As we all know, there are plenty of differences between America and Europe. Redditor u/cohen5250 asked, "What are some things the USA actually does better than Europe?" and since I love a little heated debate, I shared some responses from the thread below. Here is what some people shared.
1. "Not paying to use the toilet."
2. "Comparing as someone who had lived in France, the USA, and the UK: salaries. They are vastly superior in the USA. Customer service is also notably better."
"Salaries for almost any kind of skilled labor. If you're in the bottom 20%, you'll make more in Europe. If you're anywhere above that, you'll make significantly more in the US."
3. "Central air conditioning is something we take for granted in the US. I realized this when I started hearing countries in Europe getting summer heatwaves and people dying by the thousands."
4. "Mortgages. I know buying a house is tough right now, but it would be a lot tougher, and for everyone, if our system worked like the 1920s or like Australia or the UK."
5. "Lack of cigarette smoking (although vaping has picked up in recent years)."
6. "Ice. I am originally from Eastern Europe and have been living in the USA for over 20 years. I was visiting my grandma over there, and on a particularly humid day, I ordered an iced latte. The barista looked at me mortified. She said they don’t have ice, so I asked her not to make my latte hot. She said ok — it was still piping hot."
7. "I am not American, but their national and state parks system is fucking glorious. Services, lands set aside and protected, information, knowledgeable employees, and infrastructure. NO ONE else is even close. I have lived in six countries and traveled to more than 60 — I still dream of American parks."
8. "Ice water at restaurants."
9. "The one thing I would really miss is the cultural diversity in every large city. Any night of the week, I can go get great Mexican, Ethiopian, Cantonese, Sichuan, Japanese, Korean BBQ, Soul Food, Jamaican, Vietnamese, Thai, Memphis style BBQ, other Latin countries, Tiki bars, Filipino, or Mediterranean."
10. "Technology innovation. Think back over the last 50+ years, from microwaves to iPhones."
11. "Work ethic. The number of times I've seen Americans get up at 4:00 a.m. to hack ice off their pickup, before driving 200 miles to run an excavator all day, drive home in the dark, and then work on building their mountain house for another 18 hours. It's just ridiculous."
12. "Free water in concert venues and restaurants. I was at a concert in Europe, and one bottle of water was the same price as wine and beer at the venue. It was really hot, and some people fainted during the show."
13. "Dryers. This was at least true comparing the US to the UK, who usually hang their clothes to dry, or have awful hybrid washers and dryers that don’t really work. Not sure if this is true across Europe."
