taxis aren't too necessary around here, but I took one once and he asked about a tip so I figure it's customary to tip them. eah that's not something I'd know about at all xD doesn't surprise me though. I wish it were a bit closer and in a better part of town x-x but we'll see if my gf still wants to go there. we'll prob go on saturday though, avoid being out on valentines when it's busier

Yeah, it's interesting how it varies from place to place.

Day out sounds good, and at least a zoo trip isn't heavily romantically-marketed!

I'll be honest, I've just been growing my hair out to save funds. I have a friend who's an ex-hairdresser, but she has a lot of medical problems, so I try not to hassle her for a cut too often, even though she doesn't mind!

Taxi/ride-sharing is the fastest way to get around up here. I miss having a car, but it's a huge pain in the ass to get one. I'll probably get one with my next job, but for the time being walking/buses are good enough... just less so when it's cold out :) I don't get manicures/pedicures often because they're expensive. I keep trying to convince my boyfriend that we should get pedicures together haha. They're actually really relaxing

My hair is more layered after my last haircut, but I find that makes it easier to cut because I just get the bottom layer taken off. I haven't gotten a good chop in a few years, mostly because I need to be able to pull it back or put it in a bun/braid for work. I like it long but hair gets really heavy haha

i hate tipping. how exactly can you survive with minimum wage and still be expected to pay tips?

You can't. I would much prefer that the restaurants pay a living wage to their employees and just raise food prices instead of me having to sit there and figure out what kind of a tip they deserve and what I can afford.

exactly right? btw, what establishment usually ask for tips besides restaurant and taxi?

here, we don't generally tip. only 'high end' restaurants put service charge as tip.

not having a car makes sense in big cities. here it doesn't work that well haha. too spread out.

waiters and waitresses don't even get minimum wage, they rely on tips.

yeah it should be nice seeing the animals :)

oh yeah i forgot in the US, restaurant are allowed to pay employee below minimum wage. that is sad. you guys should really ask the next president candidate to change that :P

It's restaurants, taxi, and salons (hair, nail, and I think like waxing places too maybe?) pretty much. The latter two have decent wages, the first, as pointed out, does not. I think in some places, they can make as much as $5 below minimum wage with the expectation that tips will make up the difference. Logic says why not just absorb that cost into food prices and cut out the uncertainty, but maybe that's just me. I can understand a service charge with a large group, but that's typically separate from the tip here.

It does make sense until you realize how much there is to do around the city that you can't access haha. My parents live about 2 hours away, so that would be a really nice perk of having a car.

yeah it does suck. depends who wins. if Bernie wins, maybe.

yeah in that instance it would be nice. you could get a lot of exercise visiting them...

Only problem is the president doesn't have as much power as everyone seems to think they have. Congress needs to agree for a lot of things to get passed or changed, but the president is the one who gets blamed for everything.

Yeah, low maintenance hair is certainly the way! I keep thinking, well, maybe I could cut my own hair. Luckily followed by: No. Stop that! XD

When tipping here (mainly restaurants) we always check it goes to the staff not the company, as well. Don't like it when the big business takes from the people who earned the tip!

It's the school holiday week here, so everywhere that's not valentine's is ready for gangs of screaming kiddies, so staying in is the safer option !

thank you for understanding that haha. It's insane how many well-educated people I know who don't seem to understand that the president is pretty much just a figurehead. Congress has a lot of power but doesn't compromise well. It would be nice to see restaurant workers actually get paid what they are supposed to, but I'll take any progress I can get haha.

I cut my hair once as a child. It was a total disaster but didn't bother me at all. I don't think I will be attempting that again haha

you guys probably used to it though. but it only apply to expensive stuff right? like if you only spend 2 dollars, you are not expected to tip right?

yeah, government are pretty much controlled by rich people who has influence in congress.

Yeah you're tight about that haha. Then the president tries to do something through executive orders because congress refused to do its job of passing laws and the president gets called a tyrant.

Ugh gangs of screaming kids sounds miserable xD

Tipping? If someone waits on you at your table, you're expected to give them 20% of your pretax bill. So if your bill is $5 before tax, tip is a dollar.

The president is good for a lot of things, and they can talk to Congress and try to get them to see reason and get laws passed, but a lot still depends on other people.

Also the fact that the president isn't directly elected by the people, a lot of people don't understand that either. It's kind of sad, because I feel like it's not really that complicated if you actually try to learn and understand, but a lot of people just don't seem to care about learning how the government works. They just like to complain about things.

Exactly, they just can't win no matter what they do.

20%? wow that is a lot. i can never part from that much money for tip. haha. then again, i don't like people hanging by my table when i'm eating. i need to learn more about western culture. so, waiter/waitress makes good money this way or does employer still grab some?

As a kid, you could probably rock the 'cut my own hair' look though. As an adult, gets harder to get away with it!

I'm in the UK, so it's a bit different here, mainly tipping for food service and a few other things. It's not so expected and tips are usually about 10%, less than other countries.

Yeah, I'm in a village, but the town next to us is a tourist destination and popular with families, so school holidays and summer time you have to steady yourself for the influx!

Depends on how you define "expensive." You don't tip at a fast food (or fast casual places like Panera or Chipotle), but you would if someone waits on your table. You also tip bartenders if you go to a bar, so you could get like a $2 shot and tip on that.

This. "Also the fact that the president isn't directly elected by the people, a lot of people don't understand that either. It's kind of sad, because I feel like it's not really that complicated if you actually try to learn and understand, but a lot of people just don't seem to care about learning how the government works. They just like to complain about things." I don't really understand the purpose of still having the electoral college. My bf is in law school and super interested in government stuff and has tried to explain it to me, but it still just sounds stupid. The 2000 Presidential election kind of showed that yes, the people do not actually pick the president. (I may have only been 7 years old, but I'm still salty about that haha.) It's a very antiquated system in my opinion.

I totally did. My mom just went with it, which was cool. She evened it out so it didn't look too horrible (lol), but I don't think anyone really cared.

I was reading the conversation and here in Brazil we don't tip, just if you are eating in a restaurant that provides waiter/waitress but it comes included in the bill and it is usually 10%.

We also don't celebrate Valentine's day :( Our "romantic day" is on June 12