things europeans will never understand about USA

[@OpheliaVert]

Oh dear, I’m British living in Germany and I say “how are you” as a greeting and every day am surprised when I get a sincere answer. It’s just so hard to stop but after seeing this, I will try to just say “hello”. (Also I’m a big fan of your channel)

[@annanagornaia2032]

Well, you ask a question we give the answer 😅 In English language classes, we were taught that "How are you?" is not a real question, but it's not within our habit to treat it like that. Cause u never know who and why is asking 👀 Maybe they really wanna know about my cat eating my yoghurt this morning

[@6Korn6Slipknot6]

Actually some Europeans (me, German 29, included) also use phrases like that. "Was geht?" ("What's up?") is my favorite here. It has a double meaning I think. It combines the rhetorical "How are you" with an expression of surprise (a second meaning of "Was geht?"). To emphasize the surprising expression, you can put the "Was geht?" first and change the intonation. At least that's how my peer group uses that. If someone actually asks me "Wie geht's?" ("how are you?") while passing me, that also confuses me tbh.

[@germpore]

The Irish version is "How are you keepin'?".

[@ponrajaprabhus.k5044]

The increase in quality of editing and humor !! Love it !! Great work !

[@Oceanic83]

And when it comes to groceries in the US, you save money by buying in bulk. Why buy one item for $6 when you can buy 3 for $10? Just put the extra in your freezer. Some people in more rural/suburban areas that have the space will have an extra fridge/freezer in their basement or garage for this exact reason. And when it comes to big portion sizes at restaurants, it's very common for people to take what they didn't eat back home with them for a lunch the next day. Large portion sizes at American restaurants doesn't mean that they eat all of it there or leave it and waste it. Though that does happen. But it isn't out of the norm to request a container to take what you didn't eat back home.

[@Jiyu]

Drinking is more dangerous when everyone has a gun ... .. I guess.

[@user-gu9yq5sj7c]

Watch Yet Another Urbanist on drunk driving. Because of the city design forcing many Americans to drive there's too much killing people with drunk driving and motor accidents. There isn't enough of a option to walk, bike, or take transit home from a bar. The mindset is often to put the responsibility on the individual to not drink and drive rather than change the infrastructure. Many American news headlines and articles victim blame pedestrians and cyclists for getting hit or killed by cars too rather than talk about the road design. Those pedestrians are called jaywalker. Jay means stupid. They sometimes are biased for drivers and make the excuse that "the drivers couldn't see the pedestrians or cyclists". Or say "cyclists shouldn't be on the road so it was their fault". Even tho there isn't enough bike lanes and sidewalks everywhere. Including not enough transit too. There not being enough sidewalks has also caused some pedestrians to have to walk on the edge of the road and has caused cops to handcuff them. Flurfdesign talked about how a bus driver had to block drivers to protect kids cause they even wouldn't stop for kids to cross the street. Watch Not Just Bikes and About Here.

[@thorstent2542]

If you have a detached home in the Midwest, it may be appropriate to have a gun in the house. But anyone who believes they can keep young people away from drinking or drugs is a dreamer or a malicious demagogue.

[@Adenisbestwrestler]

American here! My home I grew up in, in Tennessee, had no sidewalks, but I walked in the road and got over when cars were coming. My school was a block away, but the principal didn’t want me walking to school, because no sidewalks. The closest grocery store was 5 miles away. Non-existent public transportation, so very car-dependent. I’ve been able to live and travel around a lot, so I know this isn’t a universal American experience, but my goodness, do I see the same thing all over the place. In the middle of a bigger city now and still find myself being car dependent. Huge fan of public transportation. Love trains. Dublin and Amsterdam, and to a lesser extent, Seattle and Chicago really spoiled me on trains and now I just don’t get why we don’t have trains all the time everywhere else too. Loved the video Erika!

[@Kazekoge101]

Opposite here in NYC (want to visit Tennessee one day in the near future)

[@sunsetcola]

unless you live in like a dense urban area, or near a city or town center, pretty much nothing is walkable

[@brockgan8941]

And even then its like "walkable"

[@impressionistslandscape]

8:46 surprisingly, in my experience, smaller and independent cafes typically are the ones with the ceramic cups and plates if you decide to stay

[@josiahholsomback7507]

The car dependency aspect is sooo true. I’m an American who spent around 2 ish years total in Europe (time in Slovakia and moved to Edinburgh, Scotland for school at 18). The culture shock of even small quaint towns in SK having little city centers and being so walkable was sooo freeing to me coming from the US south. I came back to the states to finish school bc of COVID and going back to an environment where I had to drive to literally anything was beyond depressing. I yearned for the European walkability so bad that I convinced my bf to move to Chicago with me last year. I am 100x happier here! my car in Kentucky was costing me $800 / month between car payments and insurance. Here I pay like $75 per month for an unlimited train + bus pass and my quality of life is sooo much better. Being able to walk to anything I need is something I’ll never sacrifice ever again. I don’t think I could live anywhere in the US other than Chicago or NYC because I refuse to be stuck in car culture again. anywho, I loved your video and how you explore quirky things about my country without being condescending like a lot of Europeans on tiktok tend to be. I’m hosting my European friends in September for 2 weeks and it will be their first time here and I’m so excited to see their real time culture shocks lol

[@alpharius_nox]

Because have you seen how huge America is compared to Slovakia? There’s way more space. We’re not all living on top of each other like in Germany. If you’re a city dweller and don’t desire to do anything outside of a city, you can walk everywhere, but most Americans like to travel around the country, to the next town, or explore different places in their own states that are very distant from each other because of geography, it’s not a car “culture”, not sure what that means.

[@nattm6553]

@@alpharius_nox fun fact..23% of grown Americans has never even left their state where there born so "travel the country" statement is kind of..wrong =)

[@alpharius_nox]

@@nattm6553 I know you’re just trolling me right? 23%? That means most do leave their states … Population density and geography have a lot to do with the use of cars in America. There’s no conspiracy, no lack of government enforcement or encouragement that needs to happen, there’s no cultural deficiency or anything else, it’s pragmatic. If I live in a town with less than 1000 people and the nearest town is 30 minutes away, of course I’m going to drive.

[@josiahholsomback7507]

@@alpharius_nox Why, exactly, are you trying to mansplain American culture to me, an American? you know Europe as a continent is also huge, right? Yet most of their cities are walkable and interconnected by rapid transit. The size of the US doesn’t matter when talking about individual cities. Individual cities should be walkable and transit oriented, in addition to people being able to drive if they feel like it. Trust me my guy, I’ve traveled all over the country in my car and have done multiple 12+ hour road trips. I still love a good road trip. Do you think that Europe doesn’t have highways and cars? You’d be wrong. Walkable cities aren’t a threat to you wanting to travel around the country or live in a rural place with your car. Nobody is trying to take your cars away. Also, the US quite literally is a car culture. When I go back to my home state, everyone has a car, anything you have / want to do has to be done with a car. Even in the big cities there, a car is a necessity. Which is absolutely ridiculous. Being in a walkable city has greatly improved my mental health and lifestyle. Maybe you should try getting out of the US & your little bubble and see how good others have it…..

[@alpharius_nox]

@@josiahholsomback7507 I live in Germany. I feel like I need to mansplain to you since understanding things like population density and geography seems to be beyond your abilities. Consider this, how much do you think the extremely high cost of gas/oil and the amount of taxes you have to pay on vehicles play a role in this lack of “car culture” you see in Europe? I’ll give you a good example, I was up in Norway a few months ago, and I noticed that many Norwegians drive SUVs with the rear seats removed. When I asked one of my Norwegian friends why this was, he explained that there is a tax in Norway for your car based on the number of people it can hold. So a car that would normally cost 40,000, would be 80,000 Euro if they didn’t take the seats out when registering the car. Norwegians have it so good they can’t even afford an SUV with more than two seats. Not sure what this “car culture” people keep referencing, I’m assuming it’s some climate zealot phrase to add negative connotations to anything that Americans do that goes against the prevailing wisdom of the technocrats that want to control everything we do. In my day, “car culture” meant a bunch of people who liked the mechanical nature of automobiles, the type of people who built cars, raced cars, and knew everything about cars because they had a passion for it. My grandmother that owns a pinto just so she can go to church on Sunday is not part of some “car culture”.

[@elizabetht308]

i live in a big city in the US, not far from downtown at all, but it’s so unwalkable. our neighborhood does have sidewalks but the only think i could walk to in 20 minutes is the library. you also have to cross some dangerous roads to get there. the grocery store is a 42 minute walk away, or you could take the bus for 25 min (which comes rarely) or drive for 7 minutes.

[@elizabetht308]

not to mention that this close grocery store is dangerous so we don’t even go to it. even though we live in a very nice neighborhood, there are shootings multiple times a month in the area :(

[@johnjohannesjuan]

The "how are you" thing is much more widespread to more cultures than just the US. It seems to be something especially designed to trip up german speakers. It happens with my Turkish friends as well. I always try to answer honestly and ask them back which is when I remember it's just part of the greeting.

[@brunoactis1104]

We say it in spanish too. At least in south america.

[@PeterDrewVoiceovers]

I vote for you to keep doing what you do, Erika, especially the snarky humor!

[@davidhumphrey1558]

The portion sizes are to emotionally compensate people on the loosing side of the wealth divide. It makes poor people feel like they are getting more for less. Generally you find these giant portion sizes at fast food restaurants that use processed foods to cut corners. Four words, High Glucose corn syrup. It is the byproduct of corn farming, Your body can not actually process it, And it is filler for these large capacity low budget sodas.

[@holzvvrm7718]

On credit scores: I Germany we have the Schufa-score, which is pretty similar. It's made by this private company that uses secret algorithms to assign you a score based on credit history, amount of bank accounts, how likely you are to change into a wolf at full moon, etc. So all in all very dubious and annoying. Like, why are they exempt from so many privacy laws? Anyways it's used by banks to decide if they give you a loan or credit card and even by some landlords when they decide if they're going to rent out their flat to you.

[@williampickett7655]

American here - we don't just eat in our cars outside the restaurant we are always on the go so we might have to feed the family dinner at the drive-thru on our way to some event. This is really common when you have children in after school activities.

[@camelusdromedarius3789]

The urban sprawl is a big part of the reason of why I'm leaving the US. I've had too many close calls in vehicles and have sunk tens of thousands of dollars into them just to have a way to get around. I much prefer just walking or taking the train, tram, or bus, but those are only an option in very few places in the US (and they are usually absurdly expensive and might not be the safest places to live).

[@alpharius_nox]

If you don’t like urban sprawls, don’t move to Germany: the population density of the United States is approximately 36.4 people per square kilometer (94.2 people per square mile), while the population density of Germany is approximately 237.016 people per square kilometer (614.6 people per square mile).

[@josiahholsomback7507]

^^ that guy clearly has no idea what the term urban sprawl means lmaoooo

[@alpharius_nox]

@@josiahholsomback7507 In other words, for those without reasoning skills, Germany is one big Urban Sprawl.

[@josiahholsomback7507]

@@alpharius_nox you know Urban Sprawl refers to cities with LOW population density, right? OP is condemning how sparsely populated our cities are. Densely populated cities are more walkable, have more transit, and better community. Cities like Austin have huge amounts of urban sprawl and are basically a giant lifeless suburb.

[@alpharius_nox]

@@josiahholsomback7507 Germany the country has a higher density, not just the cities, that means there are more ubran sprawls, in fact, Germany is basically one giant urban sprawl, with some nice scenery a few kilometerrs between each city, unless you go to Bayern or Northern parts of Germany. Yes, the densly populated cities have good public transport, but there are too many other negative aspects of German society that I cannot recommend moving here to anyone at all, especially not just to come here for “walkable” cities, pfffk.

[@miatx6818]

About the the part of fastfood, grocery stores and surroundings. In Netherlands, “almost” all cities have allot of chain grocery stores in the suburbs and the city center. Its mostly (depending where you live) a 4-7 minute bike ride or car ride. But the fastfood chains are mostly in these places in Netherlands. City center, side of a highway or in mostly in industrial terrains or near it alongside some bigbox stores which are so far away from the city. Thats the reason why most people here go to grocery stores. Even schools mostly have a grocery store very near the campus or school. And when its lunchtime almost 3/4 of the whole school goes there for a nice bun and some drink. Im not kidding, there even is a meme about the common meal most students take. Its the Frikandelbroodje with a Energydrink. Dutch people know.

[@ShadowOfUs]

Going anywhere without a car in America is extremely difficult. I am a runner and often the only place to walk, bike, or run from one place to the next is literally the road with cars driving 70mph on it. Some people will actually try to run you over aggressively because they are mad if they have to slow down to pass you. But the road is almost always the only option of going anywhere in the country. If you don’t have a car or can’t drive, there is no other option available to you. I really hate it even though I grew up here in the U.S. I wish we had trains like in Europe, or even better, a path to walk/run/bike on because that would be great.

[@tayekoo]

having had lived in a large town in alabama with no sidewalks before moving to a very walkable city in the UK with great public transit, I can tell you its absolutely miserable having to drive what is physically a 4 min walk but because of road heirarchy is impossible.

[@bravetraveler1985]

lmao enjoyed the 40min roast! love your videos and intellectual humor/banter keep up the good work 😂❤🙏

[@tinkerersagar]

America is on one of the top countries in CO2 emission with 14.4 metric ton CO2 per capita per year, the world average is only 4.66. the same goes for wastage and many things

[@magdamundt9483]

Spot on! Couldn't stop smiling and laughing, you are so light and fresh😄

[@linuxman7777]

I live in a small walkable town and things are pretty good. America does have Suburbs but you don't have to live in them if you don't want to. There are so many Cities and towns that are walkable especially in the Northeast and Midwest.

[@hadessah368]

The tie really worked. I enjoy listening to your look on things every time. The city reviews are also great. Keep it up, as long as you enjoy it. Please ❤

[@KeesBoons]

I for one do appreciate your videos Erika, and looking at the comments and statistics, I'm not the only one.

[@crimsonjynx5707]

I am living in Denmark at the moment and I don't think I will ever see my home city in the US the same after experiencing a walkable city in a more suburban setting on the island of Zealand. I feel like this is how it's supposed to be and I'll never understand why American developers always have to take cars into account for every little decision.

[@georgethedutch]

They tried to “fight” communism with Suburbia (nuclear weapons less effective when you have low density). So because of Cold War the US has mutilated all its cities and turned its population into humanoid pigs.

[@sergeymaslow9403]

I think Americans have these large jugs because of suburban city design, where you have to drive about a hour to get to supermarket. So Americans have to buy food for a week or more, and that's why big packages quite useful for them.

[@alpharius_nox]

In Germany I have to buy food everyday because the fridges are so small you can’t fit more than 3 days worth of food in it. For a family of six, you need at least 3 fridges, unlike in the U.S. you can make it with just one fridge.

[@arnodobler1096]

@@alpharius_nox BS du kannst american sized Kühlschränke hier kaufen. Kühltruhen auch. Wir hatten vor 50 Jahren schon eine Kühltruhe, wo 2 Schweine reinpassten!

[@BiG-JuPO1O1]

Yep

[@FalloutUrMum]

Thought you were referring to breast size initially... I was like "What is he on about?"

[@emi5294]

brit living in the usa here - here are my experiences and comparisons and culture shocks after living here for 5 months. please excuse the amount of brain mush and garbled thought trains in this comment, i'm so tired right now lol. i live in a small city on the outskirts/suburbs(?) and the pavement/sidewalk just ends halfway down the road i live on, i dont know why they even bothered putting one because the road my road comes off of doesn't have a pavement/sidewalk either. and then you get to a bigger road/highway from there so it's not safe to cross and there aren't any crossings. the closest walmart to me is an hour walk each way with no sidewalks or crossings and im in florida so in the summer the heat gets dangerous for walking that long, especially with having to carry everything back. it just is not feasible. a car makes life 1000x easier here for literally everything. the most unfortunate part is that not everyone can afford a car and people who don't have access to a car are forced to walk and cross these dangerous roads in insane heat in the summer to get to and from work or to and from walmart/other supermakets/grocery stores. it just sucks, especially because of what i'm used to there being in the uk. in the uk i lived in a similarly populated large town, also on the outkirts but there was a co-op 5 minutes away and a larger supermarket about 15 mins away each way. there aren't any convenience stores that aren't petrol stations near me here, and though there is one closer than walmart, it isn't close enough to actually be convenient, it would shed off maybe 10 mins each way to walk to that instead. something i really miss about the uk is trains and buses actually existing, even with some decreased routes in the case of buses. where i live now only downtown has buses and they are extremely sparse, i've only seen a bus like two or three times?? its crazy. im very thankful that my husband drives and can shoulder that responsibility until i learn to drive and can get my license. there is a huge emphasis on drive-thru establishments, not only fast food, but also banks have drive thrus as well as pharmacies. its kinda funny, i can't get used to that being the norm. its also true that there are fast food places and restaurants everywhere. my british town of around 40k only had a mcdonalds, other than that it was mostly local run takeaways and chippes. i do like the usa, i like it probably as much as i like the uk, but i am feeling homesick right now so that is skewing my view a bit to the negative side. of course the main reason i like the usa is because it has my husband in it, i would not be here otherwise. i think the usa is a lot more fun to visit than to actually live in. i think if you get the chance to visit, there are a lot of cool places you can choose from and you absolutely should. this country is HUGE. i'm no longer surprised about the americans never having left their country statistic because there are so many things you can see just in the states alone. there are some truly beautiful places, and the food is great as well as the people. i think anyone with a foreign accent gets an advantage when interacting with people here, people seem to be friendlier to me by default if i approach them to ask a question or strike up a conversation with them, and i get a lot of questions about where i'm from and compliments on my accent which makes me feel teehee inside. overall, the usa is nice, it's just hindered by capitalism going a bit too far (i.e health insurance/sick leave/at will employment), strange politics/political idolisation (i have thoughts and feelings that i won't go into here) and poor infrastructure, especially outside of the main big cities.

[@ZZEEBBRRA]

"moving out" at 18 is more related to college. not many kids go to college within driving distance. when you go home for the holidays, your childhood home is not quite your home anymore as you expand your view of the world. it feels different. Also, when you move out for college, good chance you'll find employment not near your childhood home. hence you move out. as for onions, point a fan(like those little battery powered ones) to blow over your onion while cutting, and have that pushed air going to the extractor. it'll keep the lachrymatory agents from getting into your eyes. or point the wind toward your partner and laugh like doctor evil.

[@just_a_random_person9910]

Hello erika i have been watching you for such a long time and i absolutely love your vlogs and your personality keep making these videos ❤

[@funguz333]

i googled the fast food restaurant number from the us and it seems to be around 204k so yea way less than expected but STILL A LOT

[@gloofisearch]

Stumbled over your video. What a lot of fun to watch. All points are spot on. I am from Germany, but a US citizen, living on both sides of the Atlantic in equal years. To this day, I do not understand why people would want to get out the house, drive to a restaurant, wait in line at a drive through, get the food and either eat it in the car and drive home, or, drive home and eat there....food is cold till then, of course. BTW, there are about 200,000 fast food restaurants in the US. Still way to many;-)

[@itseveryday8600]

They tried dropping the drinking age to 18 in the US but it increased accidents and death so they moved back up to 21. This was many decades ago.

[@georgethedutch]

Only in US? And the rest of the world doesn’t have the same problem? How interesting

[@ABa-os6wm]

Dont drive after a drink, you know...

[@MOHAMEDGADSUS]

I really love this content and its vibes

[@gunbuster363]

I really like your video. I find it insightful and it is presented in an interesting way. I like your English accent, it is clean and easy to listen to. All together I find it delightful to sit through the whole video.

[@SteveGoTex]

Many years ago the Three Musketeers bar was segmented into three parts, which you could break apart. Each part was a different flavor of insides: vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. You could swap out the parts with your pals. How many years ago? At least 60. I am very old, and enjoyed that candy a lot.

[@boop-da-SNOOT]

American here! Got me cracking up over here 🤣 Also the salads you’ve mentioned is mostly a Minnesota/Wisconsin thing. I’m from the South and I’ve never tried any of those dishes. 😅

[@pierrebidkhanian3135]

No one small talks in a McDonalds in America just letting you know

[@Francosantiago10]

Love the tie and your content.

[@cajundragon]

The 🇺🇸 USA uses a janky bassackwards date format of MM/DD/YYYY vs EU's 🇪🇺 DD/MM/YYYY -- Also I love not having to specify AM / PM in EU itineraries. "Meet us at 19:30" vs "Meet me at 7:30" "Wait bro, Is that AM or PM ?"

[@jeremiahreilly9739]

(Former) American living in Basel, Switzerland. I love your videos. They are so Erika. That's good. Sorry about DB. Swiss trains run on time. You forgot to mention guns. Maybe you understand guns in America?

[@Oceanic83]

Eating fastfood in your car is just the way to go in American suburbia. Even if you want to walk inside and order your food, it's still faster to go through the drive-thru because every fastfood place prioritizes the drive-thru over walk-ins. If you go inside a fastfood restaurant with the intention of sitting down and eating your meal, you can easily wait 2 or 3 times longer than if you went through the drive-thru. I grew up a very walkable city and wasn't used to this when I was in a very suburban university. So what I did was order through the drive-thru and then park my car and then go inside to eat. I timed it, and it was significantly faster than if I ordered inside in the first place.

[@hglundahl]

21:17 I think the idea is to go to the supermarket for a week at a time, and arrive there after eating, so you don't waste part of that week's provision on sweets or unhealthy stuff.

[@SahindBadi]

the first 40 sec of the video i just founded perfect and funny to talk about KitKat 😂, Keep up the same way of how u making videos they are just Perfect!

[@zenithlight6132]

It's funny how much of the stuff you talked about is a direct result of car culture tbh. Like the drinking age, is because it is much more of a necessity for people to own and drive a car here than in Europe, and so drunk driving is a lot more of a public danger. There was some research that younger people especially are likely to get into severe accidents while drunk than older people, so there was a big lobbying push where the federal government basically twisted the states' arms into raising the drinking age to 21, by threatening to withhold federal transportation funds if they didn't. (The federal gov actually can't force states directly to set their drinking age) Similar thing with obesity rate, since cars mean people aren't forced to walk to and from school/work as much, people get less physical activity as part of their daily routine. If you look at the bigger cities like New York and Chicago which have decent public transportation systems, the obesity rate is actually much closer to the rates in most of Europe.

[@robin_________]

as an american, my neighborhood is not walkable even in a pretty decent area 😭 i'm used to walking on the side of the road at this point

[@stella505]

Hope this goes as well as the Europe one did!!❤️

[@Johntequila-x3p]

The Kit Kat logo I europe is the original english one from rowntrees

[@spooky_mane]

Yes yes, very professional presentation. Thank you, very good.

[@trippn8522]

For the onion, i heard not taking the top out first prevents the whole crying situations

[@ceezest]

I'm in California so we're a weird. But parts of the US have paid sick days some do have requirements its just done state to state or even city to city depending of the state like California. Jobs are required to have paid vacation time in California as well.

[@germpore]

Supermarkets - when I was in Germany, I totally fell in love with REWE. Brimming over with the kind of wonderful chocolates and delicious cheeses and delicatessen that we would have to pay premium for in the USA, but inexpensive in Germany.

[@thalesmello]

Hello Erika. Your channel is very creative, entertaining to watch, and honestly feels like a breath of fresh air. Genuine, if I'm am to find a right word.

[@nataliegrayson5935]

Hello Erika, I love your videos and they have been very helpful for me because I’m planning on moving to Germany. It is such a difficult language. Anyways, I’m curious as to what your current apartment looks like!! ❤❤

[@NiloAzzurro]

Thanks for your interesting videos, and... Yes, you always put in so much information that we are sure it requires a lot of research!

[@lingrensteve]

We are a bit odd. Entertaining and humorous video. Great job. ❤😊

[@JohnLewis-old]

As of the latest data, there are approximately 200,000 fast food restaurants in the United States. The number of grocery stores is around 40,000. Fast Food Restaurants US: Approximately 0.000604 per capita (1 fast food restaurant per 1,655 people) Europe: Approximately 0.000201 per capita (1 fast food restaurant per 4,986 people) Grocery Stores US: Approximately 0.000121 per capita (1 grocery store per 8,275 people) Europe: Approximately 0.000134 per capita (1 grocery store per 7,437 people)

[@christopherrseay3148]

yeah i think she added 3 orders of magnitude but the number was about correct ignoring that lol.

[@pierrebidkhanian3135]

I prefer public transport than car however, my only worry is like I’m gonna have a kid soon, and I’m not sure how easy it is to go on a public transit with a zero month old or even a six month old

[@lilakrestel3868]

11:41 😂😂appreciate zoom out and echo effects

[@PyroNino11]

Your content is cool

[@thenamecarl910]

Our food in supermarkets are so big because we usually only go shopping once a week, this is because grocery stores are not in walking distance so it’s a bit of a trip to go and get stuff so we stock up

[@Cursedschnitzel]

Omg I just had biggest most significant revelation of my life about the onions! This makes so much sense!

[@timwauman]

Ha! Love your sense of humor! The US Tipping Culture is out of control, and while I had to laugh at the salad portion, I still think the most bizarre 'salad' and alsoone of the most delicious is teh German Wurstsalat!

[@FalloutUrMum]

I'm from the US, I've had a few times where things were just terrible for me or someone else and when we simply said "How are you?" The person having a genuinely bad time gave a truthful answer. Same when things were great.

[@user-zw2sg5fh9k]

the reason america used the imperial units of measure is, historically, Americans saw themselves as an extension of the English people, with the American revolution being a break away from the English crown rather than English people. As for the continuation of this system, the US has been the largest power in it's region, has been less reliant on foreign imports than other countries and it's largest trading partners have been the UK and Canada, so shifting customary units hasnt been necessary.

[@cristoforestman]

Us supermarkets are big bc they don't have small ones. They don't have small ones because these are not profitable bc of lower population density and car culture(park lots, highways, etc)

[@dafxxk9286]

This is the content I wanna see !

[@xpooryai7419]

actually, I love how big the portions of food are in USA😁 It`s much fun

[@campagnollo]

The drinking age is steeped in American culture. Note that our driving age starts younger, 16, to enable children to work on the farms. Also, because of some protestant religions believing that alcohol should be banned, it was first at a minimum age of 18 before being increased to 21. As if that wasn't bad enough, there was at one time the 18th Amendment which prohibited all alcohol. In a few years, crime actually increased due to the bootlegging and was eventually repealed by the 21st Amendment.

[@Objective-Observer]

The Drinking Age was NOT due to any religion. It was mutually agreed that TEEN AGERS AREN'T MATURE ENOUGH TO BE RESPONSIBILE DRINKERS. THEY PROVED THAT CORRECT, with numerous drunk driving deaths, hence the age was increased to 21. The famous Sufferagette: Susan B. Anthony, WAS AN ABOLITIONIST FIRST. NOT BECAUSE OF HER RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, BUT BECAUSE SHE WAS TIRED OF SEEING WOMEN AND CHILDREN STARVE, BECAUSE THE PROVIDER OF THE FAMILY GOT OFF WORK, AND WENT STRAIGHT TO THE BAR. She tried for years, working with other charity organizations to get MEN SOBER, so they could provide for their families. She later faught for Women's RIGHT TO WORK, as well as the right to Vote, so a Mother could support herself and her children, when her husband would wallow in his booze at the bar. ALCOHOLISM FUELED THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT; RELIGION WAS JUST AN EXCUSE.

[@arnodobler1096]

R. Reagan raised the age to 21.

[@beldin2987]

@@arnodobler1096 Exactly, just one of the many things he fucked up. The best was of course that he made you believe that its good to give all your money to the rich so they could care better about the poor 🤣

[@arnodobler1096]

@@beldin2987 👍

[@entropy7705]

@@beldin2987 Teen drinking is the number one cause for teenage deaths in the U.S and still is even after raising the age to 21. What exactly is "good" about lowering back down so it's easier to access?

[@TravelingThruLife]

Actually we used to have the Mars bar, twas my favorite. We have WhatsApp. We’re not monsters.

[@helloerika]

:D okay good to know

[@Guiscardo777]

don't you colonials dare to deep fry Mars bars ? is it true isn't ?

[@livelaughsol7066]

@@Guiscardo777 no thats scottish people

[@michaelrains64295]

It was chocolate covered nougat and almonds. My dad loved them.

[@TravelingThruLife]

@@Guiscardo777 that's a southern thing. they'll deep fry anything and it's disgusting

[@hglundahl]

14:49 I forget which country it was, but in some countries, a public bathroom will actually have ultra violet light so you can't see your veins. Denmark, or parts of? Netherlands? Belgium? Not sure. Can't recall that from last year, but I think I can recall it from 2004.

[@6Korn6Slipknot6]

I think you find that in a many places (German train stations or club bathrooms sometimes have that kind of light).

[@gammothguy4866]

I live in Maine (not the French one) and I have a good friend in Nantes that I went to visit about half a year back. I’m only 18 and was sort of thrust into the American grindset so when I visited France, I’ve began to really consider getting out of what I believe to be a capitalistic nightmare and found your channel while doing research. I’m very happy I did so, your videos are very charming and give what I think to be well rounded information based on your experience. I’ve been very carefully considering where I might want to go and plan to visit many parts of Europe during the end of the summer to get a feel for a few different places and kind of gauging them based on my personal preferences. I plan to get info from other sources as well of course, ideally from people who live in the places I am interested in and I look forward to my eventual new life in Europe, and getting settled in thanks to my mother for allowing me to be eligible for polish citizenship. I appreciate your videos and wish you the best going forward!

[@metalblind95]

French Maine doesn't exist anymore, for about 250 years now

[@florencelina9303]

nice video - as always

[@Nabium]

About the wastefulness of disposable cups and plates. There was a study that compared paper cups with mugs, and found the differences were negligible. If you don't wash your mug that often, or not at all, then the mug is better, but even then the production of the mug is very energy costly so you need to use each mug for years before it becomes comparable to paper cups. Plastic cups is obviously a different beast. You also need to dispose of the paper cup properly and not throw it in the general waste. I am sick with cfs/me and at my sickest it became impossible for me to do the dishes, so I was forced to switch to disposable. Luckily the EU enforced rules reducing plastic disposable utensils and cups so I got less of a guilt trip after that, but after learning that as long as I dispose of it in a good way it's comparable to ceramics and steel in terms of environmental impact, I didn't bother switching back. If I ever get a girlfriend I'm gonna have a real problem, but, I'd also have a problem with disgusting week-long dishes in my sink.

[@JindrichGebhart93]

Americans: I want to drink at 18 Government: All i can do is war

[@KN-er3if]

ものすごく共感しました。貴重な動画ありがとう。

[@bekkicurrier145]

Germany does have credit scores - commonly referred to as SCHUFA scores. In the US a high credit score is good, but in Germany the lower the number the better I believe.

[@Cursedschnitzel]

Yes, there is schufa but we recently moved to Germany and had to look for the apartment. We got our schufa and there was no number or anything just „positive“

[@Ceelbc]

18:50 In Belgium the milk is in packs of 12 times 1,5 liters. So a galon is really not that much.

[@Dreampopslaps1108]

Commenting as I watch so I hope my comments don’t become too annoying lol but I just wanted to bring up the fact that you brought up the big products in grocery stores. We have a big products I think because we go to stores less often. I have a friend that lives in Austria and she goes to the grocery store nearly every day. I live in Texas just outside of a big city and the closest grocery store to my house is just over 9 miles away which is a 16 minute drive. So we go less often than Europeans I think. Also I just got to the part where you mention sidewalks. My neighborhood has literally no sidewalks. I once walked from my house to the main street near my house and that took me an hour walking on the street

[@daniellycosta6927]

Last time I tried to go less often to the supermarket here in Europe, I lost a lot of groceries. I feel that products here get spoiled really fast, but I also noticed that here products tend to be healthier

[@sacroyalty]

Yes, many neighborhoods in America have zero sidewalks and typically zero public transit so there are almost no options except drive, even biking is dangerous. I know neighborhoods built in about 1960 in California don't, some newer ones do have sidewalks, luckily. You'd have to look up more. I am an American but am working hard to be in a spot to be able to move to Europe in the near future, so I can have a walkable lifestyle, and be able to walk for real bread. I wish this was more readily available in America... But cars & their manufacturers ran our country for decades.

[@o_d1559]

well, the british pound is called a pound because it used to equal a pound (weight) of silver if I remember correctly. Lindybeige has an excellent video about English coinage

[@minthethtwe2952]

I'm going there this July. Wish me luck ;))

[@Azhureus]

You dont need luck, you need to learn how to dodge bullets.

[@michaelrains64295]

@@Azhureusthat’s a massively overstated issue. I’ve literally never seen a gun menacingly presented in public in my 52 years. 2/3 of reported stats are from suicides and most of the rest are amongst criminal elements and confined to obviously problematic areas. 99% never see the type of violence you imagine. The US is generally safe if you have any common sense at all.

[@xenotiic8356]

@@michaelrains64295 I think they were making a joke, you can't really dodge a bullet

[@beckysam3913]

US cities were not build for cars they were once walkable cities with public transit then bulldozed for cars, and after that , it escalated to suburb without sidewalks. in usa the main culture was build on puritanic conservative culture and toilette stalls with big gaps should prevent using it for sexual activities, prostitution, drug selling and or use, or even sleep bc housing is not much supported from gov. the public space, third places are harder to find, parks and malls are having a lot of regulations, so people went to toilette stalls thinking they could get away from what they want to do. student dormitories in universities are usually hosting two students per room, same reason, its social controll, puritanic culture, avoiding to use the dormitory room for sexual activity or whatever. they try to sell it as "learning to socialize and get to know other people, learn to share" but that is just an excuse. onions come naturally in various sizes , without additional hormones, same goes for fruits and vegetables but of course the culture of cultivating them for hundreds of years, changes them and adding growth hormones illegal can add to it. if businesses can not afford to pay their workers, they should not open restaurants or other places. its just an excuse for bosses to exploit worker and avoid a good wage.

[@danp420]

Erika, I'm 5 minutes in and already sent 3 comments, firstly the how are you question works exactly the same in Britain where everyone greets each other saying "you're right?" and most will answer "you're right?" back, no one cares how you're actuially doing here in Britain either lol (I'm not British btw, I'm a migrant from the Italic peninsula haha) Also Americans don't use Whatsapp because they all have iPhones and use Facetime instead of Whatsapp, Android phones are not very popular there, I guess it's cause iPhones are cheaper in the US) this will be my last comment btw :)

[@cristi.scoarta]

In one way or another, credit scores exist in EU countries as well. For instance, in Germany there's a company called Schufa that handles this. In Romania, it's Biroul de Credit.

[@tobiwillichnet6659]

I love your content...... you can tell me when you are arround (Nürnberg) I am a decent city guid :P

[@LukeOranje]

Probably the best way to think about the USA is that basically nobody's life is the same, whatsoever. It's way too diverse and states/cities all have different laws to say anything for certain. I would say many people's lives are similar in many ways, but you have millions of others who are not at all similar. For example, if you get good health insurance in a large metropolitan area, it's likely you're going to be getting the best care from the best providers, possibly in the world. Many people have to pay nothing to get excellent health insurance. Others have to pay hundreds of thousands in medical bills. It's very confusing. Sick time is the same - some jobs will be extremely understanding and let you go for months on end. Many others will treat you as expendable and fire you for taking too much sick time. And different states have different rules. There are absolutely smaller supermarkets, but the ones you see highlighted in videos are the biggest ones. Also, there are many smaller, older cities across the US that are pretty walkable. The newer neighborhoods, by and large, are as you see in the picture. Pretty sad. In European countries, like Nederland, you do essentially have a hidden credit scores when making home purchases - at the end of the day, there is not a tremendous amount of difference between credit scores and the credit system of these countries. But yes, I would say the biggest mistake most Europeans make is to think that American life is similar enough to generalize. But, it very much is mind-numbingly diverse, from region to region, state to state. Tipping and massive gaps in bathroom stalls, however, are truly universal in the US.

[@Lex_Lugar]

Great answer. You seem dutch by your name but would be surprised if you weren't American because no foreigner seems to understand these contrasts.

[@celloting01]

erika, can i suggest you see the world beyond europe? there are many other countries/humans with interesting culture, cuisine, architecture, nature, etc. all the best.

[@MBGamerZone]

I live in the Midwest in a suburban neighborhood and it is very walkable, also a shit ton of deer. College towns here are definitely more walkable. This is all so funny as an American. Hope to experience and learn European cultures, I want to do my masters program in the Netherlands.

[@brockgan8941]

Yeah imma say thats cap and you don’t really know what a walkable environment is. I have never seen a genuinely walkable suburban environment.

[@wesleymccoy-s1o]

I'm from Omaha, Nebraska.The bus service goes from West only downtown.If you need to go anywhere else until you have to have a car

[@kjfoxx]

I'm from the UK living in America, I feel like after moving here these questions just raise more questions than answers. This place confuses me in too many ways

[@SiempreAndres]

19:20 On average, onions are like this in America (All the continent). Here in Colombia, carrots, onions of all kinds, bananas, potatoes and others tend to have a larger size and greater potency in their flavor. Thankful for that, really

[@sofiwa7544]

American here. I live in a rural spot with zero areas to walk on. The only flat surface I can walk on is the main road- which is dangerous with how fast people are!!

[@schzean]

Quick search says about 202,000 fast food restaurants in US. Not verified but probably a little closer. I live about 20 min walk to grocery store but I have to cross at a huge intersection twice (I’m on SE corner, store is on NW corner of six lane intersection.) so the heavy traffic dissuades people from going by bike or on foot.

[@girlgofar546]

There are a few reasons for the portion sizes. One being that the US has a huge left over culture. We eat some at the restaurant and then take the rest home for later. Also the portions stay that big because alot of people have been trained to eat that way unfortunately. People continue to eat large amounts so the resturants keep seving the big sizes. Its one of the hardest things to unlearn when trying to get healthy. I hope that helps you understand us in the US a little more. ❤

The ceramic mugs exist in many a US Starbucks (or at least they did when I lived there), but you specifically have to ask for them even if you order your food ‘for here’. What’s the point of asking if you’re just going to give me the same thing anyway?! 😑

[@camelusdromedarius3789]

I am disappointed every time I go to the grocery store and can't get 2 gallons of the milk I drink

[@purveshsane1435]

I've never seen oreos in a tube-shaped plastic wrapper in the United States. Always as you had shown in your video.

[@camelusdromedarius3789]

When I go out and the bill is anywhere up to around $30, I try to tip close to half. If the bill is around $100 or more, I usually try to tip $20-$40. It means I don't go out to eat as much, but food service workers are some of the hardest workers and deserve every penny.

[@NomadicIslanders]

No they deserve being paid a livable wage from their employers, just like every other country does. But that will never happen because the employers and the government know y’all will continue to foot the bill that they should be paying. That’s the difference. It will NEVER change if you keep paying it.

[@camelusdromedarius3789]

@@NomadicIslanders They do deserve to be paid a liveable wage, I completely agree with that. The impetus shouldn't be on the costumer to make up for the employer shafting them, I fully agree with you there. I definitely don't think skipping out on tipping would foment any meaningful change other than less pay for food service workers. Employers and the gov't don't give a shit whether costumers tip or not and I highly doubt they'd see a shortage in tipping as an act of protest. I'd much rather the gov't admit the system is broken and just mandate employers to pay them a fair wage, but I doubt that'll happen any time soon.

[@dudoklasovity2093]

I have 10 days of PTO a year. And no sick days. F*cking hell!

[@orfeasdroop2733]

198 million fastfood restaurants 😂😂😂 Dear sweet Erika, maybe you have to remove 3 zeroes???

[@omgdodogamer4759]

i was so confused about that 😭

[@fastandcurious]

Roughly one fast food for two Americans, you are right not to trust these numbers. 🤔🤣