Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About the shorts thing: I think at least part of the reason Americans are more likely than Europeans to wear shorts is that in most of the us it gets hotter in the summer than it does in most of Europe.

Italy? Spain? Greece? France?

Maybe we should differentiate by US states too. I'm guessing people from Alabama are more likely to wear shorts than people from Rhode Island. Let's not lump all people from the US together.

Haha! I think you missed the point of this thread.

Oh, is OP the annoying poster who keeps saying there is no "Europe", just individual countries?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spin off from the European myths thread, I am English (so soon I won't be European ) and here are some of my stereotypes about Americans:

- Americans require EXTREMELY cold drinks. If it's a cold drink, it must be served filled with ice. Fridge-cold drinks without ice are not acceptable

- Americans can be identified in the summer by their shorts. Shorts are worn in some places in Europe in the summer but not very commonly outside the beach. Extra American points if there is a shirt tucked into the shorts and a belt, with white socks and running shoes.

- This doesn't apply to people in NYC, but Americans love their cars, have enormous cars (even the ones many people consider to be "small" or "average" are big to me) and drive everywhere. This is a function of low gas prices and poor public transport/infrastructure

- Americans eat at really weird (to me!) times - really early. Lunch at 12, sometimes even earlier. Dinner at 6, sometimes earlier. Before I moved here, the first time I encountered this was a client coming from here who I invited for dinner; he said yes but he'd be arriving late so did I mind having a late dinner.... at 7:30. I thought he was joking, but no!

I will think of more but I think that's a start!

Not to derail this thread, but if you are English how will you soon not be European?

I think they were referring to Brexit... UK will always be a European country. Hard to leave a continent lol.

^ I think that's a reference to Brexit.

Anonymous wrote:Spin off from the European myths thread, I am English (so soon I won't be European ) and here are some of my stereotypes about Americans:

- Americans require EXTREMELY cold drinks. If it's a cold drink, it must be served filled with ice. Fridge-cold drinks without ice are not acceptable

- Americans can be identified in the summer by their shorts. Shorts are worn in some places in Europe in the summer but not very commonly outside the beach. Extra American points if there is a shirt tucked into the shorts and a belt, with white socks and running shoes.

- This doesn't apply to people in NYC, but Americans love their cars, have enormous cars (even the ones many people consider to be "small" or "average" are big to me) and drive everywhere. This is a function of low gas prices and poor public transport/infrastructure

- Americans eat at really weird (to me!) times - really early. Lunch at 12, sometimes even earlier. Dinner at 6, sometimes earlier. Before I moved here, the first time I encountered this was a client coming from here who I invited for dinner; he said yes but he'd be arriving late so did I mind having a late dinner.... at 7:30. I thought he was joking, but no!

I will think of more but I think that's a start!

Not to derail this thread, but if you are English how will you soon not be European?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About the shorts thing: I think at least part of the reason Americans are more likely than Europeans to wear shorts is that in most of the us it gets hotter in the summer than it does in most of Europe.

Italy? Spain? Greece? France?

Maybe we should differentiate by US states too. I'm guessing people from Alabama are more likely to wear shorts than people from Rhode Island. Let's not lump all people from the US together.

Haha! I think you missed the point of this thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spin off from the European myths thread, I am English (so soon I won't be European ) and here are some of my stereotypes about Americans:

- Americans require EXTREMELY cold drinks. If it's a cold drink, it must be served filled with ice. Fridge-cold drinks without ice are not acceptable

- Americans can be identified in the summer by their shorts. Shorts are worn in some places in Europe in the summer but not very commonly outside the beach. Extra American points if there is a shirt tucked into the shorts and a belt, with white socks and running shoes.

- This doesn't apply to people in NYC, but Americans love their cars, have enormous cars (even the ones many people consider to be "small" or "average" are big to me) and drive everywhere. This is a function of low gas prices and poor public transport/infrastructure

- Americans eat at really weird (to me!) times - really early. Lunch at 12, sometimes even earlier. Dinner at 6, sometimes earlier. Before I moved here, the first time I encountered this was a client coming from here who I invited for dinner; he said yes but he'd be arriving late so did I mind having a late dinner.... at 7:30. I thought he was joking, but no!

I will think of more but I think that's a start!

I see shorts--a LOT of shorts--in London every summer on young women. Up North, I see shorts ALL WINTER (with tights) in Manchester. A few years ago Next and other high street stores were pushing suiting for young women that consisted of shorts and blazes. And I know multiple little boys for whom shorts are part of the school uniform (in UK). Have you maybe not been home in a really long time?

OP here - I only moved here a year ago from London and I have been home several times since then! Yes, there was a trend a few years ago for shorts with tights, and "city shorts" (what they called the suit-shorts), but I really don't feel like they took off, in London anyway. Yes, kids wear shorts in school and out; I wasn't including them. I do not often see adult women wearing shorts outside of beach resorts, is what I guess I should have said

Weird. I guess we frequented different places in London because I really do not see much difference in attire between London and East Coast America. There are plenty of frowsy British mums walking around in leggings and Converse, or hideous muumuu type "tunics" from Monsoon. And shorts are definitely a "thing" up North (for teens and young adult women too). I'm a runner and yes, shorter American style Nike-type shorts for running are currently not in vogue in UK (leggings and long compression shorts, which I hate), but young women DO wear shorts.

I actually see MORE leggings in UK than I remember from the US, but I haven't actually been home to the US in three years, so the leggings thing may have exploded there as well.

On the whole, I do not think the British are incredibly well dressed. They are better than Germans, though.

Haha - I don't think I said that British people were well-dressed. I only referred to shorts. Otherwise yes, there are a lot of leggings and tunic type things and mum-wear like Boden, and odd things are very popular like the faux fur gilet! I do think that amongst *some* British people, mostly Londoners (all bets are off up north ) there is a cool sense of style that is very different to here. A sort of teaming of things together that seem unusual but actually are often born out of the unpredictable weather - biker boots with a summery dress, etc. I worked in the city and women's city attire is, I think, much more stylish than the clothes I see in my office here. Maybe this wouldn't be true in NYC, but there is certainly a difference between DC and London

The only style I see on British women that I don't remember from America is heavy eyebrow makeup. Really, really heavy/harsh, big dark brows. Yes, in the North the eyebrow makeup is super heavy, harsh, and dark, but even in London, women favor the harsh, stark muppet brows. Women in UK also wear a LOT more foundation, even in London. I see more orange fake-baked people in UK than I remember from the US, and certainly from East Coast US. Perhaps this is because there are few examples of naturally tanned people in UK (weather), so the orange look is more readily accepted as the norm.

London is truly an international city with a lot of expats. The last time I was shopping on Oxford street, most of the shop assistants with whom I spoke were actually Italian or Spanish or Polish. I'm not even sure if one can refer to London fashion as a true indication of "British style", such as it is.

I still like the Alex Monroe bumblebee necklace, though, and wear mine even though MIL has deemed it "naff." So what do I know?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:-Americans like free bathrooms everywhere
-they like to tip
-they like to use credit cards and hate carrying cash
-air conditioning

OP here. Yes to all of these! The tipping thing - they expect to tip for everything and are happy to tip 20%+. I still can't get used to having to do this and also find the idea of actually handing someone cash really awkward.
The credit card thing - yes also, I've started doing it here too, and it's because everything has an annoying price, because of the tax. So if you pay with cash you get so much annoying change because everything costs $3.68 or whatever.
And yes, everywhere is extremely air-conditioned and I find it hard to get used to that - both the way it is SO cold inside when it is hot outside, so that you actually need extra layers, and the drying effect of the a/c.

Ha! Yes!! OP, you are me, fifteen years ago. I've been in the US nearly 20 years now, but tipping was one of the toughest things for me. I would always ask my US friends to explain how to do it, and they would tell me how to calculate the amount. But what I really wanted to know was how to handle the interaction. Do you hand the money directly to the person like you are paying them directly for their service? OMG, so awkward. Do you leave it on the table? Won't someone steal it?

I don't find it awkward any more, though!

My parents live in Australia and think the beer is too warm in ever other single country they visit.

Anonymous wrote:We are also overweight. Back in the 80s, I visited the Soviet Union and at the beach our tour group saw all these overweight Soviets and thought it was so amusing. I'm afraid that we're the overweight ones at the beach now.

Yes, it's true that Europeans think of Americans as overweight slobs that only eat food full of chemicals. But I live in Europe now, and there are loads of overweight people here too.

Anonymous wrote:Spin off from the European myths thread, I am English (so soon I won't be European ) and here are some of my stereotypes about Americans:

- Americans require EXTREMELY cold drinks. If it's a cold drink, it must be served filled with ice. Fridge-cold drinks without ice are not acceptable

- Americans can be identified in the summer by their shorts. Shorts are worn in some places in Europe in the summer but not very commonly outside the beach. Extra American points if there is a shirt tucked into the shorts and a belt, with white socks and running shoes.

- This doesn't apply to people in NYC, but Americans love their cars, have enormous cars (even the ones many people consider to be "small" or "average" are big to me) and drive everywhere. This is a function of low gas prices and poor public transport/infrastructure

- Americans eat at really weird (to me!) times - really early. Lunch at 12, sometimes even earlier. Dinner at 6, sometimes earlier. Before I moved here, the first time I encountered this was a client coming from here who I invited for dinner; he said yes but he'd be arriving late so did I mind having a late dinner.... at 7:30. I thought he was joking, but no!

I will think of more but I think that's a start!

I'm an American living in Belgium, and while you're absolutely right about the meal times, I find it mind boggling that restaurants do not open for dinner before 7:00 pm. I have three children under the age of 7, and eating dinner out on a weeknight is nearly impossible. They still get up at the same time for school (my eldest's bus arrives at 7:48 am), so a bedtime of 10:00 is just not a good idea!

Also, on the shorts thing. I am always shocked to see shorts in the stores here - it is maybe warm enough in the summer for one week to wear shorts, but they're prominently displayed in all the shops. Belgians tend to dress as if it's actually 20 degrees colder than it is (everyone still wearing warm winter coats and scarves today, for example, even though it's 60 degrees.)

This is a really interesting thread but many who have posted in it, OP included, should probably look up the meaning of the word "myth".

American expat who has lived in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Ice = absolutely. I live for my ice. As do all my American friends. Cold means a tall glass filled to the brim with ice, then a cold drink poured onto the ice. Not 2-3 measly ice cubes. I find it amazing that even in other hot countries people are so resistant to the notion of ice. I keep telling my non-American friends there's nothing like an ice cold drink on a sweltering or humid day. They still don't get it

Americans being overly friendly = yes, this is true. We are a very friendly and actually quite polite people, it's just that our politeness means being friendly whereas other nationalities consider politeness to mean being reserved.

Clothing = getting harder as the years go by (globalization?) but on the whole there are still some design trends that differentiate Americans from non-Americans. Speaking of shorts, Australians wear shorts all the time too. Shorts are becoming more and more common among the British (they used to practically never wear them over the age of 10ish till the mid 1990s). British expats overseas in hot countries will wear shorts as often as Americans do. Other European nationalities are still more resistant to shorts but they will wear capri style pants.

Alcohol = yes, the other poster is correct. Americans have an odd relationship with alcohol. So many Americans do not drink at all, or only drink 1-2 small drinks once in a while. Even among Americans who drink, they rarely do so at lunch (A British friend once said to me that the British are scandalized by Germans drinking alcohol for breakfast, the Americans are scandalized by the British drinking alcohol for lunch). Americans do have heavy drinkers but I read not long ago that something like 90% of the alcohol in the US is consumed by 10% of the population.

Dining hours = yes, Americans eat earlier, on the whole. 12 for lunch, 6ish for dinner. British eat slightly later, continentals eat much later.

Teeth = Americans like their big shiny white perfect teeth. Europeans find them off-putting. But Europeans do have perfectly fine teeth too as most kids will have orthodontist treatments by now.

I was just in Europe and really had to pee. I finally found a WC, dug out a euro for the slot to open the turnstile but it was jammed. I finally had to crawl under it. My DD found this hilarious, but at least the bathroom was very clean.

I love ice in my drinks and AC. And if there was more of that in Europe maybe I wouldn't wear shorts.

Americans smile a lot and make eye contact. They also walk around with a degree of confidence and entitlement most Europeans don't have. We are also used to standing in line and waiting our turn. Definitely like the cold drinks with ice and we expect more customer service than Europeans usually provide.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:-Americans like free bathrooms everywhere
-they like to tip
-they like to use credit cards and hate carrying cash
-air conditioning

Clean and with toilet paper too! Who doesn't like this?

Free bathrooms are hardly ever clean. Clean ones are run like businesses. America doesn't have bathrooms outside malls/ restaurants/ bus or train stations.

Yes we do! Parks have free bathrooms, museums, coffee shops, gas stations, etc. in Europe they want a euro for every bathroom and they're hard to find.

I was told that I look American (by a Brit) because of my good teeth.