When you picture the United States, where does your mind go? Gorgeous national parks featuring almost every biome, friendly people who will say hello to you as you pass them on the street, a diverse population where you can certainly find people you mesh with, and a wide variety of fascinating cities? As an American who lives in Europe, I’m always curious what people think about my home country. They say the grass is always greener on the other side, but do Europeans really think that about the United States?
Reddit user DerpDerp3001 recently started a conversation asking Europeans what they imagine living in the United States is like, and hundreds of people weighed in with their honest answers. We’ve gathered some of their replies down below, so feel free to upvote the ones you resonate with and dispel any misconceptions in the comments. Keep reading to also find interviews with travel writer Maria Haase, of Europe Up Close, and the person who sparked this conversation in the first place, DerpDerp3001 on Reddit.
If you’re an American, let us know how accurate you think these Europeans were, and if you’re from Europe or anywhere else around the globe, we would love to hear how you picture the United States as well. Then if you’re interested in checking out a Bored Panda article examining what Americans find odd about Europe, look no further than right here.
#22
An accurate description of all the flaws of the capitalistic system.
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31points
#23
Wack.
99% like anywhere else but extremes are more extreme. Extreme violence in nature and people. Extreme wealth and poverty. Extreme differences. Its not really a country but a conglomerate of very different countries.
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29points
#24
British person here, I would think that the houses would be really nice and spacious for the same price as a tiny uk house. However, I also feel artificial foods would be everywhere and unnecessary amounts of fat would be in most foods. I feel people would either obsess over my accent or make fun of it by saying “bo ole of wo a” and their classic tea and crumpet joke. FYI: I don’t like crumpets, and i don’t drink unruly amounts of tea
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27points
#25
My worse nightmare, no health care, no gun control, zero job security, no labour laws at least no labour laws functioning properly, Karens, irresponsibility everywhere but being irrationally about their kids almost as if their made of porcelain, all in all just horrible
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26points
#26
its such a f*****g mixed bag of everything. The united states values libertarian thought to such a degree that youll find literally every cultural subset, political idea, food, and religion. Even the legal codes vary INSANELY across state lines. I could theoretically buy semi auto rifles and huge amounts of marijuana legally in one state then travel across an arbitrary open border and the people will treat you like a terrorist there if caught. This is totally what the founding fathers wanted mind you, just a perfect amount of nuts i guess.
Honestly this country is really f*****g stressful as f**k and you have to have a lot of context and reasoning and awareness to not p**s people off and see the good parts in america. Living in a blue state is totally different than living in a red one. Definitely a lot to s**t on for sure.
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24points
#27
All my American friends are highly educated and middle to upper middle class, they have it ever so good. I know they are far from the norm, but if you have skills in high demand, the opportunities are almost endless it seems.
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22points
#28
I imagine the distances to be huge, the life in the unpopulated areas to be extremely calm but not like what we call rural in Europe and everything else, as well as life in the cities, to be a touch artificial, like lacking tradition. It's also very clear that your streets don't have 400 years and the suburbs have been built very fast to accommodate a lot of people. I have 2 very very close, almost relatives, living in Seattle and everything I see from them is not like social media, they just work to have a quiet comfortable life but the social media side of the Us is always excess, consumerism and interaction-farming. Also, I try to not rely on these prejudices because the country has 330 million people, 1% is already 3,3 million people which means that everything is massively amplified even if it's only 0,5% of the population doing it. I also think your country has the biggest potential to reward your work but the safety net is weak and I feel not many people have responsible financial education, which neither does my people, but our safety net seems a big stronger
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22points
#29
Not very different for the most part tbh, just some small differences with supermarkets and restaurants obviously, more car dependency which kinda sucks, no 'free' university or healthcare. Day to day life wouldn't change.
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17points