Thursday 25 April 2013

LIFE; Expat to Expat Q&A

Found Love.  Now What?


I seem to be getting on a roll with the whole question and answer kind of posts so I thought I would carry on the theme and link up with the expat Q & A post that I found on Belinda's expat blog Found Love, Now What?. The questions are all cultural based, so whether your an expat or not, you might find some interesting points of difference between my British homeland and life here in south east Michigan. 

1. What was your favourite season back home and is it the same now; why or why not?  
I've always loved spring - it's a sign of what's to come, of all the bulbs starting to pop through and the pretty blossom on the trees. I'm far, far more welcoming of autumn now after releasing just how warm it gets in Michigan that it's nice to have cooler days. Plus the shades the leaves go here are just incredibly beautiful.

2. Is there a place you would want to move to based solely on the weather?
Not partially, although somewhere with a mix of weather and seasons is always welcome. 

3. What is a piece an article of clothing that you had to buy for your new home due to the weather? i.e. galoshes, winter coat, etc
Proper winter boots, my New Look fashion winter boots really weren't suitable for the amount of snow and ice in Michigan. And the snow isn't like the UK snow, it'll snow everyday for weeks and just add up to the amount already there and refuse to melt because it just gets so cold. 

4. Have you found the weather stereotypes of your new home to be true?
I'm actually not aware of any in all honesty ....

5. Is there somewhere you would never live based solely on the weather?
The Amazon rain forest or the Arctic - yeah not my cup of tea. 

6. What are you looking forward to most this spring?
Being able to craft again at night as the nights get lighter, being able to go out without a coat and seeing the squirrels around the apartment complex again.

7. Where you live, what is your go to outfit for spring?
Normally tank tops and cardigans - or at least that was last years spring outfit, currently spring this year is being below average in warmth, so coats are still needed. But certainly when it gets warm in spring, you're dressing like you would for summer in the UK. 

8. What is one thing or event that you miss that happens back home at this time of the year?
I'm from a town in the middle of east Yorkshire that doesn't really do anything so i'm probably not missing anything that specially happens in Spring - probably missing something fun in York though they normally have something going on in the marketplace on weekends - say farmers markets and ice carvings and such. 

9. If your hubs could bring home a bouquet of any type of flower, what you pick?
Hmmm roses, tulips or big happy daisies. 

10. What does your perfect Saturday look like?
Haha every Saturday is my perfect Saturday going to estate sales although that does mean waking up early, driving nearly 100 miles around the metro region, buying quirky vintage stuff. Saturday nights tend to be our weekly date night so we either go out for a meal or order a take out, snuggle on the sofa watching films or chill out to vinyl, phones are generally banned on Saturday nights too. 

Bonus Question - Are there any special holidays in your new country in the month of May?
We have Memorial Day (27th) which is a public holiday and Mother's day in the US is always the second Sunday in May. There's certainly no May Day bank holiday.

Spring in Michigan - bluebells, sunsets and birds

What's your favourite season?

12 comments:

  1. Leigh,

    Thanks for joining the linkup today! It's great hearing from an expat who has jumped to the other side of the pond!

    I love your idea of a perfect Saturday. Although I hate early starts, I always found estate hunting to be so much fun!

    And I would imagine that the snow in Michigan is just a bit different that snow in the UK.

    Looking to get to know you better!

    Belinda
    www.foundlovenowwhat.com

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    1. Estate sales are great aren't they! Its a wonder they haven't made it over to the UK though.

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  2. Oh estate hunts sound great, I haven't managed to get to a car boot sale yet this year, but I plan to.

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    1. I've still never been to a car boot, really on my to do list, they don't seem to be as popular over here, people use have the garage sales instead I think.

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  3. One of my favorite things to do here in Germany is to drive or walk around and see all the interesting buildings and houses! They seem so unique here! I am sure we've got a ton of holiday's here in Germany, it seems as though the Germans like their holidays, there's one at least once a month where every thing is closed!! And everything is closed on every Sunday already! haha

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    1. The US certainly has less public holidays then I'm use too, or at least employees are less likely to give people them off too.

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  4. I thought that the weather was bad in London but I have been reading more and more expat stories about the weather in the northern part of the States and I realise, I have it darn lucky, although I'm not sure if New Look boots even cut it for last winter here!

    Anyway, love your blog and enjoyed reading this post, so I'm going to keep up with your updates!

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    1. Yeah the snow was certainly a surprise to me when I moved, but the US doesn't come to the stand still that the UK does. I often wonder when it snows bad here just how well the UK would cope with the amount we get here, it'd just come to a standstill and here everyone just carries on like normal, snow shovelling their drives and getting to work and the like. Certainly a big difference.

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  5. Hi Rachel, I love reading about Brits who've moved to the US, as I've done the exact opposite. I'm from Texas but lived in Indiana for many years, so I hear you on the snow. It was just a part of life and things went on. But the Spring and Fall in the Northern US are gorgeous! In Texas we don't have four seasons. I'm absolutely loving England. I look forward to reading more about you.
    xo
    Selena

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  6. I have to say that that is the one nice thing about the British weather - it's varied. We had the warmest day of the year on Thursday, but today I'm having to put the heating on!

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  7. Thanks for linking up with us! I have family from Michigan and always love to read about others living there.

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  8. Saturday nights are always the ones I look forward to too, the one night where I know I can spend an evening of bliss with the Mr xxx

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