Things I adore about the USA and Americans

[PermanentTemporary]

No special reason... and it doesn't have to be things other people all agree with.

We're planning a holiday there in a couple of years to see some family so the wonderfulness of the USA is particularly on my mind. But am just thinking about how much I love it.

I'll bring up Senator George Mitchell, who gave years of his life to somehow bring the best out of every politician in Northern Ireland and made it possible for the Good Friday Agreement to be made.

I'll bring up American health care. Because although I don't want to change our system to theirs, the fact is that if you either have good insurance or nothing at all, you can have the best care in the world.

And the Grand Canyon. Not sure I've ever been speechless the way I was the first time I saw it.

I'm wondering if we can drop in to see some distant cousins of my partner's who live in Ohio. We've met once at a wedding. Of all the countries in the world, we can be pretty sure that they will be welcoming and happy to see us. ❤️

We drove from Vancouver through Washington State and the coastal road of Oregon, loved both states and had one of my top 5 ever meals in Oregon.
Love the breakfast diners, fall which literally arrives overnight, one day its summer the next fall, oh and Halloween. Love the drug stores which sell everything it seems, and yes Americans are very open, direct and friendly, apart from New Yorkers who get irate over nothing.

@GiddyRobin
That's so lovely! I remember spending hours stringing popcorn and cranberries for Christmas and really enjoying doing it 😀
We could all do with a bit more celebration of the good stuff and the good people in our lives 🤗

@Shimmyshimmycocobop The famous saying about New Yorkers is that we're kind, but not nice. People will drop everything to help you if you're in a bind, but lord help you if you hold up the line to buy coffee in the morning because you're dithering over which pastry to get 😬.

Part of my job involves acclimitising Americans who are moving to The Uk and I do love their "can do" attitude, they see an obstacle and just plough through it, there is an innate belief that anything is possible if you just try hard enough.
It can cause some issues when they struggle to understand that some things just AREN'T doable but I think it explains a lot of the negatives as well

Would take far too long to list what I love about the US, it’s just a joy.

And I love the people and it seems they give a great big welcome to the English everywhere I’ve been.

@allfurcoatnoknickers Maybe like Londoners then, can be rude but also when I've needed help I have always got it.
When I worked on cruise ships the crew dreaded the cruises out of New York as the passengers were way more demanding than usual,but maybe that's just rich New Yorkers.

Tbh, it’s pretty much like this in London now.
I’m off to NYC in a couple of weeks, first visit and can’t wait. Soo excited 😆😆

Yes! It's such a nice thing to do, and feels great when you know you've made it. She sent me a book a few years ago called Merry Midwinter by Gillian Monks. It's British, and even if you don't do half of the stuff it's just a really warming read. 😊 Would highly recommend!
I think sometimes it's easy to get lost in the day to day, but people and reminders like that are special. I bet living over there is heart lifting during those periods! 🤗

Their positivity and confidence. Everything appears to be 'Awesome!' and they are great cheerleaders of other people. I also admire the belief that 'God is with them'. Athletes, rock stars, actors - all frequently state that they were helped 'by God' and I admire this unaffected faith.

In England if you said this people would raise cynical eyebrows at you. It appears to be weird or uncool in England to be Christian, whereas in the USA people of all walks of life and ages appear to be open about a belief in God. It must be comforting to feel this way.

Only ever been to California a couple of times so can't give an opinion on the rest of it but I agree with all of this. Also I was really surprised by how socially "well-behaved" people were. Polite, well- mannered (apart from the loud obnoxious ones, which seem to be mainly tourists I see in Europe), totally unselfish, helpful and interested in others, interacted with their kids more than a lot of people do in England now and made sure they weren't running feral and bothering others. I did not hear any foul language at all. I even found the homeless people in San Francisco polite and well-mannered, and even looking on the bright side! (to be fair we didn't go near Tenderloin)

People just seemed to WANT to provide you with a good social interaction, interested in you and encouraging and not surly pr arrogant like a lot of Europeans. And I'm talking about people who are just waiting in line with you etc. They just seemed a bit less selfish than a lot of people in the UK are.

When I think of a cheap all-inclusive in Europe to cheaper holiday accommodation the US the general behaviour is worlds apart. Didn't see any bottomless brunch type crowds out to get plastered, embarrassing behaviour from stag and hen parties (we did see them, but they were just out for a good time and a bit tipsy, not falling over on the pavement puking or being crude).

I hardly saw any litter. People didn't just drop it at their feet or throw it from their car like you get in the UK.

I like their pride in their country, the way so many of them display their flag outside their house.

I really really want to go back to the US and one of the reasons is for the people.

I know it has its issues. Our lunch stop at Taco Bell near Wilmington while driving through LA was rather rushed as I didn't feel particularly relaxed there. And we saw plenty of Trump flags out in the country. But I really didn't realise how MUCH I was going to like the people.

Authentic openness and friendliness. I spend a lot of time in the Midwest, DH is from Detroit. Without exception, all the Michiganers I’ve ever met, the first time they ever met me, have immediately greeted me with a level of joy which suggested that the only thing missing from their life until that point had been an absence of me in it. Everybody in DH’s very large extended family was automatically delighted to meet a new member of it. When we were last there, the power went out down in a neighbouring subdivision a few blocks from my in-laws, and neighbours who had power invited those who didn’t to come and stay with them, even if they’d never met before. It’s refreshing.

Also - and something also quite specifically Midwest - I’ve become very fond of spending my summer vacation floating down a creek with a big group of friends on a flotilla made of dozens of inner tubes and inflatable beer coolers, just drinking and watching nature go by.

I love my American best friend!

I love the sheer variety of America. The landscapes, the people, the lifestyles. It's insane that the country is so vast and so different across states, but still manages to have forged a strong and unique American identity.

The wilderness there is some of the most beautiful on earth.

Their confidence
Their directness
The fact that they seem to have nailed therapy
Waste Disposal Units
Air conditioning as standard
Their friendliness
The choice everywhere
The customer service.

Ah lovely. I have family in Detroit and the overwhelming friendliness is one of my key memories of visiting.

The National Parks are bloody amazing. Everything is just bigger and better than the UK. I bloody love the Lake District and love sitting having a gin and tonic overlooking Lake Windermere as the sun goes down. But Lake Tahoe surpassed it. Yosemite was something else.

I’m not sure this is true. The layers of meaning are different.

I’ve met so many friendly, intelligent and helpful Americans. I can’t reconcile that with the fact so many vote for the evil Trump.

I went to America once, to NY & Boston as a teenager with my mum, we had thanksgiving there with British expats (family friends) and it was such a cool experience, seeing all families coming together etc with no element of commericalisation like Christmas. Agree with PP about the kindness of Americans, my mum had never travelled long haul before and the customer service team were so helpful navigating the airport and flight depatures.

DP & I are aiming to go there (and Canada) in the next couple of years after we put down a house deposit, likely New England.

I think saying there’s no sense of nuance isn’t quite accurate but it’s somewhat true in the sense of there not being such a culture of faux politeness, snide humour, and self-deprecation which often leaves you second guessing whether somebody actually meant exactly what they said or if they were expecting you to understand they really meant something else, and if they were expecting you to understand they don’t really mean and don’t want others to agree with the negative thing they’ve said about themselves.

An anecdote: my Californian ex-girlfriend came to visit my family and brazenly took the last biscuit and the last slice of cake (on two separate occasions, she’s not a psychopath) when they were left uneaten at coffee time.

I tried to explain that in the UK we are obliged to hold the plate aloft and offer the last thing to every single person in the room, individually. Only if we get a “no” from each potential eater of said thing - and a few extra “are you sure?”s are a good idea here as well - may we proceed to eating the last thing. I added that even then it’s a tad uncouth, and it’s very normal for the last thing to go uneaten, even if everybody really wanted it, possibly all the way into the bin.

She looked at me like I was the weird one.

British people do this odd “doing and saying things I don’t really want to or mean and hoping everyone will understand what I really want or mean, to my own detriment, often to the point of my own quiet rage” thing a lot more than Americans!

Thank you for the reccy - I'm going to search for it now 😁
I'd love a Christmas in America!

Many years ago my family had a holiday in Vermont in a rural location. No connection, my parents just fancied something different and rented a house from a local couple (this was many years before Airbnb etc).

The local community embraced our family for those 2 weeks we stayed! We were invited to the lake bbqs and it was so lovely. I'm sure we were a bit of a novelty but I can't imagine a local continental European community taking us "in" like that. So generous and kind.

I love Ameeica there is just so much to see, no wonder most don't ever go anywhere. From national parks to the coastlines and all that is in-between. I love their sunny disposition as others have said and even just thinking bsck on my trips has given me a huge smile on my face.

I also love their accent 😍

My DP is American so that probably speaks volumes.

But so much I like:
. The confidence they have
. How straight forward/direct they are
. Friendly/welcoming
. The community/social feel
. How willing to help most people seem to be
. The accent... especially my DPs
. The food... bbq, comfort food, desserts, breakfast foods
. The landscape. I'll be moving to the mid-west and it's just beautiful
. The houses. Actual decent sizes and how feasible it is to actually get a little bit of land for a decent price
. The cars. Driving a Dodge Challenger is so much fun

Now I'm just going to go sulk at how slow USCIS are at processing I-130s. Haha.

New York. Especially during the holidays. It's like living in a Christmas Movie. We're going back in December and I'm beyond excited!

One of my best friends is American and she is one of the best people I have ever known.So good hearted and sincere, with real integrity.

As others have said, the pleasant optimism and openness is great. The wide open roads outside of the cities, the landscapes, national parks and different climates.