The truth is in the eye of the beholder. For Americans, this means endless free refills, red solo cups and supermarket aisles dedicated to an entire kingdom of cereals, sour and crunchy, salty and sweet, family boxes and portion size. For Europeans, this is something they only see during Netflix TV series while shamelessly devouring entire seasons on rainy Sundays.
But in order to find out what cultural differences really stand out as major when comparing the American lifestyle and the rest of the world, one has to look at what people themselves have to say. So we compiled a list of the best answers that reveal what’s totally normal in the US but looks very out-of-this-world in other countries below.
If you have something to add, please hit us in the comment section! And in case you’re in the mood for more culture shocks, check out our previous article on an American living in Italy who shares the incredible USA vs. Italy culture differences she has experienced.
#61
Living "paycheck to paycheck" despite making like 4 grands a month
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30points
#62
Having to take out a second mortgage because you twisted your ankle in the wrong state.
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30points
#63
Most shopping carts in the US have fixed backwheels. In Germany all 4 wheels are able to freely turn 360° which makes moving the cart around much easier.
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29points
#65
I've never seen a Canadian drive down the road with two of their nation's flags on the back with flames shooting out from the sides of the truck.
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28points
#66
I'm an American (born and raised), but I've heard that in other countries, strangers don't say hi or strike up conversations with each other. I know non-Americans are confused but let me explain:
Sometimes if you are say at an amusement park for example and you're waiting in line for a ride, strangers would strike conversations with you and such and this is actually pretty normal. Or say you are walking around in a park and you walk past by someone, you usually smile and say a quick "hi" as you are walking past that person.
I've had countless times where I've had people strike conversations with me that I didn't know. White people do this, but especially Black people do this a lot as well. Like you would see an old Black lady at a store and she'll just start talking to you.
I've had Europeans tell me that people would think you are mentally ill if you were to strike up conversations with strangers in Europe for example. Especially in Asian countries no one does this (I've heard). Strangers absolutely do not say a word to each other in Japan or China for example.
Side note: This may also be a regional thing in the US. I've lived in southern states mostly (like Texas) and people are really damn friendly down there. Now I live in Connecticut and people are way less friendly over here (no offense).
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27points
#67
Probably not really European but Finnish, memes about forgotting to connect your phone to wifi. Here we have unlimited internet and it's working almost everywhere. Also the unlimited mobile data costs here like 30€ in month
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27points
#68
I got off the plane and asked the cap guy how far the hotel was and he said about 30 miles. I almost had a heart attack... turns out cabs are cheaper than the Uk
I can't remember the price I paid but I was presently surprised.
The UK cabs are like £4 per mile
also you would get laughed of the taxi for asking to go 30 miles and not taking the train
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26points
#69
There was a 24-hour pharmacy across the street from our apartment. Nothing shocking there, except it also sold booze and cigarettes.
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26points
#70
One positive thing I've noticed, foreigners love how big Halloween is here.
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25points
#71
At least in the Midwest, the soft smiles you give to strangers if you make eye contact while walking past them. Did not go over so well in Germany.
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25points
#72
As an American I was shocked to learn that not every school internationally has a building cop
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24points
#75
Just the sheer scale of it. I could drive the distance from the most northern part of Scotland to the most southern part of Cornwall and still be in Texas. How is that possible?!
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24points
#76
They have garbage disposals in their kitchens. That's just so wild to me.
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23points
#77
Lemonade. I'm America, but there was a post going around a while back about an American who ordered a lemonade at a restaurant in Australia and was confused to receive a Sprite. The op of the post was the server, and thought it was just the American being snooty for being confused. Then commenters from other nonUS countries chimed in on what a lemonade is to them. It blew my mind, because in the US lemonade is so iconic as a summer drink, and is often homemade.
Eta: lemonade is not water with lemon in it. It requires sugar and preparation.
Second edit: to all the people commenting "hello America, I'm dad" pay your child support. You can't just walk out on an entire country like that and show up suddenly now that I've got karma
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22points
#78
When I went to New York I was flabbergasted by the amount of people just loitering on the streets or having phone conversations that everyone can hear on the train like npcs from GTA.
People outside of the USA don't hang out in public or let other people into their business on public transport.
I managed to hear a woman talk about how her baby daddy wasn't going to her daughters birthday party and I started to pick side's in her personal life, while walking through Central Park I heard two friends with a substantial age gap talk about everyone in their friend group having mistresses and they were trading information on the mistress facts each of them knew for their respective friends, I got invested in that one so I folliwed them for a while (pretending I wasn't) because I wanted the tea.
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22points
#79
Biscuits and gravy is a legit thing. Also you can ride motorcycles without helmets in some states??? And your iced tea isn't sweetened unless you ask for sweet.
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21points
