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Message |
    
Miss L Toe
Citizen
Username: Miss_l_toe
Post Number: 5
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 - 9:32 pm: |     |
It's been very interesting reading through the thread about board members' favorite cities outside the US. It seems that some people have lived overseas for a while.
I'm a foreigner here myself and originally from England. My husband and kids are English too, and we spent a few years on an expat assignment in the Far East (Singapore - which was a fab place to live) before my husband was transferred to the New York office .
Are there any other expats here? (I do know a few Australians in Maplewood and met a Danish family). Did one of you marry an American citizen or come here through work....and do you think you will 'go home' or move on to another posting or do you intend staying in the US for good?
I still feel a little unsettled here in NJ and I can't put my finger on the reasons why... 
Made In England |
mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 2573
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2004 - 9:44 am: | |
Miss L Toe,
My roommate is from South Africa, has lived in London, and she is experiencing the same unsettleness here, even though she is surrounded by friends. My previous roommates/friends were from London and Wales, however, they had lived all over the world and they are happy as long as they have their Pims. Another previous roommate and best friend is from Austria, she suffers the occasional pang of home sickness.
If you're interested in meeting them please privateline me. |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 1949
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2004 - 10:08 am: | |
Miss-
I work with several expats from the Netherlands (my company is Dutch). While I have no personal experience, I know, from discussions with coworkers, that they feel the culture here is very different. One colleague just moved her family back after two years because she wanted her kids to grow up in their own culture.
It was little things, like driving everywhere instead of biking or walking, or not just putting on a raincoat on a rainy day, but waiting for a ride. Many of my Dutch coworkers also marvel at the fact that we have lunch inside the cafeteria on warm, sunny days, instead of eating outside and taking advantage of the weather.
They tend to work hard during the day and leave the office around 5; there is more emphasis on family and working to live than Americans have. There is an isolation here, and emphasis on "things", that my Dutch colleagues do not seem to share.
I have learned a lot from many of them. Frankly, the value system is more similar to the one I grew up with in Ohio than what we have here on the east coast.
I'm sorry for butting in when I have no personal experience. It's just interesting that I had a similar conversation with some of these colleagues right before the holiday.
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Mummite
Citizen
Username: Mummite
Post Number: 43
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2004 - 3:16 pm: | |
I am a Brit and have lived in the States for nearly 3 years, although only a few months so far in Maplewood.
I pop into Kings for a fix of home foods that we haven't shipped over which certainly helps. You just can't beat a cup of PG Tips.
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sarinka
Citizen
Username: Sarinka
Post Number: 16
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2004 - 5:23 pm: | |
I am a Brit too. I have been in US for 4 years, and Maplewood for last 3. I have a US hubbie and 2 kids. I would love to meet some fellow expats - anyone fancy a beer at the Irish pub one night? |
Miss L Toe
Citizen
Username: Miss_l_toe
Post Number: 6
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2004 - 5:56 pm: | |
Eeee, by 'eck, there are more Brits in the district than I realised!  (I'm glad I started this thread!)
My other half was in King's just before Christmas and managed to find some Marks & Spencer's Gold tea bags  I was also very happy to see that they have Boddington's in St. James's Gate (although it's served cold of course). Did you know that they have Stella Artois on draught at the bar in Martini's in Millburn? It was only recently that I discovered that you can just go there for drinks if you don't want a meal.
Mem; I have a large as-yet unopened bottle of Pimm's which was purchased at the Duty Free shop in Heathrow airport. It's really a Summertime drink though, (it brings Wimbledon & the Henley Regatta to mind!) and Bailey's tends to be preferred in the colder months.
Greenetree: I welcome your contribution to this thread and I know exactly what you are trying to say you have made some interesting observations. I'm staggered at how few people actually walk anywhere here. I also think that we Europeans value taking more time off for vacations and paying higher taxes if it means perhaps earning a slightly lower salary and a more equitable health-care system.
Anyone who is an expat (any nationality) and would like to meet up for a beer and/or tea/coffee please send me a Private Message - you just need to click on my username in the blue colour on the left.
Made In England |
magmasystems
Citizen
Username: Magmasystems
Post Number: 166
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2004 - 6:10 pm: | |
> Stella Artois
The Michelob of Belgian beers.
I would have been more impressed if they had Duval or Lindemann's.
The Office in Summit has a decent selection of Belgian beers, although they do not have the proper glasses to serve them in.
Nothing like being served a Chimay in a frosted mug :-)
Marc
www.millburnweb.com
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mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 2590
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2004 - 6:47 pm: | |
I have had vegamite in my house for years. Is there such thing as a Brit who doesn't like it? And is there such thing as an American who does? It's a mystery to me still after many attempts to try to sort out this awful, bitter taste! The only explanation I've gotten so far is that it is "what they grew up with". I was even confronted with it in a tuna casserole! However, it is fun to serve it on crackers to unsuspecting friends. I almost made my sister throw up on the floor once. |
mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 2591
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 8, 2004 - 6:51 pm: | |
Which reminds me, I was in Wales once in a very remote part outside of Snowdon, and sitting in a pub which barely had electricty, I heard an American accent from another table. She had been living in Wales for years, and approached me to ask where I was from, it turned out she grew up on Tuscan Road and graduated CHS the same year as me...(everywhere I go I manage to meet someone from NJ, but this took the cake). She didn't like vegamite either. |
Tom Reingold
Citizen
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 1679
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 9:45 am: | |
I thought it was Australians who can't live without their vegemite. When I was hosteling in Europe, they were going nuts, rationing it. And the Americans were talking about finding peanut butter, and as far as I know, you have to be American (or maybe Canadian?) to like peanut butter.
Tom Reingold the prissy-pants
There is nothing
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Musetta
Citizen
Username: Musetta
Post Number: 24
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 9:53 am: | |
You guys should check out the Super Foodtown on Irvington Ave.....really...it is an experience anyway :-)
Lots of stuff from Russia and Poland...but...we also found both Lyons and Barry's Tea, Lucuzaid (sp?), Heinz beans, plain tea biscuits, fanta, club orange, baby's gripe water and all sorts of really odd stuff for that store to carry. |
kevin
Citizen
Username: Kevin
Post Number: 153
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Friday, January 9, 2004 - 10:35 am: | |
I agree Musetta - I hit the Super Foodtown once in a while just to try something different. They have a varied selection of packaged ethnic products. Many of the packages have no english words on them so I don't always know what I am buying. I never purchase anything that looks scary and so far haven't ended up with anything like surströmming.
By the way, has anyone here ever had surströmming?
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cannuck
Citizen
Username: Cannuck
Post Number: 34
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 2:55 pm: | |
Large cash reward (in Canadian Tire dollars) for anyone who knows where to buy Upper Canada Lager or Ale around us! |
akb
Citizen
Username: Akb
Post Number: 145
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 7:26 pm: | |
I'm another Brit; US husband; 2 small kids. |
akb
Citizen
Username: Akb
Post Number: 146
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 7:38 am: | |
Tea and Sympathy (and A Salt and Battery next door) in Manhattan keeps some cravings at bay, and Kings does have the odd product, but I still have family bringing sweeties for the kids - Dolly Mixtures, Jelly Tots, Buttons ... there is just no equivalent here - and Bisto, salad cream, custard powder, Sharwoods mango chutney etc etc. I need to check out that supermarket you were discussing. And yes, vegemite is Aussie; the UK equivalent is Marmite but I'd venture we aren't quite as passionate about it as the Aussies are about vegemite.
I am unsettled here too, but find it a NJ thing rather than a generic US feeling, because before living here I lived in southwest Virginia, Toronto and Durham, North Carolina, and I didn't feel this way in any of those locales. I do think the quality of life matters you were discussing is more apparent here - in the south, we had a far shorter commute and office hours were more closely kept than here. Working efficiently during office hours is vastly preferable to me than coming in late, dragging around half the morning and then staying late which seems to be my coworkers' M.O. Of course in the south we also started at 8 or 8.30AM.
Thanks for starting this thread! |
Musetta
Citizen
Username: Musetta
Post Number: 25
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 10:55 am: | |
Super Foodtown has Salad Cream (Chef)...And I THINK I saw a tin of Bisto as well.
Try Trader Joe's (Florham Park)for Mango Chutney (though not Sharwoods)
Shope Rite stores have been know to carry Nestle Quality Street . |
thevillagepub
Citizen
Username: Thevillagepub
Post Number: 161
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 2:25 pm: | |
My wife and I lived in the UK for 8 years and our 3 girls were born there. They have UK passports. So while my wife and I are US (and our kids are US too), they could be considered "expats" to some extent.
I do miss the UK though. A great country. All I need is an Adnams Best Bitter and a couple of bags of ham and mustard crips and I could just sit back and watch England in the Six Nations all day long. Great job with the Rugby World Cup.
If there is an organized pub crawl scheduled, just let me know.
TheVillagePub |
Miss L Toe
Citizen
Username: Miss_l_toe
Post Number: 10
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 3:17 pm: | |
Grrrr
I posted a long thread about places to buy (mostly Brit) food, but it's disappeared into cyberspace..
Anyone who loves a good curry should check out "Little India" in Oak Tree Rd, Islin (same exit for the Metropark on the Garden State Parkway). It's where the Indian expats live and they have many shops and restaurants there. You can even get some British items there (esp. Patel's) as some of the store owners lived in Southall near Heathrow airport.
There is also the huge "International Food Mart" in Jersey City which imports food from all over the world, including the UK and Ireland but mostly from Asia. Fresh exotic fruit, veg and fish are incredibly cheap there. I could spend hours in there..you can even buy red kidney bean or sweetcorn ice cream imported from the Philippines!
Anyone wanting a Brit Fix (Easter eggs/Xmas selection boxes etc.),afternoon tea, fish n'chips or deep fried Mars Bars(!)or pork pies/Cumberland sausages might like to check out these places in Greenwich Village:
http://www.myersofkeswick.com
http://www.teaandsympathynewyork.com
http://www.asaltandbattery.com
For a weekly "Fun Run" + BEER check out this 'hash' site, based in Summit. "Hashing" is from Brit colonial days and originated in Malaya but is now throughout the world:
http://www.njhash.com
Enjoy!
Made In England |
Phil
Citizen
Username: Barleyrooty
Post Number: 736
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 1:26 am: | |
Another Brit here! Grew up outside of Lymington, Hampshire (Between Bournemouth & Southampton - you can see the Isle of Wight of Beatles and Hendrix fame from the roof of my parents' house).
After 14 years on this side of the pond I'm starting to wonder what I am! I know several other Brits in town - we had a great get together (thanks again Mike & Jenny) for the Rugby.
Phil |
Miss L Toe
Citizen
Username: Miss_l_toe
Post Number: 11
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 1:00 pm: | |
Oops, typo!
The Hash House Harriers (not just for expats but for anyone who wants to run and have a laugh afterwards over a beer and maybe curry)has a local website and I'd posted the incorrect one above:
http://www.hashnj.com
Phil - yes, it was a great result with England beating Oz to win the Rugby World Cup! One of my most memorable events when we lived in Asia was to go to the Rugby 7's in Hong Kong. Great stuff!
http://www.
Made In England |
akb
Citizen
Username: Akb
Post Number: 150
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 2:36 pm: | |
Miss - my baby shower was catered from Myers of Keswick by a really kind friend who lived in Maplewood with her British husband. ;-) |
sunseeker
Citizen
Username: Sunseeker
Post Number: 3
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, January 31, 2004 - 2:14 pm: | |
South African, but consider myself an honorary Brit after 7 years in London!! Thought the weather was bad in England but I haven't thawed yet after 6 weeks in Maplewood! Also keen to meet up with any expats from anywhere! |
akb
Citizen
Username: Akb
Post Number: 157
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, January 31, 2004 - 5:02 pm: | |
sun, at least here you get summer. ;-)
I spent two 6 mos stints in SA, BTW, in Bloemfontein (1990) and then Joburg (1996). |
Mummite
Citizen
Username: Mummite
Post Number: 47
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 12:32 pm: | |
Sunseeker, You can meet other Expat/Brit/Aussie moms at the Dancing Goat, SO at 10am on Tuesday Feb 3 (tomorrow!) Join us for coffee, chat and for the childrens storytime. Listen out for the "cute" accents!! |
Miss L Toe
Citizen
Username: Miss_l_toe
Post Number: 19
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 23, 2004 - 1:46 pm: | |
There will also be expat wives (the husbands can babyist!)meeting up for drinks at "The St. James' Gate" in Maplewood village tomorrow night, Tuesday 24th Feb at 8pm - it's open to any expat women who would like to go along.
Don't forget, it's Pancake Day on Tuesday too! (Like Mardi Gras, it's traditonal in European countries to have a 'filling/stodgy meal' before the onset of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday the following day)
(In England and the rest of the UK it's very common for pancake races to be held, often for the amusement of the children. The mums have a short running race - just for fun - whilst trying to toss the pancakes in the air, so one runs along with the frying pan!). The pancakes are thin and crispy, similar to French crepes, and usually have some lemon juice squeezed onto them and some sugar. Delicious!
Made In England |
lude
Citizen
Username: Lude
Post Number: 59
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 11:43 am: | |
Im originally from Jo'burgSouth Africa. Been in the states for 11 years 6 of which have been in Maplewood. Miss the sunny weather the most. |
debby
Citizen
Username: Debby
Post Number: 104
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 4:25 pm: | |
When we had British au pairs we always managed to stock up on the necessities - PG Tips, Salad Cream, "real" Cadbury, pudding tins, etc at the Irish Shop in Montclair, and at Argyles in Kearny. Argyles is a fish & chip restaurant with a Scot store attached to it.
Good Luck |
Janice Porrill
Citizen
Username: Globetrotter
Post Number: 1
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 25, 2004 - 5:10 pm: | |
I've lived all over South Africa, then in London for nearly 5 years and now the USA for 3 years, been in Maplewood for over a year now.
I would love to get involved in any expat fun.
I miss the warmth more than just the sun (and Ouma rusks :-) |
eliz
Citizen
Username: Eliz
Post Number: 711
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 25, 2004 - 9:36 pm: | |
I'll be in Jo'burg in a week - if you want anything special from the supermarket or otherwise privateline me. |
max
Citizen
Username: Max
Post Number: 30
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 26, 2004 - 8:51 am: | |
If anyone is looking for Irish foods check out A & P in Montclair they stock some, a little expensive but worth it for the taste of home. They stock English grub too and some others, though not sure which. |
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