“A/C Won’t Kill You”: 39 Things Americans Take For Granted That Europeans Should Learn From

Cannabis legalization.

To accept the fact that people in America do things differently, and be totally fine with it. Also accept the fact that we don't do things their way, because our country is different.

And to not try to act like experts about the country, because they don't understand the nuances of the country, because they have the mindset of person from a country with a much different history, culture, and dialect than one here.

I'm in a current flame war with someone, because Of that misunderstood nuance.

Ice! When I return from northern Europe to the US, the first thing I get at the airport is a gigantic cup of ice water.

Wood is a great material for houses. Put screens on the windows. Nacho cheese.

Not charging for water at restaurants.

Small talk.

How to be ok with people doing things differently.

I’ve worked with Europeans for years and while they’re generally nice folks, they could use a better understanding that the way they know isn’t necessarily THE way. Stone house phenomenon is a great example of this.

Europeans don’t know how to make brownies.

Economic independence from Russia and China. It's ok to utilize them, it's not ok to rely on them.

> our grid system.

Grids are easy to navigate, but don't necessarily create the most pedestrian friendly spaces. Having cute alleyways and winding roads can give a city a lot of character. Plus Google Maps makes navigation pretty easy these days. I also say this as someone living in one of the few gridless-American cities.

Anyways, many European countries charge for public restrooms. I think that's quite cruel, especially since most of them requires coins in an age where everyone has CCs and ApplePay for everything else. Sure, our bathroom doors might not go all the way down to the floor - but they're always free.

How to interact with people who wear hijabs and other religious clothing without s******g the bed.

Competition through innovation, not protectionism. I meet with dozens of business leaders in Europe every year, and the consistent feedback that I hear is “we’re not the US,” “we don’t know how to innovate like American firms,” and “we are at least two years behind the Us in X.”

It’s not a lack of smart people. I think it’s cultural. They expect others to do it, or they think they can put regulations in place to limit the success of companies from other countries. That may have worked when they had colonies around the world and we were in slower industrial ages, but knowledge is liquid. Unlike a manufacturing plant, I can replicate digital success immediately anywhere.

Not thinking anyone who cracks a small smile at them in public is a crazy person.

Making free tap water the default and not nearly impossible to get.

And multiculturalism, if that's the right word. It seems like too many people in Europe don't feel like a part of their country, even if they were born there and lived their whole life there. An immigrant can become an American and be embraced here easily, but not everyone will be considered, for example, Swedish, even if they're from there.

Freedom of speech: see JK Rowling silencing her critics with UK libel laws. Since the US doesn't recognize foreign defamations of judgement unless they meet US freedom of speech standards, any threat she gives to an American is an empty one.

Im european and i think americans have a degree of economic awareness that europeans lack. Americans are ultra aware of economic policy problems, inflation, etc, but i barely seen any europeans talk about the rampant money creation by the Central European Bank (Even bigger than the US) thats making prices spike over here. I think the value of individual freedom and personal responsability is also a huge moral that americans have and few europeans support.

American living in Europe. How to fry food. How to BBQ. How to make hot sauce and ranch dressing.

Some Europeans could learn more about Americas role in their nations’ foreign policy decisions. I hate how bloated the US military is, and how much we spend on it- many Europeans share this belief.

The issue is that European leaders have seeded defense to the United States. That means they do not have to spend as much on their own defense, while also making their nations dependent on US for defense.

Essentially, if you want to see actual change in America’s foreign policy, then you have to change your nations’ relationship with the US.

For the love of all things good, establish a paper version of a “one” Euro. The amount of coins I ended up carrying was obnoxious.

Y’all walk around with pockets jingling full of high value coins - NO WONDER there are hella pickpockets hanging about. 😤

OH AND TAMPONS. YALL DONT PRODUCE THEM WITH APPLICATORS SO I HAD TO FINGER MYSELF TO INSERT AND IT WAS COMING OUT HALF THE TIME.
I get maybe bc that’s for the environment but for f***s sake, you can make recycled cardboard applicators. That was so miserable for me studying abroad.

How to welcome immigrants from non-European countries. Y'all freaked out over a million Africans and we take in that many people every single year.