I miss New Jersey, I haven't been in the state in years but I seriously miss it.
This might sound crazy....
- Thread starter KJ_RU
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Live in Europe now and miss New Jersey quite a bit. Though I don't miss the U.S work culture.
Love it here in Vietnam. Been here almost 3 months and don't have a single complaint.
The only thing I miss about NJ is the change of seasons: the changing leaves, the crunch of them under your feet, the smell of the burning leaf piles.........wait we can't do that anymore. EPA and all that stuff.
Here the weather temperature wise never changes. South Florida like. Lowest recorded temperature in history in Saigon was 55.
The only thing I miss about NJ is the change of seasons: the changing leaves, the crunch of them under your feet, the smell of the burning leaf piles.........wait we can't do that anymore. EPA and all that stuff.
Here the weather temperature wise never changes. South Florida like. Lowest recorded temperature in history in Saigon was 55.
Maybe different, maybe the same. I know when my wife and I travel west or inland we both have commented that after about 3 days we start getting "inland fever". I don't know if it's the feeling of being land locked or what but we are spoiled living on the Jersey Shore knowing we can take a walk on the beach within minutes of home. Come on back for a visit if you can. Pork roll is waiting!
I don't understand how Europeans eat and provide shelter for themselves. All I hear is how they don't work and we work 24/7.
I must be missing something.
(I miss NJ as well. But I would never return = taxes)
I, FORTUNATELY, am very glad I missed my chance back in the late 1960's to visit Vietnam.
Agree, I would miss the change of seasons too. Curious what brought you to Vietnam? I was just there for a brief time in July and then back in October of 2010.
US culture is live to work
European culture is work to live
I work for a French bank, and they give the most vacation days I've ever had, my co-workers in Paris get even more. Two women I work with in our Paris office, were able to take a year off when they had a child, and were guaranteed their job (although it may be moved to another department at equal level) when they returned.
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Interesting ..............a lot seems to be happening there now in terms of economic growth despite the problems that still exist there. Do you ride a motorbike? Haha.......I don't see any other way to get around there. Had a few close calls myself crossing major streets in Saigon.
I found the key to be just walk out into the street. Walk straight and at an even pace and they'll avoid you........and pray.:eek:
Haha.......yeah that's generally what I did after getting advice beforehand. Basically I would wait for "reasonable" windows before crossing but a few times were a little too close along some of the major arterials during heavy traffic. :grimace:
Thanks for the intel. Let me ask you, is it frowned upon if you actually use your vacation days? I work in NYC for a big company and have more paid time off than I know what to do with. If actually used every single day, I feel like I would 1) be missing a lot of critical info and opportunity, 2) people would talk because, gee I "sure take a lot of time off". It's definitely a cultural thing, more than a how many paid days off I'm technically allowed to take.
I'm feeling the burn lately at work. I'm in my mid 30s, like my job and industry, but man alive, does it feel like a grind without any end in sight.
I have lived in the Seattle area for almost a year now and definitely miss some things about NJ but others not so much. One thing I actually miss a bit is the attitude....the honking car horns.....and then there is the pizza. We finally found one good pizza place out here.....of course the owner is from NJ! I don't miss the taxes and the winters.
Me too.Lived in NJ from age 10 until age 62.I did visit regularly while my Daughter and Family still lived here.Came up,from FL, mostly in the Fall for a 2-3 week stay. The boys were playing Pop Warner FB,and we would take in some RU games.Saw old friends and old places. It was great. BUT,they moved to NC in 2002 and I haven't been to Jersey since.
My boss called me over to tell me I wasn't taking enough time off and needed to schedule days for vacation.
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Two of my older bothers made it here, one in 66 and the other in 68. All expenses paid by Uncle Sam. transportation, clothing, housing,food, ammo
Why would that sound crazy? Love NJ - born and raised here, never left, and will die here, unless I die on vacation out of state.
Don't get me started on Europeans. Love it there, but when you're trying to get work done and none of them can work more than 40 hours a week and they take all of August off and nothing gets done, it's annoying.
I have 34 vacation days now and never use anywhere near all of them - about half I use as days where I just do work from home for half the day or more. Nobody says you can't use them, but the work doesn't stop piling up and "work-life balance" is obviously lip service talk.
And that is a problem and why this country is probably the most stressed in the world. Like someone said we live to work and to me that's not how it should be. I'm jealous of the Europeans but everyone is different.
Strict 40 hour week. Like, people get reprimanded for eating at their desk and "working".
My first day of work they walked me to my desk and it had a desktop computer (I haven't seen a Desktop computer in over 10 years) - that means no working from home or logging in remotely.
25 days of vacation which you are encouraged to take long blocks at a time (which wasn't the case for me in the U.S), unlimited sick days. 4 months maternity leave for women, 3 weeks for men (at my company). The salaries are higher than anything I could achieve in the U.S at my level (even though the cost of living is ridiculous here in Switzerland). To put it into perspective- McDonalds pays it's employees $20 an hour.
Public transportation works like clockwork, and makes NJtransit or driving on any NJ road seem like Dante's 10th circle of Hell. That means the commutes are generally painless - but the Swiss lose their mind if the bus/train arrives 3 minutes late.
Oh and 18 months on unemployment at 80%. That's all I can think of for now.
I don't live in NJ anymore and for the most part, don't miss it. When I return for RU games, I experience some form of culture shock, even though I live in the PA Philly suburbs.
Yeah, well that may sound great but um... I bet their watches and chocolate sucks though...
I moved to the Bay area California for a few years after college. Very comparable to NJ in lots of ways, but the people are different. I missed NJ and moved back after a couple years.
You're in Geneva, right? Someone over in Switzerland told me that the whole "Swiss trains" stereotype is more on the German side of the country. I didn't find it to ring true in Geneva in a few trips there, but it sounds like maybe your experience is different.
I must be in the minority ... don't miss NJ much at all. I miss specific things, like pizza, fresh seafood, and family and friends. But then I think of flat land, humidity, traffic, ridiculous property costs/taxes and so on, and the idea of moving back makes me wake up in cold sweats. Like to visit for maybe two weeks every year or two, but am always glad to get home.
