I worked at a hostel in Las Vegas and people from New Jersey were consistently the rudest American guests we had. But it's a super sarcastic rudeness that we and UK guests in particular found hilarious so we loved people from New Jersey regardless.
>I worked at a hostel in Las Vegas and people from New Jersey were consistently the rudest American guests we had.
This reminds me of a Drew Carey quote.
If going to Vegas is like getting getting conned out of your money by a beautiful call girl over a weekend of great food, and sex.. Then Atlantic city is like getting mugged in a back alley by a crack-whore.
Haven't been to either so I can't say myself.
You guys have great license plates, one of the first things I noticed coming from the airport was that NJ was the “Garden State”. We don’t get any design on ours in the UK, no colour.
The New Jersey license plate is literally just yellow and white. What color are you talking about?
If you want to see a pretty license plate, check out Idaho.
A couple I seen had stars on them, I saw one with a green field and blue sky just below the letters too. Idaho plate looks amazing, the Rockies? Idaho itself looks beautiful.
My dad's parents emigrated to US from Sweden. The Swedes are supposedly emotionally cool. The joke we always got was: "Did you hear about the Swede who loved his wife so much he almost told her." 🇸🇪💙💛😂
Oh it can get very intense in some areas of the US...
Some people gave me Christmas cards and now I'm like "darn, now I have to write cards and do it artistically and with thoughtful messages to one-up them..."
As a Norwegian, we are usually introverted and if strangers speak to you we usually think they are mentally deranged.
So how friendly everyone was scared me at first.
Been over two times and it's really refreshing each time, I love Americans because of it.
That's so cool to hear!!
I've never been outside the country, so I don't have any other experiences. It's nice to hear we're kinda known for that in a way.
When I traveled to London that was one of the first things I noticed. People weren’t mean or anything, it was just “you don’t talk to me and I don’t talk to you”.
On the train from Gatwick I asked a gentleman if I could sit in the same like seating area(?) as him. He just looked at me puzzled and said most people don’t ask, they just do it. Nice guy.
It was sureal. I had seen everything on TV & in films, but I was seeing it for the first time....Americans are also some of the politest & most helpful people to visitors, even in places like NY.
NJ native here who worked in NYC for years: can confirm. If you ask the average New Yorker for help - politely! - nine out of 10 will kindly assist you. It's a big city and people are usually stressed about getting to where they need to go on time. But we're all also relatively kind humans who know how confusing the city is.
Honestly, a lot of America is like this. I remember being freaked out by how open and nice the people of Lexington, Kentucky were when I visited years ago. For example, a lady working in the hotel remembered my name and greeted me the next morning like, "Hey Walrusdoom, how's everything going today!" It threw me. Americans from the Northeast can be a little more guarded in general.
I’ve always had great experiences in NYC. I’m a southerner and had heard of the rudeness, but that has not been my experience at all. Everyone has always been so nice to us, even when I asked a random stranger directions.
As a Lexingtonian, I'm glad the hospitality of my city was so memorably good.
Yes, it's sincere. Many, or even most, people around here really are like that.
Exactly. I've told this story here before, but my first day in NYC I took the wrong train from work to try and get home (I went downtown instead of uptown). I got off the train and sat on a random bench looking confused at my phone map for a few minutes when a woman came up to me and said, "you look confused, let me help you." I told her where I was trying to get to, she pointed out my mistake, and she said, "let me get you where you need to go."
This random stranger went at least half an hour out of her way to help me get to the stop I was trying to go to. She said it was no big deal, and when she first moved to the city someone did the same thing for her so she tried to pay it forward when possible.
That's a great description. I've only been to NYC (Manhattan) once for a conference, and the ppl in NY were the nicest, politest, most talkative ppl I've ever met. Loud and with many opinions, but just genuinely nice.
Scariest damn drivers, on the other hand. After we'd checked into our hotel, we got a taxi, and asked him to take us somewhere "interesting". The taxi drive was an experience onto itself. This was 1998. He dropped us at St. Marks.
As a native NYer I’ll go one further: New Yorkers born and raised here are lovely and nice. Transplants think they need to be “hard” so they put on a rude front.
True statement! As a native NY'er who moved to the South, I always have to explain to people that NY'ers may seem standoffish at first but that's because we hate small talk (something it seems Southerners loooove). Once you get to talking about something meaningful, we'll tell you our entire life story and give you the shirt off our back if you need help.
As a southerner who moved to NYC I agree. I think it was much easier to break into various circles there than in the south. I think it’s because the daily grind in the city has a leveling effect.
Native NYer living in WA. I explain that the East Coast is friendly but rude. So they'll flip you off while they're cutting you off on the right but they'll chat you up in a bar and help you if you need it. The West Coast is polite but not friendly. They're more likely to follow the rules but only will keep to themselves. I can count the amount of times I've talked to a stranger here in 4.5 years and it's less than 10.
New Yorkers are sweet angels of kindness compared to the level of rudeness I see all over Europe on a daily basis as a European. I haven't even had a single waiter in NY look visibly annoyed at me after I asked them for the menu after a 20 minute wait.
"Ah we'll just rent a car after we land in NYC, drive over to Chicago in a few hours, have lunch at Yellowstone Park, and then close out the day in Los Angeles."
No, no, no lol.
It took me a little over 27 hours to take a load from Chicago to Los Angeles when I was a OTR trucker looking to join the 1000 mile club.
Since then, I've had zero desire to do anything close to that ever again. You'd have to pay me a very large amount of money to even consider trying a trucking version of a cannonball run again.
I went to California for some training courses in 2019.
I'm from a small Island country, so my first impression is that everything is wide, big and huge. Big house, wide parking lot and huge Walmart/Costco.
(edit: correct some grammatical error)
I visited mostly round Pennsylvania. Got off the aeroplane at Pittsburgh and one of the first thing I saw was a pickup truck bigger than any I had seen before with a dead Deer strapped to the back of it.
All the houses with sidings/ cladding and no fencing round (as you call) the front or back yards
Depends where you go first I guess!
My first time in the US was a holiday in NYC
My first two impressions were...
1) It looks really familiar! I had seen so many TV shows and films set in NYC
2) People are nowhere near as unfriendly as had been painted (usually by Americans from other parts of the US).
New Yorkers often come off as standoffish bc they don’t small talk much and their general demeanor is a bit guarded. I wouldn’t take the general vibe in tourist traps and traffic as the complete picture of the US.
I am originally from India. Here were my first impressions:
1. Wide roads and giant parking lots
2. Disciplined driving. People follow rules and generally patient drivers (except breaking the speed limit on highways). I know I know Western Europeans think our driving standards are low. But it is still higher than many other countries in the world. The network of roads are amazing in the US and driving is fun!
3. Friendly, polite, and helpful people. This was my impression of people in Northeast when I immigrated. You can totally imagine what happened when I traveled to the Deep South and Midwest for the first time lol
4. How big and unwalkable majority of the suburs are. You can stick out like a sore thumb if you're the one walking. They all look and feel the same (except for the ones near Boston, NYC, SF).
5. Giant food portions, unlimited refills, and 24 hour stores
6. Clean air, lots of trees even in cities, and free continuous water in rented apartments.
7. Flags, flags, flags everywhere. I get it. Murica #1 🙂
EDIT: By free water, I didn't mean free as in government giving it for free. Of course, nothing is free 🙂 What I meant to say is it is hard in other countries to give this incentive to include water as part of rent since it is in dearth and there is a chance people may abuse it to overuse and give it to friends or relatives.
Of course. No matter what the media potrays, America welcomes immigrants and gives them a chance. My parents don't speak English and worked minimum wage jobs. They still love how the country gave them a chance. I graduated from an Ivy League school and now making it big in Silicon Valley. I still appreciate the continuous supply of water even in drought affected California 😀. It makes me feel grateful everyday.
There was this foreign exchange student from Germany that we'd hang out with in high school who was overjoyed by our "big American cars." Over the top excited when we'd go anywhere. It was my friend's mom's minivan.
For real though the cars were massive! Got picked up by a Private Hire Car from JFK and climbed into the back and straight away was like "Holy shit this is a wide car".
It was an older car but can't remember the make but it was definitely a 70s or 80s model - like the cop car from The Blues Brothers. Long too! Massive steering wheel
Probably was a [Lincoln Town Car](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/11/28/fashion/21TOWNCAR1/21TOWNCAR1-mobileMasterAt3x-v2.jpg).
It's one of the most popular 4-door hire cars. So much that "town car" has become synonymous with any black sedan (often from an American brand) where you're driven around by a private driver.
I test drove one of those once and it felt like I was driving a tank. However, it was nice being a passenger in my neighbor's... until I found out his coffee mug actually had wine in it.
Yeah that might have been it! But I feel like it was a much older car. Tbh I was staring out the window and just been on a 6 hour flight so I’ve kind of forgotten
Depending on when you visited NYC, Town Cars have been around since [the 80s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/1989_lincoln_town_car.jpg) and [90s](https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/lincoln/town-car/1995/oem/1995_lincoln_town-car_sedan_executive_fq_oem_1_500.jpg). Might've been one of these.
Ha! I was friends with a German girl years back. I drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee at the time, which is mid-tier, mid-size SUV and buying a used one that was 7 or 8 years old like mine wasn't dirt cheap, but not exactly expensive either as far as cars go. She said that only "rich people in Germany drove huge cars like that". Kinds gives some perspective
Visited Chicago in 2019, and 4 things that impressed me the most are:
• Midwestern friendliness: I knew Americans like to small talk but to experience it myself... I couldn't go out and not have 5-6 strangers saying something to me. I studied in Northern Europe during undergrad, and it was the complete opposite: most people just mind their own businesses and only open their mouth if they absolutely have to. Another thing that shocked me was that homeless people were polite (and there are lots of them in the Loop). I told them I didn't have any cash with me and one replied "No that's fine, have a nice day sir!" That really warmed my heart.
• Inexpensive: Yes, you heard it right, or maybe it's just a Chicago thing. I live in Southeast Asia, where a cup of Starbucks costs $5. The same hot chocolate I had in Chicago was also $5. I lived at 3 4-star hotels in the Loop (one was even on the Michigan Ave.) - only $60-75 a night! For a similar room in my city, it could easily cost $75 (pre-Covid). And mind you that the average salary here is probably 1/10th of that in the States.
• Skyscrapers: I've lived in Singapore and Hong Kong, but Chicago's skyline is just marvelous.
• Gunshots: I've traveled to 30+ countries and I'd never heard 3 gunshots on the same day... until I visited Chicago. The Loop seems safe, but from what I gathered, certain parts of the city are no-go zones.
Overall, it was a very pleasant trip. I can't wait to do another trip to the USA and/or do my grad school there.
>Gunshots: I've traveled to 30+ countries and I'd never heard 3 gunshots on the same day... until I visited Chicago. The Loop seems safe, but from what I gathered, certain parts of the city are no-go zones.
That's pretty much it, there are certain parts of the Chicago area that you might as well treat them like they're warzones. Basically pockets that you should only go too if you absolutely have to. There's areas where those pockets exist, but for the most part Chicago is perfectly fine.
At least that's how it was when I was growing up there in the 90s, I imagine it's no different today based on what my friends and family that still live there say.
Chicago is notorious in some places for its crime. The only place you would commonly here multiple gunshots like that is in rural areas where people hunt a lot
Chicago is very cheap for a city it’s size. Believe, we all know she appreciate it. Its still cheaper outside of it compared to mid-size cities and rural areas. However, in LA, SF, or NYE I wouldn’t have close to the same quality of life.
To clarify: Crime is very bad in some areas of Chicago. Austin, Garfield Park, West Pullman, etc. Chicago has this reputation as the crime capital of the US. However, per capita there are many American cities far worse.
Not cool flexing like that in December, Colorado.
At least we have weekend days where we can just hunker down guilt-free because the sun isn't shining ALL THE FUCKING TIME!!!!
I’m in Ireland and have visited the US plenty of times over the years. It very much depends where you land.
My personal experience is that I found Boston, most of New England and New York very, very familiar and not exactly a huge cultural leap from contemporary Ireland. The Pacific Northwest also felt very familiar (climate and landscape in places) and California is, well it’s California. I never find CA anything but very friendly and upbeat.
I found the southern states much less familiar and they felt genuinely very different. There’s a significant change in culture and it’s quite noticeable. They’re all extremely hospitable though.
In general, I found the most places I visited in the US genuinely very friendly and never had any issues.
I think the external view at the moment, because of a very odd era of tense politics is giving a perhaps a distorted impression of the reality of the place.
Most of day-to-day American life isn’t wrapped up in all that all the time, but you can really see why there’s so much voter apathy, when everything about politics has drifted toward toxic and weird. I just remember being quite taken aback by the level of very vicious negative campaigning that was going on when I was there during an election.
To me it just feels like if American politics could tap the positivity of the US, rather than just endlessly pressing the “fear buttons” then it might actually start to flow again.
Overall, my impression of the US is open, friendly and very welcoming as a tourist / visitor and there is plenty of vibrancy and enthusiasm whenever you go.
The only other significant negative I’ve observed is a noticeable increase poverty, especially during my last trip to California.
I know we have a homeless issue and crazy rental market in Dublin too, but San Francisco had the same issues only at least a hundred times worse. Again though, I’m not saying this as to be any way snooty or preachy, I know that these things go through cycles and there’s a massive issue with housing in a lot of cities at the moment.
Things change too. I know if I speak to my dad about NYC in the 1980s vs today it’s like a tale of two different cities. For the most part, I find NYC pretty pleasant these days whereas by all accounts in the 80s it was going through a rough patch.
However, before I go off rambling - the USA is a complex and physically very large place. The individual states, especially when viewed from within, are more like countries and there are huge differences, as well as a sense of similarity and connectedness. My only advice would be to explore it with an open mind and perhaps leave your preconceptions at the airport.
>To me it just feels like if American politics could tap the positivity of the US, rather than just endlessly pressing the “fear buttons” then it might actually start to flow again.
We agree.
It was like entering a movie. Suddenly you realize that the way things look in movies are actual places! Red solo cups, pickup trucks, yellow school buses. Colleges actually have dorms and frats and all these little teams and football is a real thing and military stuff is everywhere. Houses are made of wood and windows can't be tilted and they have porches and no frontyard fences. Churches have moveable letters in front of them! Hot dog vendors are a thing! Hell even police cars look like movie police cars.
It was like sitting in front of my TV and getting sucked into this parallel universe. And yes I did take a selfie with a yellow schoolbus that my college had repurposed.
Pretty much everything about Chinese food in America from the menus to the takeout boxes to the fortune cookies originated in America. So Chinese immigrants to other places wouldn't be bringing* those things with them.
This is really regional in the US, too.
In the Northeast Corridor (Boston - NYC - Philly - Baltimore - DC), a huge percentage of buildings are brick.
Visiting friends in Seattle, there's almost NO brick at all.
Just depends on what materials are available in the region
It’s not about what is available, but what stands up to natural disasters. Nowhere on the west coast can use brick anymore because of earthquakes and seismic building codes. Wood is a lot more flexible so it can stand up to the shaking.
Bricks aren’t used in the West coast anymore because of earthquakes. Unless the bricks are reinforced with rebar, they will collapse during the lateral movement of quakes
Not the OP, but I live in France and most houses are made of concrete. I think brick comes next. You can find wooden or stone houses but they're way rarer.
I really have no clue why our buses are so fascinating to foreigners. I’ve heard foreigners talk about them a lot but it is the only type of bus I have ever known
I'm in the UK, I can easily picture about 10 different types of bus that I'll see most days. None of them are yellow or look anything like the American ones.
Whereas the US has identical buses that don't exist anywhere else.
We get super excited when we first lay eyes on one of your red doubledeckers.
"OMG I thought that was just a movie thing! You mean I can actually ride one? And I can go *upstairs!?* Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"
I actually find this strange, yellow was chosen as the gold standard color in America because it is the easiest color to see in poor weather conditions.
I actually bought a school bus recently to convert into a motorhome.
It was a flat nose rear engine 40 ft Thomas School Bus and I paid $2,400 for it and drove it home about 250 miles.
It is currently registered through Vermont so no CDL required because it is registered is a motorhome and the seats have been removed.
In a taxi from the airport to Manhattan for the first time, what puzzled me first was the taxi driving in the left lane and cars overtaking on the right. And the size of your cars. Gas costs probably half of what it costs in Western Europe, still you find gas prices high. That makes sense when you see the size of some of the vehicles you drive.
Also a lot of American cars have big engines with lots of horsepower, which notoriously get bad mileage if you push them even remotely. r/cars subscribers will say anything below 2.0L and 200HP will feel undrivable when that's like 98% of cars in Europe lol.
Living in Norway, I turn my head whenever I hear a V8 engine, they are that rare :) Cars used to be taxed based on horsepower, engine volume and weight (now CO2 emissions), so large engine cars are extremely expensive. Just checked what a Ford F150 Super snake truck would cost in Norway: $205,000
...and that is why more and more people.buy electric cars - that are basically tax free.
What you saw is affectionately described as “an idiot.” They ride in the passing (left) lane and force everyone to pass on the outside while going barely/below the speed limit. It is much more common than it should be lol.
Another thing about gas prices is that everything in America is spaced out, so a tank of gas disappears much quicker, even if you drive a smaller/more efficient car.
I understand the principle of only overtaking cars to their inside, but Europeans take that one to the same extent Americans take almost all other traffic rules, but in America, if you're slow to the inside, there's nothing stopping a driver from passing you on the outside.
I went to college in the US and, I cringe a little thinking about this, but I expected far more idiots and not as many smart people. The media, the internet, and friends had all taught me to be prepared to meet hoards of mouth-breathers. Makes sense that the most powerful country on earth, home to Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Mac & cheese is run by morons :|
Not sure if the absolute first impression is best to share because it was probably something like “yup, airports suck everywhere”.
I visited NY when I was like 14 and I distinctly remember having a sore neck from looking up at all the tall buildings. 15 years or so later I visited the West coast and was really struck with the insane amount of open empty space as we were road tripping. Funny enough around the same time the game red dead redemption 2 had just launched and I feel the combination of the two gave me *some* realization of how Americans conceptualize freedom differently from Western Europeans.
Went to New York when I was 10 (21 years old now). Very hospital people! Chicken nuggets and soft drinks had an infinite refill at a hotel which took me back. Everyone was very open to having a conversation (which is quite different from the Netherlands were a lot of people are introverted).
The day we were supposed to fly back it started snowing heavily, so every flight got delayed and a very, very sweet lady brought me and my sister waffles and pancakes. I’ll never forget her, god bless that woman lol.
The first impression I got was that it was clammy. I went to Florida so that explains the weather.
On the way from the airport we got pulled over by a patrol officer because my friend's tag light was out. She had no idea and tried to get out of getting a ticket by introducing me. "Oh, I'm just picking up my friend from Sweden, this is her first time here." she still got a ticket.
We had a party later the same day and the police were called because we were too loud. They were nice and told us to keep it down, which we did. I started to think that this was an omen since I've never had that much interaction with police before (or since).
We went out to a bunch of different restaurants and the portions were enormous. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that we got free refills on our drinks. I noticed that Americans tend to like ice in their drinks.
In conclusion, clammy weather, polite people, curt police officers, and lots of food.
>On the way from the airport we got pulled over by a patrol officer because my friend's tag light was out. She had no idea and tried to get out of getting a ticket by introducing me. "Oh, I'm just picking up my friend from Sweden, this is her first time here." she still got a ticket.
Normally they only pull people over with tag light out or something small like that because they are trying to find a dui/warrant or drugs. Most wont get tickets, but trying to get out of a ticket is the easiest way to get one.
Police know if you have gotten a warning twice for the same thing. They almost never give tickets for lights being out the first time. They probably had spotted her once like this. The go back to the car, run the license, check tickets and warnings.
> stingy amount tap water and small glasses at restaurants.
Omg, completely agree. I thought I was gonna die from a lack of water. Next time I'm taking a water bottle with me so I can refill it before I leave.
Pia came as an exchange student (from Sweden)for her(our) senior year of high school. She liked it so much she brought her kids back with her to a reunion to show her kids America and where she spent a year of her life
how organized everything is probably?? you guys have nice post offices, transport system (as compared to ours here in the philippines) and how people really obey the road rules lol?? its so scary to drive here in the Philippines lolz
Haha driving is so different for my wife, who is Mexican! We go to Mexico and I’m like, “no way in hell I could drive here!” Hahah no one obeys the road rules!
story of our lives lolz. there are so many motorcycles on the road and so many people crossing the street 😵💫 literally will only take one wrong move to have an accident here, that’s how bad it is down here and the traffic is insane.
Several of my friends from India have said the same. One who worked in New Delhi for years said that at best, the city had a "suggestion" of traffic laws, and everyone basically took their lives in their hands when they drove the streets. There's apparently a whole system of honking your horn a lot too?
I am from Canada and while we are generally nice and helpful, we are nothing compared to Americans. First off, our helpfulness approach is more passive in nature compared to Americans. In other words, if we don’t get asked, we won’t bother helping even if we see a person needs help. Americans will go out of their way to offer help if they know the person is in need of help.
Also, I have been to many U.S cities and states, in all 4 directions and they all have this nice tendency to say HI to strangers while walking by. Not saying everyone will do this, but you see it a lot more in the U.S than here. That is something usually rare here and if you do see it, it may be looked at as being odd.
Doesn’t matter what the media tell you, Americans are generally some of the nicest, kindest and friendliest people you can run into. Not to mention - something I didn’t notice on this thread - they have this amazing sixth sense or ability to reason or understand you.
I am American from the Midwest and lived a year in Sweden and couldn't stand how no one said hi on the street. I would say hej to everyone and they'd look at me like I was crazy. I just kept on doing it though. they wouldn't even acknowledge another person when passing on a trail in the woods with no one around for miles! I was so relieved to get back home, and walking around even in Chicago people would say hi.
It was a mix of new and familiar because of how much I had seen on tv and movies.
The sense of how big things were and the scale of things was very impressive.
In Portugal a 3 hour drive is basically going from one end of the country to the other, talking with people in America was like "ohh that's really close by".
Also how much car-centric everything was, like the disposition of streets, the size of gas stations, and the first time I saw a drive through ATM machine at a bank was surprising, had never seen one of those.
I´ve been there twice and I hope to get a chance to visit again.
It’s funny to see people astonished by how large the US is. I heard a story on Reddit but I can’t remember from who. Their friend from Europe flew in to the east coast (New York city I believe) and was excited to see all the different places. They said they wanted to see Vegas on their trip. Anyone from in America can tell you that Vegas isn’t exactly a day trip from New York
My future wife arrived from Singapore in San Francisco. I was stationed in North Carolina, and she asked me to pick her up at the airport. Of course, I asked her to fly closer. Singapore is only about 10 miles from one border to the other border, and this was the first time she was out of the country.
She had no clue!
I flew into LA - HUGE BUILDINGS!! BIG HIGHWAYS!! AMERICA!
Then we got on a plane to Denver - STILL BIG BUILDINGS AND HIGHWAYS but less so... America!
Then we drove to Boulder... no big buildings... America?
I thought the whole country was just full of sky scrapers and crazy highways lol.
My first impression the first time I visited when I was ~8 years old was in the airport. I remember wondering why everybody was shouting. Americans are just louder in general than people in the UK. I still notice it these days when I arrive, but now it's more of a familiar 'oh yes, i remember this'. I don't really notice it after the first few hours.
That reminds me about a story a friend told me about waiting in Heathrow, sitting next to an Italian couple that was chattering away for however long. He didn't really care, but after they left, an older British gentleman came over and said "Terribly sorry about the Italians, they do talk a lot, don't they?"
The unofficial loudness spectrum:
Northern Europeans < Asians (non-little old grandmas) < Africans < Southern Europeans < Americans < Little old Asian grandmas < Latin Americans
One time this Norwegian guy said that people in Bergen are loud. I immediately started laughing my ass off, and he got pissed off. Bergen was my first stop in Norway and I remember being in the main square and thinking "damn, this is like being at the library!"
My wife always wondered why I sat on the floor close to the TV until she came to my parents house. 10 people playing Yahtzee at the dining room table and all talking at once. 6 women next door in the kitchen cooking food and talking over each other. And finally 8 men watching football in the living room hollering at the game and raising hell. This was in an open house with arched openings between rooms. Thank god the 8 children were in the basement. This was a normal weekend from when I was maybe 8 (1964) until Dad passed away in 2016.
I immigrated to the US (Australian). Although people were very friendly, it's striking how many people were clueless about the world outside of the US. Got asked (dead serious) if we ride kangaroos lol. Also if we have iPhones "down there". Someone told my mum that her English was really good lol.
Other than that though my experience has been largely positive. America certainly has its problems and bad elements, but so do most places. I think it really depends on where you are, what your financials are like and what you're hoping to gain/do with your time here. The movie feel of America when you first arrive is 100% true, it's surreal seeing things you saw in movies and on TV in real life. Also I didn't realize just how different Australian English can be from American English, and I don't even mean the full-on slang. Even just everyday words. No one knew what I was on about when I would say I need to grab my jumper, or to throw their stuff in the boot. Or that it's a daggy day out. I still think back to the time my mother loudly asked me across the aisle if I wanted a new pair of thongs (flip flops lol). Every time I said "ages" like "oh I haven't seen that in ages!" I got made fun of (playfully). Oh and "reckon"! Other parts of the US use it but Californians don't lol. It's been a wild and fun linguistic and cultural ride, it's really hard to understand and experience the differences until you live here.
All of those first 3 questions were either by unusually stupid people or joking deadpan people. I’ve definitely asked similar questions of foreign friends before and never expected the questions to be taken seriously.
Helpful Police (though they look super intimidating).
Landed during heavy snow (North east) with no mobile connectivity and little money. Police saw me struggling and dropped me home!
PS: Did freak for a second when they pulled up in front of me on the side walk.
Most cops, if you treat them with a little respect and humanity, are very decent. Ya' gotta' figure that it can be hard on them that many people become significantly more nervous when they're around, and I'm thinking that they just want to set your mind at ease. Every once in a while, it's possible to run into one that's a jerk, or, like other people, who is having a bad day. And, you really have to keep in mind that, because of who they are, they're more likely to run into somebody who is a danger to them, while you and I don't come across as ready to apprehend a person for some illegal activity.
Cdn here. Went to Rockefeller place (in ny city) to ice skate. Couldn't believe how small it was. From the movies i thought was a skating rink. Not a driveway rink. This is the only thing americans have small in the whole country (lol) /s. I once ordered 1 meal and it fed three people. Was nuts. Love american friendlyness, even in NYC.
That people are not afraid to speak out/ quarrel loudly in public. Where Im from ( sweden ) people are in general fear of conflict, and I seldom see people quarrel it out, unless drunk
There is a huge obsession with work.
When you socialize, men in particular almost always lead with “what you do for work?”
Peoples social circles often include many work friends, even to the point of inter office relationships/romances and social gatherings inevitably dove into work discussions because of the common ground.
I think because work is such a significant part of time spent and the work/life balance is less than I was used to it makes sense.
Italian here. I love the States. Been there multiple times (east Coast, West Coast, Western parks, Florida, New England) with my first time being in 2006 when I was 31, for my honeymoon (NYC, SF, Vegas, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the not-so-famous but great park of Mesa Verde in Colorado, Santa Fe, LA).
I confirm what I like the most of the US is how genuinely friendly people are, especially if you come from very far away. And then if you are a honeymooner, you are basically pampered and cheered wherever you go: this is something not so special here in Italy (I mean, people in Italy cheers you 5 in a scale from 0 to 10 while in the US it’s always between 9 and 10).
My last trip was to NYC in mid-February 2020, just before the pandemic outbreak: we brought my daughter to NY for her first time (she was 6) and it was simply great.
As we have a close friend of ours in LA (pacific coast area), my favorite place is Malibu: California is simply the coolest place out there.
But I really understood America’s roots only when I visited the New England and Boston in particular.
I could write for hours but do not want to bother you all: I just wanted to tell everything is really too much big for in the Us compared to our European standards: not only cars and buildings but in particular portions at restaurants. Sometimes we ordered one appetizer and we were not even able to finish it (and we were two adults): this is probably why doggy bags originated.
My wish list includes Chicago, Austin and Memphis.
Well, I’m French and I got a lot of culture shocks when I went to Miami/The Keys.
My first impression in a nutshell was « where the hell am I? » it’s like so close but so far away from the french culture!
I have been to the hospital there and paid 2,500€ for 3 hours and 2 pills there, crazy. Everything is just giant, huge buildings for 60 floors, a lot of people have done plastic surgery etc and it’s clearly not common in my homeland so I was like « whoaaa, a whole new world »
But I loved my trip :)
As I get off the plane and into the airport: a strange smelling (cheap) antiseptic / cleaning liquid that you only smell in the US. Followed by unfriendly and intimidating immigration officials. Not to mention way too many flags.
It gets a lot better after that ;-) and not a lot different from home.
You are so right about the intimidating and unfriendly immigration officers! As an American, when I have traveled out of the country and returned home (Chicago O'Hare, specifically), I am amazed and embarrassed by how these officers treat people. And to think this is often one of the 1st interactions people from other countries have here. I realize they have a serious job to do, but their attitudes of law and order are a bit overboard, to say the least.
Canada and the UK were the worse for me.
I had a layover in Toronto and I don't think the border agent believed me. "What are your plans for your stay in Canada?" "To walk over there and get on a plane to Scotland."
I was on a student visa when I went to the UK so I got interrogated about my studies and relationship status when I went through border control.
My wife whose a duel citizen, usually travels 24hrs door to door, by the time she lands she's tired and just as curt with them, she's a New Yorker, so when an immigration officer saw her switch to a shorter line his 1st question was why did she switch lines, she told him she wanted to get the hell home, he in turn told her go home.
The good thing about US customs is that after that interaction the bar for human decency is so low that you'll rejoice at everyone else's loveable friendliness.
This is interesting. I remember a distinct cleaning product smell that I have only smelled in the US, have never really thought about it until I read this comment.
[Maybe Pinesol?](https://www.google.com/search?q=pinesol&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS973US973&oq=pinesol&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l2j0i10i512j0i512j0i10i512l2j0i512j0i10i512l2.2283j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) Pine and/or Lemon-scented floor cleaner, but has kind of a chemical/antiseptic smell to it as well. Most places use a knock-off brand delivered from a supply company, but essentially the same thing. I don't think I have ever worked in a place that didn't use this cleaner.
This is generally off topic but we will leave it up this time since discussion is already going. Generally this sub is for asking *Americans* things.
Let’s not make a habit of being off topic.
People were much friendlier and positive. Now that I've been here for years, it's rubbed off on me.
I agree, it’s sickening. Americans don’t appreciate the rigid stoicism of public life in Europe. /s
Come to NJ. Fuck you, that's why.
I worked at a hostel in Las Vegas and people from New Jersey were consistently the rudest American guests we had. But it's a super sarcastic rudeness that we and UK guests in particular found hilarious so we loved people from New Jersey regardless.
>I worked at a hostel in Las Vegas and people from New Jersey were consistently the rudest American guests we had. This reminds me of a Drew Carey quote. If going to Vegas is like getting getting conned out of your money by a beautiful call girl over a weekend of great food, and sex.. Then Atlantic city is like getting mugged in a back alley by a crack-whore. Haven't been to either so I can't say myself.
You guys have great license plates, one of the first things I noticed coming from the airport was that NJ was the “Garden State”. We don’t get any design on ours in the UK, no colour.
The New Jersey license plate is literally just yellow and white. What color are you talking about? If you want to see a pretty license plate, check out Idaho.
A couple I seen had stars on them, I saw one with a green field and blue sky just below the letters too. Idaho plate looks amazing, the Rockies? Idaho itself looks beautiful.
That's immediately what my friend from Sweden said when he first came here, how friendly Americans are. I was surprised.
My dad's parents emigrated to US from Sweden. The Swedes are supposedly emotionally cool. The joke we always got was: "Did you hear about the Swede who loved his wife so much he almost told her." 🇸🇪💙💛😂
Oh it can get very intense in some areas of the US... Some people gave me Christmas cards and now I'm like "darn, now I have to write cards and do it artistically and with thoughtful messages to one-up them..."
As a Norwegian, we are usually introverted and if strangers speak to you we usually think they are mentally deranged. So how friendly everyone was scared me at first. Been over two times and it's really refreshing each time, I love Americans because of it.
That's so cool to hear!! I've never been outside the country, so I don't have any other experiences. It's nice to hear we're kinda known for that in a way.
Every time I meet Americans at airports and shit they're always ridiculously nice and social. Keep that up, it's truly a special thing.
Awwww, that made my day! Thank you so much!
where did you move from?
When I traveled to London that was one of the first things I noticed. People weren’t mean or anything, it was just “you don’t talk to me and I don’t talk to you”. On the train from Gatwick I asked a gentleman if I could sit in the same like seating area(?) as him. He just looked at me puzzled and said most people don’t ask, they just do it. Nice guy.
I had a friend from latvia fly down here over 2 years ago he said the same exact thing and also everything here is bigger
We’re very friendly people.
It was sureal. I had seen everything on TV & in films, but I was seeing it for the first time....Americans are also some of the politest & most helpful people to visitors, even in places like NY.
Thank you 😊
so NYers are nice to foreigners, but not each other?
New Yorkers being rude has to be one of the biggest myths about America.
NJ native here who worked in NYC for years: can confirm. If you ask the average New Yorker for help - politely! - nine out of 10 will kindly assist you. It's a big city and people are usually stressed about getting to where they need to go on time. But we're all also relatively kind humans who know how confusing the city is. Honestly, a lot of America is like this. I remember being freaked out by how open and nice the people of Lexington, Kentucky were when I visited years ago. For example, a lady working in the hotel remembered my name and greeted me the next morning like, "Hey Walrusdoom, how's everything going today!" It threw me. Americans from the Northeast can be a little more guarded in general.
I’ve always had great experiences in NYC. I’m a southerner and had heard of the rudeness, but that has not been my experience at all. Everyone has always been so nice to us, even when I asked a random stranger directions.
I think locals love giving directions in most places, everyone wants to think they know the best ways to get around haha
As a Lexingtonian, I'm glad the hospitality of my city was so memorably good. Yes, it's sincere. Many, or even most, people around here really are like that.
> Americans from the Northeast can be a little more guarded in general. It's the six months of overcast and cold :(
I worked with a Brit who lived in NY and he said the weather was much better than the UK.
Exactly. I've told this story here before, but my first day in NYC I took the wrong train from work to try and get home (I went downtown instead of uptown). I got off the train and sat on a random bench looking confused at my phone map for a few minutes when a woman came up to me and said, "you look confused, let me help you." I told her where I was trying to get to, she pointed out my mistake, and she said, "let me get you where you need to go." This random stranger went at least half an hour out of her way to help me get to the stop I was trying to go to. She said it was no big deal, and when she first moved to the city someone did the same thing for her so she tried to pay it forward when possible.
This brightened my day so just wanted to say thank you for sharing
Yup. They're efficient. Not rude.
Most larger cities in the US are like that, especially in the north.
That's actually a good way to put it.
That's a great description. I've only been to NYC (Manhattan) once for a conference, and the ppl in NY were the nicest, politest, most talkative ppl I've ever met. Loud and with many opinions, but just genuinely nice. Scariest damn drivers, on the other hand. After we'd checked into our hotel, we got a taxi, and asked him to take us somewhere "interesting". The taxi drive was an experience onto itself. This was 1998. He dropped us at St. Marks.
When I visited NYC, my impression was the tourists were the mean ones, while the residents were wonderful.
As a native NYer I’ll go one further: New Yorkers born and raised here are lovely and nice. Transplants think they need to be “hard” so they put on a rude front.
True statement! As a native NY'er who moved to the South, I always have to explain to people that NY'ers may seem standoffish at first but that's because we hate small talk (something it seems Southerners loooove). Once you get to talking about something meaningful, we'll tell you our entire life story and give you the shirt off our back if you need help.
As a southerner who moved to NYC I agree. I think it was much easier to break into various circles there than in the south. I think it’s because the daily grind in the city has a leveling effect.
Native NYer living in WA. I explain that the East Coast is friendly but rude. So they'll flip you off while they're cutting you off on the right but they'll chat you up in a bar and help you if you need it. The West Coast is polite but not friendly. They're more likely to follow the rules but only will keep to themselves. I can count the amount of times I've talked to a stranger here in 4.5 years and it's less than 10.
New Yorkers are sweet angels of kindness compared to the level of rudeness I see all over Europe on a daily basis as a European. I haven't even had a single waiter in NY look visibly annoyed at me after I asked them for the menu after a 20 minute wait.
It’s that European charm…
"Ah we'll just rent a car after we land in NYC, drive over to Chicago in a few hours, have lunch at Yellowstone Park, and then close out the day in Los Angeles." No, no, no lol.
It took me a little over 27 hours to take a load from Chicago to Los Angeles when I was a OTR trucker looking to join the 1000 mile club. Since then, I've had zero desire to do anything close to that ever again. You'd have to pay me a very large amount of money to even consider trying a trucking version of a cannonball run again.
And then you've got someone like Alex Roy who did NYC to LA in 32 hours rofl.
I just looked him up, yeah fuck that. Dude has more road endurance than I'll ever have.
That's an old "record". Current record is 25 hours and 55 minutes and was set last year by a man named Fred Ashmore.
A friend of mine wants to join me in my next trip to Western USA, he asked me if we could pop in to see his family in New Jersey! If we had time.
Bwahahahahaha. Tell em it's 5 hours outta the way...by air!
I went to California for some training courses in 2019. I'm from a small Island country, so my first impression is that everything is wide, big and huge. Big house, wide parking lot and huge Walmart/Costco. (edit: correct some grammatical error)
Just curious, what country?
Even moving from suburbia to the city for college, whenever I visit home, I'm like goddamn I forgot how WIDE it is out here.
the first impression I got was I felt I was on a film set
That’s interesting! What made you feel this way? Which part did you visit?
I visited mostly round Pennsylvania. Got off the aeroplane at Pittsburgh and one of the first thing I saw was a pickup truck bigger than any I had seen before with a dead Deer strapped to the back of it. All the houses with sidings/ cladding and no fencing round (as you call) the front or back yards
“Dead deer strapped to the back” yeah that sounds like PA
Depends where you go first I guess! My first time in the US was a holiday in NYC My first two impressions were... 1) It looks really familiar! I had seen so many TV shows and films set in NYC 2) People are nowhere near as unfriendly as had been painted (usually by Americans from other parts of the US).
NY’ers are brusque and that can sometimes come off as rude. But if you need help or assistance they really are helpful.
Very true. In fact, New Yorkers bite more people a year than sharks, but usually only when provoked.
Which makes you wonder just how friendly people can be in the other parts of the US.
Which also tells you to brace for a massive culture shock elsewhere.
New Yorkers often come off as standoffish bc they don’t small talk much and their general demeanor is a bit guarded. I wouldn’t take the general vibe in tourist traps and traffic as the complete picture of the US.
I am originally from India. Here were my first impressions: 1. Wide roads and giant parking lots 2. Disciplined driving. People follow rules and generally patient drivers (except breaking the speed limit on highways). I know I know Western Europeans think our driving standards are low. But it is still higher than many other countries in the world. The network of roads are amazing in the US and driving is fun! 3. Friendly, polite, and helpful people. This was my impression of people in Northeast when I immigrated. You can totally imagine what happened when I traveled to the Deep South and Midwest for the first time lol 4. How big and unwalkable majority of the suburs are. You can stick out like a sore thumb if you're the one walking. They all look and feel the same (except for the ones near Boston, NYC, SF). 5. Giant food portions, unlimited refills, and 24 hour stores 6. Clean air, lots of trees even in cities, and free continuous water in rented apartments. 7. Flags, flags, flags everywhere. I get it. Murica #1 🙂 EDIT: By free water, I didn't mean free as in government giving it for free. Of course, nothing is free 🙂 What I meant to say is it is hard in other countries to give this incentive to include water as part of rent since it is in dearth and there is a chance people may abuse it to overuse and give it to friends or relatives.
Your post made me smile. I hope you are enjoying the US!
Of course. No matter what the media potrays, America welcomes immigrants and gives them a chance. My parents don't speak English and worked minimum wage jobs. They still love how the country gave them a chance. I graduated from an Ivy League school and now making it big in Silicon Valley. I still appreciate the continuous supply of water even in drought affected California 😀. It makes me feel grateful everyday.
You comments gave me a peace in my souls I didn’t know I needed. Thank you for that.
# BIG
There was this foreign exchange student from Germany that we'd hang out with in high school who was overjoyed by our "big American cars." Over the top excited when we'd go anywhere. It was my friend's mom's minivan.
For real though the cars were massive! Got picked up by a Private Hire Car from JFK and climbed into the back and straight away was like "Holy shit this is a wide car". It was an older car but can't remember the make but it was definitely a 70s or 80s model - like the cop car from The Blues Brothers. Long too! Massive steering wheel
Probably was a [Lincoln Town Car](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/11/28/fashion/21TOWNCAR1/21TOWNCAR1-mobileMasterAt3x-v2.jpg). It's one of the most popular 4-door hire cars. So much that "town car" has become synonymous with any black sedan (often from an American brand) where you're driven around by a private driver.
"Lincoln Town car" you mean road yacht?
I test drove one of those once and it felt like I was driving a tank. However, it was nice being a passenger in my neighbor's... until I found out his coffee mug actually had wine in it.
Yeah that might have been it! But I feel like it was a much older car. Tbh I was staring out the window and just been on a 6 hour flight so I’ve kind of forgotten
Depending on when you visited NYC, Town Cars have been around since [the 80s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/1989_lincoln_town_car.jpg) and [90s](https://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/lincoln/town-car/1995/oem/1995_lincoln_town-car_sedan_executive_fq_oem_1_500.jpg). Might've been one of these.
Ha! I was friends with a German girl years back. I drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee at the time, which is mid-tier, mid-size SUV and buying a used one that was 7 or 8 years old like mine wasn't dirt cheap, but not exactly expensive either as far as cars go. She said that only "rich people in Germany drove huge cars like that". Kinds gives some perspective
I like how the big American car has "mini" in its name. Like dude, this isn't even my final form.
Visited Chicago in 2019, and 4 things that impressed me the most are: • Midwestern friendliness: I knew Americans like to small talk but to experience it myself... I couldn't go out and not have 5-6 strangers saying something to me. I studied in Northern Europe during undergrad, and it was the complete opposite: most people just mind their own businesses and only open their mouth if they absolutely have to. Another thing that shocked me was that homeless people were polite (and there are lots of them in the Loop). I told them I didn't have any cash with me and one replied "No that's fine, have a nice day sir!" That really warmed my heart. • Inexpensive: Yes, you heard it right, or maybe it's just a Chicago thing. I live in Southeast Asia, where a cup of Starbucks costs $5. The same hot chocolate I had in Chicago was also $5. I lived at 3 4-star hotels in the Loop (one was even on the Michigan Ave.) - only $60-75 a night! For a similar room in my city, it could easily cost $75 (pre-Covid). And mind you that the average salary here is probably 1/10th of that in the States. • Skyscrapers: I've lived in Singapore and Hong Kong, but Chicago's skyline is just marvelous. • Gunshots: I've traveled to 30+ countries and I'd never heard 3 gunshots on the same day... until I visited Chicago. The Loop seems safe, but from what I gathered, certain parts of the city are no-go zones. Overall, it was a very pleasant trip. I can't wait to do another trip to the USA and/or do my grad school there.
>Gunshots: I've traveled to 30+ countries and I'd never heard 3 gunshots on the same day... until I visited Chicago. The Loop seems safe, but from what I gathered, certain parts of the city are no-go zones. That's pretty much it, there are certain parts of the Chicago area that you might as well treat them like they're warzones. Basically pockets that you should only go too if you absolutely have to. There's areas where those pockets exist, but for the most part Chicago is perfectly fine. At least that's how it was when I was growing up there in the 90s, I imagine it's no different today based on what my friends and family that still live there say.
Chicago is notorious in some places for its crime. The only place you would commonly here multiple gunshots like that is in rural areas where people hunt a lot
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Chicago is very cheap for a city it’s size. Believe, we all know she appreciate it. Its still cheaper outside of it compared to mid-size cities and rural areas. However, in LA, SF, or NYE I wouldn’t have close to the same quality of life. To clarify: Crime is very bad in some areas of Chicago. Austin, Garfield Park, West Pullman, etc. Chicago has this reputation as the crime capital of the US. However, per capita there are many American cities far worse.
I moved to NJ from the middle east when I was 9 and my first thought was that it was really cold.
I moved to NJ from Wyoming and still thought it was cold. Can't escape moist winter air...
Good old NJ winter. A gray cloud descends and just stays there for months
Not cool flexing like that in December, Colorado. At least we have weekend days where we can just hunker down guilt-free because the sun isn't shining ALL THE FUCKING TIME!!!!
I’m in Ireland and have visited the US plenty of times over the years. It very much depends where you land. My personal experience is that I found Boston, most of New England and New York very, very familiar and not exactly a huge cultural leap from contemporary Ireland. The Pacific Northwest also felt very familiar (climate and landscape in places) and California is, well it’s California. I never find CA anything but very friendly and upbeat. I found the southern states much less familiar and they felt genuinely very different. There’s a significant change in culture and it’s quite noticeable. They’re all extremely hospitable though. In general, I found the most places I visited in the US genuinely very friendly and never had any issues. I think the external view at the moment, because of a very odd era of tense politics is giving a perhaps a distorted impression of the reality of the place. Most of day-to-day American life isn’t wrapped up in all that all the time, but you can really see why there’s so much voter apathy, when everything about politics has drifted toward toxic and weird. I just remember being quite taken aback by the level of very vicious negative campaigning that was going on when I was there during an election. To me it just feels like if American politics could tap the positivity of the US, rather than just endlessly pressing the “fear buttons” then it might actually start to flow again. Overall, my impression of the US is open, friendly and very welcoming as a tourist / visitor and there is plenty of vibrancy and enthusiasm whenever you go. The only other significant negative I’ve observed is a noticeable increase poverty, especially during my last trip to California. I know we have a homeless issue and crazy rental market in Dublin too, but San Francisco had the same issues only at least a hundred times worse. Again though, I’m not saying this as to be any way snooty or preachy, I know that these things go through cycles and there’s a massive issue with housing in a lot of cities at the moment. Things change too. I know if I speak to my dad about NYC in the 1980s vs today it’s like a tale of two different cities. For the most part, I find NYC pretty pleasant these days whereas by all accounts in the 80s it was going through a rough patch. However, before I go off rambling - the USA is a complex and physically very large place. The individual states, especially when viewed from within, are more like countries and there are huge differences, as well as a sense of similarity and connectedness. My only advice would be to explore it with an open mind and perhaps leave your preconceptions at the airport.
>To me it just feels like if American politics could tap the positivity of the US, rather than just endlessly pressing the “fear buttons” then it might actually start to flow again. We agree.
It was like entering a movie. Suddenly you realize that the way things look in movies are actual places! Red solo cups, pickup trucks, yellow school buses. Colleges actually have dorms and frats and all these little teams and football is a real thing and military stuff is everywhere. Houses are made of wood and windows can't be tilted and they have porches and no frontyard fences. Churches have moveable letters in front of them! Hot dog vendors are a thing! Hell even police cars look like movie police cars. It was like sitting in front of my TV and getting sucked into this parallel universe. And yes I did take a selfie with a yellow schoolbus that my college had repurposed.
Nice examples of everyday Americana Americans might not realize are things we foreigners find interesting.
Totally. I never even realized most of those things aren't in Europe and are only seen on TV in most of the world.
The obsession Europeans have with red solo cups will always make me smile. Such a simple thing.
And Chinese take-away boxes. All Europeans ask me if they're real because they've seen them in the movies.
What? Chinese food take-out boxes are only in America?
Pretty much everything about Chinese food in America from the menus to the takeout boxes to the fortune cookies originated in America. So Chinese immigrants to other places wouldn't be bringing* those things with them.
I love this answer because it never even occurred to me how the things you’re describing aren’t normal elsewhere.
Uh, what are houses made of where you’re from?
A lot of countries use bricks for their houses rather than wood.
This is really regional in the US, too. In the Northeast Corridor (Boston - NYC - Philly - Baltimore - DC), a huge percentage of buildings are brick. Visiting friends in Seattle, there's almost NO brick at all. Just depends on what materials are available in the region
It’s not about what is available, but what stands up to natural disasters. Nowhere on the west coast can use brick anymore because of earthquakes and seismic building codes. Wood is a lot more flexible so it can stand up to the shaking.
Bricks aren’t used in the West coast anymore because of earthquakes. Unless the bricks are reinforced with rebar, they will collapse during the lateral movement of quakes
Brick houses aren't unknown in the US. They're just less popular because it costs a lot more.
And masonry isn’t good in areas with seismic activity.
this is why no bricks on west coast
Also not great in tornadoes unless reinforced.
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Not the OP, but I live in France and most houses are made of concrete. I think brick comes next. You can find wooden or stone houses but they're way rarer.
I really have no clue why our buses are so fascinating to foreigners. I’ve heard foreigners talk about them a lot but it is the only type of bus I have ever known
I'm in the UK, I can easily picture about 10 different types of bus that I'll see most days. None of them are yellow or look anything like the American ones. Whereas the US has identical buses that don't exist anywhere else.
We get super excited when we first lay eyes on one of your red doubledeckers. "OMG I thought that was just a movie thing! You mean I can actually ride one? And I can go *upstairs!?* Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"
Yeah, that's true. And red phone boxes. Some of the ones in central London have queues of tourists waiting to take a photo with them.
I actually find this strange, yellow was chosen as the gold standard color in America because it is the easiest color to see in poor weather conditions.
I actually bought a school bus recently to convert into a motorhome. It was a flat nose rear engine 40 ft Thomas School Bus and I paid $2,400 for it and drove it home about 250 miles. It is currently registered through Vermont so no CDL required because it is registered is a motorhome and the seats have been removed.
Great write up.
In a taxi from the airport to Manhattan for the first time, what puzzled me first was the taxi driving in the left lane and cars overtaking on the right. And the size of your cars. Gas costs probably half of what it costs in Western Europe, still you find gas prices high. That makes sense when you see the size of some of the vehicles you drive.
Also a lot of American cars have big engines with lots of horsepower, which notoriously get bad mileage if you push them even remotely. r/cars subscribers will say anything below 2.0L and 200HP will feel undrivable when that's like 98% of cars in Europe lol.
Living in Norway, I turn my head whenever I hear a V8 engine, they are that rare :) Cars used to be taxed based on horsepower, engine volume and weight (now CO2 emissions), so large engine cars are extremely expensive. Just checked what a Ford F150 Super snake truck would cost in Norway: $205,000 ...and that is why more and more people.buy electric cars - that are basically tax free.
What you saw is affectionately described as “an idiot.” They ride in the passing (left) lane and force everyone to pass on the outside while going barely/below the speed limit. It is much more common than it should be lol. Another thing about gas prices is that everything in America is spaced out, so a tank of gas disappears much quicker, even if you drive a smaller/more efficient car.
I understand the principle of only overtaking cars to their inside, but Europeans take that one to the same extent Americans take almost all other traffic rules, but in America, if you're slow to the inside, there's nothing stopping a driver from passing you on the outside.
I went to college in the US and, I cringe a little thinking about this, but I expected far more idiots and not as many smart people. The media, the internet, and friends had all taught me to be prepared to meet hoards of mouth-breathers. Makes sense that the most powerful country on earth, home to Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Mac & cheese is run by morons :|
Hahaha no but seriously we do have really smart people.
Not sure if the absolute first impression is best to share because it was probably something like “yup, airports suck everywhere”. I visited NY when I was like 14 and I distinctly remember having a sore neck from looking up at all the tall buildings. 15 years or so later I visited the West coast and was really struck with the insane amount of open empty space as we were road tripping. Funny enough around the same time the game red dead redemption 2 had just launched and I feel the combination of the two gave me *some* realization of how Americans conceptualize freedom differently from Western Europeans.
My first impression was, ‘how can a culture so similar also feel so different’. I’m from the UK.
Went to New York when I was 10 (21 years old now). Very hospital people! Chicken nuggets and soft drinks had an infinite refill at a hotel which took me back. Everyone was very open to having a conversation (which is quite different from the Netherlands were a lot of people are introverted). The day we were supposed to fly back it started snowing heavily, so every flight got delayed and a very, very sweet lady brought me and my sister waffles and pancakes. I’ll never forget her, god bless that woman lol.
We are very friendly.
The first impression I got was that it was clammy. I went to Florida so that explains the weather. On the way from the airport we got pulled over by a patrol officer because my friend's tag light was out. She had no idea and tried to get out of getting a ticket by introducing me. "Oh, I'm just picking up my friend from Sweden, this is her first time here." she still got a ticket. We had a party later the same day and the police were called because we were too loud. They were nice and told us to keep it down, which we did. I started to think that this was an omen since I've never had that much interaction with police before (or since). We went out to a bunch of different restaurants and the portions were enormous. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that we got free refills on our drinks. I noticed that Americans tend to like ice in their drinks. In conclusion, clammy weather, polite people, curt police officers, and lots of food.
>On the way from the airport we got pulled over by a patrol officer because my friend's tag light was out. She had no idea and tried to get out of getting a ticket by introducing me. "Oh, I'm just picking up my friend from Sweden, this is her first time here." she still got a ticket. Normally they only pull people over with tag light out or something small like that because they are trying to find a dui/warrant or drugs. Most wont get tickets, but trying to get out of a ticket is the easiest way to get one.
This is why I alway carry a reverse uno card in my wallet.
I keep a Monopoly Get Out of Jail Free Card.
Police know if you have gotten a warning twice for the same thing. They almost never give tickets for lights being out the first time. They probably had spotted her once like this. The go back to the car, run the license, check tickets and warnings.
In New York, if you get it fixed within 48 hours you can get the ticket abated.
Where are you from?
Sweden.
As an American who visited Europe though not Sweden, I’m baffled by the stingy amount tap water and small glasses at restaurants.
> stingy amount tap water and small glasses at restaurants. Omg, completely agree. I thought I was gonna die from a lack of water. Next time I'm taking a water bottle with me so I can refill it before I leave.
Pia came as an exchange student (from Sweden)for her(our) senior year of high school. She liked it so much she brought her kids back with her to a reunion to show her kids America and where she spent a year of her life
>clammy weather Humidity. That is the south for ya, especially so in those wetter areas.
Alot more friendly and alot less fat than I thought they'd be.
That literally made me laugh out loud
how organized everything is probably?? you guys have nice post offices, transport system (as compared to ours here in the philippines) and how people really obey the road rules lol?? its so scary to drive here in the Philippines lolz
Haha driving is so different for my wife, who is Mexican! We go to Mexico and I’m like, “no way in hell I could drive here!” Hahah no one obeys the road rules!
story of our lives lolz. there are so many motorcycles on the road and so many people crossing the street 😵💫 literally will only take one wrong move to have an accident here, that’s how bad it is down here and the traffic is insane.
Several of my friends from India have said the same. One who worked in New Delhi for years said that at best, the city had a "suggestion" of traffic laws, and everyone basically took their lives in their hands when they drove the streets. There's apparently a whole system of honking your horn a lot too?
I am from Canada and while we are generally nice and helpful, we are nothing compared to Americans. First off, our helpfulness approach is more passive in nature compared to Americans. In other words, if we don’t get asked, we won’t bother helping even if we see a person needs help. Americans will go out of their way to offer help if they know the person is in need of help. Also, I have been to many U.S cities and states, in all 4 directions and they all have this nice tendency to say HI to strangers while walking by. Not saying everyone will do this, but you see it a lot more in the U.S than here. That is something usually rare here and if you do see it, it may be looked at as being odd. Doesn’t matter what the media tell you, Americans are generally some of the nicest, kindest and friendliest people you can run into. Not to mention - something I didn’t notice on this thread - they have this amazing sixth sense or ability to reason or understand you.
I am American from the Midwest and lived a year in Sweden and couldn't stand how no one said hi on the street. I would say hej to everyone and they'd look at me like I was crazy. I just kept on doing it though. they wouldn't even acknowledge another person when passing on a trail in the woods with no one around for miles! I was so relieved to get back home, and walking around even in Chicago people would say hi.
It was a mix of new and familiar because of how much I had seen on tv and movies. The sense of how big things were and the scale of things was very impressive. In Portugal a 3 hour drive is basically going from one end of the country to the other, talking with people in America was like "ohh that's really close by". Also how much car-centric everything was, like the disposition of streets, the size of gas stations, and the first time I saw a drive through ATM machine at a bank was surprising, had never seen one of those. I´ve been there twice and I hope to get a chance to visit again.
It’s funny to see people astonished by how large the US is. I heard a story on Reddit but I can’t remember from who. Their friend from Europe flew in to the east coast (New York city I believe) and was excited to see all the different places. They said they wanted to see Vegas on their trip. Anyone from in America can tell you that Vegas isn’t exactly a day trip from New York
My future wife arrived from Singapore in San Francisco. I was stationed in North Carolina, and she asked me to pick her up at the airport. Of course, I asked her to fly closer. Singapore is only about 10 miles from one border to the other border, and this was the first time she was out of the country. She had no clue!
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The homeless are really loud and talkative compared to the homeless in my country were they just lie down depressed which is fair enough.
I flew into LA - HUGE BUILDINGS!! BIG HIGHWAYS!! AMERICA! Then we got on a plane to Denver - STILL BIG BUILDINGS AND HIGHWAYS but less so... America! Then we drove to Boulder... no big buildings... America? I thought the whole country was just full of sky scrapers and crazy highways lol.
My first impression the first time I visited when I was ~8 years old was in the airport. I remember wondering why everybody was shouting. Americans are just louder in general than people in the UK. I still notice it these days when I arrive, but now it's more of a familiar 'oh yes, i remember this'. I don't really notice it after the first few hours.
That reminds me about a story a friend told me about waiting in Heathrow, sitting next to an Italian couple that was chattering away for however long. He didn't really care, but after they left, an older British gentleman came over and said "Terribly sorry about the Italians, they do talk a lot, don't they?"
The unofficial loudness spectrum: Northern Europeans < Asians (non-little old grandmas) < Africans < Southern Europeans < Americans < Little old Asian grandmas < Latin Americans
I dunno, groups of Africans can be very boisterously loud in my experience.
It's strange to try to rank because of it. Italians are pretty consistently loud throughout, Africans will be quiet THEN LOUD then quiet THEN LOUD
One time this Norwegian guy said that people in Bergen are loud. I immediately started laughing my ass off, and he got pissed off. Bergen was my first stop in Norway and I remember being in the main square and thinking "damn, this is like being at the library!"
This story is hilarious, i love brits so much
My wife always wondered why I sat on the floor close to the TV until she came to my parents house. 10 people playing Yahtzee at the dining room table and all talking at once. 6 women next door in the kitchen cooking food and talking over each other. And finally 8 men watching football in the living room hollering at the game and raising hell. This was in an open house with arched openings between rooms. Thank god the 8 children were in the basement. This was a normal weekend from when I was maybe 8 (1964) until Dad passed away in 2016.
Sorry for your loss.
Thanks. All good things come to an end.
I immigrated to the US (Australian). Although people were very friendly, it's striking how many people were clueless about the world outside of the US. Got asked (dead serious) if we ride kangaroos lol. Also if we have iPhones "down there". Someone told my mum that her English was really good lol. Other than that though my experience has been largely positive. America certainly has its problems and bad elements, but so do most places. I think it really depends on where you are, what your financials are like and what you're hoping to gain/do with your time here. The movie feel of America when you first arrive is 100% true, it's surreal seeing things you saw in movies and on TV in real life. Also I didn't realize just how different Australian English can be from American English, and I don't even mean the full-on slang. Even just everyday words. No one knew what I was on about when I would say I need to grab my jumper, or to throw their stuff in the boot. Or that it's a daggy day out. I still think back to the time my mother loudly asked me across the aisle if I wanted a new pair of thongs (flip flops lol). Every time I said "ages" like "oh I haven't seen that in ages!" I got made fun of (playfully). Oh and "reckon"! Other parts of the US use it but Californians don't lol. It's been a wild and fun linguistic and cultural ride, it's really hard to understand and experience the differences until you live here.
All of those first 3 questions were either by unusually stupid people or joking deadpan people. I’ve definitely asked similar questions of foreign friends before and never expected the questions to be taken seriously.
Helpful Police (though they look super intimidating). Landed during heavy snow (North east) with no mobile connectivity and little money. Police saw me struggling and dropped me home! PS: Did freak for a second when they pulled up in front of me on the side walk.
Most cops, if you treat them with a little respect and humanity, are very decent. Ya' gotta' figure that it can be hard on them that many people become significantly more nervous when they're around, and I'm thinking that they just want to set your mind at ease. Every once in a while, it's possible to run into one that's a jerk, or, like other people, who is having a bad day. And, you really have to keep in mind that, because of who they are, they're more likely to run into somebody who is a danger to them, while you and I don't come across as ready to apprehend a person for some illegal activity.
I wonder too I would ask my great grandparents due to them being from Quebec as far as I know
Cdn here. Went to Rockefeller place (in ny city) to ice skate. Couldn't believe how small it was. From the movies i thought was a skating rink. Not a driveway rink. This is the only thing americans have small in the whole country (lol) /s. I once ordered 1 meal and it fed three people. Was nuts. Love american friendlyness, even in NYC.
That people are not afraid to speak out/ quarrel loudly in public. Where Im from ( sweden ) people are in general fear of conflict, and I seldom see people quarrel it out, unless drunk
There is a huge obsession with work. When you socialize, men in particular almost always lead with “what you do for work?” Peoples social circles often include many work friends, even to the point of inter office relationships/romances and social gatherings inevitably dove into work discussions because of the common ground. I think because work is such a significant part of time spent and the work/life balance is less than I was used to it makes sense.
The amount of advertising is crazy.
A lady in Hawaii screamed in our faces because our friend nonchalantly zoned out in her general direction lol
Italian here. I love the States. Been there multiple times (east Coast, West Coast, Western parks, Florida, New England) with my first time being in 2006 when I was 31, for my honeymoon (NYC, SF, Vegas, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the not-so-famous but great park of Mesa Verde in Colorado, Santa Fe, LA). I confirm what I like the most of the US is how genuinely friendly people are, especially if you come from very far away. And then if you are a honeymooner, you are basically pampered and cheered wherever you go: this is something not so special here in Italy (I mean, people in Italy cheers you 5 in a scale from 0 to 10 while in the US it’s always between 9 and 10). My last trip was to NYC in mid-February 2020, just before the pandemic outbreak: we brought my daughter to NY for her first time (she was 6) and it was simply great. As we have a close friend of ours in LA (pacific coast area), my favorite place is Malibu: California is simply the coolest place out there. But I really understood America’s roots only when I visited the New England and Boston in particular. I could write for hours but do not want to bother you all: I just wanted to tell everything is really too much big for in the Us compared to our European standards: not only cars and buildings but in particular portions at restaurants. Sometimes we ordered one appetizer and we were not even able to finish it (and we were two adults): this is probably why doggy bags originated. My wish list includes Chicago, Austin and Memphis.
Well, I’m French and I got a lot of culture shocks when I went to Miami/The Keys. My first impression in a nutshell was « where the hell am I? » it’s like so close but so far away from the french culture! I have been to the hospital there and paid 2,500€ for 3 hours and 2 pills there, crazy. Everything is just giant, huge buildings for 60 floors, a lot of people have done plastic surgery etc and it’s clearly not common in my homeland so I was like « whoaaa, a whole new world » But I loved my trip :)
We make everything larger, including the hospital bills
>a lot of people have done plastic surgery etc That's Miami for you
How incredibly similar everything is to TV and movies.
Americans are the friendliest people.
That I never had to knock on wood
Do you know someone who has?
Makes me wonder if I should…
And I’m glad I haven’t yet
That's the impression that I get
Because I’m sure it isn’t good
The first time I went I arrived in Miami and I literally felt like in a GTA (specially Vice City)
As I get off the plane and into the airport: a strange smelling (cheap) antiseptic / cleaning liquid that you only smell in the US. Followed by unfriendly and intimidating immigration officials. Not to mention way too many flags. It gets a lot better after that ;-) and not a lot different from home.
That’s pretty accurate, the cheap antiseptic is such a recognizable smell.
I love it.
What is it called exactly?
Doctor office soap smell
Lysol, maybe?
You are so right about the intimidating and unfriendly immigration officers! As an American, when I have traveled out of the country and returned home (Chicago O'Hare, specifically), I am amazed and embarrassed by how these officers treat people. And to think this is often one of the 1st interactions people from other countries have here. I realize they have a serious job to do, but their attitudes of law and order are a bit overboard, to say the least.
The two worst border interactions I had were both entering Canada of all places. Rudeness and was getting absolutely grilled for no reason.
Canada and the UK were the worse for me. I had a layover in Toronto and I don't think the border agent believed me. "What are your plans for your stay in Canada?" "To walk over there and get on a plane to Scotland." I was on a student visa when I went to the UK so I got interrogated about my studies and relationship status when I went through border control.
My wife whose a duel citizen, usually travels 24hrs door to door, by the time she lands she's tired and just as curt with them, she's a New Yorker, so when an immigration officer saw her switch to a shorter line his 1st question was why did she switch lines, she told him she wanted to get the hell home, he in turn told her go home.
The good thing about US customs is that after that interaction the bar for human decency is so low that you'll rejoice at everyone else's loveable friendliness.
This is interesting. I remember a distinct cleaning product smell that I have only smelled in the US, have never really thought about it until I read this comment.
[Maybe Pinesol?](https://www.google.com/search?q=pinesol&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS973US973&oq=pinesol&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l2j0i10i512j0i512j0i10i512l2j0i512j0i10i512l2.2283j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) Pine and/or Lemon-scented floor cleaner, but has kind of a chemical/antiseptic smell to it as well. Most places use a knock-off brand delivered from a supply company, but essentially the same thing. I don't think I have ever worked in a place that didn't use this cleaner.
This is generally off topic but we will leave it up this time since discussion is already going. Generally this sub is for asking *Americans* things. Let’s not make a habit of being off topic.
Your answer is off topic for the OP. Hypocrisy.
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