[AskEurope] Fellow Europeans, what is the aspect of USA lifestyle that surprises you the most?

I recently found out that the suburbs in the US have NOTHING other than single family homes.

No small grocery store, no hair salon, no post office, no pub, no tiny kebab place around the corner, nothing. There are areas where you have to drive 30 minutes just to buy bread.

Now I understand why 15-minute cities are such a buzz among Americans.

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I know it's a clichee but guns. I regularly watch some youtubers from a lot of backgrounds. Science, engineering, music, you name it. And the casual way they talk about guns, even carry them, is deeply disturbing to me.

Yeah I guess it happens that you shoot a gun once or twice in your life. From military service to the plain old "Schützenverein" in Germany. But having them in everyday life is... just... dangerous.

They in-part have open carry in malls. And plazas. I don't get why everyone carrying in a public space isn't classified as a danger.

There is so much that screams "stress" to me when I think of living in the US that makes me uncomfortable. To just mention that your job can fire you at will and your health care might be attached to your job, or that a person who can not drive a car for health reasons, like me, is basically fucked. Or no sick days and a very low amount of vacation days that you might have to take when you are sick and on top taking them at all is looked down on, while my boss reminds me to tell him when I prefer to take my vacation days, because by law I have to take them.

I could make a very long list of things that come with American life that I find stressful. Just one more tiny thing: I do not have much money, so I have to be careful not to overspent. In Germany the prices on the shelf in the grocery store are the total I will have to pay. In the US the total can be whatever, you just have to be really good at doing math in your head, have enough money to not care or walk around with a calculator. So it is not just the big things that add onto each other. If I am sick I can walk to the nearest grocery store and drug store in less than 3 minutes from my flat, the doctor's office is inbetween both and the visit is free and medication either free or costs 5 Euro each for what I usually need. My gall bladder surgery was all in all 100 Euro, including ambulance transport on a Sunday because it was an emergency and aftercare with my doctor. My days in the hospital and at home afterwards were fully paid by my employer.

I wonder what America would look like if everyone would live on an European stress level. We do not have no stress of course, but the base line for many Europeans is way lower. On top there is a base line of feeling safer (less shooting, except for Ukraine of course) and more social secure.

It surprises me that despite all that, Americans do rarely complain and are as happy as they are. I admire them for that, but also wish they could have less stress in their lifes.

The expectation of everyone having a credit card as soon as they can get one and paying everything with credit to somehow "build" credit. Sounds such a great way to get people into financial trouble at a young age.

I'm always surprised at the huge taboo about nudity. A while ago I read some comments about a Swedish TV show and some people were complaining how unnecessary it was that you could see a guy's naked butt for a moment. I hadn't even noticed when watching.
It's surprising because at the same time US media is often labelled as (over-)sexualised.
I know that opinions on nudity also vary a lot across Europe, some might even be very close to opinions on the US. But for me personally it comes as a surprise because there is often controversy about something I wouldn't even have noticed.

The massive dependence on cars. I don't understand why people put up with this nonsense. I just walk everywhere.

education.

while supercharged in one specific field during education, general knowledge of the world outside of said field is near zero.

and then education even ends. no real vocational training.

I've never understood why the drinking age is higher than the driver licence age.

And taking away voting rights from felons.

Both baffle me.

I'm currently reading Twilight and judging by the tone it's normal for 16-17 year olds to go to school by car (or even truck!) that they drive by themselves? I might be ignorant on the subject so correct me if I'm wrong but car culture in general. We just...took the bus or the lucky ones with a free parent got a lift. I've even walked to school for the fun of it, granted it was 40 minutes by foot.

I'm nearing my 30s. I don't own a car and I don't have a license. I do wish I had one sometimes but once I hop on the bus to the remote place I want to visit, I quickly lose interest once I see the (usually mountainous) road ahead. Driving just scares me.

When I read about people being frugal, there's always something like "I now go to restaurants only once a week", "I'm driving the same car for 5 years", "you don't really need 10 subscriptions for x". Do people really not cook their own food and spend money that much? My only subscriptions are internet and rent, and my savings would be gone if I'd get a car 🤷‍♂️

That there are long stretches of road where you can't get somewhat healthy food. I have been on a road trip across Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona, and outside the big citys you only get junk food at petrol stations, but no fruits, no vegetables. I guess it makes sense because salad or fresh food spoils quick and is expensive to deliver to each and every petrol station, especially if they don't have a reliable power supply in the middle of nowhere. Never thought about it before. In Germany you can get ice cream, chocolate, cake, salad or a full meal (at gas station prices, and lower quality) on the Autobahn.

@Blaze @europe High schools and colleges with multimillion/billion Dollar professional sport teams and facilities attached to it.

Many years ago, I was chatting with a friend from California and she told me her family votes Republican. As in, by default. No matter the policies or political needs of the country.

Aside from the US parties being very similar back then (pre-Trump), I've also learned since then that this may have to do with party affiliation programs.
In the US, you need to register to vote and the parties basically offer to do the registration for you, if you promise to vote for them. So, you end up being 'affiliated' with them, even without being actively a member.

First, I need to confirm if it's true or just a television trope.

Do North Americans really keep their shoes on while lounging on their beds, or is it something directors do for whatever technical reason?

If true, then I can't get over it - and I come from a outside-shoes-indoors culture.

The fact that they dont have affordable healthcare... Its a human right..

I was really surprised that quite a few states have a minimum marrying age of 0. And apparently, it's more common than you'd expect for girls as young as 14 to get married, often to far older men.

I’ll start: for me it’s the tipping culture. Especially nowadays, with the recent post on !mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world with the 40% tip, it just seems so weird to me to have to pay extra just so that menu prices can stay low.

The silver lining is it isn't forced, unlike all other forms of price gouging. I tip 15% and that isn't changing.

Lol I think this post failed at the OP's request to avoid American bashing.

I went recently to the USA for the first time and the thing that put me off was the tips you need to pay.

Having the employee paid on customers whim felt wrong, but also probably dictates how kind they may be compared to waiters in France I guess. Also, the price, considering the tip, felt very expensive when I was always told that France was expensive because of all the taxes and charges companies have to pay for our social benefits. I guess the high price is because the plates are very generous in size.

Also I felt like it was the closest society from anarchy somehow and it felt weird

This is obviously not a hilot take, but i don't understand how people get that fat. The most common argument is that fast food is that much cheaper, which i just don't believe, sorry. A quick google search tells me that a big Mac is around 5.50, and that is not a meal, that is some garbage snack. You can cook a vetter an healthier meal for whatever you spend at a fastfood chain that lasts you longer than one meal. Combine that with drinking water instead of the soda you drink there you might actually live healthy. I also read a lot that it's jot their fault that even bread has a ton of sugar, which is disgustig, but also bread is like 3 to 5 ingredients to make your self.
When i browse tinder and run out of people, women from Thailand and america start to show up, and this is no joke or to shit on people or whatever, but 80% of the women there are fatter than the fattest people i have ever met irl.

Native American treaties are still broken. Colonization continues.

Politeness. Americans are super polite and I really like it. If you spend extended time there the whole "Have a nice day" thing becomes really nice.

let's avoid America-bashing

HOW SHIT IS TIPPING CULTURE!

🙈