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For the past two weeks, from 14th April to 25th April, I’ve been on holiday visiting the United States. With my wife being from there, and since we haven’t visited family and friends in over a year, we felt that a visit was overdue.
I always enjoy visiting the US, I feel like I learn or experience something new every time I visit.
When we visit, we tend to visit two or three states (Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee) so I experience a few of the many different cultures that the US offers.
Think of this post as more of a casual write up, with some bonus photos included.
<h2>Heathrow airport</h2>
Quick note to say that the new machines used in security are phenomenal. You now just put your bag on the tray and walk through a body scanner. Me and my wife checked our bags and got through security in roughly fifteen minutes. It was the fastest I’ve ever been through Heathrow before.
Heathrow is one of my favourite airports to visit. There are plenty of spots to grab something to eat or grab that last minute souvenir or gift. It also seems that Terminal 3 is having some work done, with several stores being revamped and new stores being added.
<h2>Atlanta airport</h2>
Out of all of the airports I’ve visited over the years, Atlanta airport continues to be the worst for international travel. Plus, the traffic in Atlanta is just awful.
The international terminal is just devoid of so many things when compared to Heathrow. Me and my wife got some food from a Burger King (which looked new, and was honestly the most appealing food place available) which featured two of the saddest looking Coca-Cola freestyle machines I’ve ever seen. One was broken, and the other was missing so many drinks. Considering Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola, I thought it would feature some of the best machines they could offer.
Next time, me and my wife are planning to go and fly to Nashville airport (as that’s had some major work done).
<h2>Alabama</h2>
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My wife is from here, and therefore we have plenty of family and friends that we visit and catchup with.
Out of all the places I visit, I feel Alabama offers a good snapshot of the average American life. Not many tourists, plenty of local businesses, and lots of friendly people. It’s a state where I can see people who take things more slowly than other places that I’ve visited before (such as New York).
One experience that stands out to me on this recent visit was a trip to the beauty salon where my wife went to get her haircut. My wife got her haircut from someone who’s been cutting her hair for years. In fact, almost all of her family go to the same place.
Apparently I’ve been mentioned a few times and it was as if I was a small celebrity. I was being introduced to everyone there. People being surprised that someone from the UK would visit a small beauty salon in Alabama. Of course, people appreciated the accent.
But the fact that everyone there knew each other, shared the same feelings and were friendly with each other took me by surprise in a pleasant way.
It’s true what they say about southern charm and southern hospitality.
I know the UK is more reserved in many ways, but it got me thinking that maybe we should open up to each other more?
I know that someone will be thinking about food portions, and yes, the portions are big, but I do appreciate all of the local businesses that are around and how high the food quality is. It makes me think that the UK should try and back local businesses as much as the larger chains. Shout to Mountain Brook Creamery for offering some really good ice cream.
Housing in Alabama is also interesting. Where UK house prices are at their highest point, and everything seems unaffordable, houses in Alabama are the opposite. Houses are large and affordable (well, compared to what I paid for my current first home). It takes me by surprise every time I see them.
I know there are many views on Alabama, but it’s not what you think. If you’re in the US, try and stop by Alabama and see what you think. The weather is also pretty good.
<h2>Tennessee</h2>
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Me and my wife met in Nashville, so we try and visit the city whenever we can. I honestly love visiting Nashville, from the music, the murals, the restaurants, to the people. There are plenty of reasons why you should visit Nashville.
I will mention that Nashville just seems to be constantly under construction, with a new high rise building being added each time I visit.
On this trip, we spent a few days in Nashville, Franklin (just south of Nashville), Gatlinburg (the smoky mountains) and Pigeon Forge.
Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are wild experiences. My wife describes them as the southern equivalent to Las Vegas, and I can see that.
The over the top exteriors of the buildings and attractions at Pigeon Forge do look tacky at first, but it does grow on you. There aren’t that many places in the world where you can visit a store (and hotel) that’s Christmas every day, the museum of crime and the Titanic museum all in one place.
Gatlinburg is a similar vibe, but it does have a small village area that is hugely influenced by European architecture. My wife insisted I try a huge corn dog from a place called Fannie Farkle’s and it was incredibly greasy, I couldn’t finish it.
The smoky mountains offer some truly fantastic views. Me and my wife stayed with her family in a log cabin which gave us some of the best views of the mountains.
Over in Franklin, we went around the centre and a shopping area called The Factory, which has some chains and local stores, and restaurants. Seeing the amount of support that people have for local businesses is something I wish we embraced more in the UK. Maybe it’s time that we built more infrastructure to support smaller businesses?
Me and my wife love visiting Nashville and Franklin, it’s probably our favourite spot to visit while in the US. Maybe one day we’ll move here (but it might remain a dream given how expensive houses are there)
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<h2>Food</h2>
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I know I briefly touched on food, but it really deserves its own section.
Sure, there are plenty of fast food places, but what I see more of are places that make the food fresh rather than using frozen ingredients. I want to highlight the following places:
<ul>
<li>Chick-fil-A</li>
<li>Culvers</li>
<li>Raising Cane’s</li>
<li>Swig</li>
</ul>
These places tend to offer really good food for the price. Me and my wife looked at how much something from McDonald’s costs against what we paid for one of the places above, and the huge difference in quality for a small difference in price is something that we can’t ignore.
But it’s always interesting to see that people will go to these fast food places multiple times a week. I know in the UK we view fast food as a treat that we have once a week.
I’ll also talk about the cheesecake factory, because I can never finish a meal there. Despite the gigantic food portions, I always end up going there because the quality of the food is so high. I tried the Oreo Dream Extreme Cheesecake, and it really is extreme on the amount of Oreos that are used in making that cheesecake!
I did try a new place, called Swig. The best way I can describe Swig is Starbucks but for soft drinks. It has a fast service, good range of drinks available and snacks. Next time I’m in Nashville, I’ll drop by Swig again.
<h2>Cars and driving</h2>
I’m always amazed by the cars over in the US. They’re hugely different to cars in the UK.
A big part of American culture is cars. They’re essential to getting around and it really is a life skill there. Seeing interstates and how complex they can be made me appreciate the UK roads. I used to be surprised by the size of American cars, but now, I get the reason why so many people drive large cars. People in the US live in their cars, and will happily drive long distances in them.
I saw a good amount of Rivian electric SUVs, which just makes me want to buy one (waiting until they release the R2 in the UK). The Ford F-150 still remains a popular vehicle.
<h2>Shopping</h2>
Of course, me and my wife did some shopping while in the US (as the exchange rate works well in our favour). We visited several outlet malls (The Shops of Grand River, Tanger Outlets) and a large shopping mall (The mall at Green Hills). J Crew once again lured me in to buy some new clothes. I remember when J Crew had a small retail presence in the UK. I also bought some clothes from a Banana Republic outlet store.
I did pick up some gifts for my parents as well from some stores in Gatlinburg. A hat and some chocolate always goes down well.
<h2>Wrap up</h2>
Me and my wife are planning to visit the US again this year, possibly at Christmas. I’ll more than likely do another write up as well, since there’s an infinite amount of culture to learn and experience. Plus, there are more photos that I need to take (I really need to work on my street photography, maybe I’ll have a new camera to take photos with when we go on our next trip).
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