Regional Differences

[scrapquitler]

I have never heard of either??? We just bowl. No special name attached to it..
There are two types of bowling. If you don't know what the difference is, you probably are used to DUCK PIN bowling. You throw two large (10lb or more) balls to knock down the pins which are heavier and wider at the bottom than at the top. CANDLEPIN BOWLING uses pins which are skinnier (and the same at the top and the bottom) and you throw three smaller balls (with no holes in them) to knock down the pins in each frame. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlepin_bowling Here in New England, we have both types and most people have a favorite type. You better know which bowling alley you are going to before you go or you might be surprised when you get there


And I have never ever seen anyone with snow tires.

You must not need them because the snow removal there in MN is so superior. Studded snow tires are very common here in New England, but then again, we have a lot more hills than I ever remember seeing when we visited MN. We also get a lot of ice/sleet storms rather than just snow storms, and the studs help grip on the ice (and lots easier than putting chains on the tires). Given the hills we traverse in Vermont, snow tires are often a must.

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[Mrs.Toad]

I don't know, I am a SAHM mostly. I am sure people put frozen chicken in the oven and let it thaw and then bake or something like that. I know people that have timers on crockpots and do something similar. Even with making chicken, etc. it isn't like it takes 3 hours to bake a chicken breast. If you get home at 5:30 even, you can still have dinner on the table in 30 minutes .

Don't you take a few minutes to change clothes, give the kids a hug, let the dog out, etc? Even if the meal I prepare only takes 20 minutes, it's not going to be on the table 30 minutes after I walk in the door. Besides, pretty much no one gets home from work by 5:30 around here. Most people get home closer to 6:00 (my dh later than that) and eat sometime between 6:30 and 7:00.

There's "straw" like the kind that's used as bedding for animals... but one would think that the context would indicate which type someone is asking for. Ours say "drinking straws" on the box, but if you ask someone in a restaurant or grocery store for a straw, they will know what you mean.

Plus, like I said, who puts an "s" on the end of that kind of straw?

 

[mjkacmom]

I have never worked an hourly paid job where you get paid for your lunch break, and I've never heard of that. Maybe if someone was required to work while they ate, but that's not too common.


So in other parts of the country, a typical full-time worker really only works 35 hours but get paid for 40 ?

If you are paid by the hour, I guess you don't get paid for lunch. However, I'm in my 40's, and don't know anyone who isn't salaried. Most people here in corporate settings don't work exact hours, punching a time clock. You just get your job done. If it's a busy time, you put a lot of hours in.

 

[scrapquitler]

Apparently you didn't read this thread where all the eastcoasters have said they work 35 hours and get paid for 40???

Just because the official schedule is 35 hours and the pay is 40 hours doesn't mean that the actual work day doesn't last a LOT longer.

My husband routinely works 60+ hours a week, though he only gets paid for 40. Last night, he was on a conference call from midnight to 3:30 AM (with a client in India), and that was unpaid. But he still had to be online for his regular morning conference call at 8:30 this morning (their 'official' work hours are 9-6)


In my (union) job, 'full time' is considered 35 hours.

 

[golfgal]

Most salaried/professional people I know don't normally work 8 hours and get to leave at the same time every day. Does your dh just work 8 hours and leave?
My dh works for a company with offices in MN. He is on many late conference calls with them. So some people in MN are working late.

No, my DH is usually in the office by 6:00 am and leaves around 4:30. With his old job he worked usually from 6:00am to 7 PM, but we lived a mile away so he would by home no later than 7:15..

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I have never worked an hourly paid job where you get paid for your lunch break, and I've never heard of that. Maybe if someone was required to work while they ate, but that's not too common.


So in other parts of the country, a typical full-time worker really only works 35 hours but get paid for 40 ?

As I've posted, I am a hourly worker. I get paid for a 35 hour work week, not a 40. No one gets anything for free. If I am required to work overtime, I get straight time for the first 5 hours, then time and a half for anything after 40 hours. I work in a corporate/legal environment. The attorneys are salaried and probably work a minimum of 60-80 hours a week. No one cares about their lunch hours or their occasional early departures for personal reasons because they work until they are done, not punching a clock. I have a job, they have a career. I prefer my job, M-F, 9-5 and weekends off, never had to cancel a vacation. As I like to joke with them, they have sold their souls to the devil. Their time and their lives are no longer their own.

 

[tlbwriter]

Did you read my post? I referred to salaried workers, not hourly. Meaning professionals, or as another poster called them "suits". They get paid the same whether they work 40 or 80 hours a week.

Even salaried workers have standard hours. The standard hours on the east coast are apparently 9 to 5, which is 35 hours. That standard hours in many other parts of the U.S. are 8 to 5, which is 40 hours. Whether or not you actually work 40 or 80 hours, there are still those standard working hours.

 

[golfgal]

Quote: Scrapquilter--You must not need them because the snow removal there in MN is so superior. Studded snow tires are very common here in New England, but then again, we have a lot more hills than I ever remember seeing when we visited MN. We also get a lot of ice/sleet storms rather than just snow storms, and the studs help grip on the ice (and lots easier than putting chains on the tires). Given the hills we traverse in Vermont, snow tires are often a must.

Studded tires are illegal here and no, you don't need snow tires. If we get 2 feet of snow overnight, the roads are clear by noon or so the next day. We DO have superior snow removal here....

 

[snapppyd]

Apparently you didn't read this thread where all the eastcoasters have said they work 35 hours and get paid for 40???

We didn't get paid for 40 hours. Our lunch hour is unpaid. Actually we put in 40 hours but only get paid for 35 hours.

 

[snapppyd]

Apparently you didn't read this thread where all the eastcoasters have said they work 35 hours and get paid for 40???

I don't mean to be rude, but did you read everything? You keep using the word "all". Not "all" east coasters said the same thing.

 

[scrapquitler]

Quote: Scrapquilter--You must not need them because the snow removal there in MN is so superior. Studded snow tires are very common here in New England, but then again, we have a lot more hills than I ever remember seeing when we visited MN. We also get a lot of ice/sleet storms rather than just snow storms, and the studs help grip on the ice (and lots easier than putting chains on the tires). Given the hills we traverse in Vermont, snow tires are often a must.

Studded tires are illegal here and no, you don't need snow tires. If we get 2 feet of snow overnight, the roads are clear by noon or so the next day. We DO have superior snow removal here....

Are they able to get rid of an inch of solid ice by noon, too? Because in Vermont, we get that. No fun driving uphill on solid ice.

 

[Becky2005]

What other kinds of straws are there?

--besides the threshed grain used as bedding and food for animals "straw", but who ever puts an "s" on the end of that? Watch, now someone will tell me in their area, they do.

THAT is exactly what they thought we were looking for! I was so baffled because although I know it's called "straw" -- we usually say "hay" for that stuff & really wouldn't have needed it at all at a lake in the middle of summer! In a way it was funny because we were really dumbfounded with trying to figure out what type of straw they were thinking we were looking for when they were just as baffled as to what we were meaning. I think we finally said something about "the kind you drink out of " and got the "OHHHH...you mean drinking straws" type of thing.

And my mom grew up in Southern Illinois so I know some of my words have a southern twist and I have aunts that you would think were farther south than IL but I never ran into problems finding straws before (plus it was basically a type of grocery store so you would think even if they thought we meant the kind for animals they could have said "the only kind of straws we have are drinking straws over there" or something like that).

 

[Liberty Belle]

Not only is it drinking straws around here, but also ink pens. That one drives me crazy. Only they pronounce it "ink pins."

When I moved from Michigan to Kentucky (with a one year stop over in Ohio) when I was 13, it was like moving to a foreign country. I couldn't understand much of what people were saying for a while.

In Michigan things were very casual. Hair/makeup/clothing - all very casual and sporty. People dress up more here, have their hair done more, and in general wear more make up.

The differences that surprise me the most from the Dis are weddings. How do lower to middle income people afford to get married or to attend weddings on the eascoast? What do they do?!

I also didn't know that many other places could choose which public school to send their children to. Here, we're assigned one and that's the one we have to go to (other than magnet schools, but it's a lottery with them).

Not so much here on the Dis, but I've noticed from watching HGtv that home decor is very different in a lot of areas around New York and New Jersey. Lots of "fancy" brass/glass/ribbons, etc. To my eye, that's not pleasant at all. I'm sure they'd think my home and style were very plain, though.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am not seeing how the conclusion is being drawn that full time work is actually part time or that there is somehow a bad work ethic involved! People have said that in most places their lunch breaks are required by law, that usually they're unpaid, and that those who have them, if they only work 8 hrs/day, are only paid for 35 hrs/week or salaried. Others work a 9 hr day.

As to commuting times and crockpots, to me that's really funny. I work 12 hr shifts that generally go more toward the 13th hour (with an unpaid 30 mins thrown in for good measure). My commute at best is 60 minutes, but often longer (as my father used to say, in Boston we're squeezing traffic onto old cow paths, so the going is s l o w !) Throwing in my hour prep time for work, it's at minimum a 15 to 15 1/2 hr day for me by the time I get home, and often I have to be back again just 10 hrs later (including prep and commute times). Granted, I work less days per week, but on those days, unless I've been super prepared ahead of time by shopping and planning, and DH's day has been such that he can be home on time to cook, it very well might be something super easy (which I get is subjective; I enjoy cooking and even cleaning as well but when my minutes between shifts are at a premium, my sleep/rest time takes precedence).

Forgot to add, both my DH and I have held jobs since we were ~ 12-13 yrs old, and we both grew up in cities where this was the norm. Our children both have jobs at 13 as we did (even though they've never lived in the city, it's something we value) so I'd say our work ethic here is alive and well.

 

[Magpie]

Gosh... I've only read the first and last pages of this thread and I've already learned something new!

In our Canadian town, studded tires and chains are banned because they tear up the road (and salt and ice already do a fine job of that without our help). But snow tires in the winter are an absolute must, along with non-freezing windshield washer fluid - you're taking your life into your hands if you don't winterize your car.

We have excellent snow removal, but when you get 30 to 40 cm of snow in a 24 hour period, sometimes it takes a while for them to get around to your neighbourhood.

As for other things I never knew...

1. Some people leave their shoes on IN the house!

2. They think it's funny to shove cake in the birthday child's face.

3. It's legal for teachers in many states to spank their students.

4. Some parents spank their teenagers and young adults!

5. Ice Tea is served without sugar in the Southern US.

 

[golfgal]

Are they able to get rid of an inch of solid ice by noon, too? Because in Vermont, we get that. No fun driving uphill on solid ice.

On the road, usually--salt and sand take care of it but ice storms here are rare and no, we don't have mountains either, plenty of hills but not mountain sized hills. Again, when it is snowing, anything over 2", DOT is out clearing emergency routes all through the storm, they will have at least one plow for each lane on any of the highways and freeways and plow continuously through a storm so those roads are clear almost immediately. Each town has their own equipment and takes however long to plow roads. Some alleys might not get plowed right away but roads are clear within hours.

This is what it usually looks like on a multi-lane road here during a storm:

We have had ONE snow day here in 6 years...

 

[scrapquitler]

On the road, usually--salt and sand take care of it but ice storms here are rare and no, we don't have mountains either, plenty of hills but not mountain sized hills.

Well there ya go, the ICE is the big difference we have here, not the snow. Sure, snow isn't a big deal here either, its all the darn ice and sleet we get, and the mountains.

 

[golfgal]

Well there ya go, the ICE is the big difference we have here, not the snow. Sure, snow isn't a big deal here either, its all the darn ice and sleet we get, and the mountains.

I agree, I will take 4 feet of snow over 1/4" if ice any day. Even with snow tires, driving on ice is not good. The last "big" ice storm here was in 1996 . I think they got something like 3" of rain that froze. We were in South Dakota that year and got nothing (it was in the 60's when the Twin Cities was getting that ice storm). There were still patches of ice in late April that year. It was just crazy. If we get ice over night it is usually melted when the sun comes up because it is right around freezing. It just isn't that common here because if we get that much moisture, the temps end up in the 40's. But then again, your comment was about SNOW removal, not ice....

 

[tlbwriter]

Not only is it drinking straws around here, but also ink pens. That one drives me crazy. Only they pronounce it "ink pins."

That one has never made sense to me. "Do you have an ink pen I can borrow?" Um, no, sorry, but I have one filled with blood. Will a blood pen work? That and "tuna fish." As opposed to "tuna cow" or "tuna chicken?" Do the people who eat "tuna fish" ever eat "salmon fish?"

 

[Becky2005]

Not only is it drinking straws around here, but also ink pens. That one drives me crazy. Only they pronounce it "ink pins."

The differences that surprise me the most from the Dis are weddings. How do lower to middle income people afford to get married or to attend weddings on the eascoast? What do they do?!

See, now my mom says "pen" but my aunts say "pin" and the "creek" vs. "crick" thing but the drinking straw threw me for a loop obviously enough to make an impression! I was 18 years old when it happened. I'm *cough* a few years *cough* older than that now and I remember it as plain as day.

AND I can tell you how those on the east coast get married. My niece did over a year ago in CT and trust me it was definitely nothing expensive - it was probably more like a small Illinois wedding than anything else. No one said anything that I'm aware of to my sister. My niece got married in a a very nice park, had the reception in the pavilion that was there & basically my sister made lasagna and had lots of deli trays to make sandwiches with along with a nice cake. Dancing consisted of a boom box with CD's they made. I do believe gifts were brought to the wedding but I could be wrong. I didn't bring anything because we were coming out to CT from IL so basically showing up was the gift (actually I think we did a group gift that my mom coordinated) & my DD & my other niece were the attendants in the wedding. My sister did pay for the dresses (which is NOT normally done).