<p>
depr91, what speeds are you expecting? In the Philly area, one can easily get 50Mbps connections (if one is willing to pay for it), which is way faster than anything I need. The internet connection in our dorms provides about 2Mbps, which is plenty to stream movies, download files and surf the web all at the same time.</p>
<p>I find there are 2 Americas. The mass America, full of idiots, zealots, ignorant fools who take pride in borderline retardedness, and then the “smart America”, about 10% of the population who are wonderfully worldly, travelled, open minded and that America is probably the best place on Earth.</p>
<p>At post #72.</p>
<p>Agreed. The UK is by far the most integrated and multi-cultural society in Europe. I have travelled much of Western Europe and only the Netherlands comes close.</p>
<p>Paper Checks:</p>
<p>When I lived in Venezuela, I was surprised at the lack of paper checks. Utility bills had to be paid in person, in cash (or by check if at your own bank), at the bank. Bank A would not accept checks from Bank B to pay a bill for a company that could only be paid at Bank A. One time I helped my sister-in-law transport a semester’s tuition in cash across town from one bank to another where we stood in line with other students for about an hour before the deposit could be made. Obviously, electronic transfers were hugely popular once they became available!</p>
<p>Part of the check thing in Venezuela might have been due to the fact that the postal service there was underdeveloped, and not particularly reliable. There was no guarantee that your letter would ever arrive at the intended destination, let alone in time to keep your power or phone from being shut off! The US has a long tradition of a functional postal service, which means that we are used to writing paper checks, and putting them in the mailbox. Processing checks used to take longer than it now does, so a mailed check generally used to have a “float” of at least a week. If the money wasn’t quite there the day you posted the check, you still had time to make sure it would be in the account before your bank cleared it.</p>
<p>Hollywood-based Perceptions of the US:</p>
<p>The US citizens who were long-term residents of Venezuela, used to call that notion “Disneylandia”. So many people that we met thought that life here was like the movies, and like what they saw on vacations in Orlando, Florida. They trouble accepting that our experiences growing up here were different from their expectations. All humans have to base their notions of other countries, and other parts of countries, on something. But the information about those places is limited to what is available to each of us at any given time. I lived in Caracas for seven and a half years, and have very vivid memories of that city, and that country. However my experience certainly does not encompass all possibilities, and I have only a limited understanding of that place. Likewise, I’ve lived in Maryland now for more than 12 years. Almost every day I still find something new to learn about this community and this environment.</p>
<p>Fighting “Disneylandia”:</p>
<p>Like others, I would encourage you to get outside of your college or university environment when you can. Travel a bit. Talk to people who you otherwise wouldn’t have met. Help them understand your place of origin a little bit better, while you are getting to know more about this place that you are in for the next few years. Remember that our perceptions of your country is framed in great part by the media. When we know your faces, and your stories, our perceptions have the chance of more closely approaching something like the truth.</p>
<p>Over 20 years ago, when we brought over some friends to the US for the first time, it was eye-opening for ME. They came from a country where, at the time, there were food shortages. They spent their first week in the US in New York City. I asked them about what they found most surprising about the US, assuming that they would mention the incredible variety of food in supermarkets. But what they said was: “In our country, we don’t pay to use the roads.” LOL In NYC, and in many other places we went, you were paying a toll every time you crossed a bridge.</p>
<p>“I was surprised about the TV too. Cable tv cost $60 a month and the commercials were still SOOO long, and the channels weren’t that great either.”</p>
<p>Get Comcast. And No I dont work for them. 60 bucks a month is kind of expensive. Also At and t just introduced a 60 dollar a month go phone plan which provides unlimited calls. Its not a contract plan- you should check that out. When I came to college, most internationals in teh US could not afford phones- now phone companies are upping there services</p>
<p>Just advising, not advertising.</p>
<p>“In our country, we don’t pay to use the roads.” LOL In NYC, and in many other places we went, you were paying a toll every time you crossed a bridge. </p>
<p>Seems people have only being saying the negative aspects of the US lol. Like thats the first thing they notice. My first reaction too was OMG its not heaven to getting used to it.</p>
<p>Re: Cricket</p>
<p>UKdude84, Cricket is alive and well in the DC area. Happykid’s college is the home of the first national collegiate championship team. [Montgomery</a> College cricket team to defend national title - washingtonpost.com](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/13/AR2010031302470.html]Montgomery”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/13/AR2010031302470.html)</p>
<p>In the UK at least, people don’t use cheques. They do free, instant transfers using online banking. Most people still have chequebooks, but they really have gone the way of the telegraph and analogue TV.</p>
<p>On a more positive note… America is really, really safe. There is next to no random violence on the streets, compared to northern europe at least. I happily walk alone through chapel hill at 2am on a friday night, no worries. I would be very nervous doing that in Cambridge.</p>
<p>Sure there are some ghettoes where America houses its racial and economic underclass (baltimore, detroit, oakland, east st louis) where I might never walk at night, but on the whole it is far safer than NW European countries.</p>
<p>keepittoyourself</p>
<p>@ #87:</p>
<p>Long may US cricket grow. Canada have been in 4 world cups now, and will be in the 2011 edition too. </p>
<p>Ah cricket, my one true love. :)</p>
<p>Oh and paper cheques have one use today:</p>
<p>If you lose your cashcard, you can write one out to yourself “pay: cash” and access your liquid funds.</p>
<p>Can the posters from the UK explain the crime there. I’ve heard a lot of stories on the news and various politically motivated debates, but I get the feeling they aren’t near the complete story.</p>
<p>If you think this will go too far off topic, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>UK crime, I assume you mean common crime although ofcourse we have organized crime dealt with by SOCA.</p>
<p>Petty crime, tbh it’s overwhelmingly the preserve of the uneducated underclass of all races but mostly Black and White. The white working class have appalling educational stats and are extremely anti social.</p>
<p>In London etc, areas full of such types are horrible. Luckly, I live in a nice middle class town of 120,000 where the property prices essentially keep undesirables, black, white or asian, out.</p>
<p>We dont have much gun crime (in comparison) but it does happen now and then in London, nearly always black on black, ditto knife crime.</p>
<p>Is there anything you specifically wish to know?</p>
<p>These are the college graduation rates by British ethnic group (male, female data unavailable)</p>
<p>White: 23%</p>
<h2>Black : 16%</h2>
<p>Pakistani : 33%
Indian: 58%
Chinese: 60%</p>
<p>National ave is about 25% of males, as you can see afro-heritage boys and white working class males essentially make up the bulk of the underclass of males. White Middle Class males would have a huge college going rate, but of course the working class bring that ave down to 23%.</p>
<p>Poor college rates, high crime rate. Figures.</p>
<p>From what I’ve seen, quite a lot of it seems to be caused by kicking out time at the pub: fights, ‘aggro’, smashing things up, etc. The last government brought in extended drinking hours IIRC thinking to turn the UK into a continental Europe style culture - instead it just allowed people to binge drink until 2am instead of 11pm. In addition, in an attempt to counter the prevalence of out of town malls, local town councils tried to revive town centres by luring pub chains there. So what you have, is a small town centre, maybe with a square or pedestrianised zone, with about 5-10 pubs/clubs all kicking out into a small area at 2am where people have been drinking solidly for about 6+ hours… and lo… the violence and crime.</p>
<p>Plus remember, if you drink too much or get hurt, medical care is completely free (I read an English newspaper article claiming that the lower incidence of binge drinking in the US was due to the fact that because people had to pay for health care, this made people think twice about it…!)</p>
<p>Oh, and don’t think this behaviour is only caused by ‘white working class’ or black people as per UKDude84. I live in SW London with a lot of middle class British university graduates who are now young professionals- and their behaviour is just the same on Fri/Sat evening!</p>
<p>Obviously they are not responsible for 100% of such behavior, but it is a disproportionate amount of it. There is ofcourse an Asian underclass but all major Asian groups also have more then proportional amounts in further education/the Middle Classes.</p>
<p>The stats are from the Rowntree Foundation. </p>
<p>The “working class”, black, white or asian, are pitiful.</p>
<p>Interesting, thanks.</p>
<p>The majority of violent crimes in the US are gang related or domestic crimes. I find it interesting that Pubs seem to be the center of problems in the UK (although not entirely surprising).</p>
<p>I guess the WWC are what you’d call “white trash” and the anti social black youth all have that “thug life” thing they have adopted from US gangster rap. In fairness to them, that is another sub-section comprising people of all groups, “wannabe gangsters”.</p>
<p>Alcohol is problematic when unregulated. It should be unavailable to underclasses as they can buy only cheap lager and such and then misbehave. You never see a chav buying a bottle of Chateau La Mondotte Saint-Emilion nor do you see people who buy such misbehave (as much). :D</p>
<p>About the shabby US comment - you have to understand that their subways are 70+ years old whereas the subway (or MTR as we call it) where I come from is about <30 years old, so obviously it’s much cleaner, newer and shinier. But yes, when I didn’t stop to consider how old the NYC subway was, I was shocked at how dingy and unsafe it was.</p>
<p>Also, you can buy something which looks like milk, tastes like milk and smells like milk but contains 0% of milk in reality.</p>
<p>But let me say something positive, to keep this thread from becoming too negative</p>
<p>I was surprised by how they call suburbs “towns” in the US. And the Zip code thing was new to me as well. And…I was so, so pleasantly surprised by the variety of nail polish available even in the tiniest stores. That was awesome! oh and the quality of pizza is much better in the US.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The London subway was the first in the world, built in the 1870s or something. And it is far nicer than the new york one, which doesn’t even have displays that tell you when the next train is coming.</p>
<p>I always think the $5 ‘airtrain’ at JFK which travels a minute or so and then dumps you at an open-air subway station in the middle of nowhere is a very apt welcome to the USA.</p>
<p>keepittoyourself</p>
<p>keepittoyourself</p>
<p>London is the world’s greatest city. First for culture, history, finance etc. NY is great, but young and comparatively without history. (400 yrs v 2000 yrs). </p>
<p>I love Paris.</p>
<p>DC is my fave US city. Well the Northeast and centeral regions. Anacostia is a pit.</p>