Things you'll miss from the UK, and how you'll compensate?

[rjm_cmyk 75]

ISC - indeed closed and dismantled 2005/2006

[Ketsuban 1,034]

One thing to be aware off as well, in the US there are very few worker rights.

apart from some discrimination laws you can be hired or fired at the whim of an employer.

Oh god, tell me about it. My husband is in a panic every other week because he thinks he'll be fired for so much as breathing in the wrong direction. Which, given the lack of employment laws, is possible

[Avery Cates 1,141]

Oh god, tell me about it. My husband is in a panic every other week because he thinks he'll be fired for so much as breathing in the wrong direction. Which, given the lack of employment laws, is possible

It's so true that I just find it best to lurch from one fireable offense to the next.

[2ndMessiah 184]

It's so true that I just find it best to lurch from one fireable offense to the next.

Oh Dear! sounds like you are and employee nightmare.

[fcat 79]

Had a friend recently come over to the US for our "wedding" 2 weeks ago, inher suitcase was:

3 tinned Heinz sponge puddings! (chocolate, and treacle!)

4 bars of Dairy Milk

2 packets of Warburtons crumpets

1 block of lard!!( to make Yorkshire puddings)

2 Warburtons seeded batch loafs!

2 packets of wine gums

I'm struggling a little here in VA, not with food just with life in general

[Churches91 3]

Had a friend recently come over to the US for our "wedding" 2 weeks ago, inher suitcase was:

3 tinned Heinz sponge puddings! (chocolate, and treacle!)

4 bars of Dairy Milk

2 packets of Warburtons crumpets

1 block of lard!!( to make Yorkshire puddings)

2 Warburtons seeded batch loafs!

2 packets of wine gums

I'm struggling a little here in VA, not with food just with life in general

Sorry to hear things are rough, I'm not sure if Virginia has Kroger, but I do know the Kroger grocery stores in Texas have began to sell all of those listed items. Hopefully you have something similar if not the same thing, it makes things easier if you're craving something from home I'm sure!

[Avery Cates 1,141]

There is nowhere I have been that allows smoking in bars or restaurants. Does this vary by state?

The US is quite a way behind UK and Europe in many things like that.

In Maryland it has only become law recently to have to wear a seat belt and also just become illegal to use a cell phone when driving.

It does vary by state. It's been banned in any public building here for quite a long time now, 15-20 years or so I think.

I wouldn't call it "behind." It was a move forward.

Was reading this as I was curious, and I just wanted to say, that we have a similar thing to Jaffa cakes made by LU called Pim's (one M).

People will say they are not as good I suppose, but they are a cookie thing with orange goo and chocolate on top. Should be in any grocery store.

Funny, I read this post, then the other day as I was going through the supermarket, I saw them on an end cap. Normally I wouldn't have noticed them, but it was in my mind and it made me stop and pick up a pack. I'd say they're an acceptable replacement for Jaffa Cakes that can easily by acquired here. I think they have a bit more orangey tangy flavor to them than the Jaffa, but plenty good in my opinion.

[QueenComley 295]

Had a friend recently come over to the US for our "wedding" 2 weeks ago, inher suitcase was:

3 tinned Heinz sponge puddings! (chocolate, and treacle!)

4 bars of Dairy Milk

2 packets of Warburtons crumpets

1 block of lard!!( to make Yorkshire puddings)

2 Warburtons seeded batch loafs!

2 packets of wine gums

I'm struggling a little here in VA, not with food just with life in general

Im so sorry to hear your struggling fcat. I have been here 19 months and have also found it rather difficult. I am very home sick. Please feel free to inbox me f you ever need a chat.

It does vary by state. It's been banned in any public building here for quite a long time now, 15-20 years or so I think.

I wouldn't call it "behind." It was a move forward.

Funny, I read this post, then the other day as I was going through the supermarket, I saw them on an end cap. Normally I wouldn't have noticed them, but it was in my mind and it made me stop and pick up a pack. I'd say they're an acceptable replacement for Jaffa Cakes that can easily by acquired here. I think they have a bit more orangey tangy flavor to them than the Jaffa, but plenty good in my opinion.

Do they sell them in Walmart or Kroger? If so I will pick a packet up this weekend.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

Do they sell them in Walmart or Kroger? If so I will pick a packet up this weekend.

Don't know, no Kroger's around here and I don't go to WalMart.

[nobbie 105]

It does vary by state. It's been banned in any public building here for quite a long time now, 15-20 years or so I think.

I wouldn't call it "behind." It was a move forward.

Funny, I read this post, then the other day as I was going through the supermarket, I saw them on an end cap. Normally I wouldn't have noticed them, but it was in my mind and it made me stop and pick up a pack. I'd say they're an acceptable replacement for Jaffa Cakes that can easily by acquired here. I think they have a bit more orangey tangy flavor to them than the Jaffa, but plenty good in my opinion.

I didn't mean it was a backward move, I meant stuff we have been doing in Europe for years (wearing seatbelts for example) seem to take w long time to get done over here.

[2ndMessiah 184]

OK, if you really want to buy these very poor imitation of the vastly superior Jaffa cake ( I am definitely biased) in Virginia, try a Food Lion. I have bought them there.

As to home sickness, it has taken me nearly four years to get beyond this. I still miss Northern Ireland and will return for visit but my life is here in the US with my wife and kids. I have stopped dwelling on the past and started to embrace American things and American ways even if they seem counter intuitive and a bit odd. I am looking forward to applying for citizenship.

So pass me a Jaffa cake, a cup of tea and fire up BBC Iplayer. I am setup for the future.

[Pooky 3,784]

Plain Chocolate Digestives.

[2ndMessiah 184]

I'm struggling a little here in VA, not with food just with life in general

Yes it is a struggle, I can completely sympathize with you. You can also private message me. I am down here near Richmond, If you want another foreign perspective on Virginia living.

Plain Chocolate Digestives.

Damn You..........

A nice cup of tea as well. Hog Heaven. lol

[2ndMessiah 184]

I didn't mean it was a backward move, I meant stuff we have been doing in Europe for years (wearing seatbelts for example) seem to take w long time to get done over here.

Its all about perspectives.It is all about perceived freedoms. A law saying you have to wear a seatbelt is not seen as a way to protect lives. It is seen as another freedom of choice being taken away.It is seen as "Big Government" interfering with the American way of life.

Also America has become incredibly resistant to outside influence (even though it started through diversity), preferring to influence those beyond it s boundaries to be American like. Just look at TV in the UK. We consumed/ consume a lot of American culture that way.

[QueenComley 295]

OK, if you really want to buy these very poor imitation of the vastly superior Jaffa cake ( I am definitely biased) in Virginia, try a Food Lion. I have bought them there.

As to home sickness, it has taken me nearly four years to get beyond this. I still miss Northern Ireland and will return for visit but my life is here in the US with my wife and kids. I have stopped dwelling on the past and started to embrace American things and American ways even if they seem counter intuitive and a bit odd. I am looking forward to applying for citizenship.

So pass me a Jaffa cake, a cup of tea and fire up BBC Iplayer. I am setup for the future.

I definitely think for all the things we miss about the UK, if we were return back there for good, there would be lots and lots of things we would miss about America... Lets swing this conversation around a bit VJ members... what would you miss about America if you had to return back to your home country????