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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).
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.
FFS, I’m 60, and when I was a child, we had the run of the neighborhood. In summer, we’d leave the house after breakfast, get in our bikes and be who knows where all day, except for dropping by home for a quick lunch. And we didn’t have cellphones back in the day. There were enough stay at home moms and retirees in the neighborhood to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary—-without meddling and calling CPS (unless there was something harmful and/or illegal going on—-and even then they made damn sure they had proof!). In fact, there was enough of a network that, if my friends and I crossed a street we shouldn’t have crossed, our mothers already knew about it before we got home. Unless you’re living in a crime-riddled neighborhood, your kids will be just fine being “free range”. They’re not stupid, and if you make sure to educate them about appropriate adult behavior and ways to avoid getting into trouble, you’ll be raising a future smart, independent, and resourceful adult.
The world has changed drastically since you were a child. It would be nice if it weren’t so, but that’s irrelevant.
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And danish woman who got prosecuted because she left the baby in the baby carriage outside the restaurant.... Its so normal in the nordic countries that we have parking spots for baby carriage some places....
Honestly it doesn't. Super safe, near 0 crime, suburban neighborhoods or small towns are the places where you will be judged the harshest for allowing children out of your sight.
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Glad I'm not a kid any more. We used to have a heck of a lot of fun walking to and from school. I must be awful to have a child who lives in so much fear the parents do come off much better. Progress is so sad!
As with everywhere else, the extent to which kids go unsupervised has very much to do with crime rates and risks in general such as traffic.
Incorrect. Crime rates have gone down, and there's no more traffic in the neighborhood I grew up in now than then, yet no one lets their kids roam like we did. You seem to think there's a rational explanation for the change, there is not. There's just more paranoia than there used to be.
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I think that this really depends on where you live in Europe. Where I lived (big city with a lot of traffic) it was not normal to let your kids walk to the school at least until they were 14 or older.
I live in Berlin, huge city, tons of traffic. Most kids go to school on their own starting in elementary school, even longer distance with public transportation. It's normal here
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Really? That happens all the time here (the riding bikes to school, not the CPS part).
Apparently people don't steal your children as often in the countries most of you posters live in who think this is crazy. I know when I was a child in the 80's U.S. i was almost abducted one one occasion and back then it was totally normal for kids to be out and about in groups or playing even walking alone to a friend's or to school was normal. Half the parents were not even home when we got home from school. These days however people will kidnap and traffic your kids right off the sidewalk if your not watching them every minute. That's what makes most American parents too scared to let them just walk the neighborhood without supervision. Of course it also depends on what state and what city in said state you live in.
I can believe it. Helicopter parents and the "Karens" of this world have made life unbearable anymore. I used to send my 3 children to school on their own, and it was a long walk, too! Today's poor children have no idea how to socialize with other kids because they are constantly supervised by adults, who jump in and prevent any issues. The kids have no idea how to problem-solve, because they've never had to solve a problem!
I used to walk to school from the first grade on. Had to cross a road and everything. All my classmates did. No problems
I call BS. I walked myself to kindergarten and I see kids today walking to school all the time.
This is something that only started with, believe it or not, the internet, where people who don't have a freaking clue decide to tell others how to live their lives and if you do not "submit" they're gonna tell on you. Too many people in America are only "playing" at being adults. They have NEVER been an adult, so they are playing just like they did when their physical age was six. Their mental age has never changed.
I don't believe this one. Kids ride their bikes and walk to school every day in this country.
Our school district in Pennsylvania forbids students regardless of age to ride bicycles to school.
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It has to do with threat perception. The danger of kidnapping is low but the fear of it is high. Due to the high fear of children being taken and injuried or killed it has been considered neglectful to leave children unsupervised. Neighbors would report you for allowing children to walk to the store or park alone. Some places are now beginning to pass laws saying this is not neglectful. On top of that some places have a problem with teen gangs so teens are not allowed in some malls or shopping centers unless they are alone or with a parent. No groups of teens allowed.
I'm glad there's not Kidnappers, Pedophiles, Traffickers, Murderers, Drunk Drivers, etc... in The Netherlands or Wherever they moved from
aren't*. And is your comment a book title? Apparently so.
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To be fair, the US is a scary shitshow and I wouldn't want my children alone on those streets
that's a load of BS, I live in the US and I've lived in the city and now in the country and haven't ever seen or heard of anything like that. That's some crazy propaganda crap.
In the meantime; in Scandinavian countries Babies Nap Outside In Cold while parents are shopping for groceries.
Neighbors need to mind their own business (they probably called the police). I'm glad I don't have any children, because I'd be letting them go out alone on bikes as well. I was a latchkey kid in the 70's and 80's and loved my freedom. Out on a bike from after school til sunset. Good times.
I wish people offline in general would mind their own damn business.
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Okay--what? I moved to Paris and was shocked that the children were never alone for a second. Everyone had nannies or au pairs or wives to pick up the children and take them to classes while in Canada, children routinely walk home or to piano lessons on their own. I was also shocked that the children ate at 5 with their au pair while the parents ate at 7 or 8.
Children are entirely disenfranchised in the USA until age 18, and then they still can’t buy alcohol, but CAN join the military or be drafted to die in unnecessary wars.
so. They're physically unable to purchase alcohol. got it.
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This is something I don't get with countries that don't let their kids go alone... IN Johannesburg, you'll find 10 year olds and even younger navigating the city with no problem at all. They wake up and go to school by themselves using one of the most hostile transport systems in the world
Yeah, in my neighborhood school age children are not allowed to walk alone without an older accomplice of at least high school age. My siblings aren’t allowed out without me with them.
When I was a kid, many years ago, we were completely free range... walked or rode our bikes to school from the very beginning, allowed to run around all over and play until the street lights came on. Then the world became a much more dangerous place. We have a lot of international visitors, and the police tell them they can't just park the baby carriage outside the restaurant or shop and leave it. My niece, who is half my age, couldn't even play in her front yard unsupervised... a guy jumped out of a van and tried to snatch her... but her dog stopped the abduction.
Depends on where you are in the U.S. You can get away with it where I live because my neighborhood is safe, but in other places your kid might get snatched.
Although, twice now I've been shocked by occurrences that have happened in areas I would have never thought it would. First time, in the middle of country mountains in PA, someone attempted to approach my 9yr old son at his bus stop (end of our lane) and fled when the bus popped over the hill. Another time, also in pa but this time it was a small little town, some guy went into a home and abducted a 4yr old right out of her room after seeing her playing in her yard. Luckily she was found by his mother tied up in a trunk in his room! I can't help but be on guard, people seem to be more unstable these days and I've witnessed far too many things.
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Not sure where that is. I'm in CA and my kids walked/rode to school all the time. Helicopter parenting is it's own form of abuse. If you don't let them live life and make decisions on their own, they will fail as adults.
Kids in my neighborhood walk to their bus stop / school by themselves no problem! Heck, i walk to my bus stop by myself no problem. That's just a weird neighborhood.
yeah but where? South Central, understood. Any suburb? that is normal behavior.
That’s weird because we actually have a lot of kids who ride their bikes to school (there are bike racks at the schools for them to park) and even more kids who walk to school. These are assigned. If you live within a certain distance you are a walker for school. Most live too far to walk and are assigned a bus number.
Sadly here in America it's different than when I grew up as we have to worry about people snatching kids while in Europe much safer. I live 4 miles down gravel road then down a private Rd which I feel safer but still can't let guard down as too many crazies running around.
Yea, it's not simple to kidnap kids in EU? BODY SHOPPERS ARE THR SAME GLOBALLY...
I greift up in the states until I was 13(1976). I never lived near enough to walk or bike my way to school. Then in germany I could, 10 min. to walk! That was the only good Thing here!
Thank God my parents let me bike/walk/run wherever I wanted as a younger kid! (I live in America.)
When I was little (1980s) kids past the baby stage were allowed to roam and spend time unsupervised. I live in a relatively small town but if you leave your kids unsupervised or even step out of the car for a moment and stand 10 ft away, and some nosy individual gets the idea you've taken your eyes off your child for even a moment, you're very likely to get the cops called on you for child abandonment while onlookers boo and hiss and tell you what a horrible parent you are.. It's gotten excessive. But on the other side of the coin, most parents here worry about letting their children play unsupervised in a public place. The same kids that got to roam around largely unsupervised are now that worried parent. And a lot of the worry is that someone will see and report you.. The other half is knowing how societies moral compass has utterly degraded.. believe me, it would be nice if it could be the way it was in the 80s but it's definitely not that world anymore.. Too many creeps and druggi
Where was this at?because when I was in school kids rode bikes by themselves everyday in grade school and this literally never happened
I guess I was an irresponsible parent then and my mother was downright neglectful. When's the last time you saw a kid in a tree? You couldn't keep me out of them.
I call bs. I've lived in many states and many many cities and there are kids that ride their bikes to school in all of them. And I've never in my life heard of a police officer going to someone's house because they let their kids ride a bike.
I call bullsh*t. I've lived in many states and cities throughout this country of mine and every single one of them had kids who rode bikes to school.
Well with the number of children who have been abducted and murdered you really can't blame them.
Walking or riding bikes to school is fine in the US. We live too far but some of my kids friends do it daily.
It kinda depends where you are, roads in America are super unsafe especially giant intersections
ay so i aint allowed to walk to school if i so pleased?then again i go to millswood middle.it is a fair avereage every other wendsday in PE.aka running a mile.
And not letting your kids be "free range" is why this country is now full of a bunch of lazy p u s s i e s
Does not say much for the safety of the USA. Very common practice for school children bikes or walk. And yes even in the snow.
I don’t understand this. I live in the UK and my parcels are almost always left in my porch.
Depending on the city/state, the safety of this is highly variable. Also depending on the children's ages. Also, learn the laws of your area as a parent. In most states, it is completely legal during certain times of day. Exercise your rights in a safe and responsible manner.
This was normal behavior in the US as well. But once the 90's rolled in, abductions and rapes increased. And these days, everyone on a bicycle, driving a car, or even being a pedestrian, is so glued to cell phones and texting, that it is unsafe for kids to go unsupervised. Growing up in the 90's with no cell phones, we had to use our brains, a hagstrom, and human Interaction to navigate. The kids these days can't do that, because of all the electronic crap that we throw at them. I feel bad for kids these days. And we where the ones that did it to them.
I read in Poland legally you can allow 14 and older kid go by train alone. Seriously.
Really? It’s normal to walk to school in Canada. I used to walk to school. Maybe it’s because of all the guns?
The kids in my neighborhood do the same thing but cps never does anything
It's sad when the school bus drives 300 feet to drop a child at the very next corner
Yeah that is some crazy american s**t really, not being able or safe enough to walk and play outdoors in your own town. In Helsinki I had a bus ticket and right to go wherever I wanted at the age of 13. Walked to school and had right to run around the neighbourhood since 7 years old. This is also why Americans are obese, getting a ride everywhere instead of any walking or biking 🙈
This is not normal in the US. A lot of kids walk to school with friends. Some also ride their bikes. I don't know how this could have happened. Maybe a neighbor dispute turned ugly and the other family called in a false report. That does happen sadly. Some child protection agencies are overzealous and seem like they're looking to give parents a hard time or remove the kids from the home. It's crazy.
My Grandson's kid encourages this and he's 9. I was doing this when I was that age
Depends on where you are. My state passed a law a few years ago that allows parents to let their kids "free range" or leave them in a car to run in a store (within reason). Trying to end these types of calls where police are called for silly situations where the child is in no danger.
About the Dutch family: the US is probably a more dangerous place than those nice Euro countries like Holland. There are predators around, likely because of our loose judiciary, and it is not safe to let kids walk or bike to school alone in most places. The warning they received was fair. Unless you live in a gated community with an armed patrol, watch your kids like a momma hawk!
I was walking myself to school by choice since I was like eight, I think either what happened to the dutch family was a fluke or I am.
I almost always walked to school alone when I could and didn't have any issues
Americans can be babies sometimes, children need to learn to be independent and need to learn that their parents won't be there for everything
Lmao tell that to every inner city public school kid who rides the public transit alone at age 6. Please stop talking about my country like you know. You obviously don’t.
It's because we have a horrify amount of children being kidnapped and killed by pedophiles.
I walked, rode my bike, even roller bladed to and from school most of my school career. I only got a ride if the weather was horrible.
Yeah and these will be the first ones on the news hysterical and bawling when there kid turns up dead by all the crazies out there 🙄.
This does not happen we’re I live. Some children walk or ride bikes to school.
What? What city? I walked to school in the U.S. from the time I was 10
Back in the late 70's in Germany, my sister (10) and I (8) walked to the train station for 25 minutes, took the train for 17 minutes, then a bus for 5 minutes or so, to get to school... ON OUR OWN, just like all other kids.
i always walked or biked to school. they must've moved to a rough neighborhooed
Meanwhile in europe, an asian father was jailed for 2 (or may be 3, cant remember the specific) for whooping his childs for (also cant remember for) wht they did! Which is norm as how asian families raises n discipline their kids but can mean jail time over there! It became huge in my country that even involves the govt mediation.
It's not like this everywhere i walk to and from school almost every day and my parents don't get told it was irresponsible don't just assume this is happening everywhere.
I had to walk to school when I was 10 or 11 by myself, cause we lived too close. It was a mile roughly...
Same happened to my boss when she moved from Berlin to Washington. The police showed up to inform them that it is illegal to let their slightly pre-teenaged kids ride their bikes unsupervised. Fortunately, that's totally unthinkable in Germany. Children need a bit of freedom to develop confidence and independence. Then again, Berlin is really quite a safe city.
Good grief! We got ourselves ready for school, got our breakfast, and got ourselves off to school (we walked to school) in the 1970s. Before that, and right up until we grew up and moved away, we would come home from school, change our clothes, do our homework, and go hang out with friends until it was time for the parents to get home. Saturdays, more of the same. Up and breakfast, then out the door to hang with friends. We had to be home for dinner though.
yep, and we even rode in the bed of a truck and drank from the water hose... oh the horror!!!
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The Netherlands is not like other countries in western Europe. Not a good example. There are many parts jn Europe where you wouldn't let anyone cycle alone
Weird. My kids do that all the time, and play all around our neighborhood with everyone else's kids, and I live in the US.
Some places in the states are like this. I lived in a neighborhood for about a year (last year) that was effectively a closed circle. That neighborhood had children running around all over unsupervised. And there are a few other places like that. Mostly specific suburbs.
At 82 yo, I was a joyously free range kid. Until I was about 12, when my mother inexplicably decided I was too old to run around on my own. I think partly because she thought my little brother was then able to navigate without death ensuing and she could better use me at home. But it was a DIFFERENT WORLD in someways. Only the well off had TVs and only mansions were air conditioned. When tvs appeared, there were fewer eyes surveiling the neighborhood. And doubled down when ac became common and doors which were previously screen were shut along with the windows to keep the heat out in summer sa well as in in winter. It cut connections with neighbors, at least the free and easy flow of everyone heard and saw each other's lives. And when we were running loose we had a dog with us. We did not, to the best of my knowledge, have dog restraint laws until after my dog died when I was twenty. As soon as the dog restraint laws came into effect, crime exploded, comparatively.
Have you ever heard of child trafficking? IF NOT PLEASE LOOK IN TO IT! Because some kids no longer can do anything....! DONT BE BLIND! It happens all the time every where! STRANGER DANGER!!!
Please don't skip your meds and post, Bra A.
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This must just be dependent on the area, where I live kids run around all the time and bike/walk/skateboard to school and nobody gives a f**k.
The children's ages aren't noted but I don't buy that. Children ride bikes and walk to school all over the USA, myself as a child and then my children once they were mature enough. Idk what city these people moved too but unless we are talking first graders, cps isn't coming to tell you you are irresponsible for letting your children walk to school.
When I lived in Japan, people would send their kids to a school they had to take 45 minutes to commute to. A 7 year old.
I feel like something is missing. Was the school possible right off a highway were it is not safe to ride/walk? Because if it is just normal roads, there is no reason for this, other than maybe no helmets...?
pfft here in Canada I rode around as a kid all the time and cops weren't called.
WTF? I've lived in the US my entire 39 years of life & I have never heard of some stupid s**t like that! We rode our bikes all over town when I was a child & now my children & children of friends walk\ride to school on their own every day the weather permits. I am really curious where in the US the above story occurred? How old were the kids & how far away was the school? I just can't wrap my head around it.
Ya same thing here in Canada now🙄. Growing up if I was inside I was sick. Otherwise you didn't see me. Mama rarely knew where I was and would tell my name to get me home. Curfew was the street lights coming on. Now I get called on because my kids are on the other side of the block with no helicopter parent and get told to forget my house chores and be with my kids at all times. Thankfully this was a few years ago and they're grown enough that I don't have to have a constant eye on them anymore.
That happened in Oregon, but now I moved to Idaho and things are a lot more relaxed. The police are everyone’s friends, and will just wave even if I am not wearing a helmet.
We all need to fact check this for our individual areas, Pandas. There is 1 US citizen here citing agreeing policies in her NE East Coast town, and a TON of US people saying they have not witnessed this. I myself have not witnessed this anywhere where I've lived in the US, and see this particular story with this particular photo pop up again and again and again, with no factual data to back its claims up. Smells like emotional baiting, so it looks like its time to dig for the truth in our individual spheres, folks
Obviously if at least one person is stating it's like that in their area then it's very possible that it happened somewhere.
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I’m an American I agree this is dumb! We’re don’t need to be helicoptered 24/7 because what happens when we become adults?
this is a case of americans not being trustworthy and that your kids are never safe there while here in western europe, in most areas, your kids will be completely fine as long as they know not to walk into incoming traffic XD
I have to be that guy, but I'm very skeptical that this ever actually happened.
Lots of kids walk to school or the shops in Australia, unsupervised. It depends on how far it is from home. Kids catch the bus to school too.
This was absolutely not the case anywhere I've ever lived in the US...
It's weird that we don't do this anymore in the US. I grew up riding my bike to school.
Thankfully in Italy recently was made law that parents can let their kids going home alone from the first grade.
I call BS on this or there's information missing. My daughters school is within our neighborhood and everyday she walks the 2/5 of a mile there and back home and she's in 4th grade. She has friends on the street she meets up with and walks with them too.
That’s something that’s happened in the last 20 years or so. When I was a kid we walked to school without an adult or if we lived too far away from the school, we walked and waited at the bus stop without adult supervision. Nowadays, there are all sorts of crazies out there that wanna snatch your kids.
So I guess everyone w/ a mental disorder does. That's a little offensive.
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I call bullshit on this one. Kids literally walk past my house on their way to school EVERYDAY.
Amerika is a penal colony, where criminals get to do what they want, and law-abiding citizens are punished by either not being able to protect themselves, or penalized when they do
I lived in the Netherlands for 12 years; sending your kids to school on their bikes/rollerblades/waveboard was perfectly normal; there were cycle paths everywhere. In the summer it only gets dark 9 to 10pm, all the kids are out playing in the neighborhood. And there are lots of canals so all kids are taught to swim very young.
That must be some coastal suburbanite thing. growing up in Lawrence and Leavenworth Kansas and even now where I am...kids walked/biked to and from school, to the store etc and still do. That's heckin weird to me
yeah im in the us and thats not a thing where i live.....maybe its more of an eastern/californis thing where there's more dangerous streets?
Not to mention a grown man talking to a child. He’d be seen as a friendly guy in Europe but a possible kidnapper or predator in America.
This is false. Most states if not all have kids walking and riding their bikes to and from school. Unfortunately because of all the freaks out there now a days most parents sit in the car with their kids at the bus stop until the bus comes or drives them to school.
I live in the US in a tiny, very low crime, city in the North East. students at my childrens K-5 school ( approximately ages 5-11) are not allowed to walk or bike on their own. As in the school will not let them leave. They can get on their assigned schoolbus which will drop them off in front of their home, or a parent can pick them up at the school.
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good they were not Japanese family I saw a documentary about kindergarden kids walking to school alone, taking train/subway.
This isn’t normal? In Adelaide it’s totally fine (then again, there is many murderers or kidnap persons here)
F**k they would hate Australia.... Easily 80% of all Aussie kids take themselves to school. But then of course the risk that they will be shot on the way to school by a psychopath with a gun is like 99.9999998% less likely than in America so I kinda understand the concern.
When you blame the parents instead of cleaning your streets of paedophiles, there's something wrong with your government
Not where I live. The kids run around by themselves all the time. Must be a NY or CA thing.
It doesn't say where they lived. I live in a state park in a very rural no crime town but kids are not allowed alone in the park wo adult supervision until they're 14.
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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?
Load More Replies... 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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