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Original poster

QUESTIONS FOR AMERICANS!!!!

30 replies

pinkroses · 12/02/2005 16:08

Hello. I have just moved to the US and would like to pick your brains if that's ok.

  1. Where does everyone do their shopping?
  2. Where can I buy Lamb?? There is none, anywhere!
  3. Is there an equivalent to Medised for kids??
  4. Which are the best nappies?? They all seem very thin and leak.
  5. Where do you go for a night out?? I live near disney.....but this gets very boring for a night out.
  6. I heard from someone a while ago that some restaurants have like a nanny service in them so parents can have a nice meal. Do you know where these are???

Sorry for all the questions........I'm just trying to settle in here in Florida.

Thankyou in advance xx

OP posts:
colinsmommy · 12/02/2005 16:13

I'm afraid that I'm on the other side of the continent, in a rural area, so I can only answer #3 and 4. I looked up medised and it said that it was parcetemol(Tylenol here) and promethezine. Promethezine is a prescription here, so no I guess there isnt an equivalent. I vote for Pampers(1st choice) and Huggies (2nd choice) for diapers, and don't use any others. Do you belong to Costco? I love the big boxes of Huggies and Pampers they have there.

jabberwocky · 12/02/2005 16:15

Let's see:
Wal-Mart is a universal place for quite a bit of shopping although upscale items can be found at malls and organic produce etc. at Wild Oats. Lamb...maybe Kroger?
I don't know what Medised is but there is Children's Tylenol and Motrin for general fever type complaints etc.
For cloth diapers I used Barefoot Baby online. Very good quality. I haven't seen anything in a store like that. For disposables we use Huggies.
Nights out...not sure on that one ATM! Maybe KATG can help for your area?
I haven't heard about the nanny service in restautrants. Great idea though. If you find one I'd be interested to hear about it.
Hope that helps!

Original poster
pinkroses · 12/02/2005 16:18

Thanks for your replies. I am still just trying to get used to everything being different here.

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 12/02/2005 16:23

Dang, I've been away longer than I thought! I'm American and can't answer any of those except No. 1. I never had kids in the US, though, but it does seem nicely set up towards kids in many suburban areas.

I go to Costco here, and it is very nice

colinsmommy · 12/02/2005 16:25

I think the closest you could get to promethazine here would be benadryl(diphenhydramine)another antihistamine. Promethazine here is used for coughs or nausea, so even RX it is either plain or mixed with codeine, not with Tylenol.

You might want to ask the butcher department in the local grocery store if they know where to get lamb. I know it can be gotten here, and we don't have any fancy or natural markets here. I think I could get it at Fred Meyer, which I just remembered is what Kroeger is called here.

expatinscotland · 12/02/2005 16:27

Pinkroses,
Have you got a 'Trader Joe's' there? I heard about this place from other expats, but I never lived on the East Coast, so I can only guess that it's some type of food shop more like Sainsbury's. Might find lamb in there.

Ameriscot2005 · 12/02/2005 16:44
  1. Where does everyone do their shopping?

Same supermarkets as everyone else. There should be a couple of big supermarkets in your area if you live in a decent sized city. Where I lived (Cincinnati), Kroger was the biggie - totally crap compared with Sainsbury's, but this is one of the culture shock things you have to get used to. We were fairly lucky where we lived in as much that we had a foodie emporium/farmer's market that stocked food from all over the world, as well as the best of American.

  1. Where can I buy Lamb?? There is none, anywhere!

Costco and Sams Club - but it's Aussie lamb (frozen, boned) and not as tasty as UK lamb. It's expensive too. You could also try a butcher - they might be able to order it for you.

  1. Is there an equivalent to Medised for kids??

Tylenol and Motrin are the main analgesics.

  1. Which are the best nappies?? They all seem very thin and leak.

I always used Pampers.

  1. Where do you go for a night out?? I live near disney.....but this gets very boring for a night out.

Stayed in mostly because of lack of taxis

  1. I heard from someone a while ago that some restaurants have like a nanny service in them so parents can have a nice meal. Do you know where these are???

Never heard of this. I think Americans are quite happy to take their kids out to restaurants - a lot of places start serving at 5pm.

If you want to go out alone, you get a babysitter.

turquoise · 12/02/2005 20:01

Hi Pinkroses. Don't know where abouts in Florida you are, but if you can get near

one of these stores they are the best, best quality food, veg, deli and organic stuff anywhere. You can also get lamb there (lamb mince is ground lamb).

I use Motrin cold as the Medised equivalent (dries up noses and helps sleep) and tylenol or regualar motrin as the calpol equivalent.

No idea on nappies or nights out though, sorry! On the whole all but the fanciest restaurants welcome kids and americans eat very early.

Chandra · 12/02/2005 20:50

I'm not American but in a recent trip I tried almost every single brand of nappies as most of them leaked (sooo thin!). Huggies Premier (the ones in a burgundy bag) were the best in my opinion.

californiagirl · 12/02/2005 21:28

Things are very different depending on where you are in the country -- here in yuppie Northern California lamb is easy to come by. In Florida I would look for an upscale supermarket or possibly even a carniceria (a mexican butcher's) but I don't really know.

As for restaurants with nanny service, I'm afraid that's one or two horribly expensive places in New York City (I saw an article in the New York Times about it). Regular people just get babysitters or bring the baby.

Original poster
pinkroses · 12/02/2005 21:46

I thought so over the nanny service in restaurants. Someone had told my dad about it, so I thought I'd ask. Kids are not too bad to take out, as long as it's early!!!

Thanks for all the advice on what shops to go to. We have only really come across Walmart at the moment......I have found out that there is a Farmers Market by universal somewhere, so will try that. THe food takes a lot of getting used to here.....we seem to be living on chicken or pot roast!!!!

Wen to Millenia Mall today and was very impressed with all the shops....can't afford to buy anything, but I can look.

OP posts:
expatkat · 12/02/2005 22:04

It's so interesting to read this, because it shows how vastly different the US is from region to region.

For example, it's incredibly easy to find lamb in the Northeast, or at least where I've lived & traveled in the Northeast. As for supermarkets, I've always thought they were more than plentiful, especially in the suburbs. And there are few national chains the way there are here (Tesco etc) because supermarkets monopolies vary from region to region. I agree with ameriscot that it's worth joining a costco or equivalent. You pay a membership fee and you get a card, and that card entitles you to membership to this ENORMOUS warehouse/supermarket thingie, where you can buy all kinds of things at a discount, including high quality food. If you've never been to a costco, it's quite an experience.

Weirdly I've never noticed any differences between the nappies here & those in the US, and I've never found a leakage problem either. Strange! I used to use pampers & huggies pretty interchangeably.

Never heard of a nanny service in restaurants. People are pretty easy going about taking their kids to restaurants, particularly if it's early and the restaurant is casual.

As for nights out, I have no idea what people do in Florida. I assume what people do is dependent on what's available and local. Where's kateandthegirls? She'd be a hugely valuable source of info, I think.

SofiaAmes · 12/02/2005 22:57

pinkroses, it's just a thought, but are you buying nappies that are too big. Although I found no difference in the nappies from uk to usa, I did find the numbering system different and found that I really had to go by the baby weight and don't go too big too quickly (ie if your baby weighs 17.5 pounds and the nappies are from 10-18 pounds, stay with them rather than moving up a size). The main supermarkets would be the place to do grocery shopping. Safeways is much nicer in the usa than in the uk. The other chains tend to vary from state to state. Try asking one of your neighbors...people are usually pretty happy to help out someone new in the usa. Most people take their children out and eat as a family, or get the babysitter if they need adult time. Never heard of nanny service in a restaurant. I think the suggestion of going to an ethnic butcher's (or supermarket) is a good idea if there is a problem finding lamb.

SecondhandRose · 13/02/2005 08:59

pinkroses, maybe if the area you are in is very touristy then they aren't catering for the locals so maybe you'd need to drive a bit further out? Have you got some neighbours you can chat to and get some advice?

I would absolutely love to live in Florida, we spend ALL our spare money on holidays there whenever we can. I can never wait to get back when we're home.

I suppose you just have to accept that things aren't the same as home and you'll have to expect less. In the US we find it cheaper to eat out than buy expensive supermarket food but here it's the opposite as the food here seems so much cheaper.

Only 34 days till our next trip and counting!!

jabberwocky · 13/02/2005 13:31

This is true. My brother lives in Myrtle Beach and has to drive much farther than I do to the supermarket. Golf courses, however, abound.

Original poster
pinkroses · 13/02/2005 14:39

Hi. I never thought about the sizes being different...how silly am I(don't answer that!!!)

We are in a very tourist area right now, but will be moving once our business goes through. We are in Kissimmee. It's a lovely estate we are in, but a bulk of the villas are holiday homes.

We are getting used to life here now...it does work out cheaper to go out for food. THere is an offer in TGI Fridays at the moment for a three-course meal for $12.99. Very yummy!!!!

OP posts:
Original poster
pinkroses · 13/02/2005 14:41

oh.....another question.....has anyone heard of meet-ups.com????? I have found this group who meet up for play dates, nights out, etc. Just wondered if anyone else had used this. DO you think it is a safe thing to do????

OP posts:
KateandtheGirls · 13/02/2005 14:56

Ooh, how nice to see my name mentioned as a possible authority!

Hope you're settling in OK. It must be a big culture shock. When I first came here I was living with a family and so I was able to gradually figure these things out. I haven't been on MN much the past few days because my Dad is visiting, but I'll check back to this thread, so if there is anyhting else you think of I'll try and help, or feel free to CAT me.

  1. Where does everyone do their shopping? There must be supermarkets fairly nearby. There are different chains in different parts of the country, but I like Publix here in Florida. Target is the place I always go to for anything else, and a Super Target will have food too.
  2. Where can I buy Lamb?? There is none, anywhere! I'm surprised you can't find any lamb. There is usually a tiny bit in the supermarkets, but it's not popular here. People tend to eat beef and pork when they eat red meat.
  3. Is there an equivalent to Medised for kids?? I guess that's been answered for you. Children's Tylenol is what I tend to use when my kids have headaches or fevers.
  4. Which are the best nappies?? They all seem very thin and leak. Never had a problem with this, and never noticed a difference between here and the UK. Have you been using cheap nappies? If you stick to Pampers or Huggies you should be OK.
  5. Where do you go for a night out?? I live near disney.....but this gets very boring for a night out. What are you looking for? A nice meal? A bar? Nights out for me are either at other people's houses, or in a restaurant, maybe one with a bar.
  6. I heard from someone a while ago that some restaurants have like a nanny service in them so parents can have a nice meal. Do you know where these are??? Sorry - never heard of this. But I take my kids to restaurants all the time. And if I want to go out without them I get a babysitter.
  7. Meetups.com Don't know, sorry.
jabberwocky · 13/02/2005 15:02

I joined meetups.com for a PND group but there was never enough people to actually do a meeting . You would think in a city the size of Nashville there would have been.

Cod · 13/02/2005 15:04

Message withdrawn

Original poster
pinkroses · 13/02/2005 15:27

another question....are there any health shops here, like Holland & Barrett. I've been looking in the sprint pages but can't find any advertised. I went to the millenia mall yesterday but there wasn't one there (nice mall though!!)

I'm sorry, I keep thinking of questions and can't find anyone here to answer them. I am enjoying it though. It's been a bit chilly here lately, and yet I've still got a tan!!!!

OP posts:
Cod · 13/02/2005 15:27

Message withdrawn

Original poster
pinkroses · 13/02/2005 15:32

Florida..Kissimmee. It is very touristy here so when our business is finalised, we will move nearer to the orlando area. Not as touristy I think!!!

OP posts:
jabberwocky · 13/02/2005 17:30

What kind of health shop? Vitamins and supplements? That would be GNC (General Nutrition Centers).

bundle · 13/02/2005 17:32

that's weird about the lamb. can you get organic meat?