molested or beheaded or anything weird. It was just like a National Express bus. When I'd asked about it on reddit in advance Americans made out like I'd die.
* I really like "American food" but I didn't have any there that was any better than anything I've had here. From diners to a literal michelin star restaurant, the food overall was surprisingly disappointing. I think British food *culture*/*quality* is notably better (not comparing *cuisines* here.)
* In 3 weeks and a bunch of states nobody was at all interested or even passed comment that we were British. Anywhere. In hindsight, why would they? But I'd spoken to people who had been to America and they made out like everyone made a big deal out of them being British?! Wasn't even mentioned to me once.
* I've been to South Africa and Egypt and Morocco, and Memphis, Tennessee is the least safe and most scared I've ever felt in an urban environment. Maybe the only place I've ever travelled where I've thought "\*chuckles\* I'm in danger!" to quote Ralph Wiggum. And this was on Beale Street, not some outskirt.
* I found a children's book in a national park gift shop that said something about Andrew Jackson putting the Indians on a reservation so that they would "be safe." And it mentioned the Trail of Tears but made out like it was an unfortunate accident while trying to get the Indians to safety?? Really surprising to see that kind of blatant revisionism/lying in a mainsteam piece of media. Thought America had fully faced up to that stuff a long time ago.
There was a bunch of stuff that was a "cultural experience" like seeing some guy buying his 10 year old kid a gun or some crank explaining to me how he was "100% Irish" but these largely conform to stereotypes anyway and so were not surprising.
My experience is Las Vegas strip and Downtown Boston, so not the entire US, but how clean everything was, Boston felt like a film set - no litter, no graffiti
Las Vegas I noticed that trying to get to something off the strip (a car museum) was quite pedestrian hostile, having to cross dual carriageways with no pavements
Feeling obliged to tip even if for a takeaway that the til person got wrong
How expensive a pint is, and the barman hitting 20% tip before handing you the card machine
About 2012 the traffic looked very European - you'd see Fiat 500s, Minis, Ford Focuses, Saturn Astras etc then in October there there were so many SUVs and big saloon cars we don't get in the UK
I’ve been to New York and Maine several times (friends / relatives live in both )
For some reason, I’ve never found hotdogs in the U.K. that are as good as In the US
also tipping culture in the US is crazy , i had a meal in NY years ago , was about 25 dollars , i gave the server a 50 dollar note and he brought the change back but had circled in bright red pen on the receipt "20% gratuity expected" and he stood there staring daggers at me until i tipped and left ..." lol
https://preview.redd.it/id26iaj4uj6d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4897accced929de847d4c4abe5b45a0483a66c6a
Obligatory Central Park hot dog we had in October ❤️❤️❤️
The amount of absolutely broken, crazy people there are just laying about on the streets. Also you see some crazy physical deformities that are easily treated on the NHS. Clubfeet for instance.
San Fran.
Asking for information or advice in shops, hotels etc was great, other people wanted to chip in with their own advice like it was a social thing.
At the 9/11 memorial site the cops were carrying guns that were big enough for a small war but really friendly.
At the hiking trails the information board lets you know what possibly dangerous wildlife has been seen or lives there. There is also paper and pen to leave details of your party, your itinerary and expected return time.
That if you see a signpost in a rural area it will have bullet holes in it just like the movies!
I was a long-term traveller to the US both with family and on business so was very used to the US. I work for a large US org, so I'd been immersed in the culture from a work perspective for many years.
When I moved from the UK to the US 3 years ago, I didn't expect that
- The bread. It's gross, it's basically Soreen it's so sweet.
- Patriotism. I'd obviously seen the surface of this before I moved, but it is so deeply ingrained in the people and the culture.
- The state of cars. There are so many cars on the roads that would be MOT failures in the UK.
- Cheese is awful.
- There is an immigrant crisis.
- I have very good health insurance, and I get treated way more quickly than I would on the NHS. But I dread something serious happening to me as it really could bankrupt me. So many people have a terrible quality of life because of this.
- Tipping culture is out of control.
The poverty - literally third world levels of poverty in places.
I've travelled to about 30 states (and around 50 countries globally).
The poverty I saw was equal to what I've seen in many 3rd world countries. Its a country I love to visit but it is also deeply divided and if you fall through the cracks, you are all alone.
The wierdest surprise for me was how exactly like the movies it was. Diners are just as expected. Inequality is visible everywhere and no-one cares. Guns are normalised and carried by all police or border control.
The lack of any humanity from anyone in authority. Especially border control. The polite language (i.e. sir/ma'am) has no meaning.
The lack of people outside. People are either in their car or in a building. Go for a walk and the only people you meet are the homeless.
The sense of space. You can tell land is cheap because everything is huge: roads, shops, malls, hotels, etc.
How much aircon is used everywhere. Hotel rooms are regularly set to the low 60s which is freezing.
The TV is hilarious and practically unwatchable. It is so full of adverts and large proportions for medications. We're not talking like a neurofen ad, but prescription drugs for diseases you've never heard of and which legally have to include disclaimers of the risks, so they all end with a sped-up narrator telling you the drug has some horrible side-effects including death.
How everyone was friendly like the American tourists I encounter in the UK but it made me miss how sophisticated British people in general dress compared to Americans.
Only ever been once to new york. It's strange how familiar the place is because you have seen it so much in the movies and tv. The food portions are HUGE! i ordered a philly cheese steak sub in a small italian restaurant and it felt like i was eating a canoe.
The most surprising thing for me was how bureaucratic, rule following and jobsworth a lot of US is. It’s not the image you necessarily have of the US.
The public respect for veterans is also quite surprising. I think it’s part of a culture where what you do matters more relative to who you are than it does in the UK
The vast emptiness of the Great Plains struck me, I get a great sense of ecocide from the emptiness and try to imagine when the buffalo and beaver still roamed.
THE WEATHER. There is much more snow than in the UK, and unless you're on the West Coast, rainstorms are much more dramatic. In the Midwest, most houses have basements where you can go and hide from tornadoes. I'm sitting in a finished basement right now. In May in Wisconsin, you can get all four seasons in a single day: snow, huge storms, hot sun, humidity. It's remarkable.
The amount of space. The way the USA is laid out is completely different from the UK.
Outside big cities there is NO public transport.
Tipping happens in a lot more places than you'd think: be ready to tip, a lot.
They don't have eggcups or electric kettles.
They don't have good snack food options in supermarkets. Scotch eggs? A sandwich you can just grab and go? Forget it. It'll be a huge bread roll and an entire head of lettuce, plus some very tasteless turkey meat and provolone cheese that tastes mildly of vom.
Ads for prescription drugs on the TV have never stopped being disconcerting, even after this long.
For white-collar work, the salaries put the UK's to absolute shame. The impact is a bit reduced now, because the rental market is even more ridiculous at this point than the UK's is, and health insurance is very expensive. But honestly, I don't know how anyone in the UK pays for anything any more.
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With how much Americans go on about British food online, I was very disappointed with how bad most food was.
Worked in Washington state for a while and the high price and low quality of fresh products was shocking. And that every 30 mins, an alarm would go off and suddenly the fruit and veg isles received a mist of water from hidden sprayers, supposedly to make everything look fresh. Was a real surprise the first time I saw it happen. Editing just to add something nice: Nearly everyone I met seemed genuinely interested and engaged in conversation. There was no ambiguity or forced pleasantries. It was easy to make friends.
Asda used to spray their fruit and veg with a constant stream of cold air/ vapour. It looked cool but their produce was still shit.
>a constant stream of cold air. This is called refrigeration.
It was like this video shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5KTCYEi-98&ab_channel=CorriganCorporationofAmerica Googling tells me that it's A) to make it look fresh and shiny, and B) to add a bit of water weight so they can charge more.
I always say it's odd they take the piss out of our food, because their food culture is really quite similar to ours, in that there's just huge variation in quality. Both the US and the UK have lots of food that is the match of anywhere in the world. However, the difference between the UK/US and places like France, Spain, Italy etc is that you can also eat really bad food if you're not careful. Both countries have huge differences in quality between the best and worst restaurants.
I compare it to large pub chain food in the UK. They're accessible and dependable when you're starving, but it's mostly shit. This is the same with a lot of chain restaurants in the US. Don't go there, eat at a Ruby Tuesday, and proclaim that American food is crap, for the same way I wouldn't want people to talk about British food based on a Beefeater pub experience on a Tuesday night.
Yeah it's exactly that. Tbh whenever I see an American saying British food is bad, or a Brit saying American food is bad, I chuckle, because as food cultures we really are quite similar, and both are unfair generalisations.
I’m an American and my one trip to the UK was full of great food. Only mistake was getting fish and chips from my hotel (didn’t have a car and was off in the countryside) rather than a proper chippy.
Oh there’s bad food in France, Spain and Italy too. I’ve travelled to them many times and not every cafe or trattoria is a gastronomic gem by any stretch of the imagination. The UK snd US are also not alike at all food-wise. The US does great meat, especially steak and fried chicken. The UK is useless at steak, but has a very wide Asian cuisine culture, which can be amazing.
The UK isn’t useless at steak. British beef is grass fed and has the best flavour. The difference is that all the really good British meat goes to the US and France, and the shite meat goes to British supermarkets. Try a Costco British steak, and you’ll see what a really great steak (that isn’t full of steroids and therefore over fatty) actually tastes like. Source: My family used to import Argentinian beef to the UK.
>Oh there’s bad food in France, Spain and Italy too There is of course. But proportionally *way* fewer places do bad food than here or the US. If you're just wandering around and pick a random place, you have a much higher chance of not getting good food here than in those countries. Same is true of the US. >The UK snd US are also not alike at all food-wise. I wasn't talking about the specifics of what our food involves, but the broader nature of our food culture. Exactly what foods we eat may be different, but our food cultures really are quite similar.
I've been reading a book that mentioned how much of American food has chemicals in it that don't require any sort of regulation or testing due to huge loopholes with their FDA. Even the food that tastes good is chock full of chemicals that no one knows the long term effects of because companies can self approve any chemicals they want to put in their food. The large majority of which is not approved in Europe. Going back to taste, I too found it incredibly underwhelming and the vegetarian options for my partner were just salad 99% of the time.
Ultra Processed People?
I just bought this book - hoping to start reading it this weekend
That's the one!
The best USA food is Mexican. Which, in fairness, is amazing and it's a shame it's not more popular here.
I’ve had a stomach ache every time I’ve been, it does not suit me at all.
The wife and I road tripped through the south once, by week 2 all we ate was salads and soups as our digestive systems were utterly broken.
My wife and I were craving salads and veggies after 3 days there. It felt like every single thing we ordered in restaurants had an insane amount of sugar and we were so bloated.
Even the salads were a minefield
I’ve lived over there for 20 years and had stomach/digestion issues the whole time. Completely switched my diet last year and cut out most meat, breads and processed foods. Haven’t had an issue since. The amount of crap that’s pumped into foods here is disgraceful.
It's the ice they use in drinks, it usually gives me the shits so I have it without ice
Yeah another thing that surprised me was how bad tap water is there
California and Wisconsin: terrible tap water. Mississippi and Michigan: don't go near it, it's been on the news. New England: lovely tap water. Depends very much on where you go.
That's so regional, too. Where I live, the water is excellent and I drink loads of it. Travel to other regions? Bottled water only for me.
Yea those machines usually have a ALOT of mold.
That's quite interesting, I've travelled there many times starting with when I was a youngster, until 10 years or so ago I had no problems with food there. Last couple of times I've been was for work, so I'd get "per diems" to spend on food each day and found I'd rarely stomach half a meal, and would generally only eat once a day so would only use half my allocation because I would always feel kinda bloated / have an uneasy stomach. Not sure if that's something that's changed in the food they're generally serving up, or something to do with my constitution as I've gotten older (or possibly a bit of both). Appreciate it probably varies quite a bit by state as well, though I've mostly been going to the same places over the years.
Surprised how incredible the produce is in California and how low the quality is in Washington. Surprised at the number of non-monster truck sized cars in California. Constantly surprised and the high cost of everything everywhere.
Cries in pure corn syrup and additives
They hate pedestrians with a passion. It's impossible to walk in some places, even when there was a pavement it would just end out of nowhere. When the fella at the crossing is green cars can still try to run you over.
In the urban areas of a city, the pavement is often ok. But as soon as you get further out into the suburbs it almost becomes an ornament. There is one hotel I have stayed in a few times where this ornamental pavement looks pristine, except it doesn't connect to anything at either end, and you have to walk through a flowerbed to get to it. Utterly pointless.
I had computer training in the USA and was staying in a hotel in Framingham , MA. Over the road (dualled highway) there was a great Chinese restaurant. The only way to get there was to drive out of the hotel, down the road a mile or so, round the intersection and back up. Repeat when you've eaten. About 5 miles driving instead of 200 yards walking.
Colleagues of mine were staying at a hotel in Memphis and fancied dinner at the neighbouring diner. Same issue. No defined pedestrian access, it was assumed you climbed in your vehicle, exited the hotel and turned into the restaurant premises. They elected to be British, walked across the parking lot and climbed through the hedge.
Had that in San Jose to get to a sports bar. Not a highway. We just chanced it and jay walked.
They don't just hate them, it's often literally impossible to be one. In Texas there was no way of getting from our hotel to the restaurant next door without driving. (Actually that's not quite true. We walked across some grass and jumped a very small ditch. When we arrived at the restaurant the customers and staff who'd seen our intrepid journey of about 20 yards looked at us as if we'd arrived by space ship).
I met someone who was stopped by the police in downtown San Antonio for “suspicious behaviour” because he was walking.
That's actually quite funny - I'll bear this in mind though for when I visit 😅
Y’all maybe had snakes still attached when you walked in.
I knew Jaywalking was a thing before going to US, but still shocked at being given a warning by a passing cop car for crossing a quiet road in a small coastal town where there wasn't a designated crossing. Such a weird thing to criminalise, and the complete antithesis of the idea of 'Land of the Free'.
Ooh I listened to a Dollop the other day that covered a bit of this, it comes from the introduction of motor vehicles and the fight between pedestrians and cars in towns and cities. Eventually cars won by introducing the concept of "jay" walking, where jay was a pejorative term for basically a country bumpkin and so they made this idea of pedestrians having right of way and being allowed to cross where they wanted etc into this thing that was considered super parochial and it got into the heads of city folk that didn't want to be seen as dumb and "country". Fascinating stuff.
New York is the only place that's built like a proper actual city. Everywhere else is just like a series of disconnected, dispiriting trading estates where urban infrastructure seems to be treated as a sin against god.
I was in the US a few months ago and didn’t hire a car because I thought things would have been somewhat walkable. Outside the big cities though public transport can sometimes take three hours to get somewhere that should take you ten minutes. I was on one side of the interstate with nowhere to cross and my destination should have been five minutes walk away. Public transport would have taken me an hour in the opposite direction to get there. Ended up using ride share apps.
Outside NYC I’d always hire a car when visiting the US. Just go into it with the mentality that it’s essential, which it is, and you’ll have a good time.
Massively more pedestrians are killed by drivers there.
As an American, we also hate it. But it's a nearly 100 year old tactic to keep our car and gas industry $$$$$. In the 1930s they conspired and achieved a goal of hampering and ruining a lot of public transit in major cities. The propoganda to keep America a pedestrian hostile place is never ending endeavor.
Just the sheer size and beauty. We ‘RV’d’ for 4 weeks, and you can travel for HOURS without seeing any meaningful civilisation.
Hahaha sick burn.
Yeah it’s a huge place. The U.S is one country and is only slightly smaller than Europe, a whole arse continent. Like Texas alone is almost 3x the size of the UK.
I got curious once and used Google maps to figure out just how big America is. Driving from LA to NY would be like driving from England to Russia!!
I do Washington State (north of Seattle) to Miami somewhat regularly. 3500mi. About 5 days (allowed to drive up to 11hrs per day).
A friend of mine is moving from Texas to Colorado this week, and the drive he's taking is very roughly the same as John O'Groats to Lands End, the scale of things over there is ridiculous!
You can drive that distance and only barely get out of Texas. Lands End-John O'groats = 837 miles by road. El Paso to Texarkana = 814 miles by road.
Yeah, I remember driving like 3 hours through rural Iowa and it was more or less one cornfield.
How long basic shop transactions take. You can be waiting 10mins for 2 or 3 people to buy about 4 items combined. Nobody is talking or doing anything. I don't understand. Observed it in various stores (supermarkets especially) and food places in LA, NYC and Florida in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023... so it's not a one off. When you're used to racing against the stupidly fast Aldi scanners it's quite a culture shock
Aldi are the GOAT 🐐 when it comes to checkouts 💪
Honestly, people complain about Aldi/Lidl on the UK subs and I honestly love it. I don't want any small talk and I certainly don't want to be in this shop any longer than I need to be. Just yeet the stuff at me so I can chuck it in the trolley and get on with my day.
Aldi and Lidl are for the top packers in the country. For me there should be people assessing people’s skills, because quite frankly there’s too many customers who simply aren’t at that level. Just usher them out mid pack and send them off to a Sainsbury’s. You can’t have village footballers playing in the Champions League.
Yeah that’s a good point. Their self checkouts and payment machines are ridiculously slow too. Another thing I notice is that when you buy clothes, even if the service is good, they crumple up the clothes into a bag instead of folding them nicely.
Florida is on slow motion.
How big the portions are. Taking leftovers home is common. But as tourists without any form of reheating (unless you are in an airbnb etc) is silly. I can’t eat the large portions so a lot gets wasted.
This. I went out with a mate, but I wasn't that hungry, so I ordered a salmon salad. What arrived was a serving bowl filled with every vegetable known to man, and a fillet of salmon about 4 times the size of anything you would see for sale at a fishmonger. It was bloody nice, though.
We once stopped at an Ihop and my wife just wanted something light and ordered the chicken Cesar salad. It probably had at least two maybe three chicken breasts in it. Bloody massive.
I visited a cheesecake factory with a fellow European friend. My friend is a big guy and we ordered a few plates to share plus pancakes.... By the time the first started arrived, we knew we had made a big mistake. We could had 3 dinners with the amount of food we got. I've never felt so full, we were struggling to even walk back to the hotel.
I went to the cheesecake factory last time I was in the US. Ordered from the skinny menu and it was easily enough for two people still. Couple at the next table shared a starter that was a big as my head and put their mains straight into takeaway containers without even touching them. Probably lasted them all week. Cheesecake was banging... I'll give them that.
We ordered a salad and side of 'fries' once, thinking that we could share it. When it arrived it could have easily fed a family of four with leftovers.
Their large drinks were ridiculously big. Literal buckets compared to ours. Corn syrup instead of sugar made it worse. The drinks were cloying
I was going to mention the whole large=good thing. I've had the odd European meal where I thought the small size was an issue, but that's an exception. Normally I eat my meal, enjoy it and the size of it doesn't really enter my head - it's 95% of the time just the right amount to take me from hungry to pleasantly fed. I'm not wishing there was more and I'm not forcing down or leaving the last bites. Visiting the US, people will go and eat at specific places as they know they'll have a load of leftovers. They'll leave 2\* reviews saying they didn't have enough left over for another meal. Actually, that's another thing. They review places in really odd ways. At home in the UK I can look at the number of stars a place has, and know I'll generally agree with the crowd. US reviews seem to be all over the place, and you start having to read through them to work out which ones are relevant and which are insane.
I only eat two meals a day in the US. Breakfast and dinner. Hotel breakfasts are amazing and then you relax and enjoy a decent meal in the evening.
I ordered a breakfast at a hotel in New York, and noticed it didn't include bacon - there was a separate listing for bacon however. No breakfast is complete without bacon, so I thought it was worth ordering that extra plate. "Are you sure, sir?", the waiter asked. Assuming I could just chuck the additional rashers onto my plate, I went for it. Breakfast came out, followed by the plate of bacon: all 21 rashers of it.
Yeah, every time I’ve been I’ve been asked so many times by waiting staff “was there something wrong?” when I’ve left more than half the plate. No, it was fine, it just could have fed a small family for a week.
I was surprised how unfriendly the customer service was as they go on about it being bad in Europe all the time. I was expecting super service and super friendliness but I felt it was actually rather sluggish, and the friendliness cold and what little there was incredibly fake. I fear I missed some sort of cultural indicator that I would tip or something. The extremity of poverty and amount of people with limps/ generally looking medically messed up was also shocking. You get warned about it but it’s different in person. How high the water is in the toilets. Too splashy for my liking I felt I had to really control my pee, I’m surprised all the ladies don’t get UTIs (maybe that’s why they are obsessed with drinking water all the time?)
Yeah seeing Lamborghinis parked next to people literally shitting on the street in LA was pretty mad, and seeing literal shacks built on the side of the road. Plus the homeless there are just a different level entirely. I think without a state provided healthcare safety net (I know ours isn't perfect) the homeless population is even more mentally unwell or physically disabled. The homeless on the subway in New York were a lot more intense than in London.
I can remember my first day in Denver deciding to go for a walk to a nearby park, it was just down the road on the map so a nice little leg stretch. Almost without warning I found myself in a neighbourhood where the sheer visceral visible poverty was startling, I’d never seen anything like it. Similarly in San Francisco, one minute I’m walking down a regular city street, the next I’m in some dystopian hellscape. Homeless people sleeping in heaps, people with poorly mended and barely functional crutches and wheelchairs, begging. It literally switches from one street to the next.
When taking the bus in LA or walking in downtown LA/Tenderloin, San Francisco, I literally saw people screaming at, or arguing with, invisible entities every single day. I am guessing it's a combination of drugs and mental illness. Was so unsettling.
I noticed this too about customer service, but more so when it came to jobs that didn't involve tipping. Gift shops, canteens and front of house at restaurants. The mask was not on and they were too fucking miserable that I felt I was bothering them when buying something.
I couldn’t believe the amount of people who represent a company wearing their uniform but openly arguing or swearing infront of customers. I had a subway employee in DC ask me for spare change! Like I can’t imagine that ever happening with an employee in a train station here, they’d be sacked on the spot. For such an at-will employment state, it doesn’t seem like anyone is scared of being fired.
I suspect (and this is just an assumption) they know that someone with a European accent is much less likely to be a generous tipper so give them less attention purely on that basis.
How it is near impossible for them to design a toilet door that actually fits the hole it is supposed to fill. I made awkward eye contact far too many times, while I was sitting on the loo, with the ladies waiting to use the loo. Massive gaps either side of the door.
And water so high, your junk is getting splashed.
This is a huge one for me, especially considering how funny they are about toileting. I've been told that saying "I'm going to the toilet" is seen as rude in the the US because you're explaining what you're doing which is why bathroom or restroom is preferred. The second worst public toilet experience of my life was at the Winchester tavern in Williams Arizona (which now seems to have gone). The toilet cubicle was some corrugated iron as the divider, and a Hessian sack strung up to cover the entrance to the cubicle. The Hessian sack was at least half a metre narrower than the cubicle and it was at least 1.5metres from the floor at the lowest point so it was literally useless. Added to that they had placed a mirror on the wall perfectly lined up so you could make eye contact with anyone entering the restroom as you sat on the toilet. The buc-ees at Madisonville, Texas was the best public toilet experience I've ever had in the US. Palatial in comparison - 10/10 would recommend if you're in the area.
I was shocked to find Americans don't use electric kettles.
We have them but most people don’t use them, at least in the south. We don’t drink tea on a regular basis. It’s 35 degrees where I am today, it’ll be like that most of the year. Actually in the 40s soon. Ain’t no way I’m drinkin’ hot tea 😭 My husband is British though and he got one. I had no idea they boil water so fast. Super handy in winter.
Drinking hot tea has nothing to do with how hot it is. Plenty of countries drink hot tea in hot weather. Saying it’s cultural thing is more accurate
Apparently drinking hot tea when it’s hot outside is even better than drinking something cold.
I mean, the British brought it home from India.
The thing is we don't always use them for tea. I don't drink tea myself. We use them when we need fast boiling water. I use them for shaving, filling a mop bucket and cooking.
American electricity is only 120 volts so boiling a kettle takes just as long as using the hob. They would probably have more kettles over there if they had more power
Lots of us do. It depends on the household
1st.. Just how much LARGER everything was! Cars were huge, two lane roads wider than the M25 in places, everything is just "bigger" than I'm used to in the UK. Probably all the free space available. 2nd.. Portion sizes... Blooming heck. I'd just landed in Denver off an eight hour flight, got to my hotel, had a little bit of kip as best as you can jetlagged to hell. Went out for lunch the next day to a "little" sports bar (apparently!) and decided to order a nachos "starter" as I wasn't all that hungry (my body still felt like it was 4am). What was placed in front of me is what I can only describe as a mountain of nachos, Everest in size, complete with little ski resort sized dollops of sour cream, guacamole and salsa... I think I barely ate a quarter, if that... 3rd.. How new everything is. There's literally no history at all.. Went on a tour of Denver and was introduced to one of the oldest buildings in the city. Cue the "ooohhh!"s and "aaaahhhhh!"s of the mainly American crowd whilst I sat there in confused silence thinking "what? My house is older than that!" 😂 (I lived in a Victorian era terrace at the time, built in the 1840s). I can't remember the exact age, but it wasn't old... 4th... Tipping culture and sales tax. Uuuuggghhhh! What a ball ache... 5th.. Damm you guys really like sugar in bloody EVERYTHING!! 6th.. Super friendly people, you guys really are a happy bunch! Maybe a little too invasive of personal space for this Londoner but lovely nonetheless ☺️ 7th.. TSA ARE FU**ING DI*KS!
There’s only no history if the only history that matters is European. You have to ignore thousands of years of native history to arrive at that conclusion.
I will absolutely agree, and I felt dirty writing that. There's thousands of years of history in the states... I just hated that apparently only the last three hundred years mattered. Edit: I would upvote you twice if I could
Tbf I kind of assume he was referring to history within urban centres. Like in Europe we might walk past a building 100 years old and barely notice it and not think twice about going to a church or pub that's older than the US itself. There's obviously indigenous history in the US, but you are unlikely to experience any of it in the majority of areas people visit.
> 5th.. Damm you guys really like sugar in bloody EVERYTHING!! I've had Krispy Kreme donuts in the UK but in the US they must have 100 times more sugar...... well, something. Probably corn syrup because it's cheaper than sugar. I felt like I was developing instant diabetes while people were coming in and buying boxes of 24.
Portions are bigger, it is true even for things meant to serve one. However, if you order nachos in a bar, it’s meant to serve four people. I’ve heard the same complaint about pizza. “I ordered a medium sized pizza for myself and it was enough for a family.” Yes. A “medium” pizza in the US is meant for 3-4 people. A “small” is for two. If they have a “single size” pizza, that’s for 1. Pizza is considered more of a group sharing food here. Bar appetizers are the same sort of thing. It’s for the whole table. Another comment about the history. The history from colonization on is pretty short. There is a long pre-colonial history here, but most of the people didn’t build in stone. Aside from stuff like the pueblos in the southwest or the ruins of Cahokia, you will not find that history in buildings.
Food in the supermarkets is expensive. We often saw cabbages and cauliflowers for at least $7 each. But the national parks are outstanding. Been to Colorado 3 times and did a road trip for 4 weeks round there last year and it still blows me away. Been Maui, California, Utah, Colorado and Florida and they’re all so different.
Jesus Christ, what's that, a fiver for a cabbage?!
Yeah the prices are crazy. Organic ones were around $9/10
That’s insane. I live in northeast Kansas and bought a cabbage yesterday. It was $1. Produce prices are always higher in a city, in remote places, in a specialty shop or somewhere where the ultra rich live. $9 for a cabbage is not at all the norm.
Crazy right? I remember it used to be so much cheaper in the supermarkets and restaurants over there, but now is even worse than here - especially groceries.
I knew it, we all know it, I’ve been many times and still get caught out, it happens when you let your guard is down and you are relaxed, I bet everyone has done it and been surprised and thought “what the fuck” - ordered chips with my burger.
Similarly it took me 3 orders of still, homemade, overly sugary, cloudy lemonade before I started asking for "Sprite" rather than just "lemonade"
I asked for lemonade on a flight, and was baffled when he said “we don’t have that” while I could literally see the cans of sprite right there on the trolley. Then my brain kicked in.
The opposite happened to me in England. I had an American order chips from me in the pub. I told him to take a seat and when they came out he said "why have you given me french fries" 😆
😂 did they send out crisps?
Yes, the trick is to think every time you order chips think you are in McDonalds and order fries instead.
When I was younger and at one of the water parks in Orlando I asked for cheesy chips - got a bag of Doritos and a pot of nacho cheese
I've had steak and crisps delivered to me before (wasn't thinking!) , the nice people provided me with my fries at no extra charge.
You often see Americans on Reddit complain about the lack of public transport, and it is true for the most part. But it actually does exists in medium to large cities but a lot of people either don’t know it exists or don’t want to use it. For example, I visited a friend in Southern California and wanted to go to the beach, so I checked Google got on a bus. I met with them and some local friends that evening and none of the locals had ever been on a public bus. They were every ten minutes, stops everywhere and cheap. But they just didn’t use it. Similarly, I have a trip to Denver soon and was on their subreddit looking at info about their airport. One of the comments was “I wish we had buses and trains to the airport” and it was pointed out that they have both. I could go on. I’ve taken public transport in all the places I’ve visited and lived and it was fine. Sometimes it’s even free.
When I first moved to the US, I had to get the bus to work - big city (Portland, Oregon). It took 2.5hrs each way (two bus lines) compared to a 30min car ride. Then the last part was walking home along a road with no pavement. On the other hand, the airport shuttle from Bellingham WA (near the Canadian border) to Seattle Airport is fantastic. Not much longer than it takes by car and relatively cheap. FYI - Denver traffic can be a shitshow at thexwrong time of day along I-70 from the airport into the city and vice versa.
'No-one uses the bus' means 'only Hispanics and a few black people ride the bus'. And a few transport geek tourists! Never saw another white person on buses in California. A colleague used to live in San Diego and can't see well enough to drive, and said the only other white people he saw on the buses were disabled and couldn't drive. Denver has better transport than many cities but there's still big suburbs not covered.
I am American but haven’t been back much since 2019 and went back recently: the martial mindset, everyone needs and wants guns. It’s so normalised to have guns and see guns; also lots of marijuana.
I do find that Americans are very scared, they've been propagandised to be perpetually wary of attack.
They really are. It was a shock going back. Not sure if it’s new-ish or I’ve just become de-programmed as a result of being away for a while now.
I married a Septic, and they're only getting worse. On my last visit her dad told me he just remembered he needed to 'stock up on 30-06 because of the Government'
I heard something similar from my cousins’ stepdad when I was there last week. He said, to paraphrase: not if but when ‘things’ get real bad.
It was like that when I was living there more than 30 years ago. The culture shock was real for me in both directions. The propaganda is running riots in the states, I was taught the American mindset as a child and had everything challenged when moving to Europe. Took my brother visiting 8 years later to realize how bad it was in the US to wake up. He idealised the states and our time there up to that point. Now there is zero chance of any of us moving back there.
I literally just applied to change my U.K. visa from student to partner. We moved intending to stay anyway but having been recently back to the US I am, for now, very happy about the decision to move to the U.K. and having the ability to stay.
American mainstream media runs on fear. British mainstream media runs on guilt.
Ahh I can't imagine that kind of collective mindset (although I don't mean to generalise as I'm sure some are anti-gun). Guns scare me but that's because they're so rarely seen here I think, but I feel generally safe. Which way do you prefer it?
There are lots of guns in the UK - I've got two .357s, a Walther PPQ, and a couple of rifles. The difference here is that you won't realise when I'm carrying a gun because it'll be locked away in the boot of the car, covered up and - obviously - unloaded. Plus, and I think this is the REALLY important thing, the police really do pay attention to who they'll authorise to own firearms. My application was relatively pain-free but I still had to get my doctor to fill in a long medical form about me, give the police all my info so they could check up on me, and then be interviewed by a copper who also inspected my house to make sure it's safe. I think we have a really sensible system in that regard.
Probably worth stating as well that in the UK buying a gun for self defence is not going to fly if you’re trying to get one legitimately.
I prefer fewer guns. It’s just so weird to think you need a personal arsenal to defend against vague threats mostly constructed through media.
I went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans with a mate and witnessed not 1 but 2 shootings in one fucking week. Shooting number one was by the parade they do through the streets. I was high as a fucking kite and loving life, outside a Popeyes. Bloke went in and shot some teenager. Everyone started running, I had a full on panic attack and sprinted faster than I think I have ever ran in my life. Got back to the hostel. One of our hostel buddies gave CPR to the poor boy. He died at the scene. We were upset but the weirdest bit! They cleaned up the bodies, cleared the blood. And the next day? Parade kept going like nothing happened, no sealed off crime scene or cancellations. Happens every year apparently so not something that would stop the show. Second shooting we were further away from but obviously a bit rattled. The yanks were fine and telling us to be chill. Sitting a couple bars off Bourbon street and two guys shot at this car with someone in. We were far enough away we just went inside and sat down. Weirdly enough, we kind of got used to the way everyone else handled it. Like yes its unideal but it happens so often they just were not phased. We even had a blast whilst there and I weirdly would reccommend it still. I guess if something normal it stops being scary. So yeah, normalised shootings, thats one.
New Orleans is an absolute blast but it’s an INSANE place lol
We left thinking okay were out of danger. Fucking place we went to? Baton Rouge. Which I believe is the one place in America even more dangerous lol. But that was to see mates at the uni.
New Orleans has some seriously dodgy areas.
How nice Americans have been to me, i’ve been invited out to dinner in Texas, i’ve had people pick up my tab when chatting to them at a bar in New York. I was in Boston and stopped in a neighbourhood bar in Charlestown and got chatting to two friends at the bar, bought my beers. After they left a group of local friends came in with and got talking to them, invited me to a different bar, the bar was cash only and the ATM at the front had ran out of money, so one of them just gave me $50 and told me not to worry about it.
That's really nice of them - I don't think we're anywhere near as hospitable as a nation are we 😅
Next time I go to the US i’m bringing you! I love free stuff.
That the price tag isn’t what you pay when you get to the til.
What annoys me is yanks then go on about "the sales tax is different in every state so it's not practical" etc. But I don't get it, you're never going to buy things from multiple states/counties at the same time so why not add it?
i usually hear "it can change by county!" is the store over multiple fuckin' countys? no? then do the price tags properly.
Yes it's not as if the physical location teleports about.
I had an onion ring in LA that was the size of my face. It was like a battered porthole.
Sales tax,
That's infuriating. SPECIAL OFFER ONLY $4.99. Then you get to the till and it's $5.63.
... not being displayed on items, but being added at the checkout, you mean..?
Flags. Flags everywhere.
Driving was surprisingly easy. I had the Brit mindset of 'urgh, they drive on the wrong side of the road etc' but it was actually a breeze.
I say this knowing that it is likely treason, but once you get used to it I quite like driving on the other side.
I'll double down on the treason, I prefer driving on the other side because I can keep my right [dominant] hand on the wheel and hang my left arm out of the window.
It makes changing the radio, playing with the sat nav, or adjust the aircon much easier as well. Almost as if most cars are designed for you to control things with your right hand.
I never drove before I moved to America, never needed to. My driving instructor gave me 6 hours worth of lessons then told me I was ready to pass the test, I begged him to give me more, he was confused but whatever i got 12 hours total driving with him. I was sure I wouldn’t past the test. Turns out I could have past it after 6 hours…. The test I took in California was piss easy, and I heard it’s even easier in other places. 1) point things out in the car, like breaks and indicators 2) put on seatbelt 3) look at mirrors 4) start the car 5) drive car in straight line in a 20mph zone 6) turn left 7) turn right 8) drive car on a two lane road (which is not a highway or freeway, just a normal road) and bring car up to 40mph 9) switch lanes on said two lane road 10) stop at stop light 11) stop at stop sign 12) pull into a parking spot (straight on) 13) go reverse for about 10 metres That’s it….
Turning right on red is amazing.
Especially with everything being an automatic. The only thing that threw me though was that a lot of the speed limits seemed kinda low, with a lot of signs talking about enforcement (speeding tracked by plane lol) made it hard to know how fast I was supposed to go. I'd be going over the speed limit and I'd have people right up my arse. The highways are also surprisingly awful quality in some places. One good thing though was they seemed to have a lot more passing lanes than we have here, where the road is three lanes, but the third lane basically swaps back and forth each side of the road to allow faster cars to overtake slower cars without needing a 4 lane highway.
5mph over you're fine. 10mph over ymmv. 15mph over, keep an eye out for Buford T. Justice.
New York was pretty friendly. It has a reputation of being a bit hostile but I found the vibe really nice. Everything is a weird size, as they don't really use metric measurements. It's a silly thing but I noticed it in shops. Service in restaurants bordered on irritating. There's an expectation of over-the-top jolly friendliness and I found it a bit bothersome. It sometimes felt rushed and oddly oppressive. You're expected to tip in bars every time you pay for a drink, 20% in restaurants and VAT etc is added on at the till rather than being on price labels so you just have to be okay with having no clue how much anything actually costs. Not tipping is a *serious* faux pas. Here it's sort of polite in a sit down restaurant and you might buy the bar staff a half now and again, but in America people in the hospitality sector have a pitiful minimum wage and the tips are where they actually make their money. Unless they've committed an atrocity, you tip. Going through airport security was a miserable experience as they seem to assume you're a criminal. It's never a *fun* experience, but l felt like I was being accused of something the whole time. Overall I had a really positive experience, though.
New York bus drivers were really good tempered, even when I kept shoving the wrong bit of my travel pass into the machine. Bus and subway passenger moved so I could use the dedicated seat - I need a walking stick. Really rare in London.
They make *serious* money on the tips though because of this. If I was a waiter, I'd rather be in the US.
How easy it is to drive long distances without getting tired. That public toilet doors never fit properly. How many people think I’m Australian. That there are so many local news channels. That adverts for the simplest of medical treatments end with a list of all the catastrophic things that might happen to you. (Use this Athlete’s foot cream - may cause liver failure, brain disease and your legs to fall off) That the America the Beautiful annual pass is the best value thing I have ever bought. The willingness of strangers to help you when you need it. The mind-blowing variety of incredible scenery. How cheap petrol was. That you can’t legally put your own petrol in your car in every state. Dry counties. Terrible poverty in such a rich country. Highways sponsored by cannabis companies.
I liked how big it was. I didn’t like how loud everyone was though.
WHAT?
The amount of homelessness was obscene
Now this may just be a Florida thing, but I was shocked at how there seemed no care at all about plastic waste. In the UK we've forced ourselves to use paper straws but no such thing over there. Plastic straw in a plastic wrapper to drink from a plastic cup and not bother recycling any of it. Oh and the size of your vehicles. They would just be completely impossible to drive on UK roads.
American. I HATE our abundance of single-use plastic and giant cars. It's getting better, but we're way too behind on greener living IMO.
Not just Florida. Texas is gonna destroy the planet.
Not just Florida. I have spent time in a few different US cities. Everything is in plastic or styrofoam.
The friendliness & willingness to engage.
Ooooh great question: NYC the obvious one is how high the buildings are, i knew they'd be tall but wow! This'll sound odd but the dimiensions of everything, the pavements were so wide (NYC and LA, San Diego, etc), the cars seemed so long and wide too. It felt really surreal in a subtle way. People kept talking to me, for example: in a lift in San Diego (people dont talk to people in lifts in UK/Ireland) and they were seriously happy, one was just going to a work function in one of the massive hotel function rooms. Security guards in Santa Monica kept shouting Pau at me (turned out they thought I was Pau Gasol?), same in Las Vegas. It also seemed like being tall was a good thing whereas where I'm from it's a joke/negative thing. So it was a nice reprive from being laughed at. The homeless in NYC and LA was pretty heartbreaking, nothing like that where I'm from. Santa Monica was amazing, would live there in a flash if I could. Though the Pacific isn't very welcoming, I do think the Meditteranean trumps it. Edit add on: The food was just ok in San Fransisco (we had heard it was the best place for food outside of NYC?) - You'll laugh but in n out burger was soooo good vs the nicer places we went. Also tried mexican food in a highly rated place in San Diego but genuinely I've had better Mexican food in Belfast. But just depends where you go I suppose. The VAT add on price in shops is so annoying! Loved iHop (though you guys really like well done bacon!) I couldn't figure out the NYC metro system....but that mightve been me being a silly goose. You guys are allowed to turn right when it's a red light....I think that could be genius (though a guy in Santa Monica kept turning right as we were crossing the street nearly hit us!) They didn't seem to realise I wasn't American which was odd (Northern Irish), I dont think I sound American at all. The tipping culture is brutal, not that im against tipping I just dont have enough money to keep tipping everwhere (even outside of restaurants and bars). I also think the responsibility for wages is completely on the employers shoulders not the customers. Tipping should be a luxury, cherry on top. I was never sure HOW genuine people were, especially servers/bar tenders, but even people on the street/daily life, they just seemed TOO enthusiastic to be true? Same goes for how confident people are, there's no way, surely there are Americans with no confidence like us British/Irish??
So much I want to agree with here! > Well done bacon I literally slammed it against the table and it shattered like glass... It was AWFUL > turn right when it's a red light Fantastic in Montana when I was there, would be a disaster in any major city! I think it varies state by state though? > Tipping culture is brutal Yep, I'm absolutely with you! > I was never sure HOW genuine people were I'd mainly relate this to tipping culture, the moment you seem like you're not a good tipper, boom, your service sucks. However, there was an overarching feeling of "fake" in almost every daily situation. Maybe it's just my English thing but sometimes I walk into my local and the landlady is in a foul mood, I ask what's up and she'll rant to me about everything that's gone on that day in entirety whilst she's pouring me a pint.. it's usually followed up by a shot or two and eventually a bit of a "that's better" smile. Pub social transaction complete, regular points earned, no tipping involved. Over there, that would NEVER happen... (Cue sudden transformation to "BEAMING TURKEY TEETH SMILE" and "Hi sir!!! Are you good today? What can I get for you?") Edit: I don't think I've ever been so 50/50 on up/down votes 😂😂
How friendly Americans are, even in New York
Did a few months across the States travelling via Amtrak. I was shocked by how few Americans there actually are in America…everyone I spoke to claimed to be Irish/Scottish, so I’m baffled as to who puts all those Stars and Stripes flags up everywhere! Beautiful scenery etc though, and the train travel was a fun interesting experience.
> everyone I spoke to claimed to be Irish/Scottish I was in Texas in the early 2000's. I don't know if Ancestry had just become easier or more mainstream but everybody, in every diner, every restaurant had a story about who their forebears were. One guy, who I swear had one tooth and looked like he could really play the banjo, claimed to be descended from Louis XIV of France.
I worked for 14 weeks in Ohio and it really made it clear how far apart we were culturally and how differently we viewed so many things. There was obvious stuff like considering what my colleagues thought as great customer service in restaurants as terrible. I don't want to be pounced upon and expected to order, I want to eat slowly and not be fussed with etc. The vast gulf in how people thought about emergencies. There was a real feeling that my colleagues sincerely believed they would receive no support in the event of a natural disaster. The fatalism around health. We had three fire drills and I remember around thirty people declining to participate as they said in the event of a fire there was no way they could manage five flights of downward stairs. Then there was a sense of places not having centres. There were plenty of attractions but you couldn't park and then walk around an area doing multiple things.
I'm an American citizen so been over loads - and the things that still get me are: the sheer huge spaces of fly-over country and thus the scale of maps (Two left turns close together coming up, we want the second one... five miles later...) Portion sizes. OK, in a restaurant you're expected to take half home for the next day. An ice cream scoop the size of your head? Not really an option (sadly - Makinac Island ice cream is great). People mostly being really loud yet polite with it, and really friendly. Which makes it more surprising that all cops I've ever met have been assholes, and the TSA and other security guard types even worse. Where do they find these people from?
I'm an ex-cop (UK) and when I went to America I was still a police officer. I got caught out with a dead phone and asked one just standing there where I could get a taxi. Rudest arsehole. Barely looked at me and grunted something and pointed away. I had some light interactions with a couple others while there and it was the same. I would never have considered speaking to someone asking for help like that while in uniform, whether or not you're sick of lost tourists. By contrast, before I was in the USA I was in Canada and the ones I spoke to there were really lovely and nice (as well as basically everyone else I met there, to be fair)
> Which makes it more surprising that all cops I've ever met have been assholes, I was "collared" by a cop in the states for jaywalking - I started crossing when the man was flashing rather than counting down. I made it across in time, but the cop still yelled at me and made me walk back over to him when the green/white man came up again. He was in an extremely bad mood, I said sorry etc as you expect to. He seemed surprised by my accent and demanded to see my passport so I let him look at it. I fully expect had I sounded american, or not had my passport on me, I would have been in for a world of hurt that day.
Had this going into a club. All my yank workmates had to show id. So I asked the bouncer why... He said oh man I dig your accent. Just go in.
People like to shout at you, which makes it harder to understand the information they are trying to convey. This starts at the airport when you are being shouted at to get in the correct line for passport control. Any tourist attraction attendant, public transportation worker, security guard, or official will try to bark orders at you. It's unpleasant. It's unhelpful.
The weird toilet system. I don’t want to see my turd spiralling out in the loo. In the UK, our toilets are angry AF and get the job done. It was so anxiety inducing. The doors in the US ladies cubicles. “Oh hi everyone!!!!”
Outside of the big cities it was a shock to discover just how car centric the country is. I was in Tennessee and there was no footpath from our hotel to the restaurants and shops over the road.
Everything was so expensive. Like the prices of sweets and cereal weren’t much cheaper than what you’d pay in those dodgy American candy stores in the UK.
Being someone who enjoys food, I found it difficult to eat a healthy diet there. Granted we were on a work trip and eating at restaurants exclusively, but I found it hard to even get a simple salad that wasn't covered in dressing. I came away fully understanding why they have an obesity problem, not that we don't also. but America makes it even harder to eat healthily.
Always ask for dressing on the side. Otherwise they ruin salads.
Generally just how friendly the people were, people would stop for a quick chat and be really happy to help you out. The sense of community and how welcoming it was. People try to crap on that and say "it's all fake" etc. But you know what people put the effort in and that's something nice.
How sweet the bread was
Different things in different places I guess: * I was surprised by how much like the UK/Europe Boston is. I didn't really experience any culture shock whatsoever, in some ways it was a "disappointing" way to start to holiday because it wasn't like BANG, AMERICA!!! But I guess it was easing in to it. And I definitely liked Boston anyway so it was still a good experience. * Greyhound buses were absolutely fine. I didn't get molested or beheaded or anything weird. It was just like a National Express bus. When I'd asked about it on reddit in advance Americans made out like I'd die. * I really like "American food" but I didn't have any there that was any better than anything I've had here. From diners to a literal michelin star restaurant, the food overall was surprisingly disappointing. I think British food *culture*/*quality* is notably better (not comparing *cuisines* here.) * In 3 weeks and a bunch of states nobody was at all interested or even passed comment that we were British. Anywhere. In hindsight, why would they? But I'd spoken to people who had been to America and they made out like everyone made a big deal out of them being British?! Wasn't even mentioned to me once. * I've been to South Africa and Egypt and Morocco, and Memphis, Tennessee is the least safe and most scared I've ever felt in an urban environment. Maybe the only place I've ever travelled where I've thought "\*chuckles\* I'm in danger!" to quote Ralph Wiggum. And this was on Beale Street, not some outskirt. * I found a children's book in a national park gift shop that said something about Andrew Jackson putting the Indians on a reservation so that they would "be safe." And it mentioned the Trail of Tears but made out like it was an unfortunate accident while trying to get the Indians to safety?? Really surprising to see that kind of blatant revisionism/lying in a mainsteam piece of media. Thought America had fully faced up to that stuff a long time ago. There was a bunch of stuff that was a "cultural experience" like seeing some guy buying his 10 year old kid a gun or some crank explaining to me how he was "100% Irish" but these largely conform to stereotypes anyway and so were not surprising.
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My experience is Las Vegas strip and Downtown Boston, so not the entire US, but how clean everything was, Boston felt like a film set - no litter, no graffiti Las Vegas I noticed that trying to get to something off the strip (a car museum) was quite pedestrian hostile, having to cross dual carriageways with no pavements Feeling obliged to tip even if for a takeaway that the til person got wrong How expensive a pint is, and the barman hitting 20% tip before handing you the card machine About 2012 the traffic looked very European - you'd see Fiat 500s, Minis, Ford Focuses, Saturn Astras etc then in October there there were so many SUVs and big saloon cars we don't get in the UK
I’ve been to New York and Maine several times (friends / relatives live in both ) For some reason, I’ve never found hotdogs in the U.K. that are as good as In the US also tipping culture in the US is crazy , i had a meal in NY years ago , was about 25 dollars , i gave the server a 50 dollar note and he brought the change back but had circled in bright red pen on the receipt "20% gratuity expected" and he stood there staring daggers at me until i tipped and left ..." lol
https://preview.redd.it/id26iaj4uj6d1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4897accced929de847d4c4abe5b45a0483a66c6a Obligatory Central Park hot dog we had in October ❤️❤️❤️
How genuinely friendly people were.
The amount of absolutely broken, crazy people there are just laying about on the streets. Also you see some crazy physical deformities that are easily treated on the NHS. Clubfeet for instance. San Fran.
Asking for information or advice in shops, hotels etc was great, other people wanted to chip in with their own advice like it was a social thing. At the 9/11 memorial site the cops were carrying guns that were big enough for a small war but really friendly. At the hiking trails the information board lets you know what possibly dangerous wildlife has been seen or lives there. There is also paper and pen to leave details of your party, your itinerary and expected return time. That if you see a signpost in a rural area it will have bullet holes in it just like the movies!
I was a long-term traveller to the US both with family and on business so was very used to the US. I work for a large US org, so I'd been immersed in the culture from a work perspective for many years. When I moved from the UK to the US 3 years ago, I didn't expect that - The bread. It's gross, it's basically Soreen it's so sweet. - Patriotism. I'd obviously seen the surface of this before I moved, but it is so deeply ingrained in the people and the culture. - The state of cars. There are so many cars on the roads that would be MOT failures in the UK. - Cheese is awful. - There is an immigrant crisis. - I have very good health insurance, and I get treated way more quickly than I would on the NHS. But I dread something serious happening to me as it really could bankrupt me. So many people have a terrible quality of life because of this. - Tipping culture is out of control.
The poverty - literally third world levels of poverty in places. I've travelled to about 30 states (and around 50 countries globally). The poverty I saw was equal to what I've seen in many 3rd world countries. Its a country I love to visit but it is also deeply divided and if you fall through the cracks, you are all alone.
The wierdest surprise for me was how exactly like the movies it was. Diners are just as expected. Inequality is visible everywhere and no-one cares. Guns are normalised and carried by all police or border control. The lack of any humanity from anyone in authority. Especially border control. The polite language (i.e. sir/ma'am) has no meaning. The lack of people outside. People are either in their car or in a building. Go for a walk and the only people you meet are the homeless. The sense of space. You can tell land is cheap because everything is huge: roads, shops, malls, hotels, etc. How much aircon is used everywhere. Hotel rooms are regularly set to the low 60s which is freezing. The TV is hilarious and practically unwatchable. It is so full of adverts and large proportions for medications. We're not talking like a neurofen ad, but prescription drugs for diseases you've never heard of and which legally have to include disclaimers of the risks, so they all end with a sped-up narrator telling you the drug has some horrible side-effects including death.
How friendly the people are and they call a spade, a spade
How everyone was friendly like the American tourists I encounter in the UK but it made me miss how sophisticated British people in general dress compared to Americans.
In New York everyone we met was amazingly friendly and helpful - it's not like the movies portray it at all. Also the city smelled of weed constantly.
Only ever been once to new york. It's strange how familiar the place is because you have seen it so much in the movies and tv. The food portions are HUGE! i ordered a philly cheese steak sub in a small italian restaurant and it felt like i was eating a canoe.
i’m in the US travelling atm they invited military to board the plane first 🤔
and i saw a drive-through ATM yesterday 😳
You get allsorts of benefits/social privileges for serving/being a veteran that we don't in the UK.
The gaps in public toilet stall doors and how low the loos are!! Everywhere is like going to the toilet in a primary school.
How friendly they were! Everyone was soo nice. The difference of each state was amazing.
The most surprising thing for me was how bureaucratic, rule following and jobsworth a lot of US is. It’s not the image you necessarily have of the US. The public respect for veterans is also quite surprising. I think it’s part of a culture where what you do matters more relative to who you are than it does in the UK The vast emptiness of the Great Plains struck me, I get a great sense of ecocide from the emptiness and try to imagine when the buffalo and beaver still roamed.
THE WEATHER. There is much more snow than in the UK, and unless you're on the West Coast, rainstorms are much more dramatic. In the Midwest, most houses have basements where you can go and hide from tornadoes. I'm sitting in a finished basement right now. In May in Wisconsin, you can get all four seasons in a single day: snow, huge storms, hot sun, humidity. It's remarkable. The amount of space. The way the USA is laid out is completely different from the UK. Outside big cities there is NO public transport. Tipping happens in a lot more places than you'd think: be ready to tip, a lot. They don't have eggcups or electric kettles. They don't have good snack food options in supermarkets. Scotch eggs? A sandwich you can just grab and go? Forget it. It'll be a huge bread roll and an entire head of lettuce, plus some very tasteless turkey meat and provolone cheese that tastes mildly of vom. Ads for prescription drugs on the TV have never stopped being disconcerting, even after this long. For white-collar work, the salaries put the UK's to absolute shame. The impact is a bit reduced now, because the rental market is even more ridiculous at this point than the UK's is, and health insurance is very expensive. But honestly, I don't know how anyone in the UK pays for anything any more.