Oh boy, clear the way, Pandas, because I’m kind of an expert on this subject. I come from the far southernmost lands of America —the continent, not the country, but let’s not get into that discussion today— and I currently live in the exotic hills of Europe.
The question was simple: “Americans that moved to Europe, what shocked you the most?”. As a foreigner myself, I can tell you what was most shocking for me, and then we can move to the hilarious conversation that bursted on Reddit with more than 3k upvotes and 5.5k replies.
How on Earth can life end at 7pm? I’m a night owl, and you have no idea how much I suffer from this lack of options past “bed time”. We people from the west have much adapting to do when landing on the Old World.
#61
Having to pay for toilet and most homes don't have AC but I believe that is slowly changing.
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5points
#62
People being kinda cold in what would be a social, bar setting in America. I can get wanting to be left alone, I just don't get going to a crowded bar for it.
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3points
#63
Probably the overt racism.
They are very judgemental about the US's treatment of black people, but then will immediately be absolutely nasty toward turkish (and some other) people, and claim, "but this is different!"
It was honestly the most eye-opening part of my time living there. Back in the US nowadays, and I do not see anywhere near the level of racial / ethnic tension here that is over there. Not even close.
They are very judgemental about the US's treatment of black people, but then will immediately be absolutely nasty toward turkish (and some other) people, and claim, "but this is different!"
It was honestly the most eye-opening part of my time living there. Back in the US nowadays, and I do not see anywhere near the level of racial / ethnic tension here that is over there. Not even close.
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3points
#64
Context: I live in Denmark.
The sheer number of smokers and that people can smoke at cafes and such outdoors. I hate it. I want to enjoy my lunch without inhaling cigarette smoke and I deserve to enjoy the nice weather too.
The scarcity of public toilets.
Rush hour being at 3pm.
Being able to leave my laptop alone in a crowded place with no fear of it being stolen, but not daring to leave my bike without at least two locks on it.
The sheer number of smokers and that people can smoke at cafes and such outdoors. I hate it. I want to enjoy my lunch without inhaling cigarette smoke and I deserve to enjoy the nice weather too.
The scarcity of public toilets.
Rush hour being at 3pm.
Being able to leave my laptop alone in a crowded place with no fear of it being stolen, but not daring to leave my bike without at least two locks on it.
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2points
#65
Not shock but surprised that it's decorated with people's laundry everywhere.
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1point
#66
Kind of cheating but. I work with a lot of europeans and they are universally FLOORED by how much americans make in salary.
I think by in large both sides dont understand the others economic situation.
Europeans get paid a low wage but have many social benefits.
Americans have next to no social safety net, but can EASILY make double or triple of their European counterpart.
Most people I work with are making around 100-250k on average. All the euro people said they were making around 50k for the same job in europe.
There is real economic and job mobility in the USA that just doesnt exist in most of europe.
I think by in large both sides dont understand the others economic situation.
Europeans get paid a low wage but have many social benefits.
Americans have next to no social safety net, but can EASILY make double or triple of their European counterpart.
Most people I work with are making around 100-250k on average. All the euro people said they were making around 50k for the same job in europe.
There is real economic and job mobility in the USA that just doesnt exist in most of europe.
1point
#67
The open workplace discrimination, especially against darker-skinned people, was pretty crazy.
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0points
#68
Lived in the UK as a Master's student for two years. Off the top of my head, a lot of bathroom sinks had hot and cold taps, though I think this was in older buildings with older plumbing. If you wanted warm water, you were out of luck. Or had to plug the sink and fill it, which was gross.
None of the windows had screen doors, which I found strange because there were obviously insects flying about. As Europe heats up, this is probably going to be an increasing issue.
How poor a lot of customer service was. People make fun of American fake friendliness, but dealing with dour jerks all day wears you down.
How much people smoked, especially young adults in their 20s. I'm a millennial, and I rarely encounter anyone my age who smokes, and if I do, there's usually very much a class distinction. Seeing university students smoking was strange to me. Also, people rolling their own cigarettes with loose leaf tobacco. The first time I saw a guy doing that I thought he was rolling a joint in broad daylight. I remember on a UK to US flight the guy across from me starting rolling a whole pack of cigs on his tray table about an hour before landing because he was probably antsy for a cig.
None of the windows had screen doors, which I found strange because there were obviously insects flying about. As Europe heats up, this is probably going to be an increasing issue.
How poor a lot of customer service was. People make fun of American fake friendliness, but dealing with dour jerks all day wears you down.
How much people smoked, especially young adults in their 20s. I'm a millennial, and I rarely encounter anyone my age who smokes, and if I do, there's usually very much a class distinction. Seeing university students smoking was strange to me. Also, people rolling their own cigarettes with loose leaf tobacco. The first time I saw a guy doing that I thought he was rolling a joint in broad daylight. I remember on a UK to US flight the guy across from me starting rolling a whole pack of cigs on his tray table about an hour before landing because he was probably antsy for a cig.
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0points
#69
The 39 hour work week with a one hour unpaid lunch every day, which really means I'm at work for 44 hours a week (I'd much rather skip lunch and go home early or work through my lunch and get paid the overtime).
Edit: I really didn't think this would be so controversial!! I'm sorry I offended so many people, and I'm not saying the US has better working conditions overall. I was just really lucky at my previous job and had a lot of benefits that I thought would be the same/similar when I moved here. I had a paid 30 min lunch and paid 15 minute breaks, a 10 minute commute by bike, cheaper rent and a higher salary in the US, and now I've an unpaid hour-long lunch break that almost always spirals into work related conversations, I commute by bus 45 min if the bus shows up on time/at all, and my work day is just longer because of those factors. I really am happy and grateful to be here though, I've made a family and a life that wouldn't be possible in the States.
Edit: I really didn't think this would be so controversial!! I'm sorry I offended so many people, and I'm not saying the US has better working conditions overall. I was just really lucky at my previous job and had a lot of benefits that I thought would be the same/similar when I moved here. I had a paid 30 min lunch and paid 15 minute breaks, a 10 minute commute by bike, cheaper rent and a higher salary in the US, and now I've an unpaid hour-long lunch break that almost always spirals into work related conversations, I commute by bus 45 min if the bus shows up on time/at all, and my work day is just longer because of those factors. I really am happy and grateful to be here though, I've made a family and a life that wouldn't be possible in the States.
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0points
#70
Norway…the panic of running to the grocery store on Saturday afternoon, because the stores close at dumb o’clock and I have no food at home for Sunday.
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-1point
#71
Spent a lot of time in Europe working.
At least in business: how slow things move. No decision can be made by any one person. It requires multiple meetings. Discussions. Repeated conversations and new stakeholders you've never heard of at the 11th hour.
Even basic things like "Can we hire the 2 people that are already in the approved budget?" would take months.
Governments worked even slower. (UK/London, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg). If you accidentally missed a checkbox you could start a 2 month long government approval process all over again. And you can't do the proceses yourself, you need expensive lawyers and consultants -- otherwise it'll take you 12 months, not 2.
At least in business: how slow things move. No decision can be made by any one person. It requires multiple meetings. Discussions. Repeated conversations and new stakeholders you've never heard of at the 11th hour.
Even basic things like "Can we hire the 2 people that are already in the approved budget?" would take months.
Governments worked even slower. (UK/London, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg). If you accidentally missed a checkbox you could start a 2 month long government approval process all over again. And you can't do the proceses yourself, you need expensive lawyers and consultants -- otherwise it'll take you 12 months, not 2.
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-1point
#73
I lived in London for a couple years and appreciated how efficient the public transport system was. I also felt the cities naturally required you to do a lot more walking and it was one of the reasons I was a lot more fit then than my fat a*s is now.
When visiting France and the Netherlands it blew my mind when most things close on Sundays and I felt a bit lonely.
In France being required to weigh things at the produce area before getting to the checkout was new.
The English don’t know how to add any kind of spices to their food. The main flavorful things we found there were oriental and Indian food.
In France even if we asked for steaks to be well done they came out medium rare at best. The beef quality felt much more tough than what we have in the states.
We once went to an American steakhouse in France and their version of what they think cowboys, etc are like felt a bit comical.
Parking garages in the Netherlands blew my mind. The scanning of the license plates was cool but the absolute zero room for a parking space really sucked. It felt like you literally were squeezing to get out of your car and not hit the car next to you.
When visiting France and the Netherlands it blew my mind when most things close on Sundays and I felt a bit lonely.
In France being required to weigh things at the produce area before getting to the checkout was new.
The English don’t know how to add any kind of spices to their food. The main flavorful things we found there were oriental and Indian food.
In France even if we asked for steaks to be well done they came out medium rare at best. The beef quality felt much more tough than what we have in the states.
We once went to an American steakhouse in France and their version of what they think cowboys, etc are like felt a bit comical.
Parking garages in the Netherlands blew my mind. The scanning of the license plates was cool but the absolute zero room for a parking space really sucked. It felt like you literally were squeezing to get out of your car and not hit the car next to you.
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-2points
#74
In France you have to give at least three months notice before you quit or you owe your boss the salary of your replacement.
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-3points
#75
As others have said, the smoking and lack of wheelchair accessibility. For me, it’s dogs. Being as diplomatic as possible, I will say I have an intense dislike of dogs. Dogs are *everywhere*, including on mass transit and, most shocking to me, in restaurants. At least the dogs seem to be well trained and are mostly on a leash (sometimes even muzzled), as opposed to the US where training a dog and keeping it under control appears to be a minor afterthought.
-4points
#76
Lack of water dispensers anywhere. Including airports. Checked to see if there is a higher rate of kidney stones in the EU and indeed there is.
Wild!
Wild!
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-6points
#77
In the US, coffee shops open early as hell. 6am or 7am. Maybe even earlier if you're in a town that has an early morning crowd. In Germany, coffee shops open at like 10am. They are for sitting and relaxing with a friend, not grab and go. You want the coffee to go and a pastry? That is from a bakery. Or a kiosk for s****y €1 coffee.
Sometimes after I drop my kid off at school at 7:45, I'd like a nice coffee drink. But even though I have no less than 6 coffee shops in a 1 block radius, they aren't open. No hot breakfast either. Go to a bakery for some coffee and a cold sandwich or go home.
Sometimes after I drop my kid off at school at 7:45, I'd like a nice coffee drink. But even though I have no less than 6 coffee shops in a 1 block radius, they aren't open. No hot breakfast either. Go to a bakery for some coffee and a cold sandwich or go home.
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-6points
#78
No AC anywhere and trying to work in an office in the stifling heat during high temp days. Everyone seems to be in total denial there — it’ll only be hot for a few days and the rest of the year will be fine!
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-6points
#79
- Tiny apartments with tiny fridges
- Lack of mixed taps and switches/outlets in bathrooms (UK)†
- Bad air quality in cities†
- Lack of work ethic: So many people are content to do exactly what they were asked to do and nothing more. I noticed this with service people (cable / appliance repair) and with senior engineers we hired. So often they would "do the work" they were supposed to do but it wouldn't actually solve the problem they were supposed to
- Racism - casual racism against Arabs, Romanians, Pakistanis - the people doing this don't even think their racism is racist†
- (UK) Customer Service that is polite but useless. It takes so long to achieve basic things like opening accounts, getting the rental company to fix problems with the rental car, etc.
†My experience is form the mid-201x's so I expect that some of these will no longer be true.
- Lack of mixed taps and switches/outlets in bathrooms (UK)†
- Bad air quality in cities†
- Lack of work ethic: So many people are content to do exactly what they were asked to do and nothing more. I noticed this with service people (cable / appliance repair) and with senior engineers we hired. So often they would "do the work" they were supposed to do but it wouldn't actually solve the problem they were supposed to
- Racism - casual racism against Arabs, Romanians, Pakistanis - the people doing this don't even think their racism is racist†
- (UK) Customer Service that is polite but useless. It takes so long to achieve basic things like opening accounts, getting the rental company to fix problems with the rental car, etc.
†My experience is form the mid-201x's so I expect that some of these will no longer be true.
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-6points
#80
I was shocked by how s****y and car-centric Irish infrastructure is coming from NYC. Even compared to like a third tier city in Poland, structurally the country is so underdeveloped. We literally have narrow single lane country roads 20 minutes outside of Dublin that are designed for 2 way traffic in the year 2026. Rush hour is absolutely brutal here and we don’t even have a train/tram that takes you to the airport. Things also move at a snail’s pace so there is absolutely no rush by the government to actually improve things.
Honorable mentions: one of the worst, if not the worst housing crisis in Europe and also the most expensive energy costs in Europe as well. I mean I knew those were major issues when I moved here 5 years ago but it’s SO much worse now, and absolutely nothing is being done about it. If I wasn’t waiting on my Irish citizenship I would have left a long time ago.
Honorable mentions: one of the worst, if not the worst housing crisis in Europe and also the most expensive energy costs in Europe as well. I mean I knew those were major issues when I moved here 5 years ago but it’s SO much worse now, and absolutely nothing is being done about it. If I wasn’t waiting on my Irish citizenship I would have left a long time ago.
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-7points