First observations

This is going to be a simple message about my observations here. Having lived here just about a week I feel I have noticed enough to share with you.

1) As you probably already know we settled in Jersey City not far from Newport station and the first thing we noticed was people-free streets. Still, I have no idea where they all are and what the tall buildings in the downtown are for.

And it's only about 6 pm

2) During our first night here (the one when we got up at 2 am) we bumped into Lukoil gas station. Clearly, it was not so popular as Shell and some other gas stations around.

Almost no cars

3) The next thing we noticed were squirrels. Yeap, there are lost of them in Jersey City downtown and it was a huge surprise because everything 50 km around Moscow is a dead land.

This one was really interested in me for some reason

Just crossing a road like other city dwellers

4) It really seems that everything is made for people. That is what I call "civilization" - one thing Russia lacks and that I really missed there. It consist of simple things like friendly road signs (see below) and comfortable crosswalks or bike routes:

Separated 2 way bike route on Manhattan (Chelsea)

And the bikes themselves. You can find them almost everywhere.
The price is about $100 per year

You can see and effort in details.

Small binoculars for child.
Or just for someone really small

But it can make your life much better

A little garden on a parking roof.
Not the best weather for such pictures, though.

It also includes clean streets, reusing and recycling... For instance, in a local store you get 2 cents refund for each plastic bag and 5 cents for each canvas bag you bring with you. Of cause it's peanuts, but it feels great to be praised for doing something good, isn't it?

Other examples are heating batteries disguised as floor molding, kitchen timers that turns off the stove when it's over (kind of a fire precaution), fire alarms and gas leaks detectors... or this:

5) People are polite and friendly. And they really seem to care about you. Unfortunately, I cannot convey this idea in pictures, thus you have to read a bit.

For example, people on the streets, in public transport or in a local grocery apologize even before they move a car in your direction or touch you. So they literally apologize not for what they have done but for what they could have done.

People who provide you with some service always try to understand your situation. If you do not know something - they will explain, if you need assistance - they will help, if you look for something - they will show. No exceptions so far. I'm still getting used to a local grocery where you can taste ham or cheese before you buy it and select the widths of a slice before slicing. That is what I call service! The last time I bought ham in Moscow I was given a whole piece of meat first even though I had asked to slice it. When I told a woman to slice it she got angry, started screaming and discussing what a piece of shit I was with her colleagues.

Drivers are extremely careful of pedestrians. Even on a mall parking they prefer to stop completely and wait until you leave the road clear rather than to take even a smallest risk of hitting or touching you with a car. In some places, like Hoboken it seems that you can close your eyes before crossing a road without being afraid  for your life.

There might be many more examples, but I believe that the idea is understood and we can go on.

6) Signs. They are everywhere. Road sighs are not just signs, but signs with text. That's almost impossible to get confused by them:

STOP and RED are emphasized which is pretty reasonable.

This one you can see when a regular crosswalk marking is covered by snow.
All for the sake of safety!

Railroad crossing

Sorry for my Russian, but it reminds me of "от обеда и до забора" so much.

By the way, in Hoboken every street is cleaned once a week and it takes about 2 hours, therefore, on every single street there is a sign (like the one above) that tells you what when exactly those 2 hours are. Some tell you about the neighbor watch in the area or public transport stations. Others warn you about something:

Or teach you something:

Sometimes you can even find something like this:

As though there is an officially drug-occupied school zone somewhere

8) Huge meals. Once we decided that we wanted pizza and went to a local Italian cafe. Shortly, we ordered a large pizza (luckily, just one). We realized that something weird was going to happen when a waitress brought a special support for pizza to our table. The pizza itself looked like this:

It was a table width in diameter and we managed to consume only 5 out of 8 slices.
Another time we ordered a breakfast (oversized pancakes stuffed with eggs, cheese, etc.) and none of us could finish it as well.

8) Underground seems not as bad as I was told. To be absolutely honest, this is not a picture of the underground exactly, but the PATH station. It is not a piece of art as in Moscow, of cause, but it is clean and tidy and does it job well:

9) Electricity posts are wooden sometimes and are overloaded with different types of cables:

Hoboken again, by the way

10) On the border of Jersey City and Hoboken there is a building built on a hill so you can see huge piles it stands on. Under the parking they are dozens of meters long. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life.

Photo quality is shit, I know.

That's it for now, but I think this is not the last message of such kind. Bue!

P.S.
Museum of Natural History, New York

Тагил!