Graxley

[QUOTE=EnglishTeaDuck;5861850]

The thing I find hardest right now is probably how rude the people are. When I first came here, I was constantly saying 'well, I can't judge everyone on one person!' etc.....but after three years, I am so sick of being insulted, laughed at and hearing my own country slagged off by people who have never been there every day. I smile and laugh and join in and do what you have to do, but if I think about staying here the rest of my life, frankly I don't want to bother getting up tomorrow.


I find people in NYC to be the rudest. An Irish American even said to me that because I was British then that made us enemies. I think Americans have had too much money for too long as they behave like spoilt children.

kingfisher241049

Its paid out of your National Insurance contributions, like I said. Copays etc, yes indeed!!!

Roland Hulme

Sense and love? What utter bunkum. You've been away from England too long. It's not bohemia.

I do know you have a vendetta against the US, which is utterly fine. But keep it in perspective, please!

Personally the 'varied accents' was one of the worst things about England. Open your mouth and immediately somebody's going to judge you because of the way you speak. Aside from in church, I've never met more judgemental people than I did in England.

When I was doing pharma sales, I LOVED dealing with people from the south - especially Georgia. They were so polite and friendly and seemed really genuine.

Too bloody right! Snowbunny's completly blinkered. My wife lived in England for four years with me and GUARANTEED at least twice a day there would be some flucking stupid idiot making fun of her accent, repeating trite stereotypes about American culture (or, ha ha, hilarious, 'lack of it') and then attacking her for Bush (my New York democrat wife... Stupids idiots.)

I've had a couple of dumb jokes (gee, does it always rain over there?,) but 99.5% of the times only ever found Americans to be curious and friendly about where I come from.

On the surface, NEw Yorkers can be really rude, but I've also found them to be pretty genuine once you get past the tough outer shell (like a orange whirl)

Mind you, I was in NYC yesterday and got bustled here, knocked there and swear I'd have 'capped' half the people in my subway car if I'd had a machine gun.

E17Avenue

Because he was Irish or American?

That's half the trouble with the American identity. They still carry their ethnic nationality like a badge. "Oh, I'm German". Really? Then speak some. "Oh, I mean my gt gt gt grandmother was from Germany". Oh, so you're a born in the USA American?

This adds to a weird sense of not knowing what a nationality really is. Add the "World Series" and "Superbowl Champs = World Champs" attitude to the mix and you get a really distorted sense of what is real on a global political scale.

Graxley

One of the worst memories of arriving in NYC was travelling on the subway. My OH calls it 'the smelly'.

Graxley

When I asked him about his nationality it was his grandfather who was Irish!

lisag8070

We lived in Westborough, MA for 18 months a few years ago and we couldn't wait to move..

example: my DD was only 2 at the time and always liked to run ahead of us when entering a shop (she would wait at the door for us to open it), some body was ahead of her, saw her (and us right behind) and just let the door slam in her face (before we could grab the handle)...this scared the crap out of her and she started crying, I had to drag my OH out of the store so he couldn't beat the crap out of them...

My OH would always keep the door open for people (especially if they had kids) and they would just swan right past him without even looking at him...to which he would shout "it doesn't cost anything to use some manners you know"

Our time in Massachusetts made us very cynical indeed....

then we got to Florida and when it took us a long time to get used to the friendliness, every time somebody said "hi how ya doin" we would look round, thinking they were talking to somebody else...

Roland Hulme

My wife is 'Russian' and 'Italian'... Apparently.

Which is funny, because it says on her birth certificate she was born in Syosset, Long Island.

tamms_1965

Or Epcot in Disney World.

tamms_1965

[QUOTE=Graxley;5863934] It's just the opposite for my DH. He couldn't get over how genuinely nice people are to him (and me, the USC). But, we live in the Midwest.....I think it's much different than some of the New England states. Are regions are as varied as countries in their accents, food, tranditions, attitudes, etc.

E17Avenue

I set others a very high standard. If I don't see the kind of courtesy offered to me that I would offer to others in the same position I am not very happy to put it mildly. Things like not closing up on the car in front at a red light if there is a parking lot entrance there, so that people can move in and out freely until I am allowed to move again. The little things that we all get brought up with, but from what I hear are becoming scarcer regardless of which country you live in.

cindyabs

with a bit of the Magic Kingdom thrown in,

Roland Hulme

I will admit, I used my car horn maybe ONCE a week in the UK. It gets used five times a day in New Jersey.

E17Avenue

Isn't it part of local driving regulations in NJ/NY to use the horn? Some kind of indicator signal or something?

Mallory

I heard that Snowbunny's grandmother was Enid Blyton!