Things which surprised/shocked you about specific US cities

pgmcpq

ceadaoin. wrote: »

I've been in the US for almost a year now and I haven't been anywhere where you had to ask for a key to use the bathroom? Last place I had to do this was back in Dublin, to access the baby changing/disabled toilet in a pub

Agreed. I have seen it - I cannot remember where but I suspect in a few hole-in-the-wall diners on motorways - but it is not at all standard. What did surprise me was in Philly when I discovered that not all cafes were required to have bathrooms :eek:.

ProudDUB

Lived in the US for nearly 20 years and never once had to ask for a key to a bathroom. It's a common enough thing to happen in petrol stations that are very isolated, or in bad parts of town. If the staff member doesn't like the look of you, you'll be told where to go, as he doesn't want to have to clean up whatever mess you may be planning on making in his bathroom. But it is certainly not the norm in cafe's, bars, restaurants etc etc nationwide.

Novella

Joe Doe wrote: »

One thing you'll notice after a day or two is you have to ask for a key to the toilet in most cafes/restaurants, presumably they just like to keep the riff raff and junkies out. Still it's a bit odd for a country focused on customer service. Public conveniences are fairly scarce, again strange for such country with very high consumption (see below).

from factslides.com/s-USA

I live in California and before I lived here, I traveled to the US a lot and I've never had to ask for a key to use a restroom!

jaymcg91

In NY a lot of the places have restroom codes printed on the receipt that you have to key in. Much more efficient IMO.

Esel

jaymcg91 wrote: »

In NY a lot of the places have restroom codes printed on the receipt that you have to key in. Much more efficient IMO.

What happens if you need to use the restroom before you pay?

jaymcg91

Esel wrote: »

What happens if you need to use the restroom before you pay?

Most people just pay then go. I've waited in line at Chipotle desperate before because I know they don't give the code out. In fairness, god only knows the state of the restrooms would be in if they just let anybody use them.

RoadhouseBlues

I was walking down the street and saw a sign in the window saying, FANNY PACKS. 2 FOR 5 DOLLARS. I thought it was a feminine hygiene product. It was one of those bags you hang around your waist:-):-). I found America to be very friendly to the Irish. Although I suppose there are different people everywhere. Also the homeless thing was hard to see. People don't even acknowledge them. That was rough. Some parts of America are like the third world. And people don't realise that. The American dream didn't reach everywhere. That is reality.

Esel

RoadhouseBlues wrote: »

I was walking down the street and saw a sign in the window saying, FANNY PACKS. 2 FOR 5 DOLLARS. I thought it was a feminine hygiene product. It was one of those bags you hang around your waist:-):-). I found America to be very friendly to the Irish. Although I suppose there are different people everywhere. Also the homeless thing was hard to see. People don't even acknowledge them. That was rough. Some parts of America are like the third world. And people don't realise that. The American dream didn't reach everywhere. That is reality.

"Would you like a ride?"

"Your place or mine?"

Yeah, ass, butt, fag, stabber, fanny, ride, rubber, pissed, after, cook, limbo, Chucky, mate, mean, must, nice, nuts, odd, off, OJ, pinch, piece, dig, IRA, finger, feel, hump, ripe, rad, sad, all dose words where we drop the 'h' after 't', vim, cat, flog, happy out, go on, Jesus or even Jaysus, fuck off (or f me)!, yakuntya, tool, lunch (box), sambo - big no-no!, mullah, 's ea (shah), níl, zed, start, stop, axe (ask), go on, would you ever, mind your house, on me head, hit me again (go on, I dare ya), thanks but no thanks, good boy, mule, black bastard, animal, bone, Cork, Down, Mayo, wick, Louth, south, Pearse, willy, no I can't, see you Jimmy, let's go.

Asarlai

owenc wrote: »

I'd love to visit Los Angeles but its so god damn far away and expensive.

We tried to incorporate into our holiday this time but after discovering that villas were £3000 a week that ship sailed soon..

How could you be posting when under your profile name on the left hand side it says 'Banned'?

Asarlai

ProudDUB wrote: »

Lived in the US for nearly 20 years and never once had to ask for a key to a bathroom. It's a common enough thing to happen in petrol stations that are very isolated, or in bad parts of town. If the staff member doesn't like the look of you, you'll be told where to go, as he doesn't want to have to clean up whatever mess you may be planning on making in his bathroom. But it is certainly not the norm in cafe's, bars, restaurants etc etc nationwide.

I've lived in the US for 25 years and only once have I needed to ask for a key to the bathroom. I remember the day well: it was on July 21, 1998 at 3:04pm in Debonair, Mississippi.

InTheTrees

Asarlai wrote: »

How could you be posting when under your profile name on the left hand side it says 'Banned'?

They don't delete posts by people who are later banned so they'd still be visible but the poster would be listed as banned.

I think.

ireland.man

Washington D.C. is an incredibly poor and dangerous place. I always thought that city would be one of the wealthier and safer parts of the States but no, it's one of the worst. There's massive ghettos all surrounding the city and the murder rate is very high.

yew_tree

pgmcpq wrote: »

I find it pretty sad to see the urban sprawl that now stretches Dublin into neighbouring counties and the bad reputation that urban/apartment living has.

Problem with Dublin is tiny apartments were built mainly out in the middle of nowhere with little services. It is a shame there are no decent apartments families can't live in, in Dublin.

The docklands should be re-developed and maybe even the possibility of "moving" Dublin port up or down the coast a few miles to completely redevelop the waterfront. This would help to stop the urban sprawl into neighbouring counties.

Mars Bar

Oh and not one house in California has a clothes line despite the near constant sun shine. That one absolutely baffled me!

SpaceTime

By European standards Irish shop opening hours are VERY long.

Literally NOTHING opens on a Sunday in many continental countries. You would struggle to even get toilet paper in Spain or France on a Sunday never mind go clothes shopping. Even northern Europe can be really, really regimented about trading hours.

Ireland is definitely a bit of a halfway house between the US 24/7 culture and the continental only open between 2:00 and 2:23pm every second Thursday (excluding public, religious, local and other holidays) culture.

ProudDUB

Mars Bar wrote: »

Oh and not one house in California has a clothes line despite the near constant sun shine. That one absolutely baffled me!

Tumble dryers are standard in American homes and have been for decades. They are stand alone machines that are just for drying. They aren't the combi washing machine units that we have here, that are absolutely crap at getting clothes dry & take about 10 hrs to do one load. The US dryers are very powerful & can get a load of heavy laundry (such as towels) dry in 30-40 minutes. As electricity is so much cheaper over there, people don't think twice about using their dryers for pretty much everything. They just don't want the hassle of hanging clothes out to dry. Neither did I when I lived there.

SpaceTime

Washer-dryers aren't that popular in Ireland other than amongst landlords with apartments.

Major difference in Europe is the cost. I'm using the dryer a LOT more since I got the heat pump version as the cost per load is quite reasonable for once!

It's about 22 US cent per kWh in Ireland vs on average (although it varies state to state) 12 cent / kWh.
35 cent in Germany and 40 in Denmark!?!

jaymcg91

ProudDUB wrote: »

Tumble dryers are standard in American homes and have been for decades. They are stand alone machines that are just for drying. They aren't the combi washing machine units that we have here, that are absolutely crap at getting clothes dry & take about 10 hrs to do one load. The US dryers are very powerful & can get a load of heavy laundry (such as towels) dry in 30-40 minutes. As electricity is so much cheaper over there, people don't think twice about using their dryers for pretty much everything. They just don't want the hassle of hanging clothes out to dry. Neither did I when I lived there.

I've never even seen one of these combi units...they sounds **** though. We have 2 stand alone machines, one for each. I thought that was the norm .

ProudDUB

jaymcg91 wrote: »

I've never even seen one of these combi units...they sounds **** though. We have 2 stand alone machines, one for each. I thought that was the norm .

I have one in the house I am renting. It is just one machine that looks like a washing machine, but it has dryer function built in too. The drying cycles take forever. I can run mine for two hours and a load of towels will still be damp when I take them out. Stand alone tumble dryers do exist here, but in the over 200 houses that I looked at when I was house hunting, the combi unit was far, far more common. Not many kitchens had room for a washing machine and a dryer. It sucks. :mad:

byronbay2

ProudDUB wrote: »

I have one in the house I am renting. It is just one machine that looks like a washing machine, but it has dryer function built in too. The drying cycles take forever. I can run mine for two hours and a load of towels will still be damp when I take them out. Stand alone tumble dryers do exist here, but in the over 200 houses that I looked at when I was house hunting, the combi unit was far, far more common. Not many kitchens had room for a washing machine and a dryer. It sucks. :mad:

No, that's actually the vacuum cleaner you're thinking of!!

Mars Bar

ProudDUB wrote: »

Tumble dryers are standard in American homes and have been for decades. They are stand alone machines that are just for drying. They aren't the combi washing machine units that we have here, that are absolutely crap at getting clothes dry & take about 10 hrs to do one load. The US dryers are very powerful & can get a load of heavy laundry (such as towels) dry in 30-40 minutes. As electricity is so much cheaper over there, people don't think twice about using their dryers for pretty much everything. They just don't want the hassle of hanging clothes out to dry. Neither did I when I lived there.

When I asked them why they didn't hang their clothes out, they gave the same answer alright. Their tumble driers were unreal!
It has been a while since I saw a combi one here in Ireland to be honest. They aren't all that common any more. I think you have just gotten unlucky!

ProudDUB

Maybe I have been.

US tumbler dryers really are the bomb. They operate on a higher voltage and have better motors, than their piss poor Irish equivalent. So they can get the job done in a ridiculously short amount of time, for fraction of the cost.

SpaceTime

ProudDUB wrote: »

I have one in the house I am renting. It is just one machine that looks like a washing machine, but it has dryer function built in too. The drying cycles take forever. I can run mine for two hours and a load of towels will still be damp when I take them out. Stand alone tumble dryers do exist here, but in the over 200 houses that I looked at when I was house hunting, the combi unit was far, far more common. Not many kitchens had room for a washing machine and a dryer. It sucks. :mad:

landlords buy them because they meet the minimum requirement to provide clothes drying facilities but they take up no extra space. They don't have to use them though!

We've always had a proper dryer anywhere I've lived though. I even bought one in a rental place as I've better things to be doing than waiting 3 days for my clothes to be wrecked by the "landlord special crumple dryer deluxe"

The clothes used to just get hot rather than dry. Normal Irish dryers are a bit slower than US ones but they work fine. Those washer-dryer things are basically a washing machine with a hair dryer inside! Useless.

pgmcpq

Mars Bar wrote: »

Oh and not one house in California has a clothes line despite the near constant sun shine. That one absolutely baffled me!

We've got a lot of athletic gear that cannot be put in a clothes dryer. We would hang it in the basement.

Cannot speak to California, but in the NE an Irish style clothes line would turn into a fairly lethal garotte as soon as the first fall storm rolled around. Earlier in the year the humidity would prevent anything drying.

I think the reason why the dryers in older Irish home don't work as well is that the better one need to be vented to the outdoors. Unless the building/apartment is designed with this in mind, it is difficult to retro fit a decent dryer (older American apartment have the same problem so a common laundry room is usual).

SpaceTime

Boston didn't surprise or shock me at all. I found it fairly boring.

Seattle is nice but there were a lot of guys hanging around street corners trying to grab your attention which is a bit weird and intimidating.

NYC looks great in photos but close up: 'meh'

LA isn't nearly as bad as they say.

San Diego is nice

SF is over rated and regularly gets miserable weather in Winter just the bay area itself due to a microclimate- go to San Diego.

Texas's cities are surprisingly liberal and left wing unlike the rest of the state which is exactly like you'd expect.

Washington DC has nice government areas but the rest of it is a bit of a dive. Don't spend more than a day.

Also be very careful about saying you're an athiest in the US. Made that mistake once! They're often almost scarily religious. You'd be OK in California and maybe NYC but anywhere else or even without knowing who you're taking to - you can expect a bad reaction. Just always avoid that topic.

brooke 2

Mars Bar wrote: »

Oh and not one house in California has a clothes line despite the near constant sun shine. That one absolutely baffled me!

In some parts if the States you are not allowed to have a clothes line outdoors!
There can be certain preconditions to which you have to agree before you are
given planning to build. A relation of mine in upstate New York could not have
an overground swimming pool, for example - or the outdoors clothesline! And
this was for a large detached house about two fields away from the nearest
house!!

Something which really intrigued me was the way in which some people from
upmarket rural areas in New York almost seemed to boast that there was no
public lighting in the neighbourhood, as in 'Look! No public lighting!!' Really
bizarre to my ears!! I think they were trying to say that the places in which they
lived were so crime free that they did not need the lights.

Re clothesline snobbery - an acquaintance of mine who lives in Howth once
told me that her child had invited to their house a friend who lived in a more
salubrious part of the village. The 'friend' told the other child that her family
must be poor because they had to dry their clothes outside!!!!

SpaceTime

A friend of mine moved to Montenotte in Cork and got a note through the door asking if they would kindly erect a fence or invest in a tumble dryer as "we don't leave our washing on display" here.

ceadaoin.

Mars Bar wrote: »

When I asked them why they didn't hang their clothes out, they gave the same answer alright. Their tumble driers were unreal!
It has been a while since I saw a combi one here in Ireland to be honest. They aren't all that common any more. I think you have just gotten unlucky!

I always had a combi one when I rented in Ireland and England. They really are terrible. Would take hours to dry a few towels. The one I have here in the US somehow uses gas to run and is amazing. It can fit about 3 full loads and has everything dry in 40-60 mins depending on how much is in there. The washing machine is huge too so I usually do the laundry once a week. It's far more economical than having the machine running everyday which I had to do in Ireland. I haven't seen any clothes lines here at all. I live in Las Vegas so maybe it's too hot and on windy days sometimes you get a lot of dust blowing around so that's probably why.

InTheTrees

I like the controls on the US washers and dryers too.

Hot, warm or cold. Gentle or regular. on/off. Easy.

You usually need to read a small book to figure out the european machines. Why do I have to set it to temp 7 and cycle 12??? And then put the detergent in a little slot on the side? Argh.

SpaceTime

Normal Irish (European) dryer would do a load of about 15-20 towels in about 1:30 to 2h (if it's on some kind of eco setting). At least that's how ours works anyway.

I think the issue is more down to Irish and British landlords being incredibly penny pinching because they're all amateurs really so, every cent spent on the place comes out of their pocket. I don't really know anyone who uses a washer-dryer in the context of a family home, they're very much associated with rentals.

When I was renting in Spain we'd a nice apartment but the washing machine had a 350 rpm spin and was utterly tiny! It was like they went to a discount electrical store and found the crappiest washing machine that cost less than €100 and shoved it in. Even the brand was unheard of. So, you got a load of almost sopping wet clothes out and had to hang them on the balcony. No when most of us think of Spain, they think of the Costa del Sol. I was up in the North of Spain and you had to crack your clothes off the washing line in winter as it was about -7ºC on the balcony.

I eventually gave up and actually purchased proper washing machine and a dryer and put it out on the balcony. Life changing, literally.