Things I adore about the USA and Americans

[PermanentTemporary]

No special reason... and it doesn't have to be things other people all agree with.

We're planning a holiday there in a couple of years to see some family so the wonderfulness of the USA is particularly on my mind. But am just thinking about how much I love it.

I'll bring up Senator George Mitchell, who gave years of his life to somehow bring the best out of every politician in Northern Ireland and made it possible for the Good Friday Agreement to be made.

I'll bring up American health care. Because although I don't want to change our system to theirs, the fact is that if you either have good insurance or nothing at all, you can have the best care in the world.

And the Grand Canyon. Not sure I've ever been speechless the way I was the first time I saw it.

I'm wondering if we can drop in to see some distant cousins of my partner's who live in Ohio. We've met once at a wedding. Of all the countries in the world, we can be pretty sure that they will be welcoming and happy to see us. ❤️

Denny’s? Are you serious? That’s what you “love” about here? I’m speechless. Denny’s is the worst place to eat. And I’m an American living in the US, not a tourist who’s been here once.

A few PP have mentioned Cracker Barrel. It’s our now traditional place to eat before the airport on the way home (if there is one of course). The spiced apples are fantastic.

As a non-red-meat eater I ordered the green beans side once without realising it was a dish with ham in it and the server couldn’t have been more lovely when she saw my horrified face 🤣. She brought an outsized portion of the broccoli for me instead at no extra charge. Big tip for her.

I’ve had some incredible breakfasts (aka jet lag lunches), but the stand out ones were in the Butters small chain in Scottsdale and the huevos rancheros in the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim.

I’m going to be spending the rest of the day looking at holidays thanks to this thread…

Yeah Denny’s is pretty horrible unless starving, but it’s like nothing we have in the U.K., so I get the fondness. We ate at one on the outskirts of Las Vegas in desperation last year and it was cheap, cheerful and had great air con.

I stayed with a friend in Montana and also visited Yellowstone. Absolutely amazing places and landscapes. She lives in an area that isn’t particularly touristy so while I was in her local area I had lots of comments on my accent. Everyone I met was lovely and staying with locals you visit different places to what you would as a tourist alone.

I think that’s part of the appeal. A different culture, but with a shared language (mostly!). It’s easy to feel comfortable, yet aware you’re in a completely different place, with a very different history.

We had great fun playing with our language differences. I think we have many indirect meaning in British English while American English seems far more direct and literal. We also had a Canadian friend staying too so another culture that uses English slightly differently too. Was very funny at times.

Yes, you say tomahto, I say tomayto can be pretty good fun! We went to my cousin's wedding in California in the early 90s and were at a restaurant, getting ready to go. One girl told my sister, "Let's hustle!" and she replied, Waynetta Slob style, "I'm smoking a faaag."

I suppose we knew a lot more about American usage than vice versa, as the girl was horrified and didn't quite believe us when we explained that a fag is a cigarette. They also thought we were taking the piss when we were laughing about the film Shag, which is a dance over there and something different here...

CVS pharmacies! You can get some many things esp melatonin gummies to help you sleep.

Also southern hospitality is most defo a thing.

Even better: Buying 500 Advil (nurofen) in a bottle from Costco.

(But in Canada you can get Robaxacet (muscle relaxer) and Tylenol with codeine OTC!)

You can by aspirin / paracetamol / ibuprofen with codeine in the UK.

I watched a BBQ programme on Netflix. That was an eye opener!

Sad that rare meat seemed to be not really a thing and I didn't like that washing up mop thing they use to apply the glaze ( forget the name!)

Apart from that,as long as I get the rare bits, I am all in!

Yes but alas not in America where I am now :(

So there's different sorts of barbecue!

Down south, something cooked quickly over high heat isn't barbecue. That's grilling or a cookout, and people do it all the time. That's where you get your steaks and chicken and burgers.

BBQ in much of the South specifically means slow cooked meat, and it uses tough cuts like pork shoulder, ribs, or brisket (you can also smoke chicken or turkey, though). The meat and the style depends where you are.

If you want something halfway in between, you come here to Maryland and get pit beef, which is halfway between roast beef and barbecue. That's rare in the middle, and it's served with sliced onions and horseradish mayonnaise on a roll.

Apart from that,as long as I get the rare bits, I am all in!

As a Southerner, I can tell you that, if it's true barbecue, it's not going to be rare. Barbecue is cooked low and slow over a smoky wood fire. If you want rare, you might have a steak cooked on a grill outside, but that is a cookout, not barbecue.

The best barbecue is the Eastern Carolina style: pork cooked and flavored with a vinegar based sauce.

knitnerd90 · Yesterday 17:58
.
Yes but alas not in America where I am now :(

Oh dear! I thought that the USA was pretty relaxed about things. I got double strength Sudafed (or equivalent) in two boxes of 100.

Here's a song by an Americophile (if that's a real word!)

This meds thing is funny. DH got caught out trying to buy those little packets of two or four Tylenol at a convenience store (Wawa for any NJ/PA peeps 😀) where first they didn't understand what he wanted (accent + "paracetamol") and then they asked for identification.
He produced his UK driving license which caused a lot of head scratching.
He went home and bought a giant bottle of it online no questions asked.
Idk why the discrepancy, and what nefarious business can you get up to with 2-4 Tylenol?

He produced his UK driving license which caused a lot of head scratching.

I was working in Port Manatee, near Tampa and the security guard asked for ID and asked what state Europe was! All of them were well into their 80s and even 90s. Yes, I asked if they hadn't wanted to retire!

Brilliant 😀
The state driving license is so ubiquitous and standard that anything other than that can flummox people. When we were asked for ID at a gig, DH produced his UK license and I had my Global Entry card, (I have other ID incl a NJ license but that was the card I'd used most recently so it was on top). Security really didn't know what to do with either. When they ask for photo ID, they really expect to see a license.

BTW for proper Sudafed you need to ask the pharmacist and show ID, and you can't get massive quantities. It's because you can use it to make meth, and mass buys of cold medicine became a thing maybe 20 years ago. Nowadays it's all made in super labs in Mexico but the law persists. No idea why you'd be asked for ID for Tylenol!!

When we first moved here, before DH and I got all our American ID sorted, he flummoxed a liquor store clerk with his foreign passport. (By the way, some stores now have a policy of universal ID so the clerks/cashiers don't have to decide who needs to be ID'ed. They scan your driving licence as proof. So if you have a foreign passport as ID, the manager needs to be called over. My supermarket does this. Also, American alcohol regulations are really confusing as it varies by state. In some states you can buy everything at the supermarket, some nothing, and some beer only. My state one-ups this as in every other county, there are private liquor stores. But mine has county liquor stores! If you want Total Wine you need to drive.)

I did the whole summer camp thing and I loved it. Life changing. Loved the staff, loved the kids, loved Maine. Amazing place and people. Appreciate we were living in a bubble, but even travelling afterwards. One year we were travelling across the country in a Maine plated car. We got so much love for being from Maine, and then when we spoke and turned out to be English we got even more. Folk just so welcoming.

I'll bring up American health care. Because although I don't want to change our system to theirs, the fact is that if you either have good insurance or nothing at all, you can have the best care in the world.

Apparently Canada is the only state in America with free healthcare
But if you live elsewhere in the country, if you have nothing, you can't access it or end up in debt

Don't want to go against the spirit of the thread, so yes, there are some absolutely world leading practitioners of my craft there, but it's always puzzled me how much emphasis they put on drawing up waterproof contracts for just a small commission. In the UK you just send someone an invoice and they pay you 🤷‍♀️ I've only had to resort to threats of the Small Claims Court once, and that's when I was subcontracted by another company who decided to be cunty.

But anyway! In the spirit of the thread! I've never been to America but I've worked with them here (in tourism), and they are refreshingly direct (in a friendly, polite way) about what they want, and happy to work together to make that happen. So different from the passive aggressive moaning of the Brits 🙄

If you have nothing, you qualify for Medicaid.

Also in the US, Medicare, the program for people over 65 (and for those under 65 with certain medical conditions) is subsidized by the government.