AIBU to ask you some questions about the USA?

[BreakfastInAmerica]

I've been reading lots of US fiction over lockdown, I've never been there.

What's the big deal with joining a fraternity house at College? What is the benefit of it? Why the Greek frat house names?

Is public access television still a thing?

Why do they call savoury muffins English Muffins when I'm more likely to see a blueberry or chocolate muffin when I'm out and about?

How do Americans eat things like thick pancakes with cream for breakfast, even the people who are slim?

What are grits?

Why are Automatic cars so prolific in the US, rather than manual/stick shift?

I'm sure I've got lots more questions and please pitch in with your own questions and answers.

AIBU to ask for your answers and questions about the small differences between the US and the UK?

@ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia

Not wishing to side line the current flow of this interesting thread but If you don't mind a very random out of the blue question for Americans (in particular but of course to all others too) - which localities or cities, states etc would be ideal for a relocation in the USA (all territories including Hawaii though possibly not Porto Rico)** if you could chose anywhere without work or business related geographic limitation?

Just need to consider overall living quality, climate (and frequency of natural disasters such as seasonal hurricanes, flooding, wild fires, earthquakes) and overall cost of living and general quality of amenities (eg international air connections) etc.

Bit open ended so open to suggestions!

Personally I know and like bits of California (LA SF and Nappa etc) but costs are pretty high plus of course the regular natural disasters such as droughts and wild fires with extreme heat in most recent years and of course the density and traffic in many of the major urban centres (though that is expected and inevitable unless rural location I guess).

I am asking for say suitability for an open and flexible curious professional couple with young children, some savings with a penchant for outdoor lifestyle adventures and pursuits and possibly for a mid term relocation investment and laying down some roots even. Not necessarily the quintessential American dream but along those pioneering lines!

Thanks!

I would suggest the Pacific Northwest (PNW)! There are a lot of great places to raise kids in the states- I was raised in Connecticut and had quite an idyllic childhood, but if you want the outdoors, the PNW is your place. I have family in Seattle, and they absolutely love living there. House prices can be quite expensive in Seattle at first glance, but they do not have a state income tax, so I believe it evens out quite nicely. You have access to incredible hiking, skiing, lakes, etc. I'm not sure if this is something that matters to you, but it is also generally a more liberal area (in the cities, at least), which is refreshing.

Also, just read a bit further and see that you've visited Seattle. Seattle does have a bit of a dreary and rainy stereotype, and this is largely true in the winter (although temperature wise, the climate is much more mild than much of the US). In the summer, however, it hardly ever rains and is a perfect 70-75 degrees F almost everyday, so I think the stereotype is a bit unwarranted!

Can someone explain simply how the American political system works?Donald trump wasent a politician but becmae President can anyone do this if they have the financial means ? What's a Congress man or a senator ?

@charlottemont

Thank you!

Yes I have Pacific North West on my radar as that was indeed my first taste of USA. And it left a good initial impression as much more interesting than seemingly less exciting UK. This was going back a bit pre parenthood when I was barely starting out on the career rat race.

I like Vancouver and have many friends there in BC Canada.

Are there any particular spots apart from Seattle and possibly Portland to check out further online? Not sure the ridiculous news coming out of Portland is particularly selling it to me but I guess that is something that will come and go as most USA cities contain a very diverse local population demographic. Good climate and outdoor lifestyle would make the big difference from rainy Britain to somewhere more compatible for exploring the exciting open spaces etc.

How many Americans have guns?

Is it most of them?

Help me understand why rational, non-wildlife-shooting, urbanite, law abiding adults feel the need to own a gun?

Is gun ownership universal or linked to certain types of communities or people?

Is it most of them?

No. Recent research and surveys indicate that about 30% of Americans own a gun, but about 40% of Americans live in a household where there is a gun.

However, there are many gun owners who own a lot of guns.

@x2boys
To be president, you have to be 35+ and a natural born US citizen. You don’t technically have to be born in the US, just a US citizen from birth. If you qualify to run, you can. You can actually write in a name on your ballot and, in theory, a write-in candidate could win (although the likelihood is obviously infinitesimally small). The parties have a sort of run off called the primaries to pick their candidates. Each state has their own primary process and vote. The winners go on the ballot in November. The 2 main parties’ candidates (Democrat and Republican), but there are always a handful of other minor parties and sometimes even someone with no party affiliation. People vote in November and then it gets really fun as the popular vote doesn’t actually elect the president. The electoral college does. It’s made up of representatives of each state based on the number of representatives in Congress. Each state can dictate their own rules for electoral college representatives and the voting process. Most states do it so all electoral college votes go to the winner of the popular vote in the state. Some do a percentage split I believe. There are actual real people who make up the electoral college that have to have a formal voting process, it’s not just an on paper thing.

As for Congress, there are 2 “houses” — the Senate (senators), each state gets 2, and the House of Representatives (representatives), 435 in total with each state allocated a certain number based on population but at least 1 per state. This means low population states (like Wyoming) are massively overrepresented compared to high population states like California. This was all set up when the country was founded in order to protect states rights so big states couldn’t bowl over little states. Senators serve 6 year terms and Representatives serve 2, but no term limits for either. Not everyone in the country is actually represented because Washington DC is not a state and does not have voting members of Congress. They get to vote for the president but it doesn’t really count because they have no seats in the electoral college.

The third arm of the federal government is the Supreme Court.

That’s just the federal government. Each state has basically the same set up just for the state and then there are county and city governments as well. Each layer is allowed to make laws (to some extent). States rights are very important in the US and there is a complex balance between who has say it ver what. For example, education falls under the purview of the state. Trump saying he is going to pull education funding is basically a joke since very little funding actually comes from the federal government and congress allocates the budget anyway. He really has no say effectively.

@TomBradysLeftKneecap Here in Tx kids can start the theory part of drivers ed at 14, get their learner’s permit at 15 and their license at 16. I think it’s far too young. But just like the drinking and driving point that others have made, the vast distances and zero public transport issue contribute.

@elp30 Please share where the British Indian Grocery is, if you don’t mind? I’m in Tx too and would love to find a good one!

There are actual real people who make up the electoral college that have to have a formal voting process, it’s not just an on paper thing.

I only learnt this recently - one of my daughter's friends from school is one of the presidential electors for our state this year. I love that an 18 year old has this role.

@SJK34 It's funny because Americans feel the same way. I work with people from across the states and the U.K. and I see as much variability between countries as within my own. There's is a guy I have a monthly meeting with who apparently built a safe house on his home - it's built to withstand gunshots. He lives in what is called a gated community where you need a pass to drive the streets. When all the COVID closures were happening across the states and New York was in the height of pandemic with people crowding the ERs, he asked if anyone really believed in this virus. He lives in a small town in middle Texas where the entire town attends high school football games. He said once that he "wasn't Catholic because he was a Christian." I would have less culture shock living in Vienna than I would living in his town.

@Gotakeahike Thank you for the lesson on the US government.
I still don't understand the Electoral Colleges system. 🙈
I know Hilary Clinton won the popular vote last time ( she got more votes than Trump ) but because of the Electoral College system Trump became President.
Is that democratic ?
If not, why don't they change the system ?

Also, what is the difference between the House Of Representatives and the Senate ?
What powers do they have ?
Which is more influential / prestigious, being a Senator or being a Representative?

@LadyEloise
Many Americans don’t really understand the electoral college system tbf. There is contention over the electoral college system to some extent. It’s part of the constitution so would be challenging to change. Like I said, states rights stuff is pretty deeply entrenched into the country and the electoral college prevents states like California and New York running everything. It didn’t really account for the fact that there would be such massive disparity in representation though.

For example, Wyoming has 1 congress person per approx 189k people. California has one congress person per approx 679k people. This is because each state has 2 senators no matter the population and at least 1 representative. Wyoming should have a fraction of a representative if they were allocated equally but it doesn’t work like that of course. There are some that would like to increase the number of representatives in the house or representatives (keeping the senators the same at 2 per state no matter the size) to make it so the representatives are equitably distributed without having to revert to fractions of representatives

As for differences between the House and Senate, there are certain powers that are assigned to each, but it’s a bit in the weeds. Senate confirms appointments to particular positions by the president for example. The House has power to impeach the president and the like. They both have the ability to instigate legislation, but it’s a convoluted process and must pass through both the House and the Senate eventually. Right now, there is a Democrat majority in the House and a narrow Republican majority in the Senate, so it makes passing meaningful legislation tricky as the 2 are at odds with each other. The President has veto power as well, further complicating things, but can be over ruled with a large enough majority from Congress.

Senators would be considered more prestigious. They serve much longer terms and there are much fewer of them.

we were taught in school that the electoral college & the senate vs. House of Reps systems (not always proportional) served a purpose. The entire system is meant to ensure that compromise happens and majoritarianism can't happen. Rights of minorities (smaller states) are meant to be protected by not having simple majorities decide every election outcome.

Electoral college set up was meant (some say) to protect against populism. Didn't work out like that, though.

Thank you. It's still as clear as mud. But that's my fault as it's too complicated for me to understand.

@FATEdestiny and gun ownership tends to be concentrated in certain states. So your neighbours in Texas for example are more likely to be gun owners than your neighbours in say New Jersey or Connecticut.

I know Hilary Clinton won the popular vote last time ( she got more votes than Trump ) but because of the Electoral College system Trump became President

So a recurring theme in this thread has been the relative power and autonomy of states. Some states like Wyoming are incredibly sparsely populated, but still need to have some sort of representative say in this system (or what is their point in being a political unit?).

States can lose or gain electoral votes after a census if their population significantly changes (which is why the census is so politically fraught)

The EU has to have something like this, too, or a tiny sparsely populated island like Ireland would get no say in the EU at all!

Thank you to everyone who has commented on leave days and holidays :-) It seems that for professionals today, there is about as much holiday entitlement as in the UK - great (and being in HigherEd seems a dream!). The divide between groups I guess is the problem then - very unfair.

And interesting to read about the many celebrations over the year. I would agree that it sounds like there are many mini-holidays/celebrations to look forward to (although I would hate commercial holidays like Valentine's day or Halloween to get a firmer grip...)

HelloToMyKitty - you wrote that your parents had two weeks when you grew up. How did you spend this time - did they take it in scattered days, or a week at a time? Did you go away sometimes or stay at home? It just does not seem enough time to relax properly from work before you need to return, but I guess you get used to everything...

Interesting thread, thanks to all contributors. I wonder what other country/area could come up next :-)

you wrote that your parents had two weeks when you grew up. How did you spend this time - did they take it in scattered days, or a week at a time?

For us, it was always a two-week chunk that was spent on family vacations. They’d plan something different each year, it was a stereotypical road trip and I always did look forward to it!

I think they definitely got stressed though, we have a saying about needing a vacation from a vacation ....

I think when I was older, they were able to take three weeks holiday as a perk of being a long-term employee. They still preferred the two-week holiday and then taking scattered days off here and there, usually to watch our sports games and such 😅

It just does not seem enough time to relax properly from work before you need to return

It doesn’t to me either ... but they handled it pretty well. A lot of people just cash out their vacation days so I guess not everyone necessarily values it.

It may be out of date,but I've read that most Americans don't own a passport. It makes sense that you'd holiday on your own continent if you only had a fortnight off.

Coming from the East Coast, I had less culture shock moving to the UK than I would moving to parts of my own country like Oklahoma or something. The differences among US regions are pretty extreme.

Since Trump came in there is a lot more half-joking talk about the US splitting up, with the west and east coasts seceding. To be clear I'm not saying this will happen but if things continue on this way, I would not be surprised if the US splits up in 50 years or something. The country is so polarised and each side feels really oppressed when the other side is in power. It's not healthy for a country.

When do you get the college acceptance letter and are they conditional on passing exams?

No you apply to college in the fall of your last year of high school and then you usually find out in May if you're accepted. You can apply to as many as you want though it's a lot of work and money for each application so this limits it.

The UK system seems so fraught to me, finding out so late where you're going!

The country is big and varied enough that not using a passport isn't so surprising. It costs a lot to travel to another continent and also people used to be able to make short visits to Canada without one until relatively recently. Where I live people go to Canada for an evening or weekend and used to do it without a passport.

There also isn't the idea that everyone has to go on a holiday every year. People are astounded by us always going away every summer. I find it strange now when I read Mumsnet and people write about going on holiday as if it's a necessity. People here will visit friends or family, or may do a long weekend away to a tourist place, but there's no concept of a two week family vacation. People will even head to a second home for the summer if they're wealthy, but it will probably be mom and the kids doing that while Dad stays in the main home to work. This is why there are all the summer camps to keep kids entertained, if both parents work.

I've also found that employers are much more flexible about taking an hour or two off to go to the doctors or get kids to the dentist etc. I'm a teacher and a colleague would step in and cover for me if I needed that. So people don't use annual leave for minor things like that. However, I'm sure that lower paid jobs are less flexible.