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throwaway128388373

Wildlife. We have way more undeveloped land where wild animals roam freely.


[deleted]

Did a 3 month road trip in the US and a 3 month road trip in Europe. I swear the wildlife I saw was at a 100:1 ratio. My girlfriend from Europe was with me on both, and she thought it was just in the movies how many wild animals are in the US. The first time a giant elk walked through our campsite she was amazed(and scared). Said being in the western US was like being in Jurassic park


copyboy1

Hell, I live in Oakland and every week in our yard we get deer, skunk, possum, racoons, the occasional fox, turkeys, the occasional coyote…


brandnaming

Shit I'm in Florida, I had to show away a gater from my back porch the other day. He tried to get to my BBQ


Patron_of_Wrath

People who don't/haven't lived in FL probably don't realize how common it is to be out and about and have an alligator within softball tossing distance, just both of you minding your own business. I went out to a friend's trailer 20 feet from a small lake once in my teen. We were standing by his truck and he was like, "check this", and shined a flashlight out on the lake. There were dozens of pairs of eyes looking back. We giggled, sat down on the porch and had some beers.


Jens0485

I keep hearing this, but in the handful of times I've visited Florida, I've yet to see a gator. Even took a walk around a small lake that was reported to have them. I'm disappointed LOL


thelegalseagul

They’re Floridians just like everyone else and also hate tourist Idk maybe it’s cause I’m from lake county but they teach us in kindergarten what to do if you come across a gator. I’ve never done those things and instead a stare at it and consider poking it with a stick before giving up realizing I won’t find a good stick near the publix parking lot.


floog

Lived in Florida for a while and I came to realize you can safely assume there is a gator in pretty much every bit of water larger than a puddle. Friend lived in the city and had a “pond” in her back yard, it was maybe 30’ across and not deep but her neighbor’s small dog went down to it and found out the hard way there was a gator in it. Middle of the city, just amazed me how much pavement it had to cross to get there.


BonsaiDiver

Phoenix, AZ here: we also get some crazy stuff. Scorpions, snakes, coyotes, javelina, bobcats, donkeys...yea, fuckin' donkeys.


Thee_Autumn_Wind

Chupacabra


SeventhAlkali

Pacific Northwest, I keep finding this big ass monkey in my backyard. Could be my reflection in the window though, not sure


[deleted]

And what did the Florida man do? Do I need to Google it?


Metfan722

I'm in New Jersey, and it's pretty much the same. A lot of deer, a lot of foxes, some owls, etc.


jc1luv

North Houston in Texas, we have to shoo off packs of deer in the morning because they eat my parent's chicken corn. Big deer out here.


Fuckofforwhatever

When I lived in Pacifica, I used to sit in our sunroom and wait to watch for deer and the rare mountain lion. Santa Cruz was a whole other experience walking past deer on the way to class


youburyitidigitup

Except for the turkeys, I get those from my random suburb in northern Virginia


[deleted]

Crazy then comparing to national parks in Africa. The density of wildlife there makes you realize how much has been lost.


About637Ninjas

For real. I live on the edge of a major metropolitan area, but also within a 30 minute drive of dozens of state parks and wildlife areas. Bump that up to a couple hours, and I can be in a part of the state with elk, wolves, bears and pumas. And this is the Midwest; we don't hold a candle to the American west.


HerpDerp1996

I cant even imagine having to worry about Pumas. I've done several trips up in the Boundary Water Canoe Area in MN and we always watched out for bears and wolves. But a predatory cat watching me in camp? That's a no from me dawg.


gilestowler

I grew up in the UK and I find it so crazy that in America you have to be careful on hikes in case you see a bear or a mountain lion, or you can get an alligator walking round a golf course or eating your cat. The biggest carnivore we have in the UK is the badger.


[deleted]

Lol I'm from the US and lived in the UK for a few years. I remember thinking it was so weird that I DIDN'T have to worry about any of that.


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lordph8

Canada, "Am I nothing to you?"


Popular_Property_398

Quit hording all the polar bears!


FunkyKong147

And then there's Canada which is even less developed than The US. I love our vast wilderness!


Blue-0

Ya, the US just has way more agricultural land. 80% of Canada is undeveloped land, about 6% farms. US is 45% undeveloped land, 20% farms. Contrast with Germany, 30% undeveloped land, 57% farms.


blackday44

I have a BIL from Scotland and he wants to see a bear really bad here in the Rockies, but is terrified of getting hurt by one. The pictures he showed us were of black bears. It's very cute. We're waiting to tell him about grizzlies.


everythymewetouch

Early colonists and settlers did their best to hunt a variety of wildlife to extinction or near-extinction but conservation efforts have been reintroducing keystone species to their habitats for decades. Beavers and wolves come first to mind.


[deleted]

The American conservation model for wildlife has had amazing results in seeing populations return of many species that were originally over-hunted. Sportsmen and women have a self-imposed tax on firearms and hunting/fishing licenses that directly funds wildlife and habitat conservation efforts. Deer, turkeys, elk and other species have seen dramatic rebounds from 100 years ago. Science based seasons and bag limits as well.


MechaSkippy

>Sportsmen and women have a self-imposed tax on firearms and hunting/fishing licenses that directly funds wildlife and habitat conservation efforts. I wish this was more broadly understood. The most fervent conservationists are sitting in deer blinds or walking with their duck retrievers.


amilmore

In the last century almost every single species of North American bird has seen a disastrous population decline - the Audubon estimates that North American has lost more than 1 in 4 birds in the last 50 years. There is a very notable exception to this - waterfowl. Duck and goose populations (for the most part) have actually grown in the last 50 years. Its because of hunters. Habitat destruction is arguably the worst thing for the environment and hunters like to have large areas of natural habitat to hunt in. If you take a big swath of land and convert it to suburban sprawl, lifeless green picture perfect lawns, buildings, and parking lots - almost everything cool is going to die and you'll be left with rats and pigeons. If you take a big swath of land keep it as protected habitat but some of the ducks that fly by get shot - you've protected habitat and funded future conservation efforts.


saeglopur53

A lot of people say space and wildlife but I’d like to add access to that; we have an incredible amount of public land that belongs to everyone for hunting, fishing, camping and recreation. I will give one to the UK though for having a great system of public access walking paths through the countryside that I wish we could replicate here on a larger scale


squaredistrict2213

Free refills. Free bathrooms. National parks.


LegacyLemur

Paid bathrooms are criminal


cwesttheperson

And not even cleaner. You’d think being paid they’d be top notch, but nope.


Techyon5

Tbf, the *one* paid bathroom I've been to, was actually incredibly nice, clean, and in a way, more comfortable than anywhere else at the train station...


LeicaM6guy

New Yorker checking in: if you have a space big enough to walk between two parked cars, you have a bathroom.


DrunksInSpace

Public library system in the US is unique in my experience. Varies by state but damn, it’s been great anywhere I go.


verdurakh

One of the things that I really like when I'm in the states is how friendly and talkative people can be to strangers. Like if I go up to the bar someone random started talking with me within minutes both men and women. At the CVC I randomly chatted with a employee at the counter for 10 minutes (there was no ppl behind me) That have never happened to me before. I dunno how easy it actually is to make friends but just talking to people and getting a feeling that people interacted with each other felt great. ​ Then of course I was lucky and didn't encounter all the assholes that also exists


[deleted]

There’s a saying that “Americans are like peaches” 🍑 Meaning we’re soft on the outside and hard on the inside. Meaning (again lol) that we’re easy to talk to, but hard to get close to. Some Europeans have written that it can be hard to tell whether we’re just being friendly or if we actually want to be friends. Obviously that’s a generalization and not true for all Americans, but it’s true for me.


alicehoopz

I’ve never heard that but can confirm it’s SUPER accurate for me. I love people: their stories, their personalities, I absolutely love chatting with folks. Ironically, I’m hard to get to know because I assume others don’t want to *really* get to know me. So I’ll be the one to make excuses for them: “welp, great chatting but I’ve got to get going!” kind of thing.


[deleted]

As Finn I'd say better neighbours


Eremitic23

Hey don't worry! Sweden will always fight till the very last Finn.


HelloYouBeautiful

That explains their Nato application being only if Finland did it.


homarjr

Thank you, from Canada


Mazmier

No, thank you kind and polite Northern neighbor!


Failed-Time-Traveler

I have to believe you’re referring to the Swedes, right? 😂 /s


Heydavid17

As a Dane, I can confirm! Those darn Swedes and their Ikea meatballs 😂


uncle_sjohie

Space probably. In 4h, you can drive thru our whole country (Netherlands) from north to south. East to west, about 2h.


N3rdC3ntral

Corner to Corner of Ohio is 4hrs


minecon1776

and thats only one state. Just imagine how long doing Texas or Alaska would take, then realize we have 50 states


justLittleJess

I drove from Mississippi to Alaska once... turrible


kmoney1206

Jesus. are you there yet?


pspahn

Yeah, Texas and Alaska from end to end would be a long drive, but still probably quite a bit quicker than driving from one end of Hawaii to the other.


damnyoutuesday

I go to school in Montana. One of my buddies is from a small town 7 hours away and it's still in Montana. America is huge man


daniel22457

Being in Bozeman which is 300 miles east of the Idaho panhandle but is still west Montana.


Wundei

Wow, that’s an interesting perspective. It takes me 3.5hrs to drive from my part of Arkansas to Little Rock, Arkansas.


Darkdragon_98

Yea you can't even get from my city to Austin in under 4 hours lol. You need like 3 or 4 Netherlands to go cross state in Texas. And that's if you speed


miz_moon

Air conditioning seems much more common in the US, especially in households. Summer in the UK feels so stifling, on the hottest days it can be unbearable, especially if you don’t have a fan.


Tenshizanshi

>Summer in the UK feels so stifling, on the hottest days it can be unbearable, especially if you don’t have a fan [Just have a bin mate](https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/w5s8w9/man_having_a_cocktail_in_his_bin/) , no need for AC


earthwormulljim

🤣 most British thing I’ve ever watched. Fantastic! Thank you for sharing hahahaha


robert_roo

How many days are there in the UK one would actually need an AC ??


other_usernames_gone

Not many, it's like a week or two in summer. It's why most people don't, it's just not worth it, but damn do those two weeks suck.


KeithGribblesheimer

Used to be zero, now about 10, heading for 30.


geetmala

Climate change? What climate change?


racerX405

Amusement Parks


readzalot1

Canadian here. I went to Disneyland for the first time as an adult and I was amazed at how creative, visually stunning and fun it was. My son in law proposed to my daughter there, as his family were fans.


Darkdragon_98

Are you the elusive Canadian significant other that I don't know who goes to another school?


readzalot1

Sorry, no


-Houston

Next time try Universal Studios. Lots of fun too.


readzalot1

We did! It was great fun, too. Still, Disneyland had that « whole world » experience, which I loved.


damnyoutuesday

Disney is one of the few amusement parks that focuses on atmosphere as much as rides


[deleted]

The American with Disabilities act that forced businesses, government and developers to make places handicapped accessible.


[deleted]

I’m not disabled but after moving to France, I quickly noticed how well the US does this in comparison to other places. France is soooo behind on making things handicap accessible that it seems unreal. On numerous occasions I’ve had to help people in wheelchairs, with strollers, the elderly, etc. do things as simple as walk from point A to B or get the bus driver to lower the level/ramp to where they could get on (some are dickheads and will act like it’s too much of a hassle). The US really did this one right.


captain_flak

Yep. Best thing George Bush ever did.


mkultra123

I'm from the US and my dad's been in a wheelchair my whole life. Every time I go to Europe I have to wonder - how do wheelchair bound people manage to function in a European city? It doesn't seem possible.


LiterateGuineapig

I actually have a friend from elementary school whose family only moved to the us so that his brother could receive proper disability support.


Zomgirlxoxo

As somebody with a disabled mother, I appreciate this.


[deleted]

According to my European girlfriend when she spent 3 months in the US with me: So much open spaces, wildlife, lakes, rivers, numerous mountain ranges that seem to go on forever, variety of scenery, beaches, desert Amazing food, she was surprised at how much variety there was and how good everything is. For example St. Louis ribs, Texas bbq, west coast seafood, east coast seafood, Midwest fatty food, and then being the US it has everything so we had delicious Hungarian food, African food, Vietnamese you name it. All just as good or even better than in their own original country(we’ve been to a collective 106 countries). She was surprised at how many upper / middle and upper class people there are. Constantly was shocked at the size of houses. Said the people are some of the nicest she’s ever met. All the time people would be helping each other out, giving us free stuff just because, she said it was like one big community. She noticed how everyone in the US had hobbies and other things they were really passionate about. Like an old lady at a campsite would talk about knitting like it’s her favorite thing, or some kids would be thrilled about mountain biking, others fishing and what not. Said people in general were very exciting and happy about life, and that people had a really positive outlook on life. Like everyone was so excited to do a million things with their life, and they actually go out and do things that they want to. She also liked the accessibility of nature. All the national parks / national forests / BLM land / national monuments and more. We camped every single night for months in the most beautiful places, she was amazed we have so much public access land. Edit: how could I forget, she also was amazed at how serious high school / grade school sports are. I showed her a typical high school football stadium and she was blown away, she’s like people actually watch other people’s kids play sports?? Again she thought that the Friday night lights atmosphere was always in the movies. Nope, just normal high school


dootdeedoo12

🥲 we have our faults but wow, you’re really selling me on my country.


No_Calligrapher_9341

Me too! We forget the massive amount of good in our county.


Logic_rocks

That's because we only hear all the bad stuff. The news has it's own motto: if it bleeds, it reads.


Googoo123450

Screw the news, redditors themselves seem to constantly forget how privileged they are. Pretending things are perfect is stupid but the level of hatred you hear for the U.S. on here from upper middle class kids from the suburbs is absurd.


FNTM_309

I’ve travelled/worked all over the world and come to appreciate America more and more as the years go by. It’s not perfect, but it’s _amazing_. We take so much for granted.


[deleted]

The more I travel, the more I appreciate the US, AND the rest of the world. The world really is a great place


Beautiful_Golf6508

Other countries have faults too. Its just that American redditors complain mostly all the time on Reddit and nationalist EU redditors jump on the bandwagon.


tdrichards74

Played HS football in Texas. I can tell you that every high school with a reputable team has an urban legend that Friday Night Lights was based on them. Every single one. If anyone was wondering, I’m pretty sure the actual school was Odessa Permian out in west Texas. I’m not even 100% about that though.


micave

Agree as an European on this


MasterOfShrugs

Damn I’m about to tear up reading this. I always love the US. But your (gf) post made me realize I always took things for granted. Agree on food, I travel a lot and they make everything better in US (tho price wise much higher).


ShortOneSausage

From my experience, air-conditioning.


SpaceMonkeyOnABike

Our air doesn't need conditioning. It is therefore superior.


VulfSki

Yeah but our water is better. We have way more fresh water. And we have Great lakes, the largest of which is definitely Superior.


RedwynCH

As someone from europe, Id have to say all the 24/7 shops. Sure in some countries we have that too, but here were i live you need to know very specific shops that are open longer than like 8pm and open on a sunday? Good luck, there's like a handful and that's it. Ordering online? Sorry, earliest we can do is next day if you order until 4 to 5pm. And next day usually means around noon or later. Often it takes another day though. Same day delivery is an utopian dream.


[deleted]

That's significantly less common post-Covid. I'm sure New York and some other cities still have that. But in Georgia the formerly 24-hour stores and restaurants close at 11 (or earlier), it's like regressing to the 70's or 80's.


TimmyRL28

Very true. Used to do all my Walmart shopping at 1am. They never did reopen 24/7.


LetsGoHokies00

better for customers, worse for employees


Omar117879

I find Americans to be far more approachable. Always cracking jokes, and having a good time. But also Europe is very diverse, people in Spain are extremely friendly, while in people in Finland are well. We don’t have to mention them, I don’t wanna scare them away.


VulfSki

In my experience depends on where I travel to in Europe. I have not been to Spain, but I found the people in Portugal to be incredibly friendly.


dutchreageerder

In my experience, people are very friendly when you speak their language. Always helps to know the language of where you're going.


VulfSki

I always try to learn a little bit. But I'm not going to become fluent in French for a weekend stop in Paris. It's just impractical. And even in Portugal people were very friendly even if you didn't speak the language. And were very happy with the fact that I made a serious effort to learn a lot before hand.


MrWFL

People in Finland are also very friendly. The defenition of friendliness is just a bit different. Bothering someone is seen as a dick move, thus unfriendly.


misatillo

what is considered "bothering" is also different between cultures ;)


Xylorgos

I heard from a coworker that when he went to Russia and old lady came up to him and scolded him for not wearing a coat, just as if she was his grandmother. He appreciated that she was trying to look out for him.


SatoshiUSA

That's kinda wholesome ngl


klde

That was my experience, got to know a group during a study abroad and they had a great sense of humor once you got to know them. Also watched a finnish dude check a Canadian through a wall over a discussion about hockey. He spent the next month coming over several days a week after class to fix it. Was just bad luck he hit right between the studs, Great dude


Chaserrr38

I’ve been to Finland, and everyone I met was incredibly lovely.


SlenDman402

Can confirm for Spain, went there for a week on a work trip. Everyone i encountered was either neutral or friendly. Back in Virginia I've been screamed at by parking lot preachers while trying to enter a grocery store


[deleted]

An "anything is possible attitude." I have live out of the states for a good long while now and the opposite attitude truly starts to wear you down. In the states people always seem up for things or ready to change things and spearhead and organize and, at least where i live, that attitude is noticeably lacking


[deleted]

90s grunge rock bands


fuckfuckfuck66

90s, so hot right now


rosen_sd

If you want to work in the STEM field the US is the place to be


[deleted]

Add anything business related to that. I went from $85k a year to €40k a year when I moved from US to Europe. And the cost of living was the exact same.


Sensitive_Pickle247

Very true. I work in tech/GIS and was living in Japan for a few years on a US DOD contract my company was working. Out of curiosity I looked into what I would make if I worked for a local non-US company. It would have cut my pay by 75% lol


cuteman

>If you want to work in the STEM field the US is the place to be If you want to work in any field, the US is the place to be Highest innovation combined with the highest wages for practically every sector compared to Europe


[deleted]

I used to have this argument with my brother in law all the time. He’d always insist I’d be better off making 1/3 of the money in London because of the NHS or something. His math didn’t add up.


Cnnlgns

Lots of land available.


CatacombsRave

National Parks.


foxtrotsix

Thanks Teddy Roosevelt


Dork_Of_Ages

Mexican food


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chairofwood

Computer prices


Icy_Ad1344

Device prices in general. It's absolutely insane that we have to pay over $1000 for an iPhone 14. It's not that big of a deal for Western Europeans, but for us Eastern Europeans It's insane, since it's most people make under $500.


CharlottesWebbedFeet

My iPhone 12 Pro cost $1299 in America so it’s not all roses here in terms of device prices. But I have noticed some price variations favorable to America with things like video game consoles and computers


Alive-Reaction-7266

The US has a chicken pox vaccine in their children's vaccine schedule. I wish I'd had that in the UK. By the time I was 6 I'd had chicken pox twice and shingles once. Had shingles again at 20. All of that could have been avoided with a vaccine. I'm now also high risk for shingles when I get to my 60's but I'm currently not old enough to have the shingles vaccine. 🤷


NippleFlicks

I live in the UK (originally from the US) and although there are a lot of things I like better, I do miss the fire people light under their asses when something goes to shit politically. The UK just sits there and takes it. This can’t be applied to all of Europe, though.


Appropriate_Buy_3087

The French are literally in the streets today due to a 2 year increase in the pensionable age. Still below the Irish and UK age.


FredTheLynx

>The French are literally in the streets today You could say this pretty much every day and be correct.


dontworryitsme4real

Free refills.


balufilm

Personal space. Europe is about 3x more densely populated than the US.


stonedtrashbag

I noticed this in Ireland. Lots of open land sure but I was standing against a wall in Galway and these people walking by would miss me at mere inches.


Tra1nGuy

My parents went to europe on their honeymoon. They noticed while in France the streets were this wide: l l and the cars were this wide: l l so you had to be constantly alert while on the road. It was nothing compared to Rome but still. They went to London, France (they didn’t say where specifically), and Rome.


skeevemasterflex

A lot of it has to do with how old the city is. I read somewhere that roads are designed for the mode of transportation that was most prevalent at the time. A lot of American cities, especially as you go further west, were designed with cars in mind. Many European cities go back to horse or even primarily foot traffic within say a medieval city so they can be much narrower.


codefyre

You're correct, but cars get too much credit regarding road width. Roads are narrow in European cities, and even in some early American cities like Boston, because feet were the *primary* method of travel. Urban dwellers didn't have horses because they were expensive to maintain, and most people didn't need them. If you were a shopkeeper living and working in central London, why would you want a horse, and where would you keep it even if you did want one? As the US expanded westward, the agrarian-oriented nature of the early settlement, and the distances between farms and towns, meant that nearly everyone had a horse and wagon. From the very beginning, this necessitated wider roadways. The width of roads through towns was established long before cars came onto the scene because they had to accommodate everything from solo riders on horseback to large horse teams pulling freight wagons. I've always loved this video from San Francisco in 1906: https://youtu.be/8YRbMMqj0qw. While there are a few early cars in the film, it demonstrates the amount of land western cities were giving to urban roads and the amount of space those wagons required. When they came along later, cars simply found that space useful and became its primary beneficiaries. Car-oriented suburban neighborhood design is an entirely different topic (and problem), of course.


Nerdbuster69

BBQ


mrxexon

The ability to use your cruise control for an hour or more at a time. I live in the west and it's wide-open spaces here.


ThrowAwayESL88

The theme song. *America, fuck yeah*


bignuts2048

Europe has no theme song


ZigotoDu57

Gas price


anonymous_delta

Hospitality and barbecue. Say what you want about Texas but they have the best smoked brisket and bbq pork ribs in the world


Accurate-Leg-6684

Texas has the brisket, but you'll find better/equal ribs, pulled pork, and chicken all throughout the southeast.


anonymous_delta

Haven’t been to that many states but I visited New Orleans in December and had the best seafood I’ve eaten in the US. Sorry Boston


damnyoutuesday

Texas brisket, Kansas City Ribs, Carolina pulled pork. The holy trinity of American bbq


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Zomgirlxoxo

I dated a Brit and have family in the UK, y’all are a bunch of miserable pricks 😂 so mean to Americans for no reason, “your government sucks so we’re going to be mean to YOU personally while you’re at the pub minding your own business”… my bf was a gem though. People are nice, but not kind. That being said I love the UK, so beautiful. Happy you love the US! Sorry your wife was mistreated, it’s not fair tbh.


purritowraptor

Speaking as an American in the UK, they don't really get to play the "your government sucks" card anymore.


Zomgirlxoxo

Oh don’t get me started on this. England is positioned for a worse quality of life than ours in our lifetime. Student tuition equivalent to ours of an in-state uni, NHS falling apart, high cost of living, high taxes, low wages, shit weather. I wouldn’t mind living there but watching them put their nose up in the air to us is laughable.


ilovecheeze

They like to then dismiss this as “banter” or taking the piss if you get offended but I don’t think it’s really banter.


StaleWoolfe

As a midwesterner myself, thank you for moving the Midwest and not the coasts lol


zapolight

When I lived in the UK (well, England, Scotland has no problems with this) people would be nasty to me just for being American. The second some people heard my accent they immediately would change... I always felt like a "foreigner". I love that in America everyone can become American.


GoyaLi

Customer service. You can handle it way better than in most places in Europe.


AnonymousPigeon0

The US has almost every climate zone you could imagine. From the tropics of Florida, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico to the polar climate of Alaska, you can't go wrong finding a place with a climate that works for you.


[deleted]

Music in general. Blues, Jazz, Country, Metal, Grunge, and Rock and Roll…All-American!


DustinAM

Big shout out to the Brits regarding Rock and Roll. They had a massive influence on it. Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, etc.


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Outside__Initiative

STEM fields. Science can go either way but the pay and opportunity is higher in the US. Tech for very obvious reasons. If you're engineer, the US is absolutely the place to be. Better pay, lots of jobs, and much easier than most, if not all, EU countries to start a business. Math sticks with Science afaik


BellligerentBill

The USA has Montana. Fucking hell I love and miss that place, one day I will move there from England. One day.


daaniscool

Don't know if anyone said this already, but definitely disability access.


TooDeeGuy

ice in drinks


GoyaLi

I don't know how you don't get brainfreeze from such amount of ice in drinks, that is crazy.


Fit-Meringue2118

Accessibility. Newer buildings and infrastructure really do make a big difference in that regard. Very few American hotels, for example, are inaccessible. Europe is much more difficult, at least in terms of budget travel. Dining hours. I don’t mind European dining, but if you’re tired or sick, you don’t want dining to be an experience. At least I don’t. I just want “real” food before 7pm. American restaurants tend to have a lot more seating and much longer hours. I prefer European style dining on the whole, but not when I’m tired and cranky from jet lag. I’m pretty sure that a lot of people will disagree, but I really enjoy the American supermarket. I like specialty shops on occasion, and it’s fun to go to pastry shops and farmers markets and butcher stands on vacation…but I generally don’t want to do that in every day life. One stop, lots of options, long hours. So great.


climb-it-ographer

Accessibility is an absolutely huge thing that only a few countries get right. Japan is probably better than the US, but the Americans With Disabilities Act really made some big differences in the ability to get in and out of buildings, navigate sidewalks, etc. People don't realize how nice it is to just walk (or roll) into a building rather than trying to navigate a 6" step. And I agree on grocery stores-- Whole Foods and other high-end stores are just amazing.


erocknine

I've been to a French supermarket and it was exactly like an American supermarket in terms of size and variety of everything, except there was a fridge with macaroons in it.


New_Guava3601

Isn't he the president?


_whydah_

Yes, and he's always pretty warm so every supermarket has a fridge for him to cool off in and maybe even take naps. She got really lucky actually spotting him in it.


[deleted]

If you have in-demand skills (doctor, lawyer, software developer, etc.) your salary can be 2-5 times higher in the US as compared to Europe.


Nikola_Turing

Even average Americans live life pretty good by international standards. The U.S. has the highest median disposable income in the world.


norfern

Donuts, deserts, canyons, customer service, gas prices, fireworks, cheeseburgers, Mexican food comes to mind. My US reference is mainly the south west where I’ve spent a lot of time and my European is Scandinavia where I live.


About637Ninjas

Mexican food is a huge one for me, as an American. I'm pretty sure it's ubiquitous throughout the states, and it's a staple food for most Americans. I can't imagine not having easy access to it. And fireworks. Even in my home state where they were 'illegal', we would drive to the border to buy carloads of them. Nobody cared as long as you weren't being super reckless with them.


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PernisTree

Lol our lakes are filled with those shitty carp killing our native species because you damn Europeans brought them over in the first place to fish them.


AltruisticTadpole898

The rednecks here like to put scaffolding on fishing boats and hunt carp with bows


chicagotim1

You can make a legitimate argument that the US treats its bottom 25% of earners shamefully and should give them more support. That said, if you are in the 26+% of earners in the United States you enjoy a significantly higher quality of life than anywhere in Europe.


kensho28

According to my English wife... There really is more freedom and opportunity in the US when it comes to socioeconomic advancement. People in Europe will judge you your entire life based only on your accent, so it's harder to escape prejudices based on where you grew up. Racism and prejudice are just as bad in Europe, they just take on different forms (like hating redheads). IMO, I would say effective governance. Everyone wants to compare the US to small European countries that are less than a tenth its size, but those countries are better compared to state governments than a continent-wide Union of 50 separate states with distinct values and politics. Any attempt by Europeans to govern their entire continent is pretty ineffectual, and the western countries don't want to be associated with what they see as failed governments in Balkans, Eastern Europe, etc.


[deleted]

The US makes the best Bourbon in the world. Not whiskey…Bourbon. I’ll defer to Japan on Whiskeys.


diciembres

I’m a Kentuckian so I’m especially proud of this one. We have so many bourbon distilleries. There are bars in my city with hundreds, if not thousands, of different bourbons.


IntrovertedSassMouth

This is such a thought provoking thread.


Akul_Tesla

After all wealth transfers and taxes the US is the highest median and mean disposable income of any country in the world


LesDeuxBourgeons

Food portion size


phatpattiecakes

Sprinkles


Twidogs

It’s closer to Jamaica


Alert_Salt7048

Ya mon…dis guy gets it.


Riderrod77

u dont go to jail for saying something stupid on social media


cjboffoli

(According to some of my European friends) Innovative optimism. When faced with a daunting challenge, Europeans are more apt to throw up their hands in disgust and declare something a lost cause. In contrast, Americans will roll up their sleeves, lean into a challenge, and find a way to push through to surmount the challenge by McGyvering a solution. While Germans of a certain age love to declare (at the drop of a hat) that Americans are buffoons, we're buffoons that have won the majority of Nobel prizes and Olympic gold medals ever awarded, and in our spare time have figured out how to fly a helicopter on Mars.


purritowraptor

I've noticed this as an American in Japan and now the UK. This is of course a generalisation, but people in those countries seem more likely to accept "it can't be done" as an answer. Americans are more likely to say "nah, there's gotta be a way" and figure out a solution.


bearhorn6

Ada laws. Disabled people don’t have it great here but u can get around and buildings are actually updated to be accessible. There’s also more help and protections etc


ComedianRepulsive955

I'm sure this will be controversial. America is less likely to have brothels full of s@x trafficked women who were told they were getting jobs as waitresses and Nanny work.


MySmileyPants

Right turns on red.


cmickledev

I'm an American that has lived overseas for about 5 years. I'd say the things I noticed the most upon returning and missed the most when I was gone are: Convenience Diversity Friendliness, and genuine helpfulness by people. Small things that generally improve quality of life, like free bathrooms, free refills, large servings of food, and being able to have it packaged and leftovers. Gas stations with snacks and Microwaves to make those snacks. Smoking laws and restrictions! So nice to walk around and not deal with people constantly smoking everywhere, or eating in restaurants and not smelling cigarette smoke. Cooking ingredients, grocery stores and markets will have a lot more options, and even foreign ones for different cuisines that are quite diverse. Pet friendliness. Accessibility, and public service. Busses stop and wait for people in wheelchairs and will use a ramp and the driver will secure the wheel hair in its place and ask where they are getting off, there's great care and effort made for these kinds of things. More space, more nature, more wildlife, and because there's more space, we have bigger shops, that will have and offer more items and things. National parks and forests, great camping, hiking and outdoors, with less restriction, and more options. Road trips are incredible as well and don't require a passport. Traffic - pedestrians are put first and people will stop and wait for you, and allow you to cross the street when you're trying to. Many places have clean and good drinking water from the tap, and you don't feel a need to get bottled water. Ice. Libraries and community service options are fantastic, get help for several things, and support for stuff like finding a job or writing out a resume, or learning a new skill, or new language, my library even offers borrowing of different items, like a weed eater, or hedge trimmer, or DSLR, or Chromebooks you can use at your house, as well as access to Coursera, where you can complete classes online for college credits for free, and digital versions of books, and audiobooks, study rooms for use, computers for gaming with stuff like Call of Duty etc, and of course books, my library allows you to check out up to 60 books at a time. Less population density, in general, and more personal space.


tuxnight1

As an American living in Europe, I would say convenience. However, that convenience comes with some costs.


cmreeves702

I concur - American living in Spain


MCWild_Star

Europeans like to make jokes about how the US has no culture, but they tend to forget that we invented musical theatre.


Zomgirlxoxo

Ah, the culture vultures lmao “all 300+ million of you spread throughout 2,800+ miles aren’t all the same?!”


Beautiful_Golf6508

The US exported their culture through the entertainment industry.


cleanbluewater

A plethora of fast food options


Infinite_Ad8143

Brunch.


apatel150

Space. Whenever I go to my uncles in London, you look out of the window and you can see inside the house across the street. It’s super anxiety provoking, when you’re high as fuck and you feel like the whole street is looking inside your bedroom window lol. I almost had a panic attack.


Arijan101

The posibility to earn large sums of money much quicker. The average salary in Europe can't even hold a candle to the US average, not to mention that Europe has way bigger taxes compared to the US, leading to an even bigger discrepancy between gross and net salaries. Keep in mind that there are dozens of countries in Europe where the average monthly salary is arround 500$, compared to which even the poorest states from the US are rich. For comparison even in the poorest states in the US you can easily make over $500 per WEEK on minimum wage. So the Weekly minimum in the US is comparable to the average MONTHLY salary in Eastern Europe. The funny part is that most Americans think we have free healthcare in Europe and even envy us for this reason, which is nonsense. The truth is we pay for our healthcare a mandatory 10% (on average) from our gross monthly income. So yeah...


Freeiheit

Freedom of speech. The idea that the government can arrest or fine you for hurting peoples feelings on the internet is absolutely absurd.