Notables

1. Gas is at least 30 cents more per gallon.
2. People drive VERY FAST on the main highways-- we're talking 70+ (more often + than 70 in a 55 on one of the main roads), but seem to obey the speed limits as long as they are posted at 45mph or less.
3. Lanes appear and disappear within a 50-foot span.
4. There are more homeless people here than we are used to.
5. They don't joke when they say "Live Free or Die".
6. There are no seat-belt laws for those over 18.
7. There are no helmet laws for motorcycle or bike riders as long as they are over 18.
8. Perhaps it should be "Live Free AND Die" in some cases. On the other hand, perhaps it's the state's way of wedding out the idiots and keeping the gene pool a bit deeper.
9. I can already hear myself talking a little differently. I feel like I have to speak more clearly and enunciate better to be understood.
10. Some things just don't translate well here. Yesterday I met a lady named Ann and she said her name twice and I thought she was saying Ian both times. She finally spelled it for me. Sometimes the accents do feel almost like a foreign language.