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What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

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Old Jan 12th 2017, 10:07 pm
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by lizzyq
There is also the little liberal bubble of State College right in the middle in Centre County.
Come to San Francisco, a safe haven for liberals. Trump got an amazing just under 10% of the vote, which was shockingly high.

PS we have cheese.
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Old Jan 12th 2017, 11:52 pm
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by johnwoo
Come to San Francisco, a safe haven for liberals. .... Trump got an amazing just under 10% of the vote, which was shockingly high. .....
Maybe Donald Trump will put a wall around SF when he's taken care of the Mexican wall.

Last edited by Pulaski; Jan 13th 2017 at 12:07 am.
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 12:04 am
  #438  
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by Pulaski
.... Which voted in 2016 for a Republican senator and voted for Hilary by a much smaller margin (about 2,200 votes) than the number of voters who voted for the Libertarian and Conservative candidates (about 3,000 votes in aggregate), and in fact was taken by Hillary with less than 50% of the votes cast, so hardly a bastion of liberalism!
Its somewhere to the left of Jeremy Corbyn, compared to anywhere OUTside State College. This was a Bernie Sanders town. A lot of dems stayed away
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 12:15 am
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by Pulaski
Maybe Donald Trump will put a wall around SF when he's taken care of the Mexican wall.
Would that be similar the Berlin wall to stop people escaping to California?
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 2:43 am
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by Pulaski
Maybe Donald Trump will put a wall around SF when he's taken care of the Mexican wall.
Paul Ryan seems to believe that building the Mexican wall will stop drugs getting across the border. How stupid can you get ?
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 2:54 am
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

After so many years in the US it's a bigger culture shock when visiting the UK.
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 6:57 am
  #442  
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by tonrob
I think most things are poorer in quality over here: houses, cars, consumer goods, customer service, banks, airlines... I could go on and on.
President-Elects...
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 5:03 pm
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

I experience a sort of culture shock when visiting the UK. The streets are so narrow and it all seems so crowded. I've been here over 40 years though
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 7:24 pm
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

I don't get the uniquely British obsession with masonry construction and repulsion from framed houses.
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 7:25 pm
  #445  
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by Hiro11
I don't get the uniquely British obsession with masonry construction and repulsion from framed houses.
The story of the 3 little pigs is drilled into us from babyhood.....
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 7:47 pm
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by Hiro11
I don't get the uniquely British obsession with masonry construction and repulsion from framed houses.
The problem with masonry is that it's porous. British brick houses generally have a double outer wall but the damp still seeps through.

I notice that dampness in the houses when I go back to the UK
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 8:03 pm
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

My firm has a facility in North Kingstown RI and I was encouraged to go and see "the castles" in Newport.

Needless to say I laughed out loud at what American's consider a castle here....

Oh, and going to a renaissance fair for the first time. All these American's walking around with terrible English accents is just a scream!
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 8:06 pm
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by Karlosthecackle
My firm has a facility in North Kingstown RI and I was encouraged to go and see "the castles" in Newport.

Needless to say I laughed out loud at what American's consider a castle here....

Oh, and going to a renaissance fair for the first time. All these American's walking around with terrible English accents is just a scream!
Anytime you're out these parts pay a visit to Hearst castle
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 8:08 pm
  #449  
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by Karlosthecackle
My firm has a facility in North Kingstown RI and I was encouraged to go and see "the castles" in Newport.
Not sure why they called them that -- the residences in Newport were actually summer cottages.
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Old Jan 13th 2017, 8:09 pm
  #450  
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Default Re: What was the biggest culture shock when you moved to the USA?

Originally Posted by Karlosthecackle
My firm has a facility in North Kingstown RI and I was encouraged to go and see "the castles" in Newport.

Needless to say I laughed out loud at what American's consider a castle here....
Are you sure that's not a colloquialism? I don't know anyone round here who would call a Mansion (whether it's masonry construction or not) a castle.

It's hardly their fault the Normans never made it over here though ...

Originally Posted by Karlosthecackle
Oh, and going to a renaissance fair for the first time. All these American's walking around with terrible English accents is just a scream!
That's a little unfair, I've always enjoyed going to the Renaissance Faire just over the state line from us in Wisconsin. The participants always seemed like your typical amateur dramatics type crowd (and I'll admit I'm biased here, because I did community theatre for a while back home).

Other than it being a little historically inaccurate, I have a good time when I go. For a while, it was the only place around here where I could get a pint of cider.
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