Go Back  British Expats > Living & Moving Abroad > USA
Reload this Page >

What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Old Aug 24th 2012, 6:08 pm
  #346  
BE Forum Addict
 
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,847
HarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond reputeHarryTheSpider has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Originally Posted by yellowroom
Road design.

On my journey to and from work I navigate:
  • On the highway - a two lane slip road that becomes a single lane slip road at the same time it merges into the right hand lane, on a bend, with no warning or signs. Suddenly five lanes of traffic becomes three at 60 mph.
  • A toll plaza with a 6 lane highway out, cash toll booths on the right and a two lane exit a third of a mile down the road on the left. All the out of state drivers needing the exit frantically charging across four lanes of local traffic who have been motoring through the EZPass lanes at full speed.
  • A three lane stretch of highway, where the overhead signage shows which lane you need to be in for which route with downward arrows indicating your lane. But there are five arrows pointing down and three lanes. No help whatsoever.
  • A set of traffic lights for a two lane stretch of road, one lane filters right, one lane straight ahead. However, but three sets of traffic lights hanging overhead. Not clear which lane is on red or green (and I have sailed through a red completely oblivously, luckily nothing coming the other way)
  • Joining a four lane highway on the left, ie into the fast lane.

The Highways Agency would never allow any of it!
That's because the Highways Agency is populated by a bunch of pink commie subversives, who will be the first with their backs against the wall when the revolution comes...

Road design, traffic rules and the teaching/training of these and generally how to drive when you are not the only road user - all of these in my limited experience of the US totally suck. Clearly freedom of speech also covers totally incompetent dick wads who spent $200K on a crappy education doing what the hell they like with minor things such as the road traffic network and its use...

HarryTheSpider is offline  
Old Aug 25th 2012, 12:15 am
  #347  
Just around the next bend
 
dbark's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2002
Location: Missouri
Posts: 2,276
dbark has a reputation beyond reputedbark has a reputation beyond reputedbark has a reputation beyond reputedbark has a reputation beyond reputedbark has a reputation beyond reputedbark has a reputation beyond reputedbark has a reputation beyond reputedbark has a reputation beyond reputedbark has a reputation beyond reputedbark has a reputation beyond reputedbark has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Originally Posted by cluedweasel
I'm embarrassed to say I had a friend who was in the first series of UK Big Brother. He was told at the start that the plan was for him to leave in week 6. So much for reality and those phone votes

And Endemol have a lot to answer for!
It wasn't Nasty Nick, was it?
dbark is offline  
Old Aug 26th 2012, 1:02 am
  #348  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 6
englishman_in_NY is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

The way people drive. To be fair though America is a huge country and things may be different in other parts of it, but here in the NYC NJ metro area the driving is disgraceful.

After that would come:

The unhelpfulness and impoliteness of most government/council departments/services I've encountered.

The food (especially the yoghurts).

Medical insurance.

Freezing cold winters.

On the other hand I don't miss:

Gloomy wet weather.

British yobs and yob culture.
englishman_in_NY is offline  
Old Aug 26th 2012, 1:03 am
  #349  
Lost in BE Cyberspace
 
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 41,518
Sally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Originally Posted by dbark
It wasn't Nasty Nick, was it?
That brings back memories
Sally Redux is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 12:26 am
  #350  
Namaste
 
Willgohome's Avatar
 
Joined: Aug 2012
Location: Somewhere in my mind
Posts: 35
Willgohome will become famous soon enoughWillgohome will become famous soon enough
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Originally Posted by MarylandNed
I have lived here for 14 years now. I generally like it but I've heard people complain about many different issues. Here are some of the things that irk me:

- dealing with health insurance and health coverage issues
- totally broken immigration system (too many illegal immigrants, too much family class immigration, not enough skilled worker immigration, etc.)
- a relative lack of culture (too many homogeneous cities and suburbs)
- the political system (total gridlock where nothing gets done; especially with a 2 party system)
- the absence of a social safety net (lose your job and you're likely weeks from living on the street)
- "at will" employment
- poor public transportation
- pedestrian unfriendly
- relatively high crime and murder rates (guns, gangs, etc)
- urban blight and poverty on a scale rarely seen in other developed countries
1) The lack of Nationwide Health Coverage and the death panels of the medical insurance industry.

2) The bare bones minimum of overseas news coverage.

3) Mosquito's.

4) Nasty winters in the northeast.

Things I like.

1) Cheap gasoline (4 bux a gallon is still cheap)

2) Larger homes

That's it.
Willgohome is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 4:37 pm
  #351  
BE Enthusiast
 
Joined: Jan 2011
Location: West Sussex - did 3 years in the US...
Posts: 577
dlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Well, I'm going to pre-face this with "in San Jose" because, as I am quickly learning, this is NOT one country, but a very loose federation of about 200. If there wasn't a national flag and an anthem, there would be no "US and A."

So, things I hate about San Jose:

1) In the showers in the gym, the fact that some people seem to take 15-20 minutes and do a total immersion wash.

2) In those self-same showers, the hawking noises are just unbelievable. Either there is some cultural thing going on, there is an epidemic of TB, or they've had the air-conditioning on max-Legionnaires setting again. The only other places I've heard such revolting noises have been Singapore where the government has been trying to outlaw all hawking and spitting (they are very subtle in Singapore - they beat people) and China which is just a plain nasty place (where they shoot people).

3) The driving. We are now referring to it as Wacky Races.

4) The way that people sneer at the "Latinos" - they are the hardest working and round here most normal of the lot. Talk about a down-trodden under class.....
dlake02 is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 4:43 pm
  #352  
Lost in BE Cyberspace
 
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 41,518
Sally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Originally Posted by dlake02
Well, I'm going to pre-face this with "in San Jose" because, as I am quickly learning, this is NOT one country, but a very loose federation of about 200. If there wasn't a national flag and an anthem, there would be no "US and A."

So, things I hate about San Jose:

1) In the showers in the gym, the fact that some people seem to take 15-20 minutes and do a total immersion wash.

2) In those self-same showers, the hawking noises are just unbelievable. Either there is some cultural thing going on, there is an epidemic of TB, or they've had the air-conditioning on max-Legionnaires setting again. The only other places I've heard such revolting noises have been Singapore where the government has been trying to outlaw all hawking and spitting (they are very subtle in Singapore - they beat people) and China which is just a plain nasty place (where they shoot people).

3) The driving. We are now referring to it as Wacky Races.

4) The way that people sneer at the "Latinos" - they are the hardest working and round here most normal of the lot. Talk about a down-trodden under class.....
2) My husband was making me laugh saying there are some people who have an extremely long wash and hawk in the sinks at work - I think it is a cultural thing.

4) Same here except they are just 'Mexicans'. If they all left one day, the scenes of Americans wandering around helplessly unable to perform any menial tasks would be priceless.
Sally Redux is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 4:52 pm
  #353  
BE Enthusiast
 
Joined: Jan 2011
Location: West Sussex - did 3 years in the US...
Posts: 577
dlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

My husband was making me laugh saying there are some people who have an extremely long wash and hawk in the sinks at work - I think it is a cultural thing.
There was one guy at work the other day that was cleaning OUT his nose. In totality. He had managed, and this is actually quite a trick, to thread some kind of cotton through the hole between his nasal cavities and was essentially "flossing his conk."

Gross.

{I was going to mention the guy that festoons the gents sit-down bog cube (my Essex is starting to come out here, isn't it ?) with paper. He covers the floor, the seat, hangs paper over the hinges so people can't see in, over the gap where the door shuts onto the jamb. Not just a little, TONS of the bloody stuff thereby denying most of his co-workers the delights that are single-ply for the rest of the day.

Invariably, he either leaves it in place, which means that Maria our wonderful cleaning lady that is in work before me every morning and still there when I leave (lazy Latinos) has to deal with it, or tries to flush it away, which, given that the plumbing is CRAP (oh - sorry 'bout that one) blocks the bog solid.

But I won't mention it...}
dlake02 is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 4:53 pm
  #354  
 
Nutek's Avatar
 
Joined: Apr 2012
Location: CT
Posts: 33,451
Nutek has a reputation beyond reputeNutek has a reputation beyond reputeNutek has a reputation beyond reputeNutek has a reputation beyond reputeNutek has a reputation beyond reputeNutek has a reputation beyond reputeNutek has a reputation beyond reputeNutek has a reputation beyond reputeNutek has a reputation beyond reputeNutek has a reputation beyond reputeNutek has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Originally Posted by Sally Redux
wandering around helplessly unable to perform any menial tasks would be priceless.
I'm like that anyway.
Nutek is online now  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 4:55 pm
  #355  
I have a comma problem
 
SultanOfSwing's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: Fox Lake, IL (from Carrickfergus NI)
Posts: 49,598
SultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond reputeSultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond reputeSultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond reputeSultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond reputeSultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond reputeSultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond reputeSultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond reputeSultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond reputeSultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond reputeSultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond reputeSultanOfSwing has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Originally Posted by dlake02
There was one guy at work the other day that was cleaning OUT his nose. In totality. He had managed, and this is actually quite a trick, to thread some kind of cotton through the hole between his nasal cavities and was essentially "flossing his conk."

Gross.


But ... how ...

My mind is full of f**k

Originally Posted by dlake02
{I was going to mention the guy that festoons the gents sit-down bog cube (my Essex is starting to come out here, isn't it ?) with paper. He covers the floor, the seat, hangs paper over the hinges so people can't see in, over the gap where the door shuts onto the jamb. Not just a little, TONS of the bloody stuff thereby denying most of his co-workers the delights that are single-ply for the rest of the day.

Invariably, he either leaves it in place, which means that Maria our wonderful cleaning lady that is in work before me every morning and still there when I leave (lazy Latinos) has to deal with it, or tries to flush it away, which, given that the plumbing is CRAP (oh - sorry 'bout that one) blocks the bog solid.

But I won't mention it...}
Yeah. He's definitely not wanking in there. Nope, no way
SultanOfSwing is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 4:56 pm
  #356  
Lapine Member
 
snowbunny's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Austin, Texas in my own little world
Posts: 21,691
snowbunny has a reputation beyond reputesnowbunny has a reputation beyond reputesnowbunny has a reputation beyond reputesnowbunny has a reputation beyond reputesnowbunny has a reputation beyond reputesnowbunny has a reputation beyond reputesnowbunny has a reputation beyond reputesnowbunny has a reputation beyond reputesnowbunny has a reputation beyond reputesnowbunny has a reputation beyond reputesnowbunny has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

The absence of a decent amount of holiday time and the pay that would enable one to actually take a decent holiday.
snowbunny is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 5:02 pm
  #357  
BE Enthusiast
 
Joined: Jan 2011
Location: West Sussex - did 3 years in the US...
Posts: 577
dlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond reputedlake02 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Yeah.
Actually, the guy is SUCH a dunce that he hasn't realised that the stall door has a 2 ft gap beneath it and is only about 3ft tall....

There is an obvious joke in there somewhere involving measurements, but I'm not going there. And I wish he wouldn't.
dlake02 is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 5:03 pm
  #358  
Lost in BE Cyberspace
 
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 41,518
Sally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond reputeSally Redux has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Originally Posted by dlake02
There was one guy at work the other day that was cleaning OUT his nose. In totality. He had managed, and this is actually quite a trick, to thread some kind of cotton through the hole between his nasal cavities and was essentially "flossing his conk."

Gross.

{I was going to mention the guy that festoons the gents sit-down bog cube (my Essex is starting to come out here, isn't it ?) with paper. He covers the floor, the seat, hangs paper over the hinges so people can't see in, over the gap where the door shuts onto the jamb. Not just a little, TONS of the bloody stuff thereby denying most of his co-workers the delights that are single-ply for the rest of the day.

Invariably, he either leaves it in place, which means that Maria our wonderful cleaning lady that is in work before me every morning and still there when I leave (lazy Latinos) has to deal with it, or tries to flush it away, which, given that the plumbing is CRAP (oh - sorry 'bout that one) blocks the bog solid.

But I won't mention it...}
OMG
Sally Redux is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 5:13 pm
  #359  
BE Forum Addict
 
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: Arizona
Posts: 4,130
CelticRover has a reputation beyond reputeCelticRover has a reputation beyond reputeCelticRover has a reputation beyond reputeCelticRover has a reputation beyond reputeCelticRover has a reputation beyond reputeCelticRover has a reputation beyond reputeCelticRover has a reputation beyond reputeCelticRover has a reputation beyond reputeCelticRover has a reputation beyond reputeCelticRover has a reputation beyond reputeCelticRover has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Originally Posted by Sally Redux
2) My husband was making me laugh saying there are some people who have an extremely long wash and hawk in the sinks at work - I think it is a cultural thing.

4) Same here except they are just 'Mexicans'. If they all left one day, the scenes of Americans wandering around helplessly unable to perform any menial tasks would be priceless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8t8DCSP020
CelticRover is offline  
Old Aug 27th 2012, 5:30 pm
  #360  
Bob
BE Site Lead
 
Bob's Avatar
 
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,167
Bob has a reputation beyond reputeBob has a reputation beyond reputeBob has a reputation beyond reputeBob has a reputation beyond reputeBob has a reputation beyond reputeBob has a reputation beyond reputeBob has a reputation beyond reputeBob has a reputation beyond reputeBob has a reputation beyond reputeBob has a reputation beyond reputeBob has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What's your LEAST favorite thing about the US?

Originally Posted by Sally Redux

4) Same here except they are just 'Mexicans'. If they all left one day, the scenes of Americans wandering around helplessly unable to perform any menial tasks would be priceless.
Same my way, but chances are they're actually Brazilians with a smattering of Colombians and Ecuadorians.
Bob is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.