amideislas

I've heard there are quite a few people living there too (in that spacious park avenue area I believe you're referring to).

fozzyb

I think your mind must work differently to mine... Probably a good thing.

I interpreted that as referring to New York State, rather then New York City...

LondonSquirrel

Lots of squirrels in there. We saw two black squirrels!

robin1234

Not just the middle, either! Plenty of space throughout New York, except in cities and suburbs. Land around here (St. Lawrence County) starts around $500 an acre, unless it has road or water frontage when it can be much more.

SultanOfSwing

Unless you count Central Park, I suppose

WEBlue

Was this people in your company talking? My husband worked for 30 years at a European company with branches all over the world, and many of the US postings were considered plum positions.

Decades ago, when we were set to move to Houston, TX, & I was wondering somewhat nervously how it all would go... several Brits who'd lived there told me not to worry, how nice life was for families with children in the Houston suburbs.

And that was well before the days when nearly every suburban house in Houston had its own swimming pool! We had no pool, and the summers were truly atrocious, yet our family thrived in TX.

I agree with the others who say that it's all down to one's own individual circumstances, especially where you've come from in the UK and where you're headed to in the US. There's no one answer to the OP's question--everyone's take will be different.

amideislas

Into the 90's, America was somewhat chic, but when the Iraq war started, that's when things went straight into the loo.

From about 2002 until maybe a few years ago, I've heard so many ridiculous "truths" about the US - and a lot of it has been vilifying Americans for stuff that's rather routine on this side of the pond and has been for generations; Corruption, domestic spying, tax evasion, etc...

Just one example ...

I remember clearly a thread on another (German) forum some years ago entitled something like "The US police state" - the OP put up a youtube video of a police check in Texas somewhere - The guy been stopped along the road, and the cop politely asked him for ID and asked if he was a US citizen. Really, surprisingly politely.

The guy responded with "What is this, Nazi Germany?" and refused to show any id. The cops were very professional and again, politely asked him to show ID.. He refused, so they asked him to get out of the car, he refused. They didn't resort to violence. They finally persuaded him to show his id and let him pass.

Well, needless to say, all other forum contributors were outraged at the horrible abuse this guy had been subjected to, and proceed to rally about the excessive police brutality and invasion of privacy that's common in the US. (it's probably worth pointing out that the German BND and the finanzamt is amongst the most experienced and prolific domestic spying agencies in the world - they're amongst the best there is).

Now, I remember thinking at the time, that I get stopped like this frequently. There is no "probable cause" here. If they want to stop you, they do. It's routine that they want to look in the boot, or see what's in the shopping bags. If I were to refuse, they wouldn't be polite. They'd drag me out of the car, arrest me, and seize the vehicle. Period. End of discussion.

But that's just one example of what I find to be rather exaggerative and frankly, hypocritical stereotypes that have been passed around for many years.

The customs "strip searches" are another one. I've never seen that, and I'm always treated very politely at US customs (although the queues can be long). But many will tell you that it's likely you'll get strip-searched if you're European. I have another funny story about that but I won't bore you further.

I was only pointing out that it's refreshing to hear something positive about America instead of all these negative made-up stereotypes ... for a change. That's more consistent with my experiences in America, anyway.

Pulaski

I don't know what circles you move in, but in my experience there have always been non-Americans (Britons) that like America, non-Americans that don't like America (including my mother *), but the vast majority are broadly indifferent. The media might have hyped up some anti-American feeling in recent years, but I sincerely doubt it has changed many opinions .... it probably just reinforced the anti-American feelings of those who already leaned in that direction.


* After actually visiting America and meeting some Americans, my mother discovered that she rather likes America after all, and realized that Americans "don't travel well" i.e. many of those Americans that travel internationally, probably shouldn't!

Moses2013

And Americans that don't like America
Europeans who hate Europe etc.

Moses2013

And the good thing is that you have options these days. You can find amazing American bars in Europe and eat amazing German Bratwurst in the US.

hungryhorace

Not that I want to get into this, but the above example really doesn't support your case. Law enforcement has no right to ask for ID without suspicion of a crime being committed. Further, these road blocks that have sprung up in 'Constitution free areas' are an affront to American and civil values.

You should watch other videos where people are DRAGGED from their cars after having their windows broken because they refuse to engage with Homeland agents patrolling in their own country against their own citizens.

That said, the UK is FAR WORSE when it comes to civil rights abuses.

robin1234

The history can be debated endlessly, but it seems to me that the U.S. government (however defined) has had its "eye on the prize" for 200 years. First, imperial domination of North America, then the American hemisphere, then the whole world. Obviously, up till now, it has been spectacularly successful, except for the War of 1812. Some random highlights;

Genocidal wars against Native American nations throughout the C19
War of 1812 to annex Canada
War against Spain (remember the Maine, etc.)
Annexation of Hawaii
WWII, in which (among other things) Britain was essentially forced to give up the empire in exchange for national survival
Suez
Cold War resulting in humbling of "evil empire"

Now, I'm not saying whether it is good or bad that the U.S. ended up at the top of the greasy pole, for the time being. But long term, it does explain the fact that hatred or at least resentment against America has been pervasive among the British and Western European ruling classes since the nineteenth century.

amideislas

Perhaps that's true - and I like that you have those laws ...and the will to resist governmental violations of it.

But the point I was making is that there is none of that here. Road blocks are common, and if you don't comply, you're going to be arrested. Period. And nobody thinks there's anything wrong with that.

Yet, it's people from THIS side of the pond ... where that kind of civil protection is not provided under the law, police controls and searches are routine, and you are not allowed to argue with them ... that stereotype the US as a "police state". Rather hypocritical, don't you think?

amideislas

You can get a lot of European stuff in the US. Just about anything, really.

In contrast, you can't buy much American stuff here. We have regulations against that. It could compete with European suppliers.

You can get some things, but generally the lowest quality crap and it's very expensive. A tiny cup of Peanut butter goes for as much as €8 here (about $10). Wine also comes to mind. You'll never find a good quality Napa Valley Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, but only Gallo or something else that sells for $1 per bottle over there, but costs €16 (about $20) here. But you can buy a truly remarkable Spanish Temparanillo for about €3, or a decent Italian Pinot Grigio for maybe €4.

OH - and just for you, Beaverstate - I bring at least 2 bottles of King Estate Pinot Gris back with me on every trip I take over over there.

amideislas

We know a number of British couples here. Most are pretty open minded and good fun, but I can say that 2 of those couples are extremely anti-American and have some pretty ridiculous facts to tell me about America. Of course, they also whinge incessantly that everything is so "un-British" here in SPAIN.

Most of the Germans we know are very level-headed, well-educated and sensible, but I know a few who rate America about the same as Hitler. I don't think any of them have ever been there. It's just what they see on RT. Those same ones also like Putin a lot.