Imagine, if you will, arriving in a country you’ve never been to before. Customs seem odd, and expectations seem odder yet. Although Europeans and Americans have plenty of things in common, and Europeans are not just a homogeneous mass of a single culture, there are some oddities that amuse and befuddle pretty much all Europeans, no matter what country they come from. Here are a few of them.
Tipping
Tipping is just not done in Europe. You don’t tip your waiter or bartender restaurant. You don’t tip your hair stylist. You don’t tip your cab driver, the bellhop at the hotel, or the shuttle driver who brings you to the airport.
In the U.S., all of these people get tips. Their pay is very low, based on the assumption they will be tipped by their customers. In Europe, service sector employees get a living wage and don’t need tips to supplement their income.
Portion sizes
American restaurants are famous for serving massive portions to their customers, which is part of the reason obesity is a problem in the U.S. Europeans are generally gobsmacked when they see how much food they’re being served at a meal. Although Americans do have the “doggy bag” to help you take home any extras, this isn’t a thing in Europe because portion sizes are more appropriate.
Taxes
In European countries, the price tag of an item reflects any value-added or sales taxes, so you pay what you see on the tag. Not so in the U.S., where you have to figure you’re going to pay an extra 5 percent or so over the sticker price.
Then there’s the issue of different taxes in different states, and different taxes for different goods. In Seattle, people pay a total of about 9 percent in state and city sales taxes, whereas in Maine, the sales tax is 5 percent—unless you’re buying pre-made deli foods, eating at a restaurant, or purchasing alcoholic beverages. Multiply this by every state and city in the country, and you can see why Europeans would be flummoxed by our tax structure … to say nothing of the complexity of U.S. income taxes.
The drinking age
In most of Europe, the legal drinking age is 18. In the U.S., it’s 21, so Europeans who are used to being able to order a pint at the local pub are understandably annoyed when they don’t have the same privilege in American bars. Europe also has a more open stance on bringing alcohol outside, which is illegal just about everywhere in the U.S.
If you’re European, what else do you find weird about life in the United States? What have your European friends commented on when they’ve visited you? Please share your thoughts in the comments.