February 2017
Volume XIII. Issue 146A Monthly Publication of the U.S. Consulate Krakow
In this issue: Americans - a Mobile Nation Zoom in on America
AMERICANS - A MOBILE NATION
(AP Photo)
page 2
American Mobile Culture
Cowboys race down the slopes in a mad dash for the nish line at the annual Cowboy Downhill in Steamboat Springs, Colorado on
Tuesday, Jan.16, 1996. (AP Photo)
The most practical reasons for more mobility come from
generally high living standards that stretch across a vast
expanse of land full of people who speak the same lan-
guage and share labor laws. For example, moving from
Massachusetts to California is, in most cases, far less
overwhelming than moving from the United Kingdom to
Germany. But more than language and laws unite Ameri-
cans who are moving across country.
To determine what “America” is one should know more
than the names of presidents or the nation’s political his-
tory. America’s history is a decidedly social history, and
America’s social history has encouraged and welcomed
a mobile and enterprising spirit since the very beginning.
America itself of course was founded by immigrants. From
the initial colonization of the Eastern Coast to the surges
of Americans who moved Westward in search of new op-
portunity decades and centuries later, mobility has always
been a part of America’s identity.
The American Cowboy—the mythological epitome of the
free individual who travels ceaselessly in search of a
purpose and home — is still a beloved part of American
history and his story captures the social and mobile spirit
in American character. The cowboy’s mythically free life
was captured in American cinema through men like John
Wayne and Burt Lancaster who are still considered some
of America’s favorite actors; their names have lasted now
for a century and the majority of their characters were
cowboys. American lm is a great window into American
culture. Westerns often capture the spirit of adventure
and search for new opportunity in American history, while
very different movies such as The Sandlot, capture more
simply and realistically the troubles and joys of moving,
and nding one’s way in a new place. On the other end of
the spectrum, some lms, such as The Grapes of Wrath
(based of John Steinbeck’s well known book) capture the
disillusionment that can occur after moving and searching
for new opportunity
Overall, the reasons for America’s great mobility are var-
ied. However, undoubtedly, one of the reasons originates
in a centuries old culture of movement that comes from
people’s desire for better opportunities and freer lives.
Statistics show that Americans move far more often than Western or Central Europeans. According to 2016
statistics, one in four American adults has moved within the last ve years, and despite that high gure, the
overall number of moves has actually been on the decline in the last several decades. Why then is mobility so
common in the average American’s life? The reasons are multitudinous and most often come from an interest-
ing combination of personal and cultural expectation; understanding the mobile culture in America can give a
person insight into the overall culture of America.
page 3
Q: Michaela, are you a typical American as far as moving
is concerned?
A: I think I am. I’ve moved a few times already in my young
life. And I think the average American moves a few times in
his life at least. So, perhaps I’ve moved a little more than
people my age, but moving isn’t new to most Americans,
I don’t think.
Q: And was the rst time you moved the hardest?
A: Well, actually no. I moved 4 times, twice within states,
so my rst move was when I was younger and I just moved
cities; I moved from a bigger city in Massachusetts to a
rural area. And it wasn’t that difcult because I could go
back home, to my city when I wanted to. But the second
move was from Massachusetts to Florida. And that was a
much more difcult move because I was a different age,
and I was going to a high school, which in America is when
you’re about fteen. So it was in a brand new school with
people who knew each other, and it was a completely dif-
ferent state, so I couldn’t go back home if I was uncom-
fortable; or I couldn’t go back home to see familiar places
and familiar people. So, my second move was the most
difcult, I think.
Q: But did you stay in touch with your friends?
A: Yes, which made it easier. Usually, through social me-
dia, through e-mail because I was little. Facebook wasn’t
really something I used yet, but it denitely made it easier
to move, to have my friends in contact.
Q: What do you move for?
A: Well, I guess generally people move for a lot of rea-
sons. A lot of people move for job reasons, [or] wanting,
you know, a better house. Personally, we moved for a bet-
ter job location—closer to where my Dad’s work was and
closer to where my siblings went to school. And when we
moved to Florida, we moved there because my mom was
accepted into law school, a good one, so we moved for,
you know, job and, or education reasons then too.
Q: So is mobility part of American character?
A: Yes. I think so. I think it is very much a part of American
culture, because when you think about it, the rst people
ever in America were immigrants coming from very, very
far away. And that sort of culture and spirit has never
changed in America. So, absolutely, I think that’s why so
The Pennsylvania Railroad’s Broadway Limited train is shown on June 7, 1938. The train was in service between Chicago and New
York City June (AP Photo)
What’s Your Experience of Moving? A Closer Look at the Realities of Moving
with Michaela Cheffers
page 4
many people do end up moving. Because you’re looking
for more and more opportunity—you’re looking for a better
life. And sometimes you think that might include moving.
Q: Yeah, but at the same time, the overall number of moves
is on the decline, so is something changing?
A: I mean, I think maybe part of it is that a lot of the move-
ment in America, historically, happened when people were
searching out new territory to the West, so in the past there
was always new territory to explore and to nd. Perhaps
that’s one of the reasons why the number of moves has
declined recently. I think, besides that, people can usually
nd what they are looking for closer to them because so
much of America is developed and there is kind of a dif-
ferent thing for everyone, everywhere. So I can’t give any
scientic answer, but that would be my guess.
Q: Is there a connection between your attitude to moving
and the American heritage of the cowboy culture?
A: I think so. Because the American cowboy culture is his-
toric, and has been kind of epitomized and enshrined in
lm. You can watch a lot of westerns and you see that
cowboys are the essence or epitome of the American in-
dependent, enterprising spirit. So the American cowboys
in the lms and in the stories are always the kind of lone
rangers who travel from city to city, and kind of bring a new
spirit to every place they go—always looking for a better
and better place to be. And I think that a lot of Americans
still have that same Western spirit of always looking for
more and more, better and better.
Q: Finally, can you comment on a popular saying, “Home
is where the heart is”?
A: Yes. I feel that way most certainly. After having moved
four times, what we mean by “home is where the heart is,”
is that no matter where you go, no matter how different a
place is from where you were before, or even how different
the people are, your home is where you love—is what you
love. For me that was my family. My home was with my
family. We always moved together, so that was most im-
portant in moving from one place to the next—remember-
ing that there was always something that I could depend
on, and always something to love.
Q: Any plans for moving right now?
A: Ah no, I am currently a student, so I am nishing my
studies. And then perhaps I will move, as young students
often move after college as they try to nd jobs and seek,
like I said, new opportunities. So maybe in a few years,
yeah, I’ll move, but to where? I don’t know we’ll see.
Q: Any plans for moving right now?
A: Ah no, I am currently a student, so I am nishing my
studies. And then perhaps I will move, as young students
often move after college as they try to nd jobs and seek,
like I said, new opportunities. So maybe in a few years,
yeah, I’ll move, but to where? I don’t know, we’ll see.
(AP Photo)
page 5
The American Queen, the largest steamboat ever built, arrives in the port of New Orleans May 4,1995. (AP Photo)
MOVies about MOVing
Moving is a popular subject with script writers and lm di-
rectors. The below list of movies whose plot is built around
the idea is by no means complete.
The Gold Rush (1925) staring Charlie Chaplin is a movie
about traveling to gain nancial benets and become rich.
No conditions are harsh enough, no obstacles too formi-
dable to deter a prospector who goes to the Klondike in
search of gold.
Western lms typically focus on the idea of traveling west-
ward, settling down, undertaking efforts to uphold law and
order against outlaws. An extremely famous, classic ex-
ample of the kind is High Noon with a lone sheriff (Gary
Cooper as Hadleyville marshal Will Kane,) relentlessly
ghting the Miller gang. Another famous movie showing
the American mobile spirit is Stagecoach (1939) star-
ing John Wayne, Claire Trevor, and Andy Devine. All the
people traveling on the stagecoach have chosen to leave
familiar things for a reason, and the wildness forces them
to come together and drop their pretensions. Lonesome
Dove (1994-1995) is a miniseries which makes you feel
like you are in the Wild West. Newt Call, the main charac-
ter, sets out to make his way in the world, and he partici-
pates in some of the major events of the Western era and
encounters some of its legendary gures.
Easy Rider, released in 1969, turned out to be so popu-
lar that it began a new trend of Hollywood counterculture
movies devoted to social issues, the hippie movement and
communal lifestyle that were made in the early 1970s. The
movie tells the story of two bikers (played by Peter Fon-
da and Dennis Hopper) who travel through the American
Southwest and South.
Karate Kid (1984) staring Ralph Macchio (Daniel), is about
a New Jersey kid that moves to California. He nds it hard
to make friends after his move, but nally manages to be-
friend Mr. Miyagi who teaches him the secret and ancient
art of Karate.
Moving into a newly bought house may cause a lot of
stress. It may even put a relationship in jeopardy when it
turns out that the costs of repairing the building get unrea-
sonably high. This is the theme of Money Pit (1986), star-
ring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, who play a couple who
are led to believe that the house they decided to buy was
a real bargain. Well, it was not, and the hardships of bring-
ing the mansion to a habitable state nearly ruin their love.
Mermaids (1990) is a story of a single mother who relo-
cates with her two daughters to a small Massachusetts
town in 1963. Moving is her remedy for failure. Is it not for
many of us? Cher, Bob Hoskins, and Winona Ryder play
the main characters.
continued on p. 6
page 6
(AP Photo)
Toy Story (1995), the rst feature-length computer-ani-
mated lm, is about a boy named Andy whose toys, un-
beknownst to him, come alive when he is not around.
The main characters are Woody, a pullstring cowboy doll
(voiced by Tom Hanks), and Buzz Lightyear, an astronaut
action gure (voiced by Tim Allen). The two go from being
rivals, who compete for Andy’s affections, to being friends
who work together to be reunited with Andy when his fam-
ily prepares to move to a new home.
It is never an easy thing to move, but for a family with 12
kids it truly is a challenge. Cheaper By The Dozen (2003)
is exactly about this. Steve Martin plays the lead role in
this lm. The relocation turns out to be hard and the kids
cause chaos in their new home until they learn all together
that…home is where the heart is!
The 2015 lm Inside Out follows the story of a girl, Riley,
whose feelings are pushed into disarray after she moves
to a totally new city. All of her feelings are left to vie for
control within her after Joy, who normally guides the young
girl, must leave her captain’s post to go with Sadness on a
journey through Riley’s mind. The lm literally follows the
tumult of emotions that follow upon leaving familiar things,
for strange things.
Please write to us at [email protected] about your
favorite movie about moving. We will include them in one
of the next issues of Zoom in on America.
FEBRUARY 2017
TRIVIA QUESTION
What is the main reason
why Americans move?
Send the answer
(with your home address) to:
The 3rd, the 8th and the
10th correct answer will be
awarded with a book prize
Deadline: March 10
January 2017 Answer:
Florida
The winners are:
Tomasz from Szczecin,
Dominika from Pielgrzymo-
wice and Alicja from Krakow
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
The prizes will be sent to you
by mail.
Zoom is online at
www.usinfo.pl/zoom/
Free subscription
Contact us at
American Information
Resource Center
Krakow
Konsulat Generalny USA
ul. Stolarska 9,
31-043 Krakow
page 7
ACTIVITY PAGE
Exercise 1 SPEAKING
Work with a partner. Find out what he or she thinks about moving house. You may use
some of the questions below, but please think of at least 3 other questions you want
to ask to learn what your partner thinks about moving:
1. Have you ever moved house? If yes, what kind of experience was it for you?
2. What are advantages and disadvantages of moving house?
3. How can a person arrange their moving so as to minimize the stress and work con-
nected with it?
4. Should people be free to live where they want? What pros and cons would freedom
to choose the place of living have?
Exercise 2 SPEAKING
Work in a group of 4 people. Each student prepares a scenario of their moving house
in a near future. Choose a place. Decide on what items you would like to take with
you (make a list of about 10-15 items which you couldn’t live without in a new place.)
Imagine yourself moved to a new place and decide what you do to make a living, what
kind of home you are going to have, who your new friends are, and how you will keep
in touch with what is left behind.
Exercise 3: SPEAKING
Work with another student. Divide the photos between the two of you. First, describe
your photo to the other person. Then, in a conversation, compare and contrast the
pictures. Finally, say if you would like to live in the place presented in your photo, why,
why not.
(AP Photos)
(AP Photo)
