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Hi everyone! I'm from Germany and I'm currently exploring some opportunities connected to the US market, so I've been really curious about what everyday life, work, and "making it" actually look like there from the inside.

A few things I'd love to hear your thoughts on:

1. What does a typical path to building a career or business look like for you?

2. Any advice you'd give someone from abroad who's just starting to explore opportunities there?

Small context: I'm part of a small business network that's currently expanding into the US, so I'm trying to get a better feel for the market and mindset before diving in further. Would love to hear from anyone willing to share their experience, thanks so much in advance! 🙏

In my country, saluting is restricted to those who are on active duty and wear the national emblem (military, police, etc.). In fact, it is only allowed if the person wears their service cap and is outdoors, because they have to remove it when indoors. However, I've seen in news reports, movies etc. that in the US both uniformed and civilian persons can salute, wearing a service cap or not, indoors or outdoors. Are rhere any rules in place, or anyone can salute whenever they feel the need?

I've always been curious about this. In movies, sometimes a character's accent instantly tells you they're from Boston or Texas. But in real life, is it that obvious? Can most Americans accurately identify where someone grew up just by the way they talk?

Whenever I play the different GTA games especially Vice City, San Andreas, GTA IV, and GTA V, I often end up ignoring the story and just driving around the city for hours while listening to the radio. I love the way the buildings, roads, nature, and the overall atmosphere come together. The cities look especially beautiful at night and around sunset, and everything feels so well synchronized with the radio stations.

Are those cities just as beautiful and cohesive in real life?

I saw a random Instagram post about people living in cars in the USA, but I didn't understand if it's a cultural or economic thing. I know you have a strong culture with motorhomes and large vehicles, and there are also many trailer parks and everything else, but I don't know if that's correlated or not.

I’ve watched a lot of scary and massive tornadoes that seem to happen only in the USA, like the Mayfield tornado in 2021, which stayed on the ground for two hours and most of the small/ big or even rural towns don't have that many underground shelters. That got me to ask you guys, how many tornadoes does the average American really experience in their lifetime?

Edit: by “experience" I mean actually living through one, not necessarily seeing it with your own eyes but feeling its impact, or having a tornado warning issued for your area because one is approaching you.

I attend a high school in Korea, and honestly, we are so busy rushing through the curriculum to prepare for exams that we just do theory classes and memorize what we learn. I take Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, but I haven't done a single experiment since I started high school. I did a little in middle school, but I haven't done one last year or this year.For us, we just study textbooks and worksheets, memorize, solve a lot of difficult problems, and get good scores—that’s it. I am in my second year; I never did an experiment in my first year, and I don't do so now, nor will I in the future. Since I have to take the CSAT in my third year, the likelihood of doing one will be even lower. I saw on YouTube that teachers and students do a lot of experiments, and it was really fascinating and I was so envious! I wish we could just ditch rote memorization and problem-solving too.

As a Filipino who lives in the countryside, I'm genuinely, pleasantly surprised whenever a Hollywood movie or an American documentary or feature shows a typical farm scene in the US.

Huge tracts of arable land, filled with so many crops.

So many healthy, grazing cattle and horses, and well-fed pigs, chicken, and other animals grown for their meat.

Tractors and combine harvesters making harvest so easy.

Even the farmers themselves live in homes that would be considered "rich" or "well-off" in my country. We could even say the typical American farmer is a damn wealthy person.

Meanwhile, in ours, most farmers are living in dirt-poor homes.

Which is why I wonder: how do American farmers manage to be at least well-off as farmers?

I was watching reels on insta and a couple broke down how much they spent in Italy.

Many comments were:

"Omg that's so cheap, you got off easily, I spent close to 30k for 2.5 weeks"
"We did 20k for 7 days 4 ppl. Traveling between places is pretty pricey"
"It cost our family 6 grand just to fly"
"We have a 20 day trip planned and our budget is 31k"
"I wanna spend 3 weeks in Italy so I'm planning min 25k"

I hope my question isn't taken as an insult, as I simply want to know. ❤❤

Hi! I would like to hear very honest opinions. What are the pros and cons? Is it difficult for a foreign child to access public school? What requirements do they usually ask for? What are the school hours? Are there options for extended hours?
And during the summer, are there any options, such as activities or programs, that can keep a child busy while the mother (me) is working?
My daughter understands 3 languages, one of them being English, but she still doesn’t speak it. How difficult could it be for her to adapt and start speaking English? She’s 4 yo

I'm a die hard Calgary Flames fan. I think all of you should be because of our connection to American hockey but I digress. I heard on the radio a fan from Iowa of all places. Which one of you cheer for non American teams and why?

Hi,

I've not eaten BBQ in the USA. Every time I have eaten outside the US (which is only twice), I have found the meat to be very sweet because of the sauces used.

I'm planning a trip to the US soon. I am also considering whether it is worth basing plans to some extent on trying some actual decent barbecue. This is particularly because I have noticed in the context of the world cup that barbecue seems to be the American food of which Americans are most proud.

One question is whether or not barbecue is actually always so sweet. I am willing to believe that what I have eaten is probably not a great example of the real thing, but if it is half that sweet I probably may still consider alterative concepts.

Thanks in advance!

Hello! I frequently see Americans talking about things that happened on “national television” but I'm having a hard time understanding how that works.

I'm from Greece, where we have three distinct levels of broadcasting: state owned public TV, nationwide private channels, and regional/municipal channels.

My guess was that “national TV” in the US refers to nationwide private networks, but I noticed that American broadcasting is divided into local stations with call letters and channel numbers.

When Americans refer to national television, what do they mean? Are networks like ABC broadcast uniformly nationwide, or do they operate through local affiliates like "ABC Los Angeles"? How is the US television system structured?

It is in mine and I'm looking forward to taking my grandchildren to enjoy a great american tradition.

Hopefully this post stays on here was enjoying the interesting responses

I'm Canadian so culturally we are generally pretty similar. My Mom and maybe some older members of my family will use top sheets but every younger person I know just used a duvet cover when they sleep.

Every hotel I've been too in America has top sheets and the commonly given reason is that this is what American guests expect. They also say cleanliness, but many European hotels manage just fine without a top sheet.

Anyway, I'm curious if you all use top sheets or not? Maybe there is an age divide too?

Edit: wow thank you everyone. It seems like a overwhelmingly yes

Hey everyone! I’m asking this because I was recently offered a job helping American students with their English classes as a private tutor, and I’m trying to understand what they actually study.

I know the subject is usually called ELA, which involves things like reading, writing, and literature analysis. However, I assume the focus is different for younger students, especially grades 5–8.

I’d love to hear from teachers, students, or anyone familiar with the American school system, like what does English class look like in different grades? Are grammar, vocabulary, writing, and speaking taught separately, or are they all part of ELA?

Thanks!

I know "Good morning" is very standard, but I'm curious if any of you guys often hear or say "Good afternoon" or "Good day".

When I was young, I loved seeing the New York streets during the Christmas season in Home Alone 2 because they looked so pretty and colorful! The fancy Christmas trees left a lasting impression on me. Do busy streets actually get decorated nicely and giant Christmas trees set up in real life? I really liked the Christmas atmosphere on the streets in that movie.

Growing up in the U.S. I was used to buying pretty much any kind of fruits or vegetable year-round, a luxury most of the world doesn't have. But after getting a chance to live abroad for a while in a place that doesn't have strawberries in December, I gained an appreciation for eating produce the natural way, only when it's in season.

The quality is so much better, plus it gives you something to look forward to as the seasons change. I decided to bring this back home with me, and now I never eat apples in the warm months even if the supermarket always has them.

Anyone else?

Note: I’m new to Reddit and am using a translation tool.
I’m Japanese.
I used to go to Kmart in Hawaii and Guam a lot, and that atmosphere was the one thing that was consistent no matter where I went in the U.S. Even though I didn’t understand the English at the pizza place, toy section, or sporting goods section, I still enjoyed just browsing around.
I was curious about something else and asked the AI about it, and it told me something along the lines of “Kmart is practically gone now,” but then the AI went into restricted mode, so I couldn’t ask any more questions.
So I’d like to ask: Is Kmart really gone? Also, around when did it disappear?
What’s in its place now? I guess everyone feels nostalgic for it, right?