Things About America I Didn’t Know While I Lived There
Posted By Tynan
We’ve lived in three countries now, which has given me some perspective on America that I didn’t have before. Sure, I’d been to a bunch of countries before (only 15 total!), but things are different when you live there.
You learn how the city and the people in it tick.
When I left I expected that everything I’d find in other countries would make me like the US less. This has been true for some things, but there are also many things that I now really appreciate about the US.
Good Food is Cheap
The amount of high quality groceries that are available for a cheap price in the US is insane. Other countries don’t have things like Whole Foods.
Panama had a place called Organica that was tiny and maxexpensive. Japan has a much worse selection at a HUGE price. Taiwan has a better selection at a slightly more reasonable price, but many of our staples are twice as expensive here (beans, cereal, etc).
I used to think that the Whole Foods in LA was expensive. Ha! I’d shop there all day now if I could.
Healthy food is a lot easier to find in the US overall.
The US has a Terrible Transportation Infrastructure
This was really surprising. Japan and Taiwan have AMAZING rail systems that can get you everywhere cheaply and quickly. The trains go 180mph with very few stops. You don’t need to wait around in advance like planes. If you arrive at the station 5 minutes in advance you can buy a ticket and go.
Japan is particularly great. You can get from any tiny town to anywhere through the trains. It’s a bit pricey, but makes a lot more sense than flying.
The US has some metro systems that are good, but none are as good as Asia and Amtrak is a total joke.
Panama has no rail, but Taxis cost $1.25-$2 at most, with no tip, to get anywhere in the city. Regional flights are very cheap, as are buses and renting cars.
People in the US think that cars are so great, but really they’re terrible compared to Japan or Taipei. If I lived in either place I wouldn’t want a car.
US Cell Service is Really Good
In the US it’s really easy to get a cheap cell phone plan that has unlimited internet. Although it is possible in some places, doing this internationally is very difficult and/or expensive.
The idea of having a phone that’s always on and checking my e-mail seems so foreign to me now.
Service in the US is Bad
It’s time to throw the “tipping gets good service” lie out the window.
The only places I’ve had better service in the US are places where I’m friends with the staff. There have been so many occasions here that we have received amazing service that we marveled over. None of the countries we’ve visited have tipping.
Examples:
- A chef in Japan made a different soup of the day for us because we missed it the prior day.
- When a friend couldn’t find the restaurant in Japan the waitress went out and RAN AROUND for 15 minutes to find her.
- If we get something cheap from vendors on the street, they often just give it to us for free and refuse payment.
- In Taiwan I couldn’t eat anything on the menu so the chef made a really cool and unusual noodle and vegetable dish.
These big examples are really the smallest part of the point. The overwhelming majority of interactions with servicepeople here would be in the top 5% in the US.
Shipping is Awesome and Cheap in the US
In the US it is no big deal to order something and have it delivered cheaply.
In Panama one of our two packages was lost forever. In Japan the addresses are barely serviceable. Taiwan is ok.
But EVERY store online caters pretty much exclusively to the US, making it nearly impossible to order anything online. Luckily we’ve found some amazing stores (the best gear store I’ve ever seen as well as the best electronics stores are here in Taiwan. The best department stores are in Japan).
We also don’t really buy anything.
The US is Really Scared
In the US there’s a mentality, which I wasn’t exempt from, that the rest of the world is scary and dangerous. Thieves are everywhere waiting to jump you.
When I bought insurance for my stuff I thought it was the best deal ever - I was SURE that my stuff would get stolen. Next year I’ll forgo the insurance.
The reality is that MOST big cities around the world are safer than US cities. In fact, the SAFEST US city is only the 45th safest city in the world.
If you’re comfortable visiting NY, then you should be comfortable visiting just about any other city in the world.
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91 Comments, Comment or Ping
Dan
This is one of my favorite articles yet. Make sure to throw in similar articles every few countries to keep those of us stuck in the US informed. Great job guys!
May 25th, 2008
Seduction Tips
Great article once again. Very informative!!
May 25th, 2008
Eric
Thank you very much for taking photos of the Taipei 101 skyscraper. They are marvelous as usual. Two suggestions: you should write about your experience in the building and it would be helpful if some of the photos were titled.
Best of luck to you both!
May 26th, 2008
Christine Gilbert
Great article… I agree with Dan– once of your best yet. Just stumbled… Hopefully everyone else will do the same.
May 26th, 2008
jen
Um..I’ve spent a total of 2 weeks of my life out of the country and I consider all of these facts common. However, in regards to the last one, I’m still not going to the Johannesburg airport alone. I appreciate your efforts to enlighten people but I’m sort of bewildered that it has to be done.
May 26th, 2008
cliff
Just my experience:
Good food: You may be right about Panama and Japan, but I would disagree about anywhere in continental Europe. If you spend anytime in Spain, Italy, France etc, it will amaze you how prevalent cheap good food is. In some towns, nearly every block has a market with good produce, amazing meat, wonderful cheese, fresh bread. The one thing that is true though, is that you are less likely to find food out of season.
Transportation: Totally agree.
Cell service: You didn’t find good cell service in Japan? Many parts of Southeast Asia have a MUCH better cell infrastructure than we do.
Service: Highly dependent on what country you are in. It’s really a mixed bag all over the world. In some places in Spain, they act like you are interrupting them wanting to pay them for a meal. Italy can be similar depending on the region/establishment. At least you don’t have to pay extra (tip) for it though. The tipping system in the US is out of control. I had a waitress chase me across the street asking why I only left 10%. I explained it was because that was all my cash and the service was terrible. Since they didn’t take credit cards ( another demerit in my book), I wasn’t about to hunt for an ATM to reward her disastrous idea of good service.
Shipping: Yes, we have the best postal system in the world, without question. It makes me embarrassed to hear Americans complaining about the post office here.
Scared: yeah, lots of xenophobes here unfort. Although, to be fair, rural americans feel that way about american cities too, so at least they’re consistent.
May 26th, 2008
Tiffany
That last point is a good one. But, I found that I was more attentive to my purse for the 2 hours I was in New York on my way home than at any point in Sicily, or Rome, or Paris.
May 26th, 2008
Domina
I have been reading your blog for a few weeks and this is by far the most helpful. I will be living in Peru for 2 months and contemplated the insurance. I don’t think i will be getting it! Thank guys!
You guys are great!! Keep it up.
May 27th, 2008
Arun
Definitely one of my favorite articles so far..a good unbiased comparison!
May 27th, 2008
Nomadic Matt
I’ve just come across your blog and I’m already a fan. I plan on linking it on my page.
Anyways, I agree- the us thinks everyone is out to get them. the truth is most people don’t give 2 seconds to thinking about the US. they are just living their life. I’ve lived in Bangkok and in that city of 12 million, I felt more safe at 3am than I do in Boston at 3pm.
BUT I disagree with another point of yours- the US has great service. Not compared to Asia. By the time your fork is down, 10 people are lining up to give you a new one. BUT compared with Europe and Australia and New Zealand, parts of South America, the us has great service. It’s fast and pleasant. Try getting a waiter in italy to come over and see what happens. In Australia, they don’t even collect the bill. You have to do it. Europe is the worst offender.
May 27th, 2008
Logan
QUOTE: “In Australia, they don’t even collect the bill. You have to do it.
Nomadic Matt: Have you ever been to Australia? I mean outside the airport terminal or the hotel. If you ask us to “collect the bill” it means you want us to “pick up the tab” if you wanted us to pick up the little black folder that has the account and all the money in it, we’re generally polite enough to wait until you have left. Most of the time people are having such a good time they forget to put money in the folder until just before they leave.
Should we hover over you while you search through your purse there, Shirley?
May 27th, 2008
sov
I agree with most of this, but travel is a sticky one. The US is fifty times the size of the other countries you’re talking about, if not bigger. Taking a train to little towns in Japan is one thing, but it could never work in the US. There’s just too much area.
May 27th, 2008
Matt
I have lived and worked in 25 countries over the last 22 years. Your observations might be true for Japan and Taiwan but totally off for Europe. Every place is different and you can’t really generalize the whole world based on two country experiences. Service in the US is A LOT BETTER than it is in Spain or France for example, and mobile phone service is A LOT BETTER in Europe than the US. Just my observation.
May 27th, 2008
Kaytee
Nice entry, I live in the US and as I read this I was nodding my head with agreement at each one. Great work!
May 27th, 2008
luz
well well well… im late to the lifenomadic.com party. i just stumbleuponed it and.. VERY cool must i say. im a panamaniac and lived in the us for 10 yrs.. now back home in panama, and its great to see guys like u.. going around the world and bloggin about it. gld to hear u had a great time here in panama. VERY accurate info u got on panama too thru ur experiences. best of luck.. and happy travels! laters, -L
May 27th, 2008
Thailand
Good article.
May 27th, 2008
Katrina
I have also found that many American’s have a poor work ethic. I suspect it is partly because they get paid relatively poorly (in comparison with other western nations).
May 28th, 2008
francetales.com
I loved this entry. I just moved from the US to France and found myself agreeing with a lot of it.
To the person who thinks service is better in the US though, I don’t think 10 people lining up to give you a new fork when you put yours down equals great service. I think in Europe there are cultural norms about how to get the bill, it is not really customer service per se, but there is a protocol to how to get the bill, if you don’t follow it the waiter’s may not understand what you want.
While my cell phone service is more expensive all of Europe is 3G, that makes a huge difference.
I sort of agree on the food thing but it is true that in France if you shop at the local markets you will find excellent high quality food for reasonable prices, but if you go to the equivalent of a grocery store it will seem expensive.
How about insurance, not health insurance because there is no comparison, but my car ad renters insurance is so much cheaper here in France, I guess for the car everyone has national health care so the burdon doesn’t fall on the car insurance companies to cover major accidents. We pay less than 200€ a year for insurance for 2 people on a 2002 Alfa Romeo, I nearly paid that per month in the states.
Anyway, I’m going to check out the rest of your blog, I like your honesty.
May 28th, 2008
Jason Adams
Great post tynizzle… My rescuetime is showing increased Tynan blog reading… must cutback for fear of losing my 30min shower.
May 28th, 2008
Jack
transportation is better in japan and taiwan because the countried are much smaller than the US allowing them 2 spend less money but have superb transportation. And i don’t agree with the point that Americans have a fearful mentality of the rest of the world, most Americans love or would love to travel in foreign destinations and I have never felt scared of foreign travel.
May 28th, 2008
Rick
This is a great article and I agree. I’ve traveled a bit and believe that maybe some (many) people in the US are scared to travel. However, no matter where you go you need to be careful. One of our party had her purse stolen in Nairobi. She was inattentive and taken advantage of. So, yes forgo the insurance and keep a watchful eye, but also enjoy the places you visit.
May 28th, 2008
Jed
Many of your statements are true - except when it comes to Europe. In most of Europe, it’s not customary to tip either, but even Europeans complain about the service. I have always had way better service in the US. Also, Cell phone tech in Europe is about 5 years ahead of the rest of the world. I’ll see phones in Germany 2-3 years before they are available on the market here, and 3G has been a staple there for quite a while.
Overall, great insights, especially about food. Americans waste more food than some countries use each year. Pretty sad…
May 29th, 2008
Shawna
I’ve just finished my first year of university in the UK and I’ve also noticed a lot of the things you’ve mentioned about the U.S. here. I agree with most everything you say except for what you’ve said about service. Service in Japan and Taiwan and other developed Asian countries might be far superior to that in the U.S., but I think at least compared to Europe, the U.S. does have better service. Even though people tip more in the U.S. than other places, many other countries have eat-in charges for things like coffee or fast food which the U.S. doesn’t have.
May 29th, 2008
Don
Great article Tynan. As others said, it is difficult to compare small countries that have just a few huge cities and a small geographic area with the U.S. However, I still totally agree that our transportation infrastructure is definitely not as good as Japan’s, Taiwan’s or Europe’s. Wouldn’t it be great to hop on a train near downtown Austin and go to Fort Worth, Houston or El Paso for the weekend without the long drive and all of the hassles that entails. Today, our only options are to drive or fly.
Cell phone service in Europe is awesome. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, although you should be careful about their rules about roaming charges. The last time I visited the roaming charges nearly ate my bank account!
Europe is very safe, similar to the parts of East Asia you’ve visited so far. However, safety varies from country to country. Generally speaking, the further north you go the safer it is. Scandinavia, Scotland, Ireland, etc. are very safe. Theft can be a problem in the Latin countries though. I’m half Italian and was pretty upset to have the Italian staff try to collect additional $ from us when the staff were switched at the Austrian/Italian border. fWe knew that we had purchased the right tickets. Another friend had their fanny pack cut right off of them in northern Italy (though the south is much worse), and they were not even aware of it. The worst areas are those highly trafficked by tourists, who are the targets of both the local folk and legal/illegal immigrants.
Having said all this, I still think that most people in the world are incredibly friendly to tourists…even to guys like Tynan and Todd.
Happy travels,
Don (missed you both at Casa at noon today)
May 29th, 2008
sandy
“Shipping: Yes, we have the best postal system in the world, without question. It makes me embarrassed to hear Americans complaining about the post office here.”
You have got to be kidding!
Only an American could say that. The US postal system is a disgrace. (There was a survey recently that supports my view.)
Why are there so many alternatives to the USPS? Because it sucks so badly. And FedEx & UPS aren’t much better. It’s only cheap because it is subsidised so heavily. (Ever wondered why all those catalog arrive in your mailbox? Postal subsidy. And the shipping charges are so low? Gas & road subsidies.
I have found the post office in Australia, Germany, & even India to be cheaper, quicker & more reliable. I mean when a letter can get across India in a day or two, but not in the US?
May 29th, 2008
Ryan
Good stuff guys-
I recently visited Switzerland for a few weeks and was truly amazed by the efficiency of the rail system.
Food…. Way to expensive - The grocery stores had some good deals with a great selection though
For the next country you visit I would recommend looking into buying a rail pass. This save us hundreds of dollars in Switzerland. The trick is to purchase the pass while you are in the State.
Have a fun journey… Look forward to more posts!!
May 29th, 2008
Kylie
Growing up in Australia, I used to think that other countries (the USA and England in particular) would be so much cooler. Only after travelling extensively did it begin to dawn on me how lucky I was to be an Australian. So I get what you’re saying. There are so many things you don’t realise about your own country until you travel.
May 30th, 2008
Cari
This was very insightful. Thanks for the great blog !
May 30th, 2008
familyonbikes
I totally agree with your summation - especially the part about Americans being scared! Although we are an American family, we’ve lived in five different countries and traveled in a whole more - and know the rest of the world is safe.
When we talk about traveling, our American friends are amazed - how can we risk our lives like that?? I try to tell them that the rest of the world isn’t the huge, scary place like they think it is, but it’s hard to overcome such deeply ingrained ideas.
We are about to take off to ride our bikes from Alaska to Argentina - and most people are convinced we’ll be attacked by a bunch of terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad thugs. And the fact that we are taking our kids with us blows most people’s mind!! We seriously doubt anything bad will happen.
We do accept the idea that it might - but it could happen right here in the good ol’ USA too!!
You can read about our journey at http://www.familyonbikes.org
May 30th, 2008
catherine
Very interesting, I have only been in the US just over a year and I agree with lots of what you said.
I only really have South Africa to compare things with but while you get some great vegetarian options I find the food here to be really expensive, I was surprised. Also as far cell phones go here, I often have really poor reception or none at all. Maybe I’m with the wrong company but i still cant get over the fact that you have to pay for calls you receive.
But yes for the most part I feel very safe here, I mean come on compared to Johannesburg…
May 30th, 2008
washburne
The US is pretty cheap, I guess. Most things I want to buy (electronics and so on) cost about the same amount or less of dollars than they cost euros here in Germany. And the euro is worth over 50% more.
Food is even cheaper: organic food markets here are incredibly expensive. You CAN get by with little, but you’ll be on spaghetti with tomatoes from a can every day.
A Big Mac costs more than $5 here. Without the menu.
I don’t know if we earn more money than american people, so it might be similar if you weigh income vs. expenses.
May 30th, 2008
Moomoomatrix
Some of what you said goes exactly against the truth.
Good food is definitely NOT cheap in the US, especially if you’re talking about organic foods and such. Every time I go shopping, I get disgusted at how overpriced simple groceries are at American stores. In places like China, groceries definitely won’t take out a huge chunk of one’s monthly bill. Now, with the despicable rate of inflation, the prices of goods are even worse.
Also, I think American service is about 20 times better than what Asian, non-tipping countries have got. The special treatment you received in Japan and Taiwan is most likely attributable to the fact that you are not a native Asian person and thus are looked to as a special guest.
I do agree the transportation infrastructure in the US needs work, but the highway system, I find, is the most efficient thing for a country of this size and population mobility. Different countries have different needs, but that’s not to say that the system here is any worse than those elsewhere.
May 31st, 2008
juancho
Astonishing how some people like you do have those thoughts crossing their mind. I suppose it is impossible for you to acquire thoughts who have meaning, substance.
Maybe it is because you do not think. Period.
May 31st, 2008
debra
To Juancho,
Such an interesting comment. You are critical, but add nothing to the conversation. You have not shared what you “think” or added any “substance” to this exchange.
May 31st, 2008
goo4u
I don’t know which cities you visited, but I am sure its not Houston, your impression would have been worse. Rail here is is a joke, among other things. Amtrak’s got nothing on those bullet trains, obviously everyone knows that.
And you are right about flying, the time for getting to a plane and getting off is actually longer than the actual time in the air nowadays, which is always a great joke among friends.
Japan is clean and nice. You are talking food as in groceries, but the Taiwan roadside and small food stalls have much much more variety and they are so much cheaper. Same with Japan, with their meticulous bentos, and huge variety of food. So eating out is much cheaper there than here, Don’t know about Panama though. Europe seems less foreign to me, its actually too similar, the main difference to me is that they don’t have the large amount of fat ppl we have.
I agree with service seriously, I have been to both Taiwan and Japan and the service is ridiculously good, compared to the US. Someone mentioned Mainland China sucks though but I thought it was actually better than the US. But I can say for sure Taiwan and Japan’s service is top notch. So much that I actually felt uncomfortable, and they refused to accept tips.
And I guess we don’t need to travel much nowadays, we got the internet. You are right every site seems tailored to the US. That’s because we got a good infrastructure going on, including credit card system.
May 31st, 2008
colt45
I agree most about the transportation system. I’ve notice a few people on here commented that America is too big for a good rail network but that’s simply not true. America once had a very extensive rail network linking almost every town and city across the country in addition to most place having good public transport in the form of trams. This was all torn up after WWII because we thought the automobile was king. Now we’re left with sprawling cities lacking any real character, not to mention we shell out huge amounts of money for fuel. Americans have no idea how much more liberating it is to be able to move around without worrying about what to do with the huge chunk of expensive metal that got you there. My European friends save the money they would have spent on car payments, insurance and gas and travel. I wish I had such a choice here in America.
May 31st, 2008
Jim
Having spent a lot of time in America I have to laugh about the best postage service. I send thngs to the USA from Australia often and have had my parcels arrive in California in 36 hours. Average 48 to 72 hours. And cost say $65 to ship.
The I have bought things in from the USA of the same dimensions. Costs more than double and usually takes 7 to 14 days. Or in several cases, if it arrives at all. Tracking has shown the USA to be the problem area.
Jun 1st, 2008
Andrew
That the US used to have an efficient and far reaching rail system is a myth. Yes, it is true that there used to be more trains linking more towns, and yes the Eisenhower Highway System did make interstate travel by car easier but it was mostly the Eastern states that had a developed rail network and most of those, and those that existed in elsewhere, were built to accommadate freight from port towns to the inland areas. The death of the rail system is due as much to the availability of inexpensive land as it is to the automobile. The US had the land, so it expanded. Japan, Taiwan and The UK are small places with limited expansion.
It would be wonderful to have an efficient rail system here in the US, but it is hopelessly impractical unless we abandon the suburbs and move back into condensed areas. There are housing developments in the US that are bigger than some entire villages in The UK. Land is cheap, relatively speaking.
….and don’t forget jet travel. Which would you rather do, sit on a train for 36 hours or 3 on a jet? Thanks to mail subsidies, jet air travel is cheap too. Note: the only part of the US where jet travel is inefficient, is the only part where Amtrak makes money. The Northeast.
Americans, just like everybody else in the world, want to get there fast and get there cheap. They want fast efficient delivery and they want it cheap. The difference is that unlike most of the countries it has been compared to here, it is huge and to achieve all that, you have to give up some things.
Jun 1st, 2008
Dalby
Americans are not afraid to travel!! Stop spreading this misinterpretation of Americans. Traveling to Europe or Asia is EXPENSIVE to the typical American family, especially one that has a kid or two. When finally working ones butt off we get the choice to spend a lot of money to travel halfway across the globe to meet a similar experience (urban) like home and sometimes come across ignorant people that hate Americans, or go to a sandy beach in mexico/hawaii, spend 1/3rd the amount and relax. It is an easy decision for most Americans and you can probably see why. Another decision is to explore this HUGE country we have, its massive and there are so many different experiences, I feel that if Europe was one country we would be saying the same thing about Europeans being afraid to travel outside their country. Almost every European gets to spend very little money to travel to 8-9 different countries on the cheap. Same for Americans with the 50 different states, now if these were considered 50 different countries we would be some of the best travelers in the world. Also more Americans WANT to go to Europe, it is a very cool thing to go to Europe and considered something to brag about here in the US, but the only realistic time to go is either in college or way later in life when your kids are all off to college.
Jun 1st, 2008
amanda
The lack of service from wait staff is probably due to federal minimum wage for tipped employees is only $2.13/hr. After a while of not getting even 10% on tips you can only offer so much energy.
Jun 1st, 2008
san
MALAYSIA IS THE BEST COUNTRY IVE EVER LIVED IN!!! PERIOD…
THEY HAVE CHEAP N QUALITY FOODS, FRUITS, VEGES, MEAT N ETC.. ANYTHING U WANT TO EAT IS AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT..
U CAN FIND CHEAP ELECTRONIC ITEMS EVERYWHERE TOO.. EVEN VERY5X CHEAP COMPUTER ITEMS..
ITS AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD, SO THEY HAVE EVERYTHING THERE!!
ONLY LACKS PUBLIC TRANSPORT, BUT RENTING A CAR IS VERY CHEAP!!!
POINT IS.. MALAYSIA IS D BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!! FOR A 3RD WORLD COUNTRY..
Jun 2nd, 2008
Grey
I agree with pretty much this entire article, although you might want to include that while the places you referenced are more expensive for sure, there are bits of western Europe that have some pretty reasonably priced healthy food.
Just a suggestion.
Jun 2nd, 2008
Ernie
If health food is so cheap in the US why are you all so grossly over weight? Please stay at home and stop travelling / invading (much the same thing for you lot) there might be enough left of everything for the rest of us.
Jun 2nd, 2008
munawir
Hi, Just stumbled upon your site today. Welcome to Malaysia.
Jun 2nd, 2008
Dave
Tynan,
Thank you so much for writing that. I haven’t traveled as much as you have, but every time I do, I get more perspective. As the #1 gigantic power, effectively mono-lingual, we in the US get very lazy, and think that not only are we the best country, but that we are the only country that matters.
Of course, not knowing about anyone else in the world not only breeds stupidity, but also causes us to view others as non-human. This is true of zenophobics in any country, but because we’re more powerful, there are worse consequences.
And on a more positive note, it’s really fun to learn other languages and cultures. Thank you for your refreshing perspective.
Jun 3rd, 2008
p.g. wodehouse
Please cite your source that says Americans are “scared”. What a ridiculous assumption. Just because you were scared doesn’t mean all or most Americans are scared of cities outside the country. Hope this helps.
Jun 3rd, 2008
Carmen
When it comes to food - buying food in supermarkets is generally cheaper in the US. But when it comes to markets (farmers/stalls/local grocers/etc) I find that it’s comparable if not cheaper sometimes.
Restaurant service - The service in the US is bad, but by the same token Americans’ expectations of restaurant service is different than other countries. In many countries, there isn’t the same urgent desire to turn tables over, so what may seem like lack of attentiveness is really the cultural norm of letting you eat your meal and chat without being pestered to leave quickly.
Transportation - While the US is much larger than other countries, the transportation infrastructure of cities is horrible. Most major Western cities have far better public transport systems than most urban US areas. Not to mention better airlines and lowcost airlines…
Post - The US postal system is pretty comparable to most other Western countries’. If you’re going to compare it to a developing country’s like Panama, obviously there’s no contest. But if you compare it to Australia’s - I’d say they’re about even.
Jun 4th, 2008
Ben
I wouldn’t say I’m scared to travel around the world (though no doubt there are some dangerous places to go in the world. Namely certainly countries in South America and Africa), I just haven’t had the chance to do so yet. Then again, I’m just a poor college student struggling to go day to day. Also, with the exception of Canada & Mexico we don’t have the opportunity to cross cultures so regularly and easily as say the Europeans (especially since the creation of the European Union). Anyway, yeah I’d love to travel the world but first I’ve gotta get a job that will secure me a life.
Jun 4th, 2008
Ben
Eh, career rather, not job. lol, got one of those. Anyway, it certainly isn’t cheap to travel abroad, and that’s the number one reason I haven’t done it yet.
Jun 4th, 2008
Firmbeliever1
Terrible Transporation Infrastructure in the US? Taiwan and Japan have better? They are tiny freakin’ islands, for pete’s sake!
Jun 4th, 2008
chiefbutz
I studied abroad this past fall in England, and also traveled to many countries around Europe and every one of the above points is true. Well, the groceries one isn’t that bad, but then again we ate mostly bread and water when we were low on money and used the grocery stores. In the US we have really bad transportation, in Europe is was amazing. I never needed a car. I could always use the train and walk the rest.. except London and Paris, we needed the subways (Underground & Metro). The service in the US really is bad, though if you are in the wrong country and are obviously American then you won’t get good service. The shipping is really expensive over there. I send something home that weighed about 3 pounds. It cost the equivalent of $15 to send it home! It was ridiculous! Also, with a lot of the cities there, I felt safer than I do in the US in a big city. London I was always fine, Edinburgh I was always fine, Paris was a little creepy around the hotel because we were close to the red light district, and everywhere in Italy was fine, well… except outside the west wall of the Vatican at night. That is NOT a good part of town.
Great article!
Jun 4th, 2008
laura
I have done some world traveling in Europe and Asia, and the food thing was one of the major surprises for me. Of course, I was really interested in a lot of aspects of the places I visited, but Europe in particular really made me miss American food. And by American food, ironically I mean being able to eat in a good Thai restaurant, a good Indian restaurant, get an edible vegetarian soup or even a great salad. I found that a surprising variety of food was available in the UK, and Berlin and Spain were both good for eating, but most other places not so much. I am a vegetarian, so that may be part of my problem — I did eat some truly amazing pastries and cheese, but it’s only fun to go for so many days eating bread and cheese for lunch and scrambled eggs for dinner. I liked the concept of little markets, but found that most of them carried the same 5-10 types of lackluster produce. I never thought I would appreciate an American supermarket so much.
In terms of American transportation, I would love a train that goes 180 mph, but I’m surprised that none of the comments have mentioned the bus system. I don’t own a car and have been able to get to a lot of places, small and otherwise, using the buses, which generally run on time and are certainly cheaper than buying, maintaining and driving your own car. Something I’m really excited about is the ultra budget UK bus line megabus starting to build a network in the US. Hopefully it will be cheaper than greyhound.
On the safety tip, I agree that a lot of Americans are scared. of course there is a price issue, but Europeans travelers, for example, vastly outnumber Americans almost everywhere that’s not the US or Europe. Of course, that’s not everyone, and many people do or would love to travel internationally, but when I talk about my trips I always have people commenting on how adventurous I am or how they worry about me when I’m away. Personally, I don’t think of traveling as a particularly brave thing to do, but I do agree that a lot of Americans I have met feel that way, particularly if you’re not talking about a package tour or something. However, I did find that in certain places, particularly India and Thailand, I did encounter a lot of people who tried to scam me, so just keep in mind that every place is not alike. Also on the insurance tip, I bought health insurance for my first trip, before I realized that unless you are talking about something like a helicopter evacuation, you will pretty much be able to pay for health services almost anywhere else in the world for less than the cost of insurance.
Another thing I learned about America while traveling is that a lot of people think US litigious culture makes Americans stupid. Because activities that are sold in the US have to be so safe (or the companies get sued), people told me that Americans tend to expect everything to be relatively safe. So, for example, they will go on a guided caving trip and do stupid things in the caves, because they assume that if things were not safe they would not be allowed to do them. I thought that was interesting, and certainly makes sense.
Jun 5th, 2008
antiques
The train system in Japan is really remarkable. The shinkansen “bullet train” is so fast I’m amazed it hasn’t been implemented in the U.S. where it could really be utilized like going from coast to coast.
Jun 5th, 2008
Ross
I want to address your points about service:
” * A chef in Japan made a different soup of the day for us because we missed it the prior day.”
In the US, a profitable restaurant is one that does not spend time to cook special meals when they are busy.
” * When a friend couldn’t find the restaurant in Japan the waitress went out and RAN AROUND for 15 minutes to find her.”
Why weren’t you doing this when your server could have been giving good service to her other patrons? If she was my waitress, I could see getting pretty frustrated by waiting fifteen minutes for her to take my dinner order.
” * If we get something cheap from vendors on the street, they often just give it to us for free and refuse payment.”
This is very strange. Were you complaining about their food quality, or running away with it?
” * In Taiwan I couldn’t eat anything on the menu so the chef made a really cool and unusual noodle and vegetable dish.”
In the US, this would be highly obnoxious. Refer to the first point about profit vs. time spent cooking special meals. Also, why did you sit down in that restaurant if you were unable to eat anything on the menu? My apologies for assuming this, but your behavior reflects a very picky eater, perhaps you should use your kitchen for cool noodle dishes.
One last thing. In the US, tips are meant to subsidize the minimum wage paid to servers. In many other countries, servers are paid extra. They are often paid quite well. Serving is an easy job, except when business gets busy, then it is difficult to balance each patrons needs.
I have to say that I could read you right away if you sat at my table, and I would give you poor service right after you requested several changes to your entree. Might I add that the entree’s you passed up at restaurants you could not eat at probably had a lot of creativity and thought put into them. Rather than eat them, you chose to concoct your own recipe. That really annoys US servers.
Jun 5th, 2008
D
To Ernie -
If you could sit down and stop talking, that would be so great. The world might not have to explode. Yes, many Americans are overweight, but we also have the issue of anorexia/bulimia (especially in younger females, I believe). We have been blessed with an abundance of food; we just need to better manage what we consume. Maybe try learning something before you generalize for an entire country?
That all being said, this was a good article. US travel is becoming increasingly unattractive, what with the price of gas going up every time you blink.
Jun 7th, 2008
admin
A couple notes before I get to the disgruntled waiter above:
This is only based on the few countries I’ve been in. Eighteen total, none of which are in Europe, which is a big part of the world. I will write more once I get some perspective there.
There are always exceptions… these are general themes I’ve noticed.
The US COULD have a good transportation system. Europe (as a continent) has a much better one than we do. Cities in Japan have much better LOCAL systems than cities in the US with far larger populations. From the little I know it seems to come down to our priorities in terms of ecology, future growth, and where we spend our tax money.
Now on to the waiter.
1. A profitable restaurant can’t be boiled down to one factor. It’s a combination of things. In Japan, for example, we tend to go every day to restaurants that accomodate us. Less money per visit since they may spend an extra couple minutes on us, but rabid loyalty.
2. If you haven’t been to Japan, it will be hard for me to express the different attitude there. Customers (or everyone, for that matter), are respectful and grateful and really wouldn’t be bothered if the waitress took a bit longer to get them. They’re also culturally devoted to service. We were unfamiliar with the area, she could tell where our friend was, so she ran out and found her.
3. We’re charismatic, friendly, *cough* not chronically negative *cough*, and we try to speak local languages. This sometimes breaks the client / server mode and they give us token items like a piece of fruit to be friendly. If it’s not a situation where it wouldn’t be rude, we try to pay and they refuse our money.
4. I was writing a review of the hotel and wanted to visit all of the restaurants. I’m sure the chef had no problem whipping up a noodle dish for me. Again… not everyone takes great offense to showing a bit of goodwill towards other people.
5. My point clearly isn’t to say that waiters should get paid $2.13 an hour. It’s to say that the tipping system is not necessarily more effective that fair hourly pay for creating an environment where good service is encouraged.
And for your final point - get a new job. I’m friends with a bunch of waitresses and they’d never have the attitude you have. They were easy going from the beginning with my weird orders and now we’re friends and we send them postcards as we travel around.
Tynan
Jun 7th, 2008
pio
Contact me when coming to italy….i will give some good tips if you are planning on visiting venice….
Jun 8th, 2008
duh
Americans are such idiots.
If these are the only things that you learned about America that you didn’t know while you lived there, then you have serious cognitive problems.
What you learned seems trivial. Most of your observations are also a load of Shit.
You are just one of many brainless Americans that roam the planet and never really see or learn anything of true importance. Instead, you whine about cell phone plans or shipping.
Go back to the US…Judging by comments left by your fellow citizens, you and the shallow little observations you make about the world will be deemed to be insightful and brilliant. With insights like yours, you could become the best secretary of state America ever had, since all your esoteric knowledge of the world places you head and shoulders above all the other morons in your country..
Jun 8th, 2008
Che
I think DUH sounds British - which is the predominant opinion of Americans in the UK I’m afraid… And it’s true there’s a LOT more things that are probably worth mentioning. My favourite ‘American tourist’ stories:
1. getting off a boat after a trip round the coast in New Zealand - our wonderful US citizen, after waddling off the boat piped up, “so where is sea level here?”
2. Edinburgh, American tourist effuses that it was so cool how ‘they’ put the castle next to the train line (the castle is over 1500 years old…).
I used to live with a tourist information girl, so the list goes on………….. unfortunately, there’s a great deal of evidence, not helping ‘the average american is intelligent’ argument.
Are Americans stupid? - not on the whole as I’ve lived and worked with a great many US citizens - I’d say it’s more of an education system problem.
Jun 8th, 2008
Sean
I think I may have to argue about food in America being better than food in Europe, especially Italy, France and Spain.
Jun 8th, 2008
Wolter
You’re off on some things about Japan.
Good, wholesome food can be gotten relatively inexpensively if you go to the local markets. They sell locally grown food at a decent price.
You can survive quite nicely without a car in Japan, provided you don’t need to haul a toddler around. Up until about age 4, bringing a child onto a crowded train is a very stressful and sometimes dangerous experience.
Cheap cellphone plans do exist in Japan (now). Unfortunately, the phones themselves are no longer subsidized now that you can keep your phone number even if you change providers.
Japanese addresses work just fine. If you write it correctly and don’t screw up the district numbers, your package WILL arrive. Postal workers know how to find your house.
HOWEVER, getting things shipped from an American company is iffy, since they rarely have enough space in their database fields to correctly enter a Japanese address, or any non-American address for the most part. I had to give up my Key Bank Visa card a long time ago because they couldn’t put in my address in order to send me a bill.
Jun 8th, 2008
Michael
>In Japan the addresses are barely serviceable.
??? I can’t even begin to guess what you might be talking about.
I happened to ship 60kg of packed down furniture from Tokyo to Osaka overnight for $50. Calling up the company the day that I shipped it.
I’ve never had any problems with the post here.
Jun 8th, 2008
Nazz
I’m American and have lived in Germany for 4 years, Japan for one and Ecuador for 6 months. I know many Americans who have similar experiences and are also well travelled. The avg. American probably doesn’t travel to other countries as much as Europeans do, but Europeans get a lot more vacation and can go to another countries in a hour. The US is massive and most people only get 2 weeks of paid vacation. Have you ever driven from Madrid to Moscow? I highly doubt it. People drive from the US East Coast to West Coast all the time.
I know plenty of Germans that have never been to Munich or Berlin. I know plenty of Germans that haven’t been to Florence or Rome either. You can drive to those places on the weekend.
I’ve driven from Miami to California 2 times and from Miami to Boston 3 times. Europeans freaked out when I told them I was driving from Frankfurt to Venice to Rome and back. When I lived in California, we used to drive to Vegas 4 1/2 hours, gamble and party and drive back the same night.
It is also pretty funny that Europeans think they are well informed, but they aren’t, trust me. They know absolutely nothing about Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wyoming, or Kentucky, or many other states.
Japanese are even more clueless.
Jun 9th, 2008
Wolter
And how many Americans know anything about Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wyoming, or Kentucky besides their names?
About the best you’d get from most would be something to do with chicken recipes, and a story about a girl and her little dog.
Jun 9th, 2008
Jack W.
I’m pretty sure I will never be robbed; a natural disaster is far more likely to ruin my belongings. However, (A) insurance covers both, and (B) My husband has had his house robbed when his ex-wife and child where sleeping inside and he was at work. The insurance payout was worth several years of premiums.
Jun 9th, 2008
Jeff
Great post.
I’ve traveled much of Asia, Europe, and am from Canada.
Customer service in America is so much better than most of Europe. Try ordering a beer in Sweden; it’s not uncommon to wait 5-20 minutes for a beer. The US has much better service than Canada as well, although this is harder to notice. And of course Asia’s service is great; abundance of labour helps this.
Cell phone service in Europe also makes the North America system seem a bit archaic.
Jun 9th, 2008
Sid
About the service.
From what I read, you are getting special treatment because you are foreign. I lived in Asia for 5 years, and I can tell you my Asian friends were always amazed at the stories I had about great service. It was not the same for them.
Jun 9th, 2008
Emile
Customer service.. I kind of depends on what you expect of the waiter I guess.
As European I’ll expect him/her to guide me to my table, give me a menu then go away so we can decide on what we want peacefully without feeling pressured by a waiter standing there awkwardly. For the rest of the visit (s)he just needs to bring food to the table and when we want something extra like more fries or new drinks we’re capable of calling him over and asking that ourselves. Generally they’ll do whatever you ask them to as good as they can, what more could you want?
I’ve visited the USA and been to a wide variety of restaurants can’t say that I’ve noticed any differences besides that waiters in the USA tend to pretend (The main reason for this is that they’re hoping to get a large tip) to be friendlier while European waiters act more professional, not really friendly but respectful.
Now when I go to a restaurant I want to have a nice meal and/or a nice evening with the people I came with not to socialise with a waiter.
Tipping should be preserved to situations where they did something extraordinary.
Some restaurants in the USA even have notes with 15-20% tip required on the menu’s etc.. :s.
On my next visit I’ll consider acting like Steve Buscemi did in Reservoir Dogs.
Jun 9th, 2008
Hank
In the US I experienced -amazing- hospitality. Admittedly, they are friends, but I spent 3 weeks living in their home it was like being part of the family. If the US exported that feeling across the globe, it wouldn’t have an enemy in the world.
On the other hand you have their insufferable [in]security-mania that I do not care for in the least. -I- am not scared of the terrorists. I don’t want to live my life going around scared. I have no use for that. Careful in some places, sure, but scared? No.
Then there is the inhuman nickle and diming of the working class. People who have to work for a living are short-changed everywhere they go. At the same time there is no limit to what corporate officers can make, on the assumption that their talent is of such spectacular level that no amount can really do their pay check justice.
And the constant wars, it would be good if that could stop too.
A few minor tweaks would make the US fantastic to live in. The people I’ve met, YMMV, were awesome, they just need to do a few things differently.
On 15-20% tipping: that’s because the waitresses make next to no money. Apparently decent remuneration is not a right a worker can claim. they make [made] $2 an hour when I was there [New England]. You need big tips when you make slave wages.
Just a few tweaks and it would be an awesome country.
Jun 9th, 2008
Emile
Waitresses making no money isn’t really the visitor his problem is it?
They’re free to go on a national strike if they’re unhappy with it.
And then prices will most likely go up by 15% but that would be better for both the waitress and the customer.
Jun 9th, 2008
nikolai
I have never been afraid in ANY city country I have EVER been in at ANY time of day or night, and that goes for America and every other country I’ve visited. With that said, I’ve read things from U.S. news media that say, “Danger sleeping on the beaches in Mexico”, or, “Thieves on motorcycles will steal your wifes purse and pickpockets will grab your wallet”!, etc, etc ,etc. There seems to be something bad about every country according to the press here in America. Now, could this be a bunch of BS just like everything else they print/don’t print? Methinks so!
Jun 9th, 2008
Catherine
Ive been a waitress in the US for 15 years and I certainly don’t appreciate reading that our country has the worst service. You wait on a bunch of degenerate, unappreciative people and tell me how great your service would be. I have given great service and only received 10% and I’ve given lousy service and got 20%. Sometimes it’s the customer not the waitress.
Jul 29th, 2008
Eric
Hi Tynan - really liked this post. I take it you haven’t lived in Europe yet though - that should be next on your list
The produce there can be pretty incredible, especially in France, Italy and Spain (although much more expensive). In fact, pretty much everything over there is much more expensive. Still though, never thought I’d get nostalgic staring at tomatoes in a Safeway and remembering their European counterparts.
Aug 6th, 2008
Reusable Bags
Our transportation system via train isn’t so great. When I went to DC not too long ago, I was trying to figure out the metro pass system for 10 minutes, and their system is supposed to be one of the best in the country! 180 mph would be great–the trains around here putt along so slowly it makes train rides a complete bore.
Aug 20th, 2008
jay prier
do not miss romania have been coming here fot ten years . have I mentioned such friendly people . like you i have found prices here for food makes ours seem very cheap
Oct 13th, 2008
Game Economy
Really cool article. Having lived in both the US and Europe, I can confirm a number of these observations. And I agree, while there are so many things that the US does extremely well, the infrastructure is really quite embarrassing. I found rail service to be much better on the east coast, particularly between DC and Boston, but on the west coast…forget about it. If you don’t have a car…you’re not going anywhere.
Oct 16th, 2008
Kellyg
Exactly, what cities did you visit? There is a little bias if you visited New York. And, food is not cheap! Organic…even more so. And I’m not talking about a bag of oreo’s being $4. Bread is ridiculously priced.
Oct 21st, 2008
gotadui
Yeah i think most of the “whole” foods stuff is outrageously expensive. Try the local farmers market. better flavor and WAY better prices.
Oct 21st, 2008
Ally
I agree with your comments about the service in the USA. I am Australian and I don’t think our service is great either, but it’s usually at least geniune, which was something I didn’t find in most of the larger cities in the US. Having said that, there was one diner waitress in NYC who was fantastic! I also noticed your cheap healthy food, because I visited the States immediately after spending a year living in the UK, where healthy food costs a fortune! I can now appreciate the availability and prices of good food in Australia as well.
Oct 24th, 2008
Milander
Having visited the States several times over the past 20 years I have noticed that the service culture that America used to be famous for has dropped significantly while Europes’ has increased dramatically.
Regarding food prices - agreed, IF you want some factory prepared, might be potato, might be wheat, based food product. Real food is expensive in America.
Of course, I’m just a tourist when I visit so I don’t always get the big picture either way every country has advantages and disadvantages over others and having visited most countries (I teach English as an EFL/ESOL teacher) I’ve found that the best maxim is to just take the good with the bad. For example, you save on travel costs in Hungary but jeez the cost for English language satellite is huge. You just have to balance one against the other.
Enjoyed the post and glad to see that a broad spectrum of people from different countries have responded.
Oct 24th, 2008
vegetarian
US cities are not safe because of the violent black population that has taken over most cities, thereby chasing the more peaceful white population out to the suburbs.
Wait until Obama loses this election and you will see just how violent these places of squalor, indolence, violence and despair are.
Oct 25th, 2008
bingo
wow, wow, easy there, As a senior anaylst in the cnn said, on election day obama won’t be fighting with mccain, rather he will be fighting with the ignoracne of people, who can’t seem to get race of their head.
Oct 25th, 2008
Steven
Change is inevitable. Great food is certainly prolific. Fear threatens that reality. Stop living in fear Americans.
Vegetarian, you are very afraid. Make some friends.
Oct 29th, 2008
oranges
Who keeps spreading these myths that Americans are afraid of traveling? You’re not afraid…I’m not afraid….no one has expressed fear…who is afraid?
As someone else brought out, it has to do with money and the fact that the USA is very large and only borders 2 other countries. Many Americans have been to Mexico & Canada and several other states. The distances they travel are far, even if not outside the country.
Most Americans I know would love to go to Europe or Asia, but their measly 2 week vacation (IF you’re lucky) and paycheck-to-paycheck wage will never make that possible. They’re just trying to survive & living paycheck-to-paycheck, forget taking a vacation abroad.
Oct 29th, 2008
Holly
I have never been out of the country, but we have hosted exchange students who have pretty much said the same things you are. The US is a great country, but not everything about it is. I really think the point you make about transportation is a good one. That is really something we need to work on around here.
Oct 30th, 2008
mooster
I don’t care how many countries you’ve visited, I don’t think you can generalize from personal experience. The US is huge, and although I’ve lived in 7 states and visited about 20 others over a period of more than 60 years, I would not be willing to say that the whole US is any particular way about anything. My experience was that there were many obvious differences in the prevalent way of doing things between one state and another, or for that matter, between one town and another within the same county. People within a region tend to share certain attitudes, but there are always differences.
I could say that Germany is much friendlier to tourists than Italy is, but I’ve only seen a small part of each of those places. Maybe I’m right, but maybe not for the most part.
I live within 3 miles of 150 restaurants, and the service will usually be pretty good because when people have a bad experience, the restaurant will lose to competition. We have good cell phone service locally, fwiw. A lot of Texans vote Repub. and oppose mass transit. Some generalities are public record. Others are just opinion and must be taken with a grain of salt.
Buy travel insurance because even the nicest country will have a few criminals. My cousin had her wallet stolen in Cambodia. Does that mean Cambodia is dangerous? I don’t think so, but my cousin’s experience would tend to make me prefer some other place to spend my tourist dollars. It’s definitely a subjective decision, however.
Oct 31st, 2008
betsy
Your statement about terrible transportation doesn’t make sense. You do realize the US is 3,000 miles from coast to coast, yes? do you know how long it would take to get from one side of the country to another that way by train/bus? About a week, I’m assuming, from the feedback I’ve gotten from my family and friends driving from NY, where I’m from, to California. And we do have transportation that goes from one coast to another- it’s called the railroad- if you knew anything about US history, you would have caught that. It’s extremely inefficient for Americans to use railroads as a main source of transportation. Besides the fact that American made cars are so popular, planes get the job done in a much shorter time period. Besides the fact that we have no need to go from one side of the country to another within two days (unless you’re going on business, in which case you take a plane…duh).
Nov 3rd, 2008
Benny Lewis
Excellent article!! Very well balanced with positives and negatives
I have to highly disagree with the cellphone thing though (like those above me). I have never been to Asia, but I’ve lived all over Europe and North and South America and the MOST expensive place was the states (and Canada); I believe it works out to be quite inexpensive if you get a contract, which is worth your while if you live there for at least a year, but the pay-as-you-go scheme I was on (apparently the cheapest of all suppliers) ended up taking a large chunk out of my budget for very little use. In other countries most of us use pay as you go (”pre-paid”), so those set-ups are much more competitive. I am still in shock that I had to pay to RECEIVE calls, how much text messaging costed me etc. Such a backwards mentality! No European or South American supplier charges you to receive calls.
When I give a list of pros and cons of America mine is very similar to yours apart from the cell phones that I passionately hate in the states
Nov 8th, 2008
anime_eyez88
this is an awesome article & helpful, too. (especially since i plan on visiting Japan one day.) & you’re definitely right about service in U.S. I will say personally though that I’m one of the couple of working ppl in the U.S. that would probably do what that waitress did in Japan. But we need more ppl like that here.
Nov 12th, 2008
joe
Bitch the u.s. aint scared of anything you are just mad cause some one over here probably beat the shit out of you!! If the u.s. is scared then why do we kill everyone that fucks with us? japan, iraq, afganistan, mexico and any one that wants some!!
Nov 24th, 2008
Daniel Massicotte
Also: The toilets in the US are as good as it gets. Other countries have it much worse (i.e. squatting)
Dec 15th, 2008
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