Advice for British People Visiting America

As Brits and Americans begin planning their vacations, I've been asked to share my advice for Brits visiting America. And stay tuned for part 2, in which I will do the same for Americans visiting Britain.

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[briangrogan]

Met Europeans at Yellowstone who thought the Grand Canyon was a day trip away. It's 3 western states away.

[raedwulf]

Some German friends were wanting to visit NYC and planned to drive down to Disneyworld for an afternoon of fun. I explained it was a 24-hour drive if one went non-stop. They were dumbfounded.

[LugborG]

A tip for visitors: if you do plan to drive, particularly in the more wooded/rural areas of the country, watch for deer, especially in the evening. They may look pretty and docile at first, but given half a chance, they WILL dive in front of your car. They are a menace.

On a related note, if you happen to be visiting a rural area in the fall/winter, you will hear gunshots. This is the sound of the local deer population becoming less of a hazard.

[ttrev]

Also note that not only can taxes be different between states but also local governments. Never assume you know what the taxes will be.

[nathanberrigan]

If you visit the Rockies, water boils at a lower temperature. Keep that in mind when making tea.

[heatherpayne]

I ran into a Scottish woman when I was on vacation a few weeks ago. I told her I drove my daughter back to college after her spring break. She asked if we had to drive a long time. I told her it was only a five hour drive.
She laughed. I wasn't joking.

[richarddexter]

Apparently, it's quite surprising to Brits to have an American simply walk up and talk to them without them first talking to you. My family was visiting Disney World a number of years ago and ran into a British family there on holiday near a set of restrooms. The family was discussing where to go next and trying to figure out how to get there from their current location; as luck would have it, we had just come from there, so I popped into their conversation and provided them with suitable directions. After finishing the conversation, the husband remarked that his friends at home had warned him that Americans would up and out of nowhere start talking to them, and he didn't believe it--only to discover much to his chagrin, that his friends were right. Still to this day, some nearly 20 years ago, the memory amuses me.

[fire]

That is so true. So many people don't know how big the USA really is. My friends in laws came in from Germany & wanted to see disneyland. Once we explained that it was a 2-3 day drive, the look on their face was priceless.

[thecocktailian]

"To the annoyance of cows" in regards to American tipping culture. Gold.

[AlleluiaElizabeth]

By “my team is making me do this”…. It’s the cat, right? It’s the cat.

[fubartotale]

Visiting all those areas in the U S. In a week is like "Ferris Buelers day off, Chicagoans know he could not possibly have done it all in one day.
We laughed and laughed!

[timbuktu]

On distance
My recommendation is to think of it this way:
Get into a car in London and drive to the Ural Mountains. On the way back swing by the pyramids and stop off for lunch at Gibraltar. That should give you some idea of the size of the U.S.

[alanthompson]

Don't forget that while many electrical items operate on both 110 and 240 VAC it is best to check for something that says "100 / 240 VAC 50/60 Hz" which should cover you. A friend brought an espresso machine back from Europe and while they corrected the voltage with a transformer, they missed the frequency difference that an AC motor designed for 50Hz will run faster - and likely fail sooner on 60Hz in the US. In some cases it's both voltage and frequency.

[crazycatdragon]

As someone who has worked at a fast food restaurant I’ll tell you that, no, we don’t expect anyone to tip but it is really nice because we too are struggling. I worked for two years at one only to find out months after I quit that there was a $5 difference between what I started out making and what everyone else hired after me was making and at the time that I quit I made $2 less than someone hired months after And also housekeeping in hotels also appreciate tips as we make even less than I did in fast food.

[BitsOfBen]

As a British person visiting the USA for the first time last year, going through security they asked me about my job and when I go back to work, how much money I have on myself. Also open a mondo or Chase UK bank account, these banks don’t charge overseas fees when you make transactions-also with a Chase UK bank account, if you use a Chase atm in the states with your Chase card, you won’t be charged for withdrawing money.

[GermansLikeBeer]

The only time I ever got formally denied entrance to a country by an immigration officer was when I first arrived in the UK to start my semester studying abroad (I'm American). Apparently he needed my physical letter of acceptance to the University, not just a digital copy, so he read me the whole spiel about how I am "hereby denied admission to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (or something like that). It was only after I was able to contact the admissions office and they could vouch for me that I was allowed to enter.

[faithcastillo]

As a North Carolinian, thanks for the shout-out for Asheville. It's a beautiful, eclectic mountain city, but, it's surrounded by lots of other equally beautiful smaller towns and cities.
My husband and I spent a number of years exploring the western mountains, finding places to pan for gold and gemstones, swimming holes, waterfalls, places to raft, places to camp and hike and fish, and places to get a great bottle of wine.
We began with the Blue Ridge Parkway and followed it down to Skyline Drive, and then the myriad side roads along the way.
Y'all come on down. It's a treat for the soul.

[nerfherder]

Ironically, in Portland (the weird one) the price on the tag IS actually what you pay because there is no sales tax.

[andrewwirch]

Even though I am neither a Troll nor an Upper, thanks for correctly pronouncing Mackinac Island correctly! You are truly becoming a Midwesterner.

[stog]

If you go to a park in the west, don’t try to pat the buffalo. They get cranky about it. You always hear about them stomping some Australian.