Only 3 things I miss from California/USA. You?

I've lived out of California now for almost 7 consecutive years (though did live away some as well between 2000 and 2009.

There seem to be only 3 things I really miss and they are:

1) Food! In California we are spoiled as I grew up eating so many different types of foods, especially Mexican, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, among many others, that in some ways I don't even consider them foreign food. I also miss good fast food like In N Out and Popeye's. Nando's, Wagamama and Yo! Sushi, while pretty good in their own right, just don't cut it.

2) Landscapes. Mountains, deserts, forest, farmland, ocean, green hills/yellow hills, volcanoes, volcanic strewn plains, snow, sand, etc is something I deeply miss. Driving across them just fills me with so much pleasure and excitement.

3) Seeing a doctor. I'm not referring to price or anything to do with insurance, so please, not comments about that but just the simple act of seeing one. No 10 minute limit, no GP sitting behind a desk like some bureaucrat. I miss walking into the doctor's office and the doctor is dressed in her/his scrubs, and we sit in a normal examination room rather than some "normal" office and she/he seems to actually be devoted to figuring out what's wrong with me.

Beyond these 3 things, I prefer it in the UK/Europe:
1) better quality roads
2) trains
3) history everywhere
4) walkable cities
5) Downtowns/city centres that do become ghosts towns after 5 pm but are a source of activity all the time
6) Freeview
7) decent amount of holiday pay codified in law
8 ) government mandated sick leave/pay (so it's not so great in the UK compared to   another country in Europe I lived but it's something)
9) pub culture
10) the fact that the police are so polite and try to use their brains rather than just act like tough guys" all the time
11) much better quality driving (like the little polite waves here in the UK or Western Europeans in general not undertaking (this is frustrating as hell in US cities) roundabouts and yield signs rather than stop signs
12) BBC radio 4 (NPR isn't even close)
13) the fact that VAT is included in the price instead of of added after the fact like sales 14) tax election cycles that don't go on for half the time (no exaggeration)
15) more civilized debate with controversial topics such as abortion (though I have noticed a slight switch towards the more emotional/yelling US model)
16)  the ability to buy and sell and tax a car all through the post/mail rather than having to go the DMV website or shaving to go there just to stand in line for hours, only to get a rude person at the end of it
17) electric kettles (most Americans I think still are clueless about them)
18) exciting debate in the House of Commons (the House of Reps or the Senate is a snooze fest).

I'm sure there are other things which I will add if/as I think of them.

What are your thoughts?

My husband said about the road quality thing before I took him "home" to Florida.  He now agrees that Florida roads are FAR better quality and maintained than the roads by us.  Just yesterday we had to reverse down a narrow country lane as there was a pothole that was huge and no way around it.  The roads were I live are shockingly bad (Wokingham).  Whereas they are fabulous in Clearwater FL.  So I think that's a "depends" one.

More than anything I miss the ease of getting things done in the US.  Sometimes things are overly difficult here.  Buying a house opened my eyes to this!  We had no chain and it took 13 weeks to close.  Also, we have been looking for a new sofa and 12 weeks seems to be a standard lead time.  My parents got new furniture the other week delivered next day in Florida!

Basically I'm happy anywhere.  I can see the pros and cons of each location pretty rationally.  I do not think the UK poops rainbows and unicorns.  But I don't think the US does either.

Lately I've been craving a good old fashioned deli.

Although I grew up in the UK, there are a few things I miss from when I lived in the US:

- cheaper clothes/shoes/books/electronics/homewares etc.
- Target and Old Navy
- Mexican food
- the general ease of customer service (not everywhere... Comcast were a nightmare to deal with, but in general, it's much easier to complain/return items in the US)
- US doughnuts and bagels

I've never seen a doctor in the US, although I've accompanied my US family members to appointments before... from what I've witnessed with them, it seems like everything takes a lot longer in the US. One day, my aunt went in for a blood test... it took 8 hours and a transfer from one hospital to another (no idea what took so long). Last time I went for a blood test in the UK, I was in and out and going about the rest of my day in less than 10 minutes.

Buying a house opened my eyes to this!  We had no chain and it took 13 weeks to close.  Also, we have been looking for a new sofa and 12 weeks seems to be a standard lead time.  My parents got new furniture the other week delivered next day in Florida!

12 weeks seems a long time for a sofa to be delivered. The longest I've had to wait has been 8 weeks and the shortest was 2 weeks (both from Argos).

I've also just been through the UK house-buying fiasco too - like you, I was a first-time buyer with no chain... and actually it went faster than I was expecting. I planned for 3-4 months, but it ended up being exactly 2 months from putting in the offer to exchanging contracts .

You know, you could get me going on mail slots.

Why is there a big hole in my door through which anyone can jam anything they like?

It seems like a small quibble....but there is a sinister undertone. Just this Saturday I was watching a documentary on French porcelain and I hear the slam of the mail flap. I am a bit skittish by nature and it made me jump.

But the thing is....now I know the mail is there. Well something is. Is it a bill? Has someone died? I don't know. The documentary was just getting to the part where they explained that different colours mean different things....like in early Renaissance art where blue is reserved for Mary. It's the key to deciphering French porcelain. Without this it's just a bunch of tea pots.

So I have to go over and check my mail. Hell it's right there in the hallway. It was a bunch of menus and things....our local "news" letter, which is really an ad sheet. It seems like an intrusion, like someone else is deciding when I should deal with the mail......because I can't just put it aside now. People shove stuff into my hallway all the time.

I too am leery about comparing the US and the UK, but a mailbox seems like a better way.

Not my intention to compare, only meant to say things I like here more than there, not what I don't like about here.

Not my intention to compare, only meant to say things I like here more than there, not what I don't like about here.

Understandable....but still there is a hole in the door and people cram things through it!

Oooo, congratulations on the house ksand!!

Totally agree about the appointment lengths in the US.  I was forever sitting in waiting rooms long after my appointment time had come and gone.  I definitely appreciate that my GP sticks to appointment times.

But I also appreciated not being told "it's just a virus" over and over in the  US.  The amount of times I've had to return to the GP in the UK after 3 or 4 days is not acceptable.  If they had just treated me the first time...   

I TOTALLY miss being able to put *outgoing* mail in the mailbox and put the red flag up!

Understandable....but still there is a hole in the door and people cram things through it!

OK OK........I'll stop putting "stuff" through your door. Sheesh!!

Oooo, congratulations on the house ksand!!

Totally agree about the appointment lengths in the US.  I was forever sitting in waiting rooms long after my appointment time had come and gone.  I definitely appreciate that my GP sticks to appointment times.

But I also appreciated not being told "it's just a virus" over and over in the  US.  The amount of times I've had to return to the GP in the UK after 3 or 4 days is not acceptable.  If they had just treated me the first time...   

Exactly my point. If you add up all the times you returned to the GP, it works out better to sit longer at the US GP's office, knowing that at least the doctor is doing a thorough job.

Oooo, congratulations on the house ksand!!

Thanks . The sale completed just before Easter and I moved in about 2 weeks ago .

Totally agree about the appointment lengths in the US.  I was forever sitting in waiting rooms long after my appointment time had come and gone.  I definitely appreciate that my GP sticks to appointment times.

But I also appreciated not being told "it's just a virus" over and over in the  US.  The amount of times I've had to return to the GP in the UK after 3 or 4 days is not acceptable.  If they had just treated me the first time...   

Yeah, there's two sides to it - in the US they will be more thorough, but I feel that sometimes it's a bit over the top (i.e. testing for every single thing they can), while in the UK, the doctor's don't really give it much attention unless it's getting really bad.

I grew up with the UK system, so I'm used to the doctors being hands-off and relying on me to bring any health problems to them. For me, anything longer than a 15-20 minute wait and a 10-minute appointment seems way too long .

My relatives in the US are kind of hypochondriacs though (my aunt is a nurse) and every time I go to visit, it's doctor's appointment after doctor's appointment and it gets very tedious. I don't think I've made it through a single trip there without one of them having some kind of appointment or illness... during one of my visits to the US, the family had 16 doctor's appointments between 4 of them in the space of 3 weeks!

Wow!  That's a LOT of appointments.  I used to go to the dermatologist every 10 minutes (okay, every 3 months), but otherwise it was pretty few and far between.

And in the US.....all the bills that come in from all kinds of different places. Bill from the lady/office who pulled blood from your arm......bill from the testing site......bill from the cousin of person who typed the results of the blood test (kidding on that one). Then 6 months later another bill because they didn't quite get the bill correct.

California Guy, do you live in London?  With all the new BBQ restaurants and burrito places, I find I can get my fix of interesting food.

About the driving, have you driven in Scotland?  There's some crazy landscape up there for you to drive all over.  We recently drove to Oban and then took a 5 hour ferry to the tiny island of Bara.  That was a proper road trip and all within the UK.

Also, I've been listening to NPR lately through the NPR One app and I think it compares well to Radio 4.  Can't beat the Archers though, I'm totally addicted to that.

I miss:
knowing who my neighbours are.  I live in a flat in London and it's a pretty transient area in some ways.

we're buying a flat as well and holy hell does it take a lot of back and forth.  My parents keep asking if we're done yet.

ease and ability to park for free.

not having to pay to borrow a shopping trolley.  I never remember my 1£ coin at the large Sainsbury's so I just wander around with items stacked up my chin.  My pinkie finger is surprisingly strong!

I love:
freeview - so many channels, it's heaven!

council tax payments - straight-forward and everything in one payment.  In the US I had to chose and pay my own garbage company, recycling company, property taxes were separate.  I like the one and done aspect and our council seems fine for the services I use.

great public transport.  Annoying at times, but it's better than I've ever experienced.

the amazing ability to get inexpensive, quick and reasonably healthy lunch food.  I adore Pret.  Eat is a saving grace.  Chopped is fantastic.  Vegetarian sandwiches on shelves, always fresh and very quick.  I may get moody and tired of their offerings but they're convenient and require no aimless wandering to find food.