Except recent foreign policy failures, I mostly think Biden has done a good job.
On the other hand, I don't care much for Pelosi. The presidency is not a role where the person in charge can easily step down and give it to a younger generation: for better or for worse, the person in that seat is the one who got elected. House speaker is different, and Pelosi hogged that chair for far too long clinging on to an outdated idea of the Democratic party.
Or that's my impression anyway, I don't have an inside understanding of American politics. Thank god.
Genuine compliments on personality are always cool. Like, "you're good at making people feel comfortable around you" or whatever. People often wonder what role they play in social situations, being told they're doing good is nice. At least I appreciate it whenever it happens.
Also keep in mind that what is perfect for one person is not perfect for another, and we change from day to day. Some days we have energy to do a bunch of stuff, other days we just want to take it easy.
I think the most important part of successful travelling with a partner is to be considerate of each others: Pay attention to what the other person wants, perhaps especially if they need a little break. This does not align well with planning everything in detail. You have to be able to improvise, and to take into account each others needs throughout the travels. :)
I think American women might have something similar going on. Some of them use their voice differently from what we're used to in Europe. But yeah, solid observation.
I think Brits and Americans are also badly perceived because people understand the stupid stuff they're saying. People speaking more obscure languages might have the benefit of doubt.
I am guessing from context you're an American going to Europe.
The US is big; distances in Europe is more manageable. However, we've packed a bunch of stuff into every square kilometre. Just because you can do Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples all in a week doesn't mean you should. I lived a while in Florence, and I always overheard American tourists talking about how they "saw" all these great European cities in just a day before moving on. They didn't see shit other than the Eiffel tower and the Ponte Vecchio.
Find a place you want to experience, and try to actually experience it. Go to museums. Eat their food. Visit small unknown places. Walk around. Learn about the place.
Europeans don't generally love Americans. We mostly tolerate them. We kind of like their culture, but our favourite Western movies are Italian.
This is not an attack, but a fair warning. Don't parade how American you are expecting people to treat you better - the best you can hope for is that they'll expect you to leave a fat tip. Try to mimic social codes around you. Don't be the loudest person around - and if the loudest people around you are Americans, they're either being obnoxious or you're in a tourist trap.
Don't ever brag.
Investigate when you can eat and what you can eat when. Lunch and dinner times vary from country to country and sometimes city to city. If you're hungry between 14 and 18 in France or Italy you'll be lucky if you can settle with a sandwich. Restaurant closing times vary a lot too - a Pizzeria in Italy will open at 19, in Denmark it will close at 20.
When in Rome and all that. Macdonald's might do in a pinch, but Europe is a continent of cheese, wine, beer, and regional specialties. Find out what people eat in the city where you are. You probably don't want to order a paella in Andalucia; only Americans order bolognese in Naples.
Especially in France, don't expect everyone to speak English. They might not be very comfortable with it, and starting a conversation in English an awful start. Learn a few phrases. In France, always start any interaction with a bonjour or bonsoir. At the very least learn how to ask people if they speak English in their own language. In many countries their response will be "of course I do", but chances are they'll still appreciate the effort.
And good luck!! It's a wonderful continent, especially if you're interested in art, food, or history.
Edit: Also, if you're in a touristic city looking very American or talking loudly in American English, you need to keep a tighter watch on your personal belongings than anyone else around you. You're being targeted by pickpockets.
Investing $900 per month makes such a gigantic difference for anyone who doesn't have an unlimited budget. That's $10800 per year even before counting interest.
A shared flat is no dream situation, but this sounds like a potentially life changing difference.
I don't think unfinished floorboards necessarily makes rodents so much more welcome.
I'd say go for the cheaper one. You save 50 minutes every day, you probably don't have to deal with rats any more, you can invest $1000 per month for savings, and you get rid of your creepy landlady. Flatmates might be a blessing and they might be a curse, but a good first impression is a start.
Early on in the life of software I think a faster pace of development makes sense, when the software is less complex and there are fewer affected users. I think most Piefed users accept that they are very much using software that is still in active development.
Mastodon, on the other hand, is used by people who consider it to already be mature. A large number of people and organizations depend on it. Personally I trust it with the only actively maintained social media account I have in my real name. Moving too fast and making mistakes could have pretty fatal consequences there.
There are features I would like to see implemented as well - I think proper quote posts will be nothing but a huge improvement - but I appreciate that the developers are taking their sweet time making sure to get it right. And if Piefed reaches a million active users I expect its developer(s) to do the same.
It takes time to build friendships. If you meet people for an activity that's a start, but if you don't feel like any of them are friend material (or they're too busy) you need to branch out. Try finding a larger/different group that does that activity, or better yet, try out something else.
Volunteering tends to be a great starting point.
Friendships often start with a leap of faith of sorts - you hang out in a given context, and at some point somebody takes the next step (wanna grab a beer/grab lunch/come for dinner/go to the game/whatever)
You kind of do things that are a bit ahead of your current level of friendship, and then if it works out you've managed to upgrade.
We all know Trump is Putin's man in America. We all witnessed his presidency, we all saw their cozy little press conference with their secret little meeting.
It boggles my mind how dishonest or plain stupid one has to be, as a serious journalist, to frame MAGA Putin supporters as something intellectually surprising or out of the ordinary. Trumpism has been Putin's project since day one, and there's no way the journalist is not aware of that.
Journalists are so fucking hungry for a spin they obscure reality in the process.
Except recent foreign policy failures, I mostly think Biden has done a good job.
On the other hand, I don't care much for Pelosi. The presidency is not a role where the person in charge can easily step down and give it to a younger generation: for better or for worse, the person in that seat is the one who got elected. House speaker is different, and Pelosi hogged that chair for far too long clinging on to an outdated idea of the Democratic party.
Or that's my impression anyway, I don't have an inside understanding of American politics. Thank god.