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?

The menu of the Churchill Tavern is quite something.

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Private health insurance isn’t as scary as people think. Yes we pay health premiums but our taxes are much lower. My overall tax on a six-figure income is around 9% (we live in a state with no income tax). There’s no way someone earning my salary on the UK would be paying 9% tax. My employer covers me and we pay for my husband’s premiums. He has cancer and his treatment is expensive. But insurance covers it all and we just pay the deductible then the co-pay until we reach the MOOP which we did months ago for this year already. I’ve done the figures many times and this works out much cheaper for us than if we were living in the UK. Also his particular cancer has a significantly higher survival rate here. It’s not just money that matters, it’s the quality of care.

Lol I love that. menu 😂

I'm curious about where people typically do their food shop, like the equivalent of going to Tesco's or Sainsburys here.

In the (limited) places I've visited in the US, I've seen Walmarts in the suburbs (which didn't seem that great for fresh food), smallish mini-mart grocery stores and then fancy Whole Foods or corner shop/bodegas in the cities. All great in their own way, but nowhere that had the same wide range of reasonably priced food/goods that you'd get in the major U.K. supermarkets.

We've got plenty of supermarkets -- they tend to be regional chains as opposed to national. DH and I have an "equivalency" we've made up, where this one is equivalent to Tesco, this one's Waitrose, this one's Sainsbury's.....

In Houston I went to Carrs, and Wholefoods when I was feeling flush. Fiesta had an aisle dedicated to expat delicacies such as Marmite!

Oh I don't disagree @BritWifeinUSA ,a Facebook friend of mine was diagnosed with stage four cancer in America and she got great treatment etc and is currently doing very well, having said that they do have a very good standard of living and good insurance ,in comparison the NHS can only fund so much .

@x2boys

I love that the Churchill Tavern sells full English breakfast ,s and Roast Dinners I would love to see the rest of the menu😂

The full menu is on the website (see the menu at the top left of the page). I've eaten there twice. I had the beef and mushroom pot pie and the fish and chips. Both were excellent. It's in a nice location too.

@shadyzadie

I'm curious about where people typically do their food shop, like the equivalent of going to Tesco's or Sainsburys here.

In the (limited) places I've visited in the US, I've seen Walmarts in the suburbs (which didn't seem that great for fresh food), smallish mini-mart grocery stores and then fancy Whole Foods or corner shop/bodegas in the cities. All great in their own way, but nowhere that had the same wide range of reasonably priced food/goods that you'd get in the major U.K. supermarkets.

There are dozens of regional and national supermarket chains in the US that are comparable to your stores in the UK. Wegman's

www.wegmans.com/

is my favorite, but Shoprite, Stop and Shop, Shaw's and Foodtown are all lovely in my area.

Supermarkets originated in the US with a chain called Kroger's, which I think is still in business.

www.groceteria.com/about/a-quick-history-of-the-supermarket/

Just because you haven't seen them doesn't mean they don't exist.

Does the fact that some states have no income tax mean their property prices are higher?

[quote VeganVeal]@Hingeandbracket

Only the yellow bar is manual, all the others are automatic, so add all those up and there is more auto's worldwide than manual[/quote]
But the poster I was replying to claimed that it was only in the UK we preferred manual transmission and everywhere else preferred auto.
I agree there's a slight overall preference for auto but the world figures are somewhat skewed by North America, and contrary to that poster, many non-UK nations prefer manual.

nowhere that had the same wide range of reasonably priced food/goods that you'd get in the major U.K. supermarkets

Our food bill is more than double in the UK.
But we have a wide range of supermarkets and some are very nice indeed.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

Does the fact that some states have no income tax mean their property prices are higher?

People do migrate from high tax states to low tax states, so that would increase demand. But low tax states typically have less restrictive building regulations, so there's more supply which keeps prices lower.

I could sell my nice house in New York and buy a mansion in Texas if that helps.

I know there isn't a class system as such in the US but there does seem to be plenty of money from the "middle of the road" families upwards. Certainly from tv, a family with the kids could have one parent as a SAHM and one as a Realtor (for example) and they can afford to save for college (x3), pay all the insurances, buy cars for each kid, take plenty of holidays, maybe even have a housekeeper.

Eh, no

Supermarkets...

I buy most food in Hannaford which I think is a New England chain. They do click and collect so they're my first choice.

I buy a few things (eg crumpets) in Trader Joes, but they don't do click and collect so I'm less likely to go there.

I occasionally might go to Walmart for groceries if I'm in the area and have other stuff to buy, but rarely - I won't usually be able to get everything I need there.

If I want UK stuff I'll go to the Shop the World aisle in Shaws.

For Irish bangers, and monkfish I go to Wholefoods, and usually end up buying loads more and having absolutely no money left because everything looks so delicious.

@HoldMyLobster - Lobster! So nice to see you!

Please tell @shadyzadie that we have perfectly nice supermarkets here. You probably shop at Shaw's when you're on the mainland.

Why in a country of 330 million people Is joe Biden The best that the democrats can find to run in the 2020 election?

Good question. I groaned when I realised he'd be the candidate.

But... against Trump he's quite good - he will take a lot of the working class base, he's a known quantity with few black marks on his record, and he seems to mostly (if not always) know when to shut up and let Trump dig himself into a hole.

As a candidate I'd have preferred Elizabeth Warren, but I think she'd have struggled more with the middle-ground voters.

I'd love to see Pete Buttigieg run again in future - I think he's in with a real chance.

I do find the language difference between the US and UK fascinating thoughJust

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

I know there isn't a class system as such in the US but there does seem to be plenty of money from the "middle of the road" families upwards.

Certainly from tv, a family with the kids could have one parent as a SAHM and one as a Realtor (for example) and they can afford to save for college (x3), pay all the insurances, buy cars for each kid, take plenty of holidays, maybe even have a housekeeper.

This is complete fiction and pure fantasy in some parts of the US

I read that something like 41 of new car models of 327 in the US come in manual transmissions.

I own a Mini Cooper six-speed manual and it took me ages to find it. I learned to drive in the UK so I prefer manual transmission cars. Also, I do visit the UK and rent cars and an automatic transmission bumps the rental to twice the cost. No thank you! I'm due to buy a new car soon and it's a struggle to find another manual transmission car. I'll keep to Mini but I was looking for something a little bigger but the Countryman & Clubman don't come in manual. I know many people who would love to own a manual but can't seem to find one.

As for grocery stores, I would say that because the country is really large, it's hard to have nationwide stores. There are stores like Kroger and Randalls that are nationwide but regionally they have different names. I live in the Houston area and my "national" stores are "Randalls" & "Kroger" but in my hometown 750 miles away, the Randall's are called, "Albertsons" and my cousin in California shops at "Ralphs" but it's "Randalls". I can use my Clubcard (like a Sainsbury's card for points) at those two.

In my specific suburb, I live within two miles of Texas's most beloved grocery chain, HEB; a Sprouts (best for organic & plant based foods and cheaper than Whole Foods); a Kroger, a Fiesta Mart (Houston based international grocer); Whole Foods, a neighborhood WalMart; a hyper market HEB; two Targets (department-style store with groceries) and a Trader Joe's which is Aldi's brother's store. Just outside of my subdivision is an Aldi and two specialist Indian grocers, one that calls itself a "British Indian Specialist" and a few small Mexican & Latin American grocers. I'm spoilt for choice where I am.

@HoldMyLobster

Why in a country of 330 million people Is joe Biden The best that the democrats can find to run in the 2020 election?

Good question. I groaned when I realised he'd be the candidate.

But... against Trump he's quite good - he will take a lot of the working class base, he's a known quantity with few black marks on his record, and he seems to mostly (if not always) know when to shut up and let Trump dig himself into a hole.

As a candidate I'd have preferred Elizabeth Warren, but I think she'd have struggled more with the middle-ground voters.

I'd love to see Pete Buttigieg run again in future - I think he's in with a real chance.

Completely agree with everythimg

@elp30

I read that something like 41 of new car models of 327 in the US come in manual transmissions.

I own a Mini Cooper six-speed manual and it took me ages to find it. I learned to drive in the UK so I prefer manual transmission cars. Also, I do visit the UK and rent cars and an automatic transmission bumps the rental to twice the cost. No thank you! I'm due to buy a new car soon and it's a struggle to find another manual transmission car. I'll keep to Mini but I was looking for something a little bigger but the Countryman & Clubman don't come in manual. I know many people who would love to own a manual but can't seem to find one.

As for grocery stores, I would say that because the country is really large, it's hard to have nationwide stores. There are stores like Kroger and Randalls that are nationwide but regionally they have different names. I live in the Houston area and my "national" stores are "Randalls" & "Kroger" but in my hometown 750 miles away, the Randall's are called, "Albertsons" and my cousin in California shops at "Ralphs" but it's "Randalls". I can use my Clubcard (like a Sainsbury's card for points) at those two.

In my specific suburb, I live within two miles of Texas's most beloved grocery chain, HEB; a Sprouts (best for organic & plant based foods and cheaper than Whole Foods); a Kroger, a Fiesta Mart (Houston based international grocer); Whole Foods, a neighborhood WalMart; a hyper market HEB; two Targets (department-style store with groceries) and a Trader Joe's which is Aldi's brother's store. Just outside of my subdivision is an Aldi and two specialist Indian grocers, one that calls itself a "British Indian Specialist" and a few small Mexican & Latin American grocers. I'm spoilt for choice where I am.

For our grocery stores we have Food Lion,Harris Teeter,IGA, Piggly Wiggly and of course Wal-Mart

Sorry didn't finish ,for example when people talk about back yards in the UK to me it means a small concrete area behind your terrace house but in America it means something entirely different ,more what We would describe as a Garden ,do people have Gardens in America and what do they look like ?

American washing machines,with the top loader they look a lot bigger than front loaders

Omg I miss the huge washer and dryer at my parent’s house. Always found it weird that so many homes in the U.K. lack a dryer, especially given the climate. And then, why install it in the kitchen?! Insane!!

do people have Gardens in America and what do they look like

Most have what we call backyards which is usually a huge patch of mowed grass with some trees.

A garden has intent. Only people who grow plants and stuff have gardens