Yahoo Lifestyle Non-Americans Are Sharing How They Felt About The USA Before And After Visiting, And It's Absolutely Fascinating To See The Difference
Recently, I decided to ask non-Americans in our own BuzzFeed Community to tell me what perceptions they had about the US before visiting, and what they think about it now. Their answers were fascinating. So, without further ado, here are some of the most interesting:
1."I first went to the USA when I was about 12 years old, to the Everglades in Florida and surrounding areas. I expected everyone to be good-looking and look, I don't know, successful. It was the first time I'd ever seen such enormously fat people — I simply never knew humans could get so big, and I found it genuinely shocking."
"I've since traveled considerably in the USA and go there three to four times per year for work, and understand this isn't the case in many parts of the country. But I'll never forget the sheer size of those Floridians."
2."I expected [food] portions to be ridiculous, but mostly I felt they were pretty perfect."
"Media suggests most of the people [in the US are] grossly overweight, but the majority of people I saw weren’t."
3."I visited from England. I was in the States for a business trip and my family decided to go for a holiday in Wyoming. I don't know what I thought it would be like — cowboy stuff, I guess."
"Well, the cowboy stuff was certainly there but it wasn't as — 'Texas,' I guess? — as I thought it might be. My wife, son, and I went out riding horses on the trail, and the scene was absolutely breathtaking.
I was struck by how connected Americans are to nature. Many of them care so deeply about it and spend as much of their lives outdoors as they can. Even those who live in cities spend weekends camping, skiing, or on other outdoor holidays. The people I met and the scenes I saw in Wyoming struck me close to the heart in a way no other place has. I'm a serious, adult businessman, but I felt like a kid playing cowboy out there. I'll remember it for the rest of my life."
—Anonymous
4."I'm Canadian, and I've lived in B.C. my entire life. I went to the USA for the first time — Seattle, specifically — in 2018, and then I went to Port Angeles in 2021."
"I think the biggest thing I noticed was that Americans are more outgoing than most Canadians and are more willing to strike up a conversation with a stranger. Everyone was very friendly when they found out I was from Canada (although they did have a few complaints about wildfire smoke.) I was waiting for a bus in Port Angeles when someone sat down at the bus stop and started talking to me and asked me lots of questions about where I was from.I also noticed the abundance of cigarette advertising everywhere, because it's illegal to advertise cigarettes where I'm from. When I went to a supermarket in the States, I was amazed at the number of different kinds of sugary breakfast cereals available that we don't have in Canada due to our regulations on sugar and corn syrup in foods."
5."I've lived in the US and visited many times, but it had been a few years since I had been there and my wife and I had never gone to the lower 48 together. We were both shocked at just how different the food was in Washington compared to British Columbia despite the state and province sharing a border."
"There was some great food to be sure, but so many of the meals we had were way too salty, fattier than you'd expect, and somehow still felt less tasty, to say nothing of the enormous portions.There [was] also just a shift towards more posturing and aggression than we are used to. Like everyone was walking around with a chip on their shoulder and trusted people less. Of course, again, many, many exceptions, and we met so many nice people. I think it is more a matter of a significant statistical difference than an 'everyone is different' notion."
6."I visited DC and New York. While DC is clean and pristine like I expected, New York was a letdown. I did not expect long queues and smoke and smell rising from underground sewers. NY seemed like Bangkok to me, not up to the standard that I was expecting before coming."
Allan Baxter / Getty Images, Pharrel Wiliams / Getty Images
—Anonymous
7."Americans were packing guns and bringing them everywhere they went."
—Anonymous
8."Okay, this is my moment to shine."
"Sure there are so many problems about America. Many people here (I am in an Asian country) think many Americans must be bigots, or all racist (and many of us have great opinions of them!!!) but I actually think they are so accepting, much more than most places on earth. And Asians, we can talk about our racism too. But ANYWAY... Onto Americans being accepting:"
"One thing they have that is amazing is the ADA, which is the Americans with Disabilities Act. I am in a wheelchair, and with my mom, I visited family who lives just outside of San Francisco."
"I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was to get around in my wheelchair. EVERYTHING IN AMERICA is built so that people with wheelchairs can access it EASILY. I was stunned to learn that this was not just a thing in San Francisco or in big cities, but EVERYWHERE IN AMERICA.
America has come up with some pretty neat things and has made an amazing country. I hope to visit again, and I hope some other countries can take a look at great things like this and implement it themselves."
—Anonymous
9."After my first visit to the U.S. I went on to make at least another dozen trips to various large cities across the country. I was alone in San Diego and had a night to kill so I asked the cab driver to take me to a place that was lively and popular. He dropped me at some bar and it was exactly what I wanted, crowded, with NBA playing on the big screen."
"After my meal I stepped outside and noticed these sleazy peep show places and it dawned on me that this was not the best part of town.
I am from Australia, and it is not unusual for a passenger to sit in the front with the cab driver. I found a cab and got in the front. The driver went pale until my accent gave me away. The driver visibly relaxed and asked me where to. I mentioned the name of my hotel.
He remarked, 'Why are you in this awful part of town when you are staying in such an up-market hotel?' I explained how and why I was there. He asked me all about Crocodile Dundee for the whole ride to my hotel."
"I received an unexpected lunch invitation from someone whose office was in downtown LA on Wilshire Blvd. I thought it would be great to drive there from San Diego. I didn’t know Wilshire Blvd. was some 30 miles long.
4kodiak / Getty Images, Brandon Dela Cruz / Getty Images
"My plan was to park the car somewhere, make a note of where I parked, and catch a cab to my destination on Wilshire. I parked in an underground car park and got out to the street. You wouldn’t believe it — I was on the right block and all I had to do was cross the street and I was there!
After lunch, I had to drive back to San Diego. How hard could it be? All I had to do was find highway 5 and enter the freeway. I figured if the signs said 'San Francisco' I was heading north instead of south. As luck would have it, I was [already] going south towards San Diego.
I got bored and took a detour through Newport Beach. Managed to eventually find San Diego.
After not getting lost and without much map gazing... I did get lost, and could not find where to return the car. I spent 90 minutes driving around San Diego until I found where to return the car."
—Anonymous
10."It was very strange to see someone in queue at a little sandwich shop with an open holstered pistol, just casually waiting, and no one seemed to be paying any attention to it."
Avid_creative / Getty Images, Hispanolistic / Getty Images
"The 'craft beer' scene was unique and I liked it. I was also impressed with the Mexican grocery store my friend took me to.
I've been to plenty of specialty food stores but an entire grocery store geared to authentic Mexican food products, raw meats, and produce was something else. I hope the US survives Trump 2.0."
—Anonymous
11."I visited Los Angeles and San Diego. I had no preconceived notions of what it would be like. I had to visit a law office in LA and was staying at the Beverley Hilton. I could see the building I had to go to from my hotel window so I walked there. The person I visited asked how I got to his office and was horrified when I told him I had walked. Apparently, no one in LA walks."
"That evening we went to a bar in Century City. I was surprised that the barman wanted to keep our credit card for the tab. Never experienced that before. He put our card in a pigeon hole and when we settled for the night he gave the card back. We encountered many friendly people and were surprised by the bottomless brewed coffee and orange juice at breakfast. The portion sizes for all of the meals we had were absolutely huge."
—Anonymous
12."I am from England and have family in the American South. I first visited at 16 and was not pleased we were going. I expected it to have disgusting food, for everyone to be racist, for everyone to be fat, and honestly for someone to get shot. (Lol.) What I didn't expect was to fall in love with the South."
"The stillness, the quietness of the country. The genuine kindness people have for each other. I think many Europeans think Americans are 'fake' because they are 'too nice' — no. That's really just how they are. It's a great mindset!
Southern food was also DELICIOUS. Dare I say, better than English food... which I do love and will defend. I can see why many southern Americans are overweight. Unfortunately, the food down there is not so healthy. But you can't say it's not mouth-watering."
—Anonymous
13."Crime is rampant, and you could get mugged anywhere."
—Anonymous
14."I'm Canadian, and I also happen to live within two hours of the US border. I have surprisingly only visited the US a few times, only to New York State, New Jersey, and Illinois."
"The only expectation I had was 'everything is bigger' because that was what I had heard from others who traveled there. I would say that in some instances, this is true: larger population, larger cities (New York City was quite large compared to Toronto), larger food portions, and more sugar in drinks (iced tea — 'sweet tea' — has like five times the sugar of its Canadian counterpart... and I just could not handle how rich it was).
What I noticed most in the US, though, was that there are certainly a lot more flags. I knew I had crossed the border when I started seeing flags on all of the islands on the way to Boldt Castle. Also, I've had two instances where Americans have made fun of Canadians. At Boldt Castle a child called Canadians weird, and in New York City a group of students mocked me by singing a poor version of our national anthem. I also had someone in New York City ask where Canada was. I really don't know what to say about all of that, though."
—Anonymous
15."Growing up in a very touristy town in the UK, as a teenager, I had friends who worked in bars and restaurants and who would say that Americans are very generous tippers."
"Now I've visited the USA I've come to realize it's not generosity, it's mass stupidity. This is a nation where, pretty much, the whole country has bought into the idea that it's ok for employers in certain industries to not pay their employees a living wage. Instead, they rely on the customer to pay their employees. Absolute madness."
—Anonymous
16."I am Italian with an American-Italian mother. (Her family moved back here when she was a teenager and she attended university in Europe, so she's American but not Super American). My image of America was formed by all the normal stuff, but especially by legal dramas, cowboy movies my dad loved, and my mom's love of pop music."
"Something I loved very much visiting America was the diners. Obviously, American food is not Italian food, but that's okay. I loved the waitress pouring coffee into those white mugs.
On that first day, I ordered bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast that I got to use the jam packets for, and I drank so much of that coffee I felt queasy. It felt so American in a timeless way, like millions of Americans have gone to these diners and now I had too! Maybe cheesy, but I found it so endearing."
—Anonymous
17."Hated that coffee was just black water with no taste. After going to shops and diners, everybody said 'Have a nice day' in a completely false way. People in general unpleasant, all fast food was terrible."
"I went to several small local bars, and the people there were friendly and nice; they were true Americans. The shops were terrible, dirty, and staff was impolite.
Last time I was there I bought vodka and whisky in a shop no problem, but they didn't sell beer, so I had to go to a gas station where they would not accept my ID as it was not American — while I was holding a bag from the liquor store next door.
I had great times in America but food was not good, coffee had no taste and no bite to it. Lovely place to visit for a short time but not to stay."
—Anonymous
18."I'm from Vancouver, BC and got arrested and got an MIP for drinking beer while visiting my friend at the University of Washington. It sucked. Never considered my Canadian parents would be mad at me for drinking under the age of 21. 😂"
—Anonymous
19."I thought the bigger the economy the happier the people. I am from New Zealand and was a flight attendant, so I was able to visit the USA a lot, but I had a more touristy perspective. I now live here, and there is definitely a gap in mental health, and I find a lot of people here are lonely."
"Strangers I meet tend to overshare — which I have no problem listening to at all! That is part of the human condition.
However, it definitely feels like people here do not find the root causes of their mental stress and are locked into low-paying jobs and are overloaded with horrific news events, etc. It just seems like most people are barely trying to stay above water and don’t have time to check in with themselves.
America has the language for mental health, but its population doesn’t invest in rest and pleasure, and individual success is highly based on productivity. Food for thought! I lived in San Fran, Washington state, and now currently reside in Oregon."
—Anonymous
20.And finally: "I'm from Melbourne and visited SoCal for two weeks with family. (We had a family wedding going on there and decided to make it a holiday.) I expected people to be kinda vapid, but everyone was just really nice and accommodating."
"I consider Australia pretty laid back when it comes to countries, but the US (or at least California) was pretty on par with the vibe back home. Everyone was just so nice and was interested in talking about where we were from. I think it's great Americans are so accepting of people, and honestly, just happy to see you. Maybe it differs from region to region, but I honestly just found them super chill.
Also, don't let anyone tell you they can't keep up when it comes to drinking."
—Anonymous
Let me know all your thoughts down in the comments below! And if you're a non-American, I'd love to hear your answer to my question, too.
If you want to write in your thoughts about America but prefer to stay anonymous, feel free to check out this anonymous Google form. Who knows — your answer may be included in an upcoming BuzzFeed article!
Some comments have been edited for length and/or clarity.
