UK and America are two countries separated by a common language, UK and US Q&A

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Continuation of the previous thread where posters from the UK ask questions like 'what the hell is going on with the gaps in US toilet doors'; and posters fro the US ask things like 'what is with wearing stripes'

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a2149133-to-think-there-is-something-wrong-with-Americans?msgid=48969042#48969042

In the US, the private sector rules - anything public sector is often crumbling and frequently looked down on.

Not necessarily true. It depends on what service you are talking about and where you live. The vast majority of Americans are educated by the pubic sector, for example.

And in spite of some right-wingers wanting to privatize social security, there is still strong support for not doing so.

My school did not require drivers' ed for graduation, but did require passing a swimming proficiency test.

It must be hard if you dont get your childcare paid like we do here and you cant stay on benefits long. How do people manage it?

A suburb of a major midwest city.

You also have to pass swimming to graduate (i.e. demonstrate you can swim a certain distance, know swimming safety and can perform first aid).

Both driving and driver's ed/gym are non-credit courses. You accumulate credits only in classroom/lab/studio subjects in my district.

I didn't know you were in the Midwest math! Or maybe I did but forgot.

I love decorating for the holidays and seasons and spend much Pinterest time deciding what would be best. :o

I hope we never have to pay for a and e cant imagine ever having to pay for doctors or hospital treatment. It makes you appreciate how many things we have given in the uk.

I'm a bit of a Scrooge, but DH puts up all kinds of sparkly crap Christmas decorations every year.

Yank I do miss all the Christmas decorations - I swear our street looked a bit like a landing strip at the airport with all the lights. It doesn't seem to be the done thing here (and I don't have the outdoor outlets I did in the states ), so I do my decorating inside instead.

I have to say though, that UK Christmas is nice - and Boxing Day is brilliant!! I call it "Christmas recovery day" around here. I like the crackers with the hats in them, and the mince pies and leaving booze and mince pies for Father Christmas instead of cookies and milk. (Father Christmas much prefers it as well ) I like the Christmas songs that I hadn't heard previously (Christmas every day, Mistletoe and Wine, and that one that starts out It's Chrissssstmassssss! ) I even watched the Queen's speech the first few years I was here. And the Vicar of Dibley Christmas episode where she eats 3 Christmas meals, and the one where Alice has her baby in the middle of the nativity. We've had carolers here at the door numerous times leading up to Christmas Day. Although I could do with a white Christmas (more snow please!!!).

I have a Pinterest board full of Nordic Christmas poncetasticity inspiration but I tend to actually use my massive collection of dessert recipes more, sad to say..

I usually just put up lights for Christmas, in what I fancy is an ironically minimalist style. I have a lot of DC-made Hallowe'en decorations that they like to see every year -- a set of ghosts that go outdoors, a wreath for the door and a few window decorations, and we usually carve a pumpkin or two.

Garage and yard sales accounted for a significant amount of the DCs' clothes in the halcyon days before they noticed what they were wearing. They are very popular around here. There are also estate sales where an auctioneer will put a price tag on every single thing a person owns and sell it all, in the house. (With the owner's permission of course .) I had an old neighbour who died and her family disposed of all her sellable junk that way one weekend.

pssst Cheerful, my mum still lives in MN and tried to convince me that a trip to MN over Christmas would be just what I need!! (but ex would never agree to me taking the dcs to the states, so that'll never happen)

Santa Claus drinks Jameson here, on the rocks, usually around 2:45 am.

My aunt used to make lefse every year before Christmas. Yum. And I do miss my tator tot hotdish... although lately I've been contemplating making it with potato rostis.

Oooh Alice you could visit meeee!

Math sometimes I do a shabby chic Christmas look and sometimes I like an outdoorsy crunchy look...lots of greenery and berries and cloves oranges and glittery pinecones. :)

lol Yank I'd have to be there ages to go everywhere and visit everyone I'd want to there. Monte, Appleton, South St Paul, St Paul Park, Worthington, Windom, Willmar....just to name a few...

leaving, of course, a good week for a good old fashioned 1-2ft high hit of snow from a blizzard

I do a shabby chic Christmas look and sometimes I like an outdoorsy crunchy look...lots of greenery and berries and cloves oranges and glittery pinecones.

You'll have to post pics on the Christmas threads when we get closer to Christmas. I love looking at Christmas decorations. Pinterest is my friend.

It must be hard if you dont get your childcare paid like we do here and you cant stay on benefits long

If you're on a low income you probably do get help with your childcare, and some benefits last until your income has gone up again. But yes, it's hard.

I live very far north and the average income here is low. Round here people take any job going (often more than one), cut their own wood, hunt for their own meat, grow their own veg, live in very cheap housing (trailers are about $18k to buy and v cheap to rent), shop at yard sales and walmart...

Scone, you have a point about schools - but it depends on where you live. Schools in the US are funded predominantly by local taxes - a well-off suburb usually offers a great education, often with extras (labs, playing fields, arts) that rival a top prep school.

The opposite is true for children in a rundown rural area or, say, a city like Detroit.

Also, most states & school districts set their own curriculums and graduation standards (despite the minor impact of recent federal legislation).

This is why American teenagers applying to university have to take private exams - either SATs or ACTs. Because a straight-A average in one school district can equate to a B- or C-average elsewhere!

I'm very close to Willmar Alice :)

I live up north too Wobbly and agree that's how it is.

Paying for daycare can be hard but I think it's just that we know it'll be that way when you decide to have kids, iykwim. I decided to stay home because we can live off DH's salary (google tells me it's about 40,000 pounds) and what I could make at my old job wouldn't cover daycare for two DC.

The family I'm going to child mind for is going to bring them to me three days a week and then grandparents are going to fill in the other two days. A lot of people have arrangements like that.

Yes, lots of people I knew had more than one job. I worked in one full time job, did medical transcription at home part time in the evenings after dd was in bed, and played organ at a Catholic church (and I'm not Catholic!) for masses on Sunday to pay for childcare and rent and such when dd was small. Divorced mom, no child support paid, and had to pay bills. So did what I had to, including adding cleaning an office on the weekend for awhile. Busy busy busy, but it paid the bills.

Great thread - have just returned from 3 weeks in the states. I'd like to know what 'permanent press' means on an American washing machine?

Also, whilst finding driving over there a bit stressful, most American roads make it easy for you with good signposting and filter lanes. I was thinking that Americans must find driving in Britain a nightmare - do they?

It was a struggle to start with August. I went round in circles on so many roundabouts and I learned in Devon, and all the rural roads there are narrow and winding.. every time I passed a bus, I panicked, thinking I was going to crash. Practically drove into the hedges on the side trying to make room for them. Very nervewracking. Much more comfortable now, 10 years later.

We've just returned from a fabulous holiday in NYC and touring New England and actually feel a bit sorry to be home.
The ease of getting around, even parking spaces being that bit wider and plentiful was great.
The energy of the place - going out to eat on a Sunday night in what we thought were out of the way, insignificant restaurants, then walking in to find the place happily heaving with people and families. And people actually do 'go out for ice-cream' all the time! Just great.
The politeness and courtesy of almost every soul we encountered. Waiting to hold a door open for you,even if you were a few steps away.

Loved,loved visiting America and planning to do a west coast tour next year.

One question thats intriguing me: with all those lovely new england houses with wrap-around verandas and big gardens-why did I see no-one on or in them?
Really, all the way up to kennebunkport and back to NY again, I saw no one enjoying their outside space. Anyone know why?

"Permanent press" is a delicates washing cycle, with lower spin speed so that you can hang out to drip dry, or on a dryer it's the lower temp setting. On my machine it was the "I won't put quite so many holes in your clothes" cycle.

little We eat dinner on our deck every evening in the Summer - but we are the only ones out there! I feel we have such a hellish winter in New England, we have to take every opportunity we get in Summer. I am not sure why no one else does this. My elderly neighbor asked if we were bothered by the bugs: we are not! I do think we might have started a trend - I do see other folks out there now and then.

Btw, "going out for ice cream" is a real New England tradition! I am fairly sure I read somewhere that New Englanders consume the most ice cream in the USA which is a pretty awesome statistic given our terrible winters!