i embarrassed myself in the US so u don’t have to🫨

I was alone when I was there for my flight training, of course figuring some stuff out alone was kinda tough and honestly the pop culture references helped so here’s me compiling them all!

1. ⛽️ Getting fuel!

It’s likely you’ll 🚙 drive there because public transport isn’t a real choice if you’re going out of a major city like Atlanta. So here’s what you should know about fuel:

Prices can vary a lot!

It was $5~ a US Gallon (3.8 litres) in Atlanta city but just $2.5-2.8 in the suburbs where I was mostly around. So it makes a huge difference! Especially if you’re road tripping, it pays to drive a little further away from the exits because fuel tends to get a little cheaper.

So you’ve found a petrol or as they call it gas station, how do you buy it? You’ll have to pay for it first instead before pumping. You can either use your credit card right at the pump, or you can prepay with cash in the store for your pump. Cash is sometimes worth it because there are places that charge lower for cash unlike in SG!

2. 💧 Water!

I figured since I was there for a longer period of time, I really didn’t want to be buying water in disposable jugs so I got a Brita filter! It was $20 for the pitcher and a filter and I had my own KleanKanteen so I really didn’t want to create so much waste. Side bonus is I can still use it back in SG!

3. 💵 Tipping!

This was a little embarrassing for me. So tipping is big there because waiters make minimum wage and it’s an unlivable wage so tipping is expected.

Once I dined at a restaurant and I paid in cash. There were suggested numbers for tips and so I circled it. I was pretty tired after I got my change so I left after stuffing into my wallet. As I walked out of the door, I heard a lady shout, “no tip??”. You could say it’s audacious but hey, I’m the tourist here and I’m not trying to be rude. So I went back in and apologised.

It turns out, if you pay in cash, you’re expected to leave tips behind as you leave the table. This is different from paying with cars where it’s deducted off your bill directly.

Maybe these are things you guys already knew but is there anything you feel could be useful for others going to the US to visit?

#traveltips