What is life like in America?

[Emmaxoxo_2004]

I’m German and thus far I’ve only been in European or middle eastern countries. But I’m curious about the life of people in the US. Especially those that live in the middle of the US. Like people from Illinois or Kansas.

[BCA6010]

Well I'm going to caveat this with the fact I've been over most of both countries but never lived in Germany long term, and living in the US has been mostly around Dallas, and the western tip of Texas. In Germany, my favorite/only city I actually like is Munich (Frankfurt is okay), and otherwise prefer the smaller towns between Munich and the French border, so you know my bias ahead of time.

In terms of comparing people's temperament, the middle parts of the country as well as Texas and the southeastern quarter are fairly similar to Bavaria and Saxony. The northeast is similar to Prussia/former East Germany, and the northwest is similar to the potheads in the Netherlands, though in all cases I would say people take their attitudes to a greater extreme for better or worse in the US. California doesn't really have a Germanic parallel, but they embody pretty much every modern American stereotype in full (not surprising because California is a primary exporter of American culture, unfortunately), while the Southwest can be roped in with the central states in more ways than not.

Compared to the rest of the country, middle America is much more polite, less hectic, more family-focused, more ethnically integrated (you don't see "Little Italy" or "Chinatowns" but cliques do exist), more suburban, more religious, more anti-(big) government, overall better to live in for young families, though (unlike Bavaria) generally not good to visit for vacation because there simply isn't much to do in that respect. Furthermore, big cities (especially Chicago) are a total exception to the rule and more closely resembles a big northeastern city in all of the worst ways. Instead I would recommend either Florida during warm months, or the rocky mountain states like Utah during skiing season for tourism. Alaska and some parts of the Appalachian mountains win out for being the most picturesque, and there's basically no reason to visit the northeast other than sightseeing and touring historical landmarks.

Now speaking of the USA compared to Germany broadly, there's a lot less individual discipline, or people taking meticulous care of their homes and properties, and people who can afford it will instead pay someone else to do it. The economy and lifestyle puts a lot of emphasis on disposable consumerism, so people generally move more often, replace their cars every few years, and generally do not consign to buying for quality and longevity as opposed to quick satisfaction and expendibility. This also translates to the fact that no matter how many Americans claim to hate stress, the overwhelming majority actively seek it out to stave off boredom. Celebrity-obsessive culture has morphed into more of a perpetually online/social-media obsessed culture, particularly with women and young adults. We have a few patriotic holidays, but don't really have any regional or smaller festivals for the most part other than some towns holding an annual carnival. In fact, we also only have about half as many federally recognized holidays as Germany does. The lack of seasonal, regional festivities is likely because other than Texas and Hawaii, the other states were never their own countries or really had definitively different cultures. State sovereignty and identity has also been under attack throughout US history, further blurring any distinctions.

[ohsheeT]

Well I don't live in the middle of the states I live on the West Coast

I've been to different countries I've been to different states I meant different people

And the only thing I can really say is that everybody in this world is different you are who you hang out with

When we were born we are all given a gift that gift is choice we get to choose who we want to be alive by the things we say and do and I don't believe that any one group of people I think that's everybody so life is what you make it I believe you have your UPS you have your Downs you have your happy moments you have your sad moments that's how you get through all of this no matter where you're from
So I guess it's our choice to become who we want to become people can blame this people can blame that.

But everybody on this planet right now in this moment is exactly where they want to be otherwise they would change it.

Well if you ever want to know about the West Coast I can tell you a little bit about it anyway LOL

[Anonymous]

Don't come here. It's super racist and sexist. They treat the working class and poor like they are lazy. It's very individualistic; you can judge your performance very harshly. Like for example, in some countries, it's seen as manly for a man to live at home with his parents and take care of his community, but in America, if they see a man living with his parents, they will shame you automatically assume you're a loser. You'll be discriminated against based on you as an individual. Everything is about you, the individual. The man is expected to give his wife money to take care of the kids, and because of the individualistic mindset, he'll believe it's solely the woman's job to take care of the kids and have little to no interaction with his children. The men are socialized to be very subtle with their emotions, so you'll run into guys who don't know how to express any emotion other than anger, which makes for poor parenting, which is why the divorce rate is super high.

They don't care about how shitty your situation is you're judged based on your income alone. It's a lot of bitter men who hate women. There's no communities' at all, so you'll feel very isolated because once again it's a very individualistic culture that's all based weather you have money or not. I made a lot of money fast, but the romantic life and social life absolutely terrible. I would just go there if you want to make some money then you should move somewhere else. I would look into the Nordic countries or something in Europe. The USA is terrible I am so happy I left.

[Opinion Owner]

It's a nice place to visit if you want to go on a vacation or something. But living there is a different story.

[Emmaxoxo_2004]

O wow I’ve never thought of that. I honestly just want to stay in germany for the rest of my life but I was planning on flying to the US for vacation with my family. But holy crap haha.

[Opinion Owner]

Yeah, vacation is nice. There are a lot of lovely places to go in the USA. It's only reasonable to make some money if you're going to live there temporarily. For quality of life, it's terrible. Only suitable for money and job and business opportunities. You never have anytime to enjoy life. But you should come for a nice vacation. Canada is also very beautiful too.

[docster]

I'm from a reasonably small German-American town in Missouri. I've never seen or experienced gun violence in my life. The key is to avoid big cities.
It's not an exciting place to live but it's great for raising kids. I disagree with the person who said we're racist and sexist. I agree that single men living with parents are unfairly looked down upon.
I can't comment on the dating scene since I struggle with social anxiety.
There seem to be plenty of jobs available.
We don't really have any public transportation in my county, but fuel is probably cheap by European standards.

[Anonymous]

A bit scary with the gun shooting possibly

[InspireGlow678]

More prudish.