Going to US for a Year, What State?

Off Topic
41

[quote]florin wrote:

As a rule of thumb, just stay away from the middle of the continent and keep the oceans nearby.[/quote]

Oh, boo to that! The nicest people in the US are in the middle of the country and in the south. They just live a different way from the cali natives. Sheesh. It’ll take getting used to no matter where you go. Bottom line, you’ll run into things that you don’t agree with and think are stupid in every single state and every single university/high school.

You’re here for the experience, so you might as well step farther out of your comfort zone than you would otherwise do. Also, be sure to travel around the different states as much as you can. Every state has a different feel and unique culture. Even in the middle of the country.

42

[quote]florin wrote:
Oh yeah, something important:

Those Speedo’s that you wear at the swimming pool? (assuming you don’t normally go to the nudist beach)

Forget about it. Don’t even bring those things here. You’ll have to purchase the local version if you wanna go swimming. They look like some sort of soccer shorts. This is not a joke.

It will feel funny for a while, but then you’ll get used to wearing soccer shorts at the swimming pool.[/quote]

+1 to that.

Also, to the OP–you get major bonus points for liking American football over soccer. :slight_smile: NTTAWW soccer. I enjoy it on occasion. But nothing close to the craziness college football season stirs up.

43

We hosted a Frecnh exchange student when I was younger, a pretty hot chick named Sophie. She was 16…

Unfortunately I was 12 or 13, so that is as far as the story goes.

44

[quote]florin wrote:
Guys, the dude’s from Norway, Europe - to them, Madison WI is not “left-wing liberal” but quite on the center. And you’re telling him to go to Texas? lol

Tx5000 wrote:
I want to be in a state with an ok clima, and where people generally are nice people, and not super religious fanatics either.

You being from Norway, the weather anywhere in the States will seem nice and warm.

Madison, Wisconsin is a very liberal place. Great university too.

Beware of Texas if you don’t like the more conservative side of the american culture. There are nice places over there, but there are also places you may not like.

California, especially the San Francisco Bay Area (anywhere around the Bay - Berkeley, Stanford, etc.) would be a place you will fall in love with. Don’t go there, you wouldn’t want to leave.

Portland, Oregon would be nice too, but it rains a lot.

As a rule of thumb, just stay away from the middle of the continent and keep the oceans nearby.[/quote]

“Beware of Texas if you don’t like the more conservative side of the american culture. There are nice places over there, but there are also places you may not like.”

Avoiding rural areas is a good rule of thumb regardless of the region. Other than that, urban areas are largely the same. Hell, using homosexuality and tolerance and a “liberal thermometer”, Austin, Texas is home to more gays per capita than San Francisco.

At any city in the state you can go clubbing, hit the bars, visit hookah bars etc, bring girls home just as easy as you can in cali or new york. Our weed is just as good too, we border Mexico and MTV makes S. Padre it’s spring break hot spot.

In the rural areas you run in to bible belt issues, but I’ve found that to be the case anywhere and largely ignorable.

45

[quote]Aragorn wrote:

Oh, boo to that! The nicest people in the US are in the middle of the country and in the south. They just live a different way from the cali natives. Sheesh. It’ll take getting used to no matter where you go. Bottom line, you’ll run into things that you don’t agree with and think are stupid in every single state and every single university/high school.

You’re here for the experience, so you might as well step farther out of your comfort zone than you would otherwise do. Also, be sure to travel around the different states as much as you can. Every state has a different feel and unique culture. Even in the middle of the country. [/quote]

Very true. Rural people, the right-wing, politically backwards types are usually a lot warmer and more humane in person, whereas the sophisticated, left-wing, politically enlightened types are usually colder and more standoffish in person.

However, the problem with small towns is there is absolutely nothing to do, so young people usually just get drink and high all the time. You can get drunk and high at home, and you probably don’t want to spend your year stuck in one place with a narrow group of people.

For a small town high school we had a lot of exchange students, and my parents even took one in while I was in college. At first they are always in love with the US, they talk about how great everything is, then after they’ve been here a few weeks, they start talking about how stupid everything is and pointing out all of the problems with this country. Don’t be like that.

46

[quote]Tx5000 wrote:

I really want to live in a state where there are beaches, and good climate.[/quote]

If those are the criteria, then something in the Mid-Atlantic region may be what you’re looking for. New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. The seasons change, but not as bad as the states to the north and south. The political climate gets more conservative the further south you go.

47

[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
…
There’s an indescribable electricity in the air, all over campus, every single day, all semester long. Every Saturday is like a holiday, with the entire student body holding its breath up until game-time; then all hell breaks loose for three hours in the stadium. The smoke clears, you see what every other team did around the nation, you see where you stack up, you catch your breath, and start revving up for next week.
…[/quote]

And then the week before you beat the piss out of those f*(!sticks from Austin, you lose to motherF@!ng to Colorado on a last-f%&ing second goddamn FG to lose to a f*&!ing team that won two f*&@ing games last season!!

After you had a twenty-f*(!ing-four to f*(!ing seven lead in the third goddamn qtr!!

[i]FUCK!!![/i]

lol, as fun as it is when you’re riding high, college football fucking sucks when you take it on the chin. I hate Colorado.

48

[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
For a small town high school we had a lot of exchange students, and my parents even took one in while I was in college. At first they are always in love with the US, they talk about how great everything is, then after they’ve been here a few weeks, they start talking about how stupid everything is and pointing out all of the problems with this country. Don’t be like that.[/quote]

+1

50

[quote]tGunslinger wrote:
And then the week before you beat the piss out of those f*(!sticks from Austin, you lose to motherF@!ng to Colorado on a last-f%&ing second goddamn FG to lose to a f*&!ing team that won two f*&@ing games last season!!

After you had a twenty-f*(!ing-four to f*(!ing seven lead in the third goddamn qtr!!

[i]FUCK!!![/i]

quote]

HA HA!!!

51

Don’t come to Michigan. They are shutting down the government here on Monday.

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[quote]skaz05 wrote:
Don’t come to Michigan. They are shutting down the government here on Monday.[/quote]

Besides the fact of our shitty state government here in Mich, it is a great state, yeah were 11th on the obese list and high on the unemployment rate, but these can be overlooked for the beauty of the state.

There are lake, and forest all over, tons of outdoor activities to do, from kite boarding in the summer on the big lakes, to snow boarding, snowmobiling in the winter, lots of fishing, hunting, and camping.

Were not Texas when it comes to football, but everyone loves High School football, baseball, soccer, basketball. We are one of the top five states for HS sports in the country.

53

Wow, thanks for all the replies!
Well, haven chosen any state yet, the deadline is on Tuesday, so i need to decide tomorrow :confused:

Well, hope i get a good school and family, a girl i know went last year, and she got to a family in Georgia where she wasn’t allowed to talk to black people, thats fucking stupid.

Oh, and by the way, is there a 21 age limit for Alcohol in all states? Not that im gonna drink much, but its good to know :slight_smile:

54

Yes, all states have age limit of 21 to drink.

In a lot of southern states prejudice can be a big problem in some areas, but then again it can happen any where in U.S. The larger the melting pot of cultures the less of a problem that racism can be.

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[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:

Very true. Rural people, the right-wing, politically backwards types are usually a lot warmer and more humane in person, whereas the sophisticated, left-wing, politically enlightened types are usually colder and more standoffish in person. [/quote]

You know, I find this very irritating. I rather dislike the insinuation that people that aren’t left-wing are dumber or more backwards than those leftist idealists. I’ve met just as many…hell, I’ve met MORE ultra left wing idiots than I have ultra right wing idiots. That’s very irritating condescension.

There are morons in BOTH political extremes. Please try a little harder to at least appear respectful of those that choose to vote and think differently from you. They’re not nearly as bad as you would think from that pedestal you’re on. (btw, this kind of talk is why I stay as far from the politics forum as possible). Also, I hate both extremes. That is all.

[quote]
However, the problem with small towns is there is absolutely nothing to do, so young people usually just get drink and high all the time. You can get drunk and high at home, and you probably don’t want to spend your year stuck in one place with a narrow group of people. [/quote]

I wasn’t suggesting he find a small town at all. I think a big city, or at least the suburbs of a big city, is a good place to go. There’s more to do. I was simply saying that there’s no reason to ignore the middle of the whole damn country because there’s some things there he might not agree with or might find irritating. He’ll find that everywhere.

I suppose the implication I was making is that I prefer, all things considered, the hospitality and kindness of midwestern people and I think he should pick his state based on the quality of people there, leaving politics aside.

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You know that sucks a lot. As far as my personal experience goes with the south, I have yet to see any racism there. I know it exists, but my experiences there have led me to think that the girl you know had a freak occurance. Just try your best not to let it color your opinion of a great region and state.

And yes, the drinking age is 21+ because the government considers the responsibility of drinking alcohol to be more dangerous than that of dying for your country or selecting its next leader. /rant.

57

[quote]ashos wrote:
Yes, all states have age limit of 21 to drink.

In a lot of southern states prejudice can be a big problem in some areas, but then again it can happen any where in U.S. The larger the melting pot of cultures the less of a problem that racism can be.[/quote]

There’s racism everywhere in the world, not just the U.S., and not just the U.S. South.

The only difference between the North and South is that racists in the South wear it on their sleeve and make no attempt to hide what they are. Racists in the North try to hide it, and pretend that they’re not racist.

Just my opinion, but racism in the U.S. Northeast is a lot more insidious because you can’t ignore it nearly as easily as you can in the South.

58

[quote]ashos wrote:
skaz05 wrote:
Don’t come to Michigan. They are shutting down the government here on Monday.

Besides the fact of our shitty state government here in Mich, it is a great state, yeah were 11th on the obese list and high on the unemployment rate, but these can be overlooked for the beauty of the state.

There are lake, and forest all over, tons of outdoor activities to do, from kite boarding in the summer on the big lakes, to snow boarding, snowmobiling in the winter, lots of fishing, hunting, and camping.

Were not Texas when it comes to football, but everyone loves High School football, baseball, soccer, basketball. We are one of the top five states for HS sports in the country.
[/quote]

We’re not shutting down the government man… people need to realize that Jenny from the Bloc (Granholm) and Bishop are just taking a break from the whole state governement thing… who needs a governement/economy anyway… governement/economies are for tools

59

If you will have a car, CA - if not, DC or NY(C)

60

[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
Very true. Rural people, the right-wing, politically backwards types are usually a lot warmer and more humane in person, whereas the sophisticated, left-wing, politically enlightened types are usually colder and more standoffish in person.
[/quote]

This is entirely WRONG! It is the leftists who will be the first to try and force their political agenda down your throat. These are the people who genuinely think it is their duty to change your way of thinking.