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The things that politicians say and do can greatly influence the way we see one another. And since they're not always true, it's important that we make our own observations and draw our own conclusions. So, let's take a moment to examine transatlantic relationships—or rather, opinions. A viral thread on Reddit shows people from the United States sharing what they don't understand about Europe, which provides interesting insight into their worldview.
(Of course, the Old Continent isn't a single organism—each country has its own traditions and ways of life. But this discussion still offers an interesting look at the image Europe has carved for itself.)
Continue scrolling to get a better understanding of their thoughts, and in case you're wondering, we have also covered 30 American norms that stun Europeans. Ultimately, we hope that familiarizing yourself with these differences, no matter which side of the ocean you live on, will help you to understand the other perspective instead of reinforcing stereotypes.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I'm Canadian, not American, close enough.
I dont understand why some countries grind to a complete halt when snow hits the ground. As if it were no different than lava filling the streets
the same could be applied to certain places in America.
Bill Evs 9 months ago (edited)
As others have correctly said it's down to rarity. If you live somewhere where snowfall is a common thing then you tend to have the infrastructure and tools/ skills/ experience to deal with it. Where I come from in the UK snow is very uncommon. We get a heavy snowfall maybe once every three to four years. Although I have driven in the snow several times over my life I would only do it if absolutely necessary as it's not something I'm used to and not something I'm super confident doing.
Forrest Hobbs 9 months ago
The issue is that most years, most parts of England and Wales (not sure about Scotland and NI) don't get much snow. Having the equipment to deal with lots of snowfall is expensive and most years, it wouldn't get much use. So... On the occasions that the snow's bad, it's a problem.
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Boredandsomea 9 months ago
south sweden isn´t that good at handling snow because it very rare and the infrastructure is to expensive for just a couple of days per year, it´s cheaper to close down some parts and let global warming deal with it the next day than spend resources on it directly.
Load More Replies... Ruth 9 months ago
In the southern parts of the US, accumulation of snow is relatively rare. The towns and cities don’t keep a large fleet of vehicles like snow plows. Also, since it is a rare occurrence, most people are not experienced in driving in icy conditions.
Papa 9 months ago
And on the flip side, back in the 90's I was in North Dakota in the first week of September and they announced on the radio that the schools were letting students go home at noon because it was too hot.
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martin734 9 months ago (edited)
I live on the south coast of England. Usually, at the most we get snow for 3-4 hours per year, most years we don't get any at all. Because of this our local councils don't spend millions of pounds on expensive snow clearing equipment that is going to spend 99% of it's time sitting in the depot. This means on the very rare occasions when we do get snow, it can be a bit disruptive for a couple of hours before it melts.
MonsterMum 9 months ago
Because it is unusual, we are not equipped for it. Where I live (south coast UK), we barely get more than a sprinkling.
Cee Cee 9 months ago
The UK has a collective nervous breakdown when it snows more than a centimeter. Trains and planes delayed/cancelled, car crashes due to no awareness or experience of slippery conditions. TBF though the road gritters do a great job. Snow is not a major issue unless you live up north or Scotland so very little experience and minimal investment in infrastructure.
Jan Rosier 9 months ago (edited)
Bums me out as well as a Belgian. 0.5 cm of snow expect and all hell breaks loose, tons of salt on the streets. And it gets worse. In summertime, first rain after a dry-spell and suddenly noone knows how to drive anymore, or is scared, and a lot more accidents happen.
StrangeOne 9 months ago
Because Canadian infrastructure was made to withstand our harsh winters. Other places, unless it's normal to have snow, they have to be more careful.
Helene Sula, the woman behind the travel and lifestyle blog Helene in Between, moved from Dallas, Texas, to Germany in 2016, and in 2019, she returned to Dallas. She has experienced life on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and told Bored Panda, "One of the biggest differences between Americans and Europeans is the overall pace of life."
"In much of Europe, there's a bigger emphasis on work-life balance—long lunches, late starts, and, yes, early restaurant closing times. In the U.S., we're used to 24/7 convenience, whereas in Europe, things actually close so people can go home and enjoy life," she explained.
"Also, customer service expectations—Americans are all about friendliness and efficiency, while in many European countries, service is more about the experience than speed. Oh, and air conditioning! Americans crank it up, while in Europe, you're lucky if you get a fan," Helene added.
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#2
How y'all manage to get socialized healthcare and education. Those concepts are fought so hard in the States and I don't know how to convince people that healthcare and education are good things to have for free or even just cheaper.
Scott Rackley 9 months ago
Well, the insurance thing is because politicians are bought and paid for by the insurance companies. The education is because certain politicians want to keep people dumb enough to believe that socialized healthcare will destroy the nation. So far they're successful.
Steve 9 months ago
A dirt clod has a higher IQ then all of the MAGA's combined.
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Multa Nocte 9 months ago (edited)
Probably one of the saddest things about the US and one of the two reasons we moved to France.
joseph legatt 9 months ago
But the U.S. is okay with their socialized military, police and fire departments.
Michael Largey 9 months ago (edited)
In the US, socialism is any government program that helps people you don't like.
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Geoffrey Scott 9 months ago
So many here (US) go OUT OF THEIR MINDS if taxes are proposed for such 'socialist' ideas. As our Danish exchange students' Dad told me "you gotta watch them(politicians) every minute!" Sadly, as 'plugged in' as US citizens claim to be, such a concept would be rife with deceit and corruption due to not being 'plugged in'.
Forrest Hobbs 9 months ago
It seems to me that the issue here is that in the US, universal healthcare is made to sound bad and scary by calling it "socialist" whereas here in Europe, our elected representatives figured out long ago that a successful economy needs healthy workers, so they'd better make sure the workers can all get health care. Oh yeah, and their children, and their retired parents too. After all, you won't be working at your best if you keep having to take time off for your sick kids or frail parents. Some of the politicians did it "because it was obviously the right thing to do", but it is just good economic sense from the point of view of everyone but health industry profiteers.
Pferdchen 9 months ago
I've been thinking of purchasing the book "Invisible Hands: The Making of the Conservative Movement from the New Deal to Reagan." People are so ignorant, they fall for the propaganda of those protecting and increasing their profit margins. Living the experience is, to say the least, disheartening and demoralizing.
Silberwolf 9 months ago
As far as I know healthcare and education are seen as profit-oriented businesses in the US and not as something that's considered a precious and necessary basis for a successful country.
Billo66 9 months ago
Their healthcare is payed, but by taxes. The point is, we pay taxes too but corruption diverts the money to military or personal gains. Also, it's cheaper to bury you than fix you. America smiles so sweetly to your face meanwhile their fist is up your a**e. I was "lucky' enough to get cancer and qualify for medicare but thats as good as it gets.
Scott Rackley 9 months ago
There is no health care in the US that wants to bury you before they've wrung you dry. Why do you think there's so much resistance to taking yourself out when you're terminal?
Load More Replies... Gogubaci 9 months ago
it's not "free", it's paid for by taxes, there's usually a dedicated tax for healthcare and social security
Don't listen to me 9 months ago
But thats the taxes on everyone. We collectively pay for anyone who needs healthcare. Just like proper insurance really, but no one is making a profit out of it. Any 'profit' is spent on providing the infrastructure ie hospitals, doctors etc.
Load More Replies... #3
As an American that lived in the UK for a few years, why the f**k do we get dumped on for not using the metric system? The UK uses so many different forms of measurement then shits on us for not using one of the 500 they use. I get our system isn't perfect but at least it's consistently used across the board here.
Multa Nocte 9 months ago
Because the American one is insane. This is speaking as someone who lived in the US and now lives in France, and who now uses metric without a skip because it is actually much easier.
William Teach 9 months ago
I prefer to measure in ducks, cows, and alligators
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Maples Dad 9 months ago
Don't judge the UK by England either on that note!
Load More Replies... marcelo D. 9 months ago
The american one is not consistent sorry. It is more consistent than the mess the Uk uses, but the american one uses imperial for everyday, and metric for cientific (even medical, which is why you hear stuff like, "your tumor is x centimeters long, the size of y fruit").
Forrest Hobbs 9 months ago
If you think the US system is consistent, you've not paid attention to the two different gallons the US has for dry and fluid measures, nor the fact that 1 US fl oz is defined as 30 ml for food packaging and 29.5735295625 ml for everything else. The US system isn't the simplified Imperial system - it's older and messier.
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Jrog 9 months ago
Most people from the UK can easily use both metrics and insan... sorry, Imperial units. They don't make a big deal of it, and use the customary system for unimportant things, while using sensible units for the stuff that matters. Did you spot the difference, my dear American?
Ace 9 months ago
Some of the older measurements that UK folk cling on to (nearly all of them only i informal use) are also common across Europe. Pounds and pints, for example, both exist in German and French among others, even though they refer to a half a kilo and a half litre respectively. In French bars a small beer is often referred to as a "Demi", a half a pint.
Definitely a Human 9 months ago
It's not so much that you still use imperial, it's that you refuse to use metric, the obviously superior system. Yes imperial is good for human sized things, height etc. But rubbish for science and engineering. Also, that you seem proud of not going metric. I once had a USian tell me that fahrenheit is superior to Celsius because the degrees are smaller, and therefore more accurate
However, we also share some similarities. "I think we can all agree on music and TV!" Helene, who also shares bits of her travels on Instagram and TikTok, said.
"And at the end of the day, people everywhere love good food, good company, and a good story. I've also found that a shared love of travel, history, and curiosity about different cultures connects us all, even if we approach things in different ways."
#4
How popular smoking cigarettes is. Even with the recent boom in vaping and e-cigs in the US, I would still say that they're not even close. Every outdoor cafe in Europe has at least half of their patrons smoking. My buddy that lives over there says it's just part of their social culture.
Doesn't really bother me either. It's just interesting to me that it's so looked down upon here in the US and so popular in most parts of Europe.
Jrog 9 months ago (edited)
The difference is minimal, and very much depends on which country you consider. In the USA 19,8% of adult smoke. In the EU, the percentage can be as low as 7% (sweden) up to 42% in Greece, with the EU27 average being 23%. Sweden, Netherlands, UK, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland and Malta all have smokers percentage lower than the US, with most of the central countries (except France) being about on par with the US. Several countries banned smoking in cafes, some banned smoking even in cafes outdoor patios, stations or other public spaces.
K Barnes 9 months ago
It's worth noting that the study you quote with 19.8% of Americans is actually any smoking, not daily or regular, which is lower. The percentage of daily smokers in the USA is actually closer to 10% (just over) while it's almost 20% in Europe, on average.
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Mia Black 9 months ago
As a German who commutes by train, I really hate this. It's getting worse again since the last years. People become more ruthless in general. Now I have nearly every day a (mostly male) person that smokes in areas they are not allowed to - even right in front of the stairs or in the stairs where everybody has to go through the smoke. It's disgusting. I've always hated to inhale smoke. I remember as a kid when the train had only one wagon where smoking was NOT allowed and I was so happy when the first bans finally were set but there are still so many smokers who don't give a s**t on non smokers and that is harmful for others also
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
Without checking the number, as Jrog so perfectly does, when I visit Germany it seems excessive!
Niels AirMax 9 months ago
Smoking just rocks. And it looks cool. And it is relaxing. And we love it. And we'll continue. Gladly. Period!😎
Lady Eowyn 9 months ago
It's not a matter of "looked down on", it's a matter of health! I get sever asthma attacks when around tobacco smoke. People get cancer from second-hand smoke. Great for you if it doesn't bother you, but it does have immediate or long-term effects for many. Even those who just don't like their food smelling like tobacco.
Niels AirMax 9 months ago
While you Americans just LOVE to work yourselves to death, we prefer a more subtle and way cooler approach.🤷🏼♂️
Multa Nocte 9 months ago
Yeah, when we could allow "useful" things like guns. So disgusting.
Load More Replies... #5
In some hotel bathrooms I’ve been in, the shower didn’t have a door or curtain or had a half door, and water would get everywhere despite my best efforts. Why?
Wang Zhuang 9 months ago
I can relate to this. I stayed at an Air BnB in Brussels back in September, and the shower was the same way. The bathroom floor was wooden, so I was constantly worried about getting the floor really wet. I had to wash up very carefully
Peeka_Mimi 9 months ago
I checked into a hotel the night before my surgery here in Aurora, CO and they had a half door shower.
In 2022, YouGov conducted a study in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the USA, asking people to rate how similar they consider their own country to be to between 38 and 47 others.
Interestingly, only four countries are seen as similar by at least half of Americans. The UK (66%) and Canada (70%) are viewed as alike to the US by notable majorities, while third- and fourth-placed Australia and Germany are much further behind at 53% and 51%, respectively.
However, in all cases, Americans are more likely to see themselves as similar to the European countries than those countries are to see themselves as similar to the USA.
#6
How most of you Europeans seem fluent in English but I can't speak a lick of any other language even after taking 3 years of spanish.
Janissary35680 9 months ago
Get put in a place where you HAVE to speak Spanish--and nothing else--and observe how fast you learn it.
Don Adams 9 months ago
That's how I learned to drive a manual transmission. First car I bought was a clutch mobile, and, while not pretty(and a bit embarrassing at first), became proficient at it. When stationed in Germany, I was able to learn a lot with the help of some very kind locals, who appreciated my halting attempts at their language.
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persephone134 9 months ago
All the entertainment products are in English. Most people in European countries speak English as a second language, but their third language is usually much less developed.
The Scout 9 months ago
I would contradict the statement of entertainment being in English. This is different in European countries, but in most, e.g. Germany, movies, series, books and games are usually synchronized to the national language, so practice is limited to websites catering to an international public, Like BP. English is established very well in business and education, though. And many people prefer english originals to translations or syncs. The strength of a third language depends on the country. If you take Switzerland, German, French, Italian and Swiss German (which does not sound like German at all) and often Romansh are more or less Standard ( the first three being the official languages, the fourth being the everyday slang and the fifth a common if old rural dialect), English ist usually a very strong second.
Load More Replies... StrangeOne 9 months ago
Learning a language you're not exposed to all the time and don't use in conversation all that much makes it super hard to grasp and memorize. Europeans and other countries that have multilingualism are always exposed to, and converse, in multiple languages. There are Filipinos I work with who speak 4 or more languages. I still have to check the dictionary to make sure how to spell relieve, deceive, receive, and believe. Why is English like this???
The Scout 9 months ago
While the English language has, of course, its own difficulties and tricks, and has produced lots of great literature, it is comparatively simple in structure. That is one of the reasons it has become so widespread even in non-english-speaking countries. Also having lots of different languages in very close distance creates a need to have some kind of "lingua franca" to communicate. If, for example, you take a German from Southern Bavaria and confront him with one from East Frisia (not even 500 miles apart), it is entirely possible they will switch to English as that might be easier as synchronizing their German. Although I would recommend not speaking English in France. The French will usually understand you if you talk English - but will detest you for it for historical reasons.
nottheactualphoto 9 months ago
I speak French when in France, but my French is bad enough that they usually switch to English after a few minutes. I don't get detested, because I made the effort. And my French will have improved a little.
Load More Replies... Maples Dad 9 months ago
I'm Scottish and learned both French and German in High School. I can speak a little Russian and Hebrew too.
Calane E. Vanya 9 months ago
English is most often learned as the first foreign language, it is mandatory in schools (in my country) - that's why we know the basics. If someone doesn't care at all, they won't be able to communicate fluently, but it's enough to watch films, read books, browse the internet and without any deliberate effort, you learn vocabulary. In my case, most of the words I know come from books I read in English before they were published in my native language. If you want to learn languages that are less popular than English and German, you usually have to spend money. A good Japanese course is quite expensive in my country. Free apps are not necessarily enough. Besides, some languages are easier for Europeans than others. I don't need a case conjugation or a new writing system to learn English.
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
We learn english at school, being the most prominent (not most worldwide used, in numbers) business language. Add to that: popular music, IT lingo, visits to the US or UK and english comes more natural than another language. Even though in Texas or Florida I would learn spanish!
#7
Whatcha mean you can just go to the doctor? You don't save up for a few years first?
Alexandra 9 months ago
If I call my doctor, I have an appointment within a week. And I don't have to pay for that appointment: I already paid for it through the universal health insurance everyone has. If you don't earn enough to pay your health insurance, part of it will be paid for by the state.
Maples Dad 9 months ago
If I call my doctor, I have an appointment that same day! Though I've been unwell so the last 2 doctors appointment have taken place in my home! They just drive to you (Scotland.)
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Tobias Reaper 9 months ago
the only thing i pay for is a prescription even then its not that much or i can buy a yearly pass that lets me get them
Multa Nocte 9 months ago
If I call my doc tomorrow I can get in to see her this week. And it's only 26 euros, most of which I can get back.
Silberwolf 9 months ago
My condolences to every US citizen who has health issues. (no intention to be condescending, just frightened). And no, healthcare in Europe is of course not completely 'free', usually you have to pay a certain percentage of your pre-tax loan for healthcare every month (in Germany ~ 14 % of your loan, but then almost every medical treatment is 'free').
Billo66 9 months ago
I live in the US. I have Cancer and COPD. My chemo medicine is 250,000 a year alone. I have been fighting it 10 years. 186,000 to put in a port, the list is endless. Everything has been covered by my insurance. I may have a small co-pay on a perscription here or there but thats it. Even procedures they don't cover were covered until I could find an alternative. United Healthcare provided me the funds for the Doctors to save my life. Without it I had 6 months, that was 10 years ago. It's uncurable but treatable. Feel like s**t every day but I am here. Multiple Myeloma if you are curious.
Grundel County 9 months ago
My mom has a chronic illness and her very expensive medicine isn't covered by her insurance, but she applied for an advocacy group and they pay for it on her behalf. At one point she was even taking a medicine that had to be administered by a Healthcare professional, a Healthcare worker came to her home to administer, all paid for by the various channels. And we also live in US.
Load More Replies... Grundel County 9 months ago
In the US, the Supreme Court ruled that expanding government-funded Healthcare to low income families was voluntary, so a lot of states don't do it. I live in a "blue" state currently. All of my Healthcare was completely free to me and my family until we later became higher earners and no longer qualified for that assistance, but our monthly costs are still based on our income. We also have the option to be insured through my husbands job. I have family that lives in a "red" state and their particular state doesn't provide the same assistance to low income families, but there are still several options to apply for assistance that just aren't federal or state programs. You can even fill out paperwork directly in the doctors office and provide proof of income if you need assistance, and the dang doctors office will even charge you on a sliding scale based on what you can afford. I truly do not understand these overblown American Healthcare statements.
Grundel County 9 months ago
Additionally, there are so many advocacy groups that will deal with insurance companies on your behalf. Should this be necessary? I feel like probably not....but I'm American and this is what I'm used to, I'm not well versed in the fine details of health care systems in other countries. My mom has a chronic illness with insanely expensive medicine. Her insurance won't cover it, so she just calls her advocacy group and they pay for it instead. I hope this is available in every state in the US, but I guess I really don't know. USA is kind of a big place, lots of states all with their own state governments.
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DrBronxx 9 months ago
In Japan, you can just go to whatever doctor specialises in your problem. I had a sore knee, so I went to an orthopaedist. I was talking about it with my mum (UK) and she was flabbergasted. At home, you have to go to your GP (unless you want to pay through the nose), who would then assess whether you should be referred to an orthopedist or not. Also, I didn't need an appointment. I just showed up and waited. Sure, you have to wait longer, but if you show up first thing in the morning, you don't have to wait as long.
Michael None 9 months ago
The American healthcare expensive trope is really over stated. Yeah it sucks but I've had a chronic condition undiagnosed for over a year (no one can figure it out) been to the ER twice, 5 different specialists etc and I'm not about to go into bankruptcy. I just pay my bills and eventually reach an out of pocket max which isn't that much. Maybe other people's health insurance is worse than mine but that is hard to imagine.
Grundel County 9 months ago
Right? I feel like all of the "i got a $100,000 bill from the hospital" stories are confusing when you don't know the end of the story. Most stories you hear like that, if you asked how they paid it, they would say "oh I didn't have to I sent it to my insurance company and they covered their part and i paid my share which was x amount of dollars"
Load More Replies... #8
Am I allowed to comment if I’m Canadian?
How do so many people fit into London? And there’s so many old buildings still in use, isn’t asbestos a problem? How are there so many different accents in small countries like the UK and Ireland? Pretty much in Canada most people sound the same, there’s a few other accents but there aren’t too many big differences, except for maybe Newfoundlanders, Francophones and people in the country.
Ruth 9 months ago
The really old buildings were built long before asbestos was commonly used in buildings. 1940s - 1970s were the main years it was used. It has been since removed from most commercial buildings over the years when renovations were done. As for accents, I live in South Carolina and even here we have four very distinct accents within our small state.
DrBronxx 9 months ago
Northern Ireland has more accents than that, with a third of the population of South Carolina.
Load More Replies... MonsterMum 9 months ago
The asbestos in building is usually not a problem until it's disturbed. Getting it removed is expensive
StrangeOne 9 months ago
I know you see the old buildings on TV, movies and see pictures in books and online. But being from a relatively not-old-country and then going to a country that has centuries old buildings is a whole other level. Some architectural styles I would see in fairy tale books I saw in real life. It was like a kid going to Disneyland and seeing all the castles and characters. Just a surreal experience that those who live in those places probably don't appreciate as much because they see them everyday. It would be vice versa in Canada, too. People come to Winnipeg and locals just be like "Why?" But visitors find stuff to marvel at that we don't see anything too special about.
Wij 9 months ago
As a former inmate of winnipeg, there is nothing there worth mentioning
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Barbara Wilcock 9 months ago
What?! Yes London has old buildings and lots of different cultures
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
Many accents? You've heard noting yet. Check this: My mates late grandma would not understand my grandma, both speaking Germany but growing up 9 km apart!
Melanie Filmer 9 months ago
If I go as little as 50 miles in any direction from my home people have a totally different accent. I live 50 miles from Newcastle and even I can't understand Geordie accents lol
Forrest Hobbs 9 months ago
As I understand it, the reason the UK has so many accents is that we've had settlements in the same places for a very long time and every settlement developed/develops its own way of speaking. In the days before railways, lots of people stayed put and generally, well, someone speaking differently to you is "an outsider" and you don't want to talk like them. If they move to your settlement, they'll want to fit in and will tend to adjust their speech. It wasn't until the 20th century that people were in a position to hear what "other people" sounded like on a large scale with radio and television and so on.
Ultimately, one also has to remember that "Europe isn't just one monolithic place—it's made up of so many different cultures, languages, and customs," Helene said. "What's normal in France might be totally different in Germany or Italy."
"Also, public transportation actually works here, tipping isn't the same, and if you order an 'iced coffee,' expect some very confused looks."
#9
F**k, I just moved to Spain and I cannot understand how normal it is to just STARE so blatantly at people. Does anybody know????
The constant touching and cheek kisses are also pretty weird to me because I don’t like to be touched but I was aware of those at least before I moved.
Mia Black 9 months ago
I hear this so often that people from outside think German people stare at them and I really want to see comparing videos or pictures because I don't feel that and I hate to be stared at. (Yesterday I actually was stared at by a young man who after several minutes finally was brave enough to ask me where I got my leather coat from but aside from this is when we're are a bigger group of gothics people just seem to look into the nothing or so maybe even stare but more through me than at me)
Mia Black 9 months ago
And as I'm just in the crowded train station: there is no place to look at without a human in the way and somewhere I have to look
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myronmog63 9 months ago
I sometimes just vacantly stare into the middle distance. One bloke asked me why I was staring at him. I told him, truthfully, that until he spoke to me I wasn't even aware of him.
BarfyCat 9 months ago
I've never experienced this in Europe, but I certainly have in the Middle East.
Leonora P 9 months ago
Never had a problem with it in Spain - France, Germany and Austria, yes.
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#10
How come yall got universal healthcare but u gotta pay to take a s**t.
DforDory 9 months ago
We pay for the healthcare as well- with taxes. Also, in Europe most people don't expect others to clean their sh*t for free, that's why we pay for bathrooms.😐🙄
marcelo D. 9 months ago
yes, but the taxes you pay your whole life all together wouldn't even pay for one treatment of some diseases in the US. Like getting charged 5 thousand dollars just for a room at a hospital (more than a 5 star hotel) and that doesn't include any type of medical attention at all
Load More Replies... persephone134 9 months ago
If you have to pay, it's usually because the toilets are being cleaned regularly. If someone is sitting there asking you to pay, it's literally their wage. (Like tipping culture in the USA.)
Christos Arvanitis 9 months ago
In Japan there are free public and very clean toilets everywhere so I'm having trouble with your explanation.
Load More Replies... Pernille 9 months ago
It is only toilets in tourist area that cost money, we are making visitors pay to clean up after them. At least that is what I find in Danmark and France.
Otto Katz 9 months ago
Was in Portugal last year, the toilets were free, and clean.
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Dizzie D 9 months ago
It’s not common to pay to go into public toilets here. Last time I did that, I travelled to London and had to pay in Paddington Station. Even I thought that was just weird. We don’t have tons of public toilets either. Most people who want to use a restroom when out and about pop into supermarkets, pubs, service stations etc. It’s not a ‘thing’ to pay to pee everywhere in the U.K. Probably just London.
#11
This beans for breakfast thing. I think it's mainly a British thing.
What kind of beans? Are they like American baked beans? What do they taste like?
Multa Nocte 9 months ago
Heinz baked beans are a big thing for most of the Brits here in France.
Jrog 9 months ago (edited)
Baked beans are actually a very good breakfast nutrition wise. They have lots of proteins and fiber, relatively low calories and high carb, have plenty of iron, zinc and B vitamin. The eggs they are paired with usually provide the missing healthy fats, and the grain toast is a good source of complex carbs and fibers.
Jrog 9 months ago
Compare them with the typical american breakfast. Processed, heavily sugar-coated cereals have little nutrition content, the manufacturing process damages the natural fibers of the cereals and the added sugar -that can be up to 30% in weight!- is a known cause of Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The refined grains used in cereals but also in pastry (such as muffins and bagels) have high glycemic index, that mess up with metabolism. The typical american breakfast -both the sweet and savory- is also severely lacking vitamins from fresh fruit or vegetables, often replaced by overprocessed, oversugared orange juice, but is rich in saturated fats that are a known cause of cardiovascular diseases and obesity.
Load More Replies... Geoffrey Scott 9 months ago
And I have no doubt Brits are horrified by biscuts (rolls not cookies) and gravy here in US.
Blue Bunny of Happiness 9 months ago
I am indeed… someday I might even try them!
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Forrest Hobbs 9 months ago
The Grauniad (and I) agree: https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/feb/08/best-baked-beans
Load More Replies... MonsterMum 9 months ago
Beans on toast is more a lunch or lazy dinner. That cheese on beans with eggs on toast looks wrong. Beans on the side of a full English Breakfast is quite common
Miriam Insidecor 9 months ago
No different to the immense amount of pancakes and waffles that Americans consume at breakfast.
Dizzie D 9 months ago
Well we do like baked beans on toast as a quick meal but it’s usually for lunch or dinner and the beans are more often than not, had as one small part of a full English breakfast. English breakfasts aren’t common either first thing on a ‘working’ morning as they take ages to cook all the ingredients and it’s a heavy meal. To be fair, most Brits will have toast or cereal and milk with either coffee or tea most days. Baked beans is not a common occurrence.
#12
No ice in softdrinks.
EDIT: Totally forgot there were no free refills.
The Scout 9 months ago
Why would I want to add ice to water down a perfectly cooled sotftdrink?
The Doom Song 9 months ago
You people realise that the machines that make ice never get cleaned properly right....
Betsy S 9 months ago
They are festering cesspools. And then people put that into their drink. Just no!
Load More Replies... Sapna Sarfare 9 months ago
Ice is the worst thing in soft drinks.. why do you need it? And why do you need refills for something that is adding calories? Dont get me wrong. I also consume soft drinks but i keep it in check, dont add ice and no free refills means i dont overspend
roddy 9 months ago
This. Soft drinks are one of the worst things you can do to your health. Ration them or drop them altogether. Big bottles of pop and unlimited refills to those enormous cups is just self sabotage. The result is diabetes, obesity, and bad teeth.
Load More Replies... Jrog 9 months ago
Time for MATHS! Let's consider a half-liter glass of coke, served at a well-chilled 5°C on a nice summer day (24°C). We use the Newton’s Law of Cooling to measure the time required to reach 20°C, assuming a generous 10 W/m²K heat transfer coefficient. With no ice, it would take about 30 minutes to heat up, that would already be plenty. With 3 common ice cubes, it would take a bit more than 1 hour. With 10 ice cubes, it would take roughly 2,5 hours. In the first case, you got 100% of what you paid for. In the second, you got 0,410 liters of cola instead of 0,5, 18% less. In the third case, you get less than half the cola you paid for, 230 ml. So, using lots of ice is a good options only if 1) you need to meditate over your soda glass for a whole afternoon and 2) you don't actually plan on drinking it.
Maples Dad 9 months ago
Why would I want free refills? There are only so much carbonated drink I can handle!
#13
I was in N. Ireland and all the food places were closed by 9PM ... That's when I get hungry!
Ozymandias73 9 months ago
That doesn't help them if they're hungry after close though.
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Huddo's sister 9 months ago
That's not an unusual time for a restaurant to close in Australia and most kitchen/food orders are stopped by 8pm. If you want something open later it is more likely to be a bar.
Nadine Debard 9 months ago
Don't try Sweden, I could barely find a place to eat in Stockholm after 7PM.
JuJu 9 months ago
Sorry, but that's BS. I've been there twice and we could eat out till late in Södermalm, Gamla Stan and Kungsholmen.
Load More Replies... DrBronxx 9 months ago
There are tons of takeaway places - Chinese, pizza, kebabs - that are open till late at night because they make a killing when the pubs close and everyone piles in. And anyway, if you have a regular 9-5 job, many recommend not eating past 19:00 anyway, because otherwise the food is more likely to just turn into fat.
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
9pm = 21:00: Try Italy or Spain! Nobody eats our in Ireland anyway. Too expensive!
#14
What is going on with all the Turkish barber shops I saw in Ireland.
Is there something special about them?
StrangeOne 9 months ago
I'm sure the Irish ask a similar question about the Irish pubs in North America.
marcelo D. 9 months ago
they don't irish people believe they make the best beer in the world, so why they would outright tell you that there is something special about the irish pubs (if they were autentic).
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Jrog 9 months ago
Barbershops are a trade that requires little advance cash to start, doesn't require much space, and can scale up or down easily depending on business. In the last years there has been a resurgence in male grooming with the comeback of beards and facial hair, so business is going well. Once someone starts making money, the trend will take hold in their community... In Ireland may be the Turkish community that is following this trend, in France it's Northafricans, in Italy it's mostly Albanians etc...
Zaach 9 months ago
I think it was an artifact of serendipity in the same way that Vietnamese women often work and/or own in nail salons. Some of the first VN women were trained in nails b/c that was what was available - now chain immigration results in VN women supported by family in the industry.In 1975, Tippi Hedren was doing humanitarian work. She was running a program for 20 Vietnamese refugee women to resettle them in the U.S. They admired her nails, the care that she took, and she got the idea to get her personal manicurist, Dusty Coots, to come to the refugee camp in Northern California and teach these women how to do a manicure as it would be done in Beverly Hills.
MonsterMum 9 months ago
Lots of them in the UK now, there are so many barber (Turkish and not) I wonder if some are a front for something?
Janissary35680 9 months ago (edited)
Barbers in Turkey start out as floor-sweeping apprentices, typically at age 16 but I've seen a couple of years younger. They learn their trade by watching and doing and in The Bad Old Days they got their chops busted if they messed up. This used to be true of most service industries like butchers, bakers, carpenters, mechanics and so on and in many cases it still is.
#15
Something else I just thought of after someone brought popcorn into the office...
Something I noticed about cinemas in Canada/USA , and Europe. *Or London UK at least, sample size here is quite low* is that in North American cinemas, you pay for a ticket, and it's a free for all for seating, you grab the best seat, early bird gets the worm
I went to a Cinema in London years ago with an old gf. and you picked your seat on a screen And you sat at THAT seat. like at a sporting venue, you didnt dare move even if the entire isle was empty *we might have been charged more per seat too, I dont recall*.
Ruth 9 months ago
This is beginning to change in the US. Assigned seating is common with some movie theaters.
Peeka_Mimi 9 months ago
I actually prefer assigned seating. Especially easier when you have your entire family with you.
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René Sauer 9 months ago
I am european, and if by the time the lights go out there are better seats still free, I sit there. It´s not like they will check.
HangryHangryHippo 9 months ago (edited)
It baffles me the idea of not knowing before hand! Coming from a "Developing nation" even when we got the tickets from the till, the sits were assigned (I remember this mid 90's) You chose your sit from a chart, the seller had like a wooden model of the place with pegs to show you the available places.
Bored Sailor 9 months ago
I in the USA have been to many theaters in many states and can not remember the last time I did not pick a seat.
StrangeOne 9 months ago
We have the assigned seating in Canada, now. I like it a bit. Doesn't stop people from stealing your seat and conveniently "losing their phone" in the seats, preventing staff from getting them to move. But that just happened once. Usually people are cool if you tell them they sat in the wrong spot.
Jrog 9 months ago
IDGAF about their phone, it's my seat, f**k off and come back after the movie if you really lost something there.
Load More Replies... Rali Meyer 9 months ago
You can typically move after the show started, but what if that seat holder comes late?
#16
Is there actually nude beaches? Like we have them here, but not as much as I hear they have over in Europe.
cerinamroth 9 months ago
FKK beaches in Germany. All beaches in Denmark can be nude if you want them to be. No one bats an eyelid. I usually swim naked in the sea after a sauna when we go on holiday to Denmark in the summer. I love it. Topless doesn't count - you can do that anywhere on the beach as long as you're not literally shoving your tits in someone's face, which no one ever does on the beach!
MadRatter 9 months ago
I have a mate here in Denmark who loves swimming naked, but he will always ask the people he's with if it's ok. So far none of us or any other people at the beach have taken issue with it.
Load More Replies... The Scout 9 months ago
It looks like they are indeed receeding. But at least in Germany (especially in the east) they were extremely popular for some time. That does not really compare, though, as the cultural attitude towards nudity is more relaxed, and most nude bathers are explicitely not nudists. Also you do not usually wear clothing in (mixed) saunas there, so it is nothing special.
cerinamroth 9 months ago
Saunas are almost always textile-free in Germany, including mixed ones. It's absolutely normal. People take off their cozzies after their shower at the pool as well. Also completely normal. It's because we have this precious notion of "My body is absolutely none of your business". It's so liberating.
Load More Replies... Zephyr343 9 months ago
Any beach can be one if you're brave enough and don't mind a lifetime ban
gerard julien 9 months ago
N**E : not wearing any clothes. N**E BEACHES IN AMERICA ???? WHERE ???? if a woman goes topless like in Florida she'll get ARRESTED ! lol
Linda Thorsen 9 months ago
Yes there are. Not everywhere, and actually less common now that a few decades ago. When I was young, in the 1970-80s almost all women were topless at all beaches. Now almost everybody wear tops, and there are not very many nude beaches. But you are free to swim naked in a lake if you want to. I'm lucky to have a small summer house in an area with very few other people and I always swim naked.
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
Europe has nude beaches. Some open to public, some for FKK community where you have to go in the nude, too. Topless women can even be seen a a local river, but I don't support it. With too many new immigrants who are not used to that, this can cause havoc (I leave that to your own imagination, but imagine how aroused they may get)
#17
How you're able to have so many awesome pieces of technology and in some cases, regulations. But America somehow feels like they're 5 years behind.
Dyna 9 months ago
lol yeah. I once had to go to a different dentist and he wanted to give me the x-ray pictures on a floppy disk. I had to explain to him that my regular dentist, didn't have a floppy disk drive for years. Neither did anyone I knew. So much for modern technology 😄
Load More Replies... Falafal salad 9 months ago
Don’t worry. President Musk will soon forced Europe to get rid of any regulation (or force us to go to war).
TotallyNOTAFox 9 months ago
Well, that will backfire if we regulate his access to our markets
Load More Replies... Rali Meyer 9 months ago
America may have a more onerous registration process to get them certified.
#18
Two things.
First: Are there any serious "Holy Rollers" in Europe? In America we hear a lot about evangelicals (and they have a tendency to make everything just a little bit worse) but you almost never hear about them in Europe. Like do you guys have a Westboro Baptist Church type group?
Second: Having grown up in an extremely crime-ridden neighborhood in a major American city I always feel like even the most crime heavy area in Europe is Disneyland compared even the "eh, it's not really *that* bad" parts of most cities over here. I guess that's more of a statement than anything but do Europeans have a legitimate "if I go there it's possible I could get k****d" fear when they think about high crime areas? Or is it more or less exaggerated? Or do you not have any fear of being k****d simply because you go to the wrong neighborhood? And yes, I understand that statistically speaking it's pretty rare to get k****d as the victim of a crime in America but there's a segment of the US population that has a story of say, going to the gas station only to find out it's closed because some dude was shot and k****d while filling his tank. I'm part of that segment. So I'm unusually paranoid where crime is concerned. And I wonder if there's people like that in Europe.
martin734 9 months ago
We do have a few religious types around here but not many and their views are tolerated if not encouraged. One big difference here is with our politicians. If a politician here starts bringing up god and their religion, it is likely to actually be harmful to their political career. We are of the view that politics and religion do not mix and should be kept totally separate.
MonsterMum 9 months ago
Strangely, good guys with guns don't seem to make the world safer. 12 years ago, there was a shooting in a local road, we haven't forgotten because it is rare.
cerinamroth 9 months ago
Thankfully, the separation of church and state is quite a big thing in much of Europe. You should try it ;-)
Libstak 9 months ago
Originaly from Croatia and Slovenia. Everybody had a religion, JW and catholic the most obvious where i was from. Everybody went to church and festivals etc were huge. However, having being previously socialist it was more just what everyone did, not so much what anybody talked about between socially.
Multa Nocte 9 months ago
In one of the nearby towns (southwest France) I go to for marchés there is an evangelical church that meets three times a week. I think they have a dozen people at most and the two evenings they meet, they are situated right next to a lovely restaurant and we have to hear them holy rollering and shouting and such. The locals are a scream to watch because they are just shell-shocked when the excitement starts up and one of the dozen people starts wailing and singing and shouting. The local children find it alarming and/or hysterical and repeatedly ask their parents what is wrong with the people. Overall, you would no more ask someone about their religious beliefs in France than you would ask about their most private thoughts. Not done. No. One. Cares.
Falafal salad 9 months ago
Just the American funded anti abortion stuff that’s illegal here (that JD Vance is trying to start a fight about-even though this is not a part of British life at all).
StrangeOne 9 months ago (edited)
There definitely is bad neighbourhoods. The area by bf lives is not the best, not the worst. I thought Winnipeg was bad, as we have the unfortunate title of "murder capital" of Canada and one of many nicknames "stabbypeg". Manchester takes the cake. My bf was very nervous to go to Piccadilly because he's heard of teens randomly stabbing people. While I was there, we heard on the news a young mother was stabbed to death by a random stranger. There was a pub that closed down due to violence problems. There's always sirens going down his street. I saw more police cars in his neighbourhood than I did going through my city. He even warned me to keep my phone out of sight while walking through a particular stretch because gangs of lads will rob you the moment they see something of value on you. He's been beaten up and robbed of his shoes one news years eve walking home from the pub. He won't take me to the park anymore cos of issues of attacks. But I've still gone there, walked around and been okay. Travel insurance highly recommended.
Wij 9 months ago
Stabbypeg. I left in 1998, so this is nee to me. It has been murder capital of canada 30 years now.
Load More Replies... Cuppa tea? 9 months ago
On topic of religion, most Europe is "traditional" either catholic or protestant, with eastern orthodox in some parts. But those are centuries old religions, with established structures, teachings, dogma. What Murica has is some unhinged lunatics shouting their malarkey out in open, no responsibility, no control.
TotallyNOTAFox 9 months ago (edited)
We don't have any big religious movements here in Germany, though we have some areas where women, jews and LGBQT persons should avoid getting attention - usually in bigger cities with a certain demographic being dominant (based on official data).
#19
How do you afford to provide health care for everyone? In America, we can't seem to figure out how it's possible to pay for it all.
Multa Nocte 9 months ago
Shhhhh!!!!! Don't tell anyone. It's socialised medicine. It's our secret.
martin734 9 months ago
We pay for it through taxes. Because most European countries prioritize public spending on things that help our societies become better, such as education and healthcare. Whereas the USA would much rather spend it's public money on it's military and it's multitude of security and intelligence agencies.
General Anaesthesia 9 months ago
Per capita spending on healthcare is higher in the US than any other country, so universal healthcare could be cheaper. That could leave military spending untouched.
Load More Replies... Falafal salad 9 months ago
You’re getting absolutely fleeced by the healthcare industry in the US. It simply doesn’t cost as much as you guys are being forced to pay.
Pferdchen 9 months ago
Our American healthcare system is set up so the maximum amount of profits can be extracted. It's happening at every stage: for-profit hospitals, pharmacy benefit managers, insurance, supplies. distributors, etc., etc. Every stage is a place where the vendor seeks to maximize profits. That's why we pay more for healthcare yet get less actual healthcare. Don't get me wrong: I'm ALL for the actual providers and researchers getting SUPERB wages
marcelo D. 9 months ago
when the country makes the deals with the companies instead of each individual, they have this thing called collective bargaining power, same concept as an union. That's why prices for things are not incredibly stupidly high, because they would just get another provider, and the ones that don't want to bargain gets faced out by not getting anyone to go there. Whereas in america, you don't have any type of bargaining, so then all the providers just jack up the prices cause someone else already did, and if they all have it high, then it's not "high", it's "standard".
Tobias Reaper 9 months ago
everyone pays for it with taxes and national insurance another type of tax
Huddo's sister 9 months ago
I'm looking forward to Medicare reforms in Australia after the election this year, making it even cheaper and more accessible for everyone. Our taxes give the government money and it's then up to them to spend it appropriately so everyone can live well.
TotallyNOTAFox 9 months ago (edited)
Easy, everybody who works pays a little - Morality aside that also helps the economy in keeping the actual workforce healthy and working. We also don't charge ridiculous prices for everything, my last 1 week hospital stay was around 3.000€ with two screenings, daily blood tests, 3 meals a day and meds (I paid 70 bucks for that)
#20
I listen to a LOT of books. Whenever one is written by a British author, there's always tea in the story - always.
I NEED to know what kind of tea this is. I mean, it's not f*****g Lipton, I at least know that. But what kind of tea do you have in the mornings? Do you also like coffee? How much caffeine is in the tea you drink? Would it keep me alive?
See, I'd really like to try some morning tea, but it would need to be really super caffeinated. Or else I may die.
How many kind of morning teas do you have? Are they all caffeinated?
I'm a seasonal tea drinker - I like that Sleepy Time Tea during the winter. Got any other suggestions for me?
Basically, please explain your tea to me. Thanks.
StrangeOne 9 months ago
I asked my Brit bf this a few times. He keeps just saying "regular tea". I'm like "No, what type of tea? What flavour? Red? Green tea? Orange Pekoe? Earl Grey?" He was just as baffled as I was. It took me a while to get used to them calling their evening meal "tea". He says he's going to eat his tea. I ask "you have tea you eat??? What is this sorcery?"
Don't listen to me 9 months ago (edited)
I grew up on Yorkshire & our meals were Breakfast, Dinner & Tea. For working men, like in the mines, dinner was a full hot meal. Tea was then also a hot meal but not as big as dinner. And you drank strong tea with all 3 meals.
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Ace 9 months ago
Tea is Tea. PG Tips, Brooke Bond, Yorkshire Tea, and other brands. But it's just Tea. And usually made strong, like imagine you'd use two or three US-norm teabags for a decent cup. Not a fan myself, but I do know some people whose first morning tea is so strong it be used as paint stripper.
Dizzie D 9 months ago
English breakfast Tea ( hence the name) for breakfast. Lots of people use PG tips, Tetley and Yorkshire tea. These have caffeine but are not loaded with it. You can just buy tea with lots of caffeine in supermarkets as another option. Herbal teas are drunk but not as often as the regular teas ( mentioned above) that you put milk and sugar in if wished. When someone says ‘sit down, have a cup of tea’ when you are stressed or worried it’s more about saying ‘sit down, relax, talk to me and I will make you a cup of tea’. It’s a social, calming thing.
Scott Rackley 9 months ago
Yorkshire or PG Tips from what I've heard. English will argue about this.
#21
Paying to use the bathroom. Why don't y'all just let bathrooms be free so you don't have to either pay or p**s in the streets?
Carbonel 9 months ago
I can’t remember the last time I paid to go to the toilet in the UK. Most shopping centres, department stores and large supermarkets have free ones. Ditto community centres and larger libraries. Ditto train stations and bus stations, though that does depend on the station.
gerard julien 9 months ago
the picture is a sanisette. there are over 400 of them in Paris ALL OF THEM ARE FREE ! lol
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
At minimum wage cleaning each bathroom becomes expensive. And some EU nations are notorious for drinking too much in public and messing those toilets up
#22
Why the queen of England owns every swan in the country.
Ace 9 months ago
Even then, it's not ownership of the birds but of the rights to eat them. And it's only Mute Swans, just one among several swan species native there.
Load More Replies... Don't listen to me 9 months ago
It was an early conservation method. There were never a lot of them & rich people loved to show off by eating swans. So the royalty protected the supply by saying they're all mine. They were the only people allowed to show them off at their banquets.
Cee Cee 9 months ago
I might be wrong but I thought it was only the swans on the river Thames. There's an annual swan upping when the sovereign's swan keepers in snazzy outfits catch and mark the beak of all unmarked swans. At the Bishop of Wells palace there are two swans. These swans know to ring a bell for food. Huge flock of tended swans at Abbotsbury in Dorset. They are a fantastic sight at feeding time.
G A 9 months ago
Nope all Mute Swans. The only ones who eat them now are Romanians who steal and kill them, per regular newspaper stories!
Load More Replies... Silberwolf 9 months ago
The British royalty is considered a bit weird to the Non-British Europeans ;)
Zaach 9 months ago
Apparently, swan meat is very tasty and the king did not want the peasants to get free,tasty food
UKGrandad 9 months ago
No it isn't. Swan meat tastes unpleasantly fishy. Erm...so I've been told 🤫
Load More Replies... G A 9 months ago
Which were medieval. Your mate Trump will soon bring them back.
Load More Replies... #23
Why none of ya'll will send me Jaffa Cakes.
Seriously. They're so good. Our selection of candy is horrendous compared to yours.
StrangeOne 9 months ago
I see them in the International aisle at the grocery store. You just have to really look because the British section is usually really small.
Jess H.S 9 months ago
I sometimes go to the British store at the mall to buy imported Cadbury chocolate. So much tastier than Canadian Chocolate!
Carbonel 9 months ago (edited)
Lindt would blow your mind then. ☺️ (it’s not British, though.)
Load More Replies... MadRatter 9 months ago
I grew up in Germany - we ate them a lot. Aldi Süd used to have them. Lidl has them.
Load More Replies... Melanie Filmer 9 months ago
Jaffa cakes aren't candy! They're mostly eaten when we drink tea/coffee, like biscuits/cookies, also sold in the same aisle. Even though they're technically a cake
Blue Bunny of Happiness 9 months ago
Don’t get us started on the are they a biscuit or a cake debate…. Stolen from Wikipedia “The product's classification as a cake or biscuit was part of a VAT tribunal in 1991, with the court finding in McVitie's favour that Jaffa Cakes should be considered cakes and not biscuits for tax purposes.” I think the deciding factor was that when stale, biscuits go soft and cakes go dry, but I may have imagined that and can’t be arsed to read the rest of the article to possibly find out…
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#24
Was on the Metro for first time.
Got a nasty look a few times.
I didn't realize you are to push the door button !!! Our subway doors are automatic!
Huddo's sister 9 months ago
In Australia we have a button to press because it is less likely it will open with someone leaning/being pushed out onto the platform or track.
Pernille 9 months ago
The Paris metro always gives me performance anxiety, it is the only metro I can think off where the doors does not open automatically.
Laugh or not 9 months ago
In Berlin, a lot of U-Bahn lines and train lines don't have automatic doors.
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OneHappyPuppy 9 months ago
Depends on the country. In Greece, you have to push the button in the buses as well. Learned that one the hard way
#25
How tf you live without garbage disposals.
Jonas Fisher 9 months ago
News flash: You're feeding them. Garbage disposals aren't making an impact on that.
Load More Replies... MonsterMum 9 months ago
We have bins, I have a recycling bin, general waste bin, garden waste bin and a food waste bin. I also compost raw food waste. Oh, and I have a bag full of soft plastics which go to the supermarket for recycling. Yesterday, I went to the council waste recycling plant with scrap metal, batteries, light bulbs and waste clothing. See, all very simple
Jrog 9 months ago (edited)
sink garbage disposal require much more complex wastewater management facilities to filter out significant quantities of material from the liquid part, higher volume conduits, more energy to separate the flows downstream than separating collection at the source. It's overall a wasteful and inefficient system, especially so in places where infrastructure construction is more expensive and difficult from environmental conditions. The upstream collection method common in Europe is much more efficient, and allows for resource recovery and recycling
Billo66 9 months ago (edited)
Amazon has a bin that cost $40,000 I swear. Look it up. EDIT: Sorry, closer to 50k $47,000
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Falafal salad 9 months ago
I don’t understand why you need them. Are you just throwing food in your sink?
#26
Lack of air conditioning.
martin734 9 months ago (edited)
My house is 200 years old with 40cm thick, solid stone walls. Rather than trying to keep it cool, the biggest problem is keeping it warm enough so I don't have to wear a jumper indoors. Fitting air conditioning would be extremely impractical and expensive for the 2 days a year when it actually gets warm enough to be turned on. I would much rather just open a window.
Geoffrey Scott 9 months ago
We here in Michigan do not get the consistent hot/humid summers. But when we do, my wife and I purchased a portable unit (roll it room to room if needed). We generally only use it in the late afternoon/early evening for a few hours on super hot/humid days. It would be nice to have 40cm thick walls I suppose.
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Blue Bunny of Happiness 9 months ago
Wow, you get a whole day!? You must live on the Scottish Rivera
Load More Replies... persephone134 9 months ago
Air conditioning in the US is insane. In the summer you have to be careful not to catch a cold when you ride an air conditioned bus or go to a supermarket.
MonsterMum 9 months ago
In the UK, we have so few hot days, we like to notice them. I have a couple of fans in the loft (roof space) that I get out for our two weeks of Summer.
#27
Once in Costa Rica I saw a French guy trying to buy beer in English with American $$. When I tried to help him he pretended not to know English... Why are the French like this?
Dan Holden 9 months ago
I can order a beer in spanish. That doesn't mean I'll understand you if you start speaking Spanish to me.
Jrog 9 months ago (edited)
@David Stutzmann: 57% of Frenchmen can hold a conversation in English, with 30% having "reasonably advanced competency". Less than 6% of Americans can hold a conversation in French, but what's even more damning is that only 41% of Americans know ANY second language, and if we take away Americans from foreign heritage (namely, latinos that speak spanish and english) this goes down to a measly 23%.
gerard julien 9 months ago
a bunch of racist comments about the french here. that's it ! I'm living this website !
gerard julien 9 months ago
so you met ONE french guy and ALL 68 MILLION FRENCH PEOPLE ARE LIKE THAT ? I tried to help an american couple in Paris who obviously were lost. they looked down on me suspiciously said NO turned their back and left without any "thank you ". Most of my best friends are americans and I don't claim that all americans are like this couple.
xcooba 9 months ago
This is what I have been told. If you speak French, people switch to English to show how bad your French is. If you speak English, they respond in French to show how little they care about your English. No idea if the reason is history, ego or both. Or maybe it´s not true at all, idk.
nottheactualphoto 9 months ago
As Click and Clack have taught us: nobody follows the French, and the French follow nobody.
Load More Replies... #28
Why is it called the Loo?
Also I'm Canadian...
Cee Cee 9 months ago
Origins possibly from times past when the contents of your chamber pot was thrown out of the window. Warning those below 'guardez l'eau'.
General Anaesthesia 9 months ago
L'eau? Merde! Nah, it's to commemorate Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo.
Load More Replies... Forrest Hobbs 9 months ago
Nobody's sure why it's called the loo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet#Euphemisms
#29
The Balkans.
Then again from what I know even you guys don't understand the Balkans.
I've heard it's kind of like our "Florida Man" in that it's best to just not ask questions and observe from a distance?
Jrog 9 months ago (edited)
The Balkans are a very culturally diverse place. They have different food, language, traditions, politics etc. Their culture has been influenced by Greek, Turkish, Easteuropean, Venetian, Austro-Ungaric cultures. Yet, they share a common past that made them distrustful against one another, and this lead to their common character: Balkanians are a bit too eager to get in fights and really easy to trigger. Again, very understandable if you look at their history since the 1500s.
OneHappyPuppy 9 months ago
The Balkans are... Something else. Signed, a Balkan. No it's not terrible, the 90s were wild, but we've put it all behind us. I hope
turk 9 months ago
I've visited every Balkan country, and even got engaged in Lithuania. They are all wonderful and I've never encountered any weird or unpleasant people. My experiences in Florida aren't as consistent.
Tuuli Siljamaki 9 months ago
Lithuania is not a Balkan country, it is however a Baltic country.
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StrangeOne 9 months ago
The town in Kiki's Delivery Service was inspired Visby, Sweden. Miyazaki, the creator of the movie visited Visby during his research on ideas.
#30
Why don’t you have drinkable tap water in some places?
Edit: For example, my girlfriend visited Florence and was told not to drink the tap water.
Zephyr343 9 months ago
I have well water that I don't drink, I use an RO system
Load More Replies... MonsterMum 9 months ago (edited)
Most tap water is fine, in the USA there are places with undrinkable tap water.
Jrog 9 months ago (edited)
Tap water in all of Italy is potable and can be drank. All the local water suppliers are bound to standards that are higher than bottled water. While water bottlers are subject to a yearly inspection and must update their chemical analysis ONCE per year, public water suppliers must run a full chemical analysis monthly or even bi-weekly, and are checked up to 40 per day for a set of 61 contaminants. If any check comes up positive two times in a row at 20 minutes interval at any source point, the source is closed and switched to a secondary one.
Jrog 9 months ago (edited)
Also, when it comes do drinking water the US should just shut up and learn. Let's compare regulations, EU's DWD with US' SDWA. It's basically Cassius Clay vs Pee Wee Herman. EU regulations allow ZERO concentration of coliform bacteria contamination, US allows up to 5% of contaminated samples. SDWA allows 3 TIMES more lead (15 µg/L vs 5). EU mandates monitoring PFAS contamination to be lower than a very, very strict 0.1 µg/L, in the US there is not even a mandate for checking; quality bottled water have on average higher concentration. Chlorine, Fluorine, heavy metals and pesticide concentrations limits are all significantly lower in DWD. Public water testing is mandated to be third-party and continuous by the DWD, while SDWA allows for in-house periodic testing with varying schedules.
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Caroline Nagel 9 months ago
Drinkable tapwater like in the USA? I've heard the people in Flint, Michigan will tell you something different.
#31
Your washing machines for your clothes are in the kitchen. That’s just odd.
Mia Black 9 months ago
I don't think renters like to have the washing machine in the kitchen but when it's where the water and space is, then it's better than not having a washing machine I think. Most of us Germans just live as cramped renters without a cellar sometimes, it even a garden or balcony
MonsterMum 9 months ago
It's due to space and plumbing. The water and drain lines are close by.
Barbara Wilcock 9 months ago
Why does it even matter? Sorry we don't have huge wasteful spaces
Betsy S 9 months ago
Because having dirty underwear in your kitchen near your food is just beyond nasty!
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mandy the capibara 9 months ago
I think this is mainly UK. In mainland europe, you see it sometimes but it is not the norm
Linda Thorsen 9 months ago
I live in Norway, which is in Europe, and very few people have their washing machines in the kitchen. Most have them in the bathroom or in a separate laundry room.
#32
Why do you come off grouchy, I understand smiling is considered weird in most conditions but still most Europeans I’ve met are on par if not worse than New Yorkers I’ve met.
turk 9 months ago
I find exactly the opposite. But the common denominator in these interactions is you. Maybe think on that.
Zaach 9 months ago
Summers in Europe, everyone who can takes their vacation during the summer - the only people left are over-worked, over-heated and wish they had taken the summer off. The last time we went to Paris, my ex's sister wanted us to come back with rude waiter stories - we went in May, not a rude waiter to be found
Peeka_Mimi 9 months ago
I lived in Germany and traveled quite a bit. I was always mistaken as being Spanish (I am Chicana) or French. Here in the states I have resting bi tch face.
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
Time is of the essence (we used to be efficient). No time wasted on "good morning, how are you doing. - I am good and how about yourself?" That's 6 seconds. At minimum wage that equates to $1,50 per greeting.
#33
How small everything is. I’ve never been, but my family visited and they hated how small everything was. Showers, rooms, beds, everything was apparently super small.
Here in the states everything is big.
Pernille 9 months ago
Small is good, small houses cause less loss of habitat for wildlife, small cars causes less pollution.
Sven Grammersdorf 9 months ago
America is the 156th most densely populated nation on Earth, we have more than enough room
Load More Replies... CSC 9 months ago
Same as my house here in the states. It is plenty of room for me and easy to keep clean. Of course, every other house on my street is a lot bigger than mine.
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Travelling Stranger 9 months ago
maybe poster's family were big.. but maybe they slimmed down since that time (original reddit post is from 5 years ago) and will be able to enjoy european smallness of things more next time..
Silberwolf 9 months ago
Europe is much more densely populated than the US, so we must find a way to accomodate people somewhat equally comfortable.
Certainly not Dan 9 months ago
Buildings were built a long time ago! Max spans were governed by timber lengths. Once a house is there the footprint often remains. Some street layouts are 1000 years old
#34
Why there are so many pickpockets (looking at you Paris subway and Spain especially)!
MonsterMum 9 months ago
My children don't even know what an active shooter drill is. There was a school shooting in 1996, in the UK. We haven't forgotten :(
Load More Replies... StrangeOne 9 months ago
As if there aren't any in North America. In fact, I'd say keep your purse in front of you at all times, and check your pockets often when you're at a mall or out on the town.
UKGrandad 9 months ago
To take it even further, owing to its small population and high rates of tourism Vatican City has the highest per-capita crime rate in the world, largely due to pickpockets. It sees on average a little under 2 crimes per head of population, 2,500 times higher than second placed Venezuela's comparitively miniscule .0008 per head.
Load More Replies... Peeka_Mimi 9 months ago
That's why you wear your purse across your shoulder and have wallet chained inside purse with RFID blocker.
#35
How supportive they seem to be (from an outsider's perspective) of broad government surveillance. Also, the fact that carrying a personal firearm for self-defense purposes is frequently illegal. I think the Czech Republic is about the only major exception to that. There's a lot about Europe that I like, and I get that it's not completely homogeneous, but those things completely baffle me.
Jill Rhodry 9 months ago
and the rest of the world is baffled how you guys think guns are more important than your children coming home alive
Geoffrey Scott 9 months ago
As an American, how we can assume the 2nd amendment is set in stone and shall not evolve. The framers, if they could see even a semi auto hunting rifle would be changing some s***.
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Adam Benson 9 months ago
In Australia, we think any country that allows its people to carry firearms in public is bizarre.
Otto Katz 9 months ago
I'm American, I think that also. It is bizarre. It's even more bizarre that people are allowed to own AR-15s. Weapons of war.
Load More Replies... Multa Nocte 9 months ago
Why on earth would anyone need to carry a gun? That's just asking to look like the US and have everyone shooting each other. I don't miss that at all.
StrangeOne 9 months ago
Yeah. Then they say it's for self-defence and claim they can shoot a shooter. But if someone shoots a gun, and then a bunch of others shoots a gun, who should the police arrest? Or shoot? Also, I have yet to hear of any gun-toting civilian taking down an active mass shooter before the mass shooter kills a bunch of people.
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Lara Verne 9 months ago
Bro, I'm Czech and no one carry firearms. Carrying firearm on the street would get you arrested.
Charlie Haase 9 months ago
As an American, I will never understand my fellow countrymen’s need to go around with guns. Do we really expect to get into shootouts at the local Starbucks?? It wasn’t even really generally like that in the 19th Century; that’s a Hollywood thing. I wish we would put a stop to that c**p.
Gunnar Strandt 9 months ago
Why the f..k do you want to carry a firearm. For europeans that's definetly american b******t
#36
Your suburban areas are really, really weird. Especially in Paris.
martin734 9 months ago
I find them much better than the USA version of suburbia which is nothing but miles and miles of identical houses and carefully manicured lawns. At least here, even suburban areas have shops, schools, cafes and medical centres all within easy walking distance of where people live.
Lady Eowyn 9 months ago
Many cities share a name, there are Middletowns in almost every state, for example.
Load More Replies... #37
What does the word bloody mean for them is it like a swear.
Matthew Williams 9 months ago
A swearword you can say in front of your mother. Used where you might say "damned" or "hecking" :-)
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
we never use bloody (blutig, blutend) in German conversation. Rather blöd or blöde (dumb)
Zaach 9 months ago
Jesus' blood and/or Zeus's blood (actually the source for zounds) - don't take the lord's name in vain so the 'Jesus' was dropped
nottheactualphoto 9 months ago
I thought zounds came from god's wounds via 'swounds.
Load More Replies... #38
Paying for public restrooms. Not talking to strangers. I grew up in Texas. We kinda always talk to people whenever we’re waiting around or something. I’ve heard this gets weird looks across the ocean. Why the hell did I encounter four different dialects while traveling for like 20 minutes? I have to drive to a new state or get on a plane to come across a new accent.
martin734 9 months ago
Why on earth would I want to talk to someone I don't know? I barely like talking to people I do know.
Ozymandias73 9 months ago (edited)
Common courtesy? Politeness? To meet new people and make new friends?
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General Anaesthesia 9 months ago
"Why the hell did I encounter four different dialects...?" Because they're there, genius. Y'all.
Fellfromthemoon 9 months ago
In my country, you'll talk with the locals if you visit a small town or village, it doesn't matter if you don't want to. The locals will initiate the talk.
UKGrandad 9 months ago
British regional accents are not as pronounced as they used to be, owing to increased social mobility and the influence of television, but when I was young I could accurately place which part of my town somebody came from from their accent.
BarfyCat 9 months ago
This comment is really localized to Texas and the South of the U.S. Coloradans and New Yorkers don't chitchat with strangers either. When I moved to the South I had some very confusing interactions with cashiers until I finally figured out that it's normal to talk to strangers here.
Joe Russo 9 months ago
Greeks talk to strangers all the time. On the metro in Athens, out for a walk, with wait staff at restaurants, and definitely with tourists, especially if they look at all lost or confused. :). The shocking thing for Americans.would be strangers wanting to talk you in (tiny) elevators.
#39
Why is everything so small? Cars, lifts, hotel rooms, refrigerators, grocery stores, etc.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 9 months ago
Exactly. The question is not "why is everything so small?" it's "why are Americans so fat?"
Load More Replies... Adam Benson 9 months ago
I guess because many European cities are thousands of years old and designed for much smaller populations.
Calane E. Vanya 9 months ago
I agree about the lifts in residential buildings, they are claustrophobically small. everything else seems to be of a practical size.
#40
Why do you have to pay sometimes to use public restrooms?
Why is there such an emphasis on making cars fuel efficient by making the small and light, which is less safe, but not by making hybrids?
Why does England usually use the United Kingdom flag instead of the English flag?
Pernille 9 months ago
The cars are safer than US cars because we also think of people outside of the car, the US only think about the people in the car which is very descriptive of US culture.
Forrest Hobbs 9 months ago
Pernille is correct. Plenty of US automobiles can't be driven in Europe because they're so dangerous - the Tesla Cybertruck is one example.
Load More Replies... Mia Black 9 months ago
The car thing could be so easy. If everyone would think of the other people, driving while be much safer, cars much smaller (less used space, less impact) and more efficient (less impact on the environment also) so less of a trouble for other road users in general and people. I hate the current trend of big cars in narrow cities. Everyday I as a walking person have to navigate through illegal parked cars. It's much worse for people with strollers or walking aids. Inn the big cars the driver might be safer but not the little kid in front that the driver barely can see... I've seen so many critical situations the last years with this big cars...I hate them and their drivers with a passion because it's so not necessary where I live!
MistBorn 9 months ago
There is some part of psychology behind the car thing because if I am in a small car, I am more conscious of how I drive it because I know that it is up to me to decide how much injury I will sustain in case of an accident, and since I’m driving carefully, I am also less likely to hurt others, but in case of a larger guy, the person driving can get restless and he might not get Any severe injury. Himself will cause major harm to the people or just property outside of the car.
Debs 9 months ago
I don't get why you're all opposed to paying for a public bathroom. Do you think someone else is covering the cost of cleaning them in the States? It's actually funded through taxes or included in the budget for the place you're visiting. The way we do it, it's only the people that use the bathroom that pay.
Toby 9 months ago
Why do Americans usually use the stars and stripes instead of their state flag? We use the Union Jack for the same reason.
Geoffrey Scott 9 months ago
I'm trying to figure out why we (the US) do not have more diesel offerings, thinking small cars. Yeah, they emit more pollutants, but at 40-45mpg I would think emissions would be a wash.
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
Cars in Germany were historically taxed and insured based on engine displacement and horsepower. The smaller, the more affordable. Also, we don't transport one case of beer or a surfboard in a oversized pickup-truck
What do you think ?
Adam Benson 9 months ago
I'm sorry, but these America-Europe cultural differences posts are becoming very repetitive and boring. At the very least, let's see some posts about other continents like Africa, South America or Australia - at least somewhere that's NOT the US or Europe.
Mia Black 9 months ago
I quite like this articles and learn v something but yes it would be fabulous if this would happen with other countries too. I'm very interested to learn about other cultures in this way.
Load More Replies... persephone134 9 months ago
A lot of these posts are so trite. Guess what? Different countries have different traditions, different food habits, etc. Stranger things have happened.
EWD 9 months ago
Why do people feel the need to be so rude in the comments? Some of these people asking questions really did want to know about your culture or way of life and all you do is make snide comments at them.
CSC 9 months ago
Yes, I get a little bit tired of being lumped in with all "Americans". I'm not overweight, I don't carry a gun, I NEVER voted for Trump, I'm not dumb and I'm not a person that goes in for a refill. I especially don't like seeing it from commenters I normally really enjoy.
Load More Replies... Otto Katz 9 months ago
The ones at the top of the list were wonderful, honest questions, good answers. At the bottom, not nice questions, and mean rude answers. The tea question/answer exchange was my favorite. Please people, we can't help where we are born, what culture we grow up in. Asking questions is how we learn. I think the "of course we have free health care paid by our taxes" but "of course we have to pay for the loo because it has to be cleaned" dichotomy is such a funny thing. Everyone needs healthcare, everyone pees. but one is paid by taxes, one, (while you're struggling to not pee your pants looking for a coin) is paid at time of need, Is silly. Just my 2 cents.
Pascale Laroche 9 months ago
Every time I read something like this, it always reminds me of an episode of "House Hunter International". The couple from Austin U.S.A moved to Asia (I don't remember the city) to introduce their 2 children to a new culture. The house they bought ended up being in an American gated community, and the children went to an "American" school. What a cultural change!
UKGrandad 9 months ago
You don't remember the city? What about the country? Asia has 48 of them.
Load More Replies... BarfyCat 9 months ago
A lot of these questions seem to have come from people who have never visited Europe and probably never will. I wish we could have some sort of universal exchange program where all Americans have to spend at least one year abroad. We wouldn't be in the pickle that we're currently in.
Anony Mouse 9 months ago
I wish all the Bored Panda commenters would have to visit the US, and taste some excellent cheese, bread, beer, and chocolate. I think they’d rather not and keep their uneducated prejudices though.
Load More Replies... Der Kommissar 9 months ago
I have stayed in Amsterdam many times, and I have noticed that the food markets are closed on Sundays.
Grundel County 9 months ago
I think these questions were all written by children. I can't imagine a scenario in which a grown human would rather post a question to be aggregated into an article to maybe revisit later and maybe read the "answers" posted by commenters, rather than just look up the information they want and have the answer in 20 seconds. Or, if any interesting questions were actually posted, how many were thrown out by the author of the article to make room for several sets of identical questions about toilets and small cars 🙄
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
As a German, I find that since we opened up to more people from the east in the 90s (and middle east now), hospitality and service became better. But did bring other challenges.
Adam Benson 9 months ago
I'm sorry, but these America-Europe cultural differences posts are becoming very repetitive and boring. At the very least, let's see some posts about other continents like Africa, South America or Australia - at least somewhere that's NOT the US or Europe.
Mia Black 9 months ago
I quite like this articles and learn v something but yes it would be fabulous if this would happen with other countries too. I'm very interested to learn about other cultures in this way.
Load More Replies... persephone134 9 months ago
A lot of these posts are so trite. Guess what? Different countries have different traditions, different food habits, etc. Stranger things have happened.
EWD 9 months ago
Why do people feel the need to be so rude in the comments? Some of these people asking questions really did want to know about your culture or way of life and all you do is make snide comments at them.
CSC 9 months ago
Yes, I get a little bit tired of being lumped in with all "Americans". I'm not overweight, I don't carry a gun, I NEVER voted for Trump, I'm not dumb and I'm not a person that goes in for a refill. I especially don't like seeing it from commenters I normally really enjoy.
Load More Replies... Otto Katz 9 months ago
The ones at the top of the list were wonderful, honest questions, good answers. At the bottom, not nice questions, and mean rude answers. The tea question/answer exchange was my favorite. Please people, we can't help where we are born, what culture we grow up in. Asking questions is how we learn. I think the "of course we have free health care paid by our taxes" but "of course we have to pay for the loo because it has to be cleaned" dichotomy is such a funny thing. Everyone needs healthcare, everyone pees. but one is paid by taxes, one, (while you're struggling to not pee your pants looking for a coin) is paid at time of need, Is silly. Just my 2 cents.
Pascale Laroche 9 months ago
Every time I read something like this, it always reminds me of an episode of "House Hunter International". The couple from Austin U.S.A moved to Asia (I don't remember the city) to introduce their 2 children to a new culture. The house they bought ended up being in an American gated community, and the children went to an "American" school. What a cultural change!
UKGrandad 9 months ago
You don't remember the city? What about the country? Asia has 48 of them.
Load More Replies... BarfyCat 9 months ago
A lot of these questions seem to have come from people who have never visited Europe and probably never will. I wish we could have some sort of universal exchange program where all Americans have to spend at least one year abroad. We wouldn't be in the pickle that we're currently in.
Anony Mouse 9 months ago
I wish all the Bored Panda commenters would have to visit the US, and taste some excellent cheese, bread, beer, and chocolate. I think they’d rather not and keep their uneducated prejudices though.
Load More Replies... Der Kommissar 9 months ago
I have stayed in Amsterdam many times, and I have noticed that the food markets are closed on Sundays.
Grundel County 9 months ago
I think these questions were all written by children. I can't imagine a scenario in which a grown human would rather post a question to be aggregated into an article to maybe revisit later and maybe read the "answers" posted by commenters, rather than just look up the information they want and have the answer in 20 seconds. Or, if any interesting questions were actually posted, how many were thrown out by the author of the article to make room for several sets of identical questions about toilets and small cars 🙄
Rali Meyer 9 months ago
As a German, I find that since we opened up to more people from the east in the 90s (and middle east now), hospitality and service became better. But did bring other challenges.
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