The United States is a vast country with so much to offer: gorgeous national parks, friendly people, excellent customer service and 24-hour diners that will serve you a beautiful breakfast plate at 2am that you’ll never forget. And while news cycles often highlight the nation's wildest and least attractive qualities, the truth is that plenty of people around the world actually love the good old USA.
Reddit users have been sharing what they cherish most about the US and Americans, so we’ve gathered some of their most wholesome replies below. From thick and creamy milkshakes to public restrooms that are always free, enjoy reading about some of the best perks of living in the 'Melting Pot', and be sure to upvote the replies you agree with!
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As an european who has done two roadtrips across the states, the main thing i will remember fondly for the rest of my days is how friendly people in the states are. I talked with busy new yorkers and with homeless folks, had a f*****g bbq in Detroit ghetto with the neighbourhood. I spent the night on a farm in Southern Iowa. Clubbing in Vegas, smoking and chilling in LA.
I had long conversations with people who are so far apart from eachother on the political and financial spectrum that its harder to get it any wider, but i didnt met a single person who didnt treat us very nicely. On top of the hospitality, the smalltalk and s**t felt so good when you come from a country where you are considered a f*****g lunatic if you actually say anything else than "hi" to a stranger on the bus.
That country has it's problems, but my f*****g god what a place it is to travel around as a tourist. I'd recommend the roadtripping for anyone who likes to travel. The country is huge and you get to see everything from deserts into snowy mountains, 50 people villages into massive cities.
Sorry if my english sucks, not my native language.
Edit: i also miss some of the restaurants and the overall superb customer service. You dont get that anywhere else.
I would not have guessed english wasn't your first language. About every other year, I get to spend time with someone from the UK here in the US and occasionally with someone from Australia. It is enlightening to hear their points of view and they generally echo your observations, which, is why it's so annoying when BP puts up posts designed to bring out trolls who don't add anything to the conversation except their bad attitude.
Southern BBQ. Goddamn, you guys know your ribs
I once had a long layover in Birmingham and went to a random barbecue place to grab supper. OMG I still dream about those ribs!
The Americans I've worked with have been totally unlike the brash and loud idiots we see on US TV. They have been kind, sensitive, intelligent, thoughtful and very encouraging.
EXACTLY! I've lived here all my life and am still surprised when I meet people like this!
What I loved about Americans I met is the encouragement to try new things.
Like: "Just go for it. If it works, great. If it doesn't, you gained experience."
Here in Germany it's more: "Nah, rather be careful. If you dare to fail, you are a loser that we won't ever trust with responsbilities again."
Works with some things. Not with others. Example- try making your own rocket bike.
The fuggin hash browns in diners. I just love them. And even when i find grated hash browns outside of the US it's never quite as good.
American diners don't do fancy. They do old-fashioned comfort food, and they do it better than anyone else on the planet.
This depends a bit on where in the US you are and also in the pre-covid times, but Americans hug a lot compared to Asians and it makes me feel really fuzzy on the inside
We need 18 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth. (I get 0 most days, more than 18 when I see my nephew 😊)
Not being racist. America is actually a pretty tolerant place compared to the rest of the world. Go pay a visit to India, Russia, Japan, or South Africa and then get back to me.
I'll probably get downvoted to Hell and back for this, but Japan is actually one of the most racist, xenophobic countries on the planet.
Your outdoors.
The sheer size of the country means there are so many national parks with a large variety of sceneries.
That said, the sheer size of the country also means you’ll be putting the same amount of effort getting there compared to me visiting a neighbouring country.
Culture is somewhat similar so it makes planning / communication easier, though you’re not exposing yourself to other cultures.
I agree that the size of the combined 48 (continuous) states means traveling between different regions takes the same amount of effort as visiting different regions of the 44 European countries. The OP is wrong, however, about the culture being somewhat similar across the US. ... The fact there is a (mostly) common language disguises the differences for tourists. Tourists probably aren't visiting places where all of the advertising/billboards are in Spanish, or visiting a city's "Chinatown", or visiting where the vast majority of residents are black/African American. Europe has different European cultures, but the US has different European cultures plus ones from Asia, Africa and South America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . While on the surface it might seem like the citizens of Vermont (who always elect socialist/Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders) are the same as those in western South Carolina, they are as different as a typical resident of Sweden vs Hungary.
The fact that yelling 'yee-haw' in a country setting will almost always be met with whooping, hollering, and other 'yee-haw's. I live in the US, but am from Ireland. I live in Arizona.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-
When they do something, they go all out and really commit to it. Very enthusiastic people.
Depends on what it is, for me. I love sports, but I can't stand die hard fans. I love all sorts of movie franchises, but I can't stand people who have very strong opinions and consider differing ones to be wrong. "Fully committing" to something can mean different things to different people.
i love the way you've been protesting against police brutality and racism. solidarity from the UK
As simple as saying good morning when i walk past. Goes a long way
I really like that you do proper lemonade.
If you ask for lemonade in Australia, if you're lucky you get Kirk's or Gest, if you're unlucky you get Sprite, but you're definitely getting something clear and fizzy that has never in its existence met a lemon.
As a Brit I love it when I’m in the states and I’ll get talking to an American and they’ll ask me like 200 questions about Britain you know the usual stuff about the queen and what we call things like trolly instead of shopping cart. I genuinely love it and it’s so funny seeing their faces when they hear some of my answers
I was staying with someone in a fairly remote bit of New Mexico. His wife was a nurse at the local school. I was asked to give a talk to the 7-8 year olds about England and the UK. Most of the kids had barely travelled outside their own state, let alone abroad. It was seen as a real experience for them to meet an English person.
Americans can me very upbeating. The casual good mood when it comes to business is so refreshing compared to the always negative swiss/german opinions
As a guy from Turkey i can say
- they are really easy going and encoureging about talking and blending in. Some europeans and asians can be cold at first so thats a big plus.
- even though they are not well informed about geography or states of other regions, they are willing to ask and learn. Which matters a lot actually.
- and they are really thick skinned. Can take a joke or two. Unlike , Turkey :) or some european states. ( Years of dark humour may ve helped this for usa too)
Sorry if i made some mistakes.
i like their dark humor, they r rlly funny for me i made tons of friends from USA on the internet. GODDAMN they understood my humor unlike the other people. I think its rlly cool to have friends that understands u and accepted u for being a crazy mf
Americans I’ve met are usually a delight to talk to. Very upbeat and talkative from my experience.
I still remember a conversation I had with a small family who were on holiday on holiday where I live. They basically told me their life story and what they were up to that day. Didn’t know them but it made my commute home more interesting.
For me hands down it has to be milkshakes. Oreo milkshakes are the god dammn best thing that I have experienced when I came to America (I’m from Mexico). It can be midnight and I can just go to a fast food place and order any milkshake I want. It’s so simple but it sure is amazing.
Visited America with my family when I was 16. Almost everyone who talked to us would end the conversation with, 'Have a good one!' It was really nice hearing it all the time, and I use the phrase all the time now.
Such amazing food, and even better food service. The American restaurant experience is truly heaven.
They're friendly and invite you to stuff. Maybe it's not 100% genuine, but at least they pretend to like you while figuring out of they like you or not.
I was staying in New York with a online friends. A friend of theirs was celebrating his 50th birthday by inviting about 20 of his friends to a little Italian restaurant. My hosts were invited so I got invited along too. He knew nothing whatsoever about me, other than that we had mutual friends, but I was treated like a special guest he was delighted to have at his birthday party - he paid for all the food, including my meal. It was good food too.
Americans make the best stoner foods, they take loads of fast food and smash it together and it tastes amazing
Fried chicken sandwiches, they got it mastered.
Saying this as a Canadian I’ve always found Americans to genuinely be so friendly. Depends on the place but in some places I’ve found the people to be friendlier than those back home in Canada. Phoenix, San Diego, Las Vegas and the entire state of Hawaii were places I found to have really friendly people. Some places weren’t this way but I won’t list them
I love the US and Americans. My husband and I (29M&31F from Germany) always had an amazing time on our various trips to America and even got married there. The people are so friendly & laidback. Next on our list are Texas & Louisiana! See you after Covid.
Lived in Louisiana for about 10 years(originally from Canada) You will LOVE it there!! Ugh...I miss it every day! Lol! The people, the culture, the food. I know what it means, to miss New Orleans ❤️
They talk to strangers. I have just moved back to a country where people don’t do that and I hate it.
I have no shame in picking up a conversation with someone. I would be SOOOOOO annoying in other countries. Lol
Their positive attitude and positive thinking. That's amazing and something that my country will probably never learn.
Also... I love that america is a general popculture bastion. I would love to live in USA
Note: this post originally had 60 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Why is it always "People share what they like/dislike about the US" or "US citizens share what they like/dislike about Europe/the rest of the world"? Why not "What the Dutch people like/dislike about Germans" or "What the French think of French Canada"?
Agreed. It is rarely ever anything new that comes up. Mostly the same things are disliked and liked everytime. It is nice to see positive, but it is still same old, same old. Would love to read about other countries and cultures that are far less known.
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I love Americans in general. I'm British but I've worked for an American corporation for most of my career. The American attitude of "we can get this done!" is admirable, but their best quality is their friendliness. Once, stuck in a hotel alone in CT at Thanksgiving (my flight home was cancelled). The hotel manager invited me to his parents house for Thanksgiving. I was a stranger to them but his family took me like an old friend. I had the best time and, 25 years later, we still exchange greetings and news. And it was an enormous pleasure to help out one of their cousins who got into trouble here in the UK.
It's cool that you still have a relationship with them. Spending Thanksgiving and Christmas alone is not something we like people to do.
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This post comes after another that was something like “people share what they dislike about the US”, and it’s giving ‘not all men’ vibes. Right now, in the US, the Human Rights Campaign has declared a state of emergency for LGBTQIA ppl, because they’re being attacked and killed, their kids are being abducted, they’re medical care is being banned…even speaking about LGBTQIA is becoming illegal. LGBTQIA from other countries are being warned not to visit for their own safety. POC are brutalised and murdered by the police, harassed and attacked in the streets, and the schools are being told not teach their history. Parents are buying bulletproof backpacks for their kids because too many Americans value their guns over the lives of their children. The injured and the sick are being put into life changing debt when they seek help. Half the populations’ rights to decide what to do with their own bodies have been taken away. But at least they have great burgers, right?
The world never, ever lets us forget where we're screwing up, even though there are millions of Americans who are just as angry as you are about what's being allowed to go on in our own country. This site loves to shoehorn in insults and passive-aggressive comments about the US into articles and comments even if it's not relevant. Let us have this one article telling us that not everything about our country is a trainwreck, FFS.
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Why is it always "People share what they like/dislike about the US" or "US citizens share what they like/dislike about Europe/the rest of the world"? Why not "What the Dutch people like/dislike about Germans" or "What the French think of French Canada"?
Agreed. It is rarely ever anything new that comes up. Mostly the same things are disliked and liked everytime. It is nice to see positive, but it is still same old, same old. Would love to read about other countries and cultures that are far less known.
Load More Replies... I love Americans in general. I'm British but I've worked for an American corporation for most of my career. The American attitude of "we can get this done!" is admirable, but their best quality is their friendliness. Once, stuck in a hotel alone in CT at Thanksgiving (my flight home was cancelled). The hotel manager invited me to his parents house for Thanksgiving. I was a stranger to them but his family took me like an old friend. I had the best time and, 25 years later, we still exchange greetings and news. And it was an enormous pleasure to help out one of their cousins who got into trouble here in the UK.
It's cool that you still have a relationship with them. Spending Thanksgiving and Christmas alone is not something we like people to do.
Load More Replies... This post comes after another that was something like “people share what they dislike about the US”, and it’s giving ‘not all men’ vibes. Right now, in the US, the Human Rights Campaign has declared a state of emergency for LGBTQIA ppl, because they’re being attacked and killed, their kids are being abducted, they’re medical care is being banned…even speaking about LGBTQIA is becoming illegal. LGBTQIA from other countries are being warned not to visit for their own safety. POC are brutalised and murdered by the police, harassed and attacked in the streets, and the schools are being told not teach their history. Parents are buying bulletproof backpacks for their kids because too many Americans value their guns over the lives of their children. The injured and the sick are being put into life changing debt when they seek help. Half the populations’ rights to decide what to do with their own bodies have been taken away. But at least they have great burgers, right?
The world never, ever lets us forget where we're screwing up, even though there are millions of Americans who are just as angry as you are about what's being allowed to go on in our own country. This site loves to shoehorn in insults and passive-aggressive comments about the US into articles and comments even if it's not relevant. Let us have this one article telling us that not everything about our country is a trainwreck, FFS.
Load More Replies...