Originally Posted by Dant3

Standard of Living and Quality of Life are both relative. While working a 9 to 5 job in a beige cubicle may not be everybody's idea of heaven, it sure beats being thrown up against a classroom wall by some heroin addled parent in Bradford. The fact that I get to leave work at 5pm, instead of 10pm as a teacher, means that I also get to have some kind of social life. Living in a warm climate watching hummingbirds flitting about the Bougainvillea beats just about any of the places I've had the dubious pleasure of living in in the UK. I can't afford a house here, but then I couldn't afford a house in the UK either. The important difference is that here I feel an optimistic sense that I can succeed, which was never the case in England. The fact that I can't get a decent pork sausage and nobody's heard of Bogpuss is, at this stage, a worthwhile sacrifice.

Originally Posted by snowbunny

It obviously *isn't* way too expensive, then. You can bitch about it, but you ARE willing to pay.

Originally Posted by Dant3

Standard of Living and Quality of Life are both relative. While working a 9 to 5 job in a beige cubicle may not be everybody's idea of heaven, it sure beats being thrown up against a classroom wall by some heroin addled parent in Bradford. The fact that I get to leave work at 5pm, instead of 10pm as a teacher, means that I also get to have some kind of social life. Living in a warm climate watching hummingbirds flitting about the Bougainvillea beats just about any of the places I've had the dubious pleasure of living in in the UK. I can't afford a house here, but then I couldn't afford a house in the UK either. The important difference is that here I feel an optimistic sense that I can succeed, which was never the case in England. The fact that I can't get a decent pork sausage and nobody's heard of Bogpuss is, at this stage, a worthwhile sacrifice.

Originally Posted by Conway7

Is "Bogpuss" (Bagpuss?) a triping error teach?

Originally Posted by Dant3

Luckily, it is. Even more luckily I was never required to teach typing.

Originally Posted by Conway7

Nice one!

On a slightly different tack, I guess it must be a bit of a bummer for some Brits, to have to conform with the americanisation of the english language, and I was thinking specifically of differences in the spelling of the same word eg color,defense,kidnaped etc..... did/does that cause you any problems, or did you readily adapt, when teaching your classes?

I imagine it might be more of a confusion for teenagers, who have directly transferred over from schools in the UK?

Originally Posted by Conway7

On a slightly different tack, I guess it must be a bit of a bummer for some Brits, to have to conform with the americanisation of the english language, and I was thinking specifically of differences in the spelling of the same word eg color,defense,kidnaped etc..... did/does that cause you any problems, or did you readily adapt, when teaching your classes?

Originally Posted by Dant3

And I've just been told today that Americans never use the word 'whilst'! Who ******* knew?!?!

Originally Posted by ImHere

I think Americans may argue about the "Americanisation" of the English language. Oddly enough American English has more in common with Shakesperean English than British English does.

Originally Posted by Dant3

The American wife still thinks the British use of 'do' is funny, as in "they might do", or "will it do?", or the classic "but they do do, don't they".
EVERYBODY DOWN! This is a threadjacking!

Originally Posted by Conway7

Art thou sure, and doth thy mean "Shakespearian!"

Originally Posted by ImHere

I think Americans may argue about the "Americanisation" of the English language. Oddly enough American English has more in common with Shakesperean English than British English does.

Originally Posted by Conway7

I imagine it might be more of a confusion for teenagers, who have directly transferred over from schools in the UK?

Originally Posted by Bob

MIL, she's a yank, ...