I just spent most of the summer in Oxford, which was a move in reverse of yours. It was great being able to get a real scone with clotted cream and find many Trollope novels on the shelves of the bookstores. The oldness of Oxford was lovely. Nothing is that old here in Cambridge Massachusetts. I couldn't believe how cold it was on a regular basis in summer, though! And now that I am back in Cambridge, summer here seems to have ended just as I arrived, alas. But I am looking forward to fresh vegetables ...
This is SO interesting because I moved from Brooklyn to Chiswick six years ago and find things so much easier here as far as bureaucracy goes, health care, etc.! I miss filter coffee (not to mention real iced coffee) and the sense that anything is possible that is uniquely, pervasively American. Perhaps the word is ambition, but it's more that "can-do" positivity.
Overall, I find the quality at M&S or Waitrose (although I spend way too much money at Natoora) much better with fruit and veg. There's a British-ism I'm using right there with veg.
Echoing this... I'm American and have lived in the U.K., Ireland, and France. I've always found the food better, the coffee better, the health care better outside the US. Maybe it's a moving thing? Everything seems bright and vibrant when it's new(ish)? Familiarity breeds contempt, the grass is always greener, etc? That said, I've always missed that American can-do, anything is possible attitude, as well as the unguarded friendliness you so often get in the USA, even in NYC.
"The homeless people are much more visible than in London, and they have much more stuff."
This seems like a crossover anthropology/economics dissertation begging to be written. Or maybe it has already? Seems like the kind of thing Tyler Cowen might have read a book about at some point.
I love that you're on this side of the pond now! Have always wished I could take you to lunch. Now perhaps, with your indulgence, I can do that. Hope your health is good and your family is settling in. I'll be in NVA in October and will reach out before then.
Come to Northern California in summer sometime if you can, and try the fruit from a farmer's market or a U-Pick farmstead. If you think the stuff we ship to Virginia is good...
The problem with that logic is perishability and ephemeral ripeness, which imposes not just a cost but a feasibility constraint.
As an extreme example: the very best of Northern CA fruit, in my somewhat idiosyncratic opinion, are the Pakistani mulberries which come to the farmers' markets from mid-May to late June. You are unlikely ever to find them in your Arlington grocery at any price, because at the current technological frontier they are too fragile to ship non-destructively, and they go moldy within 48-72 hours of being picked.
I am so happy you arrived in the States in time for the end of cicada season! It's one of those almost-uniquely-American things we often forget to tell the world about. Please enjoy our large rattling and screaming bugs (as they will be gone very soon, just in time for autumn).
You should also be seeing a preponderance of moths now as well--I happened to catch sight of a Pandorus sphinx moth earlier this week.
... oh, and one thing I really couldn't believe from my summer in Oxford is how very much water gets used. In the US, all of our appliances have flow restrictors to preserve water. At Oxford, my shower felt like Niagara Falls and the toilet was like a giant turbulent maelstrom. I'll miss the shower. I gather that the water system in the UK is having to be overhauled, so maybe this will change.
We need a kitchen before we can get a kettle to put in it! (Although, we’re so firmly on the coffee now maybe we won’t need one. Unthinkable a week ago!)
Capitol Hill Books is my sister’s (part owner) bookstore! I passed along your complimentary words! Thank you! 🙂
If you’re interested in the story of CH Books this is my sister’s husband/my much beloved brother-in law:
https://dcist.com/story/19/04/02/he-wasnt-a-poet-exactly-but-his-heart-was-capitol-hill-books-co-owner-dies-at-41/
Oh cool! Thanks!
I cracked up at "decanted at home"
:)
Filter coffee! Was in the UK and then Amsterdam for a week, and could not get a decent cup of filtered, drip coffee!
I just spent most of the summer in Oxford, which was a move in reverse of yours. It was great being able to get a real scone with clotted cream and find many Trollope novels on the shelves of the bookstores. The oldness of Oxford was lovely. Nothing is that old here in Cambridge Massachusetts. I couldn't believe how cold it was on a regular basis in summer, though! And now that I am back in Cambridge, summer here seems to have ended just as I arrived, alas. But I am looking forward to fresh vegetables ...
This is SO interesting because I moved from Brooklyn to Chiswick six years ago and find things so much easier here as far as bureaucracy goes, health care, etc.! I miss filter coffee (not to mention real iced coffee) and the sense that anything is possible that is uniquely, pervasively American. Perhaps the word is ambition, but it's more that "can-do" positivity.
Overall, I find the quality at M&S or Waitrose (although I spend way too much money at Natoora) much better with fruit and veg. There's a British-ism I'm using right there with veg.
Echoing this... I'm American and have lived in the U.K., Ireland, and France. I've always found the food better, the coffee better, the health care better outside the US. Maybe it's a moving thing? Everything seems bright and vibrant when it's new(ish)? Familiarity breeds contempt, the grass is always greener, etc? That said, I've always missed that American can-do, anything is possible attitude, as well as the unguarded friendliness you so often get in the USA, even in NYC.
"The homeless people are much more visible than in London, and they have much more stuff."
This seems like a crossover anthropology/economics dissertation begging to be written. Or maybe it has already? Seems like the kind of thing Tyler Cowen might have read a book about at some point.
After your recommendation of Old Filth, your views carry a lot of weight with me, so I have just purchased "Young Sam Johnson" on ebay.
Yay!
Capitol Hill books is great! Went there just before I flew back from the EV conference, got a cool book about Nietzsche
I love that you're on this side of the pond now! Have always wished I could take you to lunch. Now perhaps, with your indulgence, I can do that. Hope your health is good and your family is settling in. I'll be in NVA in October and will reach out before then.
yay!
Come to Northern California in summer sometime if you can, and try the fruit from a farmer's market or a U-Pick farmstead. If you think the stuff we ship to Virginia is good...
Surely the Alchian Allen conjecture means the best fruit is not in CA?
The problem with that logic is perishability and ephemeral ripeness, which imposes not just a cost but a feasibility constraint.
As an extreme example: the very best of Northern CA fruit, in my somewhat idiosyncratic opinion, are the Pakistani mulberries which come to the farmers' markets from mid-May to late June. You are unlikely ever to find them in your Arlington grocery at any price, because at the current technological frontier they are too fragile to ship non-destructively, and they go moldy within 48-72 hours of being picked.
I am so happy you arrived in the States in time for the end of cicada season! It's one of those almost-uniquely-American things we often forget to tell the world about. Please enjoy our large rattling and screaming bugs (as they will be gone very soon, just in time for autumn).
You should also be seeing a preponderance of moths now as well--I happened to catch sight of a Pandorus sphinx moth earlier this week.
... oh, and one thing I really couldn't believe from my summer in Oxford is how very much water gets used. In the US, all of our appliances have flow restrictors to preserve water. At Oxford, my shower felt like Niagara Falls and the toilet was like a giant turbulent maelstrom. I'll miss the shower. I gather that the water system in the UK is having to be overhauled, so maybe this will change.
Remove the plastic gizmo in your showerhead.
Have you been able to buy a kettle?
We need a kitchen before we can get a kettle to put in it! (Although, we’re so firmly on the coffee now maybe we won’t need one. Unthinkable a week ago!)
WHAT
Are we/you recommending the Hibbert biography? I am still thinking the Bate biography is the second best biography.
have not read it... Bate only dipped in. I like James Clifford.