Just came back from a 4 month stay in America(observations)

[Eyeball Chambers]

Not directed at me, but anyway.....

Ohio was cool. I have stayed in Dublin many times. My uncle was a professor at Ohio State Uni, so been to the uni a few times too.

The average house seemed pretty big and real estate prices seemed extremely cheap compared to Sydney. Where my uncle lived, their backyards were all open (no fences) which was kinda cool i guess. We were there in like april (i think) and there was some unseasonal snow falling. That was cool.

Cool, I'd really like to check out Sydney sometime soon.

The average house seemed pretty big and real estate prices seemed extremely cheap compared to Sydney.

I live down the street from a nice mansion that just sold for $650k.    You can easily find very nice three bedroom homes where I live for $200k.

[lovemonkey]

After reading through the thread I think it's apparent that the United States can be a great place to live if you have some brains, and can make some cash.  If you have a good sense of self responsibility.

If you're a person that needs taken care of, or protected Europe might be a better place to live.

No offense Europeans, am I about right though?

No offense taken.

It might seem that way but what happens after a while when you standardize everything is rich people usually stay rich but the middle class grows a lot. So the group of people that needs "taken care of" gets help and then usually end up taking care of themselves and pay their dues(taxes) to society and whaddya know they became middle class all of the sudden.

It's not all about whether you're rich/successful or not, I think a lot of rich people where I live would say the same things about america that I just did.

[webcake]

Cool, I'd really like to check out Sydney sometime soon.


I live down the street from a nice mansion that just sold for $650k.    You can easily find very nice three bedroom homes where I live for $200k.

You would like Sydney. That's the good thing about Aussies going to America and Americans going to Aus. There are certain differences, but at the end of the day they are pretty comparable.

Yeah, my uncle sold their place in Dublin and moved over to Brisbane. He sold his place for around $300k (Aus) and spent around $700k on a place in Brisbane. So it would be better for a sydney resident to move over to ohio so you could buy a mansion and still have some coin left over. 

[Eyeball Chambers]

No offense taken.

It might seem that way but what happens after a while when you standardize everything is rich people usually stay rich but the middle class grows a lot. So the group of people that needs "taken care of" gets help and then usually end up taking care of themselves and pay their dues(taxes) to society and whaddya know they became middle class all of the sudden.

It's not all about whether you're rich/successful or not, I think a lot of rich people where I live would say the same things about america that I just did.

Oh I see, sounds good.  From what I've heard though(probably not accurate) it's impossible to move from middle to upper class in Europe the way people here in the US do?

I personally know (and know of) several people locally who have gone from middle class to very wealthy.  Is that common in Europe?

[Eyeball Chambers]

You would like Sydney. That's the good thing about Aussies going to America and Americans going to Aus. There are certain differences, but at the end of the day they are pretty comparable.

Yeah, my uncle sold their place in Dublin and moved over to Brisbane. He sold his place for around $300k (Aus) and spent around $700k on a place in Brisbane. So it would be better for a sydney resident to move over to ohio so you could buy a mansion and still have some coin left over. 

Wow, haha

Maybe you would sell me your old play house to live in for $100k US  ?

[lovemonkey]

Oh I see, sounds good.  From what I've heard though(probably not accurate) it's impossible to move from middle to upper class in Europe the way people here in the US do?

Well, never tried it myself but I can imagine it's more difficult with all the taxes. Honestly don't know.

[mass 04]

you should have microphoned me for a ride stud.

[Eyeball Chambers]

Well, never tried it myself but I can imagine it's more difficult with all the taxes. Honestly don't know.

Maybe I'll make my money here raping my fellow man, and then enjoy retirement in Europe. 

[webcake]

Wow, haha

Maybe you would sell me your old play house to live in for $100k US  ?

I'd need just a little more than $100k 

There are obviously cheap places in sydney, but you would be hard pressed to find a decent house in Aus for under $500k, and that would most likely be out west Sydney, away from the city.

I think the median sydney property price is around $550k or something.

[gordiano]

Just a few quick general observations from a foreigner(some good, some bad):

-Walmart is a fucking hilarious experience, watching minorities and white trash with their dumb ass kids buying stupid shit. The employee's are even worse.

-Americans in general above the age of 25-30 look unhealthy which usually reflects their obsession with bad types of food. They are either very fat or look like they're full of toxins with their pale horrible skin.

-Girls are either bottom of the barrel or SMOKING hot. Such a diverse amount of ethnicity so there's no real "standard".

-Never knew that saggy old, washed out, unstylish jeans could be so in style. Almost everyone except for hot college students had the most bland and boring taste in fashion.

-Very unusual and interesting architecture. Everything has more color to it. You can tell that the country is still young since there is not a lot of old buildings around. Everything is built around vehicles. I knew I was in America when I saw a drive-through Dunkin Donuts. (I caught a NYPD officer in the act of buying donuts, made me smile)

-I love the college partying scene, explains a lot about blinky's popular thread.

-21 years drinking age and 16 years driving is off the scale retarded. I think a lot of americans agree on this.

-American people ALWAYS smile in front of the camera, never saw them taking a spontaneous photo... Everyone always had to pose pretending to be happy.

-Never seen so many disclaimers in my entire life. Half the commercials are devoted to disclaimers. Never knew it was so dangerous to take a simple cough medicine 

-All kinds of goverment info that I saw (signs, ads etc) presumed you were a retard. They always had to threat you with x amount of years in prison and fines if you broke this and that law etc. A lot of information or advises you got was to plant fear in you.

-People get fired a lot easier and quicker. Do your job properly or get kicked out.

-They ask you "wazzup" or "how's it going" not caring about the answer they get.

-Americans in general worry a lot about staying "PC" but behind closed doors I heard a lot of people saying "fucking n*ggers". Black people I met that didn't act "ghetto" could probably be counted on two hands. Nothing racist about it, just stating my experience. Everything jewish or holocaust is not to be joked about. 

-No one dared say they are American. It's always "I'm half Irish and quarter Italian blabla". The country has been around since the 18th century and most of the immigration happened a long time ago, time to say that you're american, no?

-They are usually very sociable and devote a lot of effort to make sure their guests have a pleasant stay.
 
-American traffic is very calm and even though I'm not aware of all the traffic rules there is, driving around was not a problem. Every sign and traffic information was worded out for you. I did see a lot of teenagers driving while texting and not paying attention. Michigan roads are fuckin terrible.




There's a lot more I could add, but that's the stuff that came out on top of my head. Of course it's easy to be very critical of another country when it's different from your own, but I've tried to stay pretty impartial and honest. Most of my stay was in the northern part of states... mainly Michigan, Ohio and New York. I thought it would be interesting for some of you people to hear a foreigners experience of america that is not based on what they see or hear on the television. I worked and lived there for 4 months. Successfully I might add.
In the end you realize we're all humans and whatever difference there might be in culture or political climate it's not what's important. I made a lot of good friends over there and had a blast for sure.

Wish I could say you are wrong (on all counts), sadly I cannot.

[haider]

LMAO @ saying 'wazzup and how u doin without caring for the answer'  This was a cause of embarassment and confusion for me when I first came to the united states. great observations overall.

[RJ DRIVER]

Petoskey, Boyne City, Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. A couple of others as well but I may have been drunk during that trip( ) so my memory is a bit foggy.

HAHA I live in ypsi dude. Ann arbor is ok but most of these places are not any where near as nice as your average american city.