Brit Reacts to What is life REALLY like in the USA? 

No, they’re not showing you what suburban life is like in America, they’re showing you what suburban life is like in that one very affluent upscale neighborhood. That’s not at all what typical life is like in America.

You should make a video of your neighborhood / town. The type of houses, shops, grocery stores etc. so us American fans can see what the UK is like!!

Texan here, who has also lived several years in New Mexico and Arizona. Beans here would be bbq style, or refried depending on what you're ordering, and they're very rarely be something you'd eat with breakfast, except maybe in breakfast tacos. That said, the US is HUGE, it's honestly not fair to make "this is how life is in the US" videos, because what is normal varies from state to state. Hell, East and West Texas alone are different enough to have entirely different accents.

They were cooking on a back yard fire pit, not designed for cooking and heaven knows what metal they were cooking on. I wouldn't trust it to be food safe. Now that's living dangerously. They could have driven it in just a couple of hours, but US passenger trains have to give way to freight trains. That Boston suburb is a pricey neighborhood and NOT typical. If a basement is finished, usually they are an extention of the rest of the house. Yes we have regular baked beans, but that was stated to be an Irish Breakfast, with the baked beans. I agree, I don't want anything that has the alternate name of blood pudding. And they ate about 4 entrees each. That Tesla is a top of the line model, not what most have. These people are either loaded or up to their eyebrows in debt, or both. Again, this is NOT typical.

That’s not public transit that’s Amtrak. That’s long distance train. That’s why it’s so nice.

Your "standard" baked beans are actually Heinz Baked Beans, which were first established in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA by Henry J Heinz in the year 1876. The Brits simply adopted the American product.

While I've never had a house with a basement, I have visited family and friends that have them (mostly the mid-west). Trust me, the basement is where all the fun happens! No need to worry about horror shows :)

No one would tune into the news if the headline was "330 million Americans have a safe night at home. News at 11", but you could run that headline every night, and it would be true.

They took a train called “Amtrak”, which is not really like your typical, local train. They are designed for long travels (1 line goes from NYC to Florida). Many have cafe cars, like in the video. Most regular trains do not.

For the most part, America is VERY safe! Just like everywhere, some places are safer than others and there is always a few places you shouldn't go if you're not a local. But overall it's very safe. People telling you otherwise, simply don't know what they're talking about.

Dude, in the summertime, when its blazing hot outside, if you have a 'finished' basement, it can be coolest place in the house. A lot of folks with basements will furnish them as game rooms, put up a couple of walls for a guest bedroom and bathroom. My brother-in-law has a sound system and a full bar in his basement. Some people will use it for a workshop or for general storage, but for others it can be a whole other furnished floor of the house. I lived in a basement myself for three months. Absolutely no complaints. Edit: And that is not a lot of snow in Boston. That is barely any snow in Boston.

Hi mate, in Texas we sometimes have frioles refritos, or as they are sometimes called, refried beans. You just take some beans, usually pinto beans left from the night before, put them in a skillet with maybe some diced onion and a little grease and heat them up while stirring them. What you end up with is a sort of bean paste with some chunks of bean in 'em. They're great, you can put them on a flour tortilla with some salsa roja, in a breakfast burrito or just as a side dish. They're very versatile.

Dude says, "It's so bitter cold! It's, like, minus two Celsius!" ..... WHAT? That's not cold!!! 🤣 Minus two Farenheit... now THAT'S cold! :)

15:07 "OH, So, This Specific Area Is Got A Lot Of English And Irish Lineage" Yup, that's why this region is referred to as "New England," Lewis

Boston is in Massachusetts. NYC is in New York.

Boston IS close to NYC! For us, that trip is nothing. Have gone up in the morning and come back in the evening, no problem. And there are people who actually do that several days a week, some even every day. Never forget. This is a huge place and our reference points for far away are based on our size.

The Barbecue pit is popular in South African BBQs (called a Braai). Remember, they're South Africans who moved to Massachusetts, they're mixing cultures so they don't represent the average American family.

FYI: the average price of homes in Westwood is $1,,050,,000. Cost of living index for housing is 219.5% the national average. Good news: very many US basements are finished like the rest of the house, often with windows and their own entrances. No need to fear the basements. It’s our version of baked beans that will make your hair stand on end-lol. Look up hash browns and home fries if you want to see what is often served at breakfast in the North East, grits in the South.

The baked beans are only local to Boston. We often call them Boston Baked Beans. Boston is also nicknamed "Bean Town".

Our standard baked beans are called pork n' beans. So that may be why people do not know what you mean and say we have bbq baked beans etc... What we call baked beans are usually the same beans as pork n' beans but instead of tomato sauce in them, they have bbq sauce, or brown sugar or something like that. it is pretty much broken down to a specific type of beans.

The thing on front of the truck was a snow plow. In the Boston suburbs many people put snowplows on their pickup trucks. A lot of people pay to have their driveways plowed.

If it's a "finished basement," it'll be just like the rest of the house. I have a basement, but it's not finished. It probably wouldn't take too much to finish out out. Its temperature is comfortable all year around, but it's very humid. I'd have to get a huge dehumidifier set up.

You need to remember how diverse our states are from each other and even within a state. In example, NYS is usually thought of in at least 6 areas. NYC, Upstate, Capital area, Northern NY, Central NY and Western NY. And sometimes even more regional areas … Finger Lakes Region, Thousand Islands, Adirondacks, Catskills, Southern Tier, etc.

Lewis, Boston is close to NYC by American standards. Four hours is a quick trip to go from the farm to the closest Walmart. Then go out for a late lunch before back to the farm to unload and cook dinner. Many Americans think in terms of time rather than distance when going places. This is true in cities as well as in rural areas because driving to work during rush hour can take three hours for a 26 mile drive. So when you come here and want to drive across the country from Washington, DC to the west coast, don't think of it as a 2800 mile trip. Think of it as a 50 to 60 hour drive, depending on traffic through cities, construction and weather. The USA isn't just huge, it is HUGE.

No not what our BBQ is like. I've never seen one like that

There is a huge difference between subway trains and passenger trains. The subway (or metro, underground, ect) is designed for short trips around the city. Passenger trains are designed to go from one end of the country to the other. Some trips are long, so these trains are equipped with a dining car and sleeping berths. Some have private "cabins" for people to use as a sitting room during the day and fold-out beds at night. Edited to add - I think what is confusing folks about the beans is that Brits call the tomato-based beans "baked beans" and Americans call them Pork and Beans. Here, baked beans are started with the same great northern beans and have lots of other ingredients and flavors added to them, then slow-cooked or baked.

Many basements are finished and have a bathroom, carpeting, private bedroom and large open room. There is an area where the furnace and water heater are and that part has a concrete floor and storage space. It.s off the larger finished part. I’ve never seen a ghost anywhere in my entire life!

I live in Massachusetts, we definitely have fences and hedges for our backyards for privacy. Also, everything in Massachusetts is expensive

My basement is as good as our main floor. It has got big windows so the light is ok. It has a large family room, bathroom, three bedrooms and my sewing room. Two of my children spent their childhoods there because their bedrooms were there. The other two spent their waking hours there because of the family room. It isn’t scary at all.

13:29 I worked at Starbucks in my 20s during college and grad school and the best takeaway I learned is make my own coffee….i could totally see you becoming a true coffee snob in the best way by getting into making your own

It cracks me up every time he says “bless me” after a sneeze. Love it!

Duluth, Minnesota here. Yes college hockey is big across the USA with different divisions. Division 1 hockey being the top. In the USA we LOVE our college sports 🙂👍

Evidently you've never seen a beautiful basement. Many are as nice as upstairs.

Boston is known for seafood. You can eat at the Union Oyster House or one of the Legal Seafood locations. I believe there are also some relatively cheap seafood places around. I haven't been to Boston in 15 to 20 years. The city is compact compared to NYC, with a decent subway system. Harvard Square in Cambridge, on the red line is good for restaurants and people watching, Boston Public Garden and Boston Common are nice.

00:50 That's called GRILLING, not barbecue. GRILLING = fast cooking over direct flames in 30 minutes or less. BARBECUE = low heat over indirect flames and smoke for 12 or more hours.

If you travel in America via train, you have to WANT to travel VERY SLOWLY via train (our trains can't go more than 60mph, the tracks aren't made for speed). Don't get me wrong, SOME train travel is very beautiful and worth slowing down for (I recommend the Rocky Mountaineer train, Amtrak Empire Builder, and the Amtrak Coast Starlight), but some are very boring that just go through flat repetitive plains FOREVER. The long train rides do provide meals. Sleeping quarters are usually not great, but are a unique experience. The famous trains can be pretty expensive.

That is not a typical home in Massachusetts. That’s an upper middle class neighborhood. That is nothing for snow, we’d call that a dusting. I’d be happy with that little amount of snow compared to a normal snow storm. (Born and raised in Boston) We do have baked beans , only one brand makes them in a tomato-y base. It’s not the norm for here. The fire pit is not the norm. Never saw one like that. Either custom built or hand made. Hope you watch and comment on their part 2 of my awesome city!

Basements are the best part of a house. I have screens like that in my Escalade but it's much smaller. My favorite parts of new cars are cooling seats but heated seats, heated stirring wheels, and heated windshield wipers in our Montana winters are the best. That was a snow plow on the front of his pickup. You will see them all over the place in Montana. I have one for those days when we get lots of snow to plow our driveway because it's about a quarter mile long and the county road it connects to is plowed by the county. College Hockey is pretty big in the Northeastern USA from Minnesota to Maine

The item they were cooking the steaks on is a fire pit. There are all kinds of BBQs, some purchased and some homemade. If you have a sleeper car on Amtrak, your meals are free, and the food is really good. Went from Detroit to New Orleans and had a fantastic time. Always interesting to see the US through your eyes.

AT the 18 minute mark...it was a snowplow on a personal truck. I have one on my ATV. If you live in a place with a lot of snow, you can't always wait for the city or county to come by and clear it.

I live North of Boston. People walk around all hours of the night. Some don't even lock their doors. In fact, some only lock their doors when they go to bed at night. Everyone looks out for everyone else. It's a small town. That being said, there are areas that aren't safe, but it is usually the larger cities. Most of the towns are pretty safe and there is a strong sense of community. Some of the msot generous people live here. They are willing to help out the needy. And as far as the weather, during the winter it can get really, really cold. And during the summer, it can get really, really hot. I do love the blizzards. There's nothing like being inside by the fireplace, sipping on a hot drink, while it's snowing outside.

Boston is well known for their Boston baked beans. I know for a fact that not many Americans eat baked beans for breakfast. They go good with corn on the cob and hot dogs and hamburgers at a cookout or even for dinner with a hot dog. I put honey, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and a few drops of Tabasco sauce in and serve over rice with cheddar cheese and diced raw onions on top. Delicious. Breakfast in a major city would be high.

You looked away for a second and missed the creamer they poured in their coffee. It's the standard coffee creamer that we've mention to you several times.

Basic coffee in a dining environment is usually much less expensive than from coffee shops (such as Starbucks, etc).

18:04 Some truck owners attach snow plows during the winter in this part of the US to clear snow from driveways and parking lots. It's a way to make some extra money for the holidays, paying heating bills, etc.😊

4 hour train means a ton of stops between. It takes 4 hours from Chicago to Cleveland on Amtrak, it is mostly farmland between the two cities but there are stops in between at larger cities. The area of the East Coast has tons and tons of people and cities (often call from DC to Boston MEGALOPOLIS). 👽🗿👽

We don't eat baked beans for breakfast, or on toast.

Black pudding came around during the early days in history as a way of getting the iron it was said that if you ate black pudding after giving birth, it would help replenish your iron and blood. That’s why people eat it and yes there is some truth to it, and there have been several ancient practices of cooking blood into a sausage or bread even just blood cubes. The Masai in Africa mix blood and milk together. It’s a ritual of some sort if I remember correctly.

My hubby was English and he finally found beans similar to you guy's and they are what we call pork and beans. He said difference is no pork fat in yours and more ketchup flavored in yours.What you call ice lolly we call Popsicles. Our jelly is for toast or biscuits yours is what we call jello. He didn't like peanut butter till he tried honey roasted.❤

I have a Tesla with Full Self Driving (FSV). I love my Tesla! I'm commenting because I think that is important to understand that you can't just look away when the car has FSV engaged. YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU STILL NEED TO SUPERVISE THE TESLA . The software is still in Beta. and if you do not keep your hands on the wheel pretty frequently, the car will start beeping at you and stop driving. I love the low maintenance - no oil changes, brakes wear for about 3 times as long as they do in a an internal combustion engine car, no radiators and belts. I've had my car about four years, had an electrician install a charger in my garage, and except for long trips, I treat it like a cell phones-- just plug it in when I get home -- and the next day when I get ready to leave it is fully charged. I do not believe that you have FSV in the UK, but you do have superchargers where you can go from about 10% charge to 80% in about 20 minutes. That's just enough time to visit the restroom and buy a snack, so it doesn't bother me that it takes longer than getting gas. I have visited the UK several times, and always enjoy our spacious homes and neighborhoods when get home. In the UK, I love the culture and the museums, the history, the lovely people and the beautiful countryside. Originally from Texas, I have lived in 8 different states n the U. S., and everyone of them had some things I loved and a few that I didn't. It is always exciting to visit a new state and a new country. Just enjoy the good stuff and avoid the irritants and you can always have a good time. We love showing off our good things to visitors. I do hope you get to come here and stay for a nice long visit and be exposed to the differences between regions, urban and rural. You have a great channel.

My brother lives in a 200+ year old house about 25 min or so from Boston. Massachusetts is a expensive state to live in when compared to many other states. As one of the oldest areas settled in the US, it is heavily influenced by the European countries who first settled there. They do get the fluffy snow, often more than a foot deep at a time. A few winters ago they had a total of 200 plus inches of snow for the winter season. Like other places it snows, melts, snows again. The bottom layer becomes packed ice, as you saw at the seaport.

We DO have standard baked beans. We generally call them pork & beans. We add brown sugar, onions, mustard to them and bake them in the oven for a bit until it thickens and we call them baked beans.

Standard baked beans are just not a thing here unless you are ordering an "English" or "Irish" breakfast. Not the norm at all. The most basic "American" breakfast is just two eggs, bacon(or sausage) and regular toast with some coffee

You might change your mind about basements if you see a fully finished one. As for their breakfast feast, most either skip breakfast or eat not even half the amount they did. The biggest meal is supper, (some call it dinner). As for safety, there isn't any populated area that does not have some kind of crime. The trick is to know the city well enough to be able to avoid the areas that are known to be unsafe. I hope you take up some of the offers to stay with an American family when ou visit that way you will get a free tour of the area as well as a place to sleep and a local family will know what areas to stay away from.

Dude, anyone can make French toast anywhere! Crack an egg, whip it up with a little bit of milk, dip your slice of white bread in it quickly on both sides an slap it on a hot skillet of butter. Top it with maple syrup and whatever else you like. French toast is far too easy to make for anyone to have never had it.

Oh no, the train that they were on in the first clip was the New York subway then they went to Grand Central Station and got on the Amtrak train, which is actually pretty nice long travel train where are you can buy food on there and there’s bathrooms and comfortable seats and will take you from DC New York then to Boston, MASSACHUSETTS (4 hours my train). They’re doing it the right way

Wet, slushy snow makes very hard ice balls. Dry, fluffy snow makes good packing snow balls.

As a Euro...you've gotta understand what the public transportation system is like in the US. It can be great, terrible or non-existent. Depends on where you are. The US is HUGE. Public transport isn't feasible in all places. A Euro has NO IDEA of the sheer scale of the distances involved.

Amtrak trains are not like subways. In Denver Colorado. Main floor had kitchen,dining room,master bedroom with bath, another bathroom, Dads den, and a small living room. The basement had two large bedrooms, another bathroom, a large family room with couches, tv, and pool table, a laundry room and mom’s sewing room. All fully carpeted and paneled. I loved being in the basement.

Hello, I just found your channel. You are too funny! I was born and raised on the North Shore of Massachusetts, USA. I still live here; I love the four seasons. We do see our fair share of snow in the winter, sometime even into early April. Not every home in the USA is huge with a lot of rooms. The house that I own was built in the 1950's and it is a ranch style home with a basement, but not fancy. We did have it all done over, but we had some flooding from too much rain one year and now it is the typical what you would call a "scary basement". But not really lol And we do have fences with the older homes. Massachusetts is pretty old we have houses dating back to the early 1600's. The last house I lived in that I had rented was built in 1836 and it was scary and used to hear noises, possibly spirits of people that lived there before me. 😊

That actually isn't very much snow. It looks like a pretty light snow part of the season. A good year in Boston, the snow will be up higher than your waist. And the plowed banks are so high, you can't see cars on the other side of it. The bigger Nor'easters can't even be pushed with those wimpy snow plows you saw on that little bitty pickup truck. They sometimes need to move the snow with 20-ton front end loaders.

Boston is known as bean town because of the baked beans made with brown sugar and molasses. Boston was a big port town for molasses production.

Eating baked beans for breakfast is possibly more standard in the New England states compared to the rest of the country. American cuisine varies depending on your geographic location.

That is a smokeless fire pit with a special rim for cooking on the fire pit. They also have grill accessories. A finished basement is the same as the rest of the house.

I think people forget that theres New York City which is in New York State which is a pretty good sized state....I love that they went on a train ride instead of taking a plane ride to enjoy what the states have to offer....I love that they're showing the prices of everything which helps everyone understand the differences....yes some places are more dangerous than the states but people spin it differently unfortunately

I would NOT recommend a Tesla, or any other EV, in cold climates. They do not recharge when it's cold. I would recommend any GM truck-based platform (Silverado, Sierra, Suburban, Tahoe/Yukon,/Escalade). You will be able to go pretty much anywhere, with one of these.

This was really cool because I live very close to Boston. We finally get to see what Massachusetts is like. This is a very expensive state. Good things for nurses because they get paid the highest salary.

I’m a Massachusetts native also known as a Masshole. I’m from Cape Cod since 1963, which many people think is all rich people it’s not it’s mostly low middle to middle class. The Kennedy’s have a home here but they’re not from Cape Cod they’re from New York. Interesting fact the Cape Cod Canal is the widest man made canal in the world and if you want really good clam chowder Lawrence you need to have Cape Cod quahog chowder which is a large soft shell clam and it’s made with salt pork and light cream onions potatoes black pepper and it has lots of the quahogs and potatoes and onions and never ever thickened with flour. Last where Boston people don’t pronounce their R’s and say pawk the cah Cape Codders say park the car. I love this video

I live in NW Washington State, 25 miles east of a major freeway. We live in the foothills of Mt Baker, a volcano. It's considered a rain forest, always green. We live in a log chalet surrounded by 100'+ tall trees. We have miss everywhere. We have wildlife coming into the yard on occasion. Bears, cougars, racoons and all kinds of birds, bald eagles, owls. We both hunt for deer and fish. We eat mostly wild meat we harvest. We have a wood stove for heat. Wish I could send you photos. Look up Whatcom county Washington, lots of RU-vid videos will give you a clue. In less than an hour going east, I can be at a ski resort, less than an hour west and I am at the Bay. I'm 10 miles from the Canadian border. Life is so varied in the states, really hard to get a good idea from these videos. I avoid towns as much as possible. I am 65, grew up on a small farm in Oregon.

Our basement is finished. It’s got full windows, its own door leading out to the back patio, the kids playroom area, my craft room, a guest bed, and a big family room area where we have our “movie nights”. 😊 We spend a lot of time in our basement. I’m down there right now, watching this, actually lol

Lewis, we have BOSTON Baked Beans - made with molasses, brown sugar, bacon fat and sometimes maple syrup NOT tomato sauce ! They're VERY different from the Heinz Beans that are served in the UK.

My basement has a master bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette, and a huge living/entertainment area. It additionally has a door that opens to ground level. American basements vary greatly. Some are more akin to a cellar, some are partially finished with rooms or living space, others are 100%finished and are indistinguishable from the other levels of the home.

Trains in the cities are nice. That "bad train" thing is rural and overblown. Boston is in the state of Massachusetts. That was breakfast for like 4 people, so it wasn't expensive. Most of America that isn't Memphis is very safe overall, if certain neighborhoods are avoided. The violence image is very overstated.

basements in horror shoes etc. are creepy because they aren't finished so they are 'dark and scary' but a finished basement is just like any other level of the house and there is nothing creepy about it lol one good example i can think of is stranger things a lot of the time they hang out is the basement, that 70's show too those are furnished and they are even less done up than we do today but there is nothing creepy about it, it's just another level

I've lived in the US for 47 years and don't know anyone who lives in one of those huge mansions. They are a small fraction of the population.

Most homes don’t have fences because the lot sizes here are generally large, and you don’t really need them. I have hedges around my house plus cypress trees in the back for privacy and it just kind of depends on the house.

We have walk-out basements, too. Usually big slising glass doors goes straight outside & feels like the main floor, but it's a basement!

New England always serves Boston Baked Beans as a side for a full American breakfast

the thing with our train travel is the tracks are owned by the government and freight has priority over passenger trains, so you will have to pull over for freight to pass. With that said our trains go through some of the most beautiful countryside. all trains have an observation car which is all glass. you may want to look into a train trip when you come to the USA. they have several routs.

A house needs a foundation. Basements are big in the US because in cold places like the Northeast, where the US started (the 13 Colonies repped by the stripes on the flag), smelly coal furnaces and space to store coal drove us to lower the foundation to create room. In the South and West, the heating needs are lower and the equipment takes less space, so new homes are still built on slab. It's free real estate!

It's about 220 miles from NYC to Boston.

Yes, Lewis that truck has a snowplow attachment on it. It’s common in the winter to see that, especially in the snowy states here in Minnesota. It’s so common that I’m surprised that you guys don’t have it but at the same time I know the UK doesn’t get much snow so.

"I always thought of Boston as being close to NY[C]" - it *is* 😏

Our baked beans are usually pork and beans with bbq sauce in them. When I make them I will open some cans of pork and beans and mix it with bbq sauce then brown some ground beef with onions and bell pepper to mix in.

In our area of Pennsylvania, many high schools have hockey teams. It's also a pretty big youth sport for younger kids. Many colleges have hockey, It's just not as popular as football, basket ball, baseball.

basements are the best! there is a difference between a finished basment and not finished. but as a teenager i loved having my room in the basement. its like i had a whole floor to myself. the family room, the office, another bathroom. i could come home and go down to my own little domain. when you're little its where the toys are kept. when your a teen its where your computer and gaming systems are. its where you parents send you when you have friends over. I suppose i dont speak for every American, but in general, the main floor is for adult stuff and the basement is for fun kid stuff.

We live in Idaho. A Tesla wouldn't work well here. Distances are too far apart and no rural charging stations. We have a home that is built into a hill. Entry level is upstairs. Our downstairs is a walkout basement which means the entire side and back has windows and door. It's completely finished and not like a dungeon. Most the time snow here is dry and very difficult to make snowballs and snowmen out of.

Not a normal thing for Americans to eat baked beans or black pudding for breakfast--but they were in a Boston area restaurant that served an "Irish breakfast." New Englanders eat baked beans--but not usually for breakfast. More a Saturday night meal with franks and brown bread.

I've taken Amtrak to and from NYC many times. The ride north across Queens and the Hell Gate Bridge is one of the most spectacular views of the New York skyline. It's even more incredible after dark. The ride thru Connecticut is pretty scenic as well. They were on the Amtrak Regional [Top speed 120 mph]. The Amtrak Acela is faster [150mph], more upscale... and more expensive.

Been driving a Tesla Model 3 since 2019 and I LOVE IT. When in the autopilot mode, it prompts you to keep your hand on the steering wheel or move it slightly every so often. I've never tested it to see what happens if you don't do that--if it doesn't detect an alert driver-- but I assume it will go out of that mode and start to brake, which would be jarring and wake you suddenly if you've fallen asleep. I don't use that function very often, but it is handy (ha!) if you want to eat something or are in slow traffic. You can set the distance you want to be between you and the car in front. The Rainbow Road Easter egg is fun, especially if you're a fan of the SNL skit (more cowbell!) and MarioKart. You can watch videos and play games on the console, but only when parked. There's also a romance mode where you can watch and listen to a crackling fire while parked, and you even feel heat from it. I hope you can drive one someday!

Breakfast around here we have blue plate special 2 eggs, two bacon or sausage and two pancakes for $7.

The train looked like the Amtrak excelsior, which goes for long distances and sometimes has sleep compartments. You can ride them from NY to Florida, down the entire east coast. They are far more comfortable than subway train cars which have hard seats and are for short distances within a city. Often you have to stand on a NYC subway, especially at rush hour.

I lived just an hour drive south of Boston in the late 80's early 90's in Cape Cod Massachusetts's. All of New England is pretty and quite different from anywhere else in the country, with the coastal area's being the most unique. Since I was little, I've always been a huge history buff so, getting to frequently explore Boston and many other significant locations in the region that are so significant in American history, such as Salem, was like a dream come true. Especially, since many of the historical buildings and locations are protected and still exist... Like the Old North Church (of "one if by land, two if by sea" fame) which sits in the middle of downtown Boston surrounded by high rises and skyscrapers (quite the contrast). And places like Paul Revere's home and civil war cemeteries in the middle of the city. There's a red line painted on the sidewalk to follow for a walking tour of the historical sights. The naval ship USS Constitution is also there anchored there in Boston harbor, still managed and manned by the US Navy. Or atleast it was back then. Just an incredible place to visit. I always enjoyed Boston MUCH more than NYC.

There is a difference between riding the subway and riding Amtrack. Subways, BART, or commuter trains are in big cities. No food available on the train. Amtrack trains are for travel between cities and states and depending on where you are going it may last days. This is not the average american household. My son's daylight basement holds his guestroom, guest bath and laundry as well as their gym and opens to the enclosed hot tub and back yard which means there are two escape routes in case of monsters or serial killers.

I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned it, but there is a big difference between the NYC subway system (can be grimy) and the railroad (Amtrak). The subway does NOT have such comfy seats. However, the railroads may have the comfy seats and snack cart, etc. Also, there is another railroad that leaves out of NYC and goes to the suburbs. It's called the Long Island Railroad, which is nice but not as nice as the Amtrak trains.

Yes college hockey is a thing here. In fact, at my alma mater Michigan Tech University - go Huskies - football and basketball are not that big of a thing. However, since it is far Northern Michigan college hockey is a big deal. I had season tickets for many years. And if you think that there is a lot of snow there, you should see how much snow they get up there. Much much more snow

The shiny meat is a South African jerky called biltong. It’s authentically made with ostrich but in America ostrich is harder to find so the expats here substitute it for beef.

I've done that train ride from Philly to Boston and Hartford a few times. The views from the train as it heads through Queens is epic.

FYI: Boston is located in an area know as New England. It isn't a bad drive from NYC to Boston. It's very pretty in the winter.

I lived in Merrimack New Hampshire and we had a basement. In winter time we played in the basement. The hard cement floor was perfect for roller skating for small area. There was a slanted metal double door that if you needed to we could go out or come inside. I though they were unusual. If a basement was fixed up so you had everything including locking doors I think it would be okay. I always wanted the attic room