1) No Free Refills
Probably one of the things I'd miss most from the US if I ever moved to Europe. Tap water costs money at restaurant, and if you want water, they assume you want sparkling water so you have to specify.
2) Public Bathrooms Cost Money
I was able to find free public bathrooms in England and at the various airports I went to in Europe, but in Prague I had to pay a little under a Euro to use the public bathroom there. Some of the bathrooms also needed codes typed in to be able to be unlocked.
3) The Dogs are Really Well-Trained
This might be more of a thing that I observed rather than being true, but a lot of the dogs I saw in Germany were seemingly very well-trained. The dogs would be off leash but stay close to their owners and follow behind them, and never run ahead.
4) Grocery Shopping
This is more related to Germany then the UK. In Germany they go grocery shopping most days. They usually use public transport or walk to the grocery stores, and only buy what they can carry home. They usually bring reusable bags and/or backpacks to the stores to be able to transport back home. The grocery bags cost money as well.
5) Servers at Restaurants
Servers at restaurants only come around to your table around 2x per visit. They also don't expect you to tip them. They also never take your credit card with them, they bring a portable credit card reader to the table.
6) Public Transportation
The United States is built in such a way that you need to have a car to get around, due to the distance between places. In Europe everything is a lot closer together so you can walk or take public transit to most places. This allows you to be able to explore many more places in a shorter amount of time. Probably one of my favorite parts about Europe. For traveling further distances some people have bikes or mopeds. (The steps in Germany were steeper than in the United States, so I would miscalculate how far I had to put my foot down and ended up stumbling like 5x.)
7) Bathrooms
The bathroom stalls in bathrooms usually have full doors so you have more privacy then in United States bathrooms.
8) Country Flags
You see American flags everywhere in the United States, whereas there isn't many around in European countries, and are more rare to see.
9) Roads are Narrower
In Europe there might be two lanes max.
10) Lots of Different Cultures and Languages
Since Europe is smaller and things are closer together you don't have to travel very far to be in a place with a completely different language and culture.
11) Alcohol and Smoking more Culturally Significant
I know alcohol is a big thing in America, but it seemed even moreso in Europe. Also another thing I noticed was that a lot more people smoke cigarettes in Europe, whereas way less Americans do nowadays. In the Zurich airport there were designated smoking lounges, and advertisements for cigarettes. At German grocery stores there are buttons at the check-out counter with various different brands of cigarettes. You press the button of which cigarettes you want to purchase, and the cashier gets it for you to include in your purchase.
12) Recycling is Much More Important/Litter
In the German grocery stores they have a place where you can place your plastic/glass bottles in exchange for Euros. This encourages people to recycle for incentive. The streets of Dresden also didn't have much litter, even with almost no public trashcans.
13) Europeans Get More Vacation Days/Sick Days
In Germany law employers are required to give their employees 21+ days for vacation, whereas in the United States you're lucky if you get two weeks total. Europeans also are more lenient about sick days. In the United States you might feel guilty if you take off for more than one day from being sick.
14) The Tap Water in Europe Tastes Better
I filled my water bottle right from the sink while in Europe, and it tasted good, like bottled water quality.
15) Europe Major Cities Are More Peaceful than Major US Cities
In Dresden and Prague everything just seemed quieter and more peaceful especially in Dresden. This is partially due to having less cars, and emergency vehicles not using sirens as much. Emergency vehicles don't often need to use sirens in order to get to places faster, they can usually get to where they need within a few minutes. This also makes the cities feel safer.
16) Europe Felt Safer than the United States
I traveled through European airports and through Prague alone, and I never really felt unsafe, whereas in the United States especially in major cities you definitely have more strange/unsafe feeling encounters.
17) Europe Has Higher Taxes
In Germany they have to pay 45% of their income to the government, but they also have a lower cost of living compared to the US, and don't have to pay for their healthcare. They also get paid less for the same career path in Europe then they would in the US. It might work out to us paying equal amounts as them through different means but I am unsure.
18) Americans and Guns
Some of the Europeans I encountered brought up guns when I told them I was from America. It does seem crazy that America has so many more shootings, and people can impulsively use guns when they're angry, but I don't know enough about the topic to form an opinion.
19) More Variety of Juices
At the German grocery store I noticed that their was a huge variety of juices whereas there wasn't a large variety of soda. The juices were also cheaper compared to in the United States.
20) Lots of Intricate Old Buildings
In the United States usually the state capitol buildings and some cathedrals are the fanciest that the US gets with it's architecture, whereas Europe has buildings that are over hundreds of years old, and very detailed.
21) Different Measurement System
Europe uses military time to tell time as well as different types of measurements like celsius for temperature, and kilometers to measure distance.
Awesome information. 🙂❤️
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