If I ever judged the UK by what I saw on TV when I lived in the US

[Tee2072]

Everyone in the UK would either speak with a Cockney or RP accent.

They would all either live in an over crowded terrace or a huge country estate.

All the schools would be crap.

The populace would spend their entire lives in pubs.

Now, I never believed any of that, being a relatively smart human being.

So am I being unreasonable to wonder how come I'm constantly battling US TV stereotypes here on MN?

It's a thread about many many many threads.

Hang on hang on just as I was getting all sympathetic about two weeks holiday someone said there are loads of public holidays ? But seriously two weeks I cant take that in !!

My question is do many homes actually have the American flag fluttering outside them ?

Anyway I love this thread !

Coming depends which part of the country you're in, but in the more rural parts, yes, most houses have them!

Re. the walking issue. In some parts of the US it's impossible to walk because there are no pavement/sidewalks.

I have a friend just outside Chicago who has daughters at a school that would be around a 10 minute walk from their house but there's no way they could walk as there's nothing to walk along.

In the US even the most dirt poor people will have cars.

Its funny maybe IABU but when I saw a large Union Jack outside a house nearby , bearing in mind there are no Royal marriages coming up, I found it vaguely racist !

Also on that note do Americans love the Royal Family ?

If I could only visit one state which should it be ?

Utah

Personally, I love the Royal Family... I think Queenie is brilliant, and I just love the whole tradition and institution of if.

Biased answer, but you should go to Colorado in June. You can still ski in some places, you can hike (proper hiking, not "walking"!), camp, go rafting, etc., etc. It is the most beautiful state!!

Americans do tend to like the Royal Family, but of course, we don't want one of our own.

DH and I fly the flag on national holidays. And we are lefty (by US standards, anyway), Obamacare-loving, foreign-traveling Democrats who live in the suburbs of a large city.

coming That's a hard one. I think I would have to say New York. You have the City, but also some of the most beautiful countryside in the world upstate. Also Western New York is really culturally more mid-western than the easten part of the state so you will have some of that experience.

Americans do tend to like the Royal Family, but of course, we don't want one of our own.

You have a president instead though.

I am not sure I would want a president (not overly worried about Queen) so the feeling maybe mutual

California, northern. SF Bay Area is the best place in the US.

Generally speaking, in the US when anyone refers to "the Queen," it is understood to mean the Queen of the UK just as it does in the UK. You don't have to say Queen of what.

There are many places in the US named for British royalty including these states: Georgia (George II), North and South Carolina (Charles I),
Virginia and West Virginia (Elizabeth I), Maryland (Queen Henrietta Maria, consort of Charles I), and New York (for James, Duke of York later James II and VII). Many towns and counties have royal names, especially in the east. (eg. Charleston, SC is named for Charles II.)

You can't get Indian food in America can you? At least not outside of big cities.

Don't think Americans eat lamb either, or do they drink squash.

Loeri You are correct about the Indian food... Every curry I've had at home has been terrible. Correct about the squash as well, we just don't really have such a thing there. Very wrong about the lamb though. It's very common and can be found on most menus.

Where I live there are some good Indian restaurants, and some very good Thai ones, so good curry is possible.

We often have lamb for Christmas dinner.

If you ask an American for squash, they'll hand you a vegetable.

Lamb all over the place.

Again, SF Bay Area awesome curries of all sorts.

I've had some excellent Indian food in the USA but you have to hunt it out. Most places make the curries quite mild ime, I can eat vindaloos over there!

Apart from London you don't get really good Mexican food in the UK

I've been to the US quite a lot (work for an american company) but am British. I like California - but not LA - and New York state (but not in Winter!).

I always think it's strange that in the more rural places, there don't seem to be any fences/hedges/walls to separate one house's garden from another. Compared to here where our little postage stamps of space are so clearly marked and we fight off anyone who encroaches on our land ... this is v.weird! Comes from having the luxury of space I guess!

I love the US. Most people are great, the cities are super cool, been to some amazing bars, and the countryside/coastline is beautiful. I find the inner-cities intimidating, rudeness often hides behind a veneer of friendliness ("Hi!! I'm Joyce and I'll be your server today!! Have an awesome day!!!" - just cos you say the words doesn't mean you actually mean any of them), and the food can be very predictable (steak, chicken, veg only available with some form of cream, etc). And there is an intolerable amount of whooping.

Nancy Even in London, there isn't really many places that do proper Mexican food. It is one of the things I miss the very most. There's one great Mexican restaurant on this tiny side street on the complete opposite end of London from me, but they're the only place I can find that sells the good green chile, so I have to trek over there from time to time and suck it up and pay £5 for a jar that would cost me $1 in the States.

Though, encouragingly, I have noticed that Waitrose have started stocking canned Chipotle chilies, which I'm thrilled about!

mexican food in la is fantastic

not the texmex, mexican food cooked by mexicans in little cafes

reggie if you are near Brixton, go to Brixton Village nice little mexican place there

Wishingchair rudeness often hides behind a veneer of friendliness

I have tried to explain this to my parents (yanks) and it never seems to come across quite right. It's not that people in Britain are rude... They're just not fake friendly, which I much prefer. After living here for a while, I find the American friendliness very off-putting, but my mom wouldn't have it any other way.