American reacts to 15 Things that SHOCK Germans about America

Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to 15 Things that SHOCK Germans about America

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[dorisschneider-coutandin]

In Germany (and most of Europe, I suspect) that 92.91$ restaurant bill would have been rounded up to 100$ for a tip. That's how it's done.

[TheSuperappelflap]

A lot of Americans pay more taxes than people in EU countries btw. My income tax rate is about 30% and that includes access to universal free healthcare. Im in the highest graduated tax bracket in my country. There are plenty of states in the US where people pay a higher combined state and federal income tax and then still have to pay for private healthcare on top.
I once did the math on how much Id have to earn if I moved to California to work in tech in Silicon Valley and Id need to make about 4 times as much, just to afford the same quality of life and insurances that I get in the EU. Im not going.

[fangan]

The US tipping culture is broken af. A symbol of a sick economy when employers do not pay their employees appropriately.

[MartinBeerbom]

I'm not a gambler and have not in many establishments, so take this with a grain of salt. Feel free to correct me.
We do have Casinos, but I feel the word "casino" is reserved for high-class establishments with sit-down games like Roulette, Blackjack etc. They're somewhat exclusive, somewhat fancy, and in larger cities.
Then there are "Spielhallen", which are all over the place, which have slot machines, with added video games arcades and stuff like billiards. There are often one or two slot machines in pubs, but even this has been shifted to separate "Spielhallen", probably driven by limitations on parallel gambling and alcohol serving, and fighting gambling addiction.

[philippkern]

Regarding the "How are you ?"
Vince Ebert's take

America: thy don't care, but they ask.
Germany : it's a specific medical question.

[RSProduxx]

There is a saying in Germany going something like: "You don´t talk about money, you have it."
Another one is "money is like s*x... The more you talk about it, the less you´re having" ;)

[MartinBeerbom]

I had been living in FL for a while, and coming back to Germany I was shocked how much better fast food places are here compared to their US "Original". Burger King Germany (in my small town Germany) is MILES above all the US Burger Kings I've been in.
That's not even counting the much better fast food you can get here, like Döner.

[ollihro]

why tip on a haircut? you are paying for the haircut. if there is no added value like a head massage or other special services I dont tip.

[riccardocoletta]

Minute 7:08 - Obviously the American dream is still alive in Americans mind. The problem is that the percentage of realization of that dream is now lower than other industrialized countries, thus the real American dream isn't in USA anymore, but Americans are still the ones that belive in that dream more than people in countries where it realize more

[MrsStrawhatberry]

My problem with tipping is that it should just not be called tipping because it’s their wage.
Just up the prices, include everything and people will still tip on top.
But the service frankly is not really better, often it’s much worse even and they expect me to pay more for that.
Oftentimes they don’t even have real plates let alone cutlery made out of metal in restaurants and even hotels. And I have to order at the counter and get my food when it’s ready in many places. The tables are not cleaner either.
I do tip 20% when I’m in the Us but it really feels undeserved and like a scam.

I don’t need them to smile and rush my bill, I need them to do their job properly and let me eat in peace. Cashiers are quite often on their phones too, sometimes even on video calls. This is not good service, it’s unprofessional.

[GalacticCommanderMars]

Lol that German accent in the beginning, that is definitively not an German accent.
Sounds Russian to me.

[riccardocoletta]

Minute 13:35 - That's one of the reasons USA has the second value of pollution per capita in the world, after China. And USA has more pollution per capita than all countries from position 3 to 25 combined

[Jeni]

Ryan, there’s an American girl I follow who has been living in Australia for a few years now. She went back to the States for a vacation and suffered from reverse culture shock! One of the major things was the massive increase in tipping, she noticed. In fact she went to a restaurant with her Aussie boyfriend and reluctantly left a generous tip. After they had left the restaurant and crossed the street, the waiter came running after them, and aggressively demanded a higher tip, she hadn’t left enough! She refused and walked away but was shocked at the aggression!

[shalimar-ki]

I’m German and worked as a flight attendant from 1988 to 2007, visited many different places (mostly the large cities) in America dozens of times and for me it’s never been my favorite destination because it was hard for me to go along with their overwhelming loudness and friendliness? I don’t know but I always felt pretty displaced and awkward. It’s what I experienced as the biggest difference between Europeans and Americans. Maybe it’s just me, but me as a German, I’d have huge problems to keep my boundaries if I had to move to America 😬🙈🎉
Of course I know many Germans that feel completely different from me…
LOVE your channel! You make me laugh a lot as I can see it from both sides like you 🤩/😶 thank you for the videos, they’re a lot of fun!

[BlueFlash]

3:03 I've already mentioned it a couple of times. I've been living in NC for quite a while.

The Fast food was amazing at first. Chipotle, Panera bread and the best of all: BOJANGELS!

I would even consider Cracker barrel as fast food. It wouldn't really qualify as a restaurant in Europe.

It didn't take me long to feel sick. I first gained, then lost weight. My body felt ill. We were heading out to a Sonic's when we had a cabin in the woods in TN in the Smokys. I was so "full". I can't describe it. Even though I didn't eat a lot I felt like I ate WAY too much. On our way back we stopped at Bojangles. It's probably. It was awesome as always. 2 days later my brother-in-law brought me Bojangles and I simply couldn't get it down anymore. My body rejected it. From then on we cooked every evening. No takeout, home delivery, whatsoever.

Even some of the ingredients that were ready made for dinner and lunch were awkward where in the early weeks/months I liked them.

In Germany I was used to go to the gym 3 times a week, 1 day of soccer, 2 days of Jiu Jitsu and sometimes Squash.

When we were back in Germany it felt so hard to get back into that rythm even though I worked out in the States.

It took me 1-2 weeks. I had jo more weight fluctuation, I lost body fat and gained muscle mass.

I swear, something in the food over there is cursed. Even if it tastes like heaven. Everything is sweet. You come back to Germany and you think even sweet bakery goods taste medium sweet when they would normally hit you with a sugar hammer.

[jonashofmann]

The thing is we tip to but we mostly just round up. in the example of this 92$ bill we would just pay a houndred and the overpay goes to the waiter (in most places the whole crew including kitchen and bar will split up all collected tips in the end of the day (I know sounds communist to you))

[gregorygant]

German casinos are like up market luxury places not just a bunch of slot machines in a row in the US.

[ersetzbarescrewmitgliednr]

But why tip at a haircut? The thing you paid for IS the haircut, what are you tipping extra for? The haircut?

[KrisThroughGlass]

Yes, Germany has casinos. But I don't know many people who have ever been to one and the few I know have been once just to have made the experience. There are slot machines in some bars or like Imbiss restaurants. Usually with some pathetic looking guys with a gambling addiction playing them. It's a good reminder not to gamble.

[lapisinfernalis]

If the service is good, I would tip the same amount that I would tip in Germany and that is 10%. I know it's not fair for the employees, but on the same hand I don't want to support an abusive system.