USA people have crap holidays from work

[anonymous-user]

NinjaPower said:

Thankyou4calling said:

NinjaPower said:

I believe so.

All they have to say to you is "Sorry, it isn't working out" and you are out that very day.

Where do you get that info from please?

From watching American television

It varies State to State.

In Washington State, for example, you only have to give one weeks notice (or possibly 2!). I work for Microsoft and one of my US colleagues, who'd been a full time employee for many years, was let go that way.

[unrepentant]

Welshbeef said:

A friend / old mark mate of mine took a role in the US May this year he has a family and they were intending on moving out there May next year. He has some insight

1. Its epically hard to meet people
2. Generally people commute very long distances so as soon as they finish off they go home so no 5 a aside football
3. Just saying hello or similar in supermarkets you get totally ignored
4. Arrogance and rudeness is a frequent daily occurrence
5. Exceptionally insular and care little for outside of the US bubble
6. Seeing signs of no guns to enter is a concern
7. There doesn't seem to be an MOT system so cars literally crabbing on the road just do so - no idea if that's true or he has seen lots of clapped out cars
8. If you move out there you have to work there for >5 years else the green card can be revoked in with 30days notice and that you cannot get a mortgage due to that.

He didn't say much about upsides.

Your friend is FOS. I found people are generally friendlier here, the British accent is very popular and people actually go out of the way to talk to you as they like to listen to it! Americans are generally far more polite than Brits and whilst they can be a little disconnected from the world the smart ones are not. Most states do not have an MOT that is true. Your friend is talking out of his arse as he doesn't even have a green card if he's on a working visa. He probably can't get a mortgage because he has no credit.

[anonymous-user]

unrepentant said:

Your friend is FOS.

Surely not, this is WB after all

[Welshbeef]

unrepentant said:

Your friend is FOS. I found people are generally friendlier here, the British accent is very popular and people actually go out of the way to talk to you as they like to listen to it! Americans are generally far more polite than Brits and whilst they can be a little disconnected from the world the smart ones are not. Most states do not have an MOT that is true. Your friend is talking out of his arse as he doesn't even have a green card if he's on a working visa. He probably can't get a mortgage because he has no credit.

Re Mortgage

He has been told by 2 banks that he cannot get a USA mortgage until he has a Green card which is 4 years away. (Note he owns his 4 bed Wiltshire (Andover) property outright and is nearly 50.


Re the rest that's his experience since May.



Bit of advice its not a nice thing to do calling what someone says as FOS.

[pointedstarman]

unrepentant said:

Welshbeef said:

A friend / old mark mate of mine took a role in the US May this year he has a family and they were intending on moving out there May next year. He has some insight

1. Its epically hard to meet people
2. Generally people commute very long distances so as soon as they finish off they go home so no 5 a aside football
3. Just saying hello or similar in supermarkets you get totally ignored
4. Arrogance and rudeness is a frequent daily occurrence
5. Exceptionally insular and care little for outside of the US bubble
6. Seeing signs of no guns to enter is a concern
7. There doesn't seem to be an MOT system so cars literally crabbing on the road just do so - no idea if that's true or he has seen lots of clapped out cars
8. If you move out there you have to work there for >5 years else the green card can be revoked in with 30days notice and that you cannot get a mortgage due to that.

He didn't say much about upsides.

Your friend is FOS. I found people are generally friendlier here, the British accent is very popular and people actually go out of the way to talk to you as they like to listen to it! Americans are generally far more polite than Brits and whilst they can be a little disconnected from the world the smart ones are not. Most states do not have an MOT that is true. Your friend is talking out of his arse as he doesn't even have a green card if he's on a working visa. He probably can't get a mortgage because he has no credit.

Someone pi**ed on his cornflakes this morning!

[Stu R]

unrepentant said:

Welshbeef said:

A friend / old mark mate of mine took a role in the US May this year he has a family and they were intending on moving out there May next year. He has some insight

1. Its epically hard to meet people
2. Generally people commute very long distances so as soon as they finish off they go home so no 5 a aside football
3. Just saying hello or similar in supermarkets you get totally ignored
4. Arrogance and rudeness is a frequent daily occurrence
5. Exceptionally insular and care little for outside of the US bubble
6. Seeing signs of no guns to enter is a concern
7. There doesn't seem to be an MOT system so cars literally crabbing on the road just do so - no idea if that's true or he has seen lots of clapped out cars
8. If you move out there you have to work there for >5 years else the green card can be revoked in with 30days notice and that you cannot get a mortgage due to that.

He didn't say much about upsides.

Your friend is FOS. I found people are generally friendlier here, the British accent is very popular and people actually go out of the way to talk to you as they like to listen to it! Americans are generally far more polite than Brits and whilst they can be a little disconnected from the world the smart ones are not. Most states do not have an MOT that is true. Your friend is talking out of his arse as he doesn't even have a green card if he's on a working visa. He probably can't get a mortgage because he has no credit.

Agreed.

I've been here a little under 2 years, and have plenty of good friends here, and another slew of people I know through business or propping bars up. Very social bunch, which I'm not really so someone who puts effort in, which tbh I don't shouldn't have any bother. Plus I live in the middle of nowhereville, not a city. Most people are pretty friendly., definitely more so than the UK. I just moved to a new area and I'm sick of saying hello to people I don't know every two minutes.

Insular, I can see that. I will say most always seem to want to know about where I'm from, what it's like etc.
Signs saying no guns, yeah, it's annoying not being able to carry everywhere so I just end up leaving them at home.
getting a mortgage is laughably easy once you're on the credit radar, as my ongoing poverty is testament to.

[unrepentant]

Welshbeef said:

unrepentant said:

Your friend is FOS. I found people are generally friendlier here, the British accent is very popular and people actually go out of the way to talk to you as they like to listen to it! Americans are generally far more polite than Brits and whilst they can be a little disconnected from the world the smart ones are not. Most states do not have an MOT that is true. Your friend is talking out of his arse as he doesn't even have a green card if he's on a working visa. He probably can't get a mortgage because he has no credit.

Re Mortgage

He has been told by 2 banks that he cannot get a USA mortgage until he has a Green card which is 4 years away. (Note he owns his 4 bed Wiltshire (Andover) property outright and is nearly 50.

Oh, I see - the story changes and he doesn't have a green card after all.

AFAIK you can still get a mortgage even if you are not a permanent resident but you do need good credit.....

[uuf361]

Rules may have changed but when I lived in the US (2005) I got a mortgage as soon as I went over, i.e. without a permanent address (I was living in hotel until I got a house) and no credit history (I couldn't' even get a credit card but got a mortgage) nor even a bank account.

As evidence of history I took my UK mortgage statement and bank statements but not much else......

[scenario8]

Just for a bit of balance millions of Brits outside of the state sector, blue chips and unionised industries enjoy fairly poor terms of employment and holiday entitlement, too. Some of the figures and examples above are extraordinary.

Oh, and not everyone reliant on commission or profit share is a high flying City boy. For many taking leave has to be balanced against tight financial straits being further squeezed.

For the record our firm, a mid sized enterprise, offers 20 days plus BH. Only very recently did that change from 20 days including BHs.

PH can be a funny old place at times.

<walks off to figure out how the hell to improve prospects...>

[robm3]

unrepentant said:

Welshbeef said:

A friend / old mark mate of mine took a role in the US May this year he has a family and they were intending on moving out there May next year. He has some insight

1. Its epically hard to meet people
2. Generally people commute very long distances so as soon as they finish off they go home so no 5 a aside football
3. Just saying hello or similar in supermarkets you get totally ignored
4. Arrogance and rudeness is a frequent daily occurrence
5. Exceptionally insular and care little for outside of the US bubble
6. Seeing signs of no guns to enter is a concern
7. There doesn't seem to be an MOT system so cars literally crabbing on the road just do so - no idea if that's true or he has seen lots of clapped out cars
8. If you move out there you have to work there for >5 years else the green card can be revoked in with 30days notice and that you cannot get a mortgage due to that.

He didn't say much about upsides.

Your friend is FOS. I found people are generally friendlier here, the British accent is very popular and people actually go out of the way to talk to you as they like to listen to it! Americans are generally far more polite than Brits and whilst they can be a little disconnected from the world the smart ones are not. Most states do not have an MOT that is true. Your friend is talking out of his arse as he doesn't even have a green card if he's on a working visa. He probably can't get a mortgage because he has no credit.

Like all places it depends on what city/town/state you're in. Much like if a yank moved to the UK they'd find friends faster being based in a small town vs London/Manchester.

I've lived on and off in the USA and would disagree with most points made by Welshbeef's friend. I stayed in Minnesota and loved it. People were friendly, loads of activities, never encountered major arrogance or rudeness however did encounter lot's of ignorance.

In fact I'd have to say I found myself thinking the points 1-5 are actually are more relevant to the UK!!

[Brother D]

Stu R said:

unrepentant said:

Welshbeef said:

A friend / old mark mate of mine took a role in the US May this year he has a family and they were intending on moving out there May next year. He has some insight

1. Its epically hard to meet people
2. Generally people commute very long distances so as soon as they finish off they go home so no 5 a aside football
3. Just saying hello or similar in supermarkets you get totally ignored
4. Arrogance and rudeness is a frequent daily occurrence
5. Exceptionally insular and care little for outside of the US bubble
6. Seeing signs of no guns to enter is a concern
7. There doesn't seem to be an MOT system so cars literally crabbing on the road just do so - no idea if that's true or he has seen lots of clapped out cars
8. If you move out there you have to work there for >5 years else the green card can be revoked in with 30days notice and that you cannot get a mortgage due to that.

He didn't say much about upsides.

Your friend is FOS. I found people are generally friendlier here, the British accent is very popular and people actually go out of the way to talk to you as they like to listen to it! Americans are generally far more polite than Brits and whilst they can be a little disconnected from the world the smart ones are not. Most states do not have an MOT that is true. Your friend is talking out of his arse as he doesn't even have a green card if he's on a working visa. He probably can't get a mortgage because he has no credit.

Agreed.

I've been here a little under 2 years, and have plenty of good friends here, and another slew of people I know through business or propping bars up. Very social bunch, which I'm not really so someone who puts effort in, which tbh I don't shouldn't have any bother. Plus I live in the middle of nowhereville, not a city. Most people are pretty friendly., definitely more so than the UK. I just moved to a new area and I'm sick of saying hello to people I don't know every two minutes.

Insular, I can see that. I will say most always seem to want to know about where I'm from, what it's like etc.
Signs saying no guns, yeah, it's annoying not being able to carry everywhere so I just end up leaving them at home.
getting a mortgage is laughably easy once you're on the credit radar, as my ongoing poverty is testament to.

On the tax front:
I earn roughly 30% more than the UK, and I think one year my taxes came out around mid to upper twenty percent for income/fed tax.
However...
Property tax is over 6K a year.
Even with work subsidies I still pay 5K a year on health insurance and 1-2K on dental/deductibles.
It is without doubt an overall better standard of living, but you work a lot more hours and I would say broadly my rates per hour are equivalent as the UK for my role (where you work far fewer hours).

On the People front, I think you friend must be in New York.
Where I am it's incredibly easy to meet people at social clubs/events and people do start chatting randomly which is initially a bit weird coming from London.
People are extremely polite and friendly to a fault - ladies get to go in the lift first even if they queued last. Even the 'yoof' are generally polite.
There's plenty of arrogant people in my industry, but 99% of general populace are decent out of it.
The guns aspect is strange I agree, but that's another topic.
The MOT/driving/road layouts are all horrendous, and that state of affairs is incomprehensible to someone from the UK like the guns.
Don't know about the mortgage, I have one with the wife - maybe different for visa/permanent resi.

Saying that, It's still a great country, and if I was asked to move back to UK it would be a very tough choice.

[anonymous-user]

unrepentant said:

Your friend is FOS.

For once I agree with unrepentant!

[unrepentant]

fblm said:

unrepentant said:

Your friend is FOS.

For once I agree with unrepentant!

Everyone comes over to the dark side eventually.

[Welshbeef]

robm3 said:

unrepentant said:

Welshbeef said:

A friend / old mark mate of mine took a role in the US May this year he has a family and they were intending on moving out there May next year. He has some insight

1. Its epically hard to meet people
2. Generally people commute very long distances so as soon as they finish off they go home so no 5 a aside football
3. Just saying hello or similar in supermarkets you get totally ignored
4. Arrogance and rudeness is a frequent daily occurrence
5. Exceptionally insular and care little for outside of the US bubble
6. Seeing signs of no guns to enter is a concern
7. There doesn't seem to be an MOT system so cars literally crabbing on the road just do so - no idea if that's true or he has seen lots of clapped out cars
8. If you move out there you have to work there for >5 years else the green card can be revoked in with 30days notice and that you cannot get a mortgage due to that.

He didn't say much about upsides.

Your friend is FOS. I found people are generally friendlier here, the British accent is very popular and people actually go out of the way to talk to you as they like to listen to it! Americans are generally far more polite than Brits and whilst they can be a little disconnected from the world the smart ones are not. Most states do not have an MOT that is true. Your friend is talking out of his arse as he doesn't even have a green card if he's on a working visa. He probably can't get a mortgage because he has no credit.

Like all places it depends on what city/town/state you're in. Much like if a yank moved to the UK they'd find friends faster being based in a small town vs London/Manchester.

I've lived on and off in the USA and would disagree with most points made by Welshbeef's friend. I stayed in Minnesota and loved it. People were friendly, loads of activities, never encountered major arrogance or rudeness however did encounter lot's of ignorance.

In fact I'd have to say I found myself thinking the points 1-5 are actually are more relevant to the UK!!

The area he has been staying is Chicago - no idea if that's a good or bad place.

[GavinPearson]

Welshbeef said:

The area he has been staying is Chicago - no idea if that's a good or bad place.

I have been to Chicago on business many times, and on holiday too, I have never had a bad experience.
But then again my supplier was in an OK suburb and we have stayed in the nicer parts of downtown where the touristy stuff is. If I had to work in a bad area I'd live in a nice area and commute in. Perhaps this isn't his strategy in which case his unhappiness would be largely self inflicted.

[Welshbeef]

GavinPearson said:

Welshbeef said:

The area he has been staying is Chicago - no idea if that's a good or bad place.

I have been to Chicago on business many times, and on holiday too, I have never had a bad experience.
But then again my supplier was in an OK suburb and we have stayed in the nicer parts of downtown where the touristy stuff is. If I had to work in a bad area I'd live in a nice area and commute in. Perhaps this isn't his strategy in which case his unhappiness would be largely self inflicted.

I think he is paying roughly $2800pcm for a 3 bed apartment in a complex with pool bar etc - the idea being a great initial location and would meet people. As it turns out its like a ghost town on weekends so people commute in Monday morning stay there until Thursday night then away. Its pretty lonely.

Its not that easy to get into the local free masons lodge either - he has had to get a letter from one of the highest ranking in the UK to enable him to enter/go in ( he's expecting this will be early next year now after the festivities).