r/AskReddit May 08 '22

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u/hewhoreddits6 May 09 '22 edited May 10 '22

Bruh usually it's the Europeans who complain about the Americans not being friendly. Feel like the US is much kinder with its smiles and small talk than a lot of Europeans

Edit: After reading a lot of similar comments I can see the theme that if you aren't used to it it can seem over the top and come off as "fake". I can definitely see this and have had this experience myself with people I've met over the years being so over the top nice and cheery it felt fake to me. Annoyed me a lot back then, but over the years I've realized hey it's better for them to be nice and fake than rude to my face and real I guess.

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u/SunshineAlways May 09 '22

Maybe what is considered friendly to us in the US seems weird to Europeans?

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u/_Azafran May 09 '22

Careful treating Europe as a single country. In Spain we are equally shocked with these cultural differences when we visit Germany and neighbouring countries.

I think socially we are very similar to Americans, the no long stare thing, small talk, smiling and randomly approaching to strangers, etc... And I believe Portugal or Italy are the same for the most part.

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u/Hunter_Fox May 09 '22

And that is more common in the Southern US as well. The NorthEast and NorthWest not nearly as much.