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People Share 30 Things That They Think Are Normal In Europe But Horrific In America
We often read of things that are totally normal in America but look super crazy to the rest of the world. Like free refills, medical debts, the sheer portion sizes, you name it. But hey, the place and time is everything when it comes to which things we view as typical and which ones raise our brows.
So this time, we are setting our eyes on Europe and the weird customs, things, and manners people in its 44 countries have that look totally crazy to Americans. “What's considered normal in Europe but horrific in America?” someone asked on AskReddit, and 12.7k comments followed.
We picked some of the most telling and thought-provoking responses that prove European countries are also home to a bunch of weirdos!
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Old things. Houses especially. "Someone died in this house" yeah no s**t Sherlock, this house has been here more than your country
The metric system
Favorite metric system quote is by Josh Bazell. “In metric, one milliliter of water occupies one cubic centimeter, weighs one gram, and requires one calorie of energy to heat up by one degree centigrade—which is 1 percent of the difference between its freezing point and its boiling point. ... Whereas in the American system, the answer to ‘How much energy does it take to boil a room-temperature gallon of water?’ is ‘Go f**k yourself,’ because you can’t directly relate any of those quantities.”
Taking the bus. There is so much stigma around public transport in the US, especially busses, and in Europe it's just a totally normal way to get around because nobody wants to deal with driving and parking in a big city.
Also from an employer's perspective: 25+ vacation days minimum for all employees and unlimited sick days. The absolute horror.
Songs with swear words being broadcasted on the radio, or swear words not being covered with a beep tone on tv. It’s always felt weird to me that Americans are all about being free and freedom of speech but then again they are scared of some stupid words.
Pro union laws. Pro worker labour laws. Mandatory paid vacation days (including fines for companies if the workers don't take their vacation days or get them payed out. They NEED to actually leave work legally for around 25 days per year).
Don't forget calm and relaxed because of job security and a social welfare system to provide for you should you lose your job.
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And days off and vacation actually means that a boss can't contact you for anything work related unless it's stipulated in your contract. Vacation-2...f16964.jpg 
THIS! As an American ex-pat living in Belgium, I love the time off to travel around the EU.
My company sends me a reminder if I didn't take at least some of my vacation days until Juli/August.. (Germany) The employees in the US get evil stares when they dare to go on vacation..
We could have this in the U.S. if Congress quit giving themselves unearned annual pay raises, and quit pouring billions of dollars into the military. And I do realize that our military personnel need better pay & benefits, but the annual billions the Pentagon gets is NOT going to the soldiers/sailors/airmen - it's going into the pockets of the high ranking officers & the military industrial suppliers.
We have new laws in the UK that if you are off sick your company asks why. Not because they are trying to catch you out but in case it is recurring and being caused by something at work like too much heavy lifting, a bad chair or environmental. If it is then they must do something about it.
In Europe we have codified law. The provisions of the employment contract cannot offer worse conditions than those of the common law. If the law states that an employee is entitled to 26 days paid holiday, this entitlement may not be restricted in the employment contract. If you fall ill during your holiday, sick leave days are deducted from your holiday. Your employer cannot refuse to give you holidays or sick leave. You can take your holiday in individual days or all at once. In any case, at least part of your holiday must be taken in a single blog of 2 weeks. Bank holidays, which are of course paid, that fall during the holiday do not count as holiday. The mother who gives birth to a child is entitled to one year's paid maternity leave, which she may exchange in whole or in part with the child's father. The father is also entitled to two weeks' leave in respect of the birth of his child. Failure to grant leave by the employer is a criminal offence in the case of repeat offenders.
If you don't take your full 25 days you can in some companies, carry them over up to 5 days, so the next year you get 30 days. Plus you can sometimes take unpaid leave and sometimes work flexible hours, so if you work an hour over one day, you can take it back the next day or even save up the extra hours you've worked and take a whole day off.
In the Netherlands you must take 14 consecutive days of holiday at least once a year, a law!
And don't forget "Long Service Leave". Work ten years for the same employer and get 2 months paid leave.
My son works where they are given x amount of PTO. However the company tries everything in its power to prevent the employees from taking those days. Then when the new year comes they loose the pay and days
My American employer counts one's sick days against PTO, and it doesn't roll over nor get paid out. I'm a disabled veteran, with decades old health issues, last year my health burned up all my PTO & then some. Got an email memo from my boss that I needed to improve my attendance so I could save my PTO... !? Odd, as we're a wholly owned subsidiary of the French multinational Sonepar. Apparently, US workers don't rate uniform corporate treatment.
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Dream work n family balance life. I'm looking for a job in Germany and learning German
25 <3 beautiful! We start with maybe 10 if you're super lucky and if you get sick for a week and run out of sick time, your vacay gets used as if you're having a great time
It is a concerted effort over time by the Republican party to be anti-union, pro business.
I'm sure the idea to make the Israelites make bricks without straw came from Rameses II's American management consultants.
I could probably just google this but I honestly don't know a lot about unions. Are there any negatives of having unions for the workers? They can be corrupt, I'm sure, like anything else. And I know some of them require you to pay dues that are crazy but... companies are so against this obviously to keep paying people less and keep benefits down and I guess I just don't understand why all jobs with a certain number of employees are required to have one or why all people don't just unionize everywhere, like amazon in particular comes to mind. Why hasn't it happened yet if the benefits outweigh the negatives?
To quote Wikipedia: "In the majority of nations, including all industrialised nations except the United States, advances in employee relations have seen the introduction of statutory agreements for minimum employee leave from work—that is the amount of entitlement to paid vacation and public holidays." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_by_country)
Oh how I wish it was like that here in America. Ronnie killed unions.
25 days a year? That is insane! How do you pay the bills for an entire month!!??
I can take up to 36 days of paid vacation. If i am sick, im sick, you can be ill and still be paid up to six weeks, after that its covered from your health care provider.
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Hmm, just last night my husband realized he now has 18 paid days off..we were overjoyed. He's been there more than a decade. Sick, vacation, going to mva.. doesn't matter, he has 18 days to work with and if he doesn't use them or cash them out they will be lost. It's kinda sad that this is what we have to be grateful for.
I have a packaging and shipping job and I have to stay standing up the whole time. I would like work conditions like this.
Our government doesnt want us rested, it means less tax money for them to steal.
huh? Isn't that part of the employment contract that how many leaves you are entitled annually?
The USA doesn't require contracts for employment. Sometimes you don't even know how much you're getting paid until you get your first check. Employment law here does not require any paid time off at all. You have to work 1200 hours in a year to even qualify for unpaid leave in case of illness or injury. Bank holidays are not guaranteed off, or paid. And in the case of bank holidays being paid, you usually have to work the day before and the day after, so if you're on sick leave, they don't have to pay you for it.
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Same here in most places where you work in Australia. And paid sick leave. And long service leave and unpaid pregnancy leave where your job is held for you for 12 months.
Except for temporary contracts or interims where you often don’t get holidays or even sick days.
Temporary contracts have the same rights concerning vacation and sick days as unlimited ones in my country of residence
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This has a historical reason. Communism was a bigger threat in Europe than America, so european capitalist countries had to give their workers more benefits to make communism less appealing.
Out of the “44 countries” mentioned, only 5 have productivity higher than The U.S. So it appears unions aren’t making the other 39 countries more productive.
You conveniently forget to factor in that with 5 WEEKS PAID vacation + often less then 40hr week there are still 5 countries that outperform yours with either NO or maybe 2 weeks paid vacation and 50+hr weeks? And of those 39 how much are they behind in productivity, enough for those extra 3 days a month in vacations + 10sh hrs of work/weekly they have less then you?
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I'd like more vacation days. But America is actually more unionized than even France. The problem is the unions evolved into puppets of the Democrat Party, which is more concerned with importing government dependency.
Letting kids go to school or walk around the neighborhood by themselves without supervision.
A Dutch family moved to the USA and their kids went to school on their bikes like they always do, after a while the police showed up on their doorstep and child protective services letting them know they’re being irresponsible and to not do that again.
Mailman doesnt leave packages unattended on your porch. He eather gives you it on the doorstep or you go get it at the post office. Much less infureating than getting it stolen or thrown accros your yard by a mailman...
I don't know if this would horrify Americans as I've never heard it discussed, but where I live in Europe (Luxembourg), voting is mandatory and you can get fined for not voting in an election. You can still spoil your ballot, so you don't have to decide between lesser evils if you don't want to, but you have to make the effort to go to the polling station or submit a postal vote. It guarantees a high voter turnout and by extension more representative elections, coupled with a proportional voting system so we're not locked into a two-party mess like the UK or the US - not that it's without its issues of course, but I think it's an improvement.
Being expected to know another language other than English.
At least in Germany, nudity. No one cares if you're naked, no one thinks you're a sex offender, no one thinks it's even sexual to be naked unless you're actively having sex, and no one makes it weird.
You can be naked in public parks to soak up sun, on beaches, swim naked in lakes. Saunas are all naked, mixed sex areas in spas and saunas are naked with no issues and in general, it's just not an issue.
At least where I live in Germany it’s NOT usual to be naked in parks or bathing naked in crowded places, except they’re designated as nude areas. Topless is tolerated in most urban parks, if you don’t Walk around. Otherwise it’s a "Public nuisance", which is an administrative offense and is punished by a penalty fee.
From what I’ve heard, allowing retail workers to sit. I’ve heard it’s regular for people to be sitting in Europe as cashiers, but in the us it is seen as lazy. Only store I know of that allows it is Aldi and that’s because it helps their cashiering metrics.
The number of rooms in the description of apartments. 1 room in the US usually means 1 bedroom, a living room ,and separate kitchen. Was shocked when I realized it means everything inside one room in most European countries
In the UK we normally describe properties as 1 bed, 2 bed etc. and give a separate count of other rooms. Studio is normally used to describe rooms of mixed use. So a 1 bed studio apartment will normally be a combined kitchen, living and sleeping space with a separate bath- or shower-room.
Not being super patriotic.
I love being Scottish, I love living here, the people (mostly), the accepting and open culture, the sarcastic swearing humour, that we can take the piss out of ourselves - but I don't feel the need to fly a flag on my doorstep or cover myself in Scottish symbols and scream about my freedom and rights and chant some verse every morning - im sure there are plenty of Americans who also think that the stereotypical over the top patriotic American is as odd as outsiders do - but they do tend to be the loudest
Long paid parental leaves and month long holidays (vacations).
Fun fact: These are all things that Unions achieved and next the government made them law. Some Americans would go bat shyte crazy over that. "The government has no right to force 25 mandatory vacation days on me!!!!"
Oh man... europe has so many different countries. Something that is completely normal where I live could be frowned upon as soon as I cross the next border. But in general we tip for good service, not bc we have to. A rude waitress won't get tipped by me. Also we usually remove our shoes before we enter a home. And yep, "free" healthcare.
Absolutely, what's acceptable in Spain wouldn't fly in Denmark and vice versa. All countries have their own cultures. The first time, years before the internet through reading American magazines, I came across 'Europe' being referred to as a homogeneous whole I was extremely confused. I was also highly entertained by all the adverts stating 'Everyone in Europe is using this product' for something I'd never seen in my life.
Not giving your debit/credit card to your server but doing it yourself
It prevents them from copying you card information and using them to commit fraud by buying stuff online with your creditcard information. In fact I think we ought to memorise the control numbers on the back of the card and then remove them for the card. Having them there is like writing the pin code on the card with a marker, it is just making abuse way too easy.
Sitting a foot away from a complete stranger and then completely ignoring them.
Americans get so bend out of shape over naked children running around the beach.
On every beach in Bulgaria I've been, naked children is the norm, women sunbathing in monokini is considered absolutely normal, while naked men are okay only in the nude sections of the beaches. And every beach has a nude section.
Not enrolling your kid in extracurricular activities. In Europe, some kids are enrolled in a sport or club and the older ones are mostly responsible for getting there and figuring out their schedule. In America, some parents are so obsessed with kids sports that the whole family's existence revolves around it, or they get judgemental when they hear that a kid isn't involved in any sports or clubs.
Almost every car having a manual transmission. when i visited ukraine, i only saw rich people with automatic cars
Charging for water at a restaurant.
In Norway you'll get tap water when you ask for water, and that's free.
Bidets? I was born and raised in the US and I think they're efficient and far more hygienic than TP, but apparently most other dudes in this country think it's gay to clean up after your business is done lol
The only really gay thing I know is falling in love with someone of the same gender as yourself. If cleaning your ass after you've been to the toilet is 'gay' to you, you have some real issues.
In Germany, looking for a apartment doesn't automatically mean it will come 100% with a kitchen. 90% they don't have them in and you have to buy them yourself.
That's one of the most stupid things in Germany. The kitchen should belong to the apartment.
Underage drinking seems more of a crime in the US - in most cases of a kid is caught with alcohol in the UK it's just confiscated and poured away. Strictly speaking the age you can drink alcohol is really low as well, so long as you're home with a parent I think it's like 5/6. When you're in a restaurant you're also allowed low percentage alcohol like cider with a meal so long as you're with an adult.
Note: this post originally had 42 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Gotta say that "things normal in Europe" means you take more than 40 very different countries together. Example; The Netherlands doesn't have bagged milk at all, we don't allow underage drinking in the general sense and we don't leave kids in strollers outside. We're one of the few countries that use diseases as swear words, though :)
The same could be said for the United States. People love to generalize Americans, but the truth is we're vastly different from one another. I notice a lot of ignorance from Europeans about the differences in Americans. Like someone made a southern Texas joke towards me and I had to explain I'm from the east coast. It seems like they forget how big America really is.
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As an european who spend so much time in the states I just can't see the US as one country... there are so much differences depending on where you are... and I'm so just tired of those meaningless comparison...
This is even more true for Europe. They are lumping 40 different countries into this comparison.
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About half of these are just cultural differences that aren't "Horrific" one way or the other, and some even reflect badly on the Europeans, not to mention the whole "not all of Europe, but n a few places..." thing. So basically, the author is full of s**t.
I am not sure that anyone in the US finds these things “horrific.” I assume no Americans were consulted in the creation of this list? Bull fighting… this is an example of something horrific…
Yeah. It's awful. I think it's only parts of Spain though. (I could be wrong) not the kind of thing I want to google.
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One "European" concept I wish the US would embrace is free college/university!
Yup. It's very freeing not having to save up for my son's university.
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Yea. I mean… it’s just sad. All the other nations target America. But I’m used to it.
Load More Replies... One thing in North America I question is why women’s breasts are considered illegal. I suspect it has to do with the Puritan roots of NA but why does the USA love guns and violence (especially on tv, movies and video games) but as soon as a woman’s breasts are visible everyone throws a fit?
I like my guns, because I use it for hunting. Not for the sport of it, but because in my part of the US, groceries are pretty expensive, and good paying jobs that can support your family are few and far between. But god forbid women decide to go without even a bra 🙄
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So often articles like these seem based on stereotypes and Stupid American stories taken as fact. They also feel mean spirited.
Yet another post by someone who's never been to the US and doesn't actually know any Americans.
Definitely true. But considering there's so many untrue statements about Europe too it's easy to come to this conclusion. It's all or mostly just b******t.
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This is full of a lot of stereotypes, exaggeration, and people who have never gone to the US. It was cool to learn more about 'Europe'. (Europe is a bunch of different countries and cultures, you can't just group them all together like they did the United States.)
Yes. Sadly there's a bunch of people who lump together all European countries and people tend to lump together all of the US states too. European countries differ. Sometimes very much and sometimes less. And I know it's the same with many states in the US. Never hurt to learn though, which is why I ended up here. ;D
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I don't see anything horrific except for the hateful disdain expressed toward Americans.
Americans can be pretty damn disdainful of whole groups of people, it's the driving force behind much of our politics.
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The problem is that Americans are stereotyped by The politics of rural areas predominant primarily in the south and midwest even though that only makes up at a relatively small percentage of the total population. However that gets blown out of proportion because the American political system ensures a disproportionate amount of power to those areas. On the flipside Europeans are stereotyped based on the population of its large cities. But of course if anybody does just a little bit of investigation they will see that rural America and rural Europe are very similar (why do you think Brexit happened?) American cities and European cities are also very similar. Even more extreme many of the countries of Eastern Europe are considerably more conservative than even the most conservative parts of America.
I'm a bus driver. Taking a bus in America is not horrific, thank you very much.
It depends on where you live. My experience with buses in Atlanta was fine. My experiences with the buses in Alaska was awful!
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Looks like Americans aren't as "free" as they think they are and as they would like the World to see them.
So much content on BP is Europe vs USA. Like f**k off already... we don’t need any more division and hatred in the world
Agreed. I wonder why it is like that though? Maybe the states is a soft target for some reason.
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Please stop viewing Europe as one country. It's a group of very different countries, with different culture, different history, different languages, different customs, different way of life. European countries are NOT like US states, they don't really have nearly as much in common. And while they're a group and share a currency now (and it's only been 20 years) and all that, you cannot group all European countries and treat them like they're all the same. Enough of this, please.
Not all european countries are members of the eu though. But I agree, most european countries have many differences.
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So many of these are not even close to true. Someone is watching too many movies.
I have to wonder why these kinds of generalizations are only acceptable about Americans/America. Many of these would largely depend on where you live in America
This entire post generalizes the entirety of Europe as well. Most of these examples absolutely do not apply for the majority of countries in Europe.
Load More Replies... A lot of the things on this list isn’t true. Downvote me if you want.
definitely another bored panda Stigma induced post for both Europe and America. though it definitely likes to stir up hate in a lot of different forms of these stigmas of Europe and America I think it could have potential of having some fun conversations if delt right...*if* being key because for this Panda, that can't happen in heaven or hell it seems...this Boredpanda loves to just dump loads on America usually which really frustrates me. and this time had a bonus with Europe in it.
For those who misspell America, it just goes to prove you Europeans are a bunch of snotty little pricks.
The author simply revealed their ignorance. It’s embarrassing to see someone actually wrote this truly fact-anemic tripe. I will give one example. The “public purchase and consumption of alcohol” is illegal until age 21. However in 45 states, on private property, with parental consent children may consume any alcohol they wish. The drinking age in this case can go down to 12. The government limited public drinking but preserved parents rights to teach their children to drink responsibility. In America, on private property, one can enjoy a beer or 100 proof whiskey with their child…if they desire. Most parents choose to wait. A simple google search would do you well.
The only thing I would find horrific that is done in many parts of Europe is leaving your baby outside a shop in their stroller. I know its quite common in some places, (lived in many different European countries growing up). But if I saw that in America I would start freaking out lol. Cops would immediately be called by someone, it would be a whole thing.
Not saying ALL americans are patriotic. Although I myself would never feel the same need to defend my country like some (again not all) americans do here. Maybe I'm missing something, it's probably not a bad thing to defend your country. I just never get the urge to defend my country. Is that weird? I hope I am not offending anyone by asking this.
I have a home on 10 acres that is very remote no bus would come there. I also require a lot of tools to do my job and could not take them on the bus. I have never been shot nor have I shot anyone though I do enjoy match shooting g and own many firearms. I guess Europe has zero child molesters and kids are never abducted over there. We do have crime and kids can be abducted so to allow your kids to roam freely is negligent. Plus they might crash on their bike or be hit by a car. I don't know of any kids that are not involved in some kind of extra curriculum activity and I have never been charged for water. It is illegal in Arizona to not provide water if requested. We smile to be pleasant unlike Europeans.
First of all as an America has plenty of issues I will admit. We aren't perfect like you Europeans. Everyone I know removes their shoes when entering a home. Some may keep shoes by the door that are only worn indoors as they have foot problems and shoes provide comfort. To each there own but I have no desire to see old wrinkled sweaty testicle, or gray public hair or any public hair, sagging breasts or stretch marks that make it look like a person was mauled by a tiger. Fish belly white rolls of fat or even a naked super model naked. I took Spanish for 4 years in high school as a foreign language was required. As a business owner employees are given paid vacations, paid sick days, paid holidays and we are a Construction Company when an employees partner has a baby they get 3 days off to help the new mother and baby settle in paid. If the spouse can't handle a newborn after that then they shouldn't have had a kid. So many people abuse sick days though and screw over coworkers
I really take offense with the whole if u can't handle a new born after 3 days u shouldn't of had one. There can be literally hundreds of reasons a new mom needs help after delivering a child she could have had a c-section or a difficult birth the child could had birth defects or other issues that were unforeseen. The child could have colic there could be other siblings in the home and they are not adjusting to the new arrival there's also postpartum depression like I said literally hundreds of things and to judge a person after only three days and saying they shouldn't have had one what are they going to do put the child back because that's about how much sense your post made
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This is simply showing differences... one could just as easily say this is "European bashing" if you decide that the American side of the difference is the preferred version. (and in some of these cases, that would be an easy argument)
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Usa is like a fourth cousin twice removed of European countries that had the guts to jump over the wall to go see the world and so they evolved in their own way . And it doesn't seem so problematic to me. I love both.
So...pointing out differences means you're hating the country? Got it. Are there any other conditions other than patriotic paranoia you want to tell us about?
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Gotta say that "things normal in Europe" means you take more than 40 very different countries together. Example; The Netherlands doesn't have bagged milk at all, we don't allow underage drinking in the general sense and we don't leave kids in strollers outside. We're one of the few countries that use diseases as swear words, though :)
The same could be said for the United States. People love to generalize Americans, but the truth is we're vastly different from one another. I notice a lot of ignorance from Europeans about the differences in Americans. Like someone made a southern Texas joke towards me and I had to explain I'm from the east coast. It seems like they forget how big America really is.
Load More Replies... As an european who spend so much time in the states I just can't see the US as one country... there are so much differences depending on where you are... and I'm so just tired of those meaningless comparison...
This is even more true for Europe. They are lumping 40 different countries into this comparison.
Load More Replies... About half of these are just cultural differences that aren't "Horrific" one way or the other, and some even reflect badly on the Europeans, not to mention the whole "not all of Europe, but n a few places..." thing. So basically, the author is full of s**t.
I am not sure that anyone in the US finds these things “horrific.” I assume no Americans were consulted in the creation of this list? Bull fighting… this is an example of something horrific…
Yeah. It's awful. I think it's only parts of Spain though. (I could be wrong) not the kind of thing I want to google.
Load More Replies... One "European" concept I wish the US would embrace is free college/university!
Yup. It's very freeing not having to save up for my son's university.
Load More Replies... Yea. I mean… it’s just sad. All the other nations target America. But I’m used to it.
Load More Replies... One thing in North America I question is why women’s breasts are considered illegal. I suspect it has to do with the Puritan roots of NA but why does the USA love guns and violence (especially on tv, movies and video games) but as soon as a woman’s breasts are visible everyone throws a fit?
I like my guns, because I use it for hunting. Not for the sport of it, but because in my part of the US, groceries are pretty expensive, and good paying jobs that can support your family are few and far between. But god forbid women decide to go without even a bra 🙄
Load More Replies... So often articles like these seem based on stereotypes and Stupid American stories taken as fact. They also feel mean spirited.
Yet another post by someone who's never been to the US and doesn't actually know any Americans.
Definitely true. But considering there's so many untrue statements about Europe too it's easy to come to this conclusion. It's all or mostly just b******t.
Load More Replies... This is full of a lot of stereotypes, exaggeration, and people who have never gone to the US. It was cool to learn more about 'Europe'. (Europe is a bunch of different countries and cultures, you can't just group them all together like they did the United States.)
Yes. Sadly there's a bunch of people who lump together all European countries and people tend to lump together all of the US states too. European countries differ. Sometimes very much and sometimes less. And I know it's the same with many states in the US. Never hurt to learn though, which is why I ended up here. ;D
Load More Replies... I don't see anything horrific except for the hateful disdain expressed toward Americans.
Americans can be pretty damn disdainful of whole groups of people, it's the driving force behind much of our politics.
Load More Replies... The problem is that Americans are stereotyped by The politics of rural areas predominant primarily in the south and midwest even though that only makes up at a relatively small percentage of the total population. However that gets blown out of proportion because the American political system ensures a disproportionate amount of power to those areas. On the flipside Europeans are stereotyped based on the population of its large cities. But of course if anybody does just a little bit of investigation they will see that rural America and rural Europe are very similar (why do you think Brexit happened?) American cities and European cities are also very similar. Even more extreme many of the countries of Eastern Europe are considerably more conservative than even the most conservative parts of America.
I'm a bus driver. Taking a bus in America is not horrific, thank you very much.
It depends on where you live. My experience with buses in Atlanta was fine. My experiences with the buses in Alaska was awful!
Load More Replies... Looks like Americans aren't as "free" as they think they are and as they would like the World to see them.
So much content on BP is Europe vs USA. Like f**k off already... we don’t need any more division and hatred in the world
Agreed. I wonder why it is like that though? Maybe the states is a soft target for some reason.
Load More Replies... Please stop viewing Europe as one country. It's a group of very different countries, with different culture, different history, different languages, different customs, different way of life. European countries are NOT like US states, they don't really have nearly as much in common. And while they're a group and share a currency now (and it's only been 20 years) and all that, you cannot group all European countries and treat them like they're all the same. Enough of this, please.
Not all european countries are members of the eu though. But I agree, most european countries have many differences.
Load More Replies... So many of these are not even close to true. Someone is watching too many movies.
I have to wonder why these kinds of generalizations are only acceptable about Americans/America. Many of these would largely depend on where you live in America
This entire post generalizes the entirety of Europe as well. Most of these examples absolutely do not apply for the majority of countries in Europe.
Load More Replies... A lot of the things on this list isn’t true. Downvote me if you want.
definitely another bored panda Stigma induced post for both Europe and America. though it definitely likes to stir up hate in a lot of different forms of these stigmas of Europe and America I think it could have potential of having some fun conversations if delt right...*if* being key because for this Panda, that can't happen in heaven or hell it seems...this Boredpanda loves to just dump loads on America usually which really frustrates me. and this time had a bonus with Europe in it.
For those who misspell America, it just goes to prove you Europeans are a bunch of snotty little pricks.
The author simply revealed their ignorance. It’s embarrassing to see someone actually wrote this truly fact-anemic tripe. I will give one example. The “public purchase and consumption of alcohol” is illegal until age 21. However in 45 states, on private property, with parental consent children may consume any alcohol they wish. The drinking age in this case can go down to 12. The government limited public drinking but preserved parents rights to teach their children to drink responsibility. In America, on private property, one can enjoy a beer or 100 proof whiskey with their child…if they desire. Most parents choose to wait. A simple google search would do you well.
The only thing I would find horrific that is done in many parts of Europe is leaving your baby outside a shop in their stroller. I know its quite common in some places, (lived in many different European countries growing up). But if I saw that in America I would start freaking out lol. Cops would immediately be called by someone, it would be a whole thing.
Not saying ALL americans are patriotic. Although I myself would never feel the same need to defend my country like some (again not all) americans do here. Maybe I'm missing something, it's probably not a bad thing to defend your country. I just never get the urge to defend my country. Is that weird? I hope I am not offending anyone by asking this.
I have a home on 10 acres that is very remote no bus would come there. I also require a lot of tools to do my job and could not take them on the bus. I have never been shot nor have I shot anyone though I do enjoy match shooting g and own many firearms. I guess Europe has zero child molesters and kids are never abducted over there. We do have crime and kids can be abducted so to allow your kids to roam freely is negligent. Plus they might crash on their bike or be hit by a car. I don't know of any kids that are not involved in some kind of extra curriculum activity and I have never been charged for water. It is illegal in Arizona to not provide water if requested. We smile to be pleasant unlike Europeans.
First of all as an America has plenty of issues I will admit. We aren't perfect like you Europeans. Everyone I know removes their shoes when entering a home. Some may keep shoes by the door that are only worn indoors as they have foot problems and shoes provide comfort. To each there own but I have no desire to see old wrinkled sweaty testicle, or gray public hair or any public hair, sagging breasts or stretch marks that make it look like a person was mauled by a tiger. Fish belly white rolls of fat or even a naked super model naked. I took Spanish for 4 years in high school as a foreign language was required. As a business owner employees are given paid vacations, paid sick days, paid holidays and we are a Construction Company when an employees partner has a baby they get 3 days off to help the new mother and baby settle in paid. If the spouse can't handle a newborn after that then they shouldn't have had a kid. So many people abuse sick days though and screw over coworkers
I really take offense with the whole if u can't handle a new born after 3 days u shouldn't of had one. There can be literally hundreds of reasons a new mom needs help after delivering a child she could have had a c-section or a difficult birth the child could had birth defects or other issues that were unforeseen. The child could have colic there could be other siblings in the home and they are not adjusting to the new arrival there's also postpartum depression like I said literally hundreds of things and to judge a person after only three days and saying they shouldn't have had one what are they going to do put the child back because that's about how much sense your post made
Load More Replies... This is simply showing differences... one could just as easily say this is "European bashing" if you decide that the American side of the difference is the preferred version. (and in some of these cases, that would be an easy argument)
Load More Replies... Usa is like a fourth cousin twice removed of European countries that had the guts to jump over the wall to go see the world and so they evolved in their own way . And it doesn't seem so problematic to me. I love both.
So...pointing out differences means you're hating the country? Got it. Are there any other conditions other than patriotic paranoia you want to tell us about?
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