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40 Times People’s Assumptions About The US Were Proven Wrong When They Got To See It In Real Life
Interview
Aside from eating tasty food and seeing awesome landmarks, travel is about expanding your range of experiences so you become more open-minded. It’s only after interacting with a culture firsthand that you can really start to appreciate its nuances and quirks.
As it turns out—surprise, surprise!—real life is often very different from the stereotypes you see portrayed in the media. Non-American travelers recently took to a thread on AskReddit to share the misconceptions they had about life in the United States, only to change their minds after actually visiting the country. Scroll down to read all about their experiences.
We reached out to the author of the post, who preferred to stay anonymous, and they were kind enough to answer Bored Panda's questions. Read on for their thoughts.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
That Americans were rude. Americans turned out to be the nicest people I’ve ever met. So much so, that I moved to the States and prefer their company over company of people from my native country. No joke. Totally serious.
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#2
In some town in the middle of Georgia, was when I realised that The Dukes of Hazard wasn’t fictional, it was a documentary.
#3
When I went to New York, not a single person said "Hey, I'm walking here". Or "what are you? Some kinda mook?".
This was disappointing.
Stereotypes—whether negative or positive—can do a lot of damage. “When you characterize a whole group of people based on certain perceived traits, you aren’t acknowledging the diversity of individuals, and these types of judgments can be harmful,” BetterHelp explains.
Obviously, the gossip you hear and the media portrayals you see are very different from what’s actually true. Stereotypes are superficial and false. Real life is far more complex and nuanced. Every culture and country on Earth is stereotyped by others, at least to some extent. And the United States of America is no different.
#4
Each state is vastly different. Sometimes I felt like I was in different countries.
I remember years ago visiting NYC and chatting with locals (as I do) I got the imprecation they didn't really care about the rest of the country.
Had a AAA tow driver in Virginia refuse to jump my Toyota because it wasn't American but in Washington state I didn't know anyone and everyone was super friendly and accommodating.
I find it difficult to generalize the US after traveling all over it.
#5
That *everyone* carried guns. Turns out it's mostly obese middle-aged white guys!
#6
I moved from Germany to NYS. I never expected such a breathtaking nature. No movie could have had prepared me. I'm in love
I expected Americans like in the movies. Everyone is fighting for his right. To be honest, I never felt a big difference between Germans and most of the New Yorkers I met here.
The only difference is, they are so open hearted, love small talks. I love it.
StrangeOne 7 months ago
It's easy to forget that New York is a whole state. Not just New York City, Buffalo and Staten Island. Check out Thousand Islands. It's beautiful.
According to eduPASS, some of the most common stereotypes of Americans include the perceptions that they might be boastful, arrogant, disrespectful of authority, extravagant, wasteful, ignorant of other cultures, informal, loud, wealthy, rude, snobbish, and think that every country should imitate the US.
Meanwhile, Stump & Associates notes that some common myths about life in the US include the beliefs that you can’t get emergency medical care without health insurance, that all Americans are rich, and that everyone is a gun owner.
#7
It wasn't a misconception - I just didn't believe everything you see in the movies is real and especially in Christmas movies, things are a bit exaggerated. So, I didn't believe people really had THAT crazy of Christmas lights in suburbs.
I was so very wrong. America is crazy for their Christmas lights.
#8
Okay, I was super scared because I’m a South Asian Muslim but I was there for a month in October and people were very, very nice. I don’t know why, but I expected some unfriendliness for sure, based off what the media reports. And I assume people who are living/studying there have a different experience (a lot of relatives/friends live there and had heard their stories). But wow, everyone we met was nice, accommodating, and friendly!
Glen Ellyn 7 months ago
Most of us ARE friendly. It's the jerks that get the attention and end up on social media or a newscast, painting a bad picture of the US.
#9
My cousins came to visit from Sicily and they wanted us to take them to a gas station convenience store. They had always seen it on the Simpsons and couldn’t believe it was real.. The big gulp BLEW their minds.
Other common myths include the idea that American food is supposedly fast food, that people living in the US are rude, and that everyone living in the southern states is supposedly a cowboy. Moreover, many people also have the misconception that Americans work too much and don’t go on vacation.
Not all stereotypes found in television, art, literature, and public opinion are so negative. Some positive stereotypical traits often attributed to Americans include generosity, optimism, hard work, and friendliness. However, it’s important to remember that even positive stereotypes are damaging because it’s still labeling an entire group of people while ignoring what makes them diverse.
#10
That Americans don't understand dry humour. We Brits are very snobby, thinking our deadpan wit is superior to in-your-face US sitcom humour. The Americans in my company that I'd met in online calls were super upbeat and cheerful with cheesy jokes. Meeting them in person and seeing actual dry American humour was devastating. They were so funny.
#11
I’d only seen the bus driver tapping the sign on Simpsons to not talk to him. In both my home country and where I live now, it’s not a big deal…
Enter late 20-something dumb white girl.
I had misjudged my layover in Chicago (13 hours quickly became 4, without sleep) and desperately needed to get from Soldier Field to something that would get me to the airport. I desperately plead with the driver to drop me off at (I think?) the red line (this was sooo long ago) and he just glared and told me to get to the back. I tried counting the streets as the bus rolled on, since my phone had run out of roaming and I was going off the map in my backpack. I’d go off whenever it felt close enough…I knew I had f****d up. I’d dawdled my time away just strolling through random neighbourhood a to look at orthodox churches. Now, I was going to miss my flight. I shouldn’t have stupidly believed that anyone in the US would ever help another person. The terrible thoughts about myself and Americans rolled through my head and…
Suddenly, the bus screeches to a halt.
“To the passenger who needs the red line, get off now!”
I scrambled off the bus after yelling a tearful thank you. Made my flight and made it home.
People are people. We are all the same wherever we are. It just blew my mind that the driver actually stopped in the middle of his route to let me off, even if it was something that happened in both of the countries that I lived.
BookFanatic 7 months ago
Yeah. The Chicago bus drivers I've had aren't very friendly but they'll do their best to get you where you need to go even if it means pausing at an unscheduled stop.
#12
Not my own, but something others I know think. Europeans always go on about "Americans are so direct and it's weird to have casual conversations", but... being from the Middle East, that's literally what we do too. I felt more comfortable socially in the U.S. than the UK.
Bored Panda wanted to understand the inspiration behind such an intriguing question about travel, culture, and misconceptions. The author shed some light on this.
"I have seen several TikToks of Europeans having poor views of the US, and I wanted to ask this on Reddit," the redditor said, asking to keep their identity anonymous.
We were also interested in getting their perspective as to why the topic resonated with so many people, urging them to comment with their personal experiences.
"I guess it’s due to the fact that they had these misconceptions due to movies, their governments, and/or the news," the internet user mused.
#13
I've been living in the US for a year.
I thought that americans were crazy and extremely patriotic and also a bit dense. When I took the job there some of my friends told me "wtf are you serious ? You're gonna be surrounded by morons". Mind you, the only vision I had of americans was through social media and political news.
Americans (and I'm not saying that because as a foreigner in this country I am scared to get deported to el salvador) are extremely nice and very very normal. I never had a bad interactions with a US citizen, everyone was very welcoming and super nice. My first day at work a guy I barely knew took me out for dinner and drinks wirh some of his friends.
And americans are (in my experience) not crazy patriotics zealots. They are extremely normal and pretty dumbfounded by what the hell is happening in this country.
And they are not stupid....they just sometimes have this preconceived notion that everything in the world works the same way as in the USA. When I told people I didnt have a driver licencr and would use public transports in my home country (because they were very good), most americans I told were surprised and sometimes SHOCKED. Which I get, if I was born in this country I would have probably gotten a driver licence asap.
StrangeOne 7 months ago
It's the extremists and propogandists that make the most noise and get the most attention.
#14
The food. I'm French and I thought everything would be awful but i didcoverd the south US version of BBQ and I miss it since.
I also discovered sweet potatoes there and I eat it all the time now.
Child of the Stars 7 months ago
I remember seeing a Reddit thread once where a commenter had sneered at American BBQ after only trying it in NYC. The absurdly long list of Americans responding to that was one of the funniest things I've ever seen online.
#15
US citizen here: A Spanish family visited my home and the first thing they wanted assurance about was that US households didn’t REALLY have garbage disposals in their sinks. They thought it was a myth.
I turned it on and they were aghast.
Bored Panda asked the author of the thread the advice that they'd give anyone who's planning to go to the United States for the very first time, to help them get the most out of their trip.
"I would suggest learning from the locals about their way of life. There is a lot to learn," they said.
"They would be able to learn more about a country they may have poor views of," the author shared their opinion.
#16
I thought the Southern accent was made up/exaggerated for TV until I heard it come out of Some Guy.
#17
I genuinely believed everyone ate fast food for every meal. Then I visited and realized there are tons of people who are super into cooking, farmer’s markets, and healthy eating.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 7 months ago
American food culture is also spectacularly diverse. I can probably find a place to grab food from six out of seven continents within a few blocks of my apartment. We're waiting on seven because securing a solid supply of penguin meat is extremely difficult.
#18
I was shocked by the homeless population in San Francisco. Literally one of the greatest concentrations of wealth to ever exist and people are living in tents and pissing in the streets. And people walk by like it’s nothing. .
They added that, from their perspective, racism "is a huge issue internationally."
What are some misconceptions that you’ve had about the United States or any other country that you completely changed your mind about after you went on a trip there, dear Pandas?
What do you do to stay open-minded during your travels? What advice would you give anyone who’s going on their first trip to the US? Let us know in the comments below!
#19
I'm from Australia. I expected the US to be uniform culturally across the country, like Australia. Instead, each part is culturally very different.
#20
I thought the neighborhoods in The Sims (first one especially) only looked like they did because it was an old game and it was easier to design them like that, with an orthogonal grid of roads, and rectangular plots of land of equal size.
It was a very strange experience to see exactly that in real life.
Grenelda Thurber 7 months ago (edited)
A lot of American cities, and especially the city suburbs, are relatively new. New, like built in the last 75 years. They're organized around roads and building codes. It blows my mind to hear about roads/infrastructure originally built by the Romans that are still in use in Europe. We just don't have that.
#21
That road trips would be fun, like in the movies i grew up watching, that the scenery would be more than just flat farm lands and windmills.
Landmass perception:
First trip to the US, i suggested a cheaper flight if they would just pick me up from LAX. My wife was located in Colorado, I thought it would be like a few hours of a drive. She laughed.
I come from New Zealand, so yeah...
Snow: i thought snow would be the greatest thing, I had never experienced it, only through the magic of TV.
so great and fluffy... yeah, it's cool for a few days, but you get sick of it real fast!
Just mud, wet, terrible traffic conditions.
Accessibility: kinda taken back by how grid based everything is, i thought there would be many easily accessible locations for pedestrians, similar to what you might get in New York i suppose.
We're located in Indiana, so the complete opposite of that.
That Biscuits & Gravy is not Cookies & Gravy but instead amazing southern comfort food.
Child of the Stars 7 months ago
I dated an English man a while back who flat out refused to eat American biscuits and gravy--until I made it one evening for dinner. He kept asking for it after that.
#22
I assumed everyone would be standoffish and rude. I was in Texas and everyone was so happy to meet me I felt like a celebrity lol. It actually got annoying how everyone wanted to talk like we are old friends. I was like madame I do not know you.
Lotus Flower in Space 🪷 7 months ago
We LOVE visitors. Seriously, we enjoy meeting new people from all over
#23
When my parents moved to the US they knew to be wary of insurance companies, but they were still surprised how often insurance companies would outright try to scam them. So they learned the ins and outs of their healthcare and would be ready to call their insurer to explain why a bill was wrong or payment fell to the insurer to cover.
My mum said she also struggled with Kentucky accents at first. For a few months she thought Pike County was Pack County, until she couldn’t find it on a map.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 7 months ago
US healthcare is a god awful mess. None of us, who are sane, will defend any of it.
#24
I'm the American but my family hosted a teenager from Spain. We live in New England. His flabber was gasted when he saw we (and many other people in general) were in shape and not giant tubs of lard. He also did not think anyone spoke Spanish this far north.
#25
I used to work with guys from Africa. They were shocked that all Americans aren’t millionaires. I ask why they thought everyone was a millionaire and they said in the movies everyone is held for ransom and it is a million dollars. There aren’t poor or homeless people in movies. It wasn’t what they expected.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 7 months ago
"Invisible People" is what Death called them in Terry Pratchett's Soul Music. Then he joined them. Death is the best character in the Discworld.
#26
It’s not really a misconception but I was taken aback by the scale of everything. From the size of the land itself, the distances, the size of cities, parks and neighborhoods, the height and size of the buildings downtown of a few major cities, the variety of products in supermarkets and the packaging sizes….the list goes on and on. Obviously, I knew it was to be expected, but seeing it with my own eyes was truly fascinating, and in some ways it made me understand the american way of thinking and living a little bit more.
Ok, one thing that didn’t meet my expectations were the fresh produce in California. I thought everything would feel and taste amazing since it’s grown locally in perfect weather conditions, but anything I bought was bland and tasteless 😭.
#27
I thought strangers kept to themselves in public like they do in Germany. That is until I went to NYC - in one of the shops, a lady told me her daughter is a lesbian and she is likely never to get grandkids, the wolf whistles took me aback, the old waiters telling you they will never retire. The heck?
#28
I was told you can't eat healthy in the US. What I got were salad bowls with tons of veggies, proteins and surprisingly little dressing for like $10 (ok, + tax + tip) in restaurants.
#29
I'm American, but my wife is Brazilian. She said when she first got here (7 years ago) that she thought people would be smarter here. Because in other countries, they're taught how great everything was here, and everyone lives in a huge house (problly from watching tv/movies) and that everyone is really smart because of the school system. Didn't take her long to figure out people are not smarter here compared to other parts of the world.
Lee Gilliland 7 months ago
All humans run the same IQ gamut. I think your wife was confusing smarter with better educated.
#30
I was told that Americans were superficial and that their interest wasn’t genuine. But after traveling to the U.S. frequently in recent years, I’ve realized that Americans are actually kind, open, and genuinely interested in talking to you.
Brian Garcia 7 months ago
Honestly we try...we have a few bad eggs, but most of us are pretty decent.
#31
I used to think Black and white people lived completely intermingled, like I didn't know there were "black" and "white" neighbourhoods.
#33
My wife's from the Philippines. She majored in hospitality management.
Her entire degree, they kept referring to the best quality of service as "American standards." That if they were anything less than that they'd never make it.
She got here and quickly realized that was all a lie. Hospitality workers aren't respected & it's usually uneducated morons that couldn't give less of a f**k and are actively rude working these positions.
Now every time we have a negative customer experience (which seems to be all the f*****g time these days) we just call it "American standards" lol .
#34
Food. I discovered that a lot of US diners are in fact great places for food.
Glen Ellyn 7 months ago
True. Stay away from the chain restaurants and look for locally owned "mom & pop" places.
#35
I didn't believe that using god given legs for transportation will be seen as odd. I also didn't believe that you can't cycle, but the roads there are like the most hostile places to be.
#36
I thought Americans were well-traveled. I was shocked to find out less than half of the American population have a passport, and there are a good amount who have never traveled outside of their own State.
Saint_Zipcodus 7 months ago
My understanding is that you could spend your life just traveling the US, as it's incomprehensibly (for the average European mind) large and divers. And you wouldn't need a passport for that if you'r an US citizen. It's just the difference in scale that we Europeans often have a hard time grasping.
#37
I had a foreign exchange student friend from chile back in highschool, and my dad made a HUGE breakfast for us one weekend- pancakes, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, orange juice, coffee, you name it. And my friend said “I love American breakfast!” It was a funny memory.
T'Mar of Vulcan 7 months ago
I think I need to thank whichever American invented hashbrowns. Yummy.
#38
That Los Angeles was just a crime ridden cesspool. And I’d be shot or mugged walking down the street. Thank you almost all movies that take place in LA. It turned out, in the valley anyway, that people were quite nice and I felt safe; regardless of the constant police helicopters flying around at night with search lights shining through my bedroom window. And there was that one time the swat team wouldn’t let me leave my apartment because of some dude running around with a shotgun. But seriously, I felt quite safe and rarely locked my car doors.
#39
I moved here for my PhD.
From what I had seen in movies, read in the news and known about American academia, American scientists and American pop-culture, I overestimated the general smartness of an average American.
I had expected everyone here, on an average to be way smarter than they are.
The deviation is insane, my workplace people are ridiculously smart, though.
#40
I thought people would be way fatter. I have been living in DC for nearly nine months now, with occasional trips to VA, MD, NYC, UT, NV, AZ, FL, SC, SD and MN. I have hardly seen any really obese person. The typical American I've encountered I consider "bulky", like the ratios are the same, but just taller, wider and heavier. Not fat. So I guess (but this is my anecdotal experience which is of course nearly not as strong as comprehensive statistics) that the whole talk is about BMIs slightly above 25 or whatnot, which is not that big of a deal, is it?
Scott Rackley 7 months ago
Tell me you haven't shopped in Wal Mart without telling me you haven't shopped at Wal Mart.
#41
I didn't see a single person on a mobility scooter. I was led to believe they were everywhere.
SouthernGal 7 months ago
As an American, I am proud of most buildings for adhering to our ADA requirements. The US. Is far more accessible for tourists with mobility challenges. .
#42
We had a foreign exchange student from Norway when I was in highschool and I basically asked her this same question. She basically said she pretty much thought we all looked like either 2010 Rick Ross or Tiger King.
#43
Since there are so many tech companies in the US, I thought it was very tech advanced but nope. We had flatscreens on buses abroad selling commercials 30 years ago and the US is just starting now.
T'Mar of Vulcan 7 months ago
What I don't get is people still using cheques to pay bills. Why, when in South Africa you can just set up payments, click and type the amount, and boom, bill paid?! I haven't used cash or cheques to pay for anything since like 2001.
#44
Not everyone had a pool in their backyards.
#46
I was so disappointed the first time I visited New York and realised that the vast majority of buildings in NYC are too short for Spiderman to do proper swings off of.
#47
My foreign friends who visit are curious if "you can just go shop for and buy guns". And yeah, you can.
#48
First time I went to LA was so disappointing. I was not expecting it to be SO dirty and the smell… I still had fun tho.
#49
Tipping culture
I didn’t find it that bad in all honesty.
April Pickett 7 months ago
You must not have been here recently. Every service wants tips, if you go to buy something, they will ask for a tip. Tips should only be paid to wait staff in restaurants; they do not get paid a minimum wage, they get paid an average of $3/4 an hour, and it is expected that they will make up the difference in tips. I've started to carry cash to tip my waiter; that way, I know he got the tip, rather than the tip on the receipt, which gets shared with everyone in the restaurant. I mean, the dry cleaner asked for a tip.
#50
American here. We had a foreign exchange student from Germany when I was younger. 2 things from him stood out to me.
1. He said we drive "d**n slow". Autobahn ftw lol
2. Superstores. He was flabbergasted that we can go buy pretty much everything from groceries to clothes to gardening supplies to car parts under one roof.
Robert Millar 7 months ago
That's funny. I lived in Germany in the late '60s and I bought a lawn mower in my local supermarket.
#51
The ratio of white and black people in the population is not what Hollywood movies made me believe.
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
Jerome needs a chill pill. Don't reward him with your downvotes, ignore him.
#52
It was not a misconception, but I was taken aghast by the smell of Manhattan. And just how loud it was. Besides the smell, I absolutely loved every minute of the visit. NYC stole my heart (as a vacation destination, can't imagine living there).
#53
I thought Americans were super patriotic and strongly defended the idea of freedom, free speech due process and all that stuff. Guess not.
#54
I am an American, but have worked quite a bit with clients in Europe and many believe all Americans drink s**t beer and that all US beer is s**t compared to European beer. They are also surprised when I take them to a craft brewery and the beer is great.
Rick Murray 7 months ago
The problem is craft beer is not a common export. Budweiser is, and let's just say Bud is to beer what Hershey's is to chocolate.
#55
That food and beverage in the US is cheap, nope. so much cheaper in Europe let alone Asia.
David 7 months ago
"Asia" is a big place. It is only a fair comparison if you take into account the average earnings. Food and beverages are much cheaper in the Philippines compared to the US, but only if I'm using my USD converted to PHP. But a relative in PI was working 6 days / week and getting 8,000 PHP a month. That's about $143 USD / month. The average PI salary (including better jobs) is about $4 to 8K USD per year.
What do you think ?
Rick Murray 7 months ago
Well this was more positive than the previous dose of America bashing.
Forrest Grump 7 months ago (edited)
“US Culture” As if 347 million people from every nation on Earth spread out across 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million square kilometers) are a homogeneous group.
Rick Murray 7 months ago
Well this was more positive than the previous dose of America bashing.
Forrest Grump 7 months ago (edited)
“US Culture” As if 347 million people from every nation on Earth spread out across 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million square kilometers) are a homogeneous group.
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