American Reacts to 6 LIES America Told Me about Europe || Life in the UK

American Guy Reacts to 6 LIES America Told Me about Europe || Life in the UK
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[@MrEvers]

In Belgium (and I believe most of Western Europe) we say "your freedom ends where someone else's begins", meaning that you are free to do much of what you want, but you are not free to harm others, not free to take part of someone's else's freedom away

[@kevindarkstar]

Basic common law, do no harm, do no injury do no damage to another person's property and be honest in your business dealing 🤷🏻‍♂️ once upon a time that was the basis law without the thousands of statutory requirements

[@philippangst]

And that makes it as well for the eastern european countries... Humans everywhere...😉👍

[@stevetheduck1425]

While this is true (or accepted), in fact those with born privilege or desire to take other's freedoms just do so.

[@williawilkes1036]

Correct, sir.,.....

[@williawilkes1036]

@@stevetheduck1425 too much honesty on these answers.,....,. where are the greedy psycho creeps....?.

[@soqslicer]

when your a child in europe u look up to the great america, then once u grow up and learn a bit, youll realise, america is the last place u want to be in

[@Dabluekitten]

Never done that 😸

[@radlerangel8388]

it's because they are selling to the world their BIG AMERICAN DREAMS...only to realise it's all just a bunch of cra*....like everything in the USA - the Native people, which they neglected and devalued

[@catherinemartin6258]

That’s exactly how I feel about it.👍🏻

[@karensimpson4869]

@@catherinemartin6258 it is true , when I was young girl of the 1960’s America seemed this amazing place where amazing things happened . I am now 60 and been there 3 times . All it’s done is make me love my own country more . The USA is not the place to live if you don’t have money , for gods sake don’t get Ill . Personally I they they are going backwards on abortion , Religion and this Woke cancel business. If they don’t stop arguing amongst themselves they going to wake up and find China has shoved the USA off the “ Top Spot “ if they haven’t already . !!!!

[@wanderinggremlin2388]

I’ve personnally always been horrified by America. It makes no sense to me the way they choose to live as a society and makes even less sense to me why they imagine people around the world should look up to them.

[@Mauro41180]

The more I grow old, the more I feel blessed for being born in Europe....

[@lukmaes6290]

Same here

[@gaia7240]

Man I'm Italian and I've read my grandma's schoolbooks from the fascist era and they are all about how great Italy is and had 1000 of reasons why it was the best, and they did the salute before school, so hearing that they do that in America it's frankly a bit scary

[@richwiedeman3128]

The Bellamy Salute was first, and it was addressing the Flag, the symbol of American principles. Citizens should absolutely be loyal to American principles, which is far far different thing than pledging allegiance to a man. No man is above the law in American principles. The Nazis and Fascists adopted the so called "Roman" salute later, and so American changed our form of salute to distance ourselves from that. Citizenship is incompatible with being a subject of a King or dictator.

[@thefluffernutters2572]

@@richwiedeman3128"No man is above the law in American principles" unless they are a politician or a politicians child just look at your corrupt criminal president at the moment and his junky son

[@majasrbia]

​@@richwiedeman3128😂😂😂😂 Yeah,yeah ... Keep believing

[@DevilRiku48]

@@richwiedeman3128 So, for english people, subjects of His Majesty King Charles III, citizenship is a concept they can't experience?🤔 I do not believe that citizenship can be reduced to a loyal devotion to a country's principles and propaganda.

[@grimmstryke9627]

@@richwiedeman3128 why should citizens be loyal to american principles? are they not free to choose? what if they don t agree?

[@TheEvertw]

In the seventies, people in Europe learned that concentrating social housing in specific locations results in bad neighbourhoods. That is why we now mix social housing with regular privately-owned houses. That is the BIG difference between Europe and the USA. Europe learns from its mistakes, and adjusts policies to fix mistakes instead of satisfying some political dogma. And it works for the benefits of the PEOPLE instead of the companies.

[@Nobody-xl9wm]

That just isn’t true in america we have a shit ton of public housing mixed in with regular business and homes and it doesn’t do anything to prevent crime the kids in there are still hungry because weither ur in the us or the uk the government doesn’t care about the people at the bottom and as someone who grew up dirt broke around kids who have money it drives u to do more shit because u want to be comfortable and have clothes and food like the rich kids and if u gotta take it so be it

[@cjmillsnun]

We don't learn from our mistakes in the UK. Maybe in a few years people will understand the mistake they made. I hope our neighbours will take us back when they do.

[@Peacefrogg]

@@Nobody-xl9wm i don’t get why this doesn’t work where you live. Do you even interact with your neighbours over there? In the netherlands, we visit our neighbours, have coffee or dinner or drinks at each other’s houses, have street barbecues, borrow each other’s tools, etc.. That way you get to know your neighbours and their needs. One neighbour may need someone to do their shopping or cleaning or walking the dog or babysitting, while another may need help getting a job, or some second hand clothing or toys for the kids. Neighbours that know each other, help each other. Not as a charity but bc they care and bc there is always something you can do in return. If you’re just jealous bc their car is bigger than yours than that’s just you being an idiot, but if your neighbours see your kids in torn clothes and they never offer you a bag of the clothes their kids grew out of….i would say they are bad neighbours…

[@richard6440]

@@cjmillsnun As long as we all get to vote in a referendum again, then i'll go with the majority vote. I wont be whinging about it 4 YEARS later :)

[@xtinkerbellax3]

@@Peacefrogg No, we largely don't. They broke down community post WWII and we're suffering for it honestly.

[@tristandunn4628]

Limey here. From what I've learned about the USA work ethic and health system, there is no way I would ever want to live there. The UK is far from perfect, but on those points alone I'm way happier to be this side of the pond. As for the pledging your allegiance to the flag every day, that's just brainwashing - pure and simple.

[@tristandunn4628]

Cheers for the update. Always good to learn stuff.

[@zitronentee]

As Indonesian, we also have some kind of pledge of allegiance, but the effect is extremely different since we are quite open from outside media. While we are proud of our culture and our nationality, we are very aware of our own problems (corruption, cleanliness, work ethics, etc) and always look up to other countries.

[@ivetterodriguez1994]

I never liked that certain employers would guilt me for wanting vacation time with the justification that they happen to be so busy. Implying that I would be disservicing them. But the pledge of allegiance was never taken that seriously. People mumbled it or said it with indifference. Superficially it would seem nationalistic but no one ever said it with zeal. While I definitely still see it as weird having grown up with it, I get this inkling that foreigners overlook that it's not taken that seriously [despite it supposedly being a pledge]. I wouldn't care if we got rid of it and I'm sure most Americans wouldn't cling to it either. It was first introduced to us during the Cold War anyway.

[@tristandunn4628]

@@ivetterodriguez1994 It appears I was somewhat misinformed about that. I've been corrected in other posts too. Good to know it's not taken that seriously

[@TheGalantir]

i always found the freedom argument and gun argument confusing. When i ask my US friends why they own guns they all answer for protection. To me if you need a gun to protect yourself you're not free since you seem to be living in fear. Fear is just as much a prison as a real prison is.

[@liamblack2574]

Protection from other citizens with guns,, makes no sense!

[@4Everlast]

When you got as much actual criminals as you do in the US, arming your self isn't living in fear it's common fucking sense.

[@TheGalantir]

@@4Everlast Yeah i've heard that excuse so many times but all it achieves is prove you live in fear. If you are in fear of your life so much that you need a gun you simply have made too many enemies.

[@4Everlast]

@@TheGalantir The saying is, better safe then sorry. Most of American big cities are crawling with violent crime wtf are you talking about? You're surrounded by lions, but you don't get a weapon, cause you don't wanna live in fear. Ok, guy, but don't scream for help when you're getting eaten alive. You can use that BS on parents who had their children snatched, killed or raped MF. Even a pacifist has to have a bit of brain between the ears. And no I'm not American, nor do i own a gun, but it wouldn't hurt to have one. Ask Ukranians is they wish they had a gun on them when the shit hit the fan.

[@flamerollerx01]

Typical. None of you people have any idea what you're talking about. Reading the constitution and interpreting it with modern linguistics is absolutely stupid. You actually believe English is the same now as it was then? You have to read the words in their proper context, not remove them entirely from all context and reinterpret them in the most convenient way possible. Also, protecting yourself from criminals is the reason to own a gun. Gun ownership lowers violent crime rates. This is a demonstrable fact. They serve as an incredibly effective deterrent against criminals breaking into your home while you're inside, committing any acts of violence directly towards you, car jacking, etc. My proof is the governments own statistics on violent crime. Do the research first, before you simply believe whatever you hear, just because it sounds right to your ignorant ears. Did any of you ever consider you might have been lied to? That the people telling you what to believe have ulterior motives? It's such a serious problem that none of you took the time to determine if what you believe is correct? Refusing to question your beliefs doesn't sound like genuine concern to me, it sounds like laziness. Also the crime rate in the USA as a whole is only 1.7 per 1000, which translates to 0.17% (0.17 per 100). Do you really think 0.17% is a serious problem? Really? I bet you don't drive and avoid the roads then... oh wait, you probably drive to work 5 days a week, galivant around town in your vehicle without a second thought to the extreme danger you're in. Or maybe you're not in much relative danger at all. Even with guns our homicide rate is ridiculously low. Sure, certain very small areas have very, very high murder rates and those rates bring the entire countries' average way up! Our homicide rate isn't even all that high without removing those problem areas from the stats. Compared to other countries, the water gets really muddy. Would you rather be the victim of MORE violent crimes, but have them be a little bit less likely to involve a gun, or be the victim of LESS violent crimes, but have those crimes be a little bit more likely to involve a gun? Search for criminaljusticedegreehub*(you know what to put here)*/violent-crime-us-abroad/ and have a nice proper read. It's not as clear cut and if you remove the most dangerous places in the USA (due almost exclusively to gangs), you'll likely find the crime rate in the USA to possibly be the lowest in the entire world. I have yet to find any study doing exactly this, but I'd certainly love to find it. I can't say for sure if that would be correct though, it's pure speculation. Funny how I ended with pure speculation like many people are doing in this comments section.

[@ketomousketo3345]

Spanish here. As a kid I used to dream to go to the US because of hollywood, but now that I am an adult, I really thought about it, and there's nothing that USA has better than us in Spain except for maybe the salaries if you are in a high possition in an enterprise. But the quality of life, education, medical care, transportation, food, even political despite the corruption, and a more interesting cultural background makes me really apreciate the country I live in right now, and I wouldn't move there except for a huge sum of money and I would return to Spain ASAP with that money.

[@antmax]

I was surprised that they brought out a huge flag and sung the national anthem at every domestic sporting event here in California. Seemed a bit over the top, I was expected to stand and sing it too. The first time I remained seated not even knowing what was going on, got a lot of off looks from people around me till I stood up.

[@stanislavbandur7355]

@@antmax yes, if you do not know... But if you know that it is national anthem of any country it is fine to honor it, even if it is Northern Korean or Russian anthem, because the country is country of people despite idiots in leadership (My opinion and etiquette)

[@TheHestya]

I'm Latvian and feel the same. Hollywood made it look full of wonder, and I think their nature is still beautiful, like it is everywhere, but as an adult I am very thankful I wasn't born there. I can't imagine the fear I'd live in as someone who dislikes guns and violence.

[@ketomousketo3345]

@@stanislavbandur7355 Is just music and a piece of cloth. Keeping seated is not dishonoring anything, is just not taking part in some weird ritual.

[@sexysadie2901]

​@@stanislavbandur7355Honor it at each and every sports match? Why?

[@GSXRTino1]

I live in the UK. Not once EVER have I had to think about health insurance or the cost of any health care or ambulance costs or accident & emergency costs or any health costs, I'm covered by the N.H.S, as we all are. THAT is freedom!

[@thatsthat2612]

how relieving is it? its honestly awesome and then there's places like great ormond Street hospital, some the best paediatric doctors in the country, all free if you need it. my little boy needed to see a urologist when he was 5 weeks old, my doc sent me to Manchester children's hospital and they just happened to have the best urologist in the country. the peace of mind stuff like that gives me is unreal

[@kevindarkstar]

Well it was, not so much here and now, the ambulance service has been seriously damaged

[@cherrymcgregor535]

@@kevindarkstar they are still there when you need them

[@metalassassin8841]

I assume you don't understand how taxes work.

[@GSXRTino1]

@@metalassassin8841You assume wrong. Of course I understand how tax works. Nobody else was dumb enough to think it needed to be referred to. I like everyone else, I'm sure, understands that when it is said to be free, the implication is that it is free at the point of use pre payed by tax. The point is I don't have to think about the costs. It isn't a difficult point to understand, try hard.

[@holi6293]

I live in Norway 1. you can have guns, even most ex cons can have guns 2. ex cons don't lose their right to vote, you can even vote in prison 3. paid vacation for all workers 4. universal healthcare for everyone 5. free university, even for foreign students 6. we have free speech, hate speech is unlawful 7. we don't hate or envy Amercan freedom, we just don't think it's very real

[@davidhutchinson5233]

I wish I could immigrate there. But being a US felon, that likelihood has passed me by.

[@skillaxxx]

@@davidhutchinson5233 I believe that as long as you arrange a job in your EU country of choice, you're welcome there, at least for a while, felon or not.... PS: Most of the points mentioned are valid for most North European countries, with university costs being about the biggest difference, but still completely affordable in comparison.

[@charisma-hornum-fries]

@@davidhutchinson5233 I think you should google different countries. In some countries there’s a 5 years period for when you have a record. After that you should be all good to go.

[@mavadelo]

Except for the education (not free in my country) and a slightly different healthcare system it is basically the same in the Netherlands.And it is true for basically the entire Northern European and Scandinavian region.

[@holi6293]

@@davidhutchinson5233 I'm truly sorry for the way your country keep punishing it's citizens after they have paid their debt to society

[@OP-1000]

Not having vacation time sounds crazy to me. Employees are not slaves.

[@TRW98]

Me too. I find it hard to work in the Netherlands with the vacation time because for me its heavy that much time invested in a job just for money but America is worse.

[@stefanberndt3076]

American employees are not slaves too. There is a difference: employees get fired while slaves get sold.

[@JoFa876]

@@stefanberndt3076 Indentured servants, then....

[@rendomstranger8698]

In the US, they are. They just get to pick who their master is, if they are lucky. Not that I expect any better from a country in which full blown slavery is straight up legal. With it never being outlawed for prisoners and all that. While there are plenty of good Americans, it's time to stop denying the reality that the US is not a Democracy. It wears the skin of a democracy but the American people do not get an actual say in anything other than their local government. Not unless they blindly buy into the propaganda they are being fed at least. The 2016 and 2020 Democratic primaries showed this beyond any reasonable doubt. Especially the 2020 primaries with the amount of planted "progressives" and with everyone who didn't run as a progressive dropping out to give Biden the win. As for the Republicans, they have so thoroughly brainwashed their base that their voters are no longer capable of independent thought.

[@yannicklucas1836]

@@stefanberndt3076 Other difference: slaves had no choice, employees can vote blue and join unions. But in the day to day routine, it's pretty much the same thing.

[@skarmex3439]

Australian here, I have quite a lot of American gaming friends, and a few years back, I had some health issues, it required multiple doctor visits, tests done and eventually, a hospital stay for a couple days. Once I told my American friends what was going on, they all felt sorry for me because of the bills it would cost me... one of them said, "I can't even imagine the total cost of that," I replied with, "Umm, about $12 every fortnight for medication?" They were absolutely floored until I explained what healthcare was...

[@someonerandom8552]

Mate!! Queenslander here. I had my uncle from the states visit us a while back. Unfortunately I managed to get a really bad case of the flu at the same time. So obviously I rang up my GP to book an appointment so I could get some antibiotics lol My uncle was beside himself. Naively I thought he was just worried because I was sick. It wasn’t until I got my prescription that I figured out the real reason. He asked the receptionist in a very panicked voice how much I owed. When she told him the amount for the appointment (and I told him I would get half back through Medicare anyway) he couldn’t believe his ears. About 35$ after the refund. Maybe 15$ or less for my actual medicine. Feel bad for my US counterparts, honestly 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@JustSomeRando1331]

Same. I had a heart attack, spent 2 months in 3 different hospitals, got flown in an air ambulance, and the cost was the train ride my wife needed to pay for, which was at the pension rate, anyway

[@johankaewberg8162]

Swede here with a six month hospitalization. Total cost: $0

[@kayjaysok]

7 days hospital ... €26 a month for meds, nothing else. 🇮🇪 Ireland, did a comparison for fun with generic same brands in the US $327

[@skarmex3439]

@kayjaysok Dayum, that's good. Score for Ireland! 🇮🇪

[@XaxyBoo]

I had this conversation with a friend the other day. It's ironic how you call yourselves the "free world" but are not allowed to take a day off when you're sick, or have the freedom to go out shopping without the fear of getting shot, or the freedom to raise a kid properly cause you don't get 2 full years off work as maternity/paternity leave.. No job security, no education security, no health security... what's actually free there? Other than hate? 😩 It's kind of sad, growing up, seeing all these movies about the 'American dream" and what not... and reaching to this point today... when I feel I'd do better in an eastern European country. Even if I had the opportunity, I would not move to the current USA that exists today.

[@cathrynhesketh5703]

Well said.isnt it pathetic?

[@XaxyBoo]

@@cathrynhesketh5703 I wouldn't say pathetic... it's not most of the people's fault or anything... it's just sad that it ended up like this

[@hanahime5734]

Well said, they sold the ‘American dream’ so well that I just can’t talk my parents into understanding that I am not guaranteed a better life if I decide to go to US. I feel my life is pretty good. Good regulation, an international community, safe place where I can leave my bag/laptop not worrying if ppl would take it, good coverage of insurance and a respectful community that doesn’t make insignificant things like ‘wearing a mask’ into a political one… I am free and honestly I read and hear a lot of things that makes me wonder how is America the land of the free or depicted as a kind of paradise when it’s the same, equal or even worse off compared to other countries.

[@zuzanadorotova3728]

True...

[@yadakakadu]

@@hanahime5734 "It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it." George Carlin

[@MajaZaguan]

We live in Europe. My husband works for a small company. He has two weeks of summer and two weeks of winter vacation. The manager told the employees to talk to each other and figure out which dates work for them all and just let the management know when they'd be out of the office. That's it. He can also get any amount of sick leave until he gets better. If someone needs a day off for any reason, they can take it. Everyone working at that place has been with the company 10+ years.

[@neilpountney9414]

There is a reason that companies treat their employees well. There are multiple benefits to it. A happy workforce is many times more productive and inventive than an abused one.

[@wendyboag5573]

You forgot one word Paid You have paid vacation You have paid personal time We are paid to go on holiday

[@zeuskiller100]

@@neilpountney9414 you forgot something, a exploited workforce might kick your head in, which is the reason that we have those rights, they were fought for.

[@slowmotion3542]

@@torstenheling3830 yeah actualy we dance eatch day around how lucky we are and in fact we r soo greatfull and sur that God Almighty has blessed us that we where born in Europe and not america 🤣🤳

[@michajastrzebski4383]

@@neilpountney9414 and yet, companies like SpaceX happened not in europe, but in the USA. Wonder why...maybe because there's no worthless socialist debilism and instead, there's actual work done/ Naaah, cant be it, surely...

[@BarnOwl61]

I am Dutch and 61 years old. Your guest was absolutely right, a very sincere and intelligent man. No one in the whole wide world thinks the USA is the land of the free. Only Americans do. Second and biggest mistake is thinking that Europeans are a light version of Americans. We are NOT Americans. We work to live our lives, but it it's not a calling. My respect for him openly admitting that the daily worship of the national and flag is questionable. It takes guts to talk about it.

[@lukasvandewiel860]

The differences within the region are also far bigger. The differences between Americans from Texas and those from Boston would be considerable, but they are are nearly identical when comparing the Irish with Albanians, or Finns with Spaniards. Americans often appear to consider Europe as one people, and then they also mix up Europe and the European Union (Maybe because the word 'Union' strikes something in them because of the Union in their civil war? No idea, really). But then, it might be unfair of us to consider the Americans one single people, while they are spread out over 6000 kilometers, forgetting Hawaii and Alaska for ease, and may have significant differences over such a vast region.

[@BarnOwl61]

@@lukasvandewiel860, also true. Thanks

[@veroniquejeangille8248]

I was sooo shocked the day I learned about that pledge of allegiance, hand on the heart and all. To me, that's something that only happens in dictatorships

[@AlexandraVioletta]

At least Germany IS a smaller USA. I live in Germany, I AM actually German... Listen to me. I only tell the truth.

[@marius2971]

@@AlexandraVioletta no, germany is germany. For the last few hundred years.

[@eclecticx]

I'm a US Expat in Spain. What has come to my attention the most: quality of life and freedom are much greater in Europe.

[@Someone-dv8uj]

You are an immigrant in Spain!!🙄

[@breeinatree4811]

I agree with you about having more freedom in Europe. I lived in Germany for several years. If I had known then what I know now, I would never have left Germany.

[@eclecticx]

@@breeinatree4811 I'm sorry to hear that. I'll never leave Spain for the US, not for any reason. LOVE it here.

[@blue2mato312]

Thank you for saying that. As a european I feel like americans general view about freedom is a bit twisted. I have felt like we have much more freedom than them for a long time, but it is very hard to get the point across to americans. I have not lived in the US though, only visited a few times in the past. My american family kindly offered me to stay with them if I wanted to go to college/university in the states, but while it was exciting and interesting to visit them I couldn’t imagine living there. It felt too scary and alienating to me.

[@eclecticx]

@@blue2mato312 The States are very alienating to me as well. I'm unsure exactly how and when it happened, but Americans have lost all concept of freedom and privacy.

[@nightshadegaming1735]

One thing I'm trying to get my American fiancée to understand is, she doesn't have to wait till she's being hospitalised to go to the doctors, but that she can just go to the doctors and not worry about cost.

[@debbielough7754]

That's why it works as well as it does. Things get caught faster, and they cost less to treat. But I've known Americans who moved here (college, work and whatnot) be stunned when they realise they can just go as soon as they feel ill, and not have to worry about it. One burst into tears when I explained the walk-in centre to her.

[@brandonbp122]

Weird. I try to get my girlfriend to understand that she doesn't need to pay a doctor to tell her that a cold will go away in 2 days.

[@PrincessGold1]

And what if it’s not a cold but the beginning of something far more serious like meningococcal, that could kill her in the next 48 hours?

[@neuralmute]

@@PrincessGold1 Well, in the States, she's dead. In Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, and pretty much any other rich country in the world, if she gets to the ER or Urgent Care Centre on time, she's got a chance at survival that will cost little, if anything. For reference, my total costs after a brutal case of Covid back in 2020 in Canada were $40, for an ambulance ride.

[@AXanax]

@@neuralmute in Portugal, I've done quimio, I had surgery and I still am being observed for cancer already 3 years and I payed so far 0€.

[@edwinvermeulen8187]

As a European, i actually feel sorry for what most American's consider "freedom" from unalianable rights of controlling your own body, same sex marriage, to freedom of choosing your representatives, stringent laws about drugs and alcohol, to the fact that children can legally buy firearms. Additionally i want to add, i've been to america as a foreign exchange student, for 3 months. I got into a lot of verbal fights, not with other students but with teachers over the following subjects. 1) Pledge of allegiance. I'm not American, its not only my right not to pledge, its actually legally revoking your citizenship of your native country. The amount of discussions i've had with teachers trying to give me detention for that is huge. 2) Asking for clarification, additional information, or counterargueing the validity of the teachers statements. There is a lot of cultural differences between europe and america, that you will only find out by actually living there. Asking for clarification due to a cultural difference, was troublesome at best. Additionally a lot of american history, detailing europe is downright inaccurate. Even when presenting evidence the amount of negativity i endured was extensive. Furthermore going into a discussion with a teacher is something that was appearently offensive. I'm dutch, our cultural background makes it that we have a lot of discussions, and during the discussions, we not only learn about eachother, their views their expectations but also reach a mutual understanding / agreement. In Boston where i had my exchange that was quite unheared off, and often got me detention. 3) Respect is not mutual. The most astonishing thing that encountered was that respect was a one way escalator. People older downright disrespect people younger then them, and people with higher income disrespect people with lower income. This part however was in every layer of my stay not only the teachers. 4) As you have read above, my exchange was riddled with detention, provisional detention and me actually refusing to go to detention. America, for a dutch foreign exchange student really feels like a punishment orientated society. Individuality is discouraged, critical thinking is discouraged, learning something out of the curriculum is discouraged. Now this might read as that i've had a terrible time during my stay. I didn't i had a good time, and i learned a lot, however i didn't learn anything that i couldn't have learned in the Netherlands, except for the fact, that i definatly never want to immigrate to the US. US educational system, in the region that i visited in the time that i visisited was far behind the Netherlands. Its based on learning quizshow like facts, instead of critical thinking and beeing able to deduce for yourself. It lacks student interaction to make the subjects more appealing, but most of all its out of proportion expensive, wich significantly reduces the amount of people that are able to learn on their proficiency level. In america you need to be rich to go to a decent to good school. In Europe, you need to be intrested to go to a good school. I've met people there that were extremely smart, but due to their financial statement couldn't go to college or university. That doesn't happen in the Netherlands. Its a missed oppertunity, and i think in the long run this will severely cripple america.

[@metteandersen3564]

Well…you didn’t learn to write I - with a capital I.. 🤪

[@metteandersen3564]

I have to admit - I agree. My exchange student experience was for a whole year in 1986 and the texan students in high school knew NOTHING about the rest of the world.

[@longlowdog]

@@metteandersen3564 Perhaps in the Netherlands i isn't as important as we.

[@mkvk74]

@@longlowdog We don't use capitals for ik (I) or wij (we).

[@longlowdog]

@@mkvk74 I thought that that might be the case, however it's nice to tease folk who don't think outside their own very small box.

[@FRuMMaGe]

To the people who say the NHS isn't free because we pay for it with taxes, 2 points: 1: The tax that we pay towards the NHS is considerably less than Americans pay for health insurance. 2: The NHS is for everyone, regardless of how much tax they pay (if any). A homeless unemployed person will receive the exact same healthcare as someone earning £100k+ per year

[@SAXONSELTON]

Did you know that the US government, and therefore by extension the US tax payer, pays around twice as much, per capita, for Medicare and Medicaid that the UK does for the NHS and, as previously stated, the NHS is free for every UK citizen and free at the point of service for all visitors. Just think about that, we actually pay half as much tax for the NHS do as Americans do for their equivalent but only the poor and elderly get covered and that still a very poor service

[@devilundercover]

Same as Australia’s Medicare- Americans view some fundamental things as individualistic and not as a collective thing My sister (now a US citizen) when I told her about my doctors visit which didn’t cost a thing: you know it’s not free right? Me: of course. Mine and other tax payers ensure that we are all taken care off. I also have private health as they encourage it and it’s for extras and such but at least I know I won’t get into heavy debt over medical bills man!

[@thobetiin8266]

Based on some arguments I heard against free healthcare, you are not taking into consideration that a big portion of people don't want it, specifically because they would have to pay for everybody else's healthcare too, and they only want to pay after themselves...

[@goopguy548]

@@SAXONSELTON yeah, and American healthcare is worse because most of the money goes to organising and stuff with pricing and advertising and interacting with the insurance agencies.

[@sedmark6328]

Yes but I have a friend in England that had to wait 18 months to get a root canal done on a tooth that was in excruciating pain. He actually took a state paid for ambulance to an emergency room 7 times for pain medication (that was paid for by the state) before the dentist even looked at the tooth. And Canadians are constantly crossing the border to pay for our Oncologists. Why? Because they don’t want to die waiting their turn. I may pay more for my medical care but I get it when I need it.

[@littlekelley98]

Hi, American living in Germany. Most public shops are closed on Sundays, even grocery stores. Only exception is restaurants, but they usually close on Mondays (Monday is slower in business than Sunday). Society here in general just values one day of rest for everyone. It bothers me seeing most stores in the US being open even for holidays. People deserve rest.

[@CabinFever52]

Ami in Austria, here. When I first moved here, I was put out by not being able to shop 24/7. Now that I've had a chance to remember closed Sundays in the USA and see the affects of open 24/7, I have to say that I happily accept planning a little better and let life in general here be better for the time that people have off.

[@charybdisfgl2048]

For a country that calls itself “Christian” the US sure does not give a rat’s ass about being kind to others or Shabbat. They much rather deny evolution and think they are spreading god’s word.

[@littlekelley98]

@@charybdisfgl2048 I completely agree, the hypocrisy is horrible.

[@albertolameira5224]

that's not an American thing only. Here in Portugal (which is also part of the EU) retail workers also don't get rest during holidays and every store is open on all days

[@littlekelley98]

@@albertolameira5224 I never said it was only an American thing. I only spoke on my experiences living in the US and living in Germany. But thanks for sharing your experience about Portugal.

[@Arbaaltheundefeated]

Well, to be fair the U.S. does have some freedoms to a greater degree than most of us here in Europe. Freedom to exploit, oppress and discriminate for example.

[@deegee6863]

give examples?

[@emmabraem1729]

@@deegee6863 Who pays for your political system, here in Belgium the taxpayers do, in the US the companies do. Big differance! Also we have verre strict laws on employment, employees have a lot of rights that are protected. Freedom here comes with responsebility for ohters which I find a good thing.

[@-M0LE]

And to bomb invade murder and nuke

[@emmabraem1729]

@@koschmx dear person ( I don't know your gender), if this is your way thank you then I find it a strange maner. I gave you an example, which you asked, I never said you have to agree with it. Opinions differ! But digging up some dirt is not the way to disagree. Besides if believes are the only dirt you could find than I think Belgium is doing good job, since these believes are a reminder of how important it is to remain critacal of your government and justicesystem. Anyhow, you're welcom for the example I gave you and you don't have to agree! Have a nice day!

[@LulatheOmniscient]

I work for the NHS on a cardiology ward and we have a lot of doctors from overseas among our staff. The one thing I hear time and again is how they feel they are in a privileged position because they can order any sort of diagnostic test, scan, etc and not have to worry about whether their patient can afford it. It gives them free reign to provide the best treatment and diagnostic options for their patients.

[@claudiograssi1037]

I'm italian. I was hospitalized for 20 days, made a lot of tests, and implanted of a defibrillator. I take 11 drugs per day. How much did I pay? Exactly zero. Thanks to our NHS (british or italian).

[@BurnCorpoStuff]

Friend of mine is a junior doctor and he once told me he prescribed THC painkillers to a young women with allergies for normal pain killers. He said it would cost the hospital like a thousand per dosage but he didn't care and it was what the patient needed.

[@Yendor1224]

Imagine being a doctor and watch a patient slowly die. You know you could treat them but you can't because there is no one who can/will cover the treatment.

[@runningfromabear8354]

@@torstenheling3830 American dr's are absolute liars... Sure, whatever you say.

[@HorseloverFat1984]

@@torstenheling3830 You wrote seven comments but you used zero arguments. Your debating skills seem to only consist of the ability to taunt people. Make a grounded statement that can be tracked and verified and maybe somebody will take you seriously. So far you just sound like a sulky and desperate patriot.

[@tonikaihola5408]

That vacation thing is crazy. Here you will be considered crazy if you don’t use your vacation 😅

[@2910karlijn]

In the Netherlands you get the hours you work in a week ×4. I work 40 hour in a week so 40×4= 160 hours vacation. That's by law and most companies give you a few more

[@anouk6644]

@@night6724 No, he is not a liar. There is no federal law regulating a minimum of paid vacation time. Some state do have those laws, but in the most generous ones you get one hour PTO (paid time off) for every 30 hours worked. If you work 40 hours a week that should be about 68 hours (8,5 days) per year. But in most of those more ‘generous’ states they are capped at 40-48 hours what comes down to 5 days. I’m pretty sure that this PTO can include sickdays, which is an absolute no-no in Europe. So yes, in some states PTO laws exist, but they fade in comparison. Nice try, but if you want to point out mistakes, tell the whole story.

[@MrMaarten1969]

Even more: in Holland, if a employee is over-worked but did not take any vacation for a long period, the employer will loose his insurance for the sick employees salaries... So companies have a financial stimulus to send you on vacation as well.

[@larosebleue9343]

In Belgium , i work 7h48/day. 5 days week .I have 20 days off and 12 days off compensation thé Year (because normale it's 7h36/day)..Thé 12 days in général are use to make thé bridge. If a holiday fall a thusday we don't Work thé friday, we make thé bridge. Work it's just to pay thé bills.

[@larosebleue9343]

And I get overtime. 1 or 2 weeks per year

[@Andy-ix2ox]

I am Irish, went to Boston for a term in transition year I was just 16 , now that was an eye opener, I stayed with my aunt, up on till this I had always dreamt of moving to the USA , I also got detentions for not saying the pledge of allegiance, I got detentions for explaining to teachers that they were wrong and what they were teaching was factually incorrect, especially in history class , I think my religion teacher nearly had a meltdown when I asked him to provide some evidence that his imaginary friend in the sky actually existed, when I said that most Muslims were not anti Christianity and only a few thousand out of the couple of billion were terrorists, in fact I told him that there was probably more Americans pedophiles than there were Muslim terrorists. I got kicked out after six weeks and came back to Ireland a month early, my aunt to her credit backed me up and explained to the principal that we have different standards in our education system, the principal said that they were a Christian school in a Christian country and she very much doubted that if I had said what I said in an Irish school I would not be punished, my aunt explained that if a teacher had stood in front of a class and said what that teacher had said they would more than likely have been arrested for breach of the incitement to hatred act. Good old auntie Kate , never one to take crap . I enjoyed my time in the USA but I never wanted to move there again, my aunt had a baby and move Back to Ireland the following year . I was told by an American friend years later that if anything things are worse now and In some places they don’t teach evolution, now that would have wrecked my 16 year old head!

[@gs7828]

Why would they ask you to pledge your allegiance to a foreign power? Crazy.

[@CabinFever52]

@@gs7828 trust me---there are many ignorant people in the USA, and they take great pride in that. I think the Kardashian sweep had much to do with that.

[@papalaz4444244]

Andy @user-is6dh9xz2h This channel doesn't have any content

[@petej6609]

Thats crazy mate. I was dating this American chick once and when she told me about this swearing allegiance stuff. I told her it was weird as fuck and slightly brainwashing. Don't get me wrong. Im proud to be English (not proud of everything we've done in our past, mind) but if someone told me to swear allegiance to George's Cross I'd tell them to get fucked! Fair play to you mate for sticking by your guns and shouting your paper. And hats off to good ole aunty Kate for having your back

[@TheThundertaker]

@@gs7828 I'm British but spent 3 years living in the US as a kid. I stood for the pledge of allegiance but didn't recite it. That what you are supposed to do as a foreign citizen, you stand for another countries pledge of allegiance or national anthem out of respect but you don't recite it or sing the anthem.

[@yasmeenahmaiden]

Whenever I saw the pledge of allegiance thing in movies or something, it literally reminded me of like North-Korea or indeed the Hitler Jügend or something like that. It's so incredibly creepy and reeking of indoctrination, dictatorship and totalitarian regimes to me, as a Dutch person. Also, you couldn't pay me enough money to ever move to the USA, mainly for all of the reasons named in the video, lol. I mean, for a holiday, sure (there are some very pretty places that I'd like to visit one day). But to live there day to day? No thanks. Let me keep my ability to take 5-6 weeks off every year and my not going bankrupt when I am hospitalized, thanks. Also, definitely the gun thing. When I'm at the airport here in the Netherlands, sometimes there's 'marechaussees' (basically military border police) patrolling the airport for safety and even then, I'm completely freaked out seeing them just walking around with assault rifles (and that's the 'professionals'). I couldn't begin to comprehend just doing groceries and the civilan person in front of you at the register just having one of those slung around their shoulder like it's no big deal. I'd never leave my house again, yikes.

[@Itsukazutrap]

"marechaussees", you use the French word maréchaussée in the Netherlands? That's pretty cool. I didn't know even these words would be used outside of France. Café, ok. Typically French thing, ok. But I didn't expect this word to also be used. I feel kind of proud to see you use a word we don't even use ourselves

[@yasmeenahmaiden]

@@Itsukazutrap Haha, yeah, we do. I think we use a bunch more too, but don't really think about it (at least I didn't, until you mentioned it). Just did a quick search to refresh my memory and here's just the tip of the iceberg: cadeau, concierge, coulance, etui, faillissement, fouilleren, frappant, gêne, horloge, logé, maillot, niveau, privé, sujet. These are just some of them; I picked ones we regularly use and I think don't have an international use as much like for instance café or restaurant or things like that.

[@nymphithys1558]

@@Itsukazutrap oh lol I knew we kept a lot of french words but we get so used to using it that we usually don't realize it anymore, it's really funny to see french natives recognizing it though :D It actually got me curious again, looked up some lists just now and theres way more than I thought. You might as well say we probably stole about half of your dictionary (or only made minor changes) and filled in the rest with german stuff hahah :') To add a few more to yasmeenahs list, we also use these (and pronounce them the french-ish way instead of english when similar) on regular basis: regie, ambassade, serieux(with an s though), chic, enquete, dessert, salon, eau de cologne, toilet, punaise, condoleance, scene, douche, journalistique, ambulance, serie, opticien, ampere, croissant, garage, parasol, quarantaine, diner, migraine, paraplu, bouillon, rapport, chantage, interieur, humeur, plafond, decor, coupe, truc, aubergine, visite, accent, documentaire, pistolet, lineair, apres-ski, ravage, vitrage, populair, route, finale, decollete, etage, abonnement, marge, prostitue, interessant, controle, douane, mitrailleur, creme fraiche, ballon, ordinair, donateur, chauffeur, arrangement, Lingerie, fondant, permanent, allure, bureau, premier, genre, souvenir, manege, stagiair, tampon, contant, monteur, sabotage, fondue, theater and deja vu. There's even "Je maintiendrai" on the official royal orange familycrest for some reason. (But then again, in our anthem we sing about having german blood and honoring the king of spain lol ) So we might as well be frenchies in disguise, if not for the fact that many of us tend to not only use dutchified versions (cadeau -> kado) but also pronounce them in such ways that i would be surprised if you recognized them during our speech ^.^

[@tommerker8063]

if they tried to reinstate that shit here in germany, there would literaly be riots in the streets.

[@Gamm420]

@@tommerker8063 Really? From that list posted by Nymphithys I know we use exactly these words in German, sometimes not pronounced the French way though: Regie, Chic/Schick, Enquete, Dessert, Salon, eau de Cologne (= von Köln, auch Kölnisch Wasser genannt), Toilet(te), migraine/Migräne, Paraplu (kann sein, dass das in Österreich viel eher verwendet wird), Interieur, Scene/Szene, douche/Dusche, journalistique/Journalistisch bzw. Journalismum, ... Well, I stop here but we DO use a lot of these words in German but a lot of people aren't aware. I also spent a few weeks in the Netherlands and understanding spoken Dutch is indeed difficult, reading and understanding written Dutch is a lot easier in my opinion. But I guess knowing German, English and a bit of French helps.

[@Lord_RFAS]

1 freedom you don't have in Europe: to buy a semi automatic rifle the day you turn 18 (or ever) and go back to your high school to kill bad memories you had there (because the voices in your head told you to).

[@MrToradragon]

But the gun is not the root cause, mere tool it is. And if gun ownership would be restricted, they will perhaps turn to some improvised explosive devices. What is needed is to address the root cause that is quite possibly embedded in school system itself.

[@Sigart]

@@MrToradragon I think you're right that gun ownership isn't the sole problem, but it's something that's pretty easy to fix and something that's likely to have almost immediate effect. So someone who's extremely determined will find a way anyway, obviously, but unless there's a lot more wrong with American society than I know, if someone had to plan beyond going to the supermarket, most would probably not go through with it or they would be caught by the FBI.

[@MrToradragon]

@@Sigart I would say that gun ownership is not even in the middle od the list of causes and problems to be fixed, maybe somewhere at the end of the list. They will find another tool that in the end could cause even worse long term harm than gun and the level of necessary determination might not even be that much higher. And I don't think it would trigger some alarm in the FBI. There must be some reason why the school attacks are so much more common and much more brutal in the USA, than in e.g. EU and there must be some reason why in the USA it is indiscriminate attack on any person in school, while e.g. in Czechia it targets specific person, teacher, headmaster etc., if it happens at all. Thus I would say that there must be some crucial problem in school system. Or maybe there are some other things going on and the school is just the last straw and quite convenient lightning rod and it is small copy of the society as well.

[@Sigart]

@@MrToradragon Well, no country has ever had an epidemic of mass violent attacks like what the US has, not just school shootings. I still think that limiting access to guns would have an immediate effect. Maybe not remove all shootings, obviously, because there clearly _is_ something decidedly different about American culture to cause this, but yes, acquiring things to cause harm to any great degree will flag authorities, at least here in Europe.

[@MrToradragon]

@@Sigart As USA are already deep in epidemic of violence, it would hardly do any good. Sure their gun culture is something that does not exist, perhaps, nowhere else, but it is more like constant, that had existed for long time, and it seems like the problems are happening only since 90's or so. Problem is that almost anything can cause harm, significant harm and those things are hardly on any watch list, even in EU. For obvious reasons I will not say what I had in mind exactly.

[@arip3363]

I'm always amused about the irrational fear of a government run health care. Just a little anecdote: my son broke his arm last year. It was a pretty bad break and he needed surgery. We got to the ER at around 2 pm, he was in surgery by 5 pm. Not much waiting time required considering the previous 3 hours were filled with getting exrays done and seeing 3 doctors for consultation. Forward a year and 2 more surgeries later, one required a 3 days stay in the hospital, and 10 months of physical therapy and seeing experts for nerve damage I've spend exactly 40 € for my part of staying in the hospital with him. I also had to take 3 days off work and was reimbursed by my health insurance for it. During all this time, my son's father, who is American was trying to transfer us money for medical bills, not really understanding that it didn't cost anything to have our son treated.

[@MsThePrettiest]

They were trying to help. That's cute

[@antmax]

My friend here in California was laid off from his tech job and got emergency insurance in between jobs. His teenage son broke his ankle playing American football at high school. When my friend called the health insurance company, they refused to pay any of his medical bills because playing sport wasn't considered an accident. That broken ankle cost several thousand dollars to fix.

[@anastauro9743]

I find it very sad and stupid. What is it that they don’t get about a Public Health Service?

[@arip3363]

@@antmax that's harsh. In Germany if a child is hurt during sport in school, there is a special ensurance for that, which you don't pay a dime for and is actually better than your regular insurance. If the injury happens in a sport club they have their own insurance as well. Either way your own ensurence will cover the cost first and then reach out to the other places for reimbursement.

[@user-sd8zv9bk6r]

I don't understand that you need insurance in the US to treat a child. I know we pay National Insurance (If working) for the NHS, but no matter what children are free. Free medical free prescription etc. They are usually 1st priority too. I cant believe a country will neglect a child because the "Insurance" was not covered that type of injury. Here in the UK, a kid could deliberately jump out of a tree and get treated, knocked over, get in a fight, injured while playing a sport. No matter what the child (and adult as well) will be treated. I have argued with some Americans who believe the NHS is communism (as its social care which if social equated to communism to many Americans). They think we pay 50% or more tax for it and you are told which Dr you go to. They do not believe me when I say we can walk into any Hospital in the UK and see any doctor (but I admit there is a catchment area for most Doctors medical center's, but you get many within that catchment area to choose from). They dispute I dont pay 50% tax, even when showing them Government website showing how NI works. They say its propaganda and I fell for it. Even though my wages clearly show what I pay each month on NI. They then go into the argument that I am paying for scroungers to use the NHS. Which I am happy for as many people, like OAP or children and many who cant work due to circumstances or disabilities need it. Is the NHS perfect? no but its needed and if either Tories or Labour decide, can be better but they are too busy wanting an American style medical way, so they can get richer off the people.

[@Hav_a_Badger]

My uncle living in the US had a very bad stroke along with other health complications. The insurance company eventually denied any further treatment because he wasn't going to get any better. Therefore sentencing him to death. He died shortly after as they couldnt afford the medication. That would never have happened in the UK. The NHS might not be perfect, but when it's a life and death situation this is when it really does shine.

[@Peter-uy3ti]

So sorry, from a English Man

[@Hav_a_Badger]

@@Peter-uy3ti I'm English as well. My uncle immigrated to the US.

[@sandrathompson1277]

Our health system is the same as yours….it must be very scary to live in a country that is ..man eat man..very backwards for this day and age…talking about Australia…

[@oshifish2]

New sub here! Love your channel! I am an American who lived almost all of my life in America. Now I live in the UK and boyyyy do they take work and life balance more seriously! So many of my coworkers and now myself and my husband and look forward to the trips we will take not the things we buy. It's way less materialistic here. My good friend went to an island off Spain for her husband's milestone b-day, not some materialistic thing. We do have to plan ahead on vacations only because everyone in the company gets four weeks off the bat! We have to plan ahead so the vacations do not cross each other and too many people are off but that's the only reason. Much more compassion here and the people are not all jacked up and angry all the time! Healthcare comes out of our taxes instead of massive defense spending because its a HUMAN right! It is not "sub par" healthcare, its top-notch! I worked in healthcare there and here and can speak from straight expericence! x

[@annalieff-saxby568]

I had a long discussion of "American Freedom" with a US right-winger and, when pushed, he finally agreed that the freedom he boasted of was to be able to purchase a gun with ease and to call poc by the "n word". Personally, I'd rather have the freedom to send my kids to school and know they'll be back, to have a heart-attack without worrying about bankruptcy, and to know my waiting staff receive at least minimum wage *before* tipping.

[@rt_huxley9205]

I'm a right winger. We are more free than Europe. Try me.

[@liamblack2574]

Amen!

[@Anne-pv9cb]

How ridiculous you are.

[@Tricia_K]

Hear, hear!

[@pauloportugal1396]

Well said

[@SiqueScarface]

To me (grown up in a communist state) the Pledge of Allegiance was the most totalitarian, stalinist thing I experienced in the U.S.. Second in: Employee of the Month displays. This also reminded me so much of totalitarian work ethics. And yes: Social Housing in the U.S. - it's basically WBS70 all over again. WBS70 stands for Apartment Building System of 1970, the typical East European concrete flat buildings, which are as identical to each other as one egg to the other egg.

[@JoFa876]

Yep. Nationalism, not patriotism.

[@mikefraser4513]

@@JoFa876 And the stars and stripes hanging on every possible place. One every porch, school, fitness studio, on office-tables, traffic-wardens and security officers jackets, very large ones on US troops jackets (much, much bigger than other Nato countries). and finally, even a "waving" stars and stripes on jacket lapels

[@InfiniteDesign91]

@@mikefraser4513 I saw the flags while I was watching every movie. For some reason I always thought putting the flag everywhere is actually cool.

[@darkmatter6714]

The only time we clutch our hearts in the UK is when we’re having a heart attack.

[@rissaarei5336]

Couldn't agree more and it's quite frankly terrifying. As kids we were taught about the bad capitalists and how good communism was. Anyone, who wasn't completely brainwashed looked up to the west and America as a promised land of the free. America, the good guys fighting the bad communist and winning in the end. And then decades later, after a lot of videos like this one, where actual Americans tell us how the life is behind the pond, we're here to see the truth. America and the USSR are much more like reflection of each other in a fun-house mirror. Warped, but the essence stays the same. The same fearmongering, the same indoctrination, the same gatekeeping of knowledge, the same "they against us" mentality.

[@kenyanswiss]

As an African, I wanted to go to the US when I grew up. Then life happened and I found myself in Switzerland. The first time I visited the US, I was really shocked. I genuinely thought the whole western world was the same. Switzerland is quite stingy with maternity leave and annual leave compared to the rest of Europe. When I heard in the US that is a luxury, I was shocked. Then my relatives came to visit and were shocked that the social housing and normal housing were together. There are no 100% rich neighbourhoods and 100% poor ones. The public schools you had kids from rich and poor families.

[@iwnb420]

More and more companies in the Netherlands are experiencing with "unlimited" vacation time". Basically take what you need when you need it as long as your yearly goals or targets are met than no one gives a damn. Cool thing is that new data shows that people feel more free, but don't necessarly take more vacation days (weirdest thing ever).

[@dpt6849]

Also freetime for overtime when companies don't want to pay which implicates corporate slavery. Healthcare is reknown for these forms of abuse

[@JasperJanssen]

Unlimited vacation time is a scam being perpetrated by unscrupulous companies on defenseless employees.

[@clivewilliams3661]

I have enjoyed what I do and rarely have taken my quota of vacation leave (25-28days leave + statutory hols) and have usually been at odds with the establishment at the end of the holiday year because they felt their duty to pay me extra for the days I had left on my allowance, which I wasn't really worried about. Trust me, if I don't like the job I will take all my allocated leave and probably throw in a few sickies!

[@JasperJanssen]

@luuk groot I don’t think it’s actually allowed in NL? AFAIK companies are legally required to make sure employees take their minimum mandated vacations. They have to track vacation anyway because of that.

[@amosamwig8394]

waar dan?

[@Leowo80]

I am from the Netherlands. Last December my father died. My work gave me weeks of leave paid sick because I had a really hard time. I recovered and came back on therapeutic basis. They offered me to talk with a therapist every two weeks they pay. I still have my vacation days. ❤

[@angrydoggy9170]

Sorry for your loss. Nice to hear you’re given the chance to recuperate.

[@nobody764-j9n]

laws must have changed. when i lived and worked in amsterdam. my brother died and was given 3 days only. by dutch law. you were lucky or the laws have changed. hope you good now.

[@niccosalonga9009]

@@nobody764-j9n Super nice employer, maybe?

[@nobody764-j9n]

@@niccosalonga9009 i think so. i worked for one of the sons of an ex dutch pm . he was a socialist and i wasnt treated well.he was a jerk. dropped after my 2nd contract? why? cause it would have to a permanent contract. and they didnt want to do that. or maybe cause i wasnt dutch. from my experience they are pretty xenophobic.

[@niccosalonga9009]

@@nobody764-j9n Sounds sucky. You're probably better off not under his employ, though. Ah well.

[@MarijnvdSterre]

I like my freedom to not being forced to have to take the car, but I am free to use multiple forms of transport. I like my freedom to be able to make use the medical system without worry.

[@Tomp4ul]

The thing about calling in sick really grates on me. Calling in sick actually keeps productivity up, you don't infect coworkers, you don't come in running on half-engines doing a less than great job, etc. It's been shown in studies time and time again. Same with the vacation time points, and even just on a daily 'not turning up early and leaving late all the time' - sure, sometimes long days are unavoidable, but productivity is always higher when people are well rested and not stressed -- and feeding back into the first point; rested people that aren't stressed get ill much much less.

[@wendwllhickey6426]

The problem with calling in sick they think your lies and just don't want to come in .

[@jonaskarlzen7304]

Självklart!

[@hansstromberg5330]

Being Swedish, I appreciate the monarchy, firstly because beng mainly ceremonial, the king having no political power, secondly, since the king can be, and frequently is a symbol for the country. When (if) a major catastrofe occurs, he more often than not, is the person who, in a non-political way, expresses the feelings of the people. Thus monarchies in Europe are at least as democratic as is the US (possibly more). Also I really like many other aspects of our society, e.g. the five-week holidays, the free education - up to the PhD level (students even get paid, enabling poor people to study). Also, the health-care system is "not too bad". There is a "cap" on to how much medical treatment can cost you per annum (including hospital stays, chirurgy and what have you). Basically it can cost you more than USD 140 -per twelve months! Yesterday, My hearing was tested. It cost me SEK 250, say USD 30, nearly a fourth of my annual health care maximum cost. Furthermore, there is also a "cap" as to the maximum annual cost of prescription drugs, at some USD 200-250 (exchange-rates, you know!). Being 76, with diabetes type II, hypertension and a lot of other ailments associated with my ripe old age, I consume a lot of prescription drugs (they make up about half of my breakfasts, the remainder being tea and boiled eggs). Despite this I did not, last year, reach the cap, some USD 200. That human beings in the wealthiest country the world has ever seen, i.e.the US of A, are going bankrupt - or even dying - because they can neither afford the nesecessay hospital care or neven pay for life-saving drugs, such as insulin is an affront to humanity The same principle appy to prescription drugs. The United States of America, might very well be the most powerful naton of the earth. But if it does not "gets its shit together", and that soon, it will be, all things considered, a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. Hans Strömberg, retired journalist, Stockholm, Sweden

[@rainelind2127]

I have come to the same conclusion, myself . The US will be a 3:d world fedual country within a few generations if nothing is done too prevent it.

[@andrewruddy962]

Hans , thank you for posting as I learned something new.

[@simonemckee8840]

I agree with the monarchy.

[@antcommander1367]

So whats new in europe gun violence capital?

[@jurgnobs1308]

i don't really agree with you on the monarchy, because i don't like tge idea of one family being born with legal privileges. but that's more of a issue of principle, not because i think it actually harms the swedish population. it just goes against my nature to consider someone to be born better.

[@rasmusgornandt7062]

for europeans it is quite simple, your freedom ends where the freedom of the persons around you begins! That basically means you can do whatever you want, as long as it doesnt effect the other people around you negatively. And to define that limits is one of the main jobs of government and its also far easier and more efficient to keep that limits a little bit tighter and more defined, than only setting very wide and vague limits.

[@goopguy548]

@@holylordofmadness6988 possession isn't illegal a lot of the time if it's for personal consumption but decriminalising drugs has gone on for a while. They should keep up with it though so it's less stigmatized

[@idahooo2302]

@@nw7630 except that in a lot of european countries you have a right to walk in that forest. and if you don t have a permit then i don t need a permit to buil my house near your house. what s the limit? 10m? 100 m? 10 km? its easier to say you need a permit all the time. and more logical.

[@skaruts]

Except when you call the cops every weekend and they don't do shit and other people have complete freedom to keep fucking with you unless you sort it out yourself. That's been my experience in portugal.

[@zuzpager]

@@nw7630 Yes! We care about the people and the planet here too ;)

[@Serenoj69]

In NL your boss is not even allowed to ask what kind of illness you have. This is a private matter between you and your doctor or the doctor of the company. But no one else can/is allowed to ask what is the matter. That is in order to protect you from a boss harrassing you.

[@twinmama42]

It's the same in Germany.

[@twinmama42]

@@night6724 I don't understand. This was my comment about how Dutch and German employee rights concerning sick leave are very similar. If you ask if the US pledge of allegiance is like Nazi or Soviet indoctrination, my answer is "very close".

[@mikeyb2932]

Same in Denmark as well.

[@SariTheOneAndOnly]

Same in Belgium ☺️

[@mralx4458]

Same in Norway.

[@captiveimage]

I can vouch for that (London, UK). I've accrued a fair amount of holiday over the year, a few days of which I’m allowed to carry across to next year. My human resources manager wrote me an email to remind me I had more than the three days owing, and encouraged me to take some of the time off.

[@lbergen001]

My freedom ends where it limits the freedom of another. Think about it. I get the impression that the American "being free" means "being on your own". So no kind of protection, care, safety etc

[@ruppert5134]

The most dangerous words in the english language or any language are .... WE are from the government and we are here to HELP you.... NEVER EVER forget that.....

[@iancossey105]

@@ruppert5134 And right there, in these two comments, is the main difference between America and Europe..

[@gordowg1wg145]

Well, for me it seems like those who rant about their freedom are actually like anarchists who don't want anyone else to have their 'freedom' if it in any way conflicts with their own.

[@Vickzq]

We got minorities in europe that start to dictate what the majority is allowed or isn't allowed to do or say... not much different then.

[@gordowg1wg145]

@@Vickzq Sometimes it's just one person with the connivance of their acolytes - and not just in "Europe". Some also rely on internal, and external, military support to enforce their rule.

[@njones420]

The expression "land of the free" has always bugged me, with 1% of the population in incarceration...statistically the least free country on the planet.

[@jimspink2922]

The incarceration rate in the US is the highest rate in the world

[@dubious6718]

Cause prison is big business. I bet half the people in prison is there cause of bogus charges or something silly.

[@neuralmute]

@@dubious6718 Another big one is simple possession of marijuana. Which is 100% legal in my country.

[@RevOwOlutionary]

@@dubious6718 A lot of them are actually there for nothing at all. Lots of people are imprisoned while awaiting charges.

[@AreEia]

"For profit prisons" would easily be seen as a violation of human rights and an utter corruption of the justice system in any other part of the western world. In the US it has become the standard...

[@Politik-mit-Kopf]

In Germany I started for a major industrial company and asked for a week off after 6 weeks of work. My boss said ok, since I have legal right for it and if no things fall short and all clear to colleagues, he has no issues with it. Rejecting rightful vacation requests is a slippery slope for the employer and many team leader sympathise as much with their employees as they do with their employer, hence back you up too. I have 30 work days off each year, that’s six weeks and it’s so unbelievable when I hear of US companies offering 1 week a year. Legal minimum in Germany is 20 days, you cannot offer any less.

[@MrKfero]

24

[@Reflox1]

Yeah I never understood the whole protestant work ethics that Americans have. Sure I like my job and company, but I am here to exchange my time and labor for money. I work a bit more and longer for you -sure. You give me leneancy when I have an appointment mid day. You scratch my back I scratch yours. I am bewildered this has become "quiet quitting" in the US, when you don't go above and beyond for the company.

[@Politik-mit-Kopf]

@@MrKfero what’s the 24? The minimum amount of holidays in Germany is 20.

[@stephenoneill245]

And it's called "Erholungsurlaub", which means "recuperation holiday". The idea is that rested-up workers are more productive.

[@TheZdendaPaker]

I’m originally from Czech Republic where we have 20 vacation days dedicated by the government. I’ve moved to Finland last year and I find out that people here (in company I work, dunno if it’s in whole country) have in total 42 vacation days for one year. 🤯

[@zabacinjsh]

yea us eastern europeans have been fucked by red fascist ideals that sound a lot like capitalism only instead of companies exploiting people it was god emperor stalin. I hope the more socialist west realizes that east never got its promised socialism why things are so bad here. I remember my gran told me a story about how she used to work at an enourmous meat freezer - large building only dedicated to preserving meat. was always full to the point where frozen fish were going bad as that meat was reserved only for the ussr elites. and the demand wasnt too high. while regular people were standing in line for a week to get a piece of sausage that wasnt even fully meat. Gran said she would sneak out rotten fish sometimes in her clothing as they werent allowed to take anything. and things that rotted had to be secretly disposed of. We truly need more true socialist politicians making us understand how good actual socialism could be for us. even social democracies are more socialist than the ussr. I feel the misconception is why we are miles behind western europe and why our politicians tend to continue on the more rightwing fashion carved out by power hungry phonies like stalin.

[@nahkaparturiOG]

I think the minimum number of yearly vacation days required by the Finnish law is 30 (for permanent employees at least), but the number usually grows the longer you work in the same company, and the field of work and company practices also may enable longer yearly vacation time :)

[@Belfastchild1974]

THe land of the free, yet the highest rate per capita of people in jail from all countries in the world. And isn't it odd, that so many of the freedoms can get used to limit the freedoms of others?

[@glastonbury4304]

more like land of the fee, home of the gun...God Left America...🤷

[@1RikAtiC1]

Land of the fat , home of the slaves

[@Netscape-kd6mg]

i think that's more a structural problem of the jail system then a freedom issue. To live freely in a society, you got to abide by that societies social contract. it's not a literal contract but an implicit one as it's more a metaphoric auto-acceptance of the laws and customs of that society once you navigate in it. if you don't abide by them then you are isolated from the society, that's the jailing system. one of it's roles is to find a way to reintegrate you into it's society after making sure you understand the social contract and how you breached it leading you to your temporary removal from it. then again sometimes the violation is so deep that the system doesn't have a way to reform you against your offense. that where permanent jailing and in some areas death penalty enters into play to permanently remove you from society as it doesn't have the means to correct your behaviour

[@glastonbury4304]

@@Netscape-kd6mg sounds very American babble talk..

[@Netscape-kd6mg]

@@glastonbury4304 that's just my thought on what should be the justice system in a utopian point of view. However even you got to admit that some actions just can't be that easily swept under the rug and need a long prison sentence or a sever punishment.

[@kevhove]

So good to hear you talk the way you do . As a UK guy .. im impressed by your openness have subscribed

[@isladurrant2015]

Me too

[@TzeiEm]

Living in Finland I can say it is probably on par with the best countries in the world to live in (and there are several studies and indexes to back my claim) but it comes at a cost: there are so many people in here that take all this for granted and whine about the stupidest things, simply because they are so ignorant and think the grass is greener on the other side, which 99% of the time it isn't. Many people also glamorize the American way of living, but I'm pretty confident in saying it is the product of watching American movies and/or reading about the success stories. I was one of those people, but after traveling the world (the US included) and reading about the differences I totally changed my mind. At this point I would never move to the US, unless I became a billionaire.

[@denisetolley6191]

Apparently Finland is the the most happy country in the world according to statistics not to mention it really beautifull so you guys are doing something correct ps the largest consumer of coffee and who doesn't like a good quality cup of coffee im from the UK and we are pretty fortunate too.

[@anaid918]

Agree! I moved to Finland few years ago and I just adore this country. For me, it's the best place on Earth. And it is so annoying when Finns start to complain about things, like it is expensive here, short summer, blah blah... They just never lived anywhere else and have no clue how lucky they are to live in Moominland.

[@eikeksimimea1071]

@@anaid918 Thats 100% true, however not complaining because we have it good is the reason our country is going downhill. We essentially have very biased press, very biased court system, hate speech laws that make no sense. Marins cabinet has taken 38 billion fucking dollars more debt. To think that we are doing just fine is literally bullshit.

[@anaid918]

@@eikeksimimea1071 Don't be so pessimistic :) All you mentioned exists in every country. Besides, Finland is the 5th in the world by press independence. That's very high. Marin's cabinet has been facing huge challenge to be in power during the Covid pandemic and now the war. And they are dealing quite ok in these difficult circumstances

[@johnofdebar4071]

I don't really believe in such studies because they generalize too much. I live in Vienna and it has constantly been proclaimed as the city with best quality of life on several rankings. Having lived in other cities: e.g.Frankfurt, and Berlin, I don't really understand why Vienna allegedly has the best quality of life. nothing special or better than these cities. And Finland allegedly being one of the best countries to live in-I would never live there with that horrible weather.

[@emrysmeek440]

In the UK for a few pounds NHS contribution each week deducted at source I have received 2 times thoracic lung surgeries, 2 times major bowel surgeries and 2 times heart procedures not to mention vast quantities of pharmaceuticals / medications ongoing. I am certain that I have cost the NHS hundreds of thousands of pounds over the years and have never received a single bill. This is why we Brits love our NHS.

[@norma8686]

I live in Italy, here you can have a gun but you can't walk around with your gun. You have to keep it in a safe at home. If you want to go to a shooting range, you have to call the police, tell them when and where you're a going to the shooting rage, they'll give you a permit for that day, specific hours and you have to follow the itinerary they give you, no exceptions.

[@Thurgosh_OG]

In the UK, many gun owners keep their weapons locked securely at the range, so little danger of grabbing a gun when angry and shooting lots of people (it has happened but not every year or decade even).

[@MrToradragon]

That is fucked up.

[@BICIeCOMPUTERconGabriele]

@@MrToradragon Why would you need a gun to go outside your home, in Italy? This system works. Believe me.

[@Pidalin]

Here in Czech Republic, you can carry your gun, but most of people don't do that, but most of people have gun license type for secret carry because why not, it's just few more tests and it's easier to have it from beginning than changing your gun license type later. Italian system sounds crazy, guns are defacto banned there, they allowed some possibility to own guns only for showing that it's not banned. BTW, most of shootings we had in last years were done by illegal guns or guns illegaly transformed from blank guns, so legal owners with proper gun license are not a problem, if there is some crime with legal gun, it's not mass shooting, it's mostly suicide or some revenge when person kills one other person, which is still bad, but you know what I mean, those peolpe don't do terrorist attacks.

[@MrToradragon]

@@Pidalin For few days I was thinking how to describe how it works here in Czech Republic, but you took care of that, thanks. Only one small correction, it is called concealed carry.

[@688PT]

The NHS isn't perfect but it's there when you need it in an emergency. My brother fell off a roof and smashed the right side of his body; he broke his tib, fib, femur, hip, forearm, and several ribs. Paramedics and an ambulance crew provided on-scene care until a helicopter arrived to fly him to the nearest A&E (ER). He underwent numerous x-rays, MRI, etc. and then surgery to fix all his fractures with titanium pins and plates, (his x-rays made him look like Wolverine!). When he was discharged, he was booked in for regular rehab/physio treatment to get his limbs fully functioning again. Within 3 months, he was back on his mountain bike. His bill for all this was.....£0. Advocates of the US health care system will say, "It's not free. You pay for it through your taxes." Correct. But only around 4% of a person's income tax goes to the NHS. Personally, I think a lot more than 4% should go to the NHS.

[@Zeo_Kana]

I'm glad our taxes go towards helping each other with medical issues etc. Its like one massive community crowdfunding medical care for anyone who needs it, its fantastic. Glad to hear your Brother is better now. I broke my finger and severely damaged another, surgery and (ongoing) physio along with medical supplies to take home (specialised physio bandages, actually cool materials that only stick to itself) and not a penny has come out of my account for it. I've had colleagues have months off work after a quad bypass and open heart surgery, not a penny paid and recovered really well and still going strong. Maybe in america they should sell it as Crowdsourced Medical Care, however, their pharma companies charge what they like so might not work as well.

[@iainansell5930]

yah, i shudder to think how much i woulda have to pay in the US, the wife has had 3 pre eclampsia pregnancies, requiring 1 month in hospital for 2 of them, 1 premature birth with special care for 8 weeks for the baby, menningitis septacaemia for the eldest daughter at 7 months, which required 3 weeks intensive care, 3 weeks special care, 2 months on a plastic surgerry ward and numerous plastic surgery operations since. wife has had a TIA more recently, liver problems due to half her liver dying(both this and the TIA were caused by the pre-eclampsia years before).. she's currently on about 5 medications and going in for blood tests 3 times a week... i'd be utterly broke, or she would be dead.

[@Kataza_]

I met someone from America once and they told me it cost $40,000 to have a baby, never mind all the extra stuff you have to actually buy to make sure the child can grow up and live comfortably, and now depending on what state you live in, you don’t even have access to an abortion

[@eat_pray_porg8450]

As an American, I am very happy for the citizens of the UK -and- extremely jealous of not having the NHS, or at least some equivalent setup for medical insurance in the States. We could easily apply a similar tax to everyone that lives here, but the lobbyists and Big Pharma will not have it. We have capitalism and the patriarchy to blame for this.

[@jbird4478]

I bought my house from social housing. It's a pretty good system actually. At some point I started making more money so I could buy a house. I already felt like home and I was just offered to buy it. And the mortgage is actually lower than the rent was. You just need some starting capital. And they then use that money to build new social housing, so it's kind of a win-win situation.

[@jbird4478]

@@night6724 According to who? Seems like nonsense to me.

[@jbird4478]

@@night6724 And by numerous economic sources you mean Wikipedia? Because there are wildly different ways of calculating estimates and different definitions of homelessness.

[@rickybuhl3176]

@@jbird4478 One would assume according to Le Roi Soleil, likely his advisors like Mazarin and the Grand Condé amongst others. Pretty sure old Louis wasn't much for the peasantry owning land, or their lives really.. He's just bitter his line got the chop whilst Lizzie's been celebrating.

[@definitelynotatroll246]

We have a big shortage of council houses cause of that system, thank good old Maggie for that

[@scabthecat]

The Right to Buy is a most misunderstood and misrepresented scheme. SJW's fail to see the justice involved. Is welfare a temporary safety net or life long state dependence? A poor person rents a social house. When the accumulated rent paid exceeds the value of the house, the council become net profiteers off the poor person. At this point it is morally unjustifiable not to sell the property to the renter at a substantial discount.

[@markgreen4745]

I'm English, but why do people dream of living in America, it's beyond me

[@jaxcoss5790]

I don’t get it either.

[@M________________________]

In The Netherlands is the murderrate 10 times less compared to the US, so they pay a high price for having the "freedom" of having guns. I'd rather have 10 times less murders in my country than the "freedom" of walking around with a gun, and if you want to shoot a gun in The Netherlands you can just go to the shooting range... So yeah, very easy choice for me!

[@yannicklucas1836]

In the US, if you want to shoot a gun you can just go to the school, grocery store, etc... Sad!

[@cedricschmidtke4287]

honestly walking down a street even in a socially less fortunate neighborhood and not having to fear anything, is way more free than what the US is doing i mean how can you be free if you have to fear if your children come home that day, its just madness

[@jerryjanssen4525]

The Netherlands is 250 times smaller than the US, so what is youre point? That the US is safer than the Netherlands! 🤦‍♂🤦‍♂

[@cedricschmidtke4287]

@@jerryjanssen4525 he never said safety he is talking about murder in the rest of the world thats a huge difference

[@semboersen2632]

3D printers can easely make weapon parts now. I really hope trough that some form of rise will accure

[@jmg7374]

My thoughts on the pledge of allegiance and other lies that America tells you your entire life. I currently live in Germany and now I really enjoy living here that wasn’t the case the first couple years I lived here. The first couple years I was miserable because in my mind America was better in every way. Once I started learning about how society and the laws work in Germany I slowly realized that I had been literally brainwashed from growing up in United States. And I understand that brainwashed might be a bit of an overstatement but I really can’t think of a better description. I still love my country but knowing what I know now I would never go back to the U.S. unless it changes which I seriously doubt will ever happen.

[@brunovandooren3762]

I think the main difference between USA and us (I live in Belgium) is that while we might prefer our own country for various reasons, we can admit that there's things we're good at, things we suck at, and we're not the best at everything. In America, it's considered unpatriotic to acknowledge that at some things you suck. Pledging allegiance and saluting the flag on a daily basis reeks too much of 'Ein volk, ein reich, ein fuhrer' style unquestionable adoration.

[@axoram]

Ciao dalI'Italia e buona vita nella vecchia Europa ; la tua nazione non era cosi' sino agli anni '80 , da Ronald Reagan , tutto e' stato regalato a lobby finanziarie e delle armi , liberismo selvaggio di wall street , distruzione dei diritti sociali , cosa che qui in Europa nonostante tanti problemi , nella nostra coscienza sappiamo che e' un valore intoccabile ; sanita' e scuola pubblica gratis sono nel nostro DNA.

[@freakymeff]

@@brunovandooren3762 Americans conflate nationalism with patriotism. It's not unpatriotic to say your country is good at some things, but shit at others. In doing so, you recognize it has the capacity to do better and by admitting what can be improved, we enable it to be better. The American way of thinking is flawed and dangerous.

[@martinabcbeers]

You were brainwashed from day one, we all are but with different stories 😢

[@heidihouse6817]

Every country has it's flaws, but free thinking shouldn't be one of them ❤

[@rustyfmj2388]

Charlie, if you're really serious about moving to the NL and actually manage to do so one day i'll buy you a beer to celebrate your newfound freedom

[@barrybroersma9920]

And i wanna join! We gonna drink a LOT of beer on us 2, because we gonna celebrate the freedom thats Charlie gonna get

[@manonvanginneke6165]

Can I join? I will make you and your family some very delicious stamppot! I can't wait to see your reactions when you are truly here! That would be priceless!! In my case: I work 32 hours a week, not more cause I want to enjoy my life, and I have 2 weeks paid and 2 weeks unpaid holiday. Calling in sick is not an issue (ofcourse if you do that to much they will not give you another contract but that is normal right?)

[@mavadelo]

Charlie will be a "BN'er" before even setting foot in the country lmao

[@Snowshowslow]

@@manonvanginneke6165 Wait, where do you work that you have less than the official minimum of paid vacation (4 weeks)?

[@manonvanginneke6165]

@@Snowshowslow oeps foutje, 4 weken idd

[@kallepohl3544]

MAN..... This is the first video i´ve seen from you. I am from Germany and i really really like how you think and your view at life in general. I love that you are open for other points of view. It's refreshing to hear and see an American who isn't so stubborn. Of course not everybody can buy a gun in a supermarket here in Germany, but maybe that's why we have so few shootings and armed robberies here. Children are not drilled what they have to do if a gunman comes to school. There are also no metal detectors or security guards or dedicated police stations at schools. It's just not needed. Children can walk to and from school alone without fear of getting caught in a gunfight. I can also walk 3 miles home through the city without any fear after partying till 4am on the weekends. The freedom of speech... I can make a sign with "F...K chancellor Olaf Scholz" and stand in public without any repurcussions from the police or any official/public employee. I can express my grievances to my government without retaliation. And yes, I can vote every 4 years in our great democracy. The most important thing is: I really think it's a shame that you have such poor and expensive health care in the USA. You really do sometimes have very sick people who don't go to the hospital because they can't afford it. Here EVERYONE can ALWAYS go to a hospital and get well without fear of bankruptcy or debt.

[@neilpountney9414]

I am a Brit living in the USA (20 plus years) and I have experienced pretty much each and every one of these things. The problem is it usually gets into a pissing contest about which country is the best to live in. So few people realize that all of our countries could be better than they are. The things that hold countries back and especially in the USA right now is Politics and Political parties and the successful division of its people based on their Political followings. The USA is great because of its people, its diversity and its myriad of cultures. I have always said from day one here the American workforce is the most abused and poorly treated in the western world and it is one of if not the hardest working. To this day I am still shocked at how a large number of employees are treated here. I don't see things changing. My wife knows me well enough to know I am not bashing the USA but I often say to her remind me of that Freedom thing again.

[@tommerker8063]

but don't you know, communism and everything it stands for is evil ;)

[@AreEia]

That is one of the paradoxical/weird things about American work culture, as even though I very much agree that they are both the most abused/poorly treated and probably the most hard working. But in terms of "productivity per working hour" they are on par with us here in Scandinavia(who arguably have it among the best in terms of workers rights and culture). So why this culture is everywhere in the US, when it does not actually make the companies more money, nor make the workers produce more, and can pretty confidently be said to be a very large contributor to Americas early mortality rate, seems paradoxical and strange.

[@kimballhutchinson2351]

I have a friend here in the UKfrom the Philippines who now works for the NHS. Many Philippinos come to the UK to work in the NHS as a stepping stone to the US where health workers are paid much more. I asked my friend why he hadn't moved on to the US and he said it was never on his radar. In the NHS he gets 8 weeks holiday per year and he can take it when he wants to. Some clever working of shifts can extend the effect of those 8 weeks by engineering days off before and after the holiday time. It's very flexible. As long as your contracted hours are put in, no one will complain. The work/life balance in the UK is far more humane. He gets to see his family back home every year and still have holiday time left to pursue his own personal passions. He said no money on earth would make him such a slave to work. What would be the point of living?

[@JeppeBeier]

Yeah I'm a european working as a full-time temp, so low wage/low benefits job, and I'm having 2 weeks vacation 3 months after I was hired, and the first question I was asked after accepting the job was "when do you expect to have your vacation?". It's just assumed here that everyone has a vacation at some point.

[@richs8754]

UK here, I also work as a full time temp, but I work exclusively in schools, so my holiday periods are generally dictated to me. However, at some schools I do extra hours during some holidays (as a cleaner, that would be deep clean sessions) so am able to claim extra time off at other times of the year. Meanwhile, I'm looking to convert one of my current contracts from Agency to permanent with the school concerned. That would mean getting paid for holidays, whereas at the moment, although I'm on a higher hourly rate, if I don't work the hours, I don't get the pay.

[@fionagregory9376]

They would call it holiday. We never say vacation. NEVER.

[@lauraholland347]

I must admit the thing that shocked me most about the U.S when I first visited was the pledging allegiance thing, I had never heard of such a thing. In the U.K you hardly ever even see a flag- let alone pledge allegiance to it. I found out more recently that this only started in the Macarthur period of the 50's-scary.

[@CabinFever52]

Senator McCarthy sought out the communists in every corner he could think of :) MacArthur was a general or a park that Donna Summer sang about. Have a good day :)

[@lauraholland347]

@@CabinFever52 thanks for the detail, recent history is not my strong suit, wrong spelling doesn't make it less scary though. You too

[@pprey6599]

@@CabinFever52 McArthur Park was first sung by Richard Harris.

[@hackdaniels7253]

UK is getting more and more like the US in that respect though.

[@lauraholland347]

@@hackdaniels7253 not with the pledging to the flag thing- you still hardly ever even see one outside of central London.

[@Almightyrastus]

The social housing thing is an interesting one here in the UK. I live in Nottingham, pretty much in the centre of England and in the Nottingham area there are several "council estates" which were started as a social housing project whereby the houses were owned by the city (or county) council (local government) and the rents were controlled. Over time a lot of these houses were sold off in a "right to buy" scheme and now you still have these estates (I live on the edge of one) but they are now very much a mixture of privately and council owned. The houses are often still cheaper to buy than elsewhere (hence why I live in one...), and the areas can still be a little more rough than others, but they are very much integrated into the rest of the city.

[@MrTrilbe]

IIRC they also tend to be larger than most modern builds since they had a mandated amount of area per person expected to live there, which modern builds don't have to abide by

[@geoffpriestley7001]

I live in an excoucil house i own 3 other houses that are on private estates. I still prefer my ex council house as a home. ive lived here 40 years and seen great improvements over the years .

[@markwalker2627]

New housing build sites in the UK have a mixture now where there is social housing affordable housing and like the original video guy Carl has executive style 4 and 5 bed housing. In the 60's in the UK mass council housing estates(social housing) were mass built and there was no mixing of classes etc.

[@catherinerobilliard7662]

Council built houses are solidly built, tend to have large gardens and big enough for families; there’s much to recommend them.

[@geoffoakland]

@@catherinerobilliard7662 American guy here, are you assigned an estate flat as it becomes available? I imagine it would be a good idea to check out the estate before, some seem to be kind of rough from what I've read.

[@sebastianhaas5863]

One quote about freedom I like is this: "One person's freedom to swing a frying pan around ends at the tip of someones nose"

[@denisetolley6191]

Im from the UK im currently in hospital watching from my bed I have had surgery removing part of my large bowel due to chrones I am in a recovery ward i have a room to myself with a private bathroom free WiFi 3 meals a day all threads and coffee u can drink nurses constantly checking on me free meds and and a free stoma kit with everything I need for when I go home all 5his fo around 25 to 30 pounds a week out of my paycheck if I was in America I would probably be 10s of thousands of pounds of debt it's not perfect but thank God for the NHS

[@laser_simon922]

Switzerland just landed in 1st place as the most free country in the world…the US and A got 26th…

[@silvanodelazzari8522]

After watching this video I can say even more with conviction, thank God I'm European and I live in Europe. The best place where to live.

[@HansGrob]

I doubt that Southern Europe, and Eastern Europe (still currently) are better. The most important thing for young adults is to have a good job, and perspectives for career, but that is basically not given in Italy etc. Where do they emigrate to, if not to Switzerland and Europe north of it?

[@silvanodelazzari8522]

@@HansGrob Southern Europe, you have to distinguish. Eastern Europe is totally different from Western Europe, I think you have a lack of knowledge.

[@hilding2063]

100% agree with that, however competition is good and will hopefully preserve the diversity and freedoms in Europe, as things go into the wrong direction recently.

[@elisadecastrolisboa6468]

Yeah, really? How is the war up there? Or threat of it? III WW already? Jesus... 🙄

[@HansGrob]

@@silvanodelazzari8522 No, parlo Tedesco, Francese, Inglese, Italiono, Spagnolo, ed un poco del Latino e Greco - anche se questo no prova molto. It is even hardly possible to distinguish mentioned parts of Europe. At least, it is sure that Great Britain is Western Europe. Most people think that Poland, Slovakia, Hungary are Eastern European, but that dates from the Cold war. The correct term is rather Central Europe. Are Austria and Svizzera Western or Central Europaen? Is Greece Southern European or Eastern European?

[@PixelShade]

It's kind of crazy how hard "freedom" is pushed in the US. Yet I think I would feel less free in the US than in let say Sweden. US use the United Nations "human rights" as something unique to their own country (when it is not). I mean, we also have freedom to speech, religious freedom, right to social protection (more so than the US, which has privatized healthcare), right to education (everyone can study at university, you don't need to be rich), right to work in favorable conditions (more so than the US with better minimum wages, we don't have "working poor" class). In Sweden we have enforced vacation for 5-6 weeks. We need to take it otherwise you will build up a large pool of vacation days which the employer need to enforce the worker to take time off, or pay the excess once they resign. Northern European countries also has "freedom to roam" which basically means that nature belongs to humans and we are free to venture out in nature, camp etc even if someone owns the land. As long as there's no garden or house built in close proximity, it is considered a human right to spend time there (Some rules may apply, like the "leave no trace" principle)... Generally I have never stumbled upon any freedom American citizens have that we don't. I rather feel like Americans are almost forced to own a car, forced to work in excess, forced to have expensive insurances, otherwise you will be cast out of society and not taken care of.

[@MrTrilbe]

Fun fact, as much as the US pushes it's Freedom of Speech, constitutionally it only covers protection from the Government and not private entities, i.e private citizens and corporations, that little bit of fun knowledge is how youtube and twitter can ban people and certain ex-presidents can't get the ban overturned with "but meh freedom of speech"

[@berekhalfhand4775]

It's spelled "freedumb".

[@MrTrilbe]

@@berekhalfhand4775 tbh it took me a while to get both jokes that are in that, well played, well played

[@annestovgaard681]

I am from Denmark, and when I got sick, the doctors did everything they could, doing all kinds of tests for 3 weeks (free of course). Here the doctors decide what you need, not an insurance company. ☺

[@GaiaCallisto]

True and social housing (alment bolig byggeri) is not something to be ashamed of. You just don’t need to think about the cost of water or heat or if something breaks because you just pick up the phone and someone will fix it and water and heat is in the monthly pay of the apartment. 1 thing I don’t like about our Country DK is that my grandma was 87 and Herlev hospital didn’t wanna do anything about her cancer as she was old anyways 🤬 that made me angry!

[@antichoice1]

Doctors do that here too, these Anti-American vids on the internet are so unbelievably stupid!

[@annestovgaard681]

@@antichoice1 but can you be sure, that you are covered by your insurance? I am not american, so just asking.

[@annestovgaard681]

@@antichoice1 The internet is sadly, the place where those who are loudest (or dumbest), gets the attention. I would love a "common people" channel 🙂

[@antichoice1]

@@annestovgaard681 You can be sure you will be treated, but COVERED, no. It is more complex in the US. I'll give you that. How good your doctor is depends on your insurance because everything is based on capitalism. This is fundamentally how the US has worked for 246 years. The more you pay, the better the care. I have insurance provided free by my job, and it is very good insurance. If you are unemployed (shame on you in this economy haha) you will have the free government healthcare, which I had years ago, and it is pretty bad. If they feel you are best kept under observation, they will keep you for 3 weeks or more, but they have a much higher standard for keeping you in a very valuable hospital bed. Cash rules everything around me.

[@oliwiaburczyk4624]

I feel so lucky to be born in Europe!

[@wolfgangkranek376]

Depends where you live in Europe.

[@rameses1979]

Great review. My wife is French and we've decided to move to France in 2023. I can't afford Healthcare cost in America anymore. Almost went bankrupt last year.

[@noway5347]

Good move!

[@seanoroideain3994]

Good luck with your move bon voyage!

[@rameses1979]

@@seanoroideain3994 Merci mon ami

[@jeffafa3096]

Vacation time in the Netherlands has to be approved by an employer if you give them at least a two weeks notice in advance. They can only reject the request if they have a valid reason (e.g. understaffing or dangers to the company).

[@dpt6849]

Flexwork can deal with that.

[@urbnctrl]

@@dpt6849 true, best thing tho if you actually sign directly with a company. More and more business are now actually experimenting with unlimited vacation time/days.

[@hullmees666]

i think that is the case in most of europe. but as the culture (and laws) are different they wont reject you if there isn't a valid reason like you said.

[@kyparnx]

In Sweden you are allowed 4 weeks continous vacation if you apply at least 2 months ahead of time. If you want to take a shorter vacation than 4 weeks the employer can not refuse you unless a special reason - such as putting the company at risk for example.

[@Pidalin]

I think it's the same here in Czech Republic, they mostly give you 2 weeks in one time, but they can deny it when you are too important and other people have vacation too, which is logical, you have to plan your vacation and coordinate if with other people to make sure company will not be completely disabled in those 2 weeks. I had some problems with that as a CNC programmer and operator, I mostly take like 1 week + 2 weekends around in one piece, when I want more, it's problematical, but I mostly have second vacation around Christmas and you mostly spend some days of vacation over year when you need some free friday or something, so it makes those 20 years in year. If you are roma, you have mostly vacation every friday and monday, but pssst, you can't say it today. 😀

[@TheVanillatech]

The employment vacation problem is insane. Here in England, it's 2 weeks minimum ( I think ) but most jobs will start at 3 weeks minimum, not including bank holidays, so technically you get about 4 weeks (with bank holidays). My previous job was at a school, and we got all term time off which was 12 weeks a year or so, right across summer and christmas. On a salary, so always received the same amount of money each month. I had a handful of doctors appontments, or certain afternoons when I had to pick up my daughter for whatever reason, never was a problem. Just squared it with my boss. Then I got a major knee problem out of the blue, which all the staff (especially my boss) were genuinely concerned about. They demanded I went to a doctor, even offered to take me to one when I constantly put it off. The doctors told me I needed 2 weeks rest, or it would never heal. I said I can't take that time off, I get too many holidays already AND I work with a certain number of kids who have special needs, and it had taken me over a year to get them into a routine, I can't just take 2 weeks off. My boss INSISTED I took it, assured me they would move staff around to cover for me, got me to liase with staff to explain how to deal with my students properly. No problems at all. America is insane. You guys need to start standing up for your rights, as employees. You need national strikes right now until it is law that every employer gives a minimum of 2 weeks anual paid leave to all workers. Italy gives 6 weeks minumum, plus two weeks paid leave for every married couple to honeymoon, and two weeks for the father of a newborn to bond with their kid. You are getting exploited across the pond. Fix it.

[@scragar]

UK is 28 days, but that includes bank holidays which most employers will give you off free reducing the minimum to about 20 days/year.

[@TheVanillatech]

@@scragar Bank holidays are national holidays. It's not up to the Employer to "give you them off". You get them off. The Queens death will mark a new bank holiday too, so theres an extra day. Brings it up to 9 public (bank holidays) days off, plus the 2 weeks minimum. That's 14 + 9 which is 23 days. Three entire weeks plus two days. Did you see Michael Moores documentary "where to invade next"? It's a couple of years old now, but he travels around Europe and see's how much of a shit deal American workers get in comparison to the rest of the Western World. He goes into detail about paid holidays, healthcare, education (including school meals) etc. Great viewing. Still relevant because, apart from 1000 airport workers in California, things have gotten WORSE for the working class in the USA since he made that film, not better. But then, things have gotten worse all over, I suppose...

[@stevegreening419]

I swear it says on the government website its 5.6 weeks entitlement to annual leave. And I dont think that includes Bank Holidays. I certainly get a lot more than 2 weeks at my job.

[@coraclouden2506]

In the UK It's 28 days, excluding bank holidays

[@grahamt5924]

As a European, I don't think about America that much.

[@hobiscrap1947]

In France we had an expression about freedom basicly translate by " My freedom stop where You're freedom start, and Your freedom stop where Mine start"

[@Vickzq]

Or where you can't say anything or somebody cuts your head off...

[@Spido68_the_spectator]

Effectivement. Une phrase trop oubliée :)

[@hobiscrap1947]

@@Spido68_the_spectator c'est clair malheureusement

[@terrybarton1604]

Dude you come across as a genuine guy and it's great to see that you're keen to learn. There are great people and places on this planet, but it usually the asshole politicians that fuck it up. Politicians are like diapers,they should be changed regularly, and for the same reason ☘

[@slake9727]

Great Mark Twain quote!

[@BeckyPoleninja]

UK here, no such thing a death panels...ridiculous and dangerous lies.

[@drcl7429]

NICE.

[@ruthbarratt9799]

I've watched many of these "American reacts" videos and found your amount the most heartfelt and "real" thank you for giving us our honest thoughts. (I'm in the IK BTW) Thank you

[@SD_L]

I would add a #7 : The fact of HAVING to pay by credit card in order to be considered as a "good person", this meaning that you're able to pay interests and fees to enrich someone else, instead of your capacity of having being able to spare that and paying cash ! As a Swiss 50 y.o., living in Switzerland, that is INSANE !

[@gggthsb]

yeah, the whole credit thing goes over my head, I just don't get it...

[@Joanna-il2ur]

When we were younger, my husband and I let the cards take control. Then we woke up, paid them off through reasonably hard work, and while we charge to cards, every penny is paid off every month. We have no debt, and when we charge things, we are mindful enough only to charge what we can pay off in full each month. We pay no interest. We no longer have a car, so no interest either. We live comfortably and when we get a bill, we pay it at once. We sleep easily.

[@svetlanasygiainen5339]

Wow, I cannot imagine not having vacations. Not gona lie, I'm very lucky, work in gaming industry in Finland, and I have 6 week mandatory vacation time over the year (sprinkled around) and you can convert any overhours into paid vacation days as well if need be.

[@richardaling5278]

First thing about this "racist"-thing: There is just one human race! Discrimination is another thing, but that's about background or skin color. Here in the Netherlands there are many inhabitants of Suriname, Indonesia, Turkey and Marocco origin. And those are NOT different human races though they suggest that discrimination of origin is racism. They might need education first;). Another thing i hate: People with darker skin color are been called "black". WTF, There no black people! It is a variation of brown. And i am certainly not white. I don't understand the stupid people who think in black and white. Amen.

[@Torfmoos]

Of cause there is only one race. But with dividing ppl in groups ( races, religion or even gender) it s more easyer to let them fight each other. Look at our (german) historie and u will understand it.

[@gillianhynes7120]

My mum used to say we are all the same we all come into the world the same way and go out the same way

[@Torfmoos]

@L M of cause we don t use it either for the same reason that s what i meant. But i think it s a case in the US.

[@richardaling5278]

@@Torfmoos Right! There is a clear need of labeling/categorize humans for adressing them, but that will stigmatize people:(. Like some think there is only straight and gay (like black and white). Well, there might be 1 percent 100% gay or straight. The far far majority is bisexual in tons of shades. Think about it;).

[@Torfmoos]

@@richardaling5278 in my oppion it s not the question how u label groups but who benefit from it. Black and white, red or blue, christs or moslems, gay bi or hetero, it s all the same. Classification only helps to put one of them over the other and get more power. It helps the nazis to get juish money, it helps to get brexit done and it helps Trump to get his power. And of cause i ve never been in the US and it s only an outside view, but i m pretty shure that the last Point (Trump) will show u what i meant in the following Answeres u may find below. And then don t ask what ppl say (u can read it) ask why they say it.

[@tracymuckle8512]

I cant understand why every American has the 'right' to have a gun but your children don't have the right to be safe in school. In the UK gun ownership is a privilege not a right

[@margreetanceaux3906]

Rotterdam, the Netherlands here: social housing and homeowners (terraced, or semidetached) are only one block apart. There are homes for the elderly, family houses for people with mental disabilities. All in the same neighborhood. In other words: a good place to live.

[@manticore4952]

We have that in Ireland and the people from the social estates attack the homeowners, some of them will even travel down from far away estates to cause trouble. In a way I think America gets that part right.

[@FreaKzero]

how do you think about the expropriation of netherlands farmers lands ? This is a thing which will come over the whole EUSSR - you guys are just the start. Yeah ... beautiful governments all over europe

[@margreetanceaux3906]

@@FreaKzero You’re of course entitled to your opinion. But please look up some of the facts - as this is a hot topic they’re all over the place, We are densely populated, and still growing - which is needed bc our demographic piramide shows the number of working people is too small, relatively. The situation with agriculture is the result of bad policies, over decades. More animals, more produce, and more export. At the cost of taking on huge loans for the necessary investments, the import of feed for the animals that we ‘produce’ (cattle i.e. diary and beef, pork, and poultry), and worst of all it leaves the land with disastrous amounts of waste, i.e. dung and urine. This is not sustainable, and should never have been allowed, let alone promoted, in the first place. Btw ‘farmers’ is a diffuse term, ranging from a biological self-sustaining farm, to factories where meat is ‘produced’. And not to disgrace people who fear for their livelihood and property, but the protests are also driven and financed by the industries and large corporations, that falsely use the sympathy for the idyllic Dutch farm to defend their own revenue. This was a crisis long in the making, and we all let it grow - government, farmers, banks, the whole food-producing chain, down to the supermarket and the consumers. And this is not the only one. There’s a shortage of people in medical care, there’re certainly not enough teachers, and as for climate change: the river Rhine (our principal source of water) is drying up, the land sinks somewhat, the sea is rising, and my house stands at 4 meters below sealevel. Oh yeah, there us a war in Ukraine, and a strategic fight for gas that’s needed both for the industries and to warm our houses. So forgive me but I’m not in the mood to communicate in cheap, easy shots.

[@ianharris879]

@@manticore4952 or have those irish got it wrong?..i live in coventry and a social house can be next door to a homeowner with no problems

[@Judith_Remkes]

The whole pledging allegiance thing has always seemed like brain washing to me. Btw, cool longsleeve!

[@dzengerink]

Im from Sweden, so the 6 hour workday is a common misconception. There was 1 company I Gothenburg that trialed this, on which it ignited a debate on this topic. Trial ended, the company is back at 8 hour wok days, nothing was done on a national level. We do have a legal minimum of 25 days vacation though, and 30 isn't uncommon either, I got 30. The rules around sickleave and parental leave are very Liberal too.

[@Krokostad]

I heard that a few companies in the UK are testing a 4 day work week for a year starting now.

[@roy_hks]

Pretty sure a lot of companies don’t uphold this standard anymore in the Netherlands. Just get your work done and you’re fine. Most people are ‘flex working’ nowadays as they call it here. Time and location independent working. They don’t need to show up at the office unless its absolutely necessary and they work on whatever they think needs to be worked on whenever they think it needs to be worked on (:

[@CaptainTodger69]

it's not really liberal, though. Socialist or leftist. Liberal would indicate people and businesses are free to negotiate their own relationships free of government, as long as no physical or financial harm is done

[@roy_hks]

@@CaptainTodger69 It’s neoliberalist

[@roy_hks]

@@CaptainTodger69 With ‘liberal’ they probably meant to express ‘free’ rather than anything related to the ideology.

[@ninsemor]

Im in Denmark, I have US friends through now 16 years. Wefound out that we have way more freedom in Denmark than in US.

[@whyparkjiminnotridejimin]

Is it just me or does Charlie have a voice that makes you relax?

[@RuthShultz47]

He sure does!

[@d.6593]

I watch old videos to help me sleep lol (I watch new ones with full focus ofcourse)

[@fionagregory9147]

No

[@barbaraout5038]

If you haven't seen "Bowling for Columbine" about gun violance, you should go watch it. You'll learn a lot.

[@TheRealPulverize]

The pledge sounds like a doctrine, then about the freedom of having a gun in the Netherlands we are also free to have a gun with similar standards to the UK (it is high regulated and controlled). I happy it is not that easy to get here, because the moment everyone is able to buy a gun that easy, it would hinder my experience of being free, since I might get shot by a random lunatic who just bought a gun.

[@MrToradragon]

But you would be as well able to own gun so you can defend yourself.

[@1RikAtiC1]

​@@MrToradragon if the place you live in isnt filled with guns , you dont need to protect your self from guns..

[@MrToradragon]

@@1RikAtiC1 Sure, it will work until the moment somebody decides to disobey or some external power decides to use guns. Then such place will fall in matter of minutes and you would most likely lose freedom and maybe even life. And as one old Japanese proverb says: "It is better to be warrior in the garden, than gardener in the war" And there is one infamous quote that is, IMHO, best argument for widespread presence of guns in society: "One man with a gun can control 100 without one" It is quote by V.I. Lenin.

[@antmax]

I was shocked when my first job in California only allowed me 5 days off the first year. After my first year I was entitled to one extra day per year I was employed there up to a max of 20 days (assuming I worked there for 15 years) lol.

[@writerinprogress]

International Karl is a cool guy - glad you featured him! Yeah, there are a lot of beliefs Americans seem to have that make the rest of us go "Huh?" The pledging allegiance to the flag thing blew my mind first time I heard about that.

[@aurelspecker6740]

Well, basically all countries have special "flag laws" that regulate how you should treat a national flag. Like, never having it lying on the ground, if it rips, you should not use it anymore etc. Noone cares about these laws, and everyone accepts what it is: a piece of cloth, that you shouldn't abuse because the symbol might hurt some people. For the US, it's a religion. You trample an american flag, you can get shot by americans. PS: Funnily it is forbidden in the law, to have the american flag as something else than a flag or a patch. So, no clothing, cars, doormats, lunch plates etc in the design of the US flag. So, in theory, all nationalists could go to prison for violating the US flag XD

[@TR4zest]

I am a Brit who lived 20 years in Philly. I was there in the Clinton to Obama years. US Insurance companies are the real death panels. Decline coverage and cause bankruptcy. This man speaks the truth. I retired at 55. In my last few years of working, in the UK with the same company I was in the US with, I had 36 days of paid vacation and 8 public holidays a year. It was almost a 4day week.

[@annnoelanders3514]

I’m from Belgium 🇧🇪 and although we’re certainly not the easiest country, I wouldn’t trade it for the US in a zillion years.

[@2012inca]

The US is a nice place to go to on vacation, not to live. I toured 5000 miles through the US to places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and such. Cool places, but not to live. Maybe only have a vacation home in Las Vegas or Los Angeles. Lol Belgium and The Netherlands where I live are much better places to live.

[@annnoelanders3514]

@@2012inca Greetings to the Netherlands 🤗🤗🤗

[@Torthrodhel]

I would say that's my feelings on the UK. We certainly do a lot of things wrong, but the prospect of swapping with the US system seems like an absolute nightmare.

[@thebentebr]

I got a Green Card for USA when I was 21. I was a fit and able workaholic. Then I became sick and had to spend a month in a hospital, I had insurance but I still got the bill, it is 20 meters long, and every Tylenol I got cost 2 dollars in 1973. And then I met a 83 year old taxi driver. So I let the Green Card expire and went home to my country with national health care, almost free medicines and pension age and pensions when you are 67, regulated working hours and minimum pay (at the moment about 20 dollars per hour) and 6 weeks per year of paid holidays. I since had three kids for whom I didn't have to pay education for either, after I enjoyed my fully paid for maternity leave. If I have ever looked back, it has been with joy that I took the right decision. Of course it has been a hassle to get through the US custom after because of the expired Green Card. Americans find it unbelievable that anybody would do that when they had a chance to live in USA, even when people live in Norway...just shaking my head.

[@JimiBurleigh]

I grew up in Scotland🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. My parents immigrated from Ayrshire and brought me to live in Seattle in '70-'71. I was just into my teens. I'm still surprised at the level of BS that Americans actually believe about life in Europe. Especially the lies about life the the U.K. Maybe we should just call them "myths" instead of lies? I've been hearing this stuff for over 50 years now so myth just seems more appropriate 😎✌️

[@angie14124]

He is 100% on the ball here! I have live in the UK all my life, and have always lived in what he refers to as “ social housing. The part of town I live in, even my road, has social housing and houses that people own. My own next door neighbour a few years ago, actually bought 100% of their home, which was social housing, identical to mine. The scheme were you can part - own your home, helps people get on the property ladder that would otherwise not be able to afford this. There is criteria for this which includes length of time being a tennant in the same home- income etc. …only time social housing is separate from homes “ owned “ , is if a new development is built by our housing associations to provide more housing. There is definitely zero stigma here to living in social housing.,, and tbh, it must of awful for someone to feel ashamed of their own home, I could never imagine why anyone would frown upon it tbh, it’s a sad sad situation if this actually does happen in other countries, including the USA. HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY .

[@zappasmoustache23]

The right to buy scheme is partly responsible for the housing shortage in this country and to some extent increased homelessness. Social housing is meant to be for people who would never be financially able to own their own home or in desperate living circumstances. We now have a situation where people that really need it cannot get housed because there isn’t enough social housing stock. I was wrongly evicted a few years ago and had to prove this to the local council before they would consider helping me. I did prove this and they still wouldn’t house me, despite this and long term mental health problems. I’ve known people who are far more deserving than me who are in awful circumstances because of a four year waiting list. You can thank Thatcher and the tories (surprise surprise)

[@RaoulKunz1]

The pledge.... oh boy... back when I was in school my English teacher thought it a nice idea to do it, just for fun... I got into a debate with her why I won't lie about a pledge and I would never pledge uncondotional loyalty to a nation which has no right to it and is foreign... especially as a German I'm not partial to offer any oath which I can or will not follow, least of all to the state. That has totalitarian vibes all over it. Best regards Raoul G. Kunz

[@ianmobbs4482]

Hi as a brit great to know more Americans are seeing more of the world and asking more questions education is the key

[@MazzoBrothers]

Sorry but Bush was not talking about Europe. He was talking about terrorists.

[@Lostouille]

And the "average american " is spitting everywhere that everone hate their freedom

[@charisma-hornum-fries]

Terrorists are not excluded from European countries. Breivik for one is proof of that.

[@hgvnl489]

nope..this speech he was talking bout europe

[@MazzoBrothers]

@@charisma-hornum-fries still...he was talking about islamist terrorists. He was not talking about Europe. And great you found the 0.1 percent to make a point.

[@MazzoBrothers]

@@hgvnl489 no he was not. I was alive when that bastard was president.

[@j.e3651]

Wish i could help you get here man.

[@fiatstilo3]

I live in the UK. The MD of the company I work for, just emailed the whole company telling them they make sure to take some time off to enjoy the sunshine with their families. As far as pledging your allegiance, that’s just weird. I’m pretty sure they would do that in China though, and they definitely do it in North Korea, if that makes it easier. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Big_Blue_Monkey]

My wife is Chinese and she says pledging alliance to the flag isn't really done in all schools. She says it depends on the school you go to. She said you're more likely to do morning exercise than pledge allegiance to the flag.

[@papalaz4444244]

They dont do that in China you racist Gooey123 @fiatstilo3 This channel doesn't have any content

[@fiatstilo3]

@@papalaz4444244 racist? How? You know when you throw that term around like confetti, it stops to have any meaning. Don’t be a moron.

[@HecateAntea]

I'm from Chile, a "developing" country. We legally have 15 days of vacations every year, that don't expire EVER (so you can accumulate them). Sick leaves depend on what you have and are not deducted from your vacation days. If I get a sick leave, it's registered on the system and my health insurance company contacts my work and from then on it is completely ILLEGAL for my work to contact me. Same goes for "off hours" contact; completely illegal to contact me my time off. We have a 6-month paid maternity leave (and you cannot get fired while pregnant and for a whole year after giving birth). I pay private health insurance but there's also public and free health (depending on your income). You can get a gun but that's highly regulated and just to keep at home (never carrying one). I went to a top university here and we had some US exchange students. My philosophy teacher said he wouldn't accept them in his class anymore because they were the most ignorant people he had ever met in his entire career (and he was over 60 xD). I work with Americans now and I'm baffled by their work mentality and how they truly believe they are the best country in the world when they don't even have the same work and health rights as a developing country... America is just a third-world country with a Gucci belt.