I have been touring the United States for several weeks now, visiting multiple states. I am from Europe. The Netherlands specifically.

This is not my first time in the US but it is my most extensive. It strikes me how vastly different the USA is compared to my country or Europe in general.

I'd just like to give my thoughts here from a European perspective. Which things I think are better here and which are worse. I am also keeping this limited to a tourist perspective, so I'm going to stay away from things that are only relevant when I would actually live here, like healthcare, taxes and politics.

I am aware that the vast majority of Reddit users are American. I do not intend to offend in any way. Just putting my personal opinions here.

Thinks I like

Nature. Raw, wild and untouched and - most of all - VAST. The sheer vastness AND variety of nature and pure wilderness here is definitely unmatched in Europe. Specifically the little nature we have in The Netherlands is laughable compared to the USA.

People are generally approachable and friendly. Yes I do like Americans, at least their overall demeanor. I would be greeted and asked where I'm from even by someone at the 7 eleven. In general Dutch people are quire rude.

Free refills! This is a small thing but really unheard of in the Netherlands. In my country you pay the same price for just one tiny cup of coffee. In fact, all drinks you order are tiny in The Netherlands and you pay for each one.

Traffic lights across the street. I can't for the life of my understand why we still have to lean over the steering wheel and get a sore neck looking straight upwards at the traffic lights in Europe.

The doggy bag. You MIGHT be able to get to take your leftover with you in certain places in The Netherlands, but it really not the norm and would surely raise an eyebrow if you ask. Here it is normal and I find it very good to not let the food go to waste. Besides, I did pay for it so its nice to be able to take it with me.

Things I don't like

Tipping! Why the heck do I need to be partly responsible for a proper salary for these people? Also it is just annoying to have to calculate the tip every time. It is also annoying that listed prices are almost exclusively without tax. In my country - and across most of Europe as far as I'm aware - you pay exactly what is listed as the price. No hidden surprises.

The food, especially breakfast. Almost everything contains sugar. Breakfast is never with fresh bread and fresh good meats and cheese. In fact American cheese is awful, but maybe I'm spoiled living in cheese country. For dinner the food isn't quite as bad, but its still nowhere near the quality and variety that you find in Europe.

Plastic! Too much plastic is a problem in Europe also, but the amount of plastic (and styrofoam or other disposable crap) used here is bizarre. I also find it really bizarre that in every hotel breakfast its all disposable cutlery and plates also. You really NEVER see this in Europe, not even in the cheapest hotels.

Imperial measurements. Gallons, miles, feet and especially Fahrenheit is so bizarre. Also because the conversion factor to metric is odd. Almost all the world, as well as the scientific world, uses metric which makes so much more sense in every way. Why does the US hold on to such an archaic system?

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Bernd Herbert

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1 year ago

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Plastic waste. 100%! Can relate to that. I think the only way to really reduce that shít is to make it way more expensive than having proper plates and a dishwasher. The ridiculous amounts of plastic waste I saw during breakfast in various hotels was mind-boggling.

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Bobby

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1 year ago (edited)

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American cheese does suck, but there are some fantastic cheeses from American dairy farms very worth trying. We do have a few that have won international awards. Edit: my spelling was horrible

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Amy Taylor

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1 year ago

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I really hate that generalization of “American Cheese” when they aren’t referring to Kraft singles. We have some incredible local made cheese here!

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Huddo's sister

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1 year ago

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I get that American cheese is not just (what we call in Australia) plastic cheese, but why does it have the orange colouring added? I would love to come and try different American cheeses but doubt I will be able to afford a trip there...

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scotty

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1 year ago

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“American Cheese” is a cheese product made to melt nicely. It isn’t cheese is it?

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Brocken Blue

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1 year ago

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There are multiple types of “American cheese” of varying quality. The American cheese I buy from my local deli is freshly sliced, delicious, and taste kind of like Cottswald cheese without the herbs in it. I dislike sharp cheeses, so deli-sliced American cheese is far preferable to me over something like cheddar. Pre-sliced pre-wrapped “singles” are also American cheese, and are kinda shîtty for anything other than melting on a burger or grilled cheese. Those singles are what most people are griping about when they are griping about a American cheese. Velveeta is another “dairy product” that also gets lumped in with American cheese, which is made to melt smoothly and easily and is used as a base for dips or sauces. Only a crazy person would eat Velveeta raw.

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Sherry Marie Golden

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Amish deli cheese is da bomb!

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LokisLilButterknife

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As an expat living in the US, I still don’t understand the tipping system. Why can’t restaurants and cafes just pay their workers a living wage. I hate when I feel pressured to now leave a tip if I buy a coffee; there’s a whole damn screen that pops up asking for a tip when you I pay with my card. I feel like a bad person if I don't tip the teens who give me my coffee, but it gets sooo damn expensive in the US . The UK and Europe wouldn’t put up with this.

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Brocken Blue

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I do hate the expansion of tips to counter service where all they do is put my bagel in a bag. 🤦 like… I don’t want to have to do this much moral calculus in the morning! Pay your workers a living wage and let me pay for my unsliced, plain bagel in peace please

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scotty

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Tipping culture in America seems to be getting out of control. As a former server it can be complicated as you can make really good money in tips in a good restaurant or bar. Most places that have a tip jar or tip by screen are, as far I know already paying the staff above the minimum for wait staff.

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Sandra Givens

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We actually got the tipping thing from Europe back in the 1800s, so don't blame us. It was seen as a status symbol thing by the rich, and a benefit for businesses in the south who employed freed black people for service tasks but did not have to pay them as they were supposed to get tips. That practice lasted decades, with Pullman porters on trains and Red Caps in airports being given a small wage and expected to earn most of their income from tips. Some states even tried to ban tipping at one point. However, when minimum wage laws were written, waitstaff were left out. The wage for tipped workers is as low as $2.13 in some states, perfectly legal as it is assumed they will make up the rest with tips. We seem to be stuck with it. Thanks, Europe, for dumping on us over a custom YOU gave us.

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Con O Cuinn

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1 year ago

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Reminds of me of Billy Connolly talking about people complaining about Americans. Would you rather they say "have a nice day" and not mean it, or tell you to go f**k yourself and mean it?

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Vix Spiderthrust

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1 year ago (edited)

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David Mitchell, on the other hand, says that surly customer service is a sign of honesty. The job sucks, why should you pretend to be happy about it? "A smile on a retail worker is the sign of a liar or a moron."

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Sherry Marie Golden

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I'm not interested in dealing with rude, obnoxious service staff. It's like,"Look, I know it sucks to have to work on Sunday, but I'm not the one who scheduled you, so don't try to take your surly mood out on me. K?"

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staceybeaverhausen

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1 year ago

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LOL LOOVE Billy Connolly

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Scorched Goat Policy

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I don't understand why people have such a hard time finding good, real food in the US. Are they only eating at places like McDonalds? I can't remember the last time I ate somewhere where they *didn't* have "fresh bread and fresh good meats and cheese". I'm in Portland, OR, and one of the best things about living here is the sheer variety of great food. Cuisines from all over the world. I can have fresh sushi, authentic Jollof rice, hearty bolognese with radiatore, prime cuts of steak, and thousands of other foods all within a couple miles of my house. If you can't find decent food in the US, that's on you.

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dollh h

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Same here. I'm in New Mexico, the local cuisine is fantastic. Spicy though.

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Sherry Marie Golden

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We don't have trouble.

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Sandra Givens

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American cheese is wonderful, actually, if you bother to try some of the hundreds of cheeses that aren't plastic-wrapped slices of cheese food. We have plenty of variety and high quality in food too (we're a BIG country, so even eating a dozen meals isn't a good sample).

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Donkey boi

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I'll give you the nature, although Europe has some just as impressive national parks. The people, in general, yes. But city folk are the same in any country. The traffic lights? You're stopping too far forward! The doggy bag, I'm sure if you ask, any restaurant will do it. Most deliver these days so will have containers. i generally agree with the dislikes mostly, but I'm not too bothered by imperial as I grew up using a mix (I use miles & feet, but litres & Celsius)

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Becky Samuel

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You're wring about the traffic lights. They are positioned way too high up and close to the car to see comfortably for many makes of car. You have to pull up almost all the way to the line because otherwise you're blocking the other traffic.

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jon gilbertson

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Americans servers need tips. the minimum wage in most places is 7.50 per hour for kitchen, but 3.00 for servers. its getting better, but not fast enough. as far as measurements, i was in junior high (about 12 yrs old) and they kept telling us to learn metric because the US was about to switch over. that was 40 years ago.

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Gypsy Lee

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I agree with everything except the measurement system. Just think of it as a cultural thing instead of “wrong”. Both work. But I have no idea why it is the way it is.. don’t really care if I’m honest. Unless someone lives here I’m not sure why they would care. - And a note on the cheese. Find a specialty cheese maker. They exist. It’s stupid expensive & not easily found in supermarket, but it’s getting better. But for the love of god, don’t eat “American cheese”. I’ve no idea what chemicals they use to make that garbage (probably the same as plastic) & it’s embarrassing they call it “American cheese”. I would rather lick a rotting skunk in the heat of summer on the highway than consume that sacrilege, but then, I’m a chef who studied under amazing chefs from around the world. And I travel internationally. I know what food, & cheese, is supposed to taste like, & it IS NOT tHaT abomination 😆 I would surrender my toque in shame before I intentionally consumed American “cheese”.

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Dogcat vet (retired)

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When I figure out a drug dosage I have to convert lbs to kg then multiply it by the standard dosage, because US vets are taught the dosages in metric. A bit of a pain.

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Kathryn Donovan

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Health Care Providers in the USA use the metric system as well as 24hr clock time. That way there are no mistakes what time a TX was done or a medication given. Calculating drug doses are much easier using metrics because it is based on unit 10. This is especially critical in neonates and infants. The drugs are typically ordered as mg/kg and such.

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Huddo's sister

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All of the good things also apply for Australia too, plus we have no required tipping and a mix of sweet and savoury options for breakfast and metric measurements! Still far too much plastic though, and for some reason foreigners are scared of our wildlife? :) (Actually the main one I would be worried about is the cassowaries, but you will most likely only see them in wildlife parks and zoos (my sister was bitten by one))

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Nikki Sevven

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If you didn't find a variety of quality food, you must not have looked very hard. I live in a small city. Within 5km of my house, I can get quality Chinese, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, Italian, and pub food. Within 15km, quality North African, Portuguese, Jamaican, Indian, French, and German food.

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Fandemonium

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1 year ago (edited)

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Nice to see some nice things and not just US bashing. For the food, it depends on where you. Don’t go to chains, go to independent cafes. We have ALL the cheeses. The US makes some of the best cheese in the world. Yes, “American” is sort of gross, but it’s really only meant for grilled cheese or on a cheeseburger

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Jessica SpeLangm

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This is a very well written point-of-view of America. Thank you. I agree with all of it, being an American citizen living in the USA.

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Leo Domitrix

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1 year ago

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Totally releate to the plastic. It bugs me. On the other hand, the plastic cutlery in hotels made a huge comeback due to Covid.

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Huddo's sister

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I also don't like that a lot of the bamboo cutlery that was switched to for the environment, actually has plastic mixed in with it, making it unsuitable for recycling or composting.

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Laura Tasciato

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1 year ago

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We're still wondering about the imperial system ourselves.

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scotty

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Not wondering here. The imperial system may be different but it isn’t any more arbitrary than any other. It may seem less rational that the metric system but that is because we are becoming more accustomed to a base ten number system. I doubt anyone would want to start using a 10 day week or a 10 hour day which might be more rational.

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RKBJR82

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Fahrenheit is so easy. Zero = Cold / 100 = Hot. No guessing here.

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Simon

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no nature in Europe? you should take a trip to scandinavia

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Simon

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No nature in Europe? You should take a trip to scandinavia..

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Jenn Smith

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Love this perspective! I'm glad you helped us still saee sa few good things! Awesome share!

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Briana Kessler

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Ok. Someone tell me which the good meat and cheese are. I already make my own bread.

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Stephanie Barr

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1 year ago

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As a scientist in the US, I'm entirely with you on Imperial measurements.

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dark wish

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1 year ago

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Metric? because the USA is STUBBORN

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Jackson

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Part of refusing to switch is stubbornness, but part is cost. Everything in the USA is built on the imperial system. A4 paper will not fit in an American letter sized file cabinet. Rooms have 4 foot by 8 foot drywall panels screwed to studs that are 16 inches or 2 feet apart. Canada started metric conversion in 1972. Conversion stopped in 1984, so some things in Canada are metric and others are imperial. There were interesting situations during the conversion. For example, Air Canada flight 143, which was scheduled to fly from Montreal to Edmonton, ran out of fuel on July 23, 1983 at an altitude of 41,000 feet (12,500 m). The crew successfully glided the Boeing 767 to an emergency landing at a former Royal Canadian Air Force base in Gimli, Manitoba, which had been converted to a racetrack. The main cause was an error in metric conversion to determine the amount of fuel.

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Amy Taylor

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1 year ago

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I’m 54 and there was a brief moment in my childhood where they were teaching us the metric system sine we would soon switch over 😆 this was in 1978.

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talliloo

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as an american i have to agree with the dislikes. decades ago, we did attempt to go to the metric system but it was a failure.

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Miranda Veracruz de la Joya Cardenal

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1 year ago

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As a minority, i hate when people in the USA ask me where I'm from. I say "America", and I'm referring to the continent.

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madbakes

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This confuses me. I've traveled quite a bit through the Caribbean and tourist area of Mexico. I'm asked if I'm from America, meaning the country. Besides Australians, who says the continent and not the country they're from. You're causing your own frustrations.

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mrsmir

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@miranda, I love accents and hearing about the different places people are from. I’m sorry you don’t like it when people ask you that but forgive those of us who just like hearing your voice and are curious.

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Arthur Waite

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I hear that. I'm in Canada (and happy to be), and I can still say I'm an American! North American, of course. That applies all the way to Tierra del Fuego!

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David Smith

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No free health care, maternity leave, ridiculously low minimum wage. Do not be poor in the USA.

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Love: The friendliness. I love the random friendliness in the USA. In the US, it's easy to pick up a conversation with mostly anyone. In my experience, Dutch people are kind but much more reserved in public.

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James016

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When I was there last year, people were genuinely very friendly. No ulterior motive.

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European (Belgian) here who just came back from a one month road trip in the US.
I'm so jealous of the magnificent nature you have in your country, I saw so many beautiful sights! Please treasure it.
I disagree with the low quality food, I had both really good meals and really poor ones. Best Thai food I ever had was in LA.
Also, so many places sell drip coffee just the way I like it, not some watered down espressos. Loved that!
Another like were the many (mostly) clean and free restrooms, Having to pay for using a dirty restroom in a rest area along the highway in Europe sucks. That being said, some restrooms in the US really didn't care about my privacy with one inch gaps everywhere.
Driving was so convenient, being a pedestrian not so much. I biked through SF but couldn't say I felt very safe.

Dislikes were the tipping culture and prices listed pre-tax. I mean, I ordered food or drinks to go a couple of times where I often had to tip in advance only for something to go wrong with my order. Not getting my tip back am I?

Overall I had a great time, met a lot of friendly people and saw amazing nature and wildlife. I can't wait to go back!

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talliloo

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one consistent issue i have found when foreigners are given the opportunity to express their displeasure is the infamous "one inch gap" found in most public restrooms. i guess since we are used to the gap we don't really pay attention to it unless we would see an eyeball peering at us. i will admit the closed commodes are a bit more private and may damper the "organic echo". what i find ironic is that while we americans are comfortable with such a gap we still have puritanical minds when it comes to the exposure of a simple nipple.

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If you’re willing to look for it—the U.S has no shortage of great food. Combined with cultural diversity, you’re given a lot of different options as well. Maybe you just chose some mediocre restaurants.

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Donkeywheel

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Just like everywhere in every country in the whole world. But that’s not the point. It’s all about availability and convenience. Having to search for hours to find a good restaurant amongst dozens of fast food chains is completely different from entering any small independent place in the countryside of Italy or Portugal and eating something incredible every single time.

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I went to LA recently and found the car centric culture suuuuper inconvenient for a tourist. Every time you want to see a thing, you need to research it beforehand and then drive there. Want to see another thing? More research, then drive. In just about any other city I've ever been I would just head to the city center and explore on foot and pop in to whatever place looked interesting.

Admittedly it was a short trip and maybe I did it wrong, but the closest thing to being able to just wander around was in downtown, and even there you occasionally have to walk over a nice 8 lane highway, which is a long way to walk (and be wary of certain neighborhoods and whatever).

That and since a car had to be involved at every step, you couldn't really stop for a few beers or whatever. I guess locals either plan their days better or drive drunk.

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alwaysMispelled

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That's pretty much the US in general. The country is much bigger than people realize and so are cities. You really need car to get around here. I wouldn't even call NYC "walkable" because it's f*****g exhausting. The subway takes forever, can be confusing, and is packed with people and gross. Parking is impossible so taxi/Uber is the best. But that's still a car and not walking. European cities HAVE to be walkable because they're so old. Many roads and buildings were there hundreds of years before cars. It's not like they PLANNED to exclude car traffic.

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Love: The sandwiches. In America, there are so many glorious sandwiches, like the Reuben, piled high with delicious corned beef on nice artisan bread; Philly cheesesteaks; thin-sliced rib-eye, dripping with salty, gooey provolone; and even the po'boy, a stunning creation.

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jon gilbertson

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Reubens are amazing. best sandwich ever, next to peanut and jelly of course

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Hate: Degree of LGBTQ tolerance. Speaking as a gay person, Europe has more options. I feel safe in most places in both Europe and the US, especially with friends around, but I feel that European cities have more diverse, liberated venues for the LGBTQ community.

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Jennik

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There will be some states in the US you won't want to go near if you are LGBTQ given the legislation they are introducing...

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Love: The landscapes. I've been to America many times, and I have to say the diversity in landscapes is incredible. You have deserts a few hours from ski resorts, and huge, modern cities next to thousands of square miles of Great Plains.

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LokisLilButterknife

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When I moved to the US for work from Scotland I was broken-hearted that I wouldn’t have nature around me. However, I have been blown away by the beauty of some of the United States’ natural wonders. I cried happy tears while gazing at glacial lakes in Alaska and marveled at the beauty of leaves changing on the East Coast. Scotland and England will always have my heart, but I do look forward to exploring more national parks in the US.

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If you would like to learn why and how tipping culture came to the US and how it has evolved over time, I highly recommend [this throughline podcast](https://www.npr.org/2022/03/29/1089587173/the-land-of-the-fee-2021)

I just got back from France yesterday and it was the first time I’ve been to Europe since pre Covid. Before Covid a lot of places didn’t even do food “to-go”. That seems to have changed.

I do love having fresh baked bread and cheese for breakfast. Yogurt is also much better in Europe, I don’t know how the us sucks so hard at yogurt. It really is terrible here. I also can’t drink American orange juice anymore since having OJ in Europe.

I just got back from France where we rented a car and drove in Paris. I could not believe how hard it was to see the stop lights, but thought they were in that position to help drivers see pedestrians- that is a really big problem in the Us, not sure how big of an issue it is in the EU.

Something else that I often notice- accessibility in Europe really, really sucks. I know that retrofitting old buildings is really tricky and there’s limited space, but every time I go I feel so bad for people who require mobility devices.

mess-maker , Amanda Coutinho Report

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Tracy Wallick

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The Americans With Disabilities Act is, as I understand it, pretty vigorously enforced; IIRC it's also the reason we have so many free public bathrooms.

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I’ll add as a New Zealander living here..

Like: sports culture, have-a-go culture, general enjoyment of life, being encouraging of people that are willing to try something or hustle, low barrier to entry for someone starting a business, online shopping, gas stoves, diversity across the different parts of the country, super friendly, most people are big on values, pride in keeping towns tidy.

Dislike: tipping (I know you have it already but seriously what gives), treatment of indigenous history, lack of consumer protection, level of poverty, strange policy making that reinforces lack of trust in government, occasional respect for road rules, hard to access to good quality produce at a reasonable price, no ring-pulls on tinned food.

Just pet peeves. Overall I freaking love being in US!! This country rules and will continue to rule!

Edit: I forgot to add innovation. It feels like this country could invent anything.

dominashe , Roo Pitt Report

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HogHedge

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But you still love the All Blacks, right?

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Having lived in both for two years, here's my take on both. In Europe I lived in Germany, but travelled around the neighboring countries a bit and now I live in VA. I'm also speaking as a student with limited income lol. I'm mostly writing about what I like, as it what I dislike contrasts pretty well with the other (i.e what I love about Europe I grow to appreciate even more in relation to my time in the US, and vice versa).

Europe
Love
-Public transport, bikes and walking. I don't have a car, but that was never a problem in Europe. I could get anywhere I wanted to pretty feasibly and in good time.

-Healthier food options. I felt so energized my whole time living there, and when I come back, because I feel like I'm eating simpler and healthier most days. I'm Southeast Asian, so it did take a while before I got used to simple foods (like cold cuts, cheese and bread for meals), but I do miss eating that minimally every now and then.

-Prices. Now, it might just be where I live in both, but I found Europe a lot more affordable than the US. Granted, I only had to worry about buying food and going out, but still, I find myself a lot more conscious about my spending when I was in the US.

-Safety. I felt a lot safer in Europe than the US. As a student in both, gun violence is one difference, yeah, but even then in cities in Europe I felt that there were always all sorts of people (especially women and the elderly) around even in the early morning by themselves, which made me feel that if locals thought it was safe, then I felt safer. Whereas in the US, in large cities, I often have locals warn me about certain areas, especially at night. Fortunately I've never had incidents in either country, but still.

-LGBT life. Speaking as a gay person, Europe has more options. I feel safe in most places in both, especially with friends around, but I feel that European cities had more diverse and um... Liberated venues, so to speak. Which I'm a fan of.

US:
-Friendly and open people. I actually think the Europe I saw was very friendly! But people in the US are next level friendly, and as an outgoing person myself, I really do enjoy that about being in the US. I often chat with people at stores, bars, in rideshares and around my college campus too, which I didn't get to experience as much in Europe (though that might also be the language barrier at play).

-More food diversity. I lived in two cities of comparable size in both, and even in other cities that are similarly large, I just think the US' history of migration has led it to evolve such a rich and diverse food culture. There're so many options for dining places. Again, not to say Europe didn't have options, but the US just has a lot more places that are also a lot more mixed at an accessible level. Tipping still sucks though, but I still make sure to tip as well as I could. Just because I disagree with the conditions that led to tipping doesn't give me the right to screw over my server.

-Speaking of diversity, the US definitely feels more diverse as a whole, even outside of large cities. I get along with most people, but there's a quicker level of connection I'm able to get with US PoC for some reason that I didn't feel as much in Europe.

Even though I have more things listed that I like in Europe, I really do enjoy both for their own merits! Didn't expect my comment to be this long though

dorothy_the_dodo , Edgar Colomba Report

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Leo Domitrix

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This tallies prewtty well with me as a resident of the US and a tourist in the EU. (And UK.) That said, you can get some horrendously bad-for-you food and it's all a matter of choices. I'm a vegetarian in a nation obsessed with no-carb diets (I'm American, remember) and I am so tired of people acting like rice is the devil. It's how much you eat, as well as what you eat.

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Love: Bagels! Give me a New York everything bagel with egg and cheese and a cup of coffee, and I’m a happy camper.

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Lauren S

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New York (and northern Jersey) bagels are wonderful!! You can’t get them across the country though.

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Love: The cereal selection. You can get breakfast cereal with marshmallows in it. MARSHMALLOWS. I find that fascinating, exotic, and maybe just a bit horrifying.

miss-robot , Tom Ray Report

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Annik Perrot

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Sugary, too...

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Love: American diners and their huge portions of pancakes, bacon, and eggs galore.

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James016

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I went to iHop for the first time last year. I had a their pancake stack. It was divine.

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Hate: Lack of biking/walking lanes. I love the bike culture that is common in many European countries, like the Netherlands, and most European cities are extremely walkable compared with the US. I wish the States had more bikeable and walkable places.

avamomrr , Alessio Bragadini Report

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Spocks's Mom

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What the heck? The US has plenty of walkable spaces. You just have to drive a few miles to get there.

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I like the diversity in the US the most. I'm Asian American (visibly East Asian) and the casual and overt day to day racism in a lot of Europe exhausts me after awhile. Not that the US is perfect but the racism in Europe is like death by a million cuts and everywhere and not even discussed, generally very much in denial. I do prefer the general quality of life in Europe and if I was white, would probably prefer living in Europe over the US, in many regards.

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Tiramisu 🇵🇸

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My parents and grandparents have also told me they experienced much more racism in Europe than in America. It always feels ironic to me, given how Europeans love to tout how progressive they are.

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As an American, I love Europe's train and transit systems. I appreciate the dedicated pedestrian zones and bike paths that are protected from traffic. I also like the smaller scale living.. smaller residences means people don't have as much stuff and what they have, they use or it is meaningful. It's amazing what you can do without when you travel for long periods.. I try to bring that mentality home with me, but so many parts of society seem very focused on stuff.

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Annabet

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I just moved to the UK; friends and family cannot believe that I don't own a car. I have a bike and public transportation.

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The food and cheese comments I will respectfully disagree with. If you’re only looking at fast food places and cheaper chain restaurants, yes, you will get cheap American cheese on your burgers. Every major city and surrounding area, mine included, will have a sample of restaurants from any culture you can think of. My city has just about every culinary culture represented. For original American food, Cajun is my favorite but North Carolina style bbq and maryland seafood are close second and third. We have some excellent restaurants. Also the cheese, I love cheese. I can go to certain grocery stores and get any type of cheese I can think of. A lot of restaurants by me will let you choose from a wide variety of cheeses on your burgers or sandwiches.

BigHomieTrapLord69 , Ross Catrow Report

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Beck

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Yeah most grocery stores have an actual international cheese section . It may only be 4 foot by 3 foot but it is there

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I’m an European (Polish) living in the US and I generally agree with this list except for two things.

I disagree that breakfast is always sugary and think the US actually has way more food variety than Europe. I think your perception might be biased by the fact that it sounds you’re mostly going through remote places and staying in cheaper hotels (the comment about plastic cutlery at hotel breakfast — more expensive hotels will not have breakfast included but will have a restaurant on premises which uses metal cutlery).

And I disagree that you won’t find plastic cutlery at a breakfast hotel in Europe. If you stay in Ibis or any other cheap hotel, you’re definitely looking at plastic cutlery. I can speak from experience, getting that in Rotterdam of all places :)

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Huddo's sister

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When I went to Canada, we mainly stayed in air bnbs. We were in a Comfort Inn in Sudbury because when we got off the train at 4am, we decided we didn't want to wait until 12pm to check in for our air bnb. It was a decent price but felt high end, with plush carpet, two double beds and a complimentary breakfast. The next one was in an even smaller town in Nova Scotia (I think) and it was a typical skeezy motel. My sister refused to use the shower (over the bath) and I got sick from the pad thai we had delivered. Last one was a bnb that was recommended when we had to stay an extra night in Charlotte town because bad weather cancelled the bus. It was a pokey but cute one in a two storey building. All vastly different depending on the town, cost, and size, which I imagine is the same in America, since you could find very similar ones in Australia too. Probably in Europe as well.

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Love: Convenience. Everything is so damn convenient. Shops stay open later, basically everywhere delivers, and the consumer generally has much more choice. This applies to everything from banking to retail. In general in the US, it feels like the customer truly is king.

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Hawkmoon

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"Customer is king" may be too much sometimes. I'm looking at you, Karen!

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There is a lot of really good cheese produced in this country. Especially Cheddar-style cheese from Vermont and Wisconsin. There is also some very good goat cheese. The rest of the cheese, you are right, it's mostly pretty terrible.

I think you had a very small sample size on your recent visit. For example, only the really cheap hotels use paper plates and plastic cutlery. If you chose to visit the cheapest hotels, that is biasing your sample.

The rest is just what you are habituated to. A typical American visiting Europe would think it's really bizarre to eat cold sliced meat at breakfast. We expect hot meats and freshly cooked eggs. When I visit Europe it's amazing to have 3 or 4 different types of fresh bread and 3-4 meats and cheeses, but it's not what we're used to.

WoutInterestingName , F Delventhal Report

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jon gilbertson

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as a wisconsinite, we are quite proud of our cheeses. and we pretty much put it on everything lol.

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Love: Career flexibility. It seems to me that people change careers frequently in the US. They can be 50 years old and go back to school, study something new, and get a completely unrelated job. In a lot of other places, people just keep at what they're doing forever, and they're miserable their whole lives.

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Geoffrey Scott

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Our Danish exchange student informed us their kids are on "tracks" at school, steered into jobs that they have aptitude for, whether they like it or not.

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> Traffic lights across the street. I can't for the life of my understand why we still have to lean over the steering wheel and get a sore neck looking straight upwards at the traffic lights in Europe.

Traffic lights are also like this in Ireland and the UK.

> The doggy bag. You MIGHT be able to get to take your leftover with you in certain places in The Netherlands, but it really not the norm and would surely raise an eyebrow if you ask. Here it is normal and I find it very good to not let the food go to waste. Besides, I did pay for it so its nice to be able to take it with me.

This is also fairly common in Ireland. Not in very fancy restaurants, but otherwise the majority of places have no issue with this.

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HogHedge

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Doggy bag is also normal in NZ.

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I’m an American who has visited Europe a few times (sadly not the Netherlands yet though). The first time I went to Europe, a bar put ice in my cider without me asking for it lol. I remember also being taken aback that water would often cost more than beer.

I also feel like people tend to know a lot of American culture/politics. I went on a tour once and a group of girls from Ireland were fascinated that I was American and asked me all sorts of questions about Trump/Obamacare etc.

allthecats11235 , J Wynia Report

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Con O Cuinn

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Unfortunately, American politics affects the whole world. In comparison, most people only know Trudeau's name because he blacked up in college and it was international news.

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I do want to take a stab at “people are approachable and friendly” to hammer that home.

I’ve often seen the criticism of Americans being that we’re “fake nice” or insincere. We aren’t. We’re actually really nice. And we’re not just nice to people with accents. We’re nice to everyone. We’re nice to each other despite what the news or Reddit might want you to believe.

Oh and about the tipping thing. Yes it sucks. You don’t like it. We don’t like it. The servers don’t love it. We get it. We’re working on it.

Now can all the tourists just shut up about it? You have a phone, whip it out and do the math and move on. In fact, that whole metric vs. imperial thing? Get over yourselves. We have the metric measurement right next to the imperial measurement and have done for like 40 years. We’ll go full metric when you can come up with something as convenient as “foot”.

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Seth Evans

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I've used the imperial system my whole life, and I hate it. Metric is definitely better, and much more logical.

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Hate: Lack of hostels. In most American cities, there are no hostels, so you're stuck paying money for Airbnbs or hotels, both of which jack up the price of your trip. In addition, this lack of hostels removes a key social outlet, so travel is lonelier.

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Beck

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I have lived in the us for 44 years and I have never seen a hostel.

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I'm South Asian and I live in the Netherlands now. I had no idea asking to pack up leftovers was weird. In the restaurants I've been to (South Asian ones) they've always packed it up for free! Learnt something new today :)

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Mune

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Ew what is this. Looks like someone unalived a Chicken over some pasta

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Two things come immediately to mind (from USA, visiting Europe). Allowing for personal space (waiting in line for example) and ice in drinks!

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Love: Portion sizes. I find even as a Canadian that American portions are enormous and can sometimes be three times the size of a meal I would eat at home.

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Tracy Wallick

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As an American, I like this mainly because huge portions means I'm getting multiple meals out of a single order. I'll eat half, take the other half home, and take that to work for lunch the next day.

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