Little things you're excited about

[LucidSofia 59]

im excited about:

>"real time" airing of different tv series ie ncis, csi, drop dead diva, suits, etc.

>being able to buy from amazon and actually get the stuff within the delivery time (minus johnny air special services)

>living in our own house. own rules with my son (we'll not live with mil).

>availability of all of stuff i read online.

>parks are everywhere!

not looking forward to:

>winter.. im from the tropics, go figure.

>not being able to go around without a car.

>malls open at 12 on sundays

>alcohol is not sold on sundays (although not a big alcohol drinker)

alcohol is not sold on sundays??? I assume this is specific to the town you´re moving to, right? I´ve never heard of this.

[Caryh 5,206]

alcohol is not sold on sundays??? I assume this is specific to the town you´re moving to, right? I´ve never heard of this.

Makes me think she's moving to my state. Yes, no alcohol sales or car sales on Sunday. You need to plan ahead if you want something to drink on Sunday, or drive to a neighboring state to buy it.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

alcohol is not sold on sundays??? I assume this is specific to the town you´re moving to, right? I´ve never heard of this.

Only in certain areas that have these laws, not everywhere.

[mrsSpitze 9]

alcohol is not sold on sundays??? I assume this is specific to the town you´re moving to, right? I´ve never heard of this.

def not the whole of US... but in GA it is... you got to stock up.

[Caryh 5,206]

def not the whole of US... but in GA it is... you got to stock up.

And I thought you were looking forward to winter, there is no real winter in GA! Come up to Minnesota and visit, you'll see winter. But don't forget to stock up on Saturday.

[mrsSpitze 9]

And I thought you were looking forward to winter, there is no real winter in GA! Come up to Minnesota and visit, you'll see winter. But don't forget to stock up on Saturday.

ha! i was having trouble with fall last year.

[Caryh 5,206]

ha! i was having trouble with fall last year.

Heck I couldn't even get my wife out of the house to go shopping last Sunday, it was about 9 degrees F out here but the wind had died down. She saw it was cloudy and said there isn't even any warmth from the sun. I had to run all the errands alone as she sat in the house with the thermostat set at 80 She doesn't like the cold at all, but with a good snow on the weekend, she loves to go out and play and doesn't say a thing about how cold it is.

[An-chan 1]

YES! I'll be able to order online from places that previously didn't ship to Canada or they made shipping cost 10X the amount.

Try living in Finland! So many awesome online offers I've wanted to grab... Only to find out that in addition to the $4.99 item-I've-always-wanted I'd have to pay some thirty bucks or so of shipping, or that they don't ship to Finland, or that they only take American credit cards. And then when someone DOES ship to Finland, it takes for-friggin-ever to arrive and it can't be expensive because the customs will snatch it and slap some crazy import taxes on it. *sigh*

My things that I'm looking forward to (moving to San Diego once we're done jumping through hoops):

• Lack of winter. In many ways, I love having seasons, especially spring and fall, and having winter teaches you the value of summer, but I don't think I'll miss the six-month period of snow, ice, and darkness, and having to always put on five layers of clothing before you walk out the door to prevent freezing yourself. Well, at least not for a good while. Christmas might be weird without snow, but hey, the mountains are an hour's drive away...
  
• Food - Mexican food, Chinese food, Japanese food, BBQ... I love traditional Finnish food, but our options with food are sorely limited and woefully expensive. Being able to eat whatever I want will be amazing. I'll miss some Finnish things, but it'll be so worth it.
  
• Shopping - I'm not an avid shopper, personally, but I'm a huge fan of books, video games, and various other things that offer a lot more variety in both choices and prices in the US.
  
• Outdoors - I love spending time outside, but it's hardly worth it over here for most of the year. Besides, in California, there's mountains, there's desert, giant redwood forests, tidepools, national parks... There's a lot of environments I haven't even seen before, and it'll be really exciting to go trek and camp in all sorts of places and see new kinds of plants and animals.
  
• New holidays like Thanksgiving. I'm not so sure about Halloween yet, as I've never been a fan of horror-related stuff, but I think I'm going to have to just experience it to know what it's like. Definitely a fan of Thanksgiving and the 4th of July (fireworks!), and since we'll be celebrating my cultural holidays like vappu (May Day) and juhannus (Midsummer) as well, it just means extra holidays for me!
  

[pgmsc 3]

To be honest, I am scared to death !! I am a french canadian and going to the US where I would not be able to speak french freaks me out ! Also the healthcare system there gives me the creeps ! The only thing I am looking foward to is to finally be with my love and that is all that matters !

If you end up in New England, you'll still hear people speaking French. Also, I recommend the La Kermesse Festival that they hold in Biddeford, Maine . Vive la Canadienne!

def not the whole of US... but in GA it is... you got to stock up.

Depends where in GA - most counties and municipalities now allow it, although you might still need to wait until after noontime.

[katchoo12 8]

If you end up in New England, you'll still hear people speaking French. Also, I recommend the La Kermesse Festival that they hold in Biddeford, Maine . Vive la Canadienne!

Yes lucky mefall in love and married a "Mainer" !!! I heard about La Kermesse in Biddeford and looking foward to it ! As for hearing french around here...not so much...yet !

Vive la Canadienne Française !!

[EminTX 131]

My husband was here for 4 months, then back home for 5, and now here again. Those first 4 months were rough with him missing "everything". Now that he has actually gone back to enjoy that "everything", he has confessed that he things life is better here.

His loves:

Hot water on demand from every faucet in the house

Central heat and a great space heater when we just want to be cheap.

Washing machine AND dryer.

Good toilet paper.

Better TV shows and cartoons around the clock.

Roku. (If you don't have one--check it out--there is a tv station for almost every corner of the planet and new ones added regularly)

Indian food.

Hot pot.

Subway across the street.

Half-dressed joggers.

Physical differences. Almost everyone in his country is short with black hair. Here the variety is dizzying and he loves it.

Having personal transportation that we can use to just GO whenever and where ever.

His horrors:

The monster flying and clicking roaches.

Not many folks walk--almost everyone drives--it leaves him feeling disconnected

June, July, and August in Houston.

The rain freaks him out. He is convinced that a hurricaine is threatening all the time.

[oohpartiv 484]

well, i'm the USC, but i've lived in ecuador with my husband for over four years now, and i am definitely missing the US! there are a lot of little things i'm definitely looking forward to, and i know my husband is excited for, too.

ME

- milk! the milk here is really bizarre and has added water to make it stretch farther, and i'm really excited to drink a nice glass of whole milk! or dairy in general, really. "queso fresco" is just not cutting it for me anymore.

- hot water. granted, it's hot here all year, so cold water showers aren't always a bad thing - but waking up at six to take a shower before work can be painful when the water is frigid!

- food of all kinds. i miss a variety, like being able to go out for italian or indian or moroccan. the food here is great but i would definitely not complain if we had a meal once in a while that DIDN'T include rice.

- safety. i love ecuador, but getting mugged and robbed here are common occurrences and i really miss being able to take the dog for a walk in the evening or even go to the corner store without looking over my shoulder every few minutes. you really have to think about what you're taking with you when you go out, how you're getting home, if it will be dark before you get back, etc etc, and being from the suburbs, that's something that took a while for me to get used to.

HIM

- he's going to go to culinary school when we get home, and he's very excited! where we live in ecuador, there is NOWHERE for him to study gastronomy, and he's really stoked to be able to start a career.

- shopping. electronics and clothing here are either ridiculously expensive (since they're imported) or really cheaply made.

- not having to hang your clothes on a line to dry after washing them. i have never seen a dryer here, even though they're in appliance stores for sale. nobody really cares enough to spend money to buy one, but my husband finds it annoying because the sun really bleaches out the colors and after a while the fabric thins out.

- snow! it rarely dips below sixty degrees here, so he's never seen snow, apart from the television. really, he's never seen the leaves turn colors and fall, either. he's from a beach town, so he grew up with sand and sun (poor thing, i know, haha) and is very excited to experience cold weather.

here's to hoping we can get home within the next couple months!

[rjm_cmyk 75]

I'm looking forward to sunshine (CA) well most of the time as I'll be living in the Bay Area. Easy access to Tahoe for skiiing. Christmas (sorry Holiday) lights. Being able to watch John Stewart easily.

Not looking forward to patchy mobile phone reception and the dreadful deals from US mobile telcos. Not looking forward to half hour progs that seem to actually last 15mins +ads

[Wobbafut 6]

Hm..

What I'm not excited about :

- Health insurance (french health insurance isgreat.. you've been sick for 2 days? Let's go see dr!! not going to pay much anyways )

- Food : I'll miss traditional french food so much. Also good french desserts.

- Food price : I feel like it's really expenssive to buy groceries to cook your own meals

- Market on saturday : fresh veggies and meat !!

- Medecines : Im scared of what i could find there. I know there is many medecines there that is not allowed in france.

- I feel like ppl are kind of "hypocrite" lke.. Ive known a girl that i met like 4 times and she was already saying im like family.. It feels too much

What Im excited about :

- Food still : I LOVE japanese there, it's AWESOME!! Also chinese buffets are huuuuge and soo cheap, good american burgers and meat (steak, ribs). Also cheap menus (even with salmon!! So expensive in france).

- Free refills !!

- Drive thru and 24/7 restaurants.

- Also the fact that you can go eat around 3-4pm and no one will judge you! My fiance finishes work around 2pm so we eat late.

- Car license (automatic, different than manual here

- The right turn at red light

- The big roads, i dont get sick during long driving trips.

- Waiters are NICE

- Ppl being welcoming

- The fact you can have hedgehogs as pet here!

Edited February 7, 2013 by Wobbafut

[oohpartiv 484]

What Im excited about :

- The fact you can have hedgehogs as pet here!

I had one of those when I was younger! They're super cute, but they're nocturnal, so if you do get one DON'T put him in your bedroom - he'll keep you up all night! I learned that the hard way!