10 Things We Like About America

Welcome, disgruntled reader. Last week our reader feedback was not entirely positive, with our Stateside readers understandably irked by my jokey reference to a lack of progress in facilities like the Post Office here. So to provide some balance, and celebrate the fact that we've now continued this blog for over 100 posts, here are 10 things we like about living in the US.

1. The Weather

The weather here in the Bay Area is close to perfect: the sun shines pretty much every day, it rarely rains, and it's rare for it to get cold enough to frost over night. It doesn't get windy either, but it also isn't ridiculously hot in the summer.

This great combination opens up outdoor options for a lot of things that would naturally be indoor events back in the UK. Which brings me to...

2. Porchlife

The calm, warm weather means you find yourself gravitating outdoors pretty frequently. You can sit on the porch and work, sit on the porch and snooze, sit on the porch and drink coffee, sit on the porch and eat, sit on the porch and watch TV, sit on the porch and chat... it's so common and so nice to just hang out on the porch and watch the world go by that we even have a term for it: Porchlife.

Porchlife is pretty common here: we see lots of other people at it as well, and if we were to move here a decent porch would be a must-have. In fact, we've even debated what changes we could make to our house back in the UK to enable a bit of porchlife, although I think a weather transplant might be required too!

3. It's the tech capital of the world

We live walking distance from the great Stanford University, which, in combination with a lot of other factors, led to the area becoming the tech capital of the world. It's a short walk to the HP Garage, a place of such mythical proportions that I have to pinch myself whenever I walk past it. So much started and was invented here that it's hard to comprehend: we're near the legendary Xerox PARC, birthplace of the mouse, the GUI, the laser printer and more, Facebook's first office is less than 5 minutes walk from our house, Google started very near here, and there are almost countless others.

It was John Lennon that said, "If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Where else? Today America is the Roman Empire and New York is Rome itself". If you're in the tech industry, this area is the centre of the world and it's both a humbling and a tremendous experience to be a part of it.

But it's more than that - the presence of Stanford has brought all sorts of dignitaries here and there is innovation and excellence in the air. Again, 5 minutes walk away is Menlo Atherton High School, where Stevie Nicks first met Lindsey Buckingham. Yes, that Stevie Nicks!

It's actually quite a lot like living in Oxford, where you similarly can't walk around a corner without running into the site of some current or previous great thinking or doing.

4. Earthquakes

We're also just around the corner from the HQ of the US Geological Survey, across the creek in Menlo Park. It's here because of the San Andreas fault, of course, and I have to admit I'm fascinated by the earthquakes, perhaps more than I should be. Hopefully we'll move back to the UK before The Big One. Really must order that survival kit...

5. Takeout and Eating Out

Whilst we should recognize that the COVID pandemic has had a massive impact on the hospitality industry, here it's been significantly less bad than back in the UK by the simple fact that every restaurant offered takeout already. It's a staple of the culture here and pretty widely accepted as a given.

Eating out is also culturally much more common here anyway; perhaps it's because we live in an affluent bubble, but the idea of eating out relatively frequently, for any of the 3 meals or even a snack in between, is very natural here. That means more restaurants, more choice, and better quality.

6. Everything Really Is Bigger Here

Now when you do eat out, you should know that everything really is bigger here. Any sort of food portion, fresh produce, cuts of meat, cars, shops, who knows what else... things are just bigger here. This can be taken to extremes - we've tended to find that there's a general trend at restaurants where quality is inversely proportional to quantity - but typically, size is not the axis on which you're going to be disappointed with pretty much anything you might buy.

A huge pine cone

7. Farmer's Markets

Farmer's Markets here are common and frequent - we're within walking distance of no less than 3 weekly farmer's markets, and unlike in the UK, those markets mostly sell fresh produce. We can get all the produce we need at these, and the proceeds go straight to the people who do the work.

8. Holidays Are Fun

The Americans love an excuse for a holiday, and they like to make them simple and fun. There's nothing ironic or post-modern about Christmas or any other holiday here - they're just a relatively naive, straightforward celebration. They're also inherently pluralist and non-denominational - it's just good clean fun.

9. Generosity

Again, it could be because we're lucky enough to live in an affluent bubble, but where we live there's a spirit of generosity which is quite humbling. It's incredible that Helen's booksales raise hundreds or thousands of dollars, and it's not uncommon for individuals to show up and spend over $100 at those things. Some nasty people would have it that there's no such thing as society, but that's not really the case here.

10. Ice With Everything

When we moved in here, our landlady was bemused by our excitement with having an ice maker in the freezer. Here it's just a given that a cold drink has ice in it - and lots of it! This is a custom I've enthusiastically embraced... ice with everything! Oh, but not coffee obviously. Iced coffee is still just a waste of good coffee.

11. Live Kelly and Ryan

Who doesn't love Kelly and Ryan?

I feel terrible saying this, but daytime telly is actually pretty good here. Live with Kelly and Ryan, as previously reported on this blog, is the US equivalent of 'This Morning', but there is no illusion of serious journalism: this is just Kelly and Ryan hanging out in the televisual equivalent of Porchlife.

What's more, at the end of the pandemic, perhaps there will be some kind of award for the great Dr Jen Ashton, who somehow patiently answers the increasingly senseless COVID-related questions of the great American public every day at lunchtime on ABC. Dr Jen, we salute your incredible patience.

So that's it - this blog once again under-promises and over-delivers by taking it all the way to 11. It's amazing to think we've been here in the US for over 18 months now, with over 100 blog posts published, and the best part of a year spent barely leaving the house, except for essential trips to get takeaway gourmet ice cream. It's been an odd experience in a lot of ways, but there are many, many positives and we're looking forward to many more before it's time to move back to the UK.