Observations about America

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**kronk**

I'm glad you liked it, Do_I_Not_Like_That (such an odd user name).

I spent 10 days in the UK in 2007, paying nearly 2 to 1 USD to Pounds back then. But still had a blast. 4 days in Reading visiting friends, out and about in London for 3 days, then exploring old castles in Wales for the rest of it. I have to say that the folks were likewise very nice. A few drunken asses in some of the pubs at night in Reading didn't care for us, but you run into spankers everywhere.

People here tend to be blow hards in bars. All bark and no bite. I suppose it's as much fear that the other guy is packing a weapon as much as not wanting to get arrested for assault. There's some ally ways I wouldn't go down at night in London just like here in Houston, but then I'm a 170# white guy that looks as threatening as Wierd Al.

I didn't care for the food there. You can keep the fish and chips. Bangers and mash were OK. Loved the beer though. Best on-tap I've had. I can't complane about the size of any of my drinks over there.

Sorry you didn't feel it was that free. Not sure what to say to that. To each their own.

**Da Boss**

I look forward to eventually visiting america.
Such a fascinating place. The only problem is it's so damn big, I'll need to take three months to get an anyway decent snapshot of what people are like.

**Frazzled**

Just go to Disney World...and despair!

**Da Boss**

One does not simply walk into Disney World.

**kronk**

Screw you guys. I'm 35 and think Disney World is great!

**Do_I_Not_Like_That**

@Kronk, my user name is a famous quotation from a former england soccer manager. It inspired the Alan Partridge comedy series (It's a British thing) and yeah, the same thing happened to me in Reading a while back

Anyway, It wasn't actual violence as such that bothered me (I didn't actually see any) it was more the gun talk being dropped in casual conversation.

As for the revolutionary war tour, I only visited British victories as opposed to those sites where the revolutionaries got lucky

Why I am calling them revolutionaries? Damn rebel scum!

It was quite funny when I was in Maine having to explain to someone why we call ourselves Great Britain...

No disrespect to the Americans on this site, but you guys couldn't hold a candle up to the UK,France, Switzerland etc when it comes to bread and cheese.

Another thing, isn't it about time you guys got some public transport?

I would go back tomorrow if I could. Not sure about the South, but it really is two seperate cultures divided by a common langauge (or words to that effect)

Overall rating 9/10 (9 and a half if you deport Frazz to England)

**Frazzled**

kronk wrote:Screw you guys. I'm 35 and think Disney World is great!

I second that emotion.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:@Kronk, my user name is a famous quotation from a former england soccer manager. It inspired the Alan Partridge comedy series (It's a British thing) and yeah, the same thing happened to me in Reading a while back

Anyway, It wasn't actual violence as such that bothered me (I didn't actually see any) it was more the gun talk being dropped in casual conversation.

As for the revolutionary war tour, I only visited British victories as opposed to those sites where the revolutionaries got lucky Why I am calling them revolutionaries? Damn rebel scum!

It was quite funny when I was in Maine having to explain to someone why we call ourselves Great Britain...

No disrespect to the Americans on this site, but you guys couldn't hold a candle up to the UK,France, Switzerland etc when it comes to bread and cheese.

Another thing, isn't it about time you guys got some public transport?

I would go back tomorrow if I could. Not sure about the South, but it really is two seperate cultures divided by a common langauge (or words to that effect)

Overall rating 9/10 (9 and a half if you deport Frazz to England)

If I went to England it would tip over with the weight of a million wiener dogs.

**dogma**

Monster Rain wrote:I wouldn't judge the entire US off of what goes on in Philly, MGS.

It's widely regarded as a pretty horrible place.

But its no Detroit.

In terms of relative levels of violence in the US and the UK: they're about the same, in both a statistical and experiential sense. The Daily Mail reported the rate of violent crime in the UK as 2,034 victims per 100,000 (though the report seems dubious for a number of reasons) and the US DOJ reports the US rate as 17.1 victims per 1,000, which works out 1,710 per 100,000. The discrepancy can easily be accounted for by differences in definition, or the legal code.

**kronk**

Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:Another thing, isn't it about time you guys got some public transport?

Of all the things I saw in Paris and London, the underground made me the most jealous.

We have rail transit in some cities (Chicago, New York, maybe some more), but not near enough. I'd use it every day in Houston if I could.

**Monster Rain**

kronk wrote:
Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:Another thing, isn't it about time you guys got some public transport?

Of all the things I saw in Paris and London, the underground made me the most jealous.

We have rail transit in some cities (Chicago, New York, maybe some more), but not near enough. I'd use it every day in Houston if I could.

Boston's public transportation is pretty awesome, as well as San Francisco. It makes it much easier to go out and drink when you don't need to worry about driving.

**Zefig**

Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

Another thing, isn't it about time you guys got some public transport?

Why would we need public transport when we all have multiple giant cars to haul ourselves around in?

**Frazzled**

kronk wrote:
Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:Another thing, isn't it about time you guys got some public transport?

Of all the things I saw in Paris and London, the underground made me the most jealous.

We have rail transit in some cities (Chicago, New York, maybe some more), but not near enough. I'd use it every day in Houston if I could.

I don't think you could build it in Houston. It would flood due to the water table. Back in the Before Time, when water would fall from the sky, the water table level was basically at the surface.

**Monster Rain**

Frazzled wrote:I don't think you could build it in Houston. It would flood due to the water table. Back in the Before Time, when it rained, the water level was basically at the surface.

Did you have to get around in a boat, or did you ride an aquatic dinosaur?

**kronk**

Frazzled wrote:
I don't think you could build it in Houston. It would flood due to the water table. Back in the Before Time, when it rained, the water level was basically at the surface.

Correct on flooding. That's why we can't have basements. But an above ground rail system would be great.

They have that piss-ant one that goes around the football stadium and the medical center, but that's as useful as tits on a bull. But, I'm derailing DO I NOT LIKE THAT's thread I suppose.

**dogma**

biccat wrote: Income inequality is a silly way to measure the worth of a society.

Its only silly if you don't consider other measures as well.

biccat wrote:
...and the extravagent displays of wealth (again...London) that you really don't see in the U.S., even in big cities like New York.

One can display wealth extravagantly without relying on old European architecture and ornate building facades.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

biccat wrote:
I suppose this explains why there have been riots in the last few years in the United States but not in places such as Egypt, Syria, Libya, Greece, France and England.

In the case of Egypt, at least, yes.

**Melissia**

Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:No disrespect to the Americans on this site, but you guys couldn't hold a candle up to the UK,France, Switzerland etc when it comes to bread and cheese.

Mainland Europe perhaps, but you haven't gotten much into the US fine cheeses market if ya think the UK's fine cheeses are better/more varied than that of the US

As for "the south", be more specific. What PART of the south? Florida would be an extremely different experience compared to Louisiana, which would be markedly different from Texas.

**Frazzled**

Monster Rain wrote:
Frazzled wrote:I don't think you could build it in Houston. It would flood due to the water table. Back in the Before Time, when it rained, the water level was basically at the surface.

Did you have to get around in a boat, or did you ride an aquatic dinosaur?

TRex's and gators. Luckily we had a lot of coconuts on hand for the TRexes and the gators, well, hey they're just family.

Again that was the Before Time, not Anasazi Drought Two (This time its rednecks)

**Dragearen**

Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:Just back from a holiday in the good old USA, and I'm happy to say I had a great time (apart from jet lag and obnoxious airport staff)
I know what you mean there, airport staff can be pretty bad sometimes and transport is just generally a pain sometimes.

Everybody was really friendly and helpful, and the scenary was almost as good as bonnie Scotland, but... and it's a big BUT of Jennifer Lopez proportions, some things shocked me.
Scenery was great, in New Hampshire? Dude, just come to Alaska. The lower 48 doesn't compare(okay, maybe there are a few pretty awesome things down there)

Casual violence: The same people that would happily drive you 10 miles for free to the next town, wouldn't blink an eyelid at shooting down some crook or villian who had stolen from them. Indeed the level of conversations, and the things discussed left me a bit uneasy. As well as the fire power on display from some people - guns and stuff. The patriotism seemed a bit OTT
One thing about Americans, is we love our country and you don't screw with that. But then, I've met some people that really don't care, etc. I think in the South the patriotism can be a bit OTT sometimes, but really I don't see what's wrong with it. But, really, we're just people, and a lot of that is just talk. Most of the time, people wouldn't actually do that. But we do, at least in Alaska, have our guns, for sure, and we sure do love them. Almost every family I've ever met has at least one gun in their house. I've met multiple people that carry pistols under their shirts, etc. But then, this is also Alaska, and guns are very necessary if you want to participate in any sort of out of town outdoor activities at all due to bears.

Religion: Sundays are for hangovers, but that message hasn't filtered across the atlantic yet
I think this depends a lot on the area you're in, and even the town. For example, the town I live in right now is very very conservative religiously and church and such is a very important thing to most people here, and interrupting church(for adults more so than teens) to do something for fun is almost unthinkable with a lot of families.

The gap between rich and poor - I though we had it bad in the UK, but over there it seems to be a crime to be poor.
Honestly, I don't even notice a difference between people of different incomes without seeing their house. But then, Alaska has very low homeless/poverty rates compared with the lower 48, so yeah. I have been to NYC/DC and other cities, and it's very very obvious there, but otherwise it's hard for me to tell. That's not to say that it isn't there, it just isn't apparent. But some people definitely look down on poor people, which you can tell by their language. "Hobo" is a common insult for someone, which basically is slang for someone who's homeless. But I also don't come from a wealthy family, I come from a middle-class family that used to be almost homeless, so my perspective may be different from someone who's better off. Eating two meals a day is also considered unfortunate and bad, whereas for me, I frequently skip meals simply because I don't have time, and two meals a day isn't always unusual.

Food and epic proportions: I love crisps (chips) and what you were getting for your cash was too much even for my tastes. Plus, you guys aren't into breads and cheeses in the European sense, which is a shame.
Really? Everyone I know says that you don't get enough in those little chip bags for how much they cost. I personally don't like most of the junk food chips though, so I haven't been keeping track of prices for them. As far as breads and cheeses, not so much with bread, but we certainly put cheese on EVERYTHING. Though, we don't have quite the variance of breads and cheeses that you have in Europe. Our common cheeses basically consist of mozzarella, swiss, cheddar, American, provolone, pepper jack and colby jack, and sometimes muenster . Just about anything else you have to get at a cheese shop, which is kind of hard to find and usually quite expensive, though you might find a different type at a grocery store, it is a bit rarer.

Overall, It was a worthwhile experience, it's a great country, but paradoxically, the land of the free didn't feel that free (if it ever was)
Sadly, true.

Agreeing with the culture changes from state to state, this is my Alaskan view.

Also, yes, our public transport is crap. In Alaska, we don't have public transport except for taxis. Gotta love the US of A. Oh, and our state capital doesn't have any roads leading to it. Woo.

**Coolyo294**

You should come to Minnesota. We have a really, really big mall.

**Frazzled**

coolyo294 wrote:You should come to Minnesota. We have a really, really big mall.

And its colder than a witch's er...breath...

Can you send some of that cold our way?

**Melissia**

And nothing else? ;D

**biccat**

dogma wrote:
biccat wrote:
...and the extravagent displays of wealth (again...London) that you really don't see in the U.S., even in big cities like New York.

One can display wealth extravagantly without relying on old European architecture and ornate building facades.

I wasn't talking about architecture and ornate facades.

I'd never seen such a concentration of luxury automobiles and expensive storefronts until I went to the UK. I later went to the Champs d'Elysees and realized that London's got nothing on Paris.

The rest of France is wonderful...but Paris is like a different country.

**Chibi Bodge-Battle**

USA. The only three letters I need to know"

Usually Self Absorbed ?

**Coolyo294**

Chibi Bodge-Battle wrote:
USA. The only three letters I need to know"

Usually super awesome ?

Fixred that for you.

**Chibi Bodge-Battle**

Think you actually just proved my point!

**TrollPie**

Chibi Bodge-Battle wrote:USA. The only three letters I need to know"
Usually Self Absorbed ?

Chibi, through your refusal to place your comment outside the quotation tags, you have ruined an otherwise funny and witty post. This unforgivable lapse in attention has destroyed your status as Internet Comedian, and we now all think less of you for it. You have failed Dakka, you have failed the Internet and you have failed society. I hope you're happy.

**Frazzled**

coolyo294 wrote:
Chibi Bodge-Battle wrote:
USA. The only three letters I need to know"

Unusually super awesome ?
Fixred that for you.

**halonachos**

Melissia wrote:
Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:No disrespect to the Americans on this site, but you guys couldn't hold a candle up to the UK,France, Switzerland etc when it comes to bread and cheese.
Mainland Europe perhaps, but you haven't gotten much into the US fine cheeses market if ya think the UK's fine cheeses are better/more varied than that of the US

As for "the south", be more specific. What PART of the south? Florida would be an extremely different experience compared to Louisiana, which would be markedly different from Texas.

Just Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia everything else might scare him.

**CT GAMER**

Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:Just back from a holiday in the good old USA, and I'm happy to say I had a great time (apart from jet lag and obnoxious airport staff)

Everybody was really friendly and helpful, and the scenary was almost as good as bonnie Scotland, but... and it's a big BUT of Jennifer Lopez proportions, some things shocked me.

Casual violence: The same people that would happily drive you 10 miles for free to the next town, wouldn't blink an eyelid at shooting down some crook or villian who had stolen from them. Indeed the level of conversations, and the things discussed left me a bit uneasy. As well as the fire power on display from some people - guns and stuff. The patriotism seemed a bit OTT

Religion: Sundays are for hangovers, but that message hasn't filtered across the atlantic yet

The gap between rich and poor - I though we had it bad in the UK, but over there it seems to be a crime to be poor.

Food and epic proportions: I love crisps (chips) and what you were getting for your cash was too much even for my tastes. Plus, you guys aren't into breads and cheeses in the European sense, which is a shame.

Overall, It was a worthwhile experience, it's a great country, but paradoxically, the land of the free didn't feel that free (if it ever was)

Keep in Mind parts of Texas and parts of California might be considered on different planets from each other, etc.

One of the greatest strengths is the diversity of climates, culture, regional characteristics, etc.

As a country we might have some country wide characteristics, but these are far outweighed by regional characteristics imho...

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Chibi Bodge-Battle wrote:
USA. The only three letters I need to know"

Usually Self Absorbed ?

Hey I watched your silly royal wedding for at least ten minutes...

**dogma**

biccat wrote:
I'd never seen such a concentration of luxury automobiles and expensive storefronts until I went to the UK. I later went to the Champs d'Elysees and realized that London's got nothing on Paris.

Neither, except perhaps the Champs due to the Parisian city council and its aggressive control of leasing, struck me as especially distinct from 5th Ave in New York, Michigan Ave. in Chicago, or Rodeo Dr. In Beverly Hills.

biccat wrote:
The rest of France is wonderful...but Paris is like a different country.

I love Paris, and Marseille, and most other major European cities. The more rural areas are sort of meh, but I feel the same way about almost all rural areas; places I'd visit, but not that I would live in by choice.