After many years in Europe:

How many more overweight people there are.

How many churches there are.

How Americans assume everyone wants to hear their opinion.

How little we value being informed or educated in order to have a strong opinion.

fingerofchicken , shurkin_son / freepik Report

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Geoffrey Scott

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Upvote for the last one.

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Returned to the US from Korea. It gets talked about all the time, but just how unnecessarily complicated and inconvenient our healthcare system is.

To go from a system where you can go see a doctor/specialist any day of the week without an appointment, to know you will be covered, and to have the peace of mind that you'll spend probably less than $20, to then go to whatever we have here...it's just absurd to me.

I also pay twice for my healthcare here than I did in Korea. We are so duped for a system that is openly robbing us and not keeping us well.

Shauney , DC Studio / freepik Report

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Bernd Herbert

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I'm done feeling sorry for this. The people voted recently and showd where their priorities are. Apparently a good healthcare system isn't one.

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The scam that is the for-profit healthcare system in the US. Truly pathetic that the richest country in human history can't provide universal coverage for all its citizens. Medical bills, medical debt, insurers deciding which procedures you really need, doctors and hospitals being in/out of network....all foreign concepts to most developed countries. 


We talk a lot about freedom in the US, but it's usually about positive freedoms (i.e. the freedom TO own a gun) but we forget about negative freedoms, the freedom FROM something, such as medical debt, student debt, etc. In that sense, we lack many basic freedoms enjoyed by other countries.

ruacommode , freepik Report

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James016

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They can provide it , they just don't want to.

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In the US, if I suggest we walk the five blocks to our destination on a beautiful, sunny day, I’m met with incredulity, outrage, and a glare appropriate for puppy torturers. 

Walking as transport is, apparently, a sign of homelessness and failure at life. .

Commonpleas , senivpetro / freepik Report

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The Doom Song

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5 blocks really isn't that far.....

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Coming back from Norway, I was shocked at how little paid time off Americans get. Had to readjust to the whole 'living to work' mentality instead of 'working to live.' Still bugs me.

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tori Ohno

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I won't get any time off for a year where I just got hired on. But, a majority of other places are exactly the same. You're lucky to get 2 weeks vacation time after being there for 5 years.

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After returning from living in India, I woke up parched one morning and realized that I didn’t have any bottled water in the house. I got all distressed because it was early and stores weren’t open and it was cold and dark…imagine my joy when I remembered I had potable water FLOWING INTO MY HOUSE.

shiny22214 , bublikhaus / freepik Report

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Geoffrey Scott

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We DO tend to take the things our taxes pay for, for granted.

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Tipping. I lived abroad for a while and my first day back in the US, I just genuinely forgot to tip a bartender on a single beer and she told people at the bar that I stiffed her. It’s such a ridiculous system.

CactusBoyScout , freepik Report

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J K

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I'd rather pay more for my food rather than tipping IF I knew the extra went to the regular employees for sure.

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The food! Lived in Canada from 2006 to 2014. You don't really notice it going the other way, but coming back holy s**t. Everything is loaded with salt and sugar. Everything. It is jarring. I gained over 20 lbs my first year back. I get that people do not want to hear this because we all love our dino nuggets and cheap frozen pizza. But damn, they really are trying to kill us with our food. At the very least they truly do not care if they kill us so long as the profit margins are high.

Related to that, the sheer number of truly obese people. Kids, in particular. I lived in Toronto and it was incredibly rare to see a person who clearly weighed over 300 lbs. Like maybe once a year. Coming back it was just shocking how big the average American had become. I pretty much lay that at the feet of the food thing.

manifestDensity , senivpetro Report

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Michael Largey

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My wife has to watch the salt; I have to watch my sugar. Not much for us to order in most US restaurants.

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Not being able to just go to the doctor when you feel sick or notice something wrong. In Taiwan you just rock up to the hospital, pay a US$6 registration fee, tell the registrar what ails ya, get sent to whichever department fits your symptoms, wait for an hour or so, and see a doc.

Government healthcare: hell to the YEAH! It's not communism, Americans.

BubbhaJebus , freepik Report

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Wingsofwrath

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No, no, you don't get it, anything that doesn't directly serve to move as much wealth from the bottom of the society to the very top is "communism". /s

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Pharmaceutical commercials on TV was the most shocking. Smiling happy people talking about taking a pill to counteract the pill they were taking for (insert issue). Side effects may include mass m*rder, jumping from bridges, and uncontrollable diarrhea… At least you’ll be smiling while you deal with all the side effects.

Hinano77 , jcomp / freepik Report

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J K

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America d**g commercials sound like they are trying to help you and kill you at the same time. EDIT: Also, D R U G is censored? By censoring this website actually made it look worse.

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Taxes not being included in price on the sign.

over__________9000 , arinahabich / freepik Report

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ScrapieChick

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I get the different rates of sales tax thing but can see no sensible reason why the taxes can't be includes on the price tag/shelves, it's just so much more convenient

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Coming back to the US after living in Japan for 7 years. Everyone seems so angry and selfish all the time. Public places like parks, streets, restrooms are just a disgusting mess that no one takes care of.

Also, groceries were super cheap and fresh. I could get a weeks worth of groceries for a family of 3 for around ¥10000 yen, that's not possible in the US.

SquallyZ06 , pippocarlo / freepik Report

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I’ve Seen Things

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About $65 USD

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After being In India for a while, coming back to the USA, the feeling of having personal space and not being stared at all the time, such a relief.

NancyAngelBloom93 , freepik Report

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medcrest

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Same goes with China. People would turn around and stare at my wife's prematurely white hair.

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Seeing how obvious it is that we have a serious obesity problem in the U.S.

NCMA17 , freepic.diller Report

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Bernd Herbert

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yes, this! I was in the US a few months ago and this was immediately obvious.

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Going from Japan customer service to US customer service is a colossal downgrade.

theguineapigssong , DC Studio / freepik Report

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Witch with a B

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We have customer service in the US?

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Returned to the US from India. Sat down to eat at a restaurant at the airport and the waiter immediately brought me a glass of ice water. It took me a moment to realize that this was safe to drink here.

jerwong , ayuluthfiani / freepik Report

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Serial pacifist

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And no cows roaming around is a bit different than the US.

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Depending on where you lived abroad, the return to car culture is probably going to be the biggest shock. Get ready to drive everywhere again.

wogandra , EyeEm / freepik Report

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sbj

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This is probably due to the fact that in most cases there is no good or convenient alternative to the car

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How uncommon it is seeing people smoking cigarettes in the US.

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Miki

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I didn't know that. Big envy on this one.

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The massive amount of advertising and upsells. As soon as you get on a plane back to the US, it's all "sign up for this credit card" and "watch these ads before and after the safety briefing" and "you can pay later for all this, no payments today."

It absolutely screams into your brain at every opportunity.

dmx007 , EyeEm / freepik Report

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Ni Na

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There is no difference in Tokyo. The subway, the bus, Shibuya etc. everything is full of ads and music.

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Was floored by the massive portion sizes when I came back. Also, people are super chatty here compared to Germany! It felt weird at first, but now I kind of enjoy those random small talk moments with strangers.

Velemyst , Alexzander1769 Report

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The Doom Song

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Nobody is supposed to eat that much

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I lived in Japan for a year. Coming back to the states made me realize how dirty it is here and people are lazy and disrespectful when it comes to taking care of the city and eachother. In Japan it’s a collective effort. Public restrooms are clean. If you have trash you put it in your pocket or purse and hold on to it until you can find access to a trash can. Here? People will drop it on the ground because they cannot dare to be inconvenienced. I’ve seen people at stop lights open their door and leave bags of McDonald’s trash on the street and drive off so they can have a clean car. Of course one of the first public restroom experiences when I came back home was in a store where there was a drainage grate in the floor and a woman had her kid taking a p**s in the grates instead of the toilet.

And don’t get me started how if they even have the sniffles they wear a mask in public to be courteous but here people like to cough directly into the wind.

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Dar Mal

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American: How dare you expect me to think about anything or anyone else other than ME!

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Music in restaurants is SO LOUD.

airin1994 , freepik Report

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Fat Harry (Oi / You)

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We *sometimes* have this problem in the UK. Thankfully not too often, but I will actively choose a pub that doesn't have piped in music over one that does. However... I would also choose a pub that has live music over one that has piped in music.

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How everywhere in the world has to pay attention to what happens in the United States, but people in the US don't have a clue about anywhere else. I doubt 1 in 100 could name the president of Mexico, for instance.

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J K

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Well, what's happening in the US for next few years at least will definitely affect a good chunk of the rest of the world to some degree.

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How huge everything is. The flags, the people, the portion sizes.

Albinkiiii , andrealopezro95 / freepik Report

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J K

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The egos.

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After living in Korean and Japan, I will always forever appreciate the independence/individualism of American cultural.

Especially in Korea, it felt like I joined gang/cult when I realized even the simplest of tasks required the consensus of the entire office. I saw a 46 y.o feel like he didn’t have enough authority to paper in the printer, so we had to wait and ask the office superior hours later.

It’s hard to describe in a small post. I just feel like there’s a certain kind of autonomy that exists here that doesn’t exist over there.( with regards to work).

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Papa

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There are two different attitudes. One is that if it's not specifically allowed it's forbidden, and the other is that if it isn't specifically forbidden it's allowed.

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I lived in South Korea for a few years. When I returned to my hometown, St. Louis, very little had changed. You can't walk anywhere in St. Louis County, and for the first time, that fact really got to me. My friends were also very sedentary and incurious, not wanting to go anywhere. I would go to a friend's house and they just wanted to watch Netflix, and I was so used to being a very active person. Lastly, when anyone asked me about Korea, they couldn't help but slip in a racist joke or 2. I had changed overseas, but my hometown didn't.

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Manana Man

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Need new friends.

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Getting yelled at and herded around like cattle by US customs and immigration as soon as I arrived back home. It’s a huge shock to see how everyone with even an ounce of authority in the U.S. acts after being abroad where you’re treated like a human.

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ScrapieChick

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I've been lucky to travel a lot and customs in the US was definitely in my top 5 scariest customs experiences

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The difference in how the food affected my whole body in a positive way after being away from the US for almost 2 years.

My wife and I both had physical withdrawals when we arrived in South America from the difference in the food for atleast the first 2 weeks. Couldn’t figure it out at first until our bodies adjusted.

Both immediately lost weight without trying and our whole physical appearance changed for the entire duration in a very positive way. Never felt so good in my life.

After a few months back in the US it all came back no matter how good we tried to eat. It was very eye opening to say the least.

Edit: Typo.

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Roxy222uk

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This is a reaction to all the ultra-processed food. It's more than just eating high fat, high sugar, and high salt food. The UPF food contains additives that are being discovered to affect the body in unexpected ways, such as killing beneficial bacteria or feeding unhelpful bacteria in the gut. Ultra-processed food is very different to processed food (such as cheese)

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Coming back to the US from Cairo, it was not needing to be so alert all the time. There’s a lot to like about Cairo, but it is a tourist city and a lot of the businesses and locals take advantage of the tourists. It’s a little thing, but you have to be ready to argue vehemently about every price and service. I didn’t realize how much that was stressing me until I came home.

cownan , wirestock / freepik Report

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Broadredpanda

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Until you came home and your wallet was emptied because you got a chest infection and could barely afford to see the doctor, never mind paying for the antibiotics!

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Central. F*****g. Air. Conditioning.

Outside of places like more affluent/developed Middle Eastern countries like UAE, Israel, and Kuwait, or like Singapore, A/C is an absolute luxury. A lot of people in the US do not appreciate how good our HVAC capabilities are.

PlumpahPeach , goffkein / freepik Report

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Serial pacifist

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We don’t appreciate many things, such as clean running water, electricity, hygiene, housing, numerous sets of clothes…are all a luxury (unfortunately and shockingly enough) in many parts of the world, for billions of people still.

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Having to drive everywhere. Dublin isn’t the most bike friendly place, but living there for several years and being able to hop on my bike and get across town in 20 minutes is something I will always miss. After being back in Illinois for 2 years I still hate that I have to drive 2 miles to target bc that’s the only option for getting there and home in one piece

ETA: at no point did I say I live in Chicago. I don’t have city public transit and resources, thus my comment.

Mcgoobz3 , EyeEm / freepik Report

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notlikeyou1971

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Where we live it's impossible to walk or bike to most places because they are too far away from where we are. I couldn't anyway because I am disabled and it would be a hassle and uncomfortable. The only thing close to the apartment is a d**g store and that's possible but the rest is a Lyft or asking for a ride . I order groceries or ask someone to take me because things aren't as easy as they used to be and things are waay too far away. No car ,no cash, no bike,bf tries to walk for small things but he has health issues too. So when your area is a " food store desert" it's harder. Lol

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All the sugar in the food.

AuroraLiberty , freepik Report

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The Doom Song

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I don't think I could handle this.

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Lived in Russia for 18 months (this was over 10 years ago), when I came back to the US I spent a week in NYC and was taken aback at how nice everyone was and how s****y the subway is.

KingCarnivore , freepik Report

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J K

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So according to this article Japan > US > Russia when it comes to niceness.

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Had a layover in Salt Lake City on my way home from living in China for six months… “How did all these people get permission to have so many children?!? Oh…right.”.

banoctopus , asphotostudio / freepik Report

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Michael Largey

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If you're a Mormon, you're forbidden to do so many fun things that you have to concentrate on the few that are allowed.

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Coming back from Germany / Europe and the customer service at US restaurants was SO intrusive and annoying. You cannot just sit and enjoy a meal with someone, you are constantly interrupted while talking, and while mid-chew. How is everything? Doing alright? Can I get you another drink? Etc. I get that some people like this type of service because they're used to or expect it, but it annoyed me to no end how the server constantly interrupted my meal.

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Pernille

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At least they should accept that you don't answer, or is it ok to speak while chewing in the US? If an European waiter was as intrusive as a US on there would be no tip.

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Lived in Baden Württemberg Germany, when I returned I realized how awful our bakeries are. Also I realized how much grass we mow around public roads. In Germany they just let it grow out.

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Petra Peitsch

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Bread is life! At least in german bakeries. Sure, you can find also here those paper-thin toast-slices in the grocery stores, but at least they are not sweet. As for the grass, is mowed here too, but not every week.

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Going into an American grocery store after years abroad is overwhelming but also glorious.

Profopol , EugenePetrunin / freepik Report

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Serial pacifist

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Yes, going back to being a cereal consumerist (pun intended).

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The lack of public gathering spaces. I tried sitting on a bench for more than 5 minutes in a park and a police officer came to “check up” on me

Edit; to me he acted hostile while asking for some “more information “.

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Westy

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Pretty sure cops in the US don't have the authority to demand information from someone just sitting on a public park bench, so this experience was probably more about a bad cop than a reflection of the US.

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Prescription d**g commercials and strip malls, two things I never missed.

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Sue

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I read it as "dog" instead of "d**g" at first.

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How poorly Americans dress. Massively oversized (or sometimes undersized) shirts / pants, graphic tees / sports jerseys, sweatpants and hoodies everywhere. Coming back home from Scandinavia was eye opening. I now buy clothes that actually fit and make an effort to not look like I rolled out of bed.

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E.V.

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But oversized clothes are so comfy! Lol

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I grew up in the US but have spent my whole adult life in the UK and Austria. There are so many unique or nearly unique things about the US.

Everything in the US is huge. I'm in the US this week and just visited a friend in Chicago -- she was apologising for a cramped flat, but it was palatial by middle-class western Euro standards. Only thing we've got on Americans in that department is super high ceilings. It applies to food too, of course. I just saw a pack of Reese's cups at Target that was more than a meter high. Diabolical.

Lots of stuff is super sweet when it shouldn't be. Coffee, bread (!), sauces. It's kind of icky once you start noticing it.

Especially in Austria shops and offices have very limited hours by comparison. I forget this sometimes and find myself planning around not being able to get anything on Sundays or after about 19.00.

Tip culture as it is in the States wouldn't be tolerated in Austria (the UK is *slightly* closer to the American model but not much). They're quite forward in asking for it (it should of course be given, but it ought to be presented like a choice, IMO).

"No guns" signs on business doors. That's a stark reminder when you've been away.

This probably runs counter to the common narrative, but I find lots of Americans are quite rude, in that they're not really aware of other people around them. Flying in this week I was shocked by the fact that people just splay their stuff out on an escalator and block the path. You're supposed to stand on the right side and leave the left lane open for people in a hurry. There's also stuff like playing music out loud on buses and trains (this happens everywhere but seems more common in the US).

The amount of space given over to cars. There are so many parking garages, it's a ridiculous waste of space and they're invariably ugly as sin. We have them in Europe but not as many and at least in the big cities they're generally subterranean.

MrMeatScience , Yaroslav Danylchenko / freepik Report

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SirWriteALot

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Nobody asks to be tipped in Austria. When you pay cash they like to rummage around their gigantic purses to give you a few moments to "remember" to tip but that's it.

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America feels like a bubble on another planet, American culture just feels so separated from every other group of people on the planet and the American zeitgeist is very isolationist.

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Michael Largey

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From 1600 to 1900, America was pretty isolated from the world, by geography and by choice. That has to affect the national outlook.

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It took me a second to remember that 1st floor is ground/lobby floor here every time I got in an elevator for a few weeks.

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Kylie

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Yep. Most places the first floor is the one above the ground floor.

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Visiting a grocery shop and feeling overpowered by the sheer number of possibilities available for each and every item. How many varieties of ketchup do we actually need, really?

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J K

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"Ketchup ... Catsup. Ketchup ... Catsup. Cats... K... K... uh, I'm in way over my head!" - Mr. Burns

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Two things were hard to get reacquainted with. One was that I had to start driving every day again. The other was that Americans really are a special level of fat. "Normal" fat Americans looked like spectacles to me for a few weeks even though I had lived here for most of my life.

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UKGrandad

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A friend of mine who is very overweight (by UK standards) holidayed in Florida a few years ago. He said that it was an entirely new experience to often be the slimmest person in sight.

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Moved from Singapore then back to the US.

Three biggest shocks

1) Unlike Singapore, I can't expect everyone to know English in California
2) An American striking a random conversation is normal
3) Mexican food is the most American food around.

SomeGuyInSanJoseCa , wirestock / freepik Report

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Surly Scot

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1 week ago

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lol at the 1st point, so true

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Coming back from Italy, the biggest shock was definitely the portion sizes and just how much more friendly people are in casual interactions. Also, driving everywhere felt so strange after being used to walking or taking public transport. It took a while to adjust back!

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Refills for drinks being free.

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Broadredpanda

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Huge portions of food and free refills are why Americans are one of the most obese nations in the world. Cut both of those and you can at least pay a decent living wage instead of servers that feel entitled to at least a 18% tip and those who don't have on many occasions had their server being rude to them. The entitlement if off the chart crazy! Who do those people think they are? Get another job instead of relying on money that your boss won't pay you, but you get angry at us? Misdirected anger btw

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Tipping culture; I spent several months in Latin America once and in many countries, the tip is not only included in the bill, but tips are shared among servers. That meant that if I needed to order something or pay my bill, I didn’t need to wait for “my” server; any server in the restaurant could help me.

(Tax is also included in prices too, so what you see is what you pay.).

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Matthew Zornig

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1 week ago

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Tips are usually shared amongst the servers and kitchen staff here

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Flying from Shanghai back to Dallas was the biggest culture shock for me. Shanghai makes Dallas looks like a ghost town. And the maglev train that runs over the city gives you a sense of scale like no other (imagine being in a jet flying over a city that just seems to never end).

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Westy

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1 week ago

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Shanghai is the third largest city in the world. Of course Dallas looks like a ghost town by comparison.

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