MNers living in the USA

[MrsFrumble]

There used to be a brilliant, long running thread about 10 years ago; a little community of mostly immigrant Brits (but some native to the US) who just chatted about our day-to-day lives. I moved back to the UK in 2016 so stopped reading and posting.

I’m now back the US for the foreseeable future and was wondering if any of the original gang were still around, or anyone else would like to chat about life here. Election madness? The weather? Missing Marmite and decent cheese? Sadly I can’t remember anyone’s usernames or I’d try summoning…

is it this which you seek @MrsFrumble?

Living in America 2014

I've been on mumsnet for 17 years and moved to upstate NY in 2017 from the UK.

Currently in the midlands visiting my dad for a week, and today I've spent £130 on chocolate, hob nobs, brown sauce and more! 😁

We have 2 children who were 11 and 15 when we moved so have experienced the school system. One is in his 2nd year of college and the other is in the first year of her masters.

Excited to be a part of this chat 😊

Ahh, that’s it @beetr00 ! Thank you! I’m going to read it all later for a trip down memory lane, but my first few posts show that I was very concerned about the sugar and salt content of what I fed my kids back in 2014. Which is funny, because now they are middle schoolers they live off school cafeteria burritos and Oreo’s and I’ve given up worrying.

@StayGoldAgain how did your children find moving at that age? Ours are 13 and 11, and seem to be settling okay, but I do feel guilty about taking them so far away from their friends and extended family. Are they at college here or in the UK?

Greetings from the Hudson Highlands in New York. I’m an American and started on MN in 2017, so I missed the original thread. I’m always glad to meet expats living here and other Americans on MN.

Waving from NYC. Landed in the Summer from LA. Here with my 6yr daughter. She’s sad as her brothers headed back to UK. One for uni and the other for 6th form.

Just came back from a long weekend in Vermont where I indulged in a lot of cheese eating. A simple but tasty pleasure. I think I’m still making up for not eating enough in LA!

I'm in the US, born here. I live in the midwest, in a "red state" but my city is a blue dot. I'm retired.

I spent a term as a visiting lecturer at Harris Manchester College at Oxford. My oldest son is in London this week, he is a Arsenal fan to the nth degree.

I'm also here because reddit is full of incels and those boys don't like women.

Near DC here. There's a great little British shop and also an English pub in our town, so we can find most things!

I forgot to mention that in my city Omaha, we have two British focused shops, Chippy's and the Bubbly Tart. Chippy's a restaurant, sells British imports and the Bubbly Tart has the best afternoon tea.

@OhcantthInkofaname I wonder if we are in the same college town in the Midwest 😄
I have come here for a job at a university.
loving the beautiful fall weather and the kind, friendly people. There’s a lot going on in town thanks to the university and all the students, and we are close to a large city with an international airport so I don’t feel too cut off. Not going to make it back to the UK this Christmas but have booked a European holiday for next summer.

Hello, almost neighbor. I worked in the city for many years. I'm about an hour north of you on the commute trains.

Your weekend in Vermont sounds lovely, but you went to early to see the colors change. Come and visit the Hudson Valley this fall.

How do you like NYC so far, and which borough are you in?

Just had a brief skim read of the original thread. Couldn't see my username, but it reminded me of the "Can you hang washing out on the line in USA?" debate. Plus everyone being typically British & talking about the weather .

my takeaway from reading the old threads is how obsessed with food everyone was! 😂 And the recommendations on where to buy things, which were well meant but not always helpful given the variance of shopping options from state to state.

I definitely hang my washing out! It’s at least breezy all year round (Rodgers and Hammerstein were right and the wind really does come sweeping down the plain) and hot and dry for a good chunk of the year, so why not? The configuration of back yards does mean the neighbours would have to try pretty hard to glimpse any underwear though.

The Hudson Valley is really gorgeous! A lot of upstate too. The Hudson Valley has been discovered now, but people forget how much of the state is left. We drove up to the Finger Lakes and Letchworth several years ago.

I have loads of trees in my yard, and with the mid-Atlantic climate and pollen season it feels like there's about 2 nice weeks for hanging laundry. Right now the actual weather is perfect for hanging laundry but the leaves are blowing everywhere.

I read that one reason pollen season is worse and worse is that people keep planting male trees to avoid fruit drops, but instead we get all the pollen. In spring everything is bright yellow.

When the opportunity to move came up, we talked about it a lot. Everyone needed to be on board. My son started 6th grade and my daughter 9th grade, so they had time to get all the requirements in before graduating.
They were both extremely popular and have a really nice group of friends, which helped a lot. They settled much quicker than i did! Both are in college in NYS.

Aw someone started a nice thread about America: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5186592-things-i-adore-about-the-usa-and-americans

Hopefully it doesn't descend into a US bashing thread 😬.

Hope everyone's having a great weekend. Stunning weather again here. A Target just opened near me and I went and picked up my whole weekly shop and came out with this amazing cushion I absolutely do not need and cannot justify. I also really want this one, but genuinely have nowhere to put it in my cramped apartment.

@MissConductUS

We saw lovely fall colours between Woodstock and Stowe and inland on the back roads towards the Hudson. Woodstock had only just started to turn but still pretty. It was a lovely weekend. Nice to get out of the city.

NYC is good so far thanks although missing elements of LA.

@allfurcoatnoknickers those cushions are amazing! I bloody love Target.

It’s fall break here (if not yet fall
weather 😬). OK Schools started in early August (the very hottest part of the year) so they’re already 1/4 of the way through the academic year. We’re driving over to Black Mesa state park in the Oklahoma panhandle, then west into New Mexico which is my favourite state. Bring on the green chillies!

Hi all, We are in Boston. We only moved over 7 weeks ago with my husbands job so still finding our feet at the moment. My daughter seems to be settling well into middle school and I start my new job next week. So far we are enjoying the experience and have found everyone very warm and welcoming.

Currently on a fall break in Door county, Wisconsin, very pretty but so cold. I think summer is finally over.
They are famous for growing cherries here, so lots of walking beside the Great Lakes, looking at fall colors and eating Swedish pancakes with cherries.

@daisybrambles, you're going to love Boston! I have loads of family in the Boston area and my son went to university there. He's going to be moving back there in a few months for a new job, so I expect we'll go up to help him move from New York. It's a lovely area with so much history. Be warned that the winters are cold and they get a lot of snow.

Are you in the city proper or one of the close in towns?

We are living just outside the city in a town that was recommended to us by my husbands colleagues, seems to be the best of both worlds so far.

I have heard about the winters, a lady I met was telling me about a winter a few years ago when it snowed for almost 2 months and the snow was up to their windows. Hard to imagine for us but they say the last few years have been quite mild so we will see what this year brings. I will need a very warm coat!

My family is mainly in the Beverly/Danvers area, but I also have some north of the city. There are lots of lovely towns around Boston.

I have the perfect winter coat for you, and it's 50% off today! DH, DS, and I all have Lands End Squall Parkas, and they're beautifully made, very warm, and waterproof. $99 is an absolute steal.

Women's Squall Waterproof Insulated Winter Parka

Everything on the site is 50% off today if your husband also needs a new coat.

I edited to add that the last few winters have been milder than usual, but you will have many days when the temperatures start out at -7 C or colder.

Update: I bought the beaded turkey from Target. I have no willpower.

It was too good to pass up. You'll treasure it forever. 😁