Do Americans have it better?

[hidari]

Originally Posted by Jellby

In Spanish we try not to use "American" for US-ans, "North-American" is also another term for US-ans that we try to avoid (when I say "we", I rather mean that it is actually often used, but conscious people frown it). We have our own word for US-ans ("estadounidense"), and "Americans" are from Chileans to Canadians, but quite often people from Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas.

Most of my friiends us the term gringolandia....That seems to work and there is not fuss about which country it is....... and

Si. Soy gringo ..... y me gusta la palabra.

[unicorn23]

Having emailed Amazon not so long ago to remind them that the rest of the world is out here, and we'd quite like to have access to ebooks too, I can tell you that the official line from Amazon is that territorial copyrights don't permit them to make content available outside the US. Can't answer for the hardware, although I'm told the wireless connectivity has a lot to do with it - licensing there, I guess.

Certainly, we in the Land Down Under would like to be able to buy Amazon content, because the one Australian bookseller that does offer a fairly limited range of non-specialist ebooks is offering them at close to Australian hardcover prices (try $AUD45 per ebook on for size if you think ebooks elsewhere are overpriced!!).

So yes, like everyone else, I make do with Fictionwise and BoB and Diesel, but even then, I can't buy everything I want, because some publishers, like Hachette, still won't sell in certain geographical areas.

I don't want to buy many pbooks anymore, because my house will burst at the seams, but I can't legitimately buy what I want to read in ebook form either. Bah, humbug!!

Cheers,
Unicorn23

[cbell]

Hi unicorn23, have you tried www.macmillandigital.com.au www.ebooks.com (they're in Western Australia), www.dymocks.com.au?

And... its nice to see you again

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Isn't Mexico "central America" rather than North? My geography is a little vague .

Judge yourself:



I'd say Central America starts around Yucatan, in narrowest part (between Atlantic and Pacific) of the "green blob". This is my intuitive definition of "Central America, though. See here for other uses.

[HarryT]

Well, at least the UN agrees with me .

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by Sonist

Huh?

The median household income in the US is in fact rather hight (I believe in Europe only Luxembourg and Switzerland are higher.)

Come up with some other reason....

A link from the bottom of your page brought me to;
"In general the United States has some of the highest relative poverty rates among industrialized countries, reflecting both the high median income and high degree of inequality.[4]"

While statistics are fun, they really don't give an accurate picture of what's going on. Just remember, 50% of the people/income/households/businesses/ are below average...

Having just returned from some time in Miami, while traveling by boat around the Intercoastal Waterway gawking at the houses along 'Millionaire's Row,' I was surprised at just how many yachts and houses were up for sale, as well as how many of these yachts had "Federal Marshal's" notices as repos... Even the rich are poor these days! Why, you can get a $28 million dollar house for the sale price of just $23 million! I'm amazed that I was able to pass up such a deal!

There have to be some other reasons Amazon won't sell outside CONUS for various articles, and it's not just copyright. Not for a jar of Wright's 'Hickory Smoke BBQ seasoning!' I had no difficulty bringing it though Japanese Customs so it's not about import laws either. There are no local manufacturers so it can't be licensing issues... Amazon simply won't ship it to Japan. They do ship other liquids, other seasonings, other bottles. Curiouser and curiouser!

Stitchawl

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by hidari

Mexico is part of North America. Seems that many a person is not aware of that when I speak to them in English or Spanish. My two Mexican friends say it is part of North America. However, I reckon it is a matter of maps, culture, or plate tectonics

Most of Mexico is on the North American Plate. It follows along the west coast of the US and Mexico and ends just below the Yucatan, (where it swings east to the mid-atlantic,) butting up to the Caribbean Plate and Cocos Plate to the south.

Stitchawl

[rgeorg]

Originally Posted by Cookie Monster

Price discrimination. They can charge higher prices in different markets and what to keep it that way.

The American market may be large but the median American has a relatively low income compared to many other developed nations hence the lower price.

In other countries prices are higher because that is what the market there can bear. However, they don't want Europeans buying stuff on the cheap from America destroying their cash cow.

Look at DVD regions for another example of this.

I had heard that the DVD regions were to prevent US DVDs being used/sold in Europe. The US DVDs are released in the US often a couple of months before the actual feature film makes it to theaters in Europe - and the concern was that people would buy the DVD rather than go to theaters...

Doesn't make much sense that Americans have low income relative to Europeans - certainly not Greeks. Although - I don't know why - a significantly lower income seems to stretch much farther here. My only ideas are that:
1) Food (high quality) and eating out costs are incredibly lower (in Greece at least);
2) Housing costs are lower;
3) Automobiles last longer (less snow + road-salt)???;
4) Great vacations (sea, mountains, islands...) are convenient and inexpensive
5) Not as much "recreational shopping" goes on here. Of course, it's not so much fun here where the prices are higher and there is not much of a point to comparison shopping.

My students (college-age) often ask me why I stay in Greece and wouldn't I rather return to the US? I usually say that there are good-and-bad aspects of both. The main difference to me is that we can live very comfortably, even luxuriously, in Greece and have tons of time after work for being together as a family and extended vacations. We had much higher income in the US but very little time and extra income to relax together. When we started a family this became a major issue. I am willing to sacrifice some shopping-luxuries in exchange for more leisure time together as a family.

[HarryT]

Yes, having worked in the USA for a while, there is certainly the potential for a much higher standard of living there; the problem is that you don't get the chance to enjoy it! When I tell my American friends that it's normal in the UK (and the rest of Europe) to get 6 or 7 weeks a year off work, they find it amazing; it's entirely normal in the US to get as little as two weeks holiday a year.

[Wetdogeared]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Isn't Mexico "central America" rather than North? My geography is a little vague .

Think NAFTA Harry. This is a well-known acronym here.

WDE.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

When we in Europe talk about 'Americans' we generally mean people from the U.S.; although anyone in South, Central or North America is also an American.

I often wonder - do non-U.S. Americans mind us using 'American' in that way?

(I'd be a tad disconcerted if the term 'European' was assumed to refer to a particular European country.)

Here in the United States of America , we call ourselves Americans. There really is no other term that we use. We might break that down into subsets, such as, Virginians or Chicagoans, but on the whole, we're Americans. We are not trying to be exclusive or superior. The word American is a derivative of the name of our country just as the term Canadian derives from the word Canada. If I were from Canada, I would introduce myself as a Canadian not as an American.

As a side note, I don't tend to think of people living in the UK as European. I know that the UK is now a part of the European Union, but, for as long as I can remember people have made references to "the United Kingdom and Europe".

Originally Posted by hidari

Most of my friiends us the term gringolandia....That seems to work and there is not fuss about which country it is....... and

Si. Soy gringo ..... y me gusta la palabra.

The word "gringo" tends to have a negative connotation. It would be the same as if someone used an ethnic slur to describe a person from Japan.

From dictionary.com:

grin·go (grĭng'gō)
n. pl. grin·gos Offensive Slang
Used as a disparaging term for a foreigner in Latin America, especially an American or English person.

[Spanish, foreign, foreign language, gibberish, probably alteration of griego, Greek, from Latin Graecus; see Greek.]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Yes, having worked in the USA for a while, there is certainly the potential for a much higher standard of living there; the problem is that you don't get the chance to enjoy it! When I tell my American friends that it's normal in the UK (and the rest of Europe) to get 6 or 7 weeks a year off work, they find it amazing; it's entirely normal in the US to get as little as two weeks holiday a year.

Lucky you! Frankly, the 4 weeks of vacation my husband gets each year is plenty. Anymore than that and he would start to get on my nerves! Seriously, that's one of the reasons I've encouraged my college age children to be extremely careful when choosing a career path. You spend a lot of time at work, so you better like what you do.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kazbates

As a side note, I don't tend to think of people living in the UK as European. I know that the UK is now a part of the European Union, but, for as long as I can remember people have made references to "the United Kingdom and Europe".

In the UK itself, I think whether one regards oneself as "European" or not is primarily a generational thing. I certainly think of myself as a European, but people of my parents' generation on the whole do not.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Isn't Mexico "central America" rather than North? My geography is a little vague .

"Central America" is part of the North American continent... or widely agreed that it is. Of course, i think in Europe America is considered one continent SubDivided into North, Central and South regions and considering Mexico as part of Central America.

But, here is the US we are taught there are 7 continents of which North and South are continents and "central America" is all located on the North American continent. However, Mexico is part of North America and South of Mexico is Cenrtral America.

Oh poo... does it really matter?

All of that said, I consider myself "American" but usually tell people I live in the US, not America. I also personally don't consider a Canadian or Mexican, "American"... although technically I guess they are.

BOb

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

You can be! Drink a lot of Labatt's beer, watch hockey games, and say 'eh' at the end of your sentences! Easy!

Stitchawl

That's just an ignorant stereotype, eh?

- Ahi

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Oh poo... does it really matter?

Not in the least . "A rose by any other name", etc. etc.