As a northern European, I consider San Diego as a big city.
I'm not saying there should be one common opinion. People are different with various preferences.
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So...I visited the US for the first time
- Thread starter daviyoung
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As a northern European, I consider San Diego as a big city.
I'm not saying there should be one common opinion. People are different with various preferences.
Why would you do that?
Member
I only learned a few years ago that most cities don't even have subways, and most subways stop running at night. In fact, NYC has two of the four (I think) 24-hour train systems in the world - MTA and PATH.
I haven't really traveled anywhere out of the city, so that was pretty much a revelation to me. lol
Oh man, I was just caught in that...
On a weather-related note, one reason why I love NYC is that we get pretty much every type of weather. We'll have snowstorms, heat waves, wind storms, rain storms (like today), etc. Quite a few friends of mine have experienced snow for the first time here. Plus, we don't get the super deadly stuff like significant earthquakes or big tornadoes.
For some reason, it sort of weirds me out that many parts of America don't even get snow.
The OP was more open-minded about Midwestern and Southern States than most Americans on GAF, not surprising, but amusing.
Some of things you mentioned, like the use of "Sir", are mostly regional things. I'm from Louisville, Kentucky (close to Bloomington) and I say "Sir" and "Ma'am" commonly but I have seen people up North get offended but the use of "Ma'am" specifically. As someone mentioned, it's just intended as a sign of respect.
I have been to the UK, Ireland, France, and the Netherlands and I was amazed at how easy it was to get from one country to another. If you can, definitely come back to the U.S. and try to see a wider breadth of states because frankly it's so much larger than most of European countries that there is a huge disparity between individual states.
Cool thread.
Some of things you mentioned, like the use of "Sir", are mostly regional things. I'm from Louisville, Kentucky (close to Bloomington) and I say "Sir" and "Ma'am" commonly but I have seen people up North get offended but the use of "Ma'am" specifically. As someone mentioned, it's just intended as a sign of respect.
I have been to the UK, Ireland, France, and the Netherlands and I was amazed at how easy it was to get from one country to another. If you can, definitely come back to the U.S. and try to see a wider breadth of states because frankly it's so much larger than most of European countries that there is a huge disparity between individual states.
Cool thread.
I just got to that part. You poor soul lol.
I sat through a two hour class soaking wet because of that shit.
CarpeDeezNutz
Member
Awesome thread. I would like to see more stories from people visiting other countries for the first time and their impressions. Using "sir" is just being polite. I went on a trip to the U.K. Way back when and I really enjoyed it. I spent most of my time in record stores and whatnot. Didn't really interact with people but they seemed nice enough.
Bloomington isn't so bad, but I definitely prefer my little side of Indianapolis. I have everything I will ever need within ten minutes of my home on the East side of US 40/Washington St.
There really are cornfields fucking everywhere though. Cornfields and heavily wooded areas. Kind of a weird landscape. Yeah, southern Indiana is definitely more beautiful when it comes to the general lay of the land. I love how hilly it is down there.
People definitely are pretty friendly around here. Probably a little too friendly. Of course, I generally have a very cold demeanor and am not as into the affairs of others as a lot of people around here are. Kind of weird going to restaurants around here where everyone seems to want to talk to the entire restaurant like it's some big community. Seriously, shit's odd. People seem to have no qualms about pulling up chairs at my damn table and the like. My family loves that shit, but I'm a tad non-social.
I kind of want to visit Europe at some point. Most of the folk from Footy-GAF are nice as hell.
There really are cornfields fucking everywhere though. Cornfields and heavily wooded areas. Kind of a weird landscape. Yeah, southern Indiana is definitely more beautiful when it comes to the general lay of the land. I love how hilly it is down there.
People definitely are pretty friendly around here. Probably a little too friendly. Of course, I generally have a very cold demeanor and am not as into the affairs of others as a lot of people around here are. Kind of weird going to restaurants around here where everyone seems to want to talk to the entire restaurant like it's some big community. Seriously, shit's odd. People seem to have no qualms about pulling up chairs at my damn table and the like. My family loves that shit, but I'm a tad non-social.
I kind of want to visit Europe at some point. Most of the folk from Footy-GAF are nice as hell.
PaperFlame
Member
You should go to california and try our In n Out burgers!
phosphor112
Banned
Alligatorjandro
Banned
Come to Florida.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
I also visited the US this weekend for the first time in a decade or so.
Monday morning, I crossed at the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls. There was no lineup. The customs agent asked how often we crossed into the states by land and my girlfriend says "typically we've flewed there". I mocked her the whole day, I love it when people get paralyzed around authority figures.
I drove through Niagara and some of the towns surrounding Buffalo. One weird thing is that Niagara Falls Blvd, which goes through several towns, has a different building numbering system in each town... so driving down it the numbers would go up and then go down. I drove past my intended destination before realizing I was looking for the number in the wrong town. D'oh.
Drove back around and went to Niagara Gun Range. I was served by a very kind lady in probably her 50s, maybe late 40s. She was pretty easygoing and got us set up. A burly guy named Cliff with tattoos was helpful and picked out some carbines for us to shoot. Cliff was wearing a hat with a bunch of fire on it advertising for some sort of bullet or something. There was a poster on the wall saying something to the effect of "7 round clip my ass". LOL. The lady who served us was pretty friendly and we chatted a bit about how Canada has a long weekend the weekend before the US. I probed her about gun laws, and the only thing she said was that "laws are getting much stricter here".
So we shot a bunch.
As I was leaving, a guy came in, probably 300-325 pounds. He had an enormous pickup truck with an American flag, a volunteer firefighter sticker, and a bumper sticker saying "I plead the 2nd" with an image of a rifle. As it turns out, he was a pretty nice guy because I left my driver's licence in there and he popped out to give them back. I really get the impression that most of the people who are diehards about this stuff are friendly but reserved, and if you're an "insider" or seem friendly, they're welcoming, but if you seem hostile or push back against their lifestyle, they're not.
I went to a Gamestop. In Canada we have the same company but they use the EBGames name and don't hawk shit at you quite as aggressively. The last time I was in a Gamestop was September 2002, where I bought Dragon Warrior VII. This time as soon as I entered the guy working asked if I wanted to preorder anything, what I've been playing lately, etc. It felt a little pushy, to be honest. I just browsed around a bit and when he tried to sell me stuff again I made it clear I was from the Canadian side of the border and he clammed up... after complaining about the fact that management compares his store to other stores further south, and it's not fair, because a ton of his customers are Canadians and they never pre-order or buy warranties for obvious reasons. LOL.
I got lunch at Anderson's frozen custard and roast beef sandwiches with pancakesandsex, who is a really nice, friendly, jovial dude. The roast beef sandwich was excellent. Anderson's is apparently an upstate New York chain but still had a pretty family feel. One weird thing was that the lineup for dessert and the lineup for the roast beef sandwiches were totally separate, never the twain shall meet. The cups were enormous, holy shit, stop drinking so much pop you crazy people. No human being should be consuming this quantity of anything.
I saw one car that had both an NRA and some sort of Save The Whales Mother Nature Earth Collective Co-operative End War By Loving And Giving Each Other Flowers sticker. Odd juxtaposition.
We went to a liquor store. Where I live, there's a government monopoly on liquor sales so liquor stores are basically very upscale, friendly boutiques catering to knowledgeable clientele. This liquor store was enormous and filled with, frankly, pretty trashy looking people including one woman dragging three of her children around as they wailed. I saw a bottle of Blue Curacao for $2.99, which is literally the cheapest I've ever seen a large quantity of booze in my life. Also you guys have pancake flavoured booze.
Pin and chip apparently still isn't common in the Buffalo region, because everywhere we went and everything we bought just needed a swipe or a swipe+signature. That's insane. Get with the 21st century, America, credit cards have PINs for a reason.
I really loved how everywhere that flew flags flew both US and Canadian flags. There's something about border towns in general. Not quite here, not quite there. A sense of friendship and connection. I like that.
We had programmed our GPS to avoid toll routes. One problem: All the US->Canada routes have tolls... so the GPS instructed us to take a 13+ hour drive across upstate New York and around one of the great lakes to get back to Niagara, which was like 5km away. It took us maybe 30 minutes of driving through the countryside to figure out something didn't seem right. That's a real screw-job, let us get into the US for free but charge us money to leave.
The traffic on the bridge heading back was insane, took about an hour and a half to get out.
Monday morning, I crossed at the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls. There was no lineup. The customs agent asked how often we crossed into the states by land and my girlfriend says "typically we've flewed there". I mocked her the whole day, I love it when people get paralyzed around authority figures.
I drove through Niagara and some of the towns surrounding Buffalo. One weird thing is that Niagara Falls Blvd, which goes through several towns, has a different building numbering system in each town... so driving down it the numbers would go up and then go down. I drove past my intended destination before realizing I was looking for the number in the wrong town. D'oh.
Drove back around and went to Niagara Gun Range. I was served by a very kind lady in probably her 50s, maybe late 40s. She was pretty easygoing and got us set up. A burly guy named Cliff with tattoos was helpful and picked out some carbines for us to shoot. Cliff was wearing a hat with a bunch of fire on it advertising for some sort of bullet or something. There was a poster on the wall saying something to the effect of "7 round clip my ass". LOL. The lady who served us was pretty friendly and we chatted a bit about how Canada has a long weekend the weekend before the US. I probed her about gun laws, and the only thing she said was that "laws are getting much stricter here".
So we shot a bunch.
As I was leaving, a guy came in, probably 300-325 pounds. He had an enormous pickup truck with an American flag, a volunteer firefighter sticker, and a bumper sticker saying "I plead the 2nd" with an image of a rifle. As it turns out, he was a pretty nice guy because I left my driver's licence in there and he popped out to give them back. I really get the impression that most of the people who are diehards about this stuff are friendly but reserved, and if you're an "insider" or seem friendly, they're welcoming, but if you seem hostile or push back against their lifestyle, they're not.
I went to a Gamestop. In Canada we have the same company but they use the EBGames name and don't hawk shit at you quite as aggressively. The last time I was in a Gamestop was September 2002, where I bought Dragon Warrior VII. This time as soon as I entered the guy working asked if I wanted to preorder anything, what I've been playing lately, etc. It felt a little pushy, to be honest. I just browsed around a bit and when he tried to sell me stuff again I made it clear I was from the Canadian side of the border and he clammed up... after complaining about the fact that management compares his store to other stores further south, and it's not fair, because a ton of his customers are Canadians and they never pre-order or buy warranties for obvious reasons. LOL.
I got lunch at Anderson's frozen custard and roast beef sandwiches with pancakesandsex, who is a really nice, friendly, jovial dude. The roast beef sandwich was excellent. Anderson's is apparently an upstate New York chain but still had a pretty family feel. One weird thing was that the lineup for dessert and the lineup for the roast beef sandwiches were totally separate, never the twain shall meet. The cups were enormous, holy shit, stop drinking so much pop you crazy people. No human being should be consuming this quantity of anything.
I saw one car that had both an NRA and some sort of Save The Whales Mother Nature Earth Collective Co-operative End War By Loving And Giving Each Other Flowers sticker. Odd juxtaposition.
We went to a liquor store. Where I live, there's a government monopoly on liquor sales so liquor stores are basically very upscale, friendly boutiques catering to knowledgeable clientele. This liquor store was enormous and filled with, frankly, pretty trashy looking people including one woman dragging three of her children around as they wailed. I saw a bottle of Blue Curacao for $2.99, which is literally the cheapest I've ever seen a large quantity of booze in my life. Also you guys have pancake flavoured booze.
Pin and chip apparently still isn't common in the Buffalo region, because everywhere we went and everything we bought just needed a swipe or a swipe+signature. That's insane. Get with the 21st century, America, credit cards have PINs for a reason.
I really loved how everywhere that flew flags flew both US and Canadian flags. There's something about border towns in general. Not quite here, not quite there. A sense of friendship and connection. I like that.
We had programmed our GPS to avoid toll routes. One problem: All the US->Canada routes have tolls... so the GPS instructed us to take a 13+ hour drive across upstate New York and around one of the great lakes to get back to Niagara, which was like 5km away. It took us maybe 30 minutes of driving through the countryside to figure out something didn't seem right. That's a real screw-job, let us get into the US for free but charge us money to leave.
The traffic on the bridge heading back was insane, took about an hour and a half to get out.
ConfusingJazz
Member
Stump, why don't you come to the US that often? I mean, I can understand a few years here and there, but a decade? Not being accusatory or anything (I live in Texas, haven't been to Mexico in a decade myself), just curious.
FindMyFarms
Member
Well if everyones exposure to the US was san Fran, then I'm sure everyone woud want to move here lol. Keep in mind that SF is expensive for a reason!
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
For most of my life I've lived relatively far away from the border so I haven't been able to do day-trips, most of my business is within Canada, and most of my international travel has been more exotic locales. I'm sure I'll end up living somewhere in the states at some point. I'm not in a rush.
They have pins because other countries needed an offline verification system. Also, in the US consumers are not responsible for CC fraud so it isn't a pressing issue. That said, we are implementing online EMV systems in the next few years (the cc processors plan to force businesses to do this by shifting the burden for fraud onto them if they don't)
blame space
Banned
credit cards have PINs?
ConfusingJazz
Member
Which is why I was wondering why you were finding the dual flag thing curious. I mean, I am sure border towns take a lot of pride in their identification of being a border town, but it also helps that they get a lot of business from day trippers. We go to Canada for cheap pharmaceuticals and high capacity toilets, Canadians go to the US for everything else. I was talking to someone who went to Point Roberts in Washington via Vancouver (an interesting place in international law to begin with), and half of their economy seemed to be mail boxes for Canadians.
Ingueferroque
Banned
You can't just judge the entire United States after visiting a single city, do you realize how big the United States are?
blame space
Banned
I love stumples' shirt.
Lumination
'enry 'ollins
Good for you, OP! Always nice to leave a good impression on folks despite all the bad things you hear on the news constantly.
Will you be coming back in the future (business or not)? Like everyone has said before me, the big cities or even different parts of the south might as well be different countries! There is no "real" America; we're all different in our own way, but we come together when it counts (hopefully).
If anyone else is interested in this kind of stuff, check out Stephen Fry in America. It's about a British personality who travels and does something in all 50 states. As someone born in America, really let me appreciate my own country through another's eyes. Here's a 3min clip.
Will you be coming back in the future (business or not)? Like everyone has said before me, the big cities or even different parts of the south might as well be different countries! There is no "real" America; we're all different in our own way, but we come together when it counts (hopefully).
If anyone else is interested in this kind of stuff, check out Stephen Fry in America. It's about a British personality who travels and does something in all 50 states. As someone born in America, really let me appreciate my own country through another's eyes. Here's a 3min clip.
Shrennin
Didn't get the memo regarding the 14th Amendment
Really good impressions - one thing though: Philly's airport is horrible but the city is awesome. A lot of history there. Also, there's nothing quite like a Philly Cheese Steak from Philly. And you should also visit DC and maybe some places in the Old Dominion (Va). A lot of history with the British, obviously. There's actually a funny story where Washington famously said that he would never again step on British soil. Well, there's a statue of Washington somewhere in Britain that is set atop some imported Va dirt.
I honestly couldn't tell you lol
The only form of intense physical activity I have is skateboarding, so maybe that.
I have a pretty fast metabolism too, that helps I guess lol
Glad you enjoyed your stay! I hope you get the opportunity to come back and visit more US cities. There are great cities in almost every state. If you choose any major city in the US you're bound to enjoy yourself. Definitely try to get out to the west coast as it will be very different than Indiana and East coast cities. Texas, my home state, is awesome too! Especially Austin. If you come during the Fall (and honestly most of Winter) you'll experience some really nice weather. Summers are extremely hot as you can imagine. You'll definitely find more ignorant FOX news fans here, but even they're pretty friendly.
Its funny you mention the credit card thing. I went to Europe this past September for the first time and I was actually caught off guard. Not necessarily by a lack of credit card support (though Europe definitely lags behind in this area) but the fact that many places didn't take non-RFID cards. There were several occasions where the card machine rejected my card and I was forced to fall back to cash. Really wish the US would standardize with the rest of the world. We're lazy and stubborn like that..
I also chuckled when you mentioned having to manage coins, because I had the exact same reaction in Europe. Given my aforementioned occasional credit card issues I had to use cash quite often, and since the Euro and the Pound both have the equivalent of $1 and greater coins, I was frequently paid a significant amount of change in coins vs bills. This became a problem since my American mind treats coins as basically worthless (I always end up finding ways to give or throw them away somehow) so I would keep paying with more bills. Very quickly I racked up over 40 EUR in coins without paying much attention.
Its funny you mention the credit card thing. I went to Europe this past September for the first time and I was actually caught off guard. Not necessarily by a lack of credit card support (though Europe definitely lags behind in this area) but the fact that many places didn't take non-RFID cards. There were several occasions where the card machine rejected my card and I was forced to fall back to cash. Really wish the US would standardize with the rest of the world. We're lazy and stubborn like that..
I also chuckled when you mentioned having to manage coins, because I had the exact same reaction in Europe. Given my aforementioned occasional credit card issues I had to use cash quite often, and since the Euro and the Pound both have the equivalent of $1 and greater coins, I was frequently paid a significant amount of change in coins vs bills. This became a problem since my American mind treats coins as basically worthless (I always end up finding ways to give or throw them away somehow) so I would keep paying with more bills. Very quickly I racked up over 40 EUR in coins without paying much attention.
Everyone I have met from the U.K. refers to our change as shrapnel. You'd think you'd be used to it though. When I went to the U.K. 2 years ago I was constantly given those pound coins (we have dollar coins too but they are uncommon) and those HUGE coins that are only worth 2 pence.
As someone who lives in Indiana, I can imagine it being reasonably difficult to do any meaningful research on local Bloomington eateries from out of the country.
Very true this statement. Having been to the US several times (although only larger citys so far) I am always surprised at how easy it all feels after a while.
Fact is most stereotypes come from people who never travel, most Americans saying "lol bad teeth and shit food" have never and will never come to the UK and Brits saying "yanks are fat /dumb" only ever go to Disneyland and never actually talk to any Americans.
The things that unite us are far more numerous than those that divide us Ameri-bros.
Parakeetman
No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Reminds me of that mess with that female judge. The whole her misunderstanding the use of "Ma'am".
Great write up, the first time I visited the US I was based in Indiana and had similar experiences.
Heading back to go to Vegas this year I wonder how different it will be. (I have been to NYC, Florida and Washington DC as well)
Maybe if you go to a shit pub it is..
We refer to all coins as shrapnel, basically loose change. Anything that is not a note.
Heading back to go to Vegas this year I wonder how different it will be. (I have been to NYC, Florida and Washington DC as well)
Maybe if you go to a shit pub it is..
We refer to all coins as shrapnel, basically loose change. Anything that is not a note.
matty2Dfraud
Banned
SF > all. Love this place.
this makes no sense to me. do these cities somehow force you to do the standard tourist fare and not experience anything else the city has to offer?
this makes no sense to me. do these cities somehow force you to do the standard tourist fare and not experience anything else the city has to offer?
BrokenEchelon
Banned
I loved reading those (Davi/Stump), thanks for sharing.
ClassyPenguin
Banned
Indianapolis does have lots of tourism due to its motorsports heritage. I really want to visit.
Wow at all the LA hate. It's not a centralized city, so I guess that's where it stems from but hit up the LA thread in community if you ever want to visit. It works better if you have guidance.
Wow at all the LA hate. It's not a centralized city, so I guess that's where it stems from but hit up the LA thread in community if you ever want to visit. It works better if you have guidance.
It's fun to see so many Hoosiers, and especially so many Bloomingtonians, in here! Glad you had a nice visit, OP! Bloomington is not NYC, sure, but it has more than enough of its own charms. I'll be back in Bloomington in a month to visit my family (and see the Mountain Goats!) and I can't wait.
I hate the "red states are REAL America" thing, but it's equally obnoxious to see so many people write off a place they clearly know nothing about because it isn't NYC or LA. Like somehow a cosmopolitan, friendly, vibrant town with great restaurants, fun bars, and a great university (and everything that comes with it), on one of the prettiest campuses in the nation, somehow has nothing to offer anyone. I'd love to go back to the East Coast to live, but if I had a chance to live in Bloomington again, I'd also take it in a heartbeat - doubly so now that I have a family.
I hate the "red states are REAL America" thing, but it's equally obnoxious to see so many people write off a place they clearly know nothing about because it isn't NYC or LA. Like somehow a cosmopolitan, friendly, vibrant town with great restaurants, fun bars, and a great university (and everything that comes with it), on one of the prettiest campuses in the nation, somehow has nothing to offer anyone. I'd love to go back to the East Coast to live, but if I had a chance to live in Bloomington again, I'd also take it in a heartbeat - doubly so now that I have a family.
i see them all the time in philadelphia
BertramCooper
Banned
For the majority of the time, I would agree, but for a foreigner, I'd imagine it would be fun to experience American fast food once or twice while visiting - specifically chains that haven't expanded overseas.
A few years ago, I saw a person driving a Hummer with "Save the Environment" license plate holders.
Unsurprisingly, he was from Florida.
Liberty4all
Banned
Come to think if it something stump said rang a bell ... The dessert thing. I was with some US friends at a restaurant. After dinner everyone got dessert. I started noticing after that it seems like ordering dessert is alot more common when eating out in the US.
Also, in general its SO much cheaper to eat out. Applebees 19.99 yep can dine AND includes appetizer is a steal. That would easily be a 30 - 35 dollar bill in Canada.
I love sampling regional fast food chains. SONIC, chik fil e, etc ... Soo good.
Also, in general its SO much cheaper to eat out. Applebees 19.99 yep can dine AND includes appetizer is a steal. That would easily be a 30 - 35 dollar bill in Canada.
I love sampling regional fast food chains. SONIC, chik fil e, etc ... Soo good.
is 19.99 really worth the shame of applebees though?
Awesome write up Sir!
Perhaps he meant Blue Moon? Did it get served with a slice of an Orange? That one is super popular around the country as far as I've seen. There is ususally a tap for it in almost every sit-down chain restaurant. Subnote: Sweetwater beer is good in general, except for Exodus Porter. They changed the recipe from 10 years ago and I have still never forgiven them.
Now now now, the other side of that aisle is usually dedicated to Potato Chips.
Go Cats!
Don't be suckered into thinking Florida is the South BTW. It's definitely a place worth visiting, but it's not "The South". They may be near us, but they ain't anything like us! (You should still totally visit Florida, it's fun!)
That's one of the things that infuriates me about Atlanta: the public trans system is horrible. It's such a big, sprawled out city that if you don't have a car to go anywhere you are SOL. I think it's the exception to the rule though as all the other major cities I've been to (NY, Chicago, San Francisco) have pretty good systems. Most every other town in the US ("middle america" in particular) you are going to have to rent a car to go anywhere. My experience with London was to LOVE the underground, and laugh every time I heard "Mind the Gap".
Liberty4all
Banned
Honestly, the quality of the food and amount for 19.99 is pretty worth it.
In Canada that type of meal would be at least 30 dollars and would NOT include an appetizer. US sit down restaurant food ... hell all food really in general is so inexpensive.
Sounds much more like EWR to me, and that has direct flights to IND.
BertramCooper
Banned
Or "Cockfosters."
Everyone needs to watch this series whether you're from the US or not. It's incredible.
Shortt Sirket
Member
Damn, there is a shocking number of Indy people here on GAF. I am thinking we should do some kind of IndyGAF meeting or something. There is an awesome indoor gokart place called FastTimes in Castleton that could be fun.
Anyone else down for an IndyGAF meetup of some kind?
Anyone else down for an IndyGAF meetup of some kind?
BertramCooper
Banned
Bloomington is not bumblefuck.
I visited for the first time two weeks ago. 2 week trip to Florida for the theme parks and then the beaches.
Everyone was pretty friendly. The rollercoasters rocked! The food was amazing!
As someone who suffers from acne, Wallgreens I love you! So much cool treatments you just don't get in the UK.
Only downside, while hot American women were aplenty, shorts were the order of the day. As a Brit, you kinda miss the variety of clothing and short skirts that only unpredictable weather can bring you
Everyone was pretty friendly. The rollercoasters rocked! The food was amazing!
As someone who suffers from acne, Wallgreens I love you! So much cool treatments you just don't get in the UK.
Only downside, while hot American women were aplenty, shorts were the order of the day. As a Brit, you kinda miss the variety of clothing and short skirts that only unpredictable weather can bring you
This right here. I am crippled by my lack of being able to drive anytime I visit other parts of the country.
I'll gladly continuing living in my Fake America if it means 24/7 public transport.
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