Living in America 2014

[rootypig]

Shiny new thread. After an epic visa fuck up we are starting out (again!) in LA in a few weeks. I am English, DH is American (from southern California), DD is 21mo. I am going back to work after several unintentional years out and terrified. No clue what I want to do, which doesn't help.

Come chat about all things American!

CrimeaRiver (great name!) can you not join a CSA? Friends in Brooklyn & Manhattan use them (one has a pick up in union square).

We are equally fussy about meat & dairy and make a lot of our own bread (most bread here is so horribly sweet! But no bread maker yet...). My in-laws live on a farm, so keep us well stocked with veg/fruit, we grow some ourselves and berry pick & make jam, we use a neighbour's honey and farmers markets supplement (had the most delicious jersey corn from the farmers market for dinner tonight). We would be bankrupt if we had to buy everything from Whole Foods! I do love trader Joe's for many things (like knowing I can get peanut butter without loads of manky additives for my kids and Kerrygold cheddar at a good price - American cheese is gross!).

Dharma I agree that nappy sacks just aren't a thing here. Also bras and knickers - stock up at John lewis (oh how i miss JL!) or m&s as mostly underwear here is rubbish. I rely on polarn o pyret and hanna andersson and ll bean for my kids socks/tights/long underwear.

Eissac is right about the toothpaste. You cannot get mint flavored children's toothpaste here! Whenever DH's London office send someone over for meetings they are instructed to bring tubes of Aquafresh Milk Teeth and lots of Calpol to top up our supply.

I miss M&S, John Lewis and Jojo Maman Bebe.

I think it's finally cooling down in OKC. I'm so relieved! I'm looking forward wearing something other than vests, shorts and Birkenstocks!

Walmart stock an imported Australian cheddar called Old Croc which is pretty good. Every other attempt at cheddar I've tasted over here has been utterly rank.

We get to fly back to the UK every 6 months as part of DH's relocation package so we stock up M&S underwear then! I recently discovered Hanna Andersson for children's clothes on a trip to Dallas. No branch in Oklahoma (of course ) but lovely enough to justify ordering online.

Hi all - special waves to fellow LA resident gracie, LA meet up withrootypig would be grand

Tampons - costco is your friend
Toothpaste, butter and cheese I have visitors bring from home
Never had customs bill with M&S and I've had duvets and all sorts shipped over!

I've not had a customs bill either - though I think you need to stick under a certain value? Was it $200? I can't remember. Maybe do two separate shipments if you need to order a lot - so go beyond the price needed to get free shipping but keep below the customs limit for paying duty?

Hi again

A meet up would be great!

I also didn't get a customs bill from M&S? Maybe they just pick packages at random?

Cheese - trader joes is good or Gelsens. Actually Gelsens is pretty good albeit pricey.
I couldn't find nappy sacks! I think I ordered them from amazon in the end.
Bread I hate here, it's too sweet and full of preservatives. I had burger rolls in my cupboard that I forgot about and when I found them a month later they were still as good as new! I was going to keep them to see how long they would actually last as a test.

Amazon fresh deliver and the meat and fish is good.

The other thing to moan about in LA is the driving, it's appalling. Normal everyday people seem to loose there minds when they step into a car here.

Interesting point about pesticides etc in food. I have been sick with colds, flu, all sorts since being here and allergies resulting in hay fever. I will look at food a more closely now.

I get underwear at Nordstrom, tea from amazon (yorkshire gold), butter from costco (kerrygold) which cheaper than TJ's, cheese from wine store (Wine Library on Morris Ave in Springfield NJ), kid shoes from Nordstrom and Via Mode in Hoboken, I use Target own unflavoured, sugar free kiddie tylenol instead of calpol and peanut butter comes from costco or I whizz my own in the blender using raw nuts from TJ's. There are a couple of breads in costco that are good. The fresh baked ones are not sweet.

Rooty just try the plain greek yoghurt in TJ's and add your own fruit. That one you tried is gross. DH knows the buyers at TJ's and told the meat buyer that the dairy person clearly needs a trip to Europe. If things go well TJ's might have a 'bacon chop' next year. It is proper bacon but an inch thick. Trials in the household have been a huge success but it might be for restaurant distribution only as supply is limited. It taste so darn good with an egg on top.

I've just started driving here (didn't drive at home) and find city driving in LA fine, it's so slow, but the freeways are insane. Insane.

DH knows the buyers at TJ's

Can he introduce them to the buyers at Waitrose?!

Right, I'm going to Costco next week to investigate all your recommendations, thanks.

Re yoghurt, sorry if I'm being a dope, but the only Greek yoghurt I could see was 2% or 0% fat. It's for DD, not me, so need full fat. I think the goat's milk yoghurt is less hideous.

Thanks for the tips re food boxes etc. we are soon to move to Brooklyn and I think I might go for one then. My WF is right round the back of our apt building, kinda makes sense to stick with it for now. And, actually, I find WF expensive compared to London (mostly Waitrose), not so much Fresh Direct (which I find reeeeeally dear, and you don't even get to pick your produce), or Food Emporium (may as well just hand over your purse wallet when you walk through the door) - these are the only two alternatives available to me without getting on the subway (no car, we are in manhattan).

As for m&s: thanks for the top tip to stay under $200! I think I spent about $220, so even more grrrr!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my bread machine, it's the single best purchase I've made in my years here. It's a Panasonic SD-YD250. We have more than made our money back on it, and I know exactly what we are eating, and it's always delicious. Only used it for white, wholemeal, half-and-half white/wholemeal, pizza dough, everything has turned out perfectly.

Also agree re nappy sacks. Tesco does excellent ones: value range, 200 for £1. Well, they did when I bought half a dozen packets a few years ago, I'm still working my way through them!

Finally, yogurt: WF own brand full fat plain yogurt has nothing but milk in it. I buy DD stoneyfield flavoured yogs, they're set, not as sweet as any of the other stuff on the market, and organic schmorganic.

Guys I had to google what nappy sacks are! I have been using the dog poop bags or used ziplock bags that I save for this purpose when out. At home we just use a shopping bag in the bin and empty it twice a day. We have two bins as one is always being rotated through the dishwasher along with the bathroom toilet step and toilet ring.

Rooty they have a 0%, 2% and full fat here on the east coast. If they don't have it ask and keep pestering them. They will get stuff in if you ask enough.

DH tells me the buyers at TJ's are really good given what they have to work with. Growth in the supermarket industry is negative and has been for a while. The overheads are hideous and it is very expensive to source decent food. The profits DH generates on each truckload for his employer are very small and when I saw the numbers I was shocked at just how low. DH sells as much as he can into foodservice because dealing with the public can get expensive. He had one claim from a lady who wanted $10k to repair a tooth she broke when she was eating a rib. She claimed she didn't know there was a bone in it and box didn't explicitly say there were bones in the meat. They sued his employer and DH's employer won on a technicality.

Also, most of the good fruit and veg comes from Canada and the vast majority of it stays up there as Canadians are very willing to pay for it.

Can anyone advise me on where to get measured for a new bra? DD has finally quit nursing, so I need some nice new non-nursing bras (hurrah!) but want to get measured as after 4.5 years of being either pregnant and/or breastfeeding I'm not really sure of my size anymore. Our next visit to the UK isn't until Feb so I can't wait for good old M&S of John Lewis.

Can I just add one thing, there are a few things that annoy me in the US, but on the whole our move has been so positive for our family. We are renting still but we have so much more space than we had in the UK. Our garden is lovely and the kids love it. I just wanted to make that clear because I do complain about silly things and it has been a rough road getting here, but my family and I are so much happier here.

eissac I hear you and totally agree. I am very happy here in the US but there are certain things that are annoying. No problem expressing that on this forum but never ever complain about America to an American. I have seen other do it and it is social suicide.

MrsFrumble Nordstrom are good but also look for a local proper underwear shop. In Hoboken Galatea are good at measuring and when I was pregnant I was a 32G. They sent me to Nordstrom as they didn't have my size and said they were not experienced at fitting someone like me. I really appreciated their honesty. Are you in oklahoma? I know you have said but I can't remember.

Yes, I'm in Oklahoma City. I'm not sure if we have a Nordstrom...

Ha - nappy bags. I'm still working my way through the ones I asked my mum to bring over two years ago! Let's just say her interpretation of 'a few' was slightly different from mine. Thankfully I've had another baby since then so they're still coming in handy :o) The only ones I could find here were sort of premium - Munchkin brand I think - and very few for lots of $.

No Nordstrom in Oklahoma. Maybe I talk DH into a shopping trip to Dallas...

Autumn has reached OKC! Temperature was in the mid 30s on Wednesday. Today it was 16 degrees Ahhh, the joys of living in Tornado Alley!

Dollar Tree nappy bags? Hmm, will have to give one of those places a try. Haven't been before. Thanks for the tip!

19C in NYC today. It's glorious

We're having a heat wave in LA and yet all the awesome outdoor pools have closed, pumpkin lattes are on sale. It doesn't matter if it's 33degrees plus, if it's after Labour Day, it's officially autumn.

Mrs Frumble Nordstrom do deliver and you can return via mail too but not sure if there is a charge for returns. I would do a google for underwear shops or go into your most upper end department store and ask the assistants in the lingerie department if they know of any places that stock Chantelle and Elle McPherson. The good places tend to have both of those brands. I have found calvin Klein and DKNY underwear to be just awful. Victoria Secrets is ok if you are up to a C cup. Anything bigger than that and I don't think they offer enough support. I say this as someone who went from a 30B to a 36G when pregnant and I am now a 34E.

Eissac I agree. I actually really love living here, despite missing lots about London. But then this is a permanent move for us - dh is from south jersey (we live in North Jersey) so we see a fair bit of family (miss being able to get to Ireland for my family easily though). We've bought a house and DC3 will be born here soon. So I have to love it in a way. Still, I do love my boots botanics moisturiser and no7 foundation! I also tend to prefer brands like uniqlo and h&m (and ikea!) that I would also shop at in the uk...

MrsF I totally recommend nordstoms delivery. I've never actually been into one (even with having one quite close) but find their online ordering/returning v easy and fast. They also stock such great brands.

Crimea am loving the cooler weather! Roll on autumn I say!

Had a great day in NYC with DH and the kids today. Went to see the Jeff Koons show at the Whitney...which I thought was rubbish! Didn't think a single artist retrospective could have me thinking Damien Hirst is a nuanced and deep artist but Koons managed it! Thankfully free due to DH's company (and John Waters walked past me on the stairs which was the highlight!). Looking forward to the new Whitney space opening next year.

But reckon that's our last big day out by train/public transit for a while - lugging my massive bump around while chasing after the 2 year old and 4 year old was knackering!

Will check out Nordstrom online. The bra thing may have been rather premature though; after 5 days of refusing her one-a-day bedtime feed DD was back to yanking on my top and shouting "booby!" tonight, so I guess she's not quite ready to stop nursing yet...

We've had a weekend of lovely weather with sun but temperatures in the low to mid-20s. Yesterday we walked the trail at a local nature reserve in comfort at 5PM (when the heat has been at its most unbearable in summer), and today we spent the afternoon downtown at a children's music festival. Bliss! I've hated being stuck indoors in the afternoons with the AC on all summer.

Mrs F - I've never actually bought a bra in the States! Moved over 2 years ago, nursing my 6 month old. She nursed til over 2, by which time I was pregnant again...baby due soon so more years of nursing ahead of me. My bravado and hot milk bra stash from the uk has served me well! Though am well sick of nursing/pregnancy bras!