People Are Sharing Things That Are Normal In Europe But ‘Horrific’ In America (15 Posts)

Culture clash can be pretty unnerving if you’re not prepared. And while there are obviously tons of similarities between life in Europe and life in America, there are still some things that are considered normal in Europe that Americans might balk at. It doesn’t mean they’re bad or good — they’re just different.

On Reddit, folks are sharing some of those differences, discussing the the things they don’t really think twice about but that some Americans might have a problem with. And oh yes, it did bring back some awkward memories about making sure I always had change for the public restroom.

1. Underage Drinking

“Underage drinking seems more of a crime in the US – in most cases of a kid is caught with alcohol in the UK it’s just confiscated and poured away. Strictly speaking the age you can drink alcohol is really low as well, so long as you’re home with a parent I think it’s like 5/6. When you’re in a restaurant you’re also allowed low percentage alcohol like cider with a meal so long as you’re with an adult.” — AugustineBlackwater

2. Public Bathrooms Are Not Free

“Paying for bathrooms.” — CreeperDude6

3. Manual Transmission

“Almost every car having a manual transmission. When I visited Ukraine, I only saw rich people with automatic cars.” — _doofus25_

4. Some Apartments Don’t Have Kitchens

“In Germany, looking for an apartment doesn’t automatically mean it will come 100% with a kitchen. 90% they don’t have them in and you have to buy them yourself.” — Ok_Context_732

5. Prison Sentences Are Shorter

“Doesn’t apply to every European country, but prison sentences are a lot shorter. Life in prison without parole is extremely rare and many countries do not have such sentences. For example the maximum sentence here in Finland is called ‘Life in prison’ but the average time spent in prison before release is 13-14 years for them.” — xzamuzx

6. Debit Card Etiquette

“Not giving your debit/credit card to your server but doing it yourself.” — Ok-World-4822

7. Naked Children On The Beach

“Few days ago in r/AskEurope someone told a story how their American relatives got so bend out of shape over naked children running around the beach. On every beach in Bulgaria I’ve been, naked children is the norm, women sunbathing in monokini is considered absolutely normal, while naked men are okay only in the nude sections of the beaches. And every beach has a nude section.” — gerginborisov

8. TV Tax

“Uh, where do I start? German here, living in the US. How about TV tax? I bet Americans would go bonkers over it lol. I mean, so do Germans, but what can you do?” — Mission-System2590

9. Leaving Your Child Outside

“Putting your child to sleep outside in a pram, out of sight with a baby monitor. In Denmark this is completely normal, even in public.” — majhoj

10. C*nts

“Calling people c*nts could get you in some serious trouble in The States.” — krill482

11. Voting

“I don’t know if this would horrify Americans as I’ve never heard it discussed, but where I live in Europe (Luxembourg), voting is mandatory and you can get fined for not voting in an election. You can still spoil your ballot, so you don’t have to decide between lesser evils if you don’t want to, but you have to make the effort to go to the polling station or submit a postal vote. It guarantees a high voter turnout and by extension more representative elections, coupled with a proportional voting system so we’re not locked into a two-party mess like the UK or the US – not that it’s without its issues of course, but I think it’s an improvement.” — MrLuxarina

12. Smoking

“The amount of people who still smoke. Especially smoking in restaurants restaurants. Nothing like sitting in a beautiful cafe and having someone at the table next to you light up just as your food arrives.” — Absurdity_Everywhere

13. Bleeping Cuss Words

“Songs with swear words being broadcasted on the radio, or swear words not being covered with a beep tone on tv. It’s always felt weird to me that Americans are all about being free and freedom of speech but then again they are scared of some stupid words.” — Elisiana12

14. Attitude

“One of the strangest things I experienced in the states, Americans do feel a lot more friendlier as well. This also goes along with the hard hitting in your face sales people in stores, that would unacceptable in Europe.” — peteyboyas

15. Knowing Other Languages

“Being expected to know another language other than English.” — Coygon

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