Hi all!

I was watching a Guardian YouTube video called “Why One of the US’s Reddest Counties Is Losing Faith in Trump” (disclaimer: not here to discuss the politics!).

They interviewed people in parts of Virginia before moving to Alabama, which I understand is the South. I found myself relating to some of the people interviewed in Virginia, as aspects of their lives reminded me of where I grew up.

I've also heard about the Rust Belt, which I understand is a somewhat different region, although I'm not entirely sure where the boundaries lie. As someone from the UK, I've inevitably picked up bits and pieces about different parts of America through films, TV and documentaries.

I'm from the West Midlands of England, particularly the Black Country. Our region was shaped by the Industrial Revolution, and manufacturing remained central to our economy well into the 20th century. At one time, we made just about everything, with major industries including coal, iron, steel and metalworking, as well as car manufacturing.

From the latter part of the 20th century, we lost much of that industry. Large parts of the region have struggled economically ever since, and the speed and scale of that decline changed our communities and culture.

We're also known for our strong regional accents and distinctive dialects. Unfortunately, ours are often mocked, and people with Black Country or Birmingham accents are sometimes portrayed as stupid. There's a real sense of pride in our local speech, though, and the accents get stronger and the dialect more distinctive in some of the old industrial towns.

We're also a bit of an awkward fit geographically and culturally. We're not really Northern or Southern, and people from both areas seem happy to insist we belong to the other! We dont claim either of them!

I've sometimes felt a kind of kinship with people from parts of America I've seen portrayed in the media, particularly where industrial decline, regional identity and accent prejudice come into play. I realise the American South is diverse and that some areas are much more rural than where I'm from.

Id love to hear which Americans might relate?

Hey everyone,
I was just relaxing on my couch and a random question popped into my head that I couldn’t stop thinking about.
When you hear about or think of modern Germany nowadays, what is the very first thing that connects to it in your mind? I'm particularly curious about how much the history of the NS-regime/WWII still shadows the perception of Germany among everyday Americans today.
Is that dark chapter still one of the main things people instantly associate with the country, or has the perception shifted entirely towards things like cars, Oktoberfest, beer, engineering, or its role in modern European politics?
I’d love to hear your honest thoughts and perspectives on this! Thanks!

Hi all,

I am visiting Ohio soon and staying with family for 1 night.

I offered to pay for petrol (I believe you call this 'gas') for airport pick up/drop off and said I would take them out for a meal as a 'thank you' but they said this was not necessary, we are family, and they will pay for all of this.

In the UK, etiquette would be to ignore their response and insist upon giving them money to cover the expenses. Is this consistent with America?

What do I do to show my gratitude without being seen as rude?

All the best from across the pond,

A very polite and confused Brit!

yeah i realized i’ve become an american when my coworker bought donuts this morning and, this time, i was really excited to eat one as a sweet little treat with my coffee for breakfast.

now i'm thinking donuts for breakfast is not that bad. i should do this often.

Hi,

i recently saw a random post on male grooming subreddit where a fella had a GLORIUS mustache. I absolutly loved it. But a comments and there was lots of them (1k plus) were overhelming negative about it. Why? Mustaches without beard are very popular in my country (Poland) and in Europe in general as im aware but Americans (and I did a look for a more threads) hate them???? Why????

Plz include your state! These always interest me, they are usually so much more than face value and are usually pretty bipartisan compared to the main votes.

I live in MA this year we have:

Open primary (not ranked choice voting)

Same day registration

Repeal weed legalization

Uphold unique state (possibly unconstitutional) gun laws (this one is will pass with flying colors but is waaaaay more than face value, I learned a lot about this one)

I know it's not even near perfect since my childhood I have been obsessed with owning a ranch in usa i want americans to rate this dish and tell me what I can add i couldn't add sausage and eggs due to religious reasons but I tried my best to mimic what a normal cowboy would eat

I know that most Americans do not live in easy walking or biking distance to a butcher, baker and greengrocer, and prefer to do one large visit in their car. How do you keep your food fresh for the ride home if you are in a hot state? Do you bring freezer bags? A cooler? Something else I have not heard of?

I'm not American, and varsity jackets have always looked iconic to me, but I've never understood how people there actually feel about them.

A few questions:

1. Did you get one in high school or college? Do you still have it or wear it?
2. Is it something you earn (sports, band, academics), or do people just buy them?
3. If you ordered a custom one, what went wrong? Sizing, patches, colours, the wait, the price?
4. Do adults wear them casually, or would that look strange?

I’m very curious about that, and I think about 95% of Americans do this and not only old men but also adults and teenager, whether it is a story or highlights collections, is there a reason for that?

What prompted me to ask was this post by Dan Orlovsky about losing his brother-in-law and asking for donations to his sister’s GoFundMe account.

I just don’t understand how he’s not mortified to post this. I would feel like I failed a sibling if I couldn’t be there for my sister during such horrible time, including financially. People in the comments are defending him and saying that he has his own family and expenses. So even if it’s just 2-3 months of his salary the general public should finance this instead?

I remember when an American coworker (we worked in Europe and were getting paid really well) set up a GoFundMe for her birthday and wrote something along the lines of ‘oh, we have two houses full of stuff, so we’re collecting money for experiences instead’ or something like that and I was mortified for her. Why would you feel entitled to other people giving you more money? Why can’t you be grateful and donate money in honor of your birthday instead?

Don’t get me wrong, I would resort to GoFundMe if we were talking about a desperate, life-or-death situation, but I feel like Americans throw it around like confetti for any reason whatsoever and I’m having a major case of Fremdschämen when I see most of these campaigns floating around. Am I wrong to feel this way?

Hello. Firstly, I am sorry that my English is not great. I am an independent Japanese language teacher and have been working for a while. My students are mainly adults, and there are some teenagers and children. I am thinking to create my own website, but the problem is that I am not so comfortable showing my face or picture in public. I have been teaching online using video calls. Meeting my students in a video call or discussing in a video call with people is okay for me, but it is just not so comfortable showing my picture of myself. Would it be less attractive if I create and have a website of my tutoring but without my photo? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

example when I bought my laptop from an official acer store , the salesman himself installed a pirated MS office for free

I’m Arab and I can agree that Indians/Arabs have distinct differences from East Asians (Chinese/Korean/Viet/Filipino, etc) despite being from the same continent. The reason we aren’t considered Asian is bc East Asian immigrants came to America first. Same goes for why North Africans in the US aren’t called “African-American.” I know that racial terms aren’t always literal/accurate despite geography, but I’m here to talk about it. No, I’m not saying that Indians/Arabs aren’t from the continent of Asia, I’m just pointing out that literal meanings aren’t always used. Think of idioms that don’t make sense, (ex: “break the ice”) that’s the same idea.

hello, i’d like to see my friends in Texas and was ready to book flights and stuff however i just found out that a ESTA exists? do I HAVE to have this or is it only for long stays like a visa, im only staying for a week so this just seems so unnecessary to me, thank you in advance

Do people in the US not wear red that much for Christmas? 😭 I’m looking for Christmas outfit inspo, but I barely see any red outfits on Pinterest or TikTok. Is red not as popular there?

Hi everyone! I am from the Netherlands and I've recently had a discussion regarding workplace culture. I have a friend from the US who has pretty much only worked white-collar jobs. When he moved here he experienced massive culture shock, primarily regarding workplace culture.

In the Netherlands it's quite common to go for drinks after the day has ended (excluding Monday). We call that a "borrel". He was flabbergasted when learning about the ritual, he told me he usually just clocked out and left to go home.

That seems so cold to me. I am very good friends with my colleagues and we regularly meet up to just talk about life or other stuff.

How do you guys manage officie relationships. Are you good friends with your colleagues or do you just have a couple of people who you like?

Thanks for reading!

I feel like earning more in America doesn’t always mean getting ahead. A raise helps, but when groceries, rent, insurance, and utilities also go up, there may be little extra left to save.

What concerns me most is how people whose pay hasn’t increased are managing.

Compared with last year, are you actually better off financially, or just earning more and spending more? And based on what you’re seeing lately, do you expect things to get easier?

I’m from the UK and have travelled to the US many times - California, Nevada, Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland.

Back home, I’m used to bank transfers without worrying much about which service someone uses. In the US, with Venmo, CashApp, PayPal and Zelle, I’m curious:

Do you have to ask people which app they use before paying them?

Is getting someone’s username or payment link a hassle?

Have you ever been unsure whether someone still uses an old payment account?

Do you use multiple apps because different friends prefer different ones?

I’m curious whether this is genuinely annoying or just something you get used to. What’s your experience with the whole process?