What surprises foreigners the most about the United States of America?

It’s not a secret to anyone who reads OutKick that I love the USA, and we’re a site that takes great pride in the beautiful country we call home.

You’ll find me dead before you find me trashing America. That’s simply a fact. It’s also not a secret that the rest of the world doesn’t really live like we do here in the USA.

Do they hate us for it or do they admire us?

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Foreigners reveal what surprises them most about America.

I stumbled upon a Reddit thread of non-Americans revealing what they are most shocked about when it comes to the USA, and I clicked expecting it to be a hatefest full of people trashing the USA.

Except, it wasn’t really that at all. The answers and comments were very surprising. Check out a few below, and let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com:

• It’s big. Like, really big. I’m from the UK, and 2 years ago, I did route 66. Even taking the interstate (so not actual route 66, but you get the idea), it took 4 days of 12+ hours driving to do it. It’s goddamn huge.
• The gigantic open spaces everywhere. SO.MUCH.SPACE
• The options when ordering food, I thought it was a TV joke! I feel naughty asking to swap chips for mash but you guys can request pretty much anything!
• My friend from the Netherlands described his visit to the US as the “land of endless choices” which is how Americans like it.
• Yall can strike a conversation with a tree. You literally don’t need anyone to respond and you’ll yabber away relentlessly. It’s a generalisation, as I know there are some quiet Americans, but I was just down in a Publix trying to decide what beer to buy and some woman’s suddenly talking to me about how she met her husband.. I love it, I’m a fairly quiet dude – New Zealand’s a fairly reserved place, so just being able to stream your consciousness out like that is just something truely remarkable. (I married an American. She talks enough for both of us)
• I lived in California for 3 years. I made more friends there in that time than I did living in my home country for over 3 decades.
• I went there for university and honestly Americans just do a lot of little things that are generally nice. Holding the door open, smiling if you make eye contact while walking, randomly saying a quick greeting, etc. Random compliments too, and I never got the vibe that people were just making them up like some of my friends who haven’t been say (if someone complimented someone’s clothes/hair/whatever it seemed like they meant it, they just didn’t seem to hold back the random thoughts and said them out loud). I didn’t even really notice the door holding thing after the first few days but when I went back to my country I actually missed it lol. Not that I ever expected someone to hold the door even in America, but the absence of it & quick smiles was surprisingly noticeable back home.
• They have those angry sinks that chop shit
• I’m from the UK, and now live in MN. The first thing is how friendly everyone seems to be. It may be the Minnesota nice talking, but seriously, everyone is welcoming and friendly.
• The fact that looking at the news you’d think they’re the angriest, most aggressive people in the world but when you are there in person they are, with very few exceptions, very decent and welcoming.
• This is only from a tourist side. But I found it weird how friendly you are and how happy you all seem. This is not a complaint. I met a few lovely Americans when traveling through the Eastern Seaboard and my cynic british side was struck by how open and excited you are to meet new people.
• BIG everything, from food to trucks
• Hearing someone speak with an american accent IRL, my brain just associated it with movies and such
• As a Brit how amazingly, and genuinely, friendly you are. How enamoured you are with British culture and people. I was invited to a BBQ, in a public place, by someone that I met because he liked the t-shirt I was wearing. I felt like some sort of celebrity! I’m an average guy, but everyone wanted to chat to me.
• Americans can strike up a sincere conversation and not be weird about it. No one precedes a question with ‘Sorry to be weird’. They don’t feel embarrassed if they don’t know something. They can listen to you tell a story without jumping in to tell a vaguely similar story related to them.
• How huge the US is The fact that you could be on a plane for 5 hours without leaving the country That… and time zones. When I was a kid I couldn’t grasp why US TV shows were on at, ex: “9/8c”
• The flags everywhere.
• Putting the real estate agent’s face on the for-sale signs

I have to be honest, this is one of the coolest Reddit threads I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s an example of how the world really does look up to the USA.

It’s also a fun reminder of just how great we have it here in America. Our options are limitless. People can’t believe the access to food we have.

Going down to your local burger joint and ordering whatever you want is second nature for an American. We don’t even think about it.

Apparently, that’s just not the case elsewhere in the world where options are more limited. Granted, maybe that’s why we have an obesity problem, but that’s a topic for another time.

Foreigners reveal what shocks them about America. (Credit: Getty Images)

All the way around, a very uplifting Reddit thread that I’m glad I came across. Does anything about America shock you? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.