12 Reverse Culture Shocks as an American (After 4 years in Europe)

What's the biggest (reverse) culture shock you've experienced visiting the US?

There is a right and a wrong answer. Working too much hours is one of the root causes of lower life expectancy in the USA. You need to limit your working hours to be able to cook a normal meal instead of having tor resort to fast food because you don't have time to cook. You need enough days off from work to recuperate from a busy period. You need a decent social system so people that are ill can take sick leave without losing their pay or even their jobs. You need affordable healthcare so people can see a doctor without going bankrupt or visit a doctor too late and end up terminally ill.

Being from Scotland I definitely prefer the customer service in a restaurant here than in north America. Friendly when you walk in, give you time to browse the menu and they don't keep bothering you, or have an over friendly attitude which is clearly only done to get tips. I am not their friend, I didn't go there to make friends with the staff, but enjoy a meal with the person/people I am there with.

You are clearly an American ;) I don't thnk a lot of Europeans would agree with "US customer service is clearly better" or that neither "Work to live" nor "Live to work" is better. You say customer service is taught, if you are in a "better" restaurant in Europe it is very likely the staff went through years of training and certification. They are not acting differently because they are worse, don't have to beg for tips or not taught better, but because that's what the European customer expects them to do. If I am out for a 3-5 hour dinner with some friends to catch up and have to interact with the staff during a conversation or more than 3-5 to five times (meal order, another drink, drink, dessert/coffee) I am annoyed. I am not there for the staff or likely the food, I am there to have a good time with the people I am with.

Customer Service: As a German good customer Service at a Restaurant is like this: If I raise my head to look for the waiter I will see him or her walking towards me. The rest of the time I do not even notice them because they stay out of sight.

European customer service isn’t inferior, it’s adapted to a different culture. Traditionally, Europeans expect seriousness and discretion, not friendliness and competing for your attention. It’s not as strict anymore, but switching to mandatory friendliness is the other extreme. There are American introverts who love their trips to Europe precisely because this culture of calm and discretion is a breath of fresh air for them, and they don’t have to force themselves so much.

About the grocery stores: i agree that average grocery store is much bigger than anywhere in Europe mostly, but i don't agree about having more variety/more choice. In the US all you have is artificial variety. When I lived in US the closest grocery store was in a commercial center and it was so big, and they had 30 different brands of cheese, but essentially every brand was selling the same 5-6 types of cheese. So there was no real variety, only many brands of the same mild cheddar or Colby jack or provolone cheese to choose from. Whereas in Europe in an average grocery store, you won't have as many brands but you'll have 10-20 different varieties of cheese as a given. The myth that the US has so much choice is not real (of course there can always be exceptions but this was the general mainstream grocery store)

I'm always shocked how people in the US are collectively in denial about the level of homelessness and poverty in the USA. It is far worse than many countries that I have lived in Latin America and Asia, that many US Americans condescendingly refer to as "developing" "poor" "third world" even though they have leapfrogged the USA in terms of many quality aspects of daily life - public infrastructure, universal healthcare and education, food quality, etc, etc. An Australian recently refered to the US as an "underdeveloped nation with a Gucci belt", an apt deacription sadly.

Customer service in Europe is often about the quality of the product not about the superficial friendliness in order to get some tips !

In many German restaurants (real ones, not fast food) you get free bread or another appetizer. And the customer service in the US felt to me always as getting me out as fast as possible to place another customer in my seat.

As a German I was shocked when I was the first time in the USA. It's true, supermarkets in the USA are bigger and a lot of variaties of the same products, but the quality of the products (or the incredients) are horrible in comparison. It's hard to find healthy food. And your point of beeing average in Europe is not completly true. In Europe you get raised with the mindset of beeing a good part of the society for a greater good (united we stand). It's about "get pushed, and help others to be pushed". Work/Life-Balance in Europe is about beeing productive in your 8h of work. That's the whole difference. Don't waste your time with unnecessary conversations or breaks.

Yes, I always gain weight when in the US because: 1. Portions are (much) larger than in Europe 2. I move much less as I need to use a car to everywhere 3. Food is available everywhere 4. There's seems to be added sugar in every food item I buy in the US.

Thank you for speaking on this subject. I’ve been living in Belgium for six years and experience a similar “reverse culture shock” whenever I return to Canada. In addition to all the things that you mention, things of note are: in Europe I can travel across the country and back by train for less than I’d spend on lunch. In Canada the same trip would cost over $100. There is a classism to public transport. In Europe everyone takes public transport whereas in North America it’s seen as being for poor people. Social programs paid for by your own taxes are somehow seen as “hands-outs” that citizens should be grateful for rather than being the very purpose of taxes.

Thanks for a great video. I'm from Europe (Sweden) and the homelessness thing has really hit me like a punch in the face when I've visited the US for developer conferences. I just can't understand it. If you wake up in the morning and feel happy about your day, you're immediately pulled down and saddened when you exit your hotel to walk to the conference venue. People lying on the street asking for money every 50 metres. People who are clearly hurting and like you mentioned, often times with mental health issues. From a strictly egoistic point of view, being able to feel happy and carefree makes it well worth paying taxes to make sure people are looked after, instead of facing Dantes inferno every time you exit your living quarters. I just don't get this about US society. Even if you feel "they should get off their butt and work" and all that kind of thing, isn't it worth (as a society) supporting your fellow humans, so that you yourself can feel happy and care free? I cannot feel happy about life after facing people in such distress when just walking along a street.

I’ve had these exact same thoughts coming back to the states after 5 years in Europe. I feel like I don’t fit here anymore, and am actually heading back to Europe because of that. The lack of social securities doesn’t sit right with me, it feels inhumane.

When living in the USA as a European I was rather shocked by the low salaries of people working in hospitality (restaurants, hotels, etc.) and how poorly those really friendly/ helpful staff member were treated by some customers. Depending on what type of restaurant/ hotel, you need to adjust your expectations. You can’t expect 5 star everything if you pay for an inexpensive motel… Lots of customers expecting more than what they paid for… and some sadly mistreating the staff out of some strange dissatisfaction mixed with entitlement. I liked the friendliness/ helpfulness of staff in hospitality in the USA, but they are not treated well enough in return… or some people appear to rather mistreat them…. Even if sth goes wrong, people in the service sector usually try to fix it or find some solution… at least that is my experience in the US.

About friendliness, I think it's about WHERE you have lived in Europe, because every european nation or even region within a european state has it's own typical personality.

Thanks for the vid. I’m curious when you say that in the US people live to work and in Europe they work to live, and you say that “there’s no right or wrong”… when you really think about it, you really think there’s no right or wrong? Maybe it’s because I’m European, but I really think that if you’re “living to work”, there’s something wrong on your outlook of life. Really not wanting to be judgmental here, but I really do believe that. We’re all human beings, and purely from a biological perspective a job is just something we need in order to live your life. But it’s secondary to living.

I find that Germans in public settings like restaurants and mass transit, are mindfully aware of others and speak quietly. Not so much in the US.

My partner and I (I'm Australian, she's Canadian) have moved to Australia (after 8yrs away for me) & her never having lived outside Canada before - she (and to a lesser extent, myself too) are going through that culture shock right now. We went via L.A. on our way back home & although Canada & USA have their similarities - we were shocked at the mass poverty (Vancouver is pretty bad too), but it really made me appreciate that European (even Australian to an extent) social values seem to be not to tread over your fellow man, just to get ahead in life/career. I love those things like healthcare, vacation & having a place to live are treated as a RIGHT, not a choice. Australia isn't perfect, for sure, but we no longer fret about living paycheque to paycheque (or getting sick - not being able to cover bills). I think it's pretty great that you're a global citizen David. I lived in the UK for a couple of years before moving to Canada & I always felt more of a connection between Europeans than my own. We're enjoying watching your videos & I think you have a natural gift for sharing your story. Cheers, Nate & Ash