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Do you prefer pancakes or crepes? Say “football” or “soccer”? Drive to work or pedal your way on a bicycle? These simple choices often spark entire debates about the differences between life in Europe and the U.S

People never seem to tire of comparing the two, especially on X (formerly Twitter), where the internet’s wittiest minds share hilarious observations about each other’s cultures. We’ve combed through their posts and rounded up some of their most amusing takes for you below. Scroll down to check them out and remember to upvote your favorites!

#1

Europe-Us-Differences-Tweets

Miss_Fedelm Report

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james stevenson
Community Member
3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"God bless america!"? by now it should be "God help america"

justagirl
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honestly i think the "god bless america" was a cry for help—they want god to help them by giving them a blessing.

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LokisLilButterknife
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why I shake my head when people say America is the best country in the world.

jevais
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Here in Europe we still don't understand how come the orange creep can still run for the Presidential, it's most baffling for us to get our heads around your very strange politics and choices.

jevais
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well the USA big fast-food entrepreneurs want money not an equal system for theirs workers, they couldn't care less. How to make a country great again when it never was? Mass murders, racism, American Indians still living on reserves, older people obligated to work until their death since they have so little retirements pensions, children having one meal a day, health insurance that cost a kidney and a heart and this goes on forever. God bless the ones who are at the bottom of the ladder.

Khavrinen
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"We haven't kicked you in the nuts today! (Yet.) That counts as a 'benefit', right?"

Lee En
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Our McDonald's employees start at $20 and hour, have insurance, and get paid vacation.

Jan Olsen
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Denmark McD does not pay for life insurance or family leave. Pension is government issued. (I'm Danish)

dollh h
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bored Panda needs to rethink their definition of hilarious.

Queenie G
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Partly true. In my state, in America, the McDonald's employees get between $20 and $25 an hour.

David Smith
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No. It should be God help Americans - unless you are a senator!

jevais
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or orange creep so called billionaire who thinks that all women fall at his feet because he's so rich and handsome. Yes he grabs women by their kitty, he's so refined and such a gentleman He's "friend's" with Putin, the North Korean dictator and heaven knows who else.

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Dodongo Dislikes
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How can this be?! Biden just said a month ago we were the greatest country and the envy of the world!

Manana Man
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Had to look into this a bit. The story is usually not as simple as this makes it sound. There's a reddit thread on this discussion. One thing that came out was that locations in Denmark have twice the sales volume of US locations. Why I'm not sure. But an analogy might be US rural vs. New York. Costs are a lot higher in New York but if you can do more volume it can still be worth doing. Maybe it's a population density effect? That's all I've got.

Hondo
Community Member
3 months ago

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Silly comparison. Without the exchange rate and cost of living and actual pay rates in America ($9 is BS) this is completely false and downright moronic.

David
Community Member
3 months ago (edited)

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Uh-huh. That's nice, but OP did some cherry picking. 1. Big Mac a bit cheaper in Denmark = True. However, cost of living in general in Denmark is considered to be high. 2. Required vacation in Denmark is 5 weeks per year (2.08 days/month) not 6. But it's possible McDonalds gives more than the minimum required. 3. I live in rural WA (USA). Minimum wage here is $17.28 /hr so our Burger Kings are paying at least that. Minimum wage varies by state, but Denmark does not have a minimum wage. 4. Average income tax rate in Denmark is 36%. A full time employee making that $17.28 / hr in my state would be paying 12% income tax before other deductions. I'm not saying Denmark isn't a great place. I've never been there. But be honest with your comparisons.

Jawbreaker
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The last week of vacation is normal in Denmark. You automatically get the 5 weeks, and most often also get 5 days we call "the extra week", but we can use the days in hours instead of entire days (if we wish) and that's Why we consider it being 6 weeks.

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Tim Abbott
Community Member
3 months ago (edited)

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Once you take out the ridiculous taxes that employee now makes less than $9

Mariotevez
Community Member
3 months ago

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America pays for the safety of all of EUROPE, and has so for a very long time, Europeans should thank Americans instead of bashing them

papafonde
Community Member
3 months ago

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thats cute and all but what are the draw backs ? this did a good job detailing the pros but don't tell there aren't cons....

Biytemii
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The cons are u pay a little more taxes and things are a bit more expensive...but it's worth it to have a better quality of life that they have there. They have some of the happiest residents and in top tiers when it comes to quality of life for everyone. So yea f**k the cons lol America needs to learn from these countries...

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It’s well known that Americans and Europeans often argue about whose way of living is better. But to truly understand the differences, it’s helpful to hear from someone who has lived in both places.

Elizabeth Yuko, a journalist and professor of ethics at Fordham University, spent nearly a decade in Ireland before returning to the U.S. Reflecting on her experience, she says, “I knew that moving back to the United States after eight years in Europe would mean some sort of reverse culture shock. While I anticipated the big changes—like less paid time off and different attitudes toward food—it was the little things that really stuck out.”

#2

Europe-Us-Differences-Tweets

ChiChiGreenblat Report

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Spidercat
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a spoon on my kitchen wall that is dated before the declaration of independence...

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#3

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VeryBadLlama Report

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Agree to Disagree
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Poor, amateurish Canadians, try English measurements; I'm 6'2", weigh 19 stone, i take my milk and beer in pints and any other liquid in litres, my burgers are in lbs and my chicken in kg, I'll slow down from 70mph for the last 300m of the motorway before a junction. Oh, and if I had a horse it would weigh in imperial tons whilst trotting its chains and furlongs. If needed though you can still find things in hogsheads and hundredweight by the bakers dozen!

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One of the things Yuko had to readjust to was the culture and habits surrounding grocery shopping. In Dublin, she typically shopped at modest-sized local stores near her house. “I had the option of getting my fruits and vegetables from the green grocer, my meat from a butcher, and my bread from a bakery. For everything else, I’d stock up at small grocery stores,” she explains. Large supermarkets were available but less accessible without a car, so she seldom visited them.

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“When I moved back to the United States, I was overwhelmed by the sheer variety of foods in supermarkets—especially cereals, for some reason. The whole shopping process took longer because I had so many more choices.”

Yuko was also struck by the constant presence of prescription-drug commercials when she returned to the U.S. There, it’s typical to see ads for everything from antidepressants to asthma medication. However, after so many years living in Ireland, she realized just how unusual they are.

“The European Union has strict guidelines on TV ads for prescription drugs, so they’re not part of the advertising landscape,” she says. “And when you think about it, rewriting the lyrics to pop songs to try and sell diabetes medication to potential customer-patients is a pretty odd premise.”

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One more surprising difference Yuko encountered was the style of local news in the U.S. “Dramatic music, flashy graphics, and glamorous newscasters—these are all parts of local news programs that I took for granted,” she says. In Ireland, with a population of 4.8 million, national and local news are combined into one “straightforward, no-nonsense” broadcast.

“Adding to the somber nature of the news was a one-minute segment immediately preceding one channel’s six o’clock news that used to feature the Catholic prayer ‘The Angelus,’ but has been toned down to tolling bells and different scenes of everyday life.”

“Though I didn’t expect a minute of quiet reflection before the American local news, it did take a while to get used to the high-energy, sensational local-news broadcasts in the United States again,” Yuko notes.

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#12

Europe-Us-Differences-Tweets

whoiskatrin Report

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KatSaidWhat
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My job in medical office: Patient - I sent you an email this weekend. It's 9am on Monday, Felicia, and I don't do out of hours or weekends, thanks.

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You may be amazed to learn that refrigerators in Europe and America aren’t the same size either. “The first house I rented in Ireland had three bedrooms, two bathrooms… and one tiny refrigerator,” Yuko recalls. She soon discovered this was standard in most homes, except for some larger families.

Yuko eventually came to love the smaller fridge because it reduced waste and encouraged more frequent shopping for fresh foods. “When I first moved back to the States, I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I had my very own giant ‘American’ refrigerator all to myself in a small studio apartment.”

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#14

Europe-Us-Differences-Tweets

Paulie_TE Report

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Alro
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

don't vs these 2. One is great and the other one makes better sandwiches. different uses

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#15

Europe-Us-Differences-Tweets

mamichampu__ Report

Yuko was also fascinated by how elections are handled in the U.S. and Ireland. Before moving to Europe, she had volunteered on several political campaigns and wanted to continue this work abroad, so she decided to intern with the Irish Labour Party.

“There are no paid political television commercials,” says Yuko. “Each party is permitted a short broadcast before a general election, but it’s typically focused on the party itself rather than specific candidates, apart from the party leader.”

“When I came back to the United States, the election season here seemed so long, and all the TV commercials served as a reminder of the importance of money in American politics.”

#17

Europe-Us-Differences-Tweets

maxbergmann Report

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Michael P (Perthaussieguy)
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whenever I get a fast food meal here (not very often) I always request the drink 'No ice, please', you get twice the drink.

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#18

Europe-Us-Differences-Tweets

B0WEEEE Report

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pep Ito
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The border shown is that of the Schengen territory, nothing to do with the borders of the Schengen territory with the outside.

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Yuko sometimes misses the ease of travel she enjoyed in Europe. “I could pop over to France or Finland for a short trip without totally breaking the bank,” she shares. Thanks to budget airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet, traveling to other countries was very affordable, and having friends across the continent meant she often had a place to stay.

In contrast, air travel in the U.S. isn’t as straightforward. “While there are flight deals to be had in America, the budget options are limited, making air travel less accessible,” Yuko says. “With the exception of Canada, Mexico, and parts of Central America, most of my quick trips now are within the United States. Though staying in the same country is a change, it has been interesting getting to explore new states and regions.”

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Yuko’s experiences reveal some of the many ways life varies between Europe and the U.S. However, instead of focusing on which is better, let’s appreciate the unique qualities each place has to offer. After all, it’s these differences that make our world such an interesting place.

#27

Europe-Us-Differences-Tweets

gingerbreadchan Report

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pep Ito
Community Member
3 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The European one, the original, has real orange juice (although not in high percentage), while the North American one has 100% natural flavors, whatever it is.

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#28

Europe-Us-Differences-Tweets

mayodeaboderin Report

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Bernd Herbert
Community Member
3 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a typical thing where it's necessary to look at the details and often enough the higher pay in the US may become relatively the same or less than in Europe. I know I'd have a higher pay in the US than here in Germany, at first glance, but my pay already covered taxes and insurances (health, care and unemployment). Adding to a general higher quality of life the higher sum in the US doesn't seem that desirable anymore

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#30

Europe-Us-Differences-Tweets

RaymondGulbr Report

Note: this post originally had 40 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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