6 Major Culture Shocks After Returning to the US From Europe

I spent the last 8 months abroad In Sweden playing pro basketball overseas. I was In SHOCK when I traveled back to my home country to find out that things were NOT the same. Its going to take some getting used to living back In my Home country thats for sure.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
1:10 Small Talk
2:06 People Are Rude
3:36 Hustle Culture
4:35 Accessibility
6:16 Lifestyle
7:42 The Food is Trash

🤞🏽LETS BE FRIENDS🤞🏽

🎧Intro & Outro music Produced by🎧

#cultureshock #usa #sweden #europe

[scottgeorge]

More Americans should travel abroad and experience what this man has, they might stop thinking they're superior to the rest of the world.

[juhilla]

"America is the only society that has progressed from barbarism to decadence without civilization." —Oscar Wilde

[saltaroe]

I'm an American living in Sweden for the past 48 years. Everytime I visit the US I discover a new level of degradation. It is so sad that the oppotunity to better the general publics quality of life is NEVER on the political agenda only look after yourself and give a damn about anyone else. I don't know where I'd be if I'd stayed in the States, having a chronic disease and also re-educated to change careers mid-life. So glad I ended up here in Sweden.

[kerriganm]

I just came back from a three week trip to Western Europe. Unfortunately I had to experience emergency rooms in two different countries during the trip. It was a truly shocking experience. America, at least as regards emergency medicine, is a third world country- and I am probably insulting third world countries. Medicine centered on patients and doctors rather than insurance companies is a completely different universe. I had an Algerian taxi driver tell me that healthcare is even better (and more comprehensive and cheaper) in Algeria than in Ireland. It’s not just fast food and stress that explains our short lifespans and overall poor health. Our healthcare system is purpose-built to fail us while also bankrupting us. How in hell did we let this happen?!

[frank]

As a Swede this was a good way to remind myself to be grateful for the things I complain about on a daily basis - such as our public transportation systems - as they could be so much worse.

[sionhughes]

I am English and have lived in Florida for a year and a half . I couldn’t wait to get home . I met some wonderful people but mostly I was faced with ridiculous questions about where I was from and then straight into how I must want to stay on in the US now I have seen it close up . As kind as I was when I explained that I wouldn’t want to permanently live in the US I found myself feeling extremely uncomfortable when faced with statements, such as “America is the best country in the world, why wouldn’t you wanna live in it?” . It was painful to be constantly surrounded by people that never left the country, and had no concept of the world. Outside of the state they lived in. The television gave me headaches, because of all of the constant advertising, and the high-speed sales pitch of everything news, advertising, or just general entertainment. I witnessed several murders and listen to the sound of gunfire every week. I tried never to offer my opinion anything to do with American culture as what would seem a friendly conversation would instantly turned sour at any hint of criticism. The food was horrific and I was constantly feeling, as if I needed something that didn’t agree with me but could not explain what it was. On my return to England, I realised that our food has not been saturated with preservatives and chemicals. That was the cause of my constant nausea. I really missed subtlety of humour. As I said, I really didn’t meet some wonderful Americans. And it’s not all bad, just the food and the lack of healthcare and the lack of social care, and the lack of education, and the lack of any understanding of anything outside of the United States.

[marakara]

My American friend, a teacher, was SHOCKED to see what we serve as free lunch for school kids here in Finland. Fresh food with proper nutritional balance. She took plenty pictures.

[slash]

I had the same experience. Pretty much zero culture shock when I went to Europe, but coming back was like, wtf this country actually sucks pretty bad. Moved to Europe permanently ten years ago and never even came close to regretting it.

[psychedelicpegasus]

I have worked in the service industry in Europe and I feel a lot of empathy for service workers in the U.S. especially in fast food chains. The amount of verbal abuse I have received even with a zero tolerance policy in place has been traumatising. I cannot imagine what workers go through when "the customer is always right" is the rule. Also tipping as wages system is absurd. If a business cannot afford to pay its staff wages then it should not be a business. Tips should be a show of appreciation, not something to live on. I really appreciated your perspective and cultural observations 😊

[christopherdieudonne]

I"m an American who's lived in France for 20 years and I definitely experience reverse culture shock when I go home and I go to a restaurant. The servers checking in on you every 5 to 10 minutes definitely makes you feel like you are being rushed. It's the opposite in France where the wait staff pretty much leave you alone after your food has been served.

[cartesiuscartesius]

I’m from Sweden and its comforting to hear your opinion about food, because on my visits to the us food was a big issue for me. It was so hard to find anything I wanted to eat.

[Edmlady]

My boyfriend and I stayed in Germany for a few weeks last year. We went to see a German friend I met while she stayed here in the US for a few months. It was our 1st time abroad and we loved it. We prefer the slow paced dining environment in Europe. I couldn't believe how efficient public transportation was. It was so easy to get around, we took a train from Munich to Salzburg, Austria for a day trip! We are planing to travel abroad more. Great video!

[kaydesign]

The most surprising thing is that average Americans BELIEVE they live in the best, greatest, most free country in the world. That’s only possible when you never travel or look with a open mind to other countries. This mentally makes it harder to learn or get better as a society

[anniehope]

As a European I like to think that the biggest difference in 'hustle culture' is the attitude towards bills. In the US people commonly say 'I got bills to pay (so I go work every day)'. In Europe we don't say it that way. We say: 'First work, then see what you can spend.' We work certain hours and make a certain amount of money, so there's only so much we can spend. If you can't afford your bills make sure you reduce your bills, not work more.
I think it's also due to the payment system. We don't pay with a creditcard, we use a debet card. We can only spend the money we actually have. It seems like in America it's more like: I spend money, I get into debt with my credit card company and now I have to work to pay the bills or (credit card) debt. That way everyone tends to spend more than they really can afford, and so they constantly need to look for side hustles. In general I think things in the US are not much more expensive, so that doesn't make much of a difference in hustle culture. Possibly the low minimum wage and tipping culture does, but I believe it's more due to the general attitude towards work, money and bills, and the particular order they come in.

Of course debts happen in Europe too, but things like 'credit score' are not really a thing here. If you are in debt, you must have made some kind of financial mistake. Basically the only things you get loans for are student loans and a mortage. Not your daily costs of living.

(By the way, healthcare and education are not free. They are financed in a different way and therefore much cheaper, but they're not free. For example in my country you pay monthly health insurance based on your income, and as a result you don't have to pay when you need healthcare, but that doesn't mean that you never payed for it. That also means that when you get sick, you don't have to find side hustles to pay your hospital bills. Unexpected high costs contribute to hustle culture. I guess in Europe costs are more predictable, but definitely not zero. )

[Trassel]

I’m sorry if this is weird, but as a Swede I feel really proud that you lived in Sweden out of all countries you could have picked. I hope you enjoyed your stay here. I’m surprised you think the trains are good, most Swedes complain about them because they’re bad in comparison to other EU countries, I guess we don’t know how good they are in comparison to the US trains.

[jayjones]

I'm in the military stationed in Germany. I've been all over Europe, and every point you made... is true!!! I'm dreading going back to the US.

[Nabend]

A lot of the problems in the US are down to people not trusting the government and not wanting to pay taxes. And these same people go on and on about how patriotic they are...

[pork_friedrice]

So I’m Dutch, living in the US now for over 20 years. The biggest culture shock to me was coming to grips with the levels of racism in the US, and how it is a topic of the daily narrative. I expect that your experiences in Sweden were positive in this regard.
I’m glad that you got to experience life in Western Europe. Sweden is a special place. Great content and observations.

[cinn]

Hej! As a Swede, I really appreciated this video. Sometimes I don't think I can fully understand how everyday life is in America, so it's always interesting to listen to that perspective.

[ExbotHero]

As a Swede, the part about tip makes me blush so hard.

Eight, nine years ago now I started to travel to (and play in) a week-long golf tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC. (I did this once per year.) It was fun and I had a great time everywhere. (Especially at the huge 19th hole with all the free food and drinks every evening.)

On the last day of the second year, a person that started to become a really good friend of mine (one of the waitresses at the event) finally told me that she was so surprised that a generous person like me never gave anybody any tip. (Explaining the reality over there, also telling me that I was getting a bit of a bad reputation among the staff as a "cheap Charlie")

I have never been so ashamed in all my life. I literally had no idea. (I tried to explain our way of doing it with little initial success.) 😳 It took until she visited me in Sweden. Then she finally understood the Swedish way (and believed my story for real.)

Have been tipping since her explanation but still feel that I can't make up for my initial mistake. (Still embarrassed, I'm afraid.) 🤣

Great video mate. Keep up the good work!