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There are no laws mandating minimum vacation time in the US.
Paid time off varies greatly in the US. Some industries and some companies are much more generous than others. For instance, I worked in banking and I had three weeks of paid vacation, plus two weeks of paid sick time, plus 9 paid holidays per year, so that totals over five weeks of paid time off. That is typical for that industry.
My husband is a consultant and while he doesn't get any PAID time off, he is very well compensated for the time he works, and his work schedule is two weeks on and two weeks off. So he gets 26 weeks off per year. He could choose to work three weeks on and two weeks off if he wanted to make more money but he likes the schedule he's on.
So as you can see, there is a lot of variation here.
What you have failed to mention is the millions of Americans that have ZERO paid vacation time. And that is something not allowed in Europe. But god forbid our govt mandate a min amount of paid time off.
What you have failed to mention is the millions of Americans that have ZERO paid vacation time. And that is something not allowed in Europe. But god forbid our govt mandate a min amount of paid time off.
My very first sentence was "There is no law mandating minimum vacation time in the US."
However, there is a common misconception outside of the US that MOST Americans working full time don't get much, if any, paid vacation. I was simply pointing out that there is a huge variation among working Americans when it comes to paid vacation. Some Americans have generous vacation plans. Some don't.
Has always been my dream to live in the US since a young girl... It seemed so much more vibrant, well it did in the movies.. the US had better music, films than us, and more money....I did visit twice and wasnt disappointed.. but while in Florida I was appalled at some real poverty that Id never seen before, shacks with no windows in parts of Kissimee, off the beaten track... never expected to see anything like that so it left me disappointed and sad.... All in all though I love over there and like the people.
Has always been my dream to live in the US since a young girl... It seemed so much more vibrant, well it did in the movies.. the US had better music, films than us, and more money....I did visit twice and wasnt disappointed.. but while in Florida I was appalled at some real poverty that Id never seen before, shacks with no windows in parts of Kissimee, off the beaten track... never expected to see anything like that so it left me disappointed and sad.... All in all though I love over there and like the people.
I have seen real poverty here in rural North Carolina, the like of which i never saw in the UK. I lived in a Town here for two months before realising the Town had another "half" to it. The "other side of the tracks" is not just an expression.
I have seen real poverty here in rural North Carolina, the like of which i never saw in the UK. I lived in a Town here for two months before realising the Town had another "half" to it. The "other side of the tracks" is not just an expression.
Its really bad, especially when in an area full of hotels with big pools and nice rooms , and to turn a corner and drive less than a mile to see the squalor and poverty we did.... it was very sad..and never seen anything like it here in Scotland, no not even the horrible housing schemes cant come close to how poor these places were...and they all had dark skinned men mostly hanging around messy fronts of houses on top of old wrecked cars.. is this the way the blacks are treated in Florida.. as I never saw any white ones living in this area... We had followed a sign saying some Indian reservation and we thought it was for tourists to vist and buy some of their wares.. but nothing like it...
Has always been my dream to live in the US since a young girl... It seemed so much more vibrant, well it did in the movies.. the US had better music, films than us, and more money....I did visit twice and wasnt disappointed.. but while in Florida I was appalled at some real poverty that Id never seen before, shacks with no windows in parts of Kissimee, off the beaten track... never expected to see anything like that so it left me disappointed and sad.... All in all though I love over there and like the people.
PLEASE don't judge the US on what you saw in Florida - which is one of the weirder states in this country!
I'm interested in working in England when I'm older and perhaps even living there. However, the one thing that's a real turn off to me is the English's attitudes towards Americans or people of American descent. I've encountered really snarky, bitter responses to my nationality and others of the same descent as well. And online it's even worse; a lot of the comments I've seen here come across as disparaging and sometimes even hostile in the manner that some English talk to with Americans. I'm aware that Americans are stereotyped as being annoyingly jingoistic (which I agree with) and other stereotypes like being fat, lazy, stupid, etc. But I still see these types of comments directed towards Americans that don't even showcase these qualities. It's like I can't really catch a break with them. Now, I know not all English people are like this, but from my experience they've been an overwhelming majority and the tolerant/nice (towards Americans) to be an extreme minority. This is a concern for me because I'm worried that when (or rather if) I ever do pursue this and I go, that I won't be able to mingle in. Now granted I'm of course not one of these stereotypical Americans where I'm stuck in my ways. I don't have a problem adapting to my environment. Hell, I'm actually already doing it here (spelling things in the English way, like -ize -> -ise. It makes more sense phonetically)
It may be necessary to develop thicker skin. If living there is what you want to do, I just don't see how this amounts to a very significant concern. Who cares if some folks don't like you? It's not good to go through life so deeply concerned about the opinions of others.
Has always been my dream to live in the US since a young girl... It seemed so much more vibrant, well it did in the movies.. the US had better music, films than us, and more money....I did visit twice and wasnt disappointed.. but while in Florida I was appalled at some real poverty that Id never seen before, shacks with no windows in parts of Kissimee, off the beaten track... never expected to see anything like that so it left me disappointed and sad.... All in all though I love over there and like the people.
You also don't see the same level of consistent wealth in the UK either.
As for time off - I've just spent a week in Hawaii and am now in San fran. I get just as much time off as I had at home in the UK, but now I can actually afford to enjoy it rather than paying through the nose for everything.
My question is why is seeing poverty such a concern to you? You're on vacation! You spend time on other threads ranting about how immigrants are such a drain, or that refugees are not your problem, or how the NHS is being strained... so why the false concern for poverty in another country?
Last edited by Mag3.14; 10-24-2015 at 09:30 AM..
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