Just moved from Canada to the U.S. and have major culture shock!!
By boncie1
@boncie1 (24)
United States
April 7, 2011 1:33pm CST
Im from Vancouver, which is a good size metropolitan area, and I have Washington, which honestly is only a half hour drive to get to the border. Amazingly, even though they are so close together...they REALLY are different.
One thing that gets me is the food. The food is different. I'm used to 24 hr Pho and chinese food restaurants , late night all you can eat sushi and bubble tea cafes.
Here I find a TON of mexican food- which is good too but not really for me, Asian "bistros" which is americanized chinese food-REALLY not my thing! The two saddest things for me: I have not found any 24 hour cafes and or even a bubble tea cafe, that serves hotpot or things like that.
All the cafes here are Starbucks or mini Starbucks wannabees.
Another thing...Vancouver was called rain city...umm no. Seattle does not stop raining! It rains so much here... I have finally found a place that rains more than my hometown...
HOWEVER!!! There are many good things too... for example.. I can not believe how cheap it is here! The gas and groceries are so cheap! Also if you go to fastfood place the servings are bigger...more value for your buck. The drink sizes here are that the medium was our large back home, and the large here doesnt even exist over there!
Also it is more calm here. People are more conservative...if thats what you like.
Since being here I started dressing more conservatively...shorts awith high-heeled boots here are not as common as in Vancouver. Its not so party-crazy either, so I am a little bit proud of myself for becoming a bit more conservative...not too much though!
Does anyone else have any experiences from moving to a different place?
3 people like this
8 responses
@jennyze (7028)
• Indonesia
8 Apr 11
I experienced similar when moving from my home town, a small town in East Java, Indonesia to Denpasar the capital city of Bali, Indonesia.
The foods here in Bali are full of spices and hot. Back in Java, the food are sweeter in taste and a lot cheaper than the food in Bali.
The costumes, I can go around a mall in a tank top, short pants, and sandal. But in Java, people will look at me as though I am a kind of a hooker if I wear a tank top and short pants, mostly being too many Muslim there.
@ptower76 (1616)
• United States
7 Apr 11
Culture shock is normal even within the same country. Growing up in a rural environment then moving to an urban one is quite challenging. I grew up in New York City and as an adult visited the country where my parents were born both part of the United States and it was like visiting another planet. I on the other hand could not believe how expensive prices were there. Wish you luck adjusting.
@GardenGerty (160883)
• United States
8 Apr 11
HI, boncie. I have not had quite that experience. I live in a small town in the middle of Kansas, so it is basically the middle of the US. I am surprised that you find Seattle more conservative. I have visited Seattle. I found it vibrant and alive, and very cosmopolitan, but then I again, I am a hick from the sticks, and basically I like it that way. I am going to have to do a search on bubble tea, because I am clueless as to what it is. I know we do not have it here. Welcome to both the States, and to MyLot as well.
@boncie1 (24)
• United States
8 Apr 11
Thanks for the welcome! I guess I am just used to the city I am from because it is home. You should try fresh fruit bubble tea. Not the powdery kind. Its really good. The difference with these types of cafes is that they serve really good deserts like crepes and waffles also other crazy foods like shaved ice and hotpot instead of muffins and cookies.
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
8 Apr 11
I live and farm in Canada in the summer, and spend the winter vacation in McAllen Texas, near the border with Mexico.Its over 2000 miles from Ontario Canada, and its a 4 day drive to get there. South Texas is a wonderful place to spend the winter, as it seldom freezes and we go swimming and bike riding most days. Groceries are cheaper, and green vegetables are harvested all winter. We ate locally grown strawberries in January, and had fresh Grapefruit from our own tree in the back Yard. Many residents of the area are Spanish speaking of Mexican decent.
@Christoph56 (1504)
• Canada
30 May 11
Greetings to you from another Vancouverite!
Some good friends of mine live down in Seattle, so I go to visit them every once in a while, and there are a bunch of similarities, but loads of differences, too... one I noticed was the transit in Seattle, it is so much more difficult to get around without a car! Where's the skytrain? For food, I was surprised to not find pizza everywhere, like Vancouver, but the coffee shops, I have to give Seattle credit, for. Yeah, they have loads of starbucks, and other places like starbucks, but thats because Seattle is the home of Starbucks, the original one is down by Pike Place. The coffee is so big there, though, that they have loads of hidden, unknown, incredible little places all around. I always buy bags of coffee beans when I'm down in Seattle. The big servings at the fast food places were kinda a bother to me.. I'm already watching what I eat like crazy, so just the sight of a Jack in the Box meal... whoa!
Hope you're enjoying being down in Seattle, all of Vancouver says hi!
@boncie1 (24)
• United States
8 Jun 11
Thanks for your comment! Yes i am now in the process of trying to eliminate Jack in the box from my diet and start running!! I have tried the transit system and It is a lot of work compared to Translink. I have heard that we are expecting to get a skytrain soon, so that is good news! You actually do NEED a car here to get around! Getting used to this city, but still really really miss Vancouver!
@doubledawn (69)
• Canada
7 Apr 11
Absolutely! I am from Ontario, and grew up around Georgian Bay. Even moving to the GTA I was most shocked by two things. I the price of everything was higher, which is surprising since most of it is shipped from Toronto and 2. there is a lack of social protocol. Where I grew up in rural area, you got attitude if someone held the door open and you didn't say thank you. God forbid you cut someone off or don't let them out into traffic. It's just not done that way in my hometown. It's all about waiting your turn and holding doors open or giving a kid at the corner store the extra 20 cents they need for a chocolate bar. NOT so in the GTA. Forget being let into traffic, and when you do something nice like hold a door, people get offended or scared that you must be up to something.
Culture shock is everywhere I think. Hope you enjoy your new home!
@boncie1 (24)
• United States
7 Apr 11
I hate traffic in bigger cities! People can be so rude! Another thing I do miss is knowing where everything is and being a "regular" somewhere and knowing the people atound you.
@dreamy1 (3811)
• United States
11 Apr 11
I miss pho too. I used to live in Hawaii and that was the first place I had it. There are Vietnamese restaurants where I live but for some reason they don't have pho. I also love hotpot. I also lived in Taiwan and that was the first place I had hot pot. They have some hotpot places in the city but I hate going into the city so I haven't had hotpot since I left Taiwan a few years ago. Oh yeah and bubble tea. They had a lot of bubble tea places in Hawaii. They have one in the mall where I am but they are too expensive so I don't go there. The last time I had bubble tea was in NYC when I went there in September.
@Arkine (216)
• United States
8 Apr 11
First off, let me say, welcome to the US. As for the chinese restuarants, heck, I've never seen one that was open 24-hours a day. Interesting.
I noticed some of the other folks that have posted have experienced culture shock moving from one city to another, or from city to country side. I had that experience. I moved from a city to a town of 250 people. Huge shock. It took us years to "fit in", and we still don't, its just that everyone has learned to accept us. ~L~
If you can't find a 24-hour Chinese restuarant, consider starting one (if you can) new business is always a good thing. :)
