Is Life Better in the USA or Europe?
Added 2025-01-29 15:30:02 +0000 UTCComments
Travelling solo to America for the first time as a 20-year-old Londoner was a huge culture shock for me. Although I had lived my life in a huge city, I found NYC completely overwhelming and very foreign. By contrast, I felt completely at home when I landed in Sydney, Australia, again alone, at the age of 22 to start a new job as a newspaper reporter. America is indeed an huge cultural melting pot whereas Australia back then in the 1980s felt quite British to me at least. Of course, the familiarity of Aussie flag, cricket, and the fact that Fawlty Towers was on the telly there helped 🇦🇺.
Thomas
2025-01-29 20:10:09 +0000 UTCPyjama wearing shoppers where I am are always university students and always female, mostly spotted in the morning nipping out to buy a pint of milk for breakfast. 🙂
Rob G
2025-01-29 19:01:03 +0000 UTCI think we’re more likely to say work smarter not harder - just showing up and being present in the workplace but doing sod all isn’t working harder or being more productive- there’s less of a performance around being *seen* to be working harder like there is in Japan and to a lesser extent the US. We absolutely do believe in hard work though (someone else to check out is Guy Martin, he’s what we’d call a grafter - but then UK culture is somewhere between the US and continental Europe). But alongside hard work is the notion of enjoying life too, working to live and not living to work. We definitely had pyjama days in the UK at school - and it’s less frowned upon to go to the shop in pyjamas. Similarly Paris isn’t Europe just as New York isn’t the US. There’s also more small to medium business owners per capita in the UK than the US so we’re not lacking entrepreneurial spirit. But all this is just my perspective from having been in the US for a long time as a European, with my one biases. And my perspective is influenced specifically by Indianapolis, Nashville and Seattle primarily (although my other half is from Georgia). Definitely agree completely with his closing remarks. There’s stuff I love about every I’ve been in the US and Europe around the world, ultimately I just love the way that brings me the most contentment and the least harm for others. Apologies for all the essays, always find these interesting 😂
Kieran B
2025-01-29 18:04:57 +0000 UTCThere’s a great comedian I went to see the other night called Paul Taylor who does shows in both French and English (at the same time) - both of his previous shows are free on YouTube on his channel. A good way to see that cultural clash and comparison
Kieran B
2025-01-29 17:59:28 +0000 UTCThere’s definitely cultures in the US, I think some underestimate that - I think it’s also easy for Americans to underestimate how much European countries are melting pots too, not consciously in the same way the US was for a time - but if you put my DNA next to a typical Americans you wouldn’t be able to tell who’s from the UK and who’s from the US - quite a few of my friends are way more ‘British genetically’ (although we don’t think of identity in those terms) than me.
Kieran B
2025-01-29 17:55:18 +0000 UTCIn my years in the US I’ve definitely noticed the lack international news, it’s better now that when I first visited 20 years ago but comparatively it’s still noticeable how little there is
Kieran B
2025-01-29 17:47:34 +0000 UTCTechnology isn’t often cheaper in the US though, it may depend on what’s being talked about I suppose. Albania is a beautiful country, you should check out Romesh Ranganathan’s travel series - I think you’ll both enjoy that (he goes to Albania in one episode)
Kieran B
2025-01-29 17:44:05 +0000 UTCSweet Home Albania 🎶 😂
Thomas
2025-01-29 17:05:15 +0000 UTCHe's not spent much time in the UK then. ..Pyjama wearing shoppers everywhere here 🤣🤣
Martyn Dawson
2025-01-29 16:42:57 +0000 UTC
