People who have been to the USA, what was the biggest culture shock for you? r/AskEurope

Yo yo yo! It's time for another reddit video, but this time, some Ask Europe!
Vlog channel / evanedinger
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If you're new to my channel and videos, hi! I'm Evan Edinger, and I make weekly "comedy" videos every Sunday evening. As an American living in London I love noticing the funny differences between the cultures and one of my most popular video series is my British VS American one. I'm also known for making terrible puns so sorry in advance. Hope to see you around, and I'll see you next Sunday! :)
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[@huangjun_art]

I'm from the Netherlands, and I completely agree with how strange it is to see people salute a flag. Last time we saw people salute a flag in The Netherlands, they spoke German.

[@WouterWeggelaar]

you should add that they were not invited!

[@allenwilliams1306]

@@helenwood8482 Church Parades with flags and expressions of loyalty to the Queen is what turned me off the Cubs and Scouts when I were a lad. Mind you, that was in the 50s, when the real former Hitler Youths were still only in their 20s, and mum and dad both served in the war.

[@trickygoose2]

@@WouterWeggelaar And they stole the bicycles!

[@julesnatural]

As a German.. yeah, flag saluting is fucking weird, no no thank you

[@TKDDLJ09]

Same from a Dane, and they were definitely not invited.

[@Bigdog5400]

Hello everyone and welcome back to a man who is squatting in an Airbnb because it’s the cheapest way to buy a house in London

[@evan]

Hahahha ha.. 😭😭😭

[@najrenchelf2751]

ohnonono... XD

[@fredamslives1993]

He's not squatting he is paying

[@nikkispy1885]

@@fredamslives1993 it’s a joke…

[@NiamhLMac]

@@fredamslives1993 r/whoosh

[@lightsideofsin8969]

The constant smiling of retail workers definitely creeped me out. Here in Germany if the retail workers smile at you or make smalltalk, you know that they're doing it because they're genuinely in a good mood and not because they'll be fired if they don't act like they have the best job in the world and every customer is their best friend...

[@martinstent5339]

One Thing bothered me (British) in the USA. In cocktail Party situations, where you drift around and meet people. In Europe, in my experience, we start off as strangers, and while talking to someone, we slowly get to know them better. In the American cocktail parties, someone would come over and greet me like a long-lost cousin, asking about the family and my health and all sorts of personal things. After about 15 minute of this he/she will just say turn around and walk off to give someone else the same treatment. I stand there feeling I’ve just been shunned/deserted. It’s this strange familiarity among strangers that is completely outside of European norms.

[@ForgottenMan2009]

I had a rather different experience! I do 'networking' in the UK as a matter of routine , so, while having a bit of time spare at the NY hotel (49/lex) and being in IT I sort of gatecrashed some sort of software company networking event. No gates or any other physical boundaries. And, OMG, getting the conversation going was like pulling teeth! I still don't know specifically what they did and was surprised they didn't seem to want to engage at all, even representatives who were holding the event! I guess they do sales different over there!

[@martinstent5339]

@@ForgottenMan2009 That sounds like the classic "room full of nerds". I think that was typical of software engineers who normally never talk to anyone face-to-face :)

[@enjoyslearningandtravel7957]

I’m from the United States but I would feel uncomfortable if a complete stranger at a party asked me about my health and personal questions. I would find a way to change the topic or ask them something.

[@bengaljam4550]

@@ForgottenMan2009 You work in IT. Most Americans that work in IT have very poor social skills. Just an observation.

[@Parkesview]

For me, it was overt friendliness. I knew before I went that Americans were more personable than us Brits, but I wasn't prepared for how disingenuous it felt. It was like they were being nice because they wanted something from me, even if they didnt. It weirdly made me miss how blunt we brits can be with each other.

[@roman5819]

yes!!

[@BassandoForte]

Honestly I'd rather they stick a gun in my face than have "Have a nice day y'all" said to me for the 8 millionth time that day... 👍

[@merit4078]

I’m German, but I felt the exact same way when I was in the US a couple of years ago. I was with my family in Orlando and we went to Disney land and such. At some point, we wanted to go into a store inside the park and the moment we stepped in a lady came up to us and loudly, with a smile I’d describe as psychopathic said “HELLO, WELCOME, ITS SO NICE TO SEE YOU” and that… that just threw me off into another realm of culture shock I’ve never had. The only thing you might get in Germany is maybe an employee quietly asking if we need help after five minutes of going around and seeming to not find anything

[@gastrickbunsen1957]

You can see why an American author (Ira Levin), wrote The Stepford Wives. Indoctrination from at least school age, depending on the parents.

[@Chimpangel]

It’s just a store greeter. Stores sometimes hire people to greet customers in front of the store.

[@mackereltabbie]

A lot of the US wasn't built for cars, it was RE-built for cars: city blocks were demolished to make room for cars middle of the last century. Sometimes getting rid of buildings where "unwanted" people lived (black or poor or both)

[@GreenLarsen]

THIS

[@HmmmmmLemmeThinkNo]

🛎️🛎️🛎️ If you ever watch videos of NYC before cars, the streets were narrower.

[@VictoriaMeira7]

you give me the impression you either already watch Not Just Bikes or would enjoy watching that channel

[@MaxRamos8]

@@VictoriaMeira7 oo yes I enjoy them lots

[@grisflyt]

Absolutely. Houston was a beautiful city until they decided to bulldoze it and turn it into a giant parking lot. To turn the city into an even bigger shithole, they drew the highway straight through the heart of the city. European countries did some crazy city planning after WWII and razed old building, but at least they learned from their mistakes. America still build inhospitable suburbs. It's the law. Zoning laws. Worse than that, American suburbs are essentially Ponzi schemes. Those small communities cannot afford to maintain the infrastructure. They can, theoretically, but then they have increase the local tax and then nobody wants to live there. You don't have to be a genius to realize that a couple of thousand households can't maintain miles and miles of 4-lane highways. Add things like sewage to that (no septic tanks here) and it becomes untenable.

[@stephantrzonnek1720]

I, as a German, had two weird occasions: I was walking to the grocery store in a village, near to Philadelphia. It was a two miles walk. The sidewalk just ended, so I walked on the street. It took 5 minutes until a cop switched his fancy light show on and questioned me, why I was walking on the street. He found it weird that I did not take the car. I found it weird to use a car for that short distance. The second occasion was, when I was hand-rolling my cigarette with my favorite Dutch tabac. I was questioned, if I was using drugs. But it was just tabac.

[@jwb52z9]

America isn't really built for people who are used to walking. Walking is considered exercise and, in some places, for old women to do in malls during times when business is slow. It's not just "something you do to go somewhere".

[@GeneralNickles]

2 miles is a short distance? What are you? A marathon runner?

[@stephantrzonnek1720]

@@GeneralNickles No, I'm a freaking software engineer. Having a walk after starring the hole day on a screen is quite relaxing. Ok, on a rainy day, I wouldn't do more than a mile ;-)

[@beth12svist]

Oh boy, that reminded me of a conversation we once had with an Indian friend who had come to Czechia via the USA... We took him on a leisurely hike of about 8 km and he was utterly shocked when we told him 20 km was a normal fairly relaxed day's hike pretty much everyone could be expected to do and many people did regularly...

[@beth12svist]

Also, "the sidewalk ended so I continued on the street" is an extremely common occurence in villages and small towns over here, so, yeah, being stopped by cops for it is definitely a culture shock. :D

[@therealdutchidiot]

"America was built for the car" No... It was bulldozed for the car.

[@adrianmcgrath1984]

Very little was bulldozed. There are simply thousands of miles of flat countryside. And when you do go to the mountains, the roads wind their way through them - while Europe likes to tunnel through them

[@therealdutchidiot]

@@adrianmcgrath1984 There's zero truth to your statements. Compare photos and maps of city centers from 100 years ago. A lot of that was turned into parking lots. If that isn't bulldozing I don't know what is. Houston is a great example of that. No, it wasn't bombed. They did that to themselves.

[@adrianmcgrath1984]

@@therealdutchidiot new cities go through multiple changes when they are young. And if you want to delve into the history of older US cities, you'll find that many of them were considered 'saved' by the motorcar. Cities like New York were becoming totally undesirable to live in. Jammed streets with horses and carts meant shit everywhere, and horses that died in harness - as most did - were too awkward to move, so we’re most normally butchered in the streets, and removed in pieces. The place stank and was a health hazard. When you go through older cities and see all those 'walk up' buildings with flights of stairs going up to the front door, they were built to keep the occupants above the filth and horror of the streets

[@therealdutchidiot]

@@adrianmcgrath1984 That's absolute nonsense. But hey, you do you. Here's a small hint though: there's not a single city in North American that existed before 1920 that had wide roads. What they did have was good public transit. Even LA had not only a tram system, but the largest one in the world.

[@dwilson6769]

Well stated. They paid Paradise to put up a parking lot

[@FiveOClockTea]

I think the thing that shocked me the most was the questionnaire I had to fill out, when entering the USA. One question in particular asking "if you ever have/ or planned to kidnap an American child"... Never mind that apparently they expect someone who did so to be honest(?) I was shocked that it specified American! It was like saving "who cares if you kidnapped a French or Spanish (or whatever) child" ( I apologize for my English, as it isn't my first language and it's 1 a.m.)

[@barvdw]

I believe it has something to do with being able to convict you not just for the crime you committed, but also for perjury. Could be wrong, though.

[@ramblingmillennial1560]

When my bf was applying for the ESTA 3 years ago, they asked if he was a terrorist I think. XD Why would a terrorist answer honestly? Its ridiculous.

[@zmanicminer]

The UK has very similar questions for visiting foreigners, it’s absurd in every way

[@TKDDLJ09]

@@ramblingmillennial1560 they do ask that on ESTA. Its hilarious 🤣🤣🤣

[@linzbelle]

We have a diverse population. Sometimes the wife or husband will kidnap their child/children away to another country. The majority of missing children in the U.S. are taken by parents. 400,000 kids get abducted a year in the U.S., it's a problem.

[@kendrabrecka279]

Comment: "People's bosses in work openly smoking weed" Me: That's normal Evan: "I think you might have been in like, Colorado" Me: Yeah that's where I live that explains everything

[@evan]

Hahaha

[@ffotograffydd]

😂

[@skrcmama]

Same with Canada lol

[@wfcoaker1398]

@@skrcmama I'm Canadian. I just ordered 21gms from the local Spiritleaf store. It'll be delivered to my door tomorrow. Canada is a great place to be. Lol

[@ItsAsparageese]

This was my exact experience too lol. And it goes back since waaayyyy before med or rec legalization hahaha

[@jas1049]

For me, it was definitively the guns. Seeing security and police officers etc. being heavily armed at airports and other places was really a shock and very intimidating. Also, I saw police officers interact with people for something that didn’t appear to be very serious and the level of aggression they displayed was also quite shocking. I’m from Ireland, by the way, our police are generally not armed.

[@A.The.H.]

Well, it kinda makes sense at an airport post 9/11. Even as an American, I get anxiety from anything gun related.

[@twilightgeneral777]

There's just an absurd number of incidents in the US of cops abusing their authority, being overly aggressive, physically abusive, or even outright murdering civilians.

[@justdefacts]

Yes tbe first time went to NYC the heavily armed police everywhere made me very uncomfortable. It's one thing knowing how prevalent guns are in the US it's another thing experiencing it. I'd certainly never want to experience Texas!

[@Dryblack1]

@@justdefacts As a Texan, I strongly support your desire to not experience Texas. Any moron can legally buy a gun and stick it in their waistband, no questions asked. Unsurprisingly, gun violence is insane here. It really is the wild west out here.

[@sunshinegorman3218]

You should visit Israel. The US isn’t heavily armed in comparison…

[@DanielLundh]

The first time I went to the US I went to Austin, Texas. I joined a bus ride for a historical tour and they drove past a building telling us it was from 1911 or some shit. It just made me think of LA Story and Steve Martin going "Some of these houses are over 20 years old". I'm from Sweden, when we ended school for summer breaks we'd go to a church built in the 12th century still being used to this day. The lack of history was a shock to me.

[@bengaljam4550]

Why would you even go to Austin or America expecting historical buildings. Texas wasn't even a State until the 1840's. You might find some historical buildings on the east coast in the original colonies and even those are 16-1700's. Of course from a historical aspect America pales in comparison to Europe because it wasn't even widely settled until the 1700's. As an American I am still proud of our achievements despite only being independent country for 250 years.

[@tovep9573]

@@bengaljam4550 I guess it isn't about expecting historical buildings but about the guide pointing out a house from 1911 and calling it "historical".

[@bengaljam4550]

@@tovep9573 A building doesn't have to be old to be historical. Perhaps it was a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright or has some other historical significance. The shack Elvis Presley was born in is considered historical. Or the Grand ole Opry building in Nashville. Most cities in America have what they consider historical buildings or homes. Usually it is because someone famous lived there or a significant invention was made there. In my hometown the Wright brothers home is an historical landmark. Austin is primarily a college town with great live music and partying. That is why the majority of people go there.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@bengaljam4550 We've been a unified nation for about 200 years now, but we have multiple thousand years of history and about 175 years since the idea of a nation came to be.

[@P.M_M]

@@HappyBeezerStudios well no, the natives have thousands of years of history. America does not 😂

[@aglaurendance]

When my US Navy family was stationed in England, the Navy shipped our Honda Odyssey car with our home goods. My Mom had such a challenging time driving her large American minivan in our tiny rural village- but it did come in handy for transporting a bunch of the village kids up to the school bus stop (at least 1.5-2 miles uphill), cutting out the 30+ minutes walk in the morning. In all other aspects, though, she didn’t love driving her large American car on tiny rural English roads!

[@Draco9909]

At least it still had a use.

[@davidgriffiths4515]

Strange co-incidence, I work for a large Anglo-American company and have spent a lot of time in both NJ and TX. Perhaps not the biggest shock, but the most reoccurring one was the condition of American roads and highways. Texas was a little better, but in NJ, they were horrific. I understood for the first time why Americans like large cars with a soft suspension, as driving anything else was torture.

[@camjkerman]

One afternoon I went grocery shopping with my mum and we parked up next to this huge pickup. The tops of the windows of our Prius seemed level with the floor of the bed of this thing and it was taking up 4 spaces- probably a Ford F-250. My mum (an American) guessed the owners were probably military personnel given the truck still had its US plates on. When I moved to Kentish Town for uni I was walking to to Overground station (also with my mum) and we came across this lovely 1950s Rambler sedan- which in reverse to the F-250 encounter was a delightfully small size for the boisterous chrome styling and finned bodywork, I still love passing it when I to the Overground station.

[@maryfroggatt4910]

Our roads are ridiculous. I hate driving up tiny narrow country roads here in England. But they weren't made for modern cars.

[@LiamS94]

Having driven LWB vans, I think I'd be confident hopping right into an oversized American barge on British streets. Not a Hummer though. Whoever thinks it's a good idea to import those have a screw loose, they barely fit in a motorway lane let alone a prehistoric street

[@GideonGleeful95]

When I went to the USA a few years ago I did have a culture shock from the portion sizes, but we kind of already knew they would be big. However, one of the biggest surprises was the lack of vegetables besides a small amount of side salad. There were veggies in the supermarkets but not on the plates. No broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots or anything like that. We went to Boston and Wyoming and it was definitely more of an issue in Wyoming. We went somewhere and my mum specifically asked if it was possible to get me a portion of fruit or veg and the waitress replied that she could get some apple sauce.

[@user-ri9tt2ip4m]

In the South, they serve you their "signature veggies". I was excited to get them until the waiter said it was deep fried. .

[@ShirinRose]

I had that same problem with lack of veggies when I visited New York. The only thing with veggies that I eventually managed to find was broccoli on pizza 🙄

[@alexreid1173]

Yeah, that’s a problem if you’re eating out. Many people consume most of their fruits and veggies at home. Eating out is a special occasion thing for most Americans, and broccoli isn’t necessarily what they want. Many restaurants still have decent sides of veggies, but the farther away you are from a city, the less likely that’ll be. There are places in cities that will have more vegetables in a stir fry place or something, but they tend to be pretty expensive.

[@spriddlez]

This was my experience in Germany and Czech Republic so it may be a restaurant thing in some places? Because I'm sure they eat veggies but all the restaurants I ate at were just meat and carbs.

[@ramblingmillennial1560]

What kinda food were you ordering? Fast food or budget restaurants are not likely to serve anything healthy. You gotta know the right places to go to to get a good helping of veggies.

[@tikujess1880]

I’m from Norway and was absolutely shocked when I visited America and some woman just randomly started talking to me at the supermarket 😆 Like she was nice or whatever but still, felt a bit of “fight or flight”

[@EM-cg4iy]

I feel that too and I’m American.

[@danielledye97]

I lived in the UK for 3 months about 4 years ago, and frankly how big the US was felt overwhelming when I came back. Everything tasted super sweet too- even things that didn’t necessary need sweetening. That reverse culture shock definitely hit hard!

[@johnchristmas7522]

Sugar is a cheap additive, its also a long shelf life additive and sugar is addictive. Even more reason for manufacturers to make more and more = DOLLARS DOLLARS DOLLARS. Even "sweetners" in sugar free products, keep you on the sweetness addiction. They, the manufacturers might have a tie in with the medical profession!

[@MrTangolizard]

@@johnchristmas7522 shame the USA use sugar substitutes like fructose which is who the cola cola tastes different in the USA

[@therealbomb_com8774]

@@MrTangolizard Fructose...IS sugar... Also, the US made Coca-Cola, so the way we make it here is how it's supposed to taste.

[@johnchristmas7522]

Its called the bottom line. PROFIT. GREED.

[@WielkiLewimalytygrys]

@@therealbomb_com8774it’s not they are made of different vegetables and one is more toxic for you than the other

[@spmiles98]

For me it was the amount of American flags just everywhere. Coming from Britain where, unless it's a sporting event or a royal celebration, basically nobody has a flag, it was confusing. I remember seeing a big building with lots of American flags on it, and asking my friend what that building was, thinking it was some important building. Nope, just a random building.

[@WouterWeggelaar]

This was also near the top of my list! We made fun of it during our stay by trying to take as many pictures as we could with flags in them

[@alexreid1173]

Yup. In some areas, the confederate flag is used in very much the same way (except not in front of government/public buildings usually). Even outside of the south (especially in red Midwestern states for some reason). Avoid those areas…

[@donaldstanfield8862]

You should have been here after 911, flags were plastered absolutely everywhere

[@cascharles3838]

I actually counted the amount of flags I saw on my two week trip to America a few years ago! The total was 1663

[@eattherich9215]

When I visited the memorial to the 11 September dead, the absence of flags was refreshing. It was a quiet space for a moment's reflection.

[@yazplatt]

I think my biggest culture shock was the preparedness to fight over the smallest things! In England we’re mostly passive about things that irritate us in public but in the states, I’ve witnessed people almost brawl in the middle of the street because one was walking too slowly or something. Whereas here in London you either overtake and maaaaybe glance over your shoulder to look at the fool, or you sigh and say something indirect like “I’m definitely going to be late walking at this pace but that’s out of my control”. We don’t really get people threatening to sh00t servers if they’re out of stock of something you wanted but I’m always reading about that stuff in America.

[@tsk9277]

That stuff seems to happen exclusively in supermarkets every now and then. =)

[@hi-ve1cw]

I agree, I feel like british people tend to avoid confrontation at all costs, unless they're very drunk and then people can get a bit aggy lol. When I went to America several times I saw people getting aggressively angry with customer service staff who'd messed up over something very minor, whereas in the UK in the same situation I think most people would just let it go, or at most there'd be a sarcastic comment and some irritated impatience and huffiness but they wouldn't want to cause a fuss over it. I think americans feel entitled to perfect service, they have this attitude of the customer is king, whereas in the UK we're just glad if the service isn't half bad lol

[@tillie_brn]

I'm a foreigner living in the UK and this morning I was walking in a street super packed with tourists and I was a bit late for something. At a pedestrian crossing I got stuck behind a dude who didn't move fast enough, so the light turned red again before I could cross. I let out an audibly frustrated "oh, come on!". By the looks I received, it seemed like I'd murdered someone. Definitely watching my tongue in the future.

[@jamesfan3010]

@@hi-ve1cw the expression here in the US is "the customer is always right", but more preached than practiced

[@laurencefraser]

@@jamesfan3010 an expression coined in Britain, to my understanding, and describing a deescalation technique designed to encourage repeat custom. It doesn't mean the customer is never wrong, it means you never Tell them they're wrong... Basically when the customer is an idiot who doesn't know what they're doing you essentially run a con on them with the goal that they'll walk out having bought a product that is Actually suited to their use case rather than whatever thing that they (in their ignirance) insisted they wanted, convinced it was their idea and maybe even that they got one over on you. The most important thing to remember in the whole process? Never tell the customer they're wrong! Note that the goal is Not to upsell Now, but instead to ensure repeat custom and better behaviour on their part on subsequent visits by way of a high rate of customer satisfaction.

[@lucianalakowsky317]

I'm not European, but both times I've been in the US the most annoying thing to me is taxes not being included in the price of things, it drove me insane, you just don't know how much you're going to end up paying. I know it's such a small thing, but it was really annoying. Also, the amount of rats in New York was insane, I have never seen that many in other mayor cities I've visited or lived in

[@ChiTea0934]

Honestly I'm pretty sure most Americans also don't like the fact that they don't include taxes in the price tags

[@adamwade1808]

c'mon man its just a simple calculation

[@G1NZOU]

For me it was my Chicagoan friend telling me crossing the road at an intersection in the middle of Chicago was Jaywalking and illegal, even though I stopped and looked both ways, US jaywalking laws seem really strange to me as a Brit where pretty much all our road laws (apart from motorways) put pedestrians at the top of the right of way list. What confused me even more was when the same friend at the next intersection asked why I stopped and looked cause it was a pedestrian crossing and I was meant to go, my instinct is to always look (because why wouldn't you?).

[@keeganharris186]

your supposes to let the people at the crosswalk cross but if there is no one there you just go through

[@G1NZOU]

@@keeganharris186 That's the thing though, I'm not gonna stroll across a crosswalk without looking just because drivers are "supposed" to stop and let me cross. I always want to make eye contact with the driver and make sure he sees me and slows to stop before I even attempt to cross.

[@keeganharris186]

@@G1NZOU I'm saying that the driver is supposed to stop for people at the crosswalk even if they are on the sidewalk waiting to cross. If you can see there is nobody ready to cross though you don't stop

[@G1NZOU]

@@keeganharris186 I know what you're saying, and that's what I'm meaning, I was ready to cross but I never cross unless I know the driver has seen me and is stopping. It's all very well having drivers knowing they're "supposed" to stop, but you see too many drunk drivers or impatient people who break the rules, I'd rather double check and stay alive than trust that 100% of drivers approaching that crosswalk are competent.

[@km76]

Yeah I had a similar experience on my first visit back in 03... I just wanted to cross the road to the store opposite, not take a 2mile detour..

[@bethowens8863]

What you said about the refills thing was really interesting (I'm a Kiwi/Brit with an American partner). I honestly think it's down to tipping culture and wait staff trying to be as helpful/attentive as possible. But what is considered 'good service' in the US would be considered very overbearing in NZ because most people don't want their every possible need to be pre-empted; so long as you can flag someone down easily enough when you want something, that's all good. I feel bad saying this, but there have honestly been times in the states where it's so over the top that I've wanted to say "I'll give you a 20% tip if you just leave us alone for ten minutes."

[@allenwilliams1306]

Dear waiters: if I go out to eat, please note that I do not expect to be badgered, and this applies throughout my visit to your establishment. I do expect attention if, and only if, I call for it. I do not appreciate having a menu thrust into my hands immediately I sit down. I do not want the napkin arranged on my lap for me. I do not want you hanging around while I decide what I want to order, or your re-appearing at all until everybody has set their menu down to indicate readiness to order. Don't wait until then to bring the wine list either. Don't bring a mound of bread rolls which I haven't asked for. Don't ask me to taste a perfectly ordinary bottle of wine: just pour some out for everybody. Leave the bottle behind. If I want some more, I will indicate this by holding the empty bottle aloft. Don't ask, and do not refill glasses. Similarly for side dishes (e.g. vegetables). Never use the foul injunction “Enjoy!”. Above all, never interrupt people while they are eating, and never interrupt conversations at the table, especially with inane requests like “Is everything OK?”. Clear away only when everybody at the table has finished the course or the meal. Offer coffee or post-prandial drinks such as brandy or port. Do not bring the bill until I have requested it, because I/we may want to relax and chat a bit before leaving. Don't expect a tip if there is a service charge on the bill. If there is, and you've broken the rules above, expect to find it knocked off.

[@SuperSpatman]

I completely agree. In the UK, we want to be left alone to eat in peace, with the people we chose to be here with. We don't want somebody interrupting us. "You've done your job well, now leave us. We will summon you if we have a need to." (We don't actually talk to waiters this way....well.... most of us don't! ) As for the refills themselves? You gave me a litre of 7up with a small meal. Why would I want more than that? That's already over twice the amount I was expecting. Not to mention I've had quite enough sugar for one meal, thank you.

[@lovelylittleleeches]

@@allenwilliams1306 I understand that we are all more comfortable in situations that adhere to our cultural norms, but for the sake of everyone involved I think it’s best to cater your expectations to the situation/where you are. If you’re in the US you’re going to get the kind of service you find overbearing because anything less here would be considered bad, inattentive service. What’s friendly to me may be inane to you while what’s reasonable to you may be negligent to me. Say thank you, move on, and have empathy because the service industry is thankless and soul crushing and you have the power to make that person’s day just a little bit better.

[@allenwilliams1306]

@@lovelylittleleeches Oh God! How piteous! I (very reasonably) expect a waiter to attend to my wishes, but not to impose him/herself upon me by his/her continual fawning or managerial presence. It is not too much to ask, surely?

[@M.M.Y.B]

@@allenwilliams1306 I'd say if you have such particular ways that you want the waiter to treat you, you should tell them as you sit down how you want it to go. I know as a former hostess, our waitresses would definitely get a scolding for performing as you describe, and I've known many a customer to be irritated with that service when eating with family. The overbearing is ENFORCED by management and anything less is a threat to their wage.

[@Saavik256]

As a Slav, I was both shocked and annoyed at people smiling at me for no reason (do that here and people will think you're an escaped mental patient) and how touchy-feely people are completely randomly. Also lack of personal space.

[@bottleoscotch8795]

As an American I find the overly friendly thing annoying. Let me buy my groceries without trying to start a conversation, leave me alone already. I just want to go home.

[@user-ri9tt2ip4m]

Omg, i know right? Even dental assistant is trying make a small conversation with me, while I'm in the chair. This is annoying. Just do your job and leave me alone.

[@tomrogue13]

@@user-ri9tt2ip4m they do this while they have their fingers in your mouth. Like how am I supposed to talk?

[@wolfzmusic9706]

i think smiling is nice tho. nothing wrong with that.

[@aidancollins1591]

@@tomrogue13 You talk before they get started and in between the moments the tool isn't in your mouth, there is no expectation for you to respond when they operate :). The dentist is trying to make you feel comfortable and pass the time, same deal with barbers/hair stylists. If you don't want them talking to you, politely tell them that.

[@mishapurser4439]

I went to New York in 2014. I had a good time. I had some minor and some more disturbing culture shocks. The relatively minor culture shocks were the flags plastered everywhere, even infrastructure maintenance vehicles, and the waiters coming to my table every five minutes (the interruption was a mild irritation, but we were in another country after all so we were tolerant). One amusing culture shock was when I got the large coke at a McDonald's - I was not prepared for how large it would be. That was fun. The first disturbing culture shock was that waiters didn't see tips as an act of generosity, but as something they expected because they had no choice as their wages were really low. The second was all the private healthcare provider adverts plastered everywhere on the ferry that goes past the Statue of Liberty. Many parts of the American culture were a really good experience, but those two things seem really dystopic to me.

[@jwb52z9]

Yeah, unless the GOP/Republican Party in the US dies somehow, the US is never likely to get a national healthcare system.

[@elliebellie7816]

You must have been here on July 4th Independence Day. I live in NY and I rarely, if ever, see flags anywhere except for that day.

[@johnchristmas7522]

DONT EVER GET SICK IN AMERICA, UNLESS YOU'VE GOT MILLIONAIRE INSURANCE, YOU WILL BE MADE BANKRUPT.

[@Arltratlo]

i could move to the USA after marrying my wife, her family lives in the USA, we first moved to Germany, my wife left me after 12 years, but still is in Germany.... why would she go back to that terrible place, after her mom ask her when she will come back! now her parents visit us, i am friends with all of them.... and my father in law stop asking us to come to the USA after he spend 4 weeks here and in Europe!

[@dangercat9188]

@@elliebellie7816 dude. I'm from NY too and every house on my block has an American flag. And in Staten Island, you see it even more. But i do hate when waitresses come every five minutes when I'm eating. Like they be asking me questions while I'm chewing and I just have to nod and it looks so awkward lol.

[@estersound2079]

The most shocking thing I learned from this video is that being introverted in the US must be hell.

[@Charsept]

It's a little rough 😅

[@SamAronow]

Americans are taught not to be introverted. It's not the kind of personality that gets you hired or into a good school.

[@tammywilson985]

Yeah, its a pain. I watched a video about Norway and thought it must be paradise. No hugs please, especially non-family members.

[@l.shepard3216]

It is.

[@kidd3836]

Yeah they literally contemplate whether or not you have mental illnesses because you don’t wanna do a presentation in class

[@katherinef2361]

Mine was police officers holding massive gun. I don’t think I had seen a real gun before and for police to be holding them in the open with nothing going on it was quite scary to see.

[@rebeccas2801]

Unfortunately I’ve seen it here in the U.K. whenever there is a terrorist attack our local shopping centre is flooded with them

[@AthynVixen]

I saw that at the train station in Brussels once and it scared the bejeebus out of me. US i expected.. Belgium I did not

[@cpmc5400]

@@rebeccas2801 Or pretty much any day in northern ireland lmao

[@BassandoForte]

@@cpmc5400 - That's Brexit for you...

[@cpmc5400]

@@BassandoForte Brexit has messed up a lot in NI, but cops with big guns has been a thing for a very long time I'm afraid!

[@sophieirwin3497]

The only people who can justify a big car in the UK are farmers/people who own horses and ones with big families. And actually they can drive better than the average driver because they have to

[@DarkDodger]

When I was in school, one of my teachers told us a story of an exchange trip he had gone on when he was a student. This must have been like 40 or so years ago at this point. He was in the American school with his exchange siblings, and he wouldn't do the pledge of allegiance. When the teacher told him to, he said "I'll get up for it but I won't speak it. I'm not American, this isn't my flag." He was sent to the principal's office and got into quite a bit of trouble for that.

[@onomatopoetisk]

Totally worth it. 😁

[@jennyh4025]

Same thing happened to a friend of mine in the 1990‘s.

[@kernowkit2553]

See, this is where it gets sketchy. If the US wants its children to cite the pledge of allegiance in schools, that's up to the US. But if a child is a guest in your country, only there for a matter of weeks, and as a teacher you must know that they're an exchange student - why would you be forcing a foreign minor to pledge allegiance to the US flag? At the best interpretation, it's telling children that it's fine to make promises you have zero intention of keeping...

[@victorialovatt976]

I’ve been to the States a number of times. Most people were really friendly, and what’s more, helpful. I remember a lovely conversation with a bloke in Vegas, who suggested where me and my pal could go for dinner. He just spoke to us like he’d known us for years. Another time I went to New York with my mum (I was the tour guide this time, normally my mate would take over that as I am hopeless) . We wanted to get the Subway, and although I’d navigated it successfully before, I was nervous as we’d have to change lines a few times. A lovely lady approached us with no hesitation, chatted about where we were going, assured us we had got the right directions, etc. As a natural stand -in-a-queue-and-chat-to-anyone person, I really liked the lack of reservation and willingness to be of help and a friendly chat!

[@emikiwi]

Yes that was a huge surprise to me in NYC when people were so friendly and helpful - not at all what I'd expected from how New Yorkers are typically portrayed! My mother was convinced I'd be mugged if I went on the subway on my own lol

[@motorpolitan8884]

As a shy person with social anxiety, that sounds like an absolute nightmare. I would have to rehearse the shortest possible dialogue tree like I'm practicing a speed run of Fallout New Vegas.

[@Arltratlo]

i meet a nice guy in Philadelphia, he been a older black guy, talking to a white tourist in German... you cant believe the eyes of his grand kids, while talking to me.. in foreign language...

[@centrifugedestroyer2579]

I love that the lamp sometimes looks like a small yellow Fez

[@Draco9909]

Thanks now I can't unsee it

[@g_c6668]

Watch from 1:20

[@karro2648]

As a Norwegian, If someone walked up to me and tried to have small talk we would both die from embarrassment because we don’t know how to small talk. We don’t talk to other people when we are out in the streets 😂 And we always use first names, with teachers and everyone else.

[@spriddlez]

welp that's it. moving to Norway

[@Strigulino]

Same in the UK really. It’s polite to mind your own business and leave strangers alone.

[@TKDDLJ09]

As i Dane, i so agree. 😐😐 i was with my american friends in a clothing store somewhere in the us and this lady came up to us and asked what would go with the dress she was holding, b3cause we looked like we had style. I almost died, right there. I was so awkward, didnt say a word 😂😂😂😂

[@runthemeows1197]

Yeeep! If anyone I dont know talking to me in public, I assume they want something from me. Fuck that. There are accepted ptimes and places to converse with strangers. Usually parties or when drinking in pubs. Thats it. I havent shared a single word with any of my neighbors in over a year. Love it.

[@sinih7250]

Same in Finland. 😄

[@Courfeyracc]

I was so taken aback by strangers complimenting or speaking to you in the US (I'm from London). When I first left the hotel in San Francisco some lady walked by and said "NICE BANGS! SO CUTE" and another said "I love your overalls" about 10 minutes later and I thought they were being sarcastic and felt a bit paranoid that I looked stupid all day until I realised people just do this there. It really was a culture shock.

[@Loziwig]

If I saw someone driving a huge vehicle in the U.K. I would probably assume they had land (off-road users or farmers) What surprised me when I went to the US was how confused Americans were that I would walk somewhere 2mins away. Also the intensity of the air conditioning in Florida shocked me- the shock of how cold it was in the buildings to how hot it was outside. In some ways made sense but it made it feel hotter outside because of how cold it was inside. The flag stuff I found weird but more the vibe around it. I’ve been in cultural situations where there’s like respect for flags or banners and stuff that’s felt like a non mandatory act of respect. In the US it felt like I could get arrested for not standing up for the flag stuff and so on Portion sizes again a surprise but tbh then you can take the rest home so it’s not hugely unhelpful. The FDA regulated foods that are not foods and with crazy chemical stuff that is not allowed in the U.K. I found weird/frustrating Some of the racial separation in some areas I was in in the US felt quite different. Not to say there’s none of those issues here in the U.K. but I have friends of various cultures and nationalities etc and it feels v normal to be around different families ways of doing things. Whereas some places I went in the US it felt a lot more separate. Felt v uncomfortable and sad. The first time I tried buying stuff in the US, the tax stuff confused me. So much simpler having the actual price you’re expected to pay on the product already

[@jwb52z9]

The US was literally built on oppression, repression, subjugation, and slavery of minority populations in just about every way imagineable.

[@tammywilson985]

There is racial separation everywhere in the US but it varies by region. I live in Ohio and was freaked out by how white everyone was when I visited Minneapolis, Minnesota. The tax stuff is because sales tax is not regulated at a federal or country-wide level. Each state and each locality within a state (cities, townships, counties) get to add their own percentage of sales tax and each state has its own rules about what is taxable. For example, clothing is taxable in some states and not taxable in others. It's a pain for anyone doing retail sales in the US.

[@Arltratlo]

one of your Brexshit benefits will be, the crazy US food is coming to the UK...

[@Rottnwoman]

@@Arltratlo I doubt if they are desperate enough to buy American "food".

[@gecko8948]

@@Rottnwoman give it a bit, then we'll see

[@The2wanderers]

It's not so much the drywall that makes something cheaply built, it's the framing. I've been really into renovation KZbin lately, and the US(and Canada and Japan) build houses for 30-50 year lifespans, and require major work to extend that. European houses are built to last almost indefinitely with just minor maintenance, and major work to keep them standing is only needed if they've been abandoned for extended periods.

[@jmfoerst]

Every house I’ve ever Been in has had drywall (on studs I don’t know if you can have it w/o) what is the alternative?

[@The2wanderers]

@@jmfoerst Concrete block construction is the standard for mass produced houses in much of the world. Other places use timber frames, which might sound like a North American home, but isn't (timber frames use a small number of heavy beams that will last for centuries.) Older houses were more likely to have stone or brick structures. North American stick framing has its benefits - it's highly redundant, so one point of failure won't cause serious damage - but that's necessary because its components are prone to failure if they get wet, get termites, or shift in such a way that their jonts get pulled aparts. Those are the structural elements that make the house last or not. Drywall is a finishing option. Lots of houses with different structures will still use stick (or metal stud) frames covered in drywall. This a particularly common now because it's easy and cheap to achieve modern insulation standards using the dead space between studs. But you can also directly apply wall plaster, leave structural elements exposed...these are all basically just aesthetic choices.

[@ddlee84]

You are not wrong, I told my American friend that my house is 135 years old(minus an extension from 2007) and I could almost here the spin of an internal harddrive as they tried to comprehend how a building can be that old and not be a museam or point of historical interest. They then told me that their home was built in 2010 and they have already had to have internal dry wall replaced. The shock in my voice that 11 years in and you could need to replace a wall was the funniest thing they had heard especially when I said " I've got socks older than your bleeding walls and they havent got a hole in, but your wall does!!"

[@sanablue]

@@ddlee84 for real tho, I once told an American that my boyfriend's house is from the 1630s and he didn't even believe me?! Like, he legit thought I was joking. As if houses simply couldn't be that old. For context, as we were talking we were also inside a building from that exact time. The guy was there to look at books from the 17th century, but for some reason couldn't grasp the concept of a house being that old. It's fascinating how the perception of time and history can be so vastly different between our two continents.

[@blumoogle2901]

@@jmfoerst I've never seen drywall except for office walls in big businesses, definitely never seen drywall in a house. It's two layers of brick with a metal frame/air in between for outer walls/fire walls and single layers of brick for everything else. Even wood being used for anything except the frame of the inside of the roof is foreign.

[@Arganoid]

Seeing a standalone building, with its own car park, which people would drive to, go in, and then drive somewhere else, and it's a bank. In the UK all banks are terraced buildings which are part of a high street or similar shopping street. The idea of a bank being a building on its own is crazy.

[@WritingsOfQuill]

We even have drive-through banks! It's very strange to grow up with the horrendous car-centric American city planning (thanks Ford...) and then realize that not everywhere is like this, and that even our own country wasn't like this 100 years ago.

[@bigaspidistra]

@@WritingsOfQuill there used to be a few drive through banks in the UK but there aren't any left now I think.

[@alexreid1173]

@@WritingsOfQuill I literally love drive through banks. Idk why but it makes me less anxious than going into a regular bank

[@joepiekl]

I've not been to America (other than an airport transfer) but I had the same experience visiting my sister in Canada. You couldn't go anywhere without a car. Me and my step dad went for a walk to the local pub and it took 30 minutes in the middle of winter. It was closed.

[@nancyrafnson4780]

@@joepiekl our country is even bigger than the US. But we have only about 10% of their population. From 🇨🇦.

[@desislavapetroff6510]

My first culture shock was that my husband and I (Bulgarians) were on a very important meeting with the greatest catering service I’d seen ever, in a business building next to central park. Well, we were waiting for people to finish speaking before we would eat , but actually we were supposed to eat while listening everyone’s presentation … so we missed the time for eating. I couldn’t have imagined that it’s not rude to eat while listening someone’s speech and presentation. So later in the trip I noticed people eating while listening to someone in many occasions.

[@landonbarretto4933]

Americans don't know the concept of rude.

[@locqueenMD1]

It's rude to me too, and I'm an American. Corporate culture has eroded such sensibilities. The pursuit of more profits doesn't seem to allow for simple human needs like eating or relieving one's self. It is exhausting.

[@NeoMouseSVC]

You know one thing I find interesting especially when listening to these Reddit threads about America is that depending on where you go it's always gonna be a different experience, like it never exactly the same even though it's the same country. It really makes you realize how big and expansive the US is.

[@JJFlores197]

Yep. Even within the same state your experience can be drastically different depending on where you're at. I live in a small town of about 70k people in northern California. When we visit San Francisco which is about 2.5 hours south west, its quite a different culture over there.

[@jenaparsons]

America is absolutely huge. I’m a 31-year-old from Chicago who has traveled to a fair number of states and I still get culture shock often when I travel within the U.S. There are so many different experiences of “normal” within the United States.

[@tomrogue13]

I can get to Canada faster than Ohio

[@alexreid1173]

Very true. Driving an hour away can feel like a whole different country and culture.

[@jenaparsons]

My husband and I are an interracial couple. Chicago has tons of issues and a long history of systemic racism that it needs to work through- particularly when it comes to things like police brutality and inequity in the school system (both Chicago public school teachers; it’s definitely there). However, he has definitely felt a lot safer in Chicago than some of the other places we’ve vacationed to, even within our own state. We used to go to family reunions with extended family in Ohio every year and my husband was always a much more tense, cautious, and aware person whenever driving, going to the grocery store, etc in Ohio. I’m sure parts of Ohio are lovely though! Guns also have such a different connotation in Chicago than they do in say Texas. In Chicago, the connotation with guns is gang culture not hunting.

[@saggguy7]

@@tomrogue13 same! i literally live walking distance from Canada but over two hours away from any other state lol

[@tomrogue13]

@@saggguy7 and i still haven't been to Canada. Should have went when i was in college but i thought "who goes to Canada on a Tuesday?'

[@jdjphotographynl]

First thing that springs to mind which is the biggest culture shock to me based on 1 week in New York City was food. The portion sizes are generally very big, and for some reason fresh vegetables were either non-existent or quite pricey.

[@rosalindhartley416]

I discovered this when I went to a big event and we were all so happy to discover vegetables when we left the event again

[@brandonhowell5096]

That's really more of a region thing in terms if fresh veg. Some places have an easier time getting fresh veg to grocery stores then others due to the factor of time because of how large the country is its more apt to have frozen veg since its easier transport and keeps long while fresh is more expensive to ship as well as having a smaller shelf life. As for portion size there are 2 reasons behind it: 1 being that back in the old farming days you would work from sun up to sun down making little to no time for lunch meaning they'd need rather large breakfast/dinner to make up for the caloric loss from a long day of work that slowly faded out up until the time of the great depression when food became rather pricy for people who weren't of a certain monetary position as the depression slowly started to end people started consuming larger portions as a response of not knowing if and when they'd get substantial amount of food again which eventually lead to why the US currently has its portion sizes.

[@WritingsOfQuill]

This was a culture shock for me as an American from Nevada visiting NYC. California is a major produce supplier for much of the western US, so we can get fresh fruits and vegetables year-round with little regard for what's actually in season. In NYC there was much less variety and the fruits and vegetables we did get tended to be blander, probably because some were from greenhouses rather than fields.

[@Kyudos]

So right! I went on holiday in New York and Boston, couldn't find fresh fruit or vegetables anywhere! The closest I got were the fillings in a Subway sandwich....and they didn't seem quite so 'fresh'...

[@masoncampbell971]

I had exactly the same problem. I was so desperate I ended up paying through the nose for a small salad, cut fruit and bread that didn't have sugar in it from a deli. Couldn't even find fresh produce in the "supermarkets". So strange coming from London where I can walk into any supermarket, corner store, boots pharmacy etc and buy fresh fruit and veg fairly cheap.

[@facelessnomore]

I lived and worked in Alabama for over ten years up until 2012. I was shocked by the amount of overt racism that still exists (or at least did at that time) I could not believe some of the things I heard said.

[@therealbomb_com8774]

You're in Alabama. I'm not surprised.

[@km76]

Racism never dies. If you were to have lived in a predominantly black, Hispanic or other area you'd have found the racism directed at you. Of course, only the white people's racism makes for a good headline... everyone else's racism can be ignored.

[@quota3734]

I’m not surprised, white Southerners tend to be pretty old school and close minded🙄

[@TheMVCoho]

likely cultural misunderstanding on your part.

[@facelessnomore]

@@TheMVCoho Not at all, the words used were far to explicit for that to be the case.

[@saturated3821]

I was on a business trip in the US (my first time, and my company sent me alone, so it was an interesting experience :D) and our secretary had booked me a very normal, perhaps even slightly big in European terms, rental car. The woman at the rental company counter seemed very concerned and asked if I was sure I wanted such a small car :'D I don't own a car, I don't normally drive, so I was sure I didn't want a kind of car I wasn't used to. And I was definitely driving the smallest car on the roads. On my way back there was a big storm (this trip was in January) and my flight was delayed for over a day. I stayed at an airport hotel and that building was definitely low quality to someone who lives in Finland! It was snowing outside and it was so drafty indoors. The staff had apparently brought in an electric heater and that helped some, but I couldn't help thinking it was wasteful and that they could have just built a functional building that has some actual insulation. And speaking of wasteful, what's up with hotels using only plastic tableware??? The amount of garbage EVERY DAY is insane! 4:06 Also as a Finn, I gotta say that's not nice to me, that's weird and somewhat distressing. We don't really do small talk either, and why do y'all keep asking how are you when you don't actually care at all?

[@lexm17]

One of the many big shocks when I visited the US (NYC and Washington DC) were the number of adverts for drugs and medicine and also at a lot of the establishments I went to in nyc the staff were always arguing and I didn’t have a single vegetable in any of my meals in the US so when I got home all I wanted was a salad and fruit 🥴

[@bengaljam4550]

Oh Come on. Most restaurants have a ton of salad choices.

[@officialzacht]

it must have been just the area because I’m from the u.s and it’s a shock to me our local grocery store has veggies/fruits/salad

[@anthonyarcher6808]

@@officialzacht Unless you were just at fast food restaurants that sounds very odd. I am from seattle washington and have been to about 6 or 7 states some multiple times and the only places like that are typically the big chains or maybe BBQ places where you specifically order the veggiers on the side and the meat is a single item. do you remember where exactly you were? I am just curius.

[@kmart1396]

I hope Europeans know that being from the States we get culture shock from our own country...like as someone from a small town in MA, big cities like Boston and NYC were a hard adjust first time visiting (I've been to NYC several times now I know the drill), as well as most of the South would throw me for a loop more than going to Scotland ever did.

[@evan]

This is such an American thing to say

[@kmart1396]

@@evan Evan...please I can't handle being roasted at almost 4am. Is it my own fault, for still being awake rn, 1000%

[@IsleNaK]

Don't worry, we have the same thing happening in our countries. Just go from Berlin to Bavaria, it's a journey from hipster to lederhosen.

[@leaf900]

This would happen moving from the South to the North in England 🤣 (or vice versa)

[@huwfylt]

so true. As a New Englander I find Nevada to be way different to what I'm used to in terms of climate and culture than anywhere in the UK for example.

[@artmallory970]

An American tourist visiting Europe: He sees a castle & says to the tour guide: 'Why did the build it so close to the highway?'

[@judybage4083]

The only thing that really shocked me was the amount of eateries that served everything on disposable paper plates, cups, cutlery. Mind blowing. New York, Boston, Newport, hotel in Vermont!

[@johnchristmas7522]

Fast junk food-for profit!

[@sarabaldeschwieler7763]

Now that i've been in the US over 20 years, I get reverse culture shock watching the tv in Britain. Its just so liberal and I realise I've become used to the prudish attitude to sex and bad language that is presented in the USA. Even the adverts for period products, condoms and underwear would be very unlikely to get air time in the US.

[@HermanVonPetri]

Sex and cursing may be a no no on American TV but frequent violence, commercials selling drugs, and deliberate misinformation from the "news" is apparently perfectly fine.

[@hi-ve1cw]

@@HermanVonPetriClassic example of this is that in the american tv show Hannibal there was a scene with a pile of naked dead bodies, but their buttcracks were showing which apparently wasn't allowed so they had to cover them with MORE blood. So apparently buttcracks on tv = not fine, but vast quantities of blood being seen on tv = fine??

[@jamesfan3010]

@@hi-ve1cwCome on now!!! Theu gotta fill them buttcracks with SOMETHING!!!

[@jamesfan3010]

...they

[@jenniewren9351]

While in CA the other year I was surprised at the lack of choice for sanitary products.

[@davidrhodes5245]

I know it’s been mentioned a million times. But the one that stood out to me, above all else, was the total lack of privacy in US toilets 🥺

[@Redbackss]

In Australia we have only one type of urinal , it called the great wall, no partitions but loos are different , there private.

[@davidrhodes5245]

@@Redbackss 😂

[@HmmmmmLemmeThinkNo]

There's a very good reason a lot of people here in the US have a fear of public bathrooms

[@mariosnyd]

There is a gap so if the door gets jammed you can craw though

[@gracev8762]

@@mariosnyd does that not also mean someone unwanted could crawl through

[@PilsnerGrip]

Yeah dont give kids soda, I remember growing up being a bit chubby, doing sports as much as my slim friends thinking "must be genetics" but in my 20's I realized I was fed sodas and sweets even I wasnt asking for them, now I drink only water (except going out) and dont eat any sweets or snacks

[@harriethardwick411]

My sister live in Nashville with her family and we stayed with them for 2 weeks. It really annoyed me that you couldn't walk anywhere. There was a great coffee shop 5 mins away in the housing estate but there was no sidewalks (pavements) so it was super dangerous to walk there especially with a buggy (pushchair) Also the bagging of groceries at the supermarket 😯. They put like 4 things in a bag and then got another one. It was weird someone else doing it as I like to bag my stuff so it's easier to unpack. You know fridge stuff in it own bag etc. Also I bring my own bags to the store now so all the Plastic bags really made me cringe. Also it's impossible to do any baking. They have completely different ingredients and no one knows the equivalents. Also the butter is awful 🤢

[@devilundercover]

Ok the butter being awful makes sense now My American friend said he hates butter. Me, having lived in Malaysia- where we get European, NZ and Australian butter- did not understand this I live in Australia now and honestly the butter here! Gosh. AMAZING.

[@johnchristmas7522]

American food laws are made for big business. Tons of sugar (cheap preservative) and salt (for taste!) umpteen chemicals, tenderisers, extenders and enhancers-not real food at all.Chicken washed in chlorine (so its fit to eat) Eggs in the fridge (old stock) etc etc etc

[@TheMVCoho]

Well apparently you don't bring your own bags, that is why the plastic ones were provided for you.

[@ArchonRahal]

When I was saying in Florida, I tried to walk to a bar literally 5 minutes away from the Apartment I was staying in, the guy at the main desk told me to call a Taxi. I was baffled and continued. As I was walking a Police Car literally mounted the pavement in front of me and stopped, then started grilling me on why I was walking. I explained I was going to a bar down the street and didn't want to drive there because I wouldn't be about to drive back. I got a response of "Oh, you're British" then they made some comments about tourists, and they told me to get in, and dropped me off at the bar. I entered the bar, and it was just silence until I wanted to the bar, ordered a drink and he said "Oh, you're British." and everyone started going back to normal. I'm guessing the Police in Florida often pick up random wandering Brits on the side of the road? On the same night at that bar I also met the guy staying in the room next to me, so we got talking, had some drinks, had a good time. I left early due to being exhausted due to good old jetlag and got a Taxi back. I'm trying to get to sleep and hear constant banging at the door. I was on the ground floor and staying alone so was a little worried so just called Security. I heard "We'll be there in one minute, stand back from your door and windows." and I started to doze off. Literally a minute later I hear banging again at the door and a new voice started yelling "It's safe to answer your door now, sir!" I opened my door and saw two security guards with my neighbour on the floor in cuffs. My immediate response was "Shit! He's the guy next door!" And my drunken self asked him (while he was still cuffed and, on the floor,) "Did you lose your key?" The apartment doors were right next to each other so he must have knocked on the wrong door, got no response due to be being both drunk and jetlagged and started banging louder and louder until I woke up. After that was cleared up, I got to hear him get yelled at by his wife for a few minutes before dozing off. The next day they knocked on my door, the whole family there and they thanks me for not opening fire on them because I quote "Well it's your property I was trying to break into." After their nice visit I asked front desk if I could move to an apartment on a higher floor. For bonus culture shock: The neighbours also told me there was a Pool Bar that I had missed, but when I joined them all they had were daquiri that were literally crushed ice and nothing else. What kind of Pool Bar is that?

[@ramblingmillennial1560]

Was there actual pavement from the apartment to the bar? I am confussed why walking wass so shocking in Florida. Im American but never been there. I know that most areas in Florida are nott walkable and things are very spaced out but as long as theres an actual place to walk and youre not in the street I dont see the problem.

[@skrcmama]

lol great time! Seriously wondering what area you were in all the crazy stuff happens in Florida but I never heard about not walking a short distance lol thinking it was some really ruff area

[@Cirkusleader]

Evan - "My hair looks ridiculous right now" Me - "Weird way to say 'suave as hell' but alright"

[@donaldstanfield8862]

His hair is Hella long I've been wondering about that, but he's been busy sorting out lodgings, just figured it would get cut later?

[@Jonahcp]

When I worked briefly in Atlanta, the fact that almost all jobs that I’d normally expect to be filled by teenagers, were almost always middle aged minority men. My coworker (almost entirely white) were shocked when They asked how my weekend was, to find that I’d gone for a walk in the city centre, and told me how dangerous that was.

[@TheMVCoho]

What is the issue here? You had a nice coworker doing you a solid with excellent advice and America has massive issues illegal immigration of primarily military aged men so it makes sense you would see them working at entry level jobs. Also, why are you obsessed with skin colors?

[@TravisJamesH]

From Canada, big things for me was going into a store and seeing old gum on the floors. Also seeing this same thing on carpeted floors in a Dollar Tree. Also whenever I ask for a small drinks, I get confused looks haha. More entertainingly, when I ask for a "medium" I tend to get terrifyingly large cups for my drinks. Another is when I was in Kansas and I saw a sign that had a handgun with a green circle around it. Underneath it read something like "In the event that it is required, good marksmanship will be rewarded" like..... are they saying that they want us to shoot robbers?? I also saw a "no guns" sign on an animal shelter. Again, I feel like that's something that goes without saying. Then there's the conversations with our American friends regarding any medical issues and hearing "I'm just going to ignore it for now" as a response to "have you gone to the doctor for that?" I'm sure there's more, but this is what I can think of now

[@damelux3798]

In france, hugs are really really intimate. I would hug my boyfriend, or close family (parents, granparents) but not much more. So i can understand feeling weird about people i barely know wanting to hug me.

[@HollehMae]

I went to visit my friend in Texas from the UK and when someone was an arsehole on the road when we overtook I’d look at them (as most brits do) and she told me not to just incase he got road rage, had a gun, and shot me 😂

[@donaldstanfield8862]

America...

[@HollehMae]

In the UK we just all (as a family) stare at the culprit and call them a wanker

[@jwb52z9]

Yeah, it's just literally dangerous to do that in Texas, especially if you're outside a city.

[@MsGenXodus]

In 2021, this is a legit concern on American roads.

[@stevenwilson879]

This is 2022. In the newspaper (yes, you read that correctly), there were two articles about "road rage" incidents. I no longer want to leave my house (unless I have to go to the liquor store).

[@justanotherglorpsdaymornin5097]

I always thought that when people get out of their cars to argue with each other in movies that it was typical movie exageration. Then when we were travelling from a part of Maryland to Washington DC we got stuck in nose to bumper traffic for 1/2 an hour as two guys had stopped in the middle of the road to scream and hurl milkshakes at each other. It was pretty surreal.

[@ChrisMelville]

Regarding building quality: I was always somewhat surprised as a child when hearing of a house “burning down”. I mean, sure - the contents could burn, but how do brick walls actually burn down? Only later in life I discovered that most American houses are made of WOOD, so they absolutely can burn down! Big change.

[@sararitakt1005]

The biggest shock for me, when visiting the US was in downtown Kissimmee, FL. On the main street, in a kind of shop window, there was a man size mannequin dressed in blue overalls (as I remember) and a bag over his head. He/it was strapped to an electric chair... There was a slot in which to put coins and a sign that said "Only a dollar to make him holler!" Families went past, with kids in strollers, and let them watch that!! This was some 15 years ago, and I hope they've took it away. ( But I highly doubt it!)

[@deanthebean8275]

I’ve haven’t been to Florida (I’m an American), and honestly, what you described honestly sounds like normal Florida to me. Florida is it’s own world.

[@kkayjae]

In Old Town right? I went there in July and walked past that everyday, i was shocked at how blatantly racist it was

[@AlxndrHQ]

Sounds like Florida tbh

[@valsyaranamual6853]

That is sick!

[@PurpleHat026]

THERE IS SO MUCH SPACE. I was in Vegas but everything was bigger. The roads, the food, the bathroom stalls, the space between buildings. There was a crazy amount of empty land. The UK is so cramped in comparison but honestly that much open space made me feel kind of anxious

[@nswinoz3302]

Try Australia 🇦🇺 I’ve live here since the late 70s and as soon as I got over the blue mountains (range) west of Sydney it’s what you would imagine the mid west America would be. Read A Sunburnt country Bill Bryson if you really want a feel for it, written by an American you lives in England sounds familiar? East to west >3,300km if you drive>4,000 km. Driving it is a culture shock all of its own. NSW in Oz

[@alexreid1173]

If you thought Vegas was spacious, you should see most of the rest of the country! Vegas feels so crowded to me but I grew up in an outer suburb in Ohio

[@Suspended4thYT]

"The UK is so cramped in comparison" Well ... parts of it are, parts of it most definitely aren't

[@PurpleHat026]

@@Suspended4thYT True but even the open areas are rarely flat. They're full of trees or hilly fields or similar. Vegas is flat empty desert all around

[@nswinoz3302]

@@PurpleHat026 Have you heard of the Eyre highway ( Nullarbor, aboriginal for No trees )”90-mile Straight” dead flat, dead straight, No trees! The train line is no better one straight 297 miles the same, my brother-in-law was a train driver out of Perth driving trains from Kalgoorlie to Cook town and onto Adelaide hauling grain. NSW in Oz.

[@MultiLussebulleN]

I really love the parts of usa i've been to, one thing i very much noticed once i came back to Sweden was how quickly i got used to people being so nice over there, not just waiters but people in general, it's almost like a 1 month process for me to get used to the way things are here in Sweden again.

[@TR4zest]

I lived in a town near Philadelphia. I think the biggest shock was having a fatal shooting and a fatal housefire on the evening news every damn day. The other was how housing developments around the town had their own pavement (sidewalk), but did not connect to other pavements. Consequently, nobody walked anywhere, ever, because you would have to walk in the traffic.

[@eleanor7205]

I'm in New Jersey studying abroad from the UK and the biggest thing is the lack of public transport! To save money I don't have a meal plan and to get to Aldi is a 45 minute walk. It's also disappointing because I can't even get to any clothes shops/other cities without spending loads on Uber or a pricey Amtrak.

[@IsleNaK]

Get a bike?

[@siennanguyen8772]

@@IsleNaK I live in NJ and the roads aren’t very biker friendly. Maybe in some parts but majority of roads are highways and there’s a lack of sidewalks.

[@jwb52z9]

Public transportation in the US will never be a nationwide thing because the people who own the land will never willingly sell it or give it up.

[@bengaljam4550]

@@jwb52z9 Public Transportation will never work in the U.S. Watch a few youtube videos of people fighting on Public Transportation and you will understand why most Americans wouldn't use it,

[@ainsliekatemate698]

Sending good vibes for your housing situation hope everything goes through quickly!

[@evan]

Thanks! I’ll be uploading an update video on my second channel tomorrow about the whole thing

[@ainsliekatemate698]

@@evan awesome I'll look out for it! Also hope your air bnb cabin fever isn't too bad!

[@natschbatsch]

As a German I was so shocked at eating American food. Even savory food taste kinda sweet. It was really weird for my taste palette.

[@valerietaylor9615]

That’s why Americans are so fat. Everything has sugar in it.

[@davidmcauliffe8204]

I worked in the New Jersey area 20 odd years ago (around the Clinton/Monica time) and two things shocked me. 1) Drink driving - pubs on the side of highways, have a few drinks and drive home. 2) Off duty cops openly carrying loaded guns, and drink driving home. We met around 20 cops out celebrating one of them getting promoted, they were drinking for a couple of hours with us, chatting, showing us their guns. Then they all just left, got in their cars and drove home.

[@madisonary9240]

For me going to NYC it was how loud everyone was and how entitled so many people acted. Worst was a woman who pushed to the front of a long queue waiting for tables at Dylan’s sweet shop and demanded that they seat her and the crowd of kids/other parents that were with her. The queue was really long and half the place had been booked out for a baby shower (😒) she was not happy when the excellent member of staff told her (very politely) exactly where to go… but I loved it. 😂

[@linebrunelle1004]

Not just U.S. are nasty. Chinese woman, tourist in Canada, pushed an elderly disabled woman into a wall just to get to a washroom. There are 100's of stalls. No need to push. Same group of Chinese walked right into and tripped a man walking with a cane. People make excuses for them... Not me. I push back and I'm Canadian! enough is enough

[@yoohootube]

that's New York for you

[@smallishkae]

From australia (we’re in Eurovision so we still count, right?…) Whenever I see house tours from Americans and they own huge pools with NO GATES I get super anxious. I grew up with constant pool safety ads so seeing one without a gate looks practically naked. Not to mention it’s illegal to have a pool without a child-proof gate.

[@JaciintaM]

Is it bad that I get a little jealous because it looks so much better but also constantly terrified that someone is going to drown

[@justdefacts]

My uncle (originally from Ireland) was a news camera man in Florida. Dead children from pool drowning and playing with guns was a constant.

[@motorpolitan8884]

That sounds like an Australian thing. I've been in Europe and Asia and have never seen a pool with gates.

[@lizzie7654]

I'm Aussie and this is a thing for me too, whenever I see an unfenced pool. I become hyper alert to the threat of a child falling in. I grew up in the age of ads too with little songs 'fence the pool, shut the gate, teach your kids to swim it's great, supervise watch ya mate, and learn how to resuscitate!" See how effective it was I still remember the whole thing 🤣😂 . At school, before the age of 12, I'd also been taught how to swim while towing someone who was drowning or unconscious and basic first aid around pool safety. In Australia pool safety is a big thing for sure and it has paid off with significantly reduced drownings especially for children.

[@rgadave]

You're in Eurovision ?, oh dear whatever did you do to suffer that ?

[@HeresorLegacy]

In my experience with weapon laws in other countries, it seems to be more the attitude towards the weapons than the weapons themselves. Here in Germany you usually don't carry weapons with you. And you basically can't keep lethal weapons in a place where you could use them to defend yourself. If you have a knife or a gun, you have to keep it in a bag or even in a portable safe. Overall we allow guns, but the prerequisites to legally obtain a gun are insanely high. You need to not have any felonies under your belt, psychological test and shooting training in a club or the military, where you don't keep the guns you are using. You have to learn how to store guns and ammunition properly so it can't easily be misused. Like, storing guns and ammunition seperately in reinforced containers under lock and key and only getting them out to use at the shooting range or when hunting. Switzerland has basically the same rules, but there the military people can keep their guns from their service. You will never see someone who isn't a policeman have a gun on their hip and children don't get a chance to be careless around guns. That also makes it easier to identify the people who illegally own guns and carry them around in the open. And with only a small market existing, the supply of illegal guns isn't high and they are more expensive and harder to find.

[@AndrewopolisEternal]

I just wanted to say I appreciate the picture quality you have. It just makes even the most simple video much more enjoyable.

[@Daniel.M.I]

I know you are asking Europeans, and although we live in London now, my wife and I are from Brazil, and we visited the US in 2011 when still living in Brazil. We went to Road Island and spent some time in New York. The biggest shock was the relative acquisition power we had in the US. Usually, when you visit a country, things are more expensive when the exchange rate is unfavourable and cheaper when it's favourable. Still, when visiting the US from BR, an exchange of 4 to 1 didn't seem to make any difference. The more we talked to people, we realised how much wealthier we were relative to Brazil with the same amount of money. I never fully wrapped my mind around that. It felt like a river running uphill. Especially if you grow up in a culture that sees itself as poor and the US as rich. Needless to say, we bought more than we could manage, which served as entertainment for the airport security on the way back, watching us trying to carry everything. Still, I reckon that we paid for the trip only in the economy we made buying that in the US rather than in BR.

[@Onnarashi]

Hey! I've heard that some things are expensive in Brazil (like video games, maybe electronics). I live in Norway and things are relatvely expensive here too, but at least our wages make up for it. I'm imaginng things are different in Brazil? Is it just expensive to buy imported goods in Brazil, because otherwise how could you afford to live there?

[@joepiekl]

It's not unusual for certain things to be cheaper in a richer country. I used to live in Vietnam and one time I visited Hong Kong. When I got back to Saigon, the baggage carousel at the airport was ridiculous. About half of the items were large electronics because they're so much cheaper in Hong Kong. People can fly to Hong Kong, load up on things like TVs, pay the excess baggage, and still save money on the prices in Vietnam.

[@Daniel.M.I]

@@Onnarashi The electronics I compared seem to balance in prices with Brazil. Or at least the difference is not meaningful. While games, like in Steam, are less expensive as they practice lower prices in poorer countries. Probably console games are more expensive, as I know that BlueRay movies are. I try to buy my clothes in Brazil when I visit family because the prices are much better than in the UK. The thing with the US is that aside from some things being more or less expensive in relative terms, the whole life cost seems to put us in a higher earning tier, which felt counterintuitive for someone from a place where the money was supposed to have less value. Also, you need to understand it's hard to talk about Brazil as one reality. It's a large country with a large population, significant regional differences, and steep economic inequalities. In general, as a middle class, you can live well and with more comfort than in the UK. Bigger houses, less expensive services, etc., which come in exchange for Social security.

[@Daniel.M.I]

@@joepiekl In the south of Brazil, people do that with Paraguay. They cross the border and buy cheap imported stuff because taxes in Paraguay are much lower. I know some people visit the US from Brazil to buy things much cheaper, especially in Miami. They load up and get a flight back after spending some time in Disney. Our experience felt a bit different than just a shopping spree though, as it seem to be quite broad across the whole live experience. For example, we knew there was this thing about tipping in the US, so we would consistently tip 20 to 30%, and that did not felt expensive when considering the total cost.

[@Margar02]

@@Daniel.M.I my husband lived in Brazil for a few years. He recalled to me one time he was talking to some young women, one of them had been to the US and she was describing to her friend how we have huge, enormous bags of potato chips and we sit on the couch just eating them and dipping them into tubs of fat (sour cream/ranch/onion chip dip). They were gagging!

[@teamcougars]

My children didn’t get soda until they were old enough to go to friends houses and they were given them at friends houses🤷🏼‍♀️

[@robertgronewold3326]

That can be a double edge sword though. Deny kids certain foods can cause the 'forbidden apple effect' where, once they get their hands on something denied, they binge. Depends on the child in question though.

[@alexreid1173]

@@robertgronewold3326 I think it depends on how it’s explained to them. Many parents just ban certain things without even having a full conversation with their kids about it. I grew up a vegetarian, and my parents never just told me I couldn’t eat meat. They always explained to me why we didn’t eat meat and told me that I could eat it outside of their house if I wanted to. I’ve never wanted to eat it. I think this works with alcohol, drugs, etc too

[@jenaparsons]

@@robertgronewold3326 It might just not be in the house. I have an almost 2-year-old and unless it’s spicy, everything we eat he eats. If we don’t want my son to have something then we just don’t buy it. Great for helping us to eat healthier too. I think this is a common thing for parents of young kids. When they go to a friend’s house it is then available so allowed. Might be wrong here but I think it’s a common practice. 🤷‍♀️

[@abacaxipineapple9147]

Yeah we were only allowed it on Christmas or special occasions. I think that was good cos whilst it was a treat, we knew what it was and it wasn’t as forbidden or bad, rather in moderation

[@alixila]

I think the person who said the soda thing might have confused it with Iced Tea? People in the US don't routinely put sugar in their Coke.

[@isleeptillnoon5256]

I was shocked at how dirty and third world a lot of the areas were, especially for a country that loudly shouts how rich they are and how they are the greatest at everything. I was also surprised at how terrible the food is for such a multi cultured society. So huge servings of terrible food was not a bonus.

[@Rottnwoman]

Taking leftovers home? I would not feed that stuff to our dogs.

[@leonardo.diCATio]

I grew up in one of those areas, and it's just so frustrating how nobody realizes it exists. Such horrible, horrible conditions. And everyone, even in the country, just completely ignores it. So much classism, it's oddly nice to see someone recognizing it.

[@therealbomb_com8774]

Man ate at McDonald's and went to Detroit and is suddenly an expert on American life. 😂😂

[@TheMVCoho]

You're perspectives are gained from non American sources. No American shouts how rich they are. Maybe Monaco or Norway does that but, certainly not America. There are few wealthy people there but, most of the worlds wealth is in Europe.

[@marinawolf]

I've lived all over the US for over 35 years and I've seen an openly carried handgun exactly once.

[@TheEnthusiasticHobo]

I’m sorry but I can’t help it... Evan’s a little lad who likes berries and cream.

[@tristanholderness4223]

as a teenager, I went on holiday to California with my parents. When we got to our fancy hotel in San Francisco, the first thing the concierge did after checking us in was take out a map, circle an area like two blocks from us and just say "this is the Tenderloin, don't go there". Absolutely wild how much the neighbourhoods can change in such a short distance

[@SciFi2285]

TL has some of the best South Asian and Middle Eastern restaurants in the city. But you better know what you’re doing. Take a cab. Don’t walk. If you must drive pay those parking attendants to watch your car. Sure they’re probably paying off (or working for) the gangsters. But would you rather have your vehicle broken into? Foreigners are always surprised that they have to take these precautions because San Francisco is one of America’s wealthiest cities. Statistically that is true. But not everyone is a tech millionaire. We’re talking about a place with levels of inequality similar to Johannesburg, Mexico City, and Mumbai.

[@danielzhang1916]

It's the same with any city, there are some neighborhoods that aren't as safe

[@infrared337]

@@danielzhang1916 nah, not all cities are like that.

[@slashdotism]

For me it was having to use cash everywhere. This was 5 years ago so maybe things have changed but coming from Norway which have pretty much ditched cash entirely it was a huge difference.

[@therealbomb_com8774]

Yeah, it's very different now. Only places where you'll have to use cash only are vending machines, local venders, or parking meters. Pretty much every place I've been to has installed some form of tap-to-pay (whether it be via your card or an app like Apple Pay, etc).

[@meganmichalsky8191]

At 1:30 when you showed the END NORTH 55 to 42 1/2 MILE... That is the worst during rush hour. I definitely got irrationally excited seeing somebody randomly post Southern NJ roads!!

[@SR-zp4je]

Being Welsh - we do talk to strangers in the street, and I like it. I think I wouldn't mind that about America. I get weirded out now when I cross the border to England and everyone acts as if you're spitting on their shoe by saying hello.

[@Stephen-Fox]

That's mostly the south. Northerners are friendly.

[@darylesells19]

+Stephen Thanks so much for pointing this out, as an American when I read comments condemning small talk from foreigners it makes me wonder if I could ever vacation from the states. It also makes me wonder how a non drinker and non partier would meet ANYONE if casual conversations and social interactions weren’t a thing. (To be fair it’s this way up north from what I hear so this is mostly my own southern culture bleeding through).

[@cascharles3838]

My family's Welsh (I was born and raised in england), and we always joke about the fact that welsh people always find eachother, no matter where they are in the world. Now I'm wondering if that's because welsh people actually talk to eachother

[@marvintpandroid2213]

Flags all over the f'ing place

[@Draco9909]

As a american you learn to just ignore them...unless they're on the back of someone's truck THEN you judge.

[@evan]

True true

[@AthynVixen]

oh gosh yes,,, ppl who put flags on their homes...WTH?

[@SciFi2285]

Tacky flag shorts, flag t-shirts, flag hats, flags next to the cash register in every shop, flags at every construction site, flag stickers placed at random intervals in public buildings like airports and train stations (did they think we would forget which country we were in without them?)…

[@Draco9909]

@SalNova15 nope I hate both equally as while they both have some good ideologies NEITHER ARE PERFECT and I'm tired of everyone trying to say that the one they are is while the other isn't. They both have flaws and nobody wants to except that and it's for this reason I choose to hate both and every one of the zealots who believes that their party can do no wrong.

[@pink_nicola]

As someone that gets car sick (mostly due to windy roads or stop/start journeys) American roads were a nice culture shock because they’re so straight and smooth (most of the time - but even the broken up ones aren’t as bumpy as UK potholes cause the surface material is different). Like I went out there fully expecting to dread the driving part of road trips and could actually enjoy the scenery because I didn’t feel unwell and have ended up using the travel wristbands I bought for that trip more in UK since.

[@mattihp]

2:45 it is a culture shock in Europe because due to eating out being more expensive in general it is more of a social occasion over here. Not just an occasion to cram in huge amounts of drink and food

[@rossheaton5173]

My biggest shock from America is the tipping culture. I pay for my food and drink, the prices are shown, I pay that price, why do I need to pay a waiter/ server? I'll go and bring my own food and drink to my table, why would I need to pay someone to do that? Why employ people and not pay them? It's just a dishonest additional payment. In the UK, what the price is, that is what you pay, not hidden taxes/ surcharges.

[@Draco9909]

Cause companies like to screw over their employees as much as possible and they're especially good at doing so to the servers/waiters.

[@trinkab]

All the taxes in Uk/Europe are hidden in the prices.

[@shafiqamin2357]

Not anymore. Many restaurants are implementing service charges as sneaky ways to drive up the prices of items without you realising (more prominent in London but leaking into places like Birmingham too).

[@teigan7283]

@@shafiqamin2357 yup, ive seen a few service charges pop up around Birmingham lately. It tends to only be applied for tables with more than 6 ppl tho

[@wolfzmusic9706]

i’m british & we always pay a tip bc it’s just nice & polite

[@carolinegelgot1038]

As someone who lived in the Tenderloin for a year right out of college because it was the only place I could afford, I second your recommendation of avoiding it! Definitely an experience.

[@jessicakeskemety22]

Hi Evan from Moorestown, NJ! Love your channel and the differences around the world!!!

[@alanbicknell7696]

Modern windows ie double or triple glazed can be either fully opened or locked in a ventilation setting.Upstairs windows can normally be opened in such a way that they can be cleaned from inside when the release catch is operated and screens are not needed as we don't have that level of bugs here in the UK.

[@mickeyj9794]

How close people stand to you. Just having a conversation with some friends in USA and they're closer to be than my actual family would be

[@jwb52z9]

Yeah, "personal space" is different in different countries. It basically is almost non-existent in the US now, though.

[@camjkerman]

I don't really know if I've had any culture shocks in the US per se. I've lived my whole life in the UK and was brought up in a British culture, but my mum is American and likes to occasionally have or do things that she enjoyed when she lived in the USA, and she shares them with me and my sister. Really if anything "shocked" me the most, it was the size and air-conditioned-ness of my grandparents' house in suburban Knoxville, and how sweet everything was, even the bread and beans, it was all sweet. It was a fun 2 weeks but I don't know if I could cope living with food that sweet my whole life.

[@therandomone3618]

The air conditioning is so we dont have people dying because it got too hot and they were unable to hydrate or stand the heat, it keeps heat related deaths down, I think it was some country in Europe that got hit by a heat wave and they had a bunch of old people dying from the heat became too much for them to handle.

[@medealkemy]

@@therandomone3618 Yup, it was France, hello 🖐️ To be fair, it was the worst heatwave in living history at the moment and following that, a lot of measures have been taken to ensure it never happens again : everyone now knows what to to in case of heatwave, the elderly have a specific set of guidelines and can be registered at city hall to be regularly called during heatwaves, etc. Now we have heatwaves almost every summer, but AC is still rare in private homes. Too wasteful, too costly

[@therandomone3618]

@@medealkemy ok thanks for letting me know

[@Lily-Bravo]

@@therandomone3618 I lived in Australia for a few years and our house did not have AC or ceiling fans. We had wide verandas, and kept the curtains drawn shut in the day in the summer, opened it all up in the evening for the "Fremantle Doctor" to cool the place down. Had a standing fan for the nights in summer. We acclimatised well. I found that I always felt I had a cold after being in AC places.

[@thelibertini3757]

@SalNova15 Actually our teeth are better than US Americans teeth. Brits having bad teeth is a false stereotype.

[@Animefan428]

I went to the USA for a two-week trip with my school that is called "people's high college" I guess is the direct translation. (Ain't really a word for it in the English vocabulary, Norwegian here) Anyways it was a workout school and whatnot, so we went to different gyms and got to meet some people that had won some strength competitions got some shirts, and other fun stuff. (think the gym's name was slipknot, it has been a while since I was there) So the first thing that happened after an extensive hard boarding experience was that one of the students was taken by border security the second we landed. His name was Abdul ( The nicest person at school easily) and he was as brown as it gets, we waited for two hours while he got questioned for as long as I know, no reason at all. The border security even told us (teachers and students) to just leave. Of course, we refused to do that and so we waited for about another hour and he was finally released. They then had the audacity to tell him that he shouldn't walk around suspisiosly anymore. he walked exactly like the rest of us and we didn't get taken for questioning. ( Probably cause the rest of us were all white with blond/dirty blond hair) One of the things we did was to help out in a homeless center in California for a few days. The first day there was this one guy who just randomly gave me something I guess was about 10ml of a brownish lump in a small see-thru bag. I promptly threw it away in the thrash. ( I think it was heroin after looking into drugs on the internet not completely sure. I can't imagine that will look good on my search history) Then when I went to throw some off the thrash that had accumulated after the day there a lady just randomly came up to me and my classmate that was helping out with the thrash, that we are "privileged horrible white men that should share some of our wealth with others". So that happened, not really scary or anything just really unexpected. I have gotta say tho, she has some serious guts, Since I and my pal are pretty big, 188cm and 195cm, so about 6,1feet and feet 6,4 feet. There were about 6-8 police sirens going on every single day, so that wasn't really reassuring. There was a lot of homelessness, in the literally hundreds around where we were. To be fair, we did work at a homeless center so IDK if that is a fair "bad" point. The last "bad" thing that happened was the last day we were there. When we were packing our carry-ons and bags onto our bus, a guy just walked over a crosswalk and his shorts just started to slide down. He had no underwear or anything underneath, he didn't even seem bothered at all and just kept walking as nothing happened completely bare downstairs. That was our last memory of the USA. ( if you exclude the trip to the airport and boarding the plane and whatnot.) The good things are people always wanted to talk to us wherever we went. Norway is a pretty antisocial place, you won't see people even standing 1meter or 3 (foot feet?) close to another at a bus stop if they can help it. And they will NEVER start a conversation with anyone if not necessary. The second good thing is that it was really cheap there, at least compared to Norway that is. The third thing was the city was really easy to navigate. It was like a chessboard so you could always find your way. The fourth is the food was as greasy and sugary as we would have hoped. That can be a bad point if you want to live there, but as a vacation spot, it was just wonderful. The fifth is the school activities that we did, not sure if I should give it to the USA but it was really fun, especially the strong man challenge. Oh, and it feels really cool to lift weights there cause all the numbers get inflated by their weight measurements. Like 100KG is 220lbs. So even tho my max bench at the time was 180KG suddenly I lifted weights with 363lbs so that is a plus. Would I recommend traveling to the USA, not really? I'm gonna be honest, it is pretty scary there. At least in California where I was. And I'm a big dude but I was often being wary about my surrounding. I can't even imagine being a woman walking alone there, especially if you are a tiny woman. It is an experience I won't ever forget tho so there is that. Sorry for the long comment and if there are any discrepancies in my spelling or grammar I'm sorry. Have a good day everyone :)

[@DevilboyScooby]

Honestly the main thing that caught me off guard when I visited California was the width of the roads. At a crosswalk, I'd barely made it halfway when the lights started changing again...you can be a lot more leisurely in the UK. Also, the server in In n Out was cheerful and friendly. That does NOT happen in most UK fast food restaurants.

[@DragonriderEpona]

Ohh I just remembered the weirdest and funniest thing when you apply for a US visa: They literally ask you if you're planning doing any terrorist attempts when you go to the States. Like... which terrorist would be so dumb and clicked at the "yes" block 😂😂

[@SamAronow]

I don't think they expect anyone to say yes, but they probably just have to ask. It's like the opposite of a loophole.

[@kidd3836]

They probably put it there to make sure you’re actually reading the questions

[@mickyflint]

Whoknows? Maybe it'll catch a slip up

[@NorthernLights96]

How electric kettles aren’t really a thing over in the states.

[@ShirinRose]

Yes, that was definitely a culture shock for me

[@Shoyren]

Coffee makers in hotel rooms are way more common in the US when kettles make way more sense. Coffee maker ramen shouldn't exist but this nonsense is probably why.

[@alexreid1173]

I found this so confusing because I, an American, happened to always have an electric kettle growing up and I didn’t know that wasn’t normal lol

[@gemoftheocean]

@@Shoyren kettles.in.hotel.rooms.can.be.easily Stolen.is.why.

[@ffotograffydd]

We had an American friend staying with us, I walked into the kitchen to find her spooning coffee directly into the kettle, despite the fact that the cafetière she’d already seen us use was sitting on the counter right next to the kettle.

[@erikje7352]

went way back in 1994 visited miami , orlando ,nieuw , amsterdam [ aka new york ] and washington dc and in random order these are the things that stood out to me 1] the number of people in all kinds of uniforms 2] how broadway/flashy those uniforms and the cars they drive in looked 3] how bad the roads were 4] how much junk/trash there was lying about 5] how friendly the people were 6] how poor the people were and how poorly they were treated by those in charge 7] how fat the people were 8] how americans know next to nothing about the rest of the world 9] how there is no public transport worth mentioning outside megacity,s 10] at the time taxi drivers in miami and orlando were white and/or hispanic in nieuw amsterdam [ aka new york ] they were from india and pakistan and in washington dc they were from african decent so it was fun to visit for 3 weeks the people i met were nice , helpful & friendly, but if you are not a member of the 1% it would be a bad country to live in ps] do NOT ask directions or anything from gun carrying uniform wearing people in the usa first thing they do is letting thieyr hand drop to the gun on holster belt second thing they do is spread out so they can take better aim at you third if you treat them any other way than a god something short circuits between there ears this happened 3 times to me and to this day i am wondering '' why were they so afraid of the people they were there to ''serve and protect''''''

[@fliplefrog8843]

I (german) went on vacation to Florida. As an eletrician i automatically look on how buildings are done. I were terrified! I loved dominos Pizza, and the lady from the tourist shop, who drove me to a popular Nightclub! But i got really scared, when taking a walk at 9pm, and someone just asked me, from whitch country i am. Obviously i looked like a tourist. He then started a conversation, and i felt like: you gonna be shot, or robbed in some moments. But that didnt happend! I always felt safe in germany, but at this point, i nearest shit my self. I knew its dangerous in the US. But have to say, thistime was just in my head!

[@FoxBox72]

I think the reputation for big cars and big food comes from the 1950's-1980's period of American excess. In my experience visiting the modern US, reality seems to be cars are smaller than they used to be, and portions are slowly shrinking, whilst in Europe our food portions have grown to close the gap. Btw, surprised to see a French commenter surprised by hugging. The French hug and kiss each other all the time !

[@unrulycrow6299]

Uuuuh we do _la bise_ but we're not as touchy as it seems. Hugs feel way too intimate, it's the sort of thing you do with your family and close friends.

[@Stephen-Fox]

I'm not sure American cars are shrinking - I've seen a couple of Teslas in the UK, they're about twice the size of any other car you regularly see.

[@FoxBox72]

@@Stephen-Fox True, but quite a lot smaller than, say, a 1970s Cadillac Eldorado, Lincoln Continental or Cheverolet Impala.

[@jwb52z9]

It's regional where things are changing and where they aren't, unfortunately.

[@findingthatperfectspot4692]

Kiss, yes. Hug, no. Hugs are a very American and Australian thing.

[@jackybraun2705]

My only shock was that the the main course is called the entree.. Everything else I was prepared for. PLEASE don't go down the bun route. I'm sure you weren't serious.

[@wynnsimpson]

I appreciate your fast talking, free-wheeling style!

[@MichiruEll]

Biggest culture shock is honestly suburbs. I stayed at my American in-laws for 3 weeks recently. They live in the suburbs. The whole construction style of the suburbs feels dystopian. Almost identical houses, supee green lawns that are all perfectly cut, American flags everywhere, barely a tree along the side of the road to give some shade... And we couldn't do anything without the in-laws driving us there. It just felt so claustrophobic ecen though the spaces are super wide open.

[@klc9318]

Omg, same. Stayed in my partners grandmas house for a month and it was kinda creepy to walk around the block, but that was all I could do unless my partner was free to drive me somewhere. Also became a bit paranoid with all the curtains drawn and all doors locked. Also knowing there was a gun stashed away in grandmas house was so odd

[@camthesaxman3387]

I live in a car dependent suburb, but at least the houses all look distinct and have some character. I visited a friend who recently moved to Colorado, and had to drive half a mile on a lonely road to an isolated, walled off suburb with cookie cutter houses that all had the same architecture, in the middle of nowhere. I hate where I live now, but that kind of place would be even more miserable.

[@kathrynrobertson2353]

The bloody heat! Thank God for a/c.

[@Katie-ti7vf]

Omg yes, I’m from Australia and I was so surprised by the heat when I went

[@evan]

True

[@ub3rfr3nzy94]

America is so humid. I visited NYC in July, I felt like I couldn't breath until I acclimatised.

[@fishstick7104]

Dry heat vs humid heat can make a world of difference in my opinion. I grew up in Idaho USA and it's very dry, but I'm so much more comfortable at hot temperatures! I now live in Michigan and when it's humid and hot I'm dying! I hate it so much!

[@juliagoetia]

@@ub3rfr3nzy94 Humidity levels vary across the country. Places like NYC, Florida or just anywhere near the coast is gonna be really humid. But go to Arizona for example and its a very dry heat.

[@hannahk1306]

For me, the offering more to drink when there's still half a glass left thing is actually quite rude. It feels like I'm being rushed and like I'm not drinking quick enough. It's almost like someone asking if you want more food when you've still got half a plateful.

[@ffotograffydd]

Definitely!

[@allisk8001]

They have a lot of tables to get to, so it's easier to stay on top of it than risk a customer finishing their drink and getting impatient for more. Some people drink it faster than others. It's more like they're trying to prevent customers from running out before they're done eating. You're totally free to say no to a refill, nobody will be offended.

[@ffotograffydd]

I guess that’s the difference between the USA and Europe, we don’t tend to drink multiple soft drinks or coffee with a meal. We’ll ask for a jug of water. Who needs more than one coke, especially the size they are served in the US?! And coffee is usually drunk at the end of a meal (unless it’s breakfast). When I was in the US I definitely got the impression that quantity was more important than quality.

[@hannahk1306]

Personally, I'd rather wait after I've asked for another drink if they're busy than be pressured into buying one at a time that's convenient for them. It's not uncommon for waitstaff to say they'll come back to you once they've dealt with another table and that's perfectly acceptable. It's different if they're asking about refilling the jug of water (which is free) or if your drink is actually empty, then that's fine and of course you can decline another. Otherwise, it just comes across as trying to sell more to you and like they aren't making enough money off of you, because you're too slow.

[@allisk8001]

The situation isn't just soft drinks. It's exactly the same with water. There's not usually a jug of water; it comes in a cup just like soda would. And the refills for all drinks are free in many of these situations(if they aren't free they won't constantly be offering). They're just making sure people don't run out. The mindset is like filling up your car with gas. You don't wait until it's totally empty before filling it up. You top it off occasionally so you don't run out. Not saying it's the right or wrong way to do anything. I just don't think you need to be offended by servers doing what they've found gets them the most tips.

[@sarahwenger4479]

Another reason for American cars being bigger (and therefore the roads being bigger) is that it’s a lot more common to commute long distances. There are so many people who drive over an hour each way for their job, so having cars that don’t feel cramped and are somewhat comfortable to be in for hours a day is wanted.

[@antonallen8972]

My culture shock as an Russian/american living abroad for the past 6 years who just moved back for uni is how behind the US is in legislation. Example: in UK, Denmark, Singapore, they are slowly opening up properly, while the govt in the US is still repeating the same talking points EU governments were on about in the beginning of this year when it comes to masks etc. Although given, I am in a liberal college in Kansas, vs the south where my parents moved to, where nobody could give less of a damn. I miss Dubai though where I moved from and it feels safer when it comes to the virus.

[@jwb52z9]

Too many Americans have been brainwashed for decades by the GOP/right wing/religious zealots to believe that "the individual" is paramount and they should have no restrictions at all in life except those imposed by organized religion or those that they personally like. Everything to the contrary is thought of as "taking away freedoms". It's insane.