Sat writing this on 3rd September, it is funny to comprehend that I have now been in the USA for over a month. I suppose, unsurprisingly, that time continues to pass at the disconcerting pace which I had experienced back in the UK. Other things have continued too – not least my inability to find the time to (metaphorically) put pen to paper and write.
Breaking bad (habits)
More time for writing, like many other things, was a good habit I hoped to get into as part of my new life in Washington DC. Early days still, but I have failed in the month ‘til now. I guess I have been busy.
Moving abroad has literally been like starting life again. Finding, renting and then furnishing an apartment from scratch. A wonderful opportunity in many ways – how many times do you get to start again? There are some elements of continuity – the Amazon Echo, the decent-sized telly, a robotic vacuum cleaner (very much a necessity), a plethora of lamps, etc. But then there is the chance to do some things new – a darker colour scheme to match the 1938 Art Deco apartment.
One of the challenges with starting from scratch is realising just how many things you need! Everything from bath sponges to draining boards, coasters to lightbulbs, tissues to plug adapters.
Beyond the house, there is all the other life admin – opening bank accounts, getting a social security number, arranging broadband, etc. Even switching my accounts from the UK to the USA; then realising that there are different apps available in both countries just to add to the complexity.
The different apps are just the tip of the iceberg which is the myriad of differences between the UK and the USA. I have often been reminded of the title of Jon Sopel’s book: If Only They Didn’t Speak English. I cannot remember the last time I wrote a cheque in the UK and receiving one, also a rare occasion, was always a pain save for the ability to pay in using the Barclays app. Even the spelling of cheque is different here and they are much bigger fans of checks!
Banking has probably been the most baffling of differences. Not only are checks still a thing, the chip and pin device doesn’t seem to be used to its full potential. Inserting your card and typing in the pin, only to then still need to sign a piece of paper seems utterly bizarre. All of these things pale in insignificance compared to the challenge of getting the bank to actually record your residency and tax status properly. I think I’ve made five different trips to the bank so far. Hopefully that’ll be all for now.
So maybe not finding the time to write isn’t too surprising.
Camp
Not content with bringing us into work from the 8th August (the first time I’ve worked in August since 2010), school literally decamps to camp in the second full week of term (not even sure if the pun is intended there). Once I’d acclimatised to the rural surroundings, it was a really pleasant experience. The Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, which I obviously only saw a snapshot of, is as stunning as people say. I have been told that there is a lot more to see, not least the views and stop-offs along the Skyline Drive. One for the bucket list before I leave the US.
Also on the bucket list is the various presidential properties around DC. I’m hopefully going to George Washington’s Mount Vernon tomorrow. Having done John Adams’ homes around Boston, this will be the second of the Founding Fathers I get to pay homage to. Jefferson’s Monticello is also on the list for a future trip.
In the city, I’ve started to scratch the surface of the Smithsonian. Or rather, one of the Smithsonians. Even then I only managed parts of two floors. There was a really interesting exhibition looking at American government and democracy, much of which I was familiar with but the displays brought it alive, especially the various examples of protest signs. The other exhibition, which was a little hit and miss, was all about American food. Some good geographical links and some startling statistics about consumption habits. Not bad to have world class museums down the road.
In contrast to the world class museums are DC’s sports teams. So far I’ve made it to the football (sorry, soccer) and the baseball. DC United of course has Wayne Rooney as their manager. It doesn’t look like Rooney has sorted their defence out and this is probably the main reason they sit at the bottom of the MLS. Despite the lack of quality on the pitch, the atmosphere in the stands was brilliant, not least because of the passion and noise led by the Latino fans in the standing section of the so-called ‘Chico Stand’.
Sadly my visits to DC’s sports teams may well be a curse. As having seen DC thrashed 6-0, my visit to the Nationals saw them lose 10-6 (although they did win the next two games). The relatively new ballpark was really impressive (as was Audi Field in fairness) and the free Hawaiian shirt made up for the lack of scoring from DC. Watching live sport also comes with the common theme of exorbitant costs. Life in DC is not cheap, as shown by the cost of a soda at the stadiums – $11!! Reliable yes, but a challenge to get your money’s worth if you don’t want to miss chunks of the game with bathroom visits. Maybe I was just spoilt by the excellent value of watching Warrington Town; definitely one of the things I’m missing!
The Value of Everything
I was speaking to my school’s principal while on camp. I asked where the money was going given that everything was so expensive. It didn’t necessarily seem to be going to workers. Apparently it is just going to the corporations and the bosses. This didn’t come as any great surprise. It does make me wonder why there is such a sharp contrast to the UK though. Some examples:
- My mobile phone contract in the UK was £10. Here a similar level of service comes to $30.
- A pint of reasonable beer in the UK would probably be £4-5, with some geographic variation. In DC you’re looking at $7-8 and that’s not for a pint. Luckily they do like their happy hours, which might bring it down to $5-6.
- There is no such thing as a meal deal! A sandwich, crisps and a drink would probably cost you $10.
I appreciate that DC is one of the most expensive places in the USA to live. It’s also still part of my mental model to mentally convert prices back into pounds, like I would as a tourist. The recent convergence of the dollar and the pound probably makes things seem more expensive than previous trips to the US. Even without the mental conversation though, the cost of living is a bit of a shock to the system and it certainly puts my salary into a context which wouldn’t have been possible to truly appreciate before moving here. All that said, it’s part of the experience and, as with many of the other differences I’ve mentioned, there is a period of adjustment to go through.
One month in, lots of adjustments made and many more still to make. I think I’ve surprised myself with how smoothly it’s gone and I hope this is a theme which will continue. I also hope that, having found some time to write this – and enjoyed doing so – that I can maybe keep this new habit up. So maybe there’ll be more next time, watch this space.
Commonplace 