kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

We have a couple of yanks over here working in the it dept, they hate the place they expected us all to be walking around in bowler hats, carrying umbrellas. They can't believe how much tax we pay or our vat rate, and our only redeeming feature is our health service.

zs_phil

iTrader: (1)

how about york thats a nice place and if you get home sick just talk to someone with a camera and 90% of the time there american tourists
britain is a nice place but an expensive one at that .
come for a try and experience our roundabouts there .
one last thing if you do come our mcdonalds are crap compared to yours

Shark Man

I think the only real answer is to try it. Take a vacation here drive round a bit to get a feel....see if you can put up with our constant moaning

I'd like to say this place would probably drive you nuts, but then I have a 28 year head start.

As mentioned, things aren't cheap, and you get very little for your money in terms of anything - especially housing (tiny crammed boxes with hardly any driveway or garden).

Weather, rain drizzle, slight gust, then more rain, bit of sun for a few days...then winter again. Of course, listen to the news we'll have the most rain on record. A heatwave hotter than the sun's core, and artic snow storms, droughts, then floods. Climate change you see (or they want you to believe)...it'll still be cold, grey and drizzle most of the time, regardless of how much CO2 everyone farts. Either way, no matter how much it rains, there will be a drought and you won't be allowed to use a hosepipe

Roads/Traffic...compared to LA?....hmm, you might enjoy it here You won't enjoy parking though, or paying to park either

Public transport, nice if you live by some. Mostly doesn't run late at night, usually runs late on time, and is expensive when compared to how cheap it is in other countries.

Crime compared to LA. Nothing as severe. But the same, it really does depend on the town your in and street you walk down. Yes there are problems, you can get into a fight on a Friday night just by looking at someone. And petty theft and property damage being a pain. Police's indifferent attitude doesn't help - they can't do squat, tied by red tape, high workload and an inept prosecution system. Break the speed limit though and they'll send you a nice letter through the post demading money.

TV? Murdoch has his foothold here Fox=Sky except any US show is behind by about 3 series Less adverts (seemingly increasing by the day), just avoid the soaps otherwise you'll end up wanting to shoot the TV...Talking about shooting TVs, you won't be able to do that with a handgun...shotguns is closest legal subsitute. But you being a foreigner, you won't be able to get a licence for one, in such case, I suggest throwing it out the window, or a hefty blow with a sledge hammer

Language; Lucky that Bristol doesn't have much of a dialect. Just be forewarned, the more north you go, the less comprehensible people become. We also have new langauges brought in by our now 2nd generation immigrants and we have a dialect which is a bit like "gansta" talk in the ghettos, but spoken by drunks and kids - usually wearing white Reebok trainers, tracksuit, hood/baseball cap and cheap 1ct gold jewelry/chains.

Culture: We have none. Bring your own...everyone else seems to If you see anyone flying a St. George Cross make sure you call them a racist and proclaim how intimidated you feel at seeing such an icon of Englishness (excuse the satire - Seems I'm afflicted with a bad case of British wit, dear boy).

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

Get outta here!

poormansporsche

Wow lots of good info. You guys are awesome. I'm thinking I might have to have a look and come out for a week or two just to see what it's like. It sounds like it might be my kind of place. I'm originally from Northern California where it's a bit colder and people have a more keen sense of reality. LA is a bit overwhelming with all the kids growing up and having lunch at Disneyland everyday and their parents being rockstars and actors. Whatever plane of reality they live on I will never know. But it sounds like it might be an interesting change. I'm only 28 so I guess time is somewhat still on my side. I would have a hard time sending off my scoob. She's been loads of fun even though I've spent thousands of dollars making her right. I would like to take her with me even if it meant parking her most of the time. I've driven a RHD impreza around in LA and didn't have too much trouble. I think driving on the other side of the road will be my biggest challenge. Rather remembering to stay on the other side of the road. I'm going to look through those links a few of you recommend and see whats out there. Thanks so much for the head start and I'm still all ears for any more recommendations. Thanks guys!

cheers

poorman

fitzscoob

Also, there is a great little strip bar, where the beer is cheaper than in the normal bars.

Just dont go for a drive around St Pauls - I did, very similar too Bagdad.

dpb

Ive driven in the states ( maine) and all over europe

- belive me its not difficult to drive on the wrong side of teh road