Loving hear about america

Florintina

Delighted when saw that there is this thread to talk on . I seem to be amazed with anything do with america the culture, how creative they are with so many things like delicious food, new technology nd so on

i love watching the programmes like man vs food, supersize vs superskinny and i do look up alot about supermarkets in america as hear great things about them from the size store and amount food nd cheap prices over there .

If i had the money i would love go new york and other spots mostly to taste all the yummy foods hehe i know pure addicted to their food over there mabey why i watch so much things about it .

anyone want tell me how amazing things are over there love hear about it :rolleyes::):o:P:cool:

Florintina

oh also would love know from anyone who lives in america why do ye believe bigger portions of food the better? i loved hearing my mam stories when she goes america for poker games that she gets big large frys nd food for only lik 2$ so cool

InTheTrees

This is where we are. Seattle.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=47.608797,-122.34&spn=0.002734,0.005043&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=47.608797,-122.34&panoid=vmK_FBHrb9QoMi02jTkfUQ&cbp=12,122.06,,0,-7.18

Florintina

InTheTrees wrote: »

This is where we are. Seattle.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=47.608797,-122.34&spn=0.002734,0.005043&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=47.608797,-122.34&panoid=vmK_FBHrb9QoMi02jTkfUQ&cbp=12,122.06,,0,-7.18

oh wow that place looks amazing everything seems huge wow that what i find amazing about america all the huge buildings and everything is big makes me all hyper :pac:

silja

Everything being huge can be overwhelming too, especially when going shopping and you're not used to it. For the first few months when I got here, tit took me ages to do a grocery shop- not because the shops are so big, but because there is so much choice. For example a whole aisle of peanut butter, a whole aisle of spaghetti sauce etc. These days, I usually buy super market's own brand and be done with it :P

Florintina

silja wrote: »

Everything being huge can be overwhelming too, especially when going shopping and you're not used to it. For the first few months when I got here, tit took me ages to do a grocery shop- not because the shops are so big, but because there is so much choice. For example a whole aisle of peanut butter, a whole aisle of spaghetti sauce etc. These days, I usually buy super market's own brand and be done with it :P

wow really lol that is amazing and what part america did you go to ? was the food in grocery stores cheaper to ireland? i say u would get real hyper and frisky with the selection over there i think thats why i love it such selection and full of nice things as well u wud not know what pick from

silja

We are in Northwest Arkansas (my husband is from here)- bible belt, near Walmart HQ so we have lots of people from all over the world working for or trying to sell stuff to Walmart, a very international community in a very conservative area. Interesting mixture! You know the way in Ireland, you sometimes get asked if you are Catholic or Protestant? Here, you get asked which church you go to- it is just assumed you are evangelical, and every public function starts with prayer and a lot of socialising centers around church functions. Bit odd for those of us who aren't even Christian

Yes, food is cheaper, but people also make less money. That being said, a bit reason for us moving from Ireland to here is that we had the twins, and for 1/2 the money our one bedroom flat in Dublin city cost, we could buy a 4 bedroom home with an acre of garden here. Yes, you can get hyper- I had to discipline myself the first year or so to only buy what is on the shopping list, otherwise I'd come back with three times as much "stuff" as I intended. There are lots of websites too where you can sign up for freebies from companies or coupons, making things even cheaper.

Florintina

silja wrote: »

We are in Northwest Arkansas (my husband is from here)- bible belt, near Walmart HQ so we have lots of people from all over the world working for or trying to sell stuff to Walmart, a very international community in a very conservative area. Interesting mixture! You know the way in Ireland, you sometimes get asked if you are Catholic or Protestant? Here, you get asked which church you go to- it is just assumed you are evangelical, and every public function starts with prayer and a lot of socialising centers around church functions. Bit odd for those of us who aren't even Christian

Yes, food is cheaper, but people also make less money. That being said, a bit reason for us moving from Ireland to here is that we had the twins, and for 1/2 the money our one bedroom flat in Dublin city cost, we could buy a 4 bedroom home with an acre of garden here. Yes, you can get hyper- I had to discipline myself the first year or so to only buy what is on the shopping list, otherwise I'd come back with three times as much "stuff" as I intended. There are lots of websites too where you can sign up for freebies from companies or coupons, making things even cheaper.

oh really that is interesting to know so would ask you what church go to rather than what religion you are? so is america a really holy place ye? my mam made me go to mass alot when i was younger and always ended up in rows because i didnt want to go just being stubborn teenager ha have not went in few years i feel bad but i dont want go like. really dont make much money over there why ? i thought america well off place compared to ireland no? wow that is crazy get that size place for half the price pay here in ireland. i live with my partner nd we paying 650 euro a month for a horrible student apartment near town its not big and only one small spare room mould builds easily and i hate it . wish had a job we could move out so hard find work .

haha i say that i be worst in that store so many nice things pick from its crazy the amount of bargins and cool things can buy in certain stores compare it to other stores such a rip off to .

silja

The USA is a huge place, and you cannot say "America is..." really.

Where we live yes, it is a holy place (and to be fair it is not just pretend, people do genuinely believe in no sex before marriage, do a huge amount of charity work with their churches etc). There are some Catholcis (mostly Mexicans), and even a Hindu temple due to Walmart vendors, but the huge majority of the population is evangelical, and yes, they do go to church every Sunday- churches are all over the place, from huge megachurches to small ones in people's home or a empty shop on a Sunday morning. We were also a dry county until early this year, ie there was no alcohol sales, a lot of people carry guns, concealed or open etc. But if you go to Seattle or parts of California, you will have a much less religious and more liberal community.

America is badly off economically too- not as bad as Ireland I think (haven't been back to Ireland for 4 years), but not great; the lower prices in shops and at petrol stations are reflected in lower wages (minimum wage is somewhere around $7.30/ hour, with those in tipping jobs such as waitresses getting as little as $2/ hour). Many states here are "at will" states, meaning they can fire you for any or no reason. You can have a permanent contract, come in on Mpnday, and the boss tells you they don't need you at the end of the week. They are not bound by law to give you holidays, and the 20 days given by Irish employer are almost unheard of.

There are a lot of great things about America, and they do reward initiative, but there are also a lot of bad things.

Florintina

silja wrote: »

The USA is a huge place, and you cannot say "America is..." really.

Where we live yes, it is a holy place (and to be fair it is not just pretend, people do genuinely believe in no sex before marriage, do a huge amount of charity work with their churches etc). There are some Catholcis (mostly Mexicans), and even a Hindu temple due to Walmart vendors, but the huge majority of the population is evangelical, and yes, they do go to church every Sunday- churches are all over the place, from huge megachurches to small ones in people's home or a empty shop on a Sunday morning. We were also a dry county until early this year, ie there was no alcohol sales, a lot of people carry guns, concealed or open etc. But if you go to Seattle or parts of California, you will have a much less religious and more liberal community.

America is badly off economically too- not as bad as Ireland I think (haven't been back to Ireland for 4 years), but not great; the lower prices in shops and at petrol stations are reflected in lower wages (minimum wage is somewhere around $7.30/ hour, with those in tipping jobs such as waitresses getting as little as $2/ hour). Many states here are "at will" states, meaning they can fire you for any or no reason. You can have a permanent contract, come in on Mpnday, and the boss tells you they don't need you at the end of the week. They are not bound by law to give you holidays, and the 20 days given by Irish employer are almost unheard of.

There are a lot of great things about America, and they do reward initiative, but there are also a lot of bad things.

I find that really amazing say there loads of churches defo more than over here ha. oh really i thought it be better over there for jobs and the wages better, most people are leaving here nd places most popular is america, australia nd canada. so they can just fire u for no reason when feel like it over there? i would go crazy bit unfair aint it

Jonny_D

InTheTrees wrote: »

This is where we are. Seattle.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=47.608797,-122.34&spn=0.002734,0.005043&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=47.608797,-122.34&panoid=vmK_FBHrb9QoMi02jTkfUQ&cbp=12,122.06,,0,-7.18

Hi neighbor!

I'm over on the east side in Redmond.
I have kids though, so I prefer the quieter neighborhoods.

The major thing about living in America is that you really want to be making good money.
It's a shock to the system if you need to use the hospitals and then get the bills afterwards. :eek:
If you don't have good health insurance it can make things tough.

sleepyescapade

Jonny_D wrote: »

Hi neighbor!

I'm over on the east side in Redmond.
I have kids though, so I prefer the quieter neighborhoods.

The major thing about living in America is that you really want to be making good money.
It's a shock to the system if you need to use the hospitals and then get the bills afterwards. :eek:
If you don't have good health insurance it can make things tough.

Irish in Redmond also checking in

Jonny_D

sleepyescapade wrote: »

Irish in Redmond also checking in

MS?

sleepyescapade

My partner works at MS, I work in Capitol Hill downtown (also a dev)

lil_lisa

Do I smell Seattle Boards Beers approaching?

Florintina

lol seems everyone is getting on well on thread haha

silja

Yeah I could not get health insurance for myself due to previous infertility, so when I got pregnant again (infertile- ha!), we had to self pay. We got a 33% discount for paying ahead of time, and I only stayed one night in the hospital for the birth, completely normal birth, only two ultrasounds through the pregnancy, and the whole thing still cost us over $10'000.

Remember there there are 50 states in the USA, and they all have different laws for many things- it is much more different than the counties in Ireland for example. So things like rules of the road, who can buy guns, whether gays can marry and employment law varies widely. And of course, salaries and expenses vary widely too. Where we are, a family of 4 could live comfortably, though not well off, on $50'00/ year salary with benefits (though getting health and retirement benefits is increasingly rare). In New York or Los Angeles, that would be barely enough for one person living in a studio apartment.

Florintina

silja wrote: »

Yeah I could not get health insurance for myself due to previous infertility, so when I got pregnant again (infertile- ha!), we had to self pay. We got a 33% discount for paying ahead of time, and I only stayed one night in the hospital for the birth, completely normal birth, only two ultrasounds through the pregnancy, and the whole thing still cost us over $10'000.

Remember there there are 50 states in the USA, and they all have different laws for many things- it is much more different than the counties in Ireland for example. So things like rules of the road, who can buy guns, whether gays can marry and employment law varies widely. And of course, salaries and expenses vary widely too. Where we are, a family of 4 could live comfortably, though not well off, on $50'00/ year salary with benefits (though getting health and retirement benefits is increasingly rare). In New York or Los Angeles, that would be barely enough for one person living in a studio apartment.

wow my god that is loads to be paying for that aint it , ah i get u now everywhere has different rules to follow and things like that under standable not everywhere going be the same . its interesting hearing about it tough , i be lost without these boards now the help and all here for things is amazing people are all so nice

smurfjed

They say that when a dog sticks his head out of the window of a car, that it is assaulted with a kaleidoscope of smells, well that was how i felt on my first visit to New York, totally assaulted by the sounds, smells, buildings and the people. I was about 19 years old and at that time the highest building in Dublin was Liberty Hall. It was an extremely surreal experience.

The last time that i was in New York city, we stayed on 3rd Avenue, thanks to the delights of jet lag, I was wide awake early on a Saturday morning, so I walked down 3rd Avenue counting the Irish bars.... I think that i counted about 48 of them Unfortunately i was flying back that night so i couldn't enjoy any of them. But as soon as the "stores" opened, I went wild, I reckoned that I had a 500 kg baggage limit, so between Petsmart and Safeway/Walmart, I had a great time and probably ended up with enough dog food for a year On the food side, ended up with lots of Crystal Light, Jack Daniels bar BQ bags and wood chips. M&M's etc. I think that the hotel concierge thought that i was nuts

But New York is unique, I don't think that there is anyplace like it. New Years eve in Times Square, watching a show on broadway, visiting any one of thousands Irish bars, walking 5th avenue on New Years day at 5am when it was totally empty like in the Will Smith movie, the city brings back some amazing memories, unfortunately it also brings back the memories of airliners flying into the WTC, an event that completely changed the world that i work in.

It is an amazing country, and well worth visiting when you can. It is also much better value than Australia.

Enjoy it.

smurfjed