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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 15, 2019 16:03:21 GMT -5
I can't see myself ever leaving the U.S. However, I can definitely foresee both of my younger sons doing so. The youngest one, in particular, looks at living somewhere else a lot. He's very pessimistic about the future of the country. The middle one, just loves traveling and has ventured abroad a number of times.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 16:03:42 GMT -5
... the U.S. seems to put more emphasis on preserving its traditions than the UK does... I'd be interested in what you see as examples of this - there are substantial parts of Britain which basically function as Ye Olde Tymes theme parks - castles, stately homes, palaces, the ridiculous procedures of high court and parliament, etc etc
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Jan 15, 2019 16:22:45 GMT -5
I second New Zealand for it's outstanding natural beauty - I spent 5 or 6 weeks driving a motorhome around there a few years ago (and am going back again this year), and basicaly ran out of superlatives - "wow look at that forest! {rounds bend} OMG - look a mountain! {rounds another bend} OMG - and now a view over the sea {rounds another bend} ...". I would very very highly recommend going there, and it's a lot easier to get there from the US than from here (and another plus point, as US nationals LAX probably wouldn't be so unutterably vile, if you went via there) However, I'm not sure I'd want to live there. It's great for the outdoorsy life, it's very very safe (other than the occasional earth-quake!) and the government is pretty progressive (so pretty left-wing by US standards, centre-left by European), but it's a bit limited culturally and doesn't have much in the way of wildlife (it's all been eaten by the possums (or "speed-humps" as the Kiwis call them)) - it feels a bit like the UK in the 1970s or 80s (but without the piles of garbage in the streets from the former, or the New Romantic haircuts from the latter). Even the Kiwis that I work with (I'm in IT and there are loads of Aussies and Kiwis over here), tend not to go home for more than a break because they find it boring in comparison. It's also pretty expensive - ie par or more expensive than the UK once relative salaries and exchange rate were taken into account, so probably much more expensive than the US for most things, especially food and property prices, which are at insane UK levels in a lot of areas. I have to jump in here for obvious reasons, you pretty much nail it with your description, but I take it all as positives. The lack of culture is fairly accurate, though some in Wellington, Auckland, or Dunedin may argue, however for a majority of folk would this even be an issue? The wildlife comment is a definite positive...no poisonous snakes or spiders, and no Cougars or Grizzlies trying to eat you whilst camping. The most dangerous encounter in the wild will probably be out of control Brit families(the big story over the last 3 days here). As for the expensive part, that absolutely applies in the worst way, comics have to be flown in so they are over twice the cover price for new. Postage and exchange rate make orders from the States pricey too. But we beautiful, and we friendly.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 15, 2019 16:33:02 GMT -5
... the U.S. seems to put more emphasis on preserving its traditions than the UK does... I'd be interested in what you see as examples of this - there are substantial parts of Britain which basically function as Ye Olde Tymes theme parks - castles, stately homes, palaces, the ridiculous procedures of high court and parliament, etc etc I can't wait to see some of these places this summer in Wales! We're already identifying the little towns and castles and ruins and all that stuff that we want to visit when we are there in August.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,571
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Post by Confessor on Jan 15, 2019 21:53:21 GMT -5
... the U.S. seems to put more emphasis on preserving its traditions than the UK does... I'd be interested in what you see as examples of this - there are substantial parts of Britain which basically function as Ye Olde Tymes theme parks - castles, stately homes, palaces, the ridiculous procedures of high court and parliament, etc etc Yes, that's true for those historic, semi-historic or very ancient places, but really I was thinking more in terms of more modern, ordinary day-to-day life. For example, a modern American street seems to me to be much closer to the vintage American street of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s than your average English street does. In England and the UK we seem to be much too eager to demolish or eradicate our recent past...maybe because we have so many centuries of truly old history, so we are blasé about preserving the fabric of our semi-recent times. Or maybe it's because we're a small island and don't have as much room. Of course, things change all the time in America too, but I dunno, it just seems to me -- both from my own research and the one and only time I've visited the States -- that there is less desire to change things just for the sake of changing them. Maybe America and American life just has a stronger sense of branding to it than we do. But I think the U.S. also recognises the enormous tourist potential of preserving the look and feel of the classic, 20th century America, which was exported to the rest of the world via the movies. Also, while it's perhaps not what you meant, just for the record, I don't see the crass commercialisation and exploitation of historic UK sites as necessarily a good example of preserving our traditions or heritage. That was Margaret Thatcher's idea: make English heritage pay for itself. That's why so many formally amazingly evocative and interesting places have been turned into ugly, fun fair-like tourist traps since the 1980s. See Lands End, Stonehenge and countless other places ruined by tacky visitor centres.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,571
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Post by Confessor on Jan 15, 2019 22:02:54 GMT -5
I can't wait to see some of these places this summer in Wales! We're already identifying the little towns and castles and ruins and all that stuff that we want to visit when we are there in August. Quaint little "olde worlde" towns, thatched cottages, castles and Cathedrals are exactly the sort of places that my wife and I like best in the UK. We actually live in a little Georgian cottage that dates from around 1800. It's funny, but when we were over in New England, every now and then you'd get somebody enthusiastically point out a building to us and say something like, "and did you know, that church/house/monument is 200 years old!" We'd go, "Oh really? That's amazing", but secretly we'd be thinking, "our house is older than that!" Actually, our local church is over 900 years old.
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Jan 17, 2019 3:26:56 GMT -5
Why would you want to live in America? Because a) it's a wonderful country, full of (mostly) very nice people; b) you get a lot more for your money in America; c) culturally, the U.S. seems to put more emphasis on preserving its traditions than the UK does; d) because it's still the centre of the pop culture universe; and e) because it's the home of the music I love and have spent my whole life listening to and playing. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like the UK an awful lot too (an awful lot!), but America is a very special country too. You live there, so you're probably a bit blasé to its charms. But take my word for it, you're very, very lucky indeed to live in a country as wealthy, secure and welcoming as America. I don't live in America anymore. Probably not moving back. It's okay to visit, because of the entertainment, and amenities though.
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Post by Cei-U! on Jan 17, 2019 16:51:41 GMT -5
Hey, gang, just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about Classic Comics Christmas. As soon as I've wrapped up the last of my work for TwoMorrows, I'll finish it up, but I can only work on the computer a few hours a day so it's still a week or two before I can get to it. Your patience is appreciated.
Cei-U! I summon the delayed gratification!
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Post by hondobrode on Jan 17, 2019 18:09:45 GMT -5
Good to hear from you Kurt !
Hopefully you're on the mend.
Obviously priorities dictate that the CCC be delayed a bit but I think we all understand.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2019 18:26:03 GMT -5
Take care of yourself!
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 18, 2019 14:31:16 GMT -5
Hey, gang, just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about Classic Comics Christmas. As soon as I've wrapped up the last of my work for TwoMorrows, I'll finish it up, but I can only work on the computer a few hours a day so it's still a week or two before I can get to it. Your patience is appreciated. Cei-U! I summon the delayed gratification! That's okay, everyone knows that I won the contest. Wait, it wasn't a competition ?
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Post by brutalis on Jan 18, 2019 14:52:16 GMT -5
Hey, gang, just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about Classic Comics Christmas. As soon as I've wrapped up the last of my work for TwoMorrows, I'll finish it up, but I can only work on the computer a few hours a day so it's still a week or two before I can get to it. Your patience is appreciated. Cei-U! I summon the delayed gratification! That's okay, everyone knows that I won the contest. Wait, it wasn't a competition ? Wiener Winner, Chicken Hot Dog Dinner!
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Post by Rob Allen on Jan 18, 2019 15:15:19 GMT -5
A note that came in to a mailing list I'm on:
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Post by hondobrode on Jan 18, 2019 16:31:08 GMT -5
That would be very interesting reading
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Post by Rob Allen on Jan 18, 2019 18:53:20 GMT -5
Paul Levitz posted this on Facebook today:
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