Strange things you're not used to

[Nessa 23]

you can't buy a wine in sunday.

yeah, like that will stop people from drinking it whenever they want. That's not any weirder than not having a huge alcohol selection available at every supermarket and having to go grocery shopping in one place and liquor shopping in another

they can be bought in pretty much any other kind of store, convenience stores, grocery stores, Costco, Sam's Club, gas station, yadda yadda yadda...just not in drug stores. Or bars and restaurants. Cuz you can't smoke in bars or restaurants anymore. Not that I care, I quit before I moved down here. Don't like American cigarattes

I was like about buying cigarettes in a pharmacy too, but i guess it makes sense. They have available the product that will help make you unhealthy and then have available products to treat you. In Brazil you can buy pretty much everywhere, bars, convenience stores, grocery stores, gas station, etc, but not pharmacies.

- Being able to use someone else's credit card

ditto. Makes it easier for criminals.

- Round door handles - took me a while to figure them out not that I completely have yet

haha, same here. Back in BR you use keys to lock the door from the inside.

- The so far out in the future expiration date on milk

I think it's the opposite. I have a hard time with food expiring so fast.

Edited March 4, 2008 by Nessa

[Dr. Obvious 49]

- 2 year cell phone contracts.....what the phone and my plan isn't outragiously expensive enough as it is???!

I don't think that is anything unique to the US. In Germany, all of our contracts were 2 year.

Luckily, there are pre-paid services. We both have GoPhones from AT&T. Both our phones we got for free from Freecycle and the service costs between $30-$60 dollars for both phones every 3 months depending on useage. No contracts, no money wasted on service we didn't use, no real problems overall. Love it

- Sales taxes.....lord jesus and then some

Denmark has no VAT?

[tom&tata 2]

they can be bought in pretty much any other kind of store, convenience stores, grocery stores, Costco, Sam's Club, gas station, yadda yadda yadda...just not in drug stores. Or bars and restaurants. Cuz you can't smoke in bars or restaurants anymore. Not that I care, I quit before I moved down here. Don't like American cigarattes

Yeah, come to think of it I never seen drug store selling cigarettes before. I do not smoke so I do not pay attention. But I think it's kinda odd for me.

[The Robinsons 0]

- 2 year cell phone contracts.....what the phone and my plan isn't outragiously expensive enough as it is???!

I don't think that is anything unique to the US. In Germany, all of our contracts were 2 year.

Luckily, there are pre-paid services. We both have GoPhones from AT&T. Both our phones we got for free from Freecycle and the service costs between $30-$60 dollars for both phones every 3 months depending on useage. No contracts, no money wasted on service we didn't use, no real problems overall. Love it

- Sales taxes.....lord jesus and then some

Denmark has no VAT?

In Denmark if you buy a phone with a plan you get it for next to nothing and the plans are ALOT cheaper, so is prepaid. And the contracts are only for 6 months and after that it's month to month.

As for sales tax. Of course Denmark has them and it's not that I mind them at all. What gets me is that they're not included in the price. At home the price displayed is the price you pay.

[Reba 2]

- Chocolate.....it just doesn't taste right. Not like the Rittersport and Marabou I get sent from back home

- The wonderland that is over the counter drugs

I miss Rittersport too. I saw it somewhere recently though, and I can't think of where.

If you think over the counter is a wonderland here, you should go to Canada. They're right off the shelf there! And even better ones!

[Dr. Obvious 49]

In Denmark if you buy a phone with a plan you get it for next to nothing and the plans are ALOT cheaper, so is prepaid. And the contracts are only for 6 months and after that it's month to month.

As for sales tax. Of course Denmark has them and it's not that I mind them at all. What gets me is that they're not included in the price. At home the price displayed is the price you pay.

Interesting about cell phones in Denmark. At any rate though, there are still plenty of options here that don't involve selling your soul for two years.

I guess that sales taxes can't be included because every state has a different taxation scheme and in some places there are also local sales taxes on top of that. Each state has their own rules on what is subject to what tax if any. If it were all the same nationwide, I assume taxes would be included. Sales tax is annoying. I think I was confused by what you meant by what you said at first, complaining about the amount instead of the inconvenience. Sorry about that.

Denmark is a nice place to visit. I think the only thing I didn't like was that one hot summer day, I got something small to drink. After drinking it, I realized how much I paid for it converting it back to dollars and considered passing out. Gorgeous country though. I particularly liked Roskilde. /rambling

[Krikit 1,166]

Denmark is a nice place to visit. I think the only thing I didn't like was that one hot summer day, I got something small to drink. After drinking it, I realized how much I paid for it converting it back to dollars and considered passing out. Gorgeous country though. I particularly liked Roskilde. /rambling

I looooooooove Denmark. It's so clean and cosmopolitan. And the cuisine is to DIE for.

Edited March 5, 2008 by Crikey!

[Krikit 1,166]

Panhandlers at intersections, who appear to work in teams.... usually with one or two others hidden, or at opposing corners.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

-The obscene number of telemarketers! Thank heavens for the No-call list!

-mailboxes on the street instead of the slot through the door - and mail carriers in cars only, not walking (may just be here, don't know)

-no bulk food - anywhere! Have to buy in pre-selected, pre-packaged sizes

-high price for produce and lack of in-season local produce in grocery stores

-notary publics in Customer Service centers at grocery stores and at UPS stores

-bag boys that put only one or two items into a grocery bag so you end up with 20 bags instead of 6!

-number of pharmacies - one or two on virtually every corner it seems like

-number of churches and where they are - in shopping malls, industrial centers, street corners, houses, 4 or 5 churches across the road from each other all of them different and so many of them 'megachurches' . . . almost as many pages of churches listed in the yellow pages as doctors or lawyers - with weird exotic names. "St. Pauls" or "****Methodist Church aren't good enough anymore - it has to be Salvation Cathedral of Praise, God's First Breakthrough Ministry, Shield of Faith Christian Assembly, Bread of Life Church, Light of the World Church, Anointed Wounds of Faith, etc. (all taken from our local phone book . . .)

-'illegal' day workers gathered in parking lots waiting for a day's work from a drive-by employer

-election signs - everywhere, all of the time, obscuring street corners and roadways (there is always an election for something or other going on!- no wonder people get saturated and don't bother to vote anymore)

-higher percentage of overweight and obese people

[Krikit 1,166]

-The obscene number of telemarketers! Thank heavens for the No-call list!

-mailboxes on the street instead of the slot through the door - and mail carriers in cars only, not walking (may just be here, don't know)

-no bulk food - anywhere! Have to buy in pre-selected, pre-packaged sizes

-high price for produce and lack of in-season local produce in grocery stores-number of pharmacies - one or two on virtually every corner it seems like

-number of churches and where they are - in shopping malls, industrial centers, street corners, houses, 4 or 5 churches across the road from each other all of them different and so many of them 'megachurches' . . . almost as many pages of churches listed in the yellow pages as doctors or lawyers - with weird exotic names. "St. Pauls" or "****Methodist Church aren't good enough anymore - it has to be Salvation Cathedral of Praise, God's First Breakthrough Ministry, Shield of Faith Christian Assembly, Bread of Life Church, Light of the World Church, Anointed Wounds of Faith, etc. (all taken from our local phone book . . .)

Right on! Can I get an "Amen"? I'd just like to add the obscene amounts of junk mail and a severe lack of recycling. Unbelievable.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Right on! Can I get an "Amen"? I'd just like to add the obscene amounts of junk mail and a severe lack of recycling. Unbelievable.

Oh yeah! We have sort of solved both of those problems with the same solution - we purchased a paper shredder and now use the shredded junk mail for mulch in the garden. Looks kind of weird but we put regular mulch over top and unless the birds peck away at it, it doesn't look too bad.

A few years ago when we went looking for a composter for the garden we asked at Lowes and other similar stores if they carried them. We got blank looks - no one knew what a composter was! Finally, about a year after we started looking (we had made our own out of chicken wire in the meantime), we found one at Costco. That still leaves cans, glass (although we have a large collection of glass bottles that we use for storing things like dried beans, etc) and plastic that still needs to be recycled - and isn't. All those plastic bags from groceries - yeesh! At least I can donate them to thrift stores and such and use them as package padding in boxes but what a waste!

[MoonlitCherri 0]

Right on! Can I get an "Amen"? I'd just like to add the obscene amounts of junk mail and a severe lack of recycling. Unbelievable.

Oh yeah! We have sort of solved both of those problems with the same solution - we purchased a paper shredder and now use the shredded junk mail for mulch in the garden. Looks kind of weird but we put regular mulch over top and unless the birds peck away at it, it doesn't look too bad.

A few years ago when we went looking for a composter for the garden we asked at Lowes and other similar stores if they carried them. We got blank looks - no one knew what a composter was! Finally, about a year after we started looking (we had made our own out of chicken wire in the meantime), we found one at Costco. That still leaves cans, glass (although we have a large collection of glass bottles that we use for storing things like dried beans, etc) and plastic that still needs to be recycled - and isn't. All those plastic bags from groceries - yeesh! At least I can donate them to thrift stores and such and use them as package padding in boxes but what a waste!

You can take your recycle goods to The Dekalb Farmer's Market. They have a large area by the road dedicated to recycling. If your recycling light bulbs or electronics- try Ikea, or Office Depot/Staples.

The farmer's market also has a large amounts of seasonal fruits and veggies inside. Though I still have yet to try a Georgia Peach. If your missing some exotic food there you can try next door at the Asian market. As for bulk items those can only be gotten at Sam's Club or Costco.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

By bulk items I don't mean buying pre-packaged items in bulk - I mean having access to bins of unpackaged produce - like flour or oatmeal or cocoa powder that you then scoop yourself into packages of the desired weight. You can buy 1/2 lb of sugar or 8 pounds of flower instead of prepackaged 1 lb, 5 lb, etc..

I will keep the Dekalb Farmer's Market in mind - it is about a 50 to 60 minute drive from where we are according to my husband so if we are headed that way we can try and take recyclables to drop off. There is a computer/electronics recycling company in the north end of Atlanta that we have used actually - and a friend of ours in Alabama even brought in some of his old computer stuff here so he could deliver it there.

We do go to the Forest Park Farmers Market as well as the International Market in Morrow for fresh produce and specialty items. I sure wish we had access to a Whole Foods on the south side of Atlanta. We seldom get to the north side of town.

Edited March 9, 2008 by Kathryn41

[MoonlitCherri 0]

Oh wow, I don't know what I'd do without the healthy alternative stores. I can find a Sevenanda, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods within 5 miles of me. This is a really cute thread, I'm glad I happened across it. I never knew all the things I was missing out on.

[Reba 2]

Most grocery stores have a bin here you can recycle your plastic and paper grocery bags. Personally, I use reusable canvas bags. And some bag-boys run screaming when they see me coming because they "don't know how to pack them" I saw bags for sale in Big Lots the other day for just $1 each.

I saw a composter in a store window in Asheville the other day for $75! The same dang composter is available in most gardening centres in Ontario for about $15!

You might want to reconsider using junk mail as mulch, some inks used could be not healthy for the garden and environment. Get on the "do not mail list" instead.

And I'm sure there are recycling centres somewhere near you where you could drop off yoru recyclables. I take ours to a recyce centre here in town (and the town council here doesn't "believe" in recycling). I'd much rather have curbside of course, but the town doesn't feel its cost effective. All their money is spent on having entire teams of trash collectors in each neighbourhood instead. I think there's like 5 guys, 2 in the big truck, and 3 on gas powered golf carts! crazy.