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The US and Europe (with a few notable exceptions) have much in common. They hold democratic elections, fight for human rights, and are conscious of their carbon footprint. But at the same time, they're an entire ocean apart and geography isn't the only thing separating them.
So we dug around the internet and found a couple of online threads (one and two) where people have been sharing what they believe to be the aspects of American culture that are foreign to the Old Continent. From the popularity of university sports to free soda and coffee refills, here are the most popular submissions to the discussion.
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#1
If you are an American citizen, you can choose to live in just about any climate and landscape that the Earth has to offer, and still be in the same country. Whether you like mountains, volcanoes, the beach, the desert, the arctic, the prairie, the rainforest, whatever, the US has it.
ElfVibratorGlitter 1 year ago
Yes. It's very geographically diverse. I moved from one side of the country to where I am now and I'm seeing animals I've never seen in nature in my life.
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#2
I’d say the whole system of National Parks is just amazing! Open 24/7 (unless some weather or gov’t shutdown), maps available, trails laid out, camping spots designated… It’s the most treasured and inderappreciated thing in the US, IMO.
David Fox 1 year ago
But.....we do have 'national parks' in Europe. We have 15 in the UK. They may not be as grandeur but they're beautiful all the same. All of our National Parks are within spitting distance of most cities so most people can enjoy them. Also we have Areas Of Outstanding Natural Beauty too such as Nidderdale.....
#3
A country that's like 99% unwalkable. Seriously, I've been around the globe and every time I came I became frustrated that I can't just walk to a corner grocery.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
There are walkable cities. Generally the ones that were built before the invention of the car. So New York, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland. The old cities.
#6
The endangered species act, one of the few laws in the entire world that actually enforces protections for endangered animals proactively and retroactively. You could go to prison for destroying some rare flowers. just because those flowers were rare. It’s not perfect, but the ESA is one of the most powerful environmental protection laws in the world, spanning some of the largest area, and very very few countries have something similar.
#7
Space. I can drive 400 miles and still be in Kansas, as it’s 410 miles in width.
#8
That's alwys struck me as weird. We get adverts for over the counter meds, like painkillers or cold and flu medicine but the thought of seeing an advert for something you need to go to the doctors and get a prescription for like adhd meds / anti depresents / antibiotics / heart meds or blood thinners is absolitly mental to me.
#9
I'm from the UK and it looks like the houses in the US are a million times bigger than they are here.
#10
On the up side, amazing geographic diversity. In one country, we have mountains, deserts, tropics, sweeping plains, fertile farmland, tundra, huge beaches, and rugged coastlines.
On the down side, school shootings. Mall shootings. Grocery store shootings. Church shootings. Birthday party shootings. We know another one's coming soon - we just don't know where.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
It's a stochastic effect. More guns leads to more gun violence. It's sort of like how back in the old days they used to sell strychnine in d**g stores for rat poison and as a result a lot more people were killed by strychnine poisoning, either by intention or accidental. We banned the sale of the poison and people stopped dying from the poison. Restrict access to guns and less people will be killed by guns. It's actually pretty simple.
#11
So many extracurricular activities in schools. Playing a specific sport or being part of a team isn't something schools offer in Europe. I have cousins who live in Texas, and the fact that their school has tennis courts and a pool blows my mind. Some schools here have small clubs like theater or choir, but the options hardly compare to those offered at schools in the States. Your high school theater plays look like professional productions sometimes.
#14
Florida Man stories. Europe just has 'the English tourist on holiday in Ibiza.'
Captain Kyra 1 year ago
Florida has interesting protection for alleged crime, that is why the Florida man stories are so entertaining.
#18
Diners. Fast cheap American food available at all hours. One of the best meals you will ever eat is American diner food at 2 am.
#20
The Grand Canyon.
sofacushionfort 1 year ago
A Soviet traveler described it as a mold that could be used to make mountain ranges
#21
Giant superstores where you can buy groceries, furniture, a pet fish and a handgun
#22
THE F**KING BBQ! Thank the cosmos I live there and travel alot. States seem to have their own twists and specialities and it's all so f**king good I can't decide what I like more. The Texas BBQ Pit I went to once was an experience. Before I came here, BBQ meant store bought frozen burgers and sausages on a grill in the garden during summer. One thing I don't miss about the UK lol.
#23
The 4th of July. True fact, in Europe it goes straight from the 3rd to the 5th.
#24
Good Mexican food. It doesn't exist in Europe. I ordered a burrito in Berlin, and it was worse than Taco Bell.
#25
American who lived in Europe for a time. (The Balkans) Things I have here that I didn't have there: Cheap gas (yes, it's still quite cheap in the US) Larger appliances with words on them (my appliances there had graphics on them, the washer had a Half Mushroom Cloud setting) A zillion kinds of breakfast cereal (when I came back, I routinely got overwhelmed in the grocery store) Lol, diplomatic immunity Things I had there, that I don't have here: There was a produce/meat market that was open every day, that I could walk to, it ruled Cafe culture The newsstand sold lots of rowdy porn.
LavenderHippoInAJar 1 year ago
I feel like the price of gas really depends on where in America you are
#26
Turning right on a red light. I think that's still illegal in Germany and most other European countries, isn't it?
#28
The mountains in the Mountain West and the Red Rocks. I’ve lived next to the Red Rocks in Utah and Colorado. I grew up and worked in the Tetons. We’ve lived on the Wasatch, and super close to the Rockies. Europe is so beautiful but the Mountain West is one of the most beautiful regions on earth.
ElfVibratorGlitter 1 year ago (edited)
No doubt it's absolutely gorgeous here, I live in Colorado. Europe is no joke either. Also has a variety of beautiful places to visit.
#29
Truck Nuts
At least I haven't really seen them over here in central Europe. Then again also Pickup Trucks are a pretty rare sight in Europe.
Pandemonium 1 year ago
Discussion between my brother and me: Me: Truck nuts must only ever be bought as gag gifts for one's too-tough friend. I can't imagine that any dude would ever buy truck nuts for himself. Bro: And THAT is why you were surprised that Trump won in 2016.
#30
Large meal portions.
#31
Ranch dressing. Believe it or not, I know Americans who have packed bottles of ranch when moving to other countries.
#32
Corn tortillas. I'm sure they're somewhere in Europe but not so much in Britain. Just things called corn tortillas that are 90% flour.
#33
Gigantic parking lots everywhere. For the best examples, look at satellite views of stadiums. In the US, they are surrounded by asphalt so all the attendees have a place to park. In Europe, people use public transit to get to the game.
#34
It's a whole style of refrigerators -- at least in French they're widely and even officially called "frigos américains". It's the larger fridges with larger freezers. Usually with the two separated door sections. Often stainless steel. Even moreso with the automatic ice machine etc included. They've become one of the trendy things people want in a home here now - a bit like the wave of granite countertops being a big 'must-have' in the US a few years ago.
Captain Kyra 1 year ago
As it has been mentioned the US isn't walkable so many Americans shop once a week. If you're going to have food at the end of the week you need a place to store it.
#35
24 hour access to food. The majority of the world doesn't have late night fast food places let alone 24 hour grocery stores. In America if I need groceries, a hammock, and some engine oil at 3 am, I'll just head over to Walmart real quick.
#36
S’mores, southern style biscuits.
#37
2 year long presidential campaigns.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
Donald Trump has been campaigning continuously for almost 10 years. He won in 2016 and he kept having rallies through his presidency. He lost in 2020 more campaign rallies. Now it's 2024 and he's running again. Someone please make this craziness make sense! I just want the orange man to go away forever.
#38
Shame about casual nudity (I wish we didn't have this).
RosenCranzLives 1 year ago
I blame the Puritans. The US would be so much more chill if they had died at sea.
#39
Boozy Sunday brunches. The only other country I saw have these is England. Most countries are rather closed on Sundays. Not the US. Unlimited mimosas and football.
#40
This one I'll give you. Universities play each other in sports, but nowhere to the scale in America. For football (soccer), most players can be in clubs' academies from the age of 5/6, finish school at 16 and then just go straight into reserve/first team squads, whereas in America they play sports in school, university, then get picked up by clubs.
Rinso The Red 1 year ago
I honestly think one of our issues in education (in US) is it's athletic systems. WAY too much money going into sports. While I agree athletics are important, it shouldn't be the primary reason for the existence of a school, and that certainly seems to be the case in many instances in the US.
#41
Death penalty.
#44
The mind numbing hellscape known as "suburbia" and the ability to regularly set our ovens to 420°.
#45
Massive tubs of cheap peanut butter. Its rare to find and expensive in most of Europe, sold only in small 4- to 8-ounce jars.
#46
Easy access to isopropyl / rubbing alcohol? I remember trying to find some in Ireland. At the time you could get it in the states for well under $1. It's great for cleaning cuts and removing water in your ears. But trying to find it in Ireland...discovered it was kept behind the pharmacy counter and was about 10 Euro a bottle. Don't remember what it was called - mineral/essence/spirit something.
quentariel 1 year ago
Every pharmacy here has them, but the bottles are quite small and buying more than one gets raised eyebrows.
#47
Crocodiles. Seriously, look it up.
ElfVibratorGlitter 1 year ago
Technically, just barely. More impressive I'd say are our alligators!
#48
Pecan logs, corn dogs, scrapple, Twinkies, jambalaya, etouffee, KoolWhip, direct-to-consumer corn syrup.
#49
So much diversity when it comes to food. In most given US towns, you'll find so many cuisines. I have a Mongolian restaurant next to a Korean BBQ restaurant next to a Hawaiian restaurant next to a Greek restaurant, etc.
ElfVibratorGlitter 1 year ago (edited)
Yeah, but this doesn't match the title which is things that don't exist in Europe and every major city I've been in Europe has foreign cuisines and a variety of local dishes as well.
#50
Perfect conditions for road trips. Nice roads, no border control, gas stations, sights, motels. It's perfect.
#52
Netflix selection throughout Europe is pure s**t.
#53
So many soft drinks. I really envy the variety in the US. There are so many great options, even in the sugar-free category. It's improving here in the UK, but our selection is still pretty minimal by comparison.
Ace 1 year ago
No, it's most certainly _not_ "improving" in the UK, however you may define it. First off, dozens of brands and flavours of fizzy drinks have been readily available for decades; secondly, most of them are now only available in disgustingly-over-artificially-sweetened versions since the "sugar tax".
#54
In my hometown we have a drive-through liquor store.
Chefette67 1 year ago
We have drive through liquor stores in nearly every suburb in Australia...we call them bottlos
#55
Free tap water offered to you at restaurants. In Europe, you have to specify that you want tap water — otherwise you'll automatically be charged for a fancy bottle.
#56
Giant superstores like Walmart where you can buy groceries, furniture, a pet fish, and new glasses all in the same place.
#58
Whataburgar and fried pies franchises.
#60
There are 11 million black people in all of Europe, most of them in France and the UK. Europe has a population of almost 800 million people.
#62
Anyone can hunt if they choose.
mysterious(all pronouns) 1 year ago
I live in Wisconsin, which is a state with a lot of people who hunt. This statement is very broad. First off, there are specific seasons for hunting, and you need to have a license. The number of licenses available is proportional to the population of the animal you're hunting in your specific part of the state. The majority of hunters are hunting for food, not trophies. It's not people hunting all the time, it's a few weeks in the fall where you can hunt if you've taken the proper steps.
#63
Chick-fil-A.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
Never had it and with the owner's politics I'm never going to have it. I boycott homophobes.
What do you think ?
Queeqec 1 year ago
Comparing the USA with 47 individual countries with individual language, landscape, culture, cuisines, laws, politics etc is just useless. It doesn't work that way.
Nitka Tsar 1 year ago
ZGutr, every European country has their own states. For example: Germany has 16 states, that are as different from each other as the US states are. But somehow most Americans only know of and about Bavaria, which would be like me saying the whole US is only Texas.
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calvin and hobbes 1 year ago
ugh. i thought it said americans wrote it, not people coming on to make fun of america. dont get me wrong, i know america has countless faults, but some people are proud of their country nevertheless, as anybody would be, and shaming them for that is just not okay. we do have unique, good things, that other countries dont have, and i thought that is what i would be finding in this article. instead, i found more hatred and teasing.
Nitka Tsar 1 year ago
I would love a list about positiv things the US has!
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LokisLilButterknife 1 year ago
Sigh, when will BoredPanda ever learn that Europe and the United States are not monoliths? I always feel like these lists just rehash the same old tired stereotypes.
Queeqec 1 year ago
Comparing the USA with 47 individual countries with individual language, landscape, culture, cuisines, laws, politics etc is just useless. It doesn't work that way.
Nitka Tsar 1 year ago
ZGutr, every European country has their own states. For example: Germany has 16 states, that are as different from each other as the US states are. But somehow most Americans only know of and about Bavaria, which would be like me saying the whole US is only Texas.
Load More Replies... calvin and hobbes 1 year ago
ugh. i thought it said americans wrote it, not people coming on to make fun of america. dont get me wrong, i know america has countless faults, but some people are proud of their country nevertheless, as anybody would be, and shaming them for that is just not okay. we do have unique, good things, that other countries dont have, and i thought that is what i would be finding in this article. instead, i found more hatred and teasing.
Nitka Tsar 1 year ago
I would love a list about positiv things the US has!
Load More Replies... LokisLilButterknife 1 year ago
Sigh, when will BoredPanda ever learn that Europe and the United States are not monoliths? I always feel like these lists just rehash the same old tired stereotypes.
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