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What do you like/loathe about the US compared to home (Ireland)?
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Bad:
4 way stops actually drive me demented. They're grand on busy city roads but in rural areas it's basically a random stop sign on an otherwise straight road that forces you to come to a complete stop from 40 or 50 mph even though there's no traffic for a 10 miles. There's often no white line to mark stop signs either! They need to embrace roundabouts over here, maybe not quite to the extent as at home but I'm sure there's a happy medium.
Old people working jobs at McDonalds and gas stations and stuff is crazy, I still can't wrap my head around it. Even people I know here think it's terrible that very old people have to work like that.
Unions over here are pretty bad too, I understand they are there to protect the employees but in a lot of cases they've gone too far and they are dragging companies down or worse, wasting tax payer money with unrealistic expectations. The problem is that there are not very many rules governing basic benefits for employees, there's not even a mandatory lunch break requirement in an 8hr day!
Tax not on the price you see is really annoying. I also think it kind of highlights the disconnect between regular people and the government, it's pretty much there as a way to say 'look what the big bad government is taking from you' and in that sense I guess it works, imagine if every receipt at home at the VAT itemised.
They really work you to the bone over here, long hours and not very much time off, this is one of the major things pushing me to leave a job that is otherwise is pretty much perfect for me.
Politics, the whole polarised society, that really isn't as bad as it appears once you dive into it, it's just that people in the middle are forced to pick a side. It's a problem of a broken political system IMO and I (along with many of my American peers) hope the 2 party system eventually gets changed.
The price of third level education.
Good:
Seasons: Solid hard Winter (although it can drag a bit when it's still snowing on St. Patrick's Day), Summer and Autumn, I'm actually excited for the beginning of Autumn, it's my favourite time of year
Turn on red is a great idea, unfortunately a lot of people don't bother with the whole stopping first before you turn which makes it really hard for pedestrians. Only this morning walking to work I almost got hit twice by people turning on red, they're ruining it for the rest of us!!
I do like that the tax system is broken down such that the tax take for a specific type of tax/fee is used to pay for a specific service.
National Parks, one of the few Government organisations worthy of the funding they aren't receiving due to the sequester.
NPR
Weather, this is kind of covered in seasons but it's worth mentioning twice.
I'm sure there's more good things...0 -
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Bad:
4 way stops actually drive me demented. They're grand on busy city roads but in rural areas it's basically a random stop sign on an otherwise straight road that forces you to come to a complete stop from 40 or 50 mph even though there's no traffic for a 10 miles.
I have grown used to these, especially in our neighbourhood as it keeps traffic moving well ( a grid). However there is no pattern, you can drive 4 blocks and no stop sign (East/West have priority), then suddenly 2 blocks of 4 ways - that does my nut in....Old people working jobs at McDonalds and gas stations and stuff is crazy, I still can't wrap my head around it. Even people I know here think it's terrible that very old people have to work like that
I agree, what is even worse is that one of the baggers at our local supermarket has not 2 but 3 jobs...she's 72 and deserves better at her ageUnions over here are pretty bad too, I understand they are there to protect the employees but in a lot of cases they've gone too far and they are dragging companies down or worse, wasting tax payer money with unrealistic expectations. The problem is that there are not very many rules governing basic benefits for employees, there's not even a mandatory lunch break requirement in an 8hr day!
I agree with the concept of unions, however the BART strike here was horrific for the region, which is why the governor stepped in and forced them into talks and made the strikes impossible to happen. The union knew they had a good barganning chip, but over played it and lost the support of the people.They really work you to the bone over here, long hours and not very much time off, this is one of the major things pushing me to leave a job that is otherwise is pretty much perfect for me.
Agreed, though I am OK - i get 18 days vacation on top of a christmas break and all the federals. My working days are pretty long, and the sucky thing is my wife gets 10 days a year and works erratic shifts (doctor) so we can't really plan time away.Politics, the whole polarised society, that really isn't as bad as it appears once you dive into it, it's just that people in the middle are forced to pick a side. It's a problem of a broken political system IMO and I (along with many of my American peers) hope the 2 party system eventually gets changed.
Pretty lucky here in SF, very liberal (thank god!) but even whenever I go to texas or indy for work, i like the fact that even if you do hold very diverse political opinions, people are still at the very least polite. Also, I have found not discussing politics unless you at know the persons middle name is usually a good rule of thumb hereNPR
Yes! especially This american with life...with Ira GlasI'm sure there's more good things...
This as well0 -
I'm Irish but lived in a few developing countries for the last years before arrivig in the US so like anyone from a country where electronics or luxury items are 300% taxed, I shopped! Lots of choice, cheap generally and even cheaper if you are a member of Costco, Sam's Club etc. Indulging the inner consumer is gooood.
Second thing I did was buy a Corvette Z06. I'm paid well but not a multi-millionaire. Every day is a piece of theatre.. this sort of experience just wouldn't be remotely available to me in Ireland. On the topic motoring. 4-way stops are great where I am (Atlanta) as the police don't really enforce it and everyone rolls through thus making them more efficient than round-a-bouts. I wouldn't fancy them in places like NYC where they are policed with Germanic attention or in Kansas where this is zero traffic but plenty of cops looking to add to the county coffers. Right-on-red makes so much sense and I love those center lane things that you can sit until traffic clears when trying to get on or off the road.
If my family heard how easily I adapted to fake niceness they'd roll around the floor laughing. I know it's fake but can't help but feel in a good mood when indulging in some 'yeaaa, you toooooo'
The country is huge, so just referring to Georgia.. the weather and outdoors are simply gorgeous. 2 hours from a day on the lake, 4 hours drive from the mountains and maybe 6 to the nearest beach on the gulf coast. The genuine out-doorsy attitude ensures that there's so much to do in your free time and people make the most of it. I like the fact that a reasonable rent gets you a spacious, designer apartment with tennis courts on site, complete gym, BBQ areas and pools that fill up with the Beautiful People.
On the downside.. food is god awful. You will find every variety of ethnic restaurant but none are authentic and few even tasty. I work with guys from various places round the world and eating out in Dublin seems to produce a lot less cribbing from them.
Like everyone says, keeping a constant supply of dollar bills to satiate the tip monster is close to impossible. The constantly unkempt wallet, the internal debates over whether this specific scenario warrants a tip and.. just how much? Waiters and delivery guys. That should be it.
News channels are really just 24 hour op-eds on domestic politics targeted at people already of the same persuasion. Cheap to produce no doubt, but you can't really have a water cooler chat about the news because there is none. There's just two types of American style TV ads; acoustic jingly chintz (Apple) or humour that goes stale after the first watch (Geico). Drives you to Netflix.
I think most people here would agree that most Americans maintain a positive outlook and are genuinely friendly which is really refreshing.. but the conversation can be fairly insular. My income and property taxes, social insurance liabilities.. they're higher here than any where I've lived. The volume of entitlements and subsidies have moved the entire economy. So US really is as socialist as most of Commie Europe if not as statist in some industries. Also, I don't object to gun ownership at all, I shoot all the time.. but if by some miracle a gun amnesty took place and all the guns got handed in without civil war, there would be significantly less gun deaths. That very high cost for maintaining a personal right just needs to be accepted. Pointing out the county upstate with some archaic 'mandatory gun ownership ordinance' and the low crime rate there while ignoring the extremely high average incomes and homogeneous demographics in that county makes the argument even more farcical.0 -
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Get thee to Buford Hwy and areas west of Chamblee Tucker (its nicknamed Chambodia for a reason. :P ) Lots of fablis ethnic restaurants there owned and ran by peeps from Mexico, Vietnam, Korea etc etc.
I'm with you on that. No shortage of real ethnic food in Atlanta. Not enough Indian though.GenericName wrote: »Pointing out the county upstate with some archaic 'mandatory gun ownership ordinance' and the low crime rate there while ignoring the extremely high average incomes and homogeneous demographics in that county makes the argument even more farcical.
Nice swipe at Kennesaw, GenericName. It's where I'm sitting at the present. Working
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InTheTrees wrote: »YOu dont like people asking for raises?
It is outrageous isn't asking for a pay raise. I mean come on the idea that they could actually earn a living wage what are they thinking;)
Being serious for a second given the US economy is based on consumption to a high degree if the fast food workers had more money in their pockets they would have more to spend elsewhere and would certainly be likely to spend a very high percentage of the extra income thus helping the economy.0 -
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A lot of mine have already been mentioned actually, but have added a few more:
Good
-Vast range of foods to try - sushi, Korean, new American, awesome Mexican
-Choice of craft beers
-Prevalence of cocktail bars with proper, tasty and strong drinks..not just yer sex on the beach and long islands!
-Friendliness of the people. It could me where I am - San Francisco - that, as another poster mentioned, is full of transplants - but how open everyone is to meeting new people, breaking out of your social circle, saying "let's hang out sometime" and actually meaning it
-Ability to do any number of outdoor activities within a few hours
-The idea of having hobbies, going on trips, taking in culture/art/music/etc that's the norm. Rather than going out and getting wasted every weekend, which seems to be the only thing my friends at home do for fun.
-Weather..duh
-Service in restaurants, shops etc. With the influx of J1ers for the summer, I can almost tell off that bat if they're working someplace cos you won't get the "Good morning!" like you would from the American workers (generalising, but!)
Bad
-Portion sizes. Feels like I will never be at my pre-US weight ever again. I used to think a grande Starbucks was big...wonder when I'll be onto the ventis
-Old people working in supermarkets etc. Makes me really sad actually, to see that.
-The bad amount of paid vacation time. I love to be at home for Christmas, so finding the time to explore the States is pretty difficult.
-The expectation to work long hours
-The talking shop outside of work. This isn't a universal thing, but definitely the most successful coworkers I have are those that are in work mode 24/7; if we're in a social setting with the boss, they talk of nothing else but work. Too much.
-The difficulty in getting legal to work here
-SF-specific, but the crazy rent and cost of living in the city. Love it too much to leave, though
-I've probably been scaremongered into this by documentaries and books, but the idea of non-organic fruit/veg and of eating cheap meat bothers me. I'm also much more aware of ingredients lists now too, seeing as there could be any kind of additives etc that are banned like everywhere else in the world, ha!0 -
catreelo11 wrote: »A lot of mine have already been mentioned actually, but have added a few more:
Good
-Vast range of foods to try - sushi, Korean, new American, awesome Mexican
-Choice of craft beers
-Prevalence of cocktail bars with proper, tasty and strong drinks..not just yer sex on the beach and long islands!
-Friendliness of the people. It could me where I am - San Francisco - that, as another poster mentioned, is full of transplants - but how open everyone is to meeting new people, breaking out of your social circle, saying "let's hang out sometime" and actually meaning it
-Ability to do any number of outdoor activities within a few hours
-The idea of having hobbies, going on trips, taking in culture/art/music/etc that's the norm. Rather than going out and getting wasted every weekend, which seems to be the only thing my friends at home do for fun.
-Weather..duh
-Service in restaurants, shops etc. With the influx of J1ers for the summer, I can almost tell off that bat if they're working someplace cos you won't get the "Good morning!" like you would from the American workers (generalising, but!)
Bad
-Portion sizes. Feels like I will never be at my pre-US weight ever again. I used to think a grande Starbucks was big...wonder when I'll be onto the ventis
-Old people working in supermarkets etc. Makes me really sad actually, to see that.
-The bad amount of paid vacation time. I love to be at home for Christmas, so finding the time to explore the States is pretty difficult.
-The expectation to work long hours
-The talking shop outside of work. This isn't a universal thing, but definitely the most successful coworkers I have are those that are in work mode 24/7; if we're in a social setting with the boss, they talk of nothing else but work. Too much.
-The difficulty in getting legal to work here
-SF-specific, but the crazy rent and cost of living in the city. Love it too much to leave, though
-I've probably been scaremongered into this by documentaries and books, but the idea of non-organic fruit/veg and of eating cheap meat bothers me. I'm also much more aware of ingredients lists now too, seeing as there could be any kind of additives etc that are banned like everywhere else in the world, ha!
Summed up most of my thoughts fairly well.
Particularly the pathetic amount of holidays, most in Europe just not aware how bad the US is on this. in most cases 10 days unless you have been with company for many years and fairly common not to be allowed to take more than one week at a time.
Was 7 years there but, seen much more of the US since moving back to Ireland as never had the time off to do so while living there.
Much as people like to bitch here, myself included,The level of taxation is the US is generally much higher than in Ireland.
Do miss the genuine friendliness that that just does not exist in Ireland.
Was a fan of American heavy metal and really my V8 engines.
Ahh, come on!
"seeing as there could be any kind of additives etc that are banned like everywhere else in the world, ha!"
Think you may have over there too long, this is one of the biggest areas of dispute between the US and Europe. Pretty much all US produce is banned here as it is loaded with multitudes of additives, hormones and steroids never allowed or banned in Europe decades ago.“Follow the trend lines, not the headlines,”
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