How to visit our countries.

If you're vising Ottawa, it's totally safe to drive here, but holy crap calm the fuck down. We will not kill you. If you signal, we will make room for you. There is no need to drive 50 km/h over the speed limit. People will help you if you get lost. Red lights are to be obeyed. Stop at stop signs. Scaring jaywalkers is not okay. Bike lanes are for bikes, not to get around slow drivers.

This post is absolutely definitely not directed at anyone specific, especially not anyone directly related to me who is visiting for a couple days from Beijing. Absolutely not.

I've heard crossing Beijing streets requires at least five people to link arms and run at top speed sideways to force the cars to slow down.

A True Lady's Quest - A Jojo is You!

I've been told that in Rome, if you want to cross the street, you just walk, keeping your eyes dead ahead. If you look at the cars, the drivers assume you know what you're doing and will not accommodate you.

Fresh-eyed movie blog

If you go to the Bronx Zoo, there are peacocks everywhere. They practically own the zoo.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

In my experience, a lot of Mediterranean areas have that going on. Must be a Latin thing.

And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)

Rule of thumb:

Northern EU states: traffic rules are obeyed always.

Souther EU states: traffic rules are obeyed optionally.

A simple joke will help;

In Britain, traffic lights are mandatory to follow. In Spain, traffic lights are optional to follow. In Italy, traffic lights are funny decorations at the end of the street.

Really? when I was in London and Rome it seemed in both cases the traffic light was some kind of funny decoration,peds be damned.

Glasgow also wasn't much better

Come to think of it,only Edinburgh didn't seem to act like Rome.

edited 14th Oct '12 12:06:58 PM by terlwyth

London doesn't count.

EVER.

London is unique. It's the 'fifth country' in Britain, so to speak.

Another point: When outside of London, attempt to fit in with locals by decrying London as much as you can.

edited 14th Oct '12 11:42:20 AM by Inhopelessguy

Yeah, London is like that bitchy family member who you don't like being around because they smell funny and are so crabby, but you tolerate because they have really awesome stuff you want them to share with you.

I guess I should finally do one of these for my area.

When visiting the American South:

1) Have a goal in mind. What do you want to do? see? experience? etc. We have some really awesome opportunities, but not all states are created equal. Such as rock climbing is great in Arkansas impossible in Mississippi. But we have various states perfect for water sports. Ask a long time resident (like myself) where would be the best place to accomplish your goals.

2) There are still places depending on your gender, race, culture, or sexuality that are not safe. I refuse to be in some places after dark. I will travel 40 mins. out of my way to avoid certain towns. It is not by choice, it is by need. Again, clear your route with someone before hand.

We're not all racist, but those of us who are are normally pretty bad. It's a land of extremes. Eureka Springs hosts some of the best pagan, gay pride, and progressive events. It's also surrounded by old school fundamentalists. So you can have a great party here, but again, know where you're going.

3) Arkansas has some beautiful countryside. If you like the outdoors, we have everything from mountains, valleys, delta, but we don't really have snow. You'll get a lot of ice. We have great state parks that allow year around camping of various comfort levels. We have awesome waterways and lakes. (Floating the Buffalo is sacred around here.)

But we do have bugs and we do have humidity. So if you're wanting to do some very extensive camping or hiking, time your visit with what level of nature you don't want to deal with. Fall and Winter are normally dry and most of the icky wildlife is vacant. Summer will kill you if you're not careful. We're slowly but surely loosing our Spring season.

4) We are much more ethnically diverse. If you speak Spanish you'll be able to access various fun things that you can't as an English speaker. There is a sizable German community, Southeast Asians are coming in more and more, but if you see an East Asian person they are most likely either a student or a salon owner. Just how it works around here.

DO NOT make fun of our Muslim population! They are slowly growing and I want them to stay! They are also more likely to straight up call the cops on you for being snarky because they get enough crap. So be extra respectful, especially around the women.

5) It's not a bad place to go to college here, but you have to be careful with your colleges. They're either really good or utter crap. So do your homework. Cost of living is down so tuition can be more bearable.

6) Food and music are everywhere. You can find your tastes wherever you want.

7) Cops are either the biggest assholes or very reasonable. Just remember that we are poor here for the most part (we do have millionaires coming in to take advantage of the cheap land) and most cities need tickets to sustain their offices. If you have a non-state plate and you deserve it, you'll get the biggest ticket they can dish out to you because they know you're probably not going to be able to wait to see the judge before leaving. Don't sass the cops, don't have attitudes, and they most likely won't with you. If you feel you've been wronged, report their butts without hesitation.

8) Tipping is based on the quality of service, not just a percentage.

9) Keep at least a half a tank of gas at all times. Depending where you're travelling, you may not see another station for hours.

10) Our highways suck. Especially in Louisiana and Alabama. But we do have awesome signs. Follow the signs, your GPS may not be accurate. We have plenty of military bases so if you need, ask there. They'll be really helpful to you.

11) They love the soldiers down here. Don't badmouth the soldiers. Politicians, well, depends where you are. But chances are everyone has at least some tie, direct or indirect to the military.

"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur

Everything you said. Except the highway thing, the highways in Ga. are okay. But I have heard that I-16 (goes towards Savannah) is pretty empty, if you consider that a bad thing.

The interstates do get better as you go east. I never had a problem with Georgia. Oklahoma has the worst.roads.ever.

Georgia is a old gem of the South. It's a must see at least in part. It has some of the most beautiful towns, with a myriad of architectural beauty. There are some of the most interesting and historical sites in Georgia to cater to almost any academic background or interests. Some of the best seafood in my life came from there. And yes, the magnolia blossoms there can be bigger than your face. I liked it!

"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur

Deviant,Leradny,choobeh back me up when I say this,California definitely has the most atrocious roads in the whole country. This goes Up To Eleven if you're up in the Sierras

Yeah the South is very underrated,but Virginia is definitely the place for good beach stuff,the Great Smokies are where to go for a good hike,even if you have to drive through the tacky land of Cherokee,North Carolina to get there

So long as you don't go during hurricane season :P

The Carolinas do have beautiful beaches, but they get hit with more storms on average than the gulf.

"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur

Terlwyth: Worst as in pothole-ridden, cracked, and generally uneven? Or the San Francisco slopes? Or the lack of parking anywhere? Or the constant jaywalkers? Or just being incrediby complex? Yeaaaaaah. Most cities, especially in the Bay Area, are pretty damn bad about maintenance or rules.

That sure sounds like a Glasgow road to me!

The new roads laid down around the East End for the Commonwealth Games are so flat, wide and damage-free that it honestly doesn't look like the same city.

And let us pray that come it may (As come it will for a' that)

Birmingham has oddly good roads.

For some reason, the City Council can't pay its women workers properly, but it can do brilliant roads.

Well now that you mention it,all of the above. I was going more for the conditions like all the pot holes and cracks and unevenness,but yeah all of the above are true.

But you forgot cyclists that seem to think every signal is a decoration [not too different getting around Rome on foot actually]

The Glasgow I remember certainly wasn't so bad,even if it seemed the traffic lights were just treated like decorations. (I'm not kidding only Edinburgh seemed to have a good peds-drivers thing going)

edited 15th Oct '12 11:02:48 AM by terlwyth

I felt like reviving this thread because I'm going to England this August. Anything important I should know?

---

Things I've picked up by reading through this thread:

• Pretend to be Canadian
• Talk about the weather
• Brits like to complain
• Foreigners aren't allowed to complain about the government
• Eurpean football is serious business
• It rains a lot
• London smells
• Don't try to speak Cockney or put on an accent
• Don't be too open

Anything I'm missing?

Momentum, a function of mass and velocity, is conserved between portals. In layman's terms: speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out.

Most of the food is horrible. Read the ingredients carefully before you eat any pie.

Be prepared to walk some. Public transport isn't bad. But you can walk easier sometimes.

People will ignore you unless you give them a reason not to. (Almost like any big city.)

It is not a bad experience. Are you going for fun, school, or business?

"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur

Fun. Going to met my girlfriend. I'm super excited yet nervous at the same time.

Momentum, a function of mass and velocity, is conserved between portals. In layman's terms: speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out.

Awesome! Are you coming in through Manchester or London airports?

"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur

Scratch that, not totally sure yet.

Another thing, what are the trains like?

edited 7th Apr '13 11:47:50 PM by Indigo12ash

Momentum, a function of mass and velocity, is conserved between portals. In layman's terms: speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out.

Trains are fine. The only ones I have traveled that are better are in Washington DC. The schedule was a pain in the ass to decipher so try and double check if its not intuitive for you.

Also British Customs are the biggest assholes I have ever had to deal with. If you do fly in, make sure you answer their questions to the t because they will check you and they will make your life hell if anything is even the slightest bit off.

"Psssh. Even if you could catch a miracle on a picture any person would probably delete it to make space for more porn." - Aszur

Thank you for the warning about British customs. That was actually going to be my next question. What kind of questions do they ask besides "How long are you staying?" and "Why are you here?"

Momentum, a function of mass and velocity, is conserved between portals. In layman's terms: speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out.

I wanna live in a massive city with enough people for a small country. All sorts of fancy stuff, and a ridiculous diversity of people.