1 day Ago
While a lot of Americans might be considering moving out of the US right now, some already have. So when Reddit user Apprehensive_Gas3160 asked : "For Americans that left America and went to go live in another country what has been the biggest culture shock for you?" a lot of people provided their personal experiences. Here's what they said below.
2. "Switzerland. Stores closing at 6 or 7 p.
m. and not being open Sunday." — grayf0xy 4.
"I lived in Germany for ten years. Of course, there were many moments of 'Oh, okay, this is different,' like trying to bag groceries as they throw them at you rapid fire, tipping the Kloputzfrau, etc. In retrospect, the biggest shock to my female American system, and the one I could never fully adjust to, was feeling safe.
" — Maleficent_Scale_296 "Same. I could go out after sunset and not have to worry about potentially running into a person with a gun or some person's rabid dog running up to the fence. It was so nice taking walks at night to clear my head.
" — Crotalus__atrox "Or sitting in your apartment and having some random bullet come through the wall/floor/window. My daughter walked the two blocks to school alone when she was eight; I would get arrested for that here." — Maleficent_Scale_296 7.
"In Ireland, when you request a specialist doctor appointment, they send you the time and date in the mail, usually only a few days before. There's no effort whatsoever to find a mutual time; it's on you to make it work. As far as I can tell, there's a lingering cultural expectation that the mother doesn't work and will be free to manage such things, even decades after that was last commonly true.
" — HonoraryCanadian 9. "I live in Sydney, Australia now. It’s better here than in the US, and I always thought we had it so good at home.
Also, the coffee here is so good, and I’ve been spoiled forever." — Tiny_Garden_1533 10. "An American who traveled a lot back in the '80s and '90s — Lack of ice water.
I’m not sure how much, if any, it has changed now, but as an American, I grew up being able to go to any restaurant, and first thing, before they even take your order, they bring you a refreshing glass of complimentary ice, cold, clean tap water. In most of the other places I’d travel to or lived in, if you ask for a glass of water, they bring you an empty glass and a $3 bottle of mineral water. When you explain that no, what you would like is a glass of ice cubes filled with flat water, they look at you like you’ve asked for a plate of jellied tothecurds in a prismic purée.
" — varthalon "In Australia, they give you water. Ice is pushing it, though. " — IsaidWhatever2869 Americans who moved to another country or who travel extensively, tell us the biggest culture shock you experienced in the comments below.
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