Time to recap some pro's and cons of moving to the US. They are pretty much in random order.
Pro: They bag your food for you in the grocery store.
Con: You have to wait while they do it for the lady in front of you who managed to get three full carts to the cash register by her self.
Pro: You can pretty much return any item to the store within 30 days without hassle or explanation (try going back to store in Holland saying you did not like the product).
Con: Any time you order food be prepared to answer 20 additional questions about your food (what kind of dressing, bread, sauce, toppings, cheese etc.).
Pro: You can legally turn right through a red light (they actually leave it up to you to be sensible about it..... hmm, sounds more like a con now that I think about it).
Con: Nobody around here is aware there's a world outside his or her own car (trust me, it's worse then in Holland).
Pro: Clothes are lots cheaper (no, not for everything, but jeans are definitely a lot cheaper).
Con: The banks are severely outdated. Everything still revolves around checks.
Pro: Commercials for medical drugs are funny ("side effects may include vomiting, toppling over and cancer")
Con: (A)DSL sucks (bad cabling)
Pro: Fiber optics are available (not sure if that's a pro actually.... let's wait and see)
Con: Service intervals on cars are 3 times more often then in Europe on the exact same cars (I really don't get this one).
Pro: Gas and oil are dramatically cheaper.
Con: Labels on products really don't give information (try to find the alcohol percentage on your beer bottle).
Pro: Contrary to popular belief there are actually quite decent breweries around here (Yuengling, Sam Adams and of course lots of microbreweries).
Con: There is no countrywide public transportation planner website (try planning a trip from New Jersey to Rehoboth Beach, DE).
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3 comments:
Interesting list so far.
How's the burocracy turning out for you? I rember someone telling me she thought government paperwork in the US would drive you crazy.
And what about the number of places where you can get a decent T-bone?
I can imagine the (cable) TV to be a pro as well. Or am I wrong? I think you have lots more HD TV reception right?
I would expect the political system to be quite a con. Creating quite some FUD but I assume it's not so bad since you don't mention it.
The service interval for cars would be higher probably only to please the garages so they have more customers to come back regulary I guess (with the cars being as cheap as they are, they probably need service intervals to generate enough money or something).
Cheers, Tom.
did you already ask yourself: "Should I stay or should I go"?
Some of the cons on your list drive me crazy just reading about them!
Oh, I'm staying. It's a pro and con list. I never expected the grass to be greener on this side of the pond. All I meant to show is how things are different. There were enough things back in good ole NL to drive me nuts too.
I just moved here. Why go through all the hassle again?
The bureaucracy here is an amazing thing I have to admit. The thing is, you have to adjust your thinking and expectations. To be honest though, I have not had that much to do with the government yet One huge difference is the mentality of the people. People here want the government to stay out of their affairs. The less the government does the better it is. In NL the people expect the government to take charge of a good number of things. That's what they're elected and paid for, not to mention taxes being paid for. I'm over dramatizing when I say that Americans want to be free and the Dutch want to be cared for, but that is basically what it boils down to. That's why stuff gets done differently in both countries. Take note that I'm not saying one is better then the other. It really depends on the specific subject.
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