(August 20, 2015 at 9:12 am)Dystopia Wrote: How did your react to how Americans handle tipping compared to Europeans (and presumably the UK) Where it is a rare occurrence?
Well I knew it happened so it wasn't a big surprise. It took me a while to get used to it, and my wife and I disagree on tipping from time to time. She generally tips even if the service was bad. I tip, but if the service was terrible I will refuse to. I feel like tipping should be a reward and something staff work hard to achieve; if you leave us waiting 20 minutes for the bill and in the mean time are seating people, taking their orders, and delivering them food, then you're not getting a tip (side note: this actually happened in a restaurant we went to).
Besides, legally wait staff can't earn less than the minimum wage anyway, and anything they don't make in tips they get to claim back from their employer.
(August 29, 2015 at 2:17 am)InsomniacMike486 Wrote: As I'm sure you know, you are personally expected to be shot at at least three times a month here what with all the guns flying around nearly unregulated. Were you concerned at all you would go to a mall or school and have to start diving lead?
This is a really inaccurate view of America, or at least in my experience, Massachusetts. I have yet to see a single gun in public that wasn't secured within a cop's holster.
(August 29, 2015 at 6:22 am)excitedpenguin Wrote: Tiberius, do you think you've permanently moved there or are you open to the possibility of moving back home one day(do you miss it much?) or even to a completely different country? Did you see much of Western Europe, for instance, and does it appeal to you in that way?
What do you like most about the U.S.? Can you compare the British to the American? Which do you prefer as a people and why.
Do you think you'll ever find any promising career paths over there, given your specific expertise?
Best of luck over there and I hope you live the proverbial American Dream.
I think I've permanently moved, this is where I want to raise kids and retire, etc. America is so big I don't think I'll ever run out of things to do. I don't really miss England that much, I miss my family from time to time, but in all honesty I only really ever saw my immediate family (sister and parents) so I'm not missing out on seeing a load of people. My wife's family is huge and we all see each other almost every day, so I'm in good hands. I wouldn't want to move to Western Europe simply because of the language barrier.
What I most like about the U.S. is difficult to say. I think what I like most about Massachusetts is the weather though. The seasons are more defined than those in the UK. Soon after I arrived, we had one of the harshest winters on record, with temperatures dropping to -9C (we also broke the snowfall record), but then a few months later we hit 36C.
American people are generally more polite than British people, as far as I can tell. You will find most people greet each other, even if they are strangers, and people just seem friendlier in general, so I prefer Americans at this point.
At the moment I don't have any plans to move from my current company, but I don't think I'll have any problems finding a job in America.
