How is life in the USA?

[RDETalus]

7 hours ago, Dr. Zin said:

You're probably referring to the National Forest system

Yes, that's the one. There is no need to check in with anyone or anything, you just go in and camp.

 

4 hours ago, MTrop said:

We function closer in spirit to the European Union, where we're a bunch of federated chunks of land joined by a need to not die. We, however, speak a common language. I get culture shock just through crossing a state border (can you believe some states sell their liquor in supermarkets? Barbarians!).

A lot of Americans still struggle with this concept. People underestimate how diverse the country really is; why there are states in the first place as an administrative unit to deal with such a massive piece of land. There is so much bickering about what the federal government should do about this or that, but it really is the state government that's going to impact your life the most.

It's like if the Germans were criticizing the Spanish over their siestas, without having any lived experience of Spain's summer afternoon heat. Talking about a whole other place hundreds of miles away as if it were next door.

 

There was one time I was in Utah with a bunch of Ukrainians; this was their first time in the US. They were extremely confused when they went to the store to purchase beer, they found out there were all kinds of severe restrictions. They love alcohol and they had thought Americans loved alcohol as well! Were all those American movies wrong this whole time? Nope, it was just the state of Utah.

Edited October 9, 2022 by RDETalus

[Doomkid]

I loved living in Florida from age 0-16 (with a 2 year stretch in Hawaii when I was a kid). It had problems, but where doesn't? The meme about Florida being crazy is funny, but it's really not crazier than the rest of the US. I'm thankful for that to have been my home state. Plenty of great beaches and beauty to enjoy, not to mention plenty of entertainment. It was a fine place to live, at least during that time.

 

Like many of others have said, the US is a pretty huge and diverse country socially and geographically so the differences from state to state can be pretty extreme. I do think it's among the best countries on Earth to live in, though. I don't like using words like "best" because living anywhere isn't just "good" or "bad", there's a gigantic list of pros and cons to consider that add up.. I can say that the list of both is gigantic in the US's case, but the pros do outweigh the cons pretty easily, imo.

 

You find awesome, friendly people and standoffish dicks in roughly the same numbers in any country/state I've visited. People do take themselves just a tad less seriously here in Aus by and large I've noticed, and that clicks well with me, but that's just a very vague average.

 

My family and I moved to Australia when I was 16 (which was made easier as my dad is Aussie), and overall I don't think I'll be going back to the US to live, even though I do love my homeland. Things like worker's rights/wages, infrastructure, police behavior, and many other important aspects of life and society that I consider important just seem to be taken a lot more seriously over here. Not perfect of course, just better on average. Although apathy is an aspect, I don't really blame the American people for that, it's just how things have gotten - America is older so the corruption has had time to permeate even deeper. It's not reflective of the average American people.

 

If you want to take a more stats-based approach, America is usually ranked around #15 when it comes to quality of life polls. Considering the fact that there are 195 nations presently, I think that's a very fair rating, and generally gives you a good idea of why most Americans speak fondly of life in the US. It's a great country to live, by and large.

[Doomkid]

28 minutes ago, RDETalus said:

It's like if the Germans were criticizing the Spanish over their siestas, without having any lived experience of Spain's summer afternoon heat. Talking about a whole other place hundreds of miles away as if it were next door.

 

Your point is well taken, and life in America is indeed very varied from region to region, but Europe is definitely a lot more diverse. The differences between England, Spain, Germany, the Eastern bloc, etc are a LOT deeper than the difference between, say, Maine and Tennessee, mainly because their respective histories are all so much longer and they don't share a common language.

[Ostrichboy88]

Ị̷̈̕̕͝t̶̺̖̞̞͙̐̐s̵̺̀͒ ̶̬̬̰̣͎̍̔̚̚͝ǵ̶̙̭̓̍̂͝o̴͓͛͘̚̚ĩ̴͎͓̈́ͅn̵̝͉̋̃g̷̲͐̐͐̃͝ ̵̳̮͈͇̬̈́̾g̵͈̏̒̄̍̓ŗ̴̹̱͙͖̏̂̓̔e̵͎̽̆̈́̒̓à̶̩̮̍̎̉͠t̴̢̹̀̈́͜ ̷̧̗̭̿͐͘!̷͔͚͈̅͝

[VoanHead]

Living here in the midwestern suburbs is pretty chill and tranquil but at the same time it’s pretty damn boring :P. There’s more fun to be had in the cities and other popular locations. Mind you, just be careful where you’re going and always be alert to anything. 

Not to mention where I live it’s also pretty diverse, everyone here pretty much gets along w/ everyone else.

[MTrop]

3 hours ago, Ralphis said:

Counter-points:

• SLANDER

 

Counter-counterpoints:

• Jughandles: A concession to civil engineering for being able to cross a highway that you want to leave. Nothing wrong here.
• Landfills everywhere: Those were all moved to Staten Island, which makes it New York's problem!
• The Turnpike: This is not a refutation - the Turnpike does suck.
• Football Teams: How dare you talk smack about the [New Jersey] Giants! I'm not letting an Eagles fan tell me who to root for! (New York can have the Jets, though - we don't even put their name on the stadium)
• Taxes: Granted, they are high, but that's the price you pay for the 2nd-best public schools in the nation (behind Massachusetts. Friggin' Massholes).
• Gas Prices and Tolls: Gas isn't expensive anymore here (for 2022 prices). It gets worse further west. And all you gotta do to not get tolled is avoid the GSP and the Turnpike! Easy-peasy! All of NJ is highways!
• Camden: Detroit. Also, they've got community policing, now. Camden is less of a punchline now than it used to be.
• Newark Airport stinks: What international airport doesn't?! Wait - do you mean literally stink? That's just Newark. The gates have gotten a huge overhaul and re-renovation about 6 years ago. It's pretty cool, now.
• Gas Attendants: This is not a detriment. We create jobs here in NJ! Oregon didn't know what it got rid of!
• The Jersey Devil: It keeps the Pineys in check. They're weird down there in the Barrens.
• Brown Ocean: That's due to the color of the sand itself and the large amount of ocean life. The water is perfectly fine. If it keeps out the tourists, so be it!

Have fun in Florida, Ralph! Love you ;)

 

2 hours ago, Herr Dethnout said:

I disagree...

Also, is the "Shore realitys" place of origin. So...

 

None of those guys are from Jersey! Those out-of-townies keep ruining our good thing! The "Real Housewives," though? You got me there. They've got "Bergen County" written all over them.

 

 

You see? Every place is different. :)

Edited October 9, 2022 by MTrop

[DannyMan]

Doing fine, hopefully there won't be a worst case scenario like real-life HacX happening anytime soon.

[PineFresh]

Gotta say it's nice to see a thread called "How is Life in the USA" that doesn't devolve into politics by the second page.

 

With respect to OP's earlier comment about extroversion - I mean there are definitely introverts here, but introversion is considered anywhere from weird to some sort of cultural malady depending on who you ask. The "Americans are loud" stereotype definitely didn't come from nowhere, after all. Just know that there are some of us here who roll our eyes at it just as hard as non-American folks do.

 

Geographically, I'm in the midatlantic, though far enough away from Jersey to not be able to confirm or deny the above points/counterpoints (and frankly I like it that way). I will say the beaches in the south beat the hell out of northern beaches though.

 

 

[Sonikkumania]

1 hour ago, PineFresh said:

Gotta say it's nice to see a thread called "How is Life in the USA" that doesn't devolve into politics by the second page.

Amen. Politics are a fucking curse.

[PineFresh]

9 minutes ago, Sonikkumania said:

Amen. Politics are a fucking curse.

Eh. I consider it a necessary evil (and if you're going on the subject of American culture, participation in it to some degree is rightfully seen as something you at least need to consider as an American). Only problem is once we start we generally can't stop. :)

 

But I was more referring to the fact that there's actually things to talk about regarding America besides its politics, and a thread on such subjects is refreshing.

Edited October 9, 2022 by PineFresh

[Sonikkumania]

5 minutes ago, PineFresh said:

Eh. I consider it a necessary evil (and if you're going on the subject of American culture, participation in it to some degree is rightfully seen as something you at least need to consider as an American). Only problem is once we start we generally can't stop. :)

 

But I was more referring to the fact that there's actually things to talk about regarding America besides its politics, and a thread on such subjects is refreshing.

I'm glad thread got this course instead of flaming wars relared to politics. I too have opinion about US geopolitics but I don't consider this place in need of that. It's much funnier reading about daily reasonable stuff you guys post.

 

And besides talking about politics on the web is mostly just hitting your head to the wall. There's always someone who opposes your personal views and can't take issues with grain of salt - bingo, another argument born. One thing we should agree though is how the big shots don't really really give a shit about us.

 

Rant over. :b

[LadyMistDragon]

It's been said that even the poorest people in America are better off than the poorest people in third-world countries because access to amenities is quite evident, even regarding the homeless in some ways.

 

But that said, I can't stand our socially backward tendencies, the prideful arrogance that leads certain people to be such unlistenable loudmouths, and especially the incredibly shallow nature of personal relationships. Everyone thinks you're rude if you're not friendly enough but heaven forbid you try to build a personal relationship with someone with a modicum of respect on both sides. I've actually been fairly lucky to run into people that aren't total assholes.

 

Also, the region of the country I live in isn't exactly "bible-belt" territory which helps. But the reality is a little more complicated than that. I live in a solidly-liberal town, yet live in a region best described as center-right in the American political tradition that leans heavily anti-government, yet, the larger cities here are liberal enough that Democrats still have a solid majority. The contradiction is that said population isn't really spread across the entire state. I really like where I live otherwise, although I wouldn't necessarily mind living somewhere on the coast more.

[Fletcher`]

On 10/8/2022 at 6:22 PM, Ralphis said:

The Jersey Devil could appear and murder you at any time, without notice

How is this a downside

[Goat-Avenger]

'S'aright.

 

A bit weird tho, sometimes...

 

People seem to gravitate most, towards the sports that involve a lot of head trauma...

Edited October 10, 2022 by Goat-Avenger

[princetontiger]

Yobi's Basic Spelling Tricks

[MrFroz]

On 10/10/2022 at 6:00 AM, Fletcher` said:

How is this a downside

 

Exactly.