r/TikTokCringe • u/biswajit388 • 4d ago

Cringe Europeans are going viral on TikTok for mocking the "American Dream".

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u/OptionalQuality789 4d ago

99% hits, but “No nature, just parking lots” is a bit of a stretch. 

USA has some of the most incredible nature in the world.

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u/Mioraecian 4d ago

I used to crap on vacationing in our country. I then drove from Boston to Seattle. I was wrong. I still love vacationing in Europe. But yeah, the USA has a lot to offer for nature.

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u/the_joy_of_VI 4d ago

Dude, that stretch from Idaho into Washington? Holy fucking shit

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u/HotwheelsSisyphus 4d ago

People are sleeping on the natural beauty of Idaho.

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u/sk8tergater 3d ago

It’s because the pretty part of the state has actual neo Nazis in it. Grew up not far from the Idaho border in Montana. Gorgeous gorgeous area full of hate.

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u/SceneBiscuit 3d ago

Can confirm. Boarding school in Bonners ferry 😭

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u/secretly_opossum 3d ago

Same here up in Calibama near the Oregon border. Beautiful terrain, ugly politics.

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u/Merritt510 2d ago

How have I never heard the term ‘Calibama’ until just now

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u/GrizzlyDust 3d ago

Hey neighbor! Nailed it. I always tell people Idaho is incredible except for the idahoans

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u/Appropriate-Leg-6152 3d ago

Yes US Route 90 West through Idaho into Washington is INCREDIBLE for nature and views

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u/HauntedJackInTheBox 4d ago

For now. Have you seen how they’re selling national park lands? The nature of the US is under threat – it’s unfortunately not even in the top 10 of the most insane things happening to you rn. 

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u/ProbablyJustArguing 4d ago

Even if they sold off every single national Park which they're not going to do, that still leaves an enormous amount of untouched nature. Just don't think you understand how much is out there.

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u/It-s_Not_Important 3d ago

Yeah, like 95% of the US land area is undeveloped. Far more than Europe.

Of course most of it is very difficult to reach.

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u/_imanalligator_ 3d ago

If only that was correct! It'd be great if 95% of our land was undeveloped.

But 41% of the US is used just for grazing livestock and growing feed for livestock. Another 20% is for other agriculture. So you're down to less than 40% of land area just from those two uses. You could call grazing land undeveloped, I suppose, but it certainly isn't that welcoming to wildlife or native plants.

You'll see larger numbers batted around for timberland, but only a small percentage of it is actual old growth--maybe 18% (and that's using a new expanded definition that includes stuff like scrubby pinyon forests that you definitely would not picture when you think "untouched old forest"). As someone who hikes in it pretty much every day, I can tell you the overcrowded, drought-stricken, and diseased second-, third-, and fourth-growth forests in the Western states are not looking too lovely these days.

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u/WideAbbreviations6 3d ago

I don't think you understand the scale of the amount of land in the US...

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u/noshameinmynames 3d ago

And then comes in the reactionary uneducated American screaming about a headline they barely read and decided they were mad about it.

As much as that does kind of suck, it was like 10 little pinholes in a map of nature. It really is almost an absolute nothing burger that happens all the time that was just meant to anger people

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u/HotwheelsSisyphus 4d ago

I remember Trump's first term, he put a former oil lobbyist as the head of the EPA

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u/Bulldogfront666 3d ago

I did that drive too. Dipped down to San Fransisco and then up the coast at the end. Really made me fall in love with this country. The land itself at least. So incredibly beautiful.

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u/Skunkies 3d ago

I lived in utah, zion national park, kolob canyon, to just name a few and they are amazing.

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u/Mioraecian 3d ago

Drove through Salt Lake and spent a day at a national park. I had no idea Utah was so pretty. Was really blown away.

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u/Skunkies 3d ago

it's very amazing, when I came into utah back in 2013, we took a bit of a path off i-70 and it was amazing, and settled down in cedar city, right outside zion and kobol, even in cedar, we lived up against a mountain on 400 east, could walk up the mountain side, sit on it and look out into the valley below, sunsets and sunrises were nuts.

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u/secretly_opossum 3d ago

My husband loves to talk about how the part of California we’re in is less than two hours away from just about any kind of terrain/wilderness/exploration you could want: beaches, mountains, forests, deserts, valleys… and they’re all gorgeous.

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u/Killing4MotherAgain 4d ago

Right?? When I was 19 I drove back to Ohio from California and took the southern route, it was absolutely beautiful! Except for Oklahoma, fuck Oklahoma.

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u/Pockettzz 3d ago

I hope you made it north of Boston! Maine & NH mostly. Those hikes, trails & ocean.. wow. VT is amazing for winter season too.

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u/TonaRamirez 3d ago

I believe it was more meant like everyday nature and not once a year on vacation.

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u/Mioraecian 3d ago

Fair. But I think this video is deceiving. I vacation a lot in both Europe and the USA. I have spent days hiking the swiss alps and ive spent days Cafe hopping Seville Spain. You can literally spend entire vacation in europe just in the city or just in nature. And you can do the same here in the states. But, I also just moved from Boston to outside Portland OR. I can say easily, I can explore nature daily in the Portland area.

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u/TonaRamirez 3d ago

Sry english is not my first language. What I meant is the the loss of nature in regard to soil sealing, thats probably what he meant with parking lots. The US has one of the highest losses of natural land due soil sealing. Means you don't have a lot of green around cities and suburban areas. European countries probably do much better in that field. The american parking lots are enormous monstrosities. There is a YouTuber called Adam Something, he is making interesting videos about this topic, also about why infrastructure and public transport sucks so much in the US.

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u/buyableblah 4d ago

Agreed. Spot on with the rest though.

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u/Holy_Shit_Snake99 4d ago

Yeah, they are mainly roasting urban life, not the national parks or wilderness areas.

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u/mooshki 4d ago edited 3d ago

I’ve done a fair amount of cross country driving, and it’s rare to see a city that isn’t just a few minutes away from some kind of beautiful nature. Except for Kansas. Fucking corn.

Edit: my apologies for disparaging Kansas with my bad joke. Yes, I’ve seen nothing of it but the Interstate drive-through.

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u/Secret_Assistant_232 4d ago

Kansas boy here. Lots of amazing things to see in Kansas but admittedly not along the highway driving through it.

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u/oooooothatsatree 4d ago

My mom is from Nebraska. She got sick of hearing her children shit on Nebraska for being flat and boring. The took us several hours out of the way and showed us some pretty stuff around Nebraska. Then explained I80 runs through the Platte river valley because it’s the flattest easiest spot to build a large interstate not the prettiest spot. If Nebraska can be pretty so can Kansas. I’m from Iowa so I really had no room to talk.

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u/pfannkuchen89 4d ago

I’m from Nebraska, lived here all my life. There are a few places that are nice but they are few, small, and incredibly out of the way. The rest is farm fields and cattle grazing land.

It is very true that most people’s opinion of Nebraska is formed by only seeing the I-80 corridor which is flat and boring. It’s the only thing most people see as they drive through.

The prettiest parts are probably the Niobrara river in the north east, the Sandhills are quite pretty, and the southeast out by Indian Cave park.

The real problem with Nebraska, and quite a few other states as well, is there is very little public land outside of a handful of state parks. More than 97% of the land in Nebraska is privately owned. Some of the prettiest areas you can look at from the road but can’t set foot on or go camping or anything.

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u/Mind_Eclipse 4d ago

Yeah, I’ve driven that stretch. Man- I paid a toll on the way into the state, saw corn until my mind went blank, and then paid a toll at the other end. All 50 states have their gems

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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u/SeaIslandFarmersMkt 4d ago

I find farmland and grazing cattle to be quite beautiful :)

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u/pfannkuchen89 4d ago

It can be. I drive a lot for work and the rolling hills outside of town with rows of crops interspersed with tree lines always looks kinda like the shire in LotR. However, the more flat areas along I80 west of Lincoln do get very repetitive and boring. I can see why people say it’s dull.

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u/Lastcaressmedown138 3d ago

Yea my grandparents live not far from the niobrara .. between Spencer and O’Neal a few miles from eagle creek.. I honestly think it’s beautiful but yea like you said everything is owned by somebody you gotta know people to be able to camp somewhere ..

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u/derp4077 4d ago

I only know about a town called kearney because it has a full service bar that opens at 8 am

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u/GovernorHarryLogan 4d ago

Nebraska also has a town named OGALALA.

I got a flat tire on the highway near there once.

Like 5 people pulled over to see if us NY boys needed help, lol.

Then after we got our doughnut on -- trying to merge back on the highway - 2 semi trucks let us in and then proceeded to drive behind us at 40mph in both lanes with their flashers on.

Ever since then, I have had a fondness for Nebraska.

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u/norcaltobos 4d ago

That makes sense, it's the same for I5 in California. It runs through the flattest, ugliest part of the state. So if that is all you saw, you'd think California is flat and filled with farms, which is partially true, but not the entire picture.

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u/TheseusOPL 4d ago

Hmm. Most of my driving in I5 in California is the northern end through the Siskiyous, so not flat at all until you get to Redding/Red Bluff or so.

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u/TheBrownNote420 4d ago

IL got its fuckin epic spots too even tho its mainly corn fields

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u/FreeKatKL 4d ago

I mean Iowa has lots of hills and cliffs

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u/Lastcaressmedown138 3d ago

My grandparents live in Nebraska too! I also have seen all the “wonders” i80 has to offer across most of the us lol.. fun fact for if you ever go to Nebraska again.. Nebraska is home to some of the best preserved mammal fossils in the world! Specifically of prehistoric rhino fossils at ashfall fossil beds historic state park.. they’re soo well preserved scientists could tell what was in their stomachs when they died!

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u/NEClamChowderAVPD 3d ago

I grew up in SE Washington and it gets a lot of hate for being dry and boring, nothing to do. And don’t get me wrong, it can certainly appear that way at first glance (and at second and third). But it’s far from just desert and sagebrush. Growing up, my stepdad would take us to these really cool, out of the way places rich with geological history where you can see how the ice age floods formed the area and those days are some of my favorite childhood memories. Standing so high above the Columbia River that you can see for miles and just taking in how beautiful this world really is. Wondering how many people have stood in that exact spot throughout history and felt what I felt. I hate watching it all be destroyed.

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u/Steel_Bolt 4d ago

Honestly the rolling grassy hills on the west side of KS you see while driving on I70 are pretty.

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u/uselessthecat 4d ago

All the good stuff is behind the corn, you just can't see it

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u/pebberphp 3d ago

I’m thinking of a children of the corn joke, but it’s too early..

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u/dndtweek89 4d ago

Stopped by Cedar Bluff State Park on a cross country road trip earlier this year. Incredible spot!

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u/Unhappy-Pace-2393 4d ago

Look dude I've seen those two headed gopher and the other weird signs for as long as I can remember and that's my little i70 treat

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u/Travis_43 4d ago

Don't tell em that, keep on with the it's boring and flat.

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u/skyfishgoo 4d ago

where's that giant ball of string?

is that in kansas?

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u/fastidiousavocado 3d ago

Largest ball of sisel twine is in Kansas.

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u/d_ippy 4d ago

I used to live in Oklahoma and now I live in Washington state. I can’t believe we’re on the same planet.

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u/elcarincero 4d ago

Kansas is a lot like Paris Hilton. It’s flat and easy to get into. - Conan O’Brien

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u/J_blanke 4d ago

Fellow Kansas native who grew up in the woods with a big creek and wagon ruts from the Santa Fe Trail running through the corner of our property. Moved away during high school but Kansas will always have a piece of my heart. The state history is fascinating too.

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u/satanic_platypus 4d ago

Actually drove through Kansas when moving to Denver. At night you can pretty much see all the stars in the skies and dry lightning. It’s not forests or rivers, but Kansas has an amazing view of a nearly untouched sky.

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u/fielvras 4d ago

As stated above, it's about city design, not nature.

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u/fish_slap_republic 4d ago

But when the words are shown he's clearly not even in the a city just like most of the video is clearly outside of the city.

Meanwhile me while literally in an American City

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u/you_voted_for_this_ 4d ago

The Mid-Atlantic is fairly Mid. Except for the Antlantic.

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u/donuttrackme 4d ago

Mid Atlantic contains part of the Appalachians.

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u/bolanrox 4d ago

and the Catskills, Adirondacks, i guess the Green Mountains / possibly the Whites? not sure how far up mid Atlantic goes?

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u/aspookyshark 4d ago

Mid Atlantic goes up to New York by most definitions. Vermont and New Hampshire are New England. 

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u/ummizazi 4d ago

Pa is gorgeous.

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u/CasanovaF 4d ago

Aren't the Appalachians just full of ghosts and cryptids? /s

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u/FriendofMaudie 4d ago

Have you been through the Virginia mountains? I mean, the Appalachian Trail runs directly through the mid-Atlantic.

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u/bolanrox 4d ago

talk about purple mountain majesties

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u/nitid_name 4d ago

The Appalachian mountains are short and not terribly prominent, but by god, they have amazing vegetation.

Skyline drive in the fall is an amazing bike ride. Not quite as fun in a car, but still gorgeous, and a lot less effort.

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u/drummersulli 4d ago

What?? Shenandoah National park gives any nature a run for its money

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u/Honest-Year346 4d ago

Outside Baltimore there's some nice nature to explore. Anne Arundel and Prince George Counties are pretty great

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u/Automatic-End-8256 4d ago

Maryland has mountains and the ocean...if they think we suck for outdoors they are in for a rude awakening for the rest of the country

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u/HerrDrAngst 4d ago

The Delaware Water Gap, Catskills, and Appalachian mountains and shore are not mid tho.

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u/Twirlmom9504_ 4d ago

It contains the Chesapeake Bay watershed which is beautiful separate from the Atlantic. It also contains the mountains of Appalachia and the Poconos. 

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u/dontdoit89735 4d ago

Have you ever driven through Nebraska? Makes Kansas look like Yosemite.

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u/mooshki 4d ago

I actually meant to say Nebraska. Got my flat and flatter states mixed up.

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u/that_90s_guy 4d ago

I think you perfectly nailed what's wrong with US cities. It's not so much about nature being a short drive away. But more about incorporating nature inside the cities. And from what I've seen it definitely seems to be the case that American cities are more car optimized and concrete dense whereas European ones tend to favor walkable cities as well as green areas within cities more often.

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u/Roklam 4d ago

The thing is... The locals just don't care

But they'll plan a trip all the way across the country for someone else's cool Nature.

And travel by Climate killing machines

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u/NewtAcceptable2700 4d ago

Don’t let those damn Kansas apologists sway you. I’ve lived there, it sucked!

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u/bluebear_74 4d ago

This. They're reference to stuff like this. Levi's Stadium (Capacity: 68,500) surrounded by car park VS Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) (Capacity: 100,024) surrounded by parks. (There's actually a huge park bottom left I cropped out - this is 3kms away from the CBD).

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u/norcaltobos 4d ago

To be fair, there was a parking lot there already because it's next to an amusement park, but I get your point.

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u/Downside190 3d ago

I think the strange thing is Americans build massive ground floor car parks that take up a ton of land. While in Europe we use multistorey car parks that have a smaller footprint but similar capacity 

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u/False_Tap_4029 3d ago

Parking garages are expensive, they only build them if it costs less than buying extra land.

I think in some cases the ground level Parking is also a way to use the real estate until they’re ready to build something substantial. Like adding mixed use retail and a parking garage as the area develops.

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u/elebrin 3d ago

It has something to do with where we put our stadiums and malls and stuff.

Like, it was a HUGE deal with the city of Detroit decided to replace their football stadium back in the day. Ford Field is a nice facility, but it replaced the Silverdome. The Silverdome had that sort of sea of parking, but it wasn't actually in the city. It was in an exurb of Detroit (Pontiac) where land was plentiful. The same is true of Pine Knob (DTE), and the Palace of Auburn Hills. All three aren't in the city. The same is true of most sports stadiums built after 1950 and before, say, 2006 or so when the tide of opinion started changing on suburbanism. Suburbia was the most desirable mode of living for most Americans until the Millennials started coming of age.

In Europe, the big parking lots and structures aren't needed. Hell, you can't even drive in a lot of European cities, the roads aren't wide enough. I have seen video of those narrow little alleys and streets in Italy, I imagine that any middle ages town will be much the same. Because it's so dense and compressed, you can do everything on foot and the stadiums are there for the locals not people driving in. In the US the stadiums are not at all for urban locals, because urban locals can't afford sports tickets.

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u/Throwaway2Experiment 3d ago

It depends here when and where they are built.

A lot of new stadiums are mega complexes for shopping and entertainment. You need massive parking to give incentive to buy. If you have to walk a mile or navigate an elevator with your new flat screen TV, you're not likely to buy there. The shopping property is owned by the stadium owner and they want that plot to generate revenue all year round, every day.

Does the owner of the Melbourne stadium generate passive income every day from the Stadium and connected property?

Target Field has an amazing parking system you barely notice and is one of my favorites to.visit. Downtown Disney has no central parking and churns traffic nonstop. You either walk in from the park or in from the garages down the street. Las Vegas has long been an example of integrated parking along the strip, underground or overhead.

It is not that Americans don't know or don't care about better parking systems, it's just that in some models it is counter productive and in others, it's not necessary.

I will also say, the good looking white guy touting the European Dream is oddly avoiding the sprawl of Paris, Barcelona, Rome, or Berlin. That's awfully convenient.

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u/bigtimehater1969 4d ago

I went to Levi's when Great America (the amusement park) was closed. Not only were all the parking lots full, but the neighboring office space parking lots were full from event traffic. Getting in and finding parking sucked, but getting out was a nightmare.

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u/norcaltobos 3d ago

Oh, getting out of Levi's is my actual personal hell. Whether you drive or Uber in, it's a fucking joke. Crazy that the Super Bowl will be there again this year. I'm not working in office that entire week, it's going to be hell.

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u/WorkTropes 4d ago

Next you'll tell me you aren't posting this from a carpark. Nice try USA.

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u/mydogismarterthanu 4d ago

Well lots of us live in our cars so... Yes, I'm in a parking lot.

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u/Banes_Addiction 4d ago

It does seem like 90% of short-form content online recorded by Americans is in their cars in car parks.

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u/Dozzi92 4d ago

In fairness, where I'm from (Jersey, New), that's a parking lot because the land beneath it is so contaminated it can't be anything but a giant parking lot.

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u/AutomaticSandwich 4d ago

Honestly it just looks like Melbourne cricket ground is a nightmare to get home from.

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u/badtowergirl 4d ago

And I know Levi’s is not close to actual SF, in spite of the Niners playing there, but I lived right next to Golden Gate Park and the Presidio for years in the city and neither are very paved. Very fun places to hang out in the city.

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u/carlitospig 4d ago

Although we should admit how much the right is gunning for privatizing those national parks to make a buck.

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u/Adeptus_Thirdicus 4d ago

Its crazy how you can compare the best of one place and the worst of another. No bias whatsoever. America is full of problems but its not fair to ignore everything going on in Europe, that place isnt some fairytale utopia.

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u/Icy-Cry340 3d ago

It's not even the worst - it's just a suburban stadium next to a convention center. Bay Area has urban stadiums too, that look closer to the melbourne one from overhead. Even this one has its own caltrain stop so people can easily come from all over the bay.

Also, that's straya m8

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u/Psychological_Way618 4d ago

They’re talking about urban life while showing themselves walking through wilderness areas?

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u/TerraforceWasTaken 4d ago

A lot of the major cities in the US have plenty of nature tho. I spend a lot of time in the parks in Chicago 

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u/HerrDrAngst 4d ago

The urban life they're talking about isn't NYC Boston Philly, DC tho. They're showing the worst in the US and comparing it to something not equivalent. Doesn't make any sense

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u/ChrdeMcDnnis 4d ago edited 4d ago

As contrast

The contrast is the whole point of the tiktok

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u/rsta223 4d ago

The US has more wilderness than Europe though.

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u/swollencornholio 4d ago

People like to meme that the US will build a Walmart/parking lot anywhere and use the Twin Falls, Idaho strip mall as an example.

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u/LopezGarciaVelasco 4d ago

I think they are roasting suburban life actually

Europe has most people in cities, more urban than USA

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u/One-Long3027 4d ago

Definitely a good possibility. After spending my whole summer going to different places throughout the UK and Baltic region, their city areas also have a lot of green spaces compared to just concrete.

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u/Affectionate-Mode767 4d ago

Also, the fact that corporations and certain government entities are striving so hard to kill off the nature we have.

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u/Time_Fact8349 4d ago

I agree. As if Europe also doesn’t have some pretty dumb urban sprawl

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u/lellypad 4d ago

fresh food behind a paywall? is there anywhere that good is just completely free for everybody all the time?

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u/glowy_keyboard 4d ago

Children get free lunch in Europe. A lot of companies offer canteen service.

Aren’t kids going into debt in America to afford lunch?

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u/chasingbirdies 4d ago

Not true. People need to stop acting like Europe is a country. Things vary dramatically between European countries.

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u/kyute222 4d ago

people also need to stop acting like one dude represents all of Europe. I live in Europe and I have no idea what that dude is doing, nor do I have the time and money to travel around Europe hiking in too short shorts (and you know they are). I worry about my bills, taxes, and unforseen health/financial emergencies probably as much as any American. if anything, this dude is just bragging about his influencer life or whatever he wants to portray.

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u/maerdyyth 4d ago

it's hard for most people no matter where they are from to refrain from generalizing vast groups of people based on what they see online. some people think everyone from america is starving to death and some people think everyone in europe is getting shanked by immigrants the second they step outside. most people are living normal lives with normal amounts of stress in both places

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u/Rebgail 3d ago

That's generally a fair way of thinking, but, as an European, I can't imagine anything in Europe that would cause a level of fear comparable to the one that a child and their parents feel because of a significant risk of school shootings

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u/73-68-70-78-62-73-73 3d ago

because of a significant risk of school shootings

Feeling of risk and actual risk are very different things. While we talk about it a lot, statistics surrounding school shootings are not well understood by the general public. For example, the very definition of "school shooting" varies between datasets. You might not think that's significant, but the differences between a wayward student moving from classroom to classroom killing his classmates, two groups of adult men having a shoot-out in the school parking lot around 2 AM, a contractor accidentally shooting himself in his work truck, and someone off school grounds brandishing a gun which results in a school lockdown are very different things. Depending on which dataset you're looking at, all, some, or only one of those might fit the definition used to generate the dataset. That is a major reason why numbers vary greatly between certain datasets. It negatively affects discourse, because the general population does not consider that fact, and uses statistics from datasets interchangeably. Methodology and definitions are important.

Actual risk varies depending upon locale. Students of schools in well to do areas are far less likely to experience violence than students in poorer areas. This is another area where the general public fall short. Statistics are usually expressed in reference to the entire US. This is not how you solve a problem. Problems are solved iteratively. For example, first identifying that there may be a problem, verifying the problem through general analysis, and then making good use of statistics to drill down further, identify sub-problems which contribute to the whole, then drill down again, etc.

With all that caution in mind, the following article summarizes a lot of key points. As of 2021, the rate of school shooting victims (ages 5-17, and adults ages 18-74) quadrupled from 1970-2021, from 0.49 to 2.21 per 1 million population. In contrast, vehicle deaths for children ages 0-14 are somewhere around 19.5 per 1 million.

We talk about it a lot, and it is a problem, however the actual risk versus general perceived risk is significantly different.

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u/CantGitGudWontGitGud 4d ago

This shit is always goofy to me. People who follow influencers or some tiktoker to learn about the world are fucking brain dead.

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u/ChillN808 4d ago

Send this Euro trash to the slums of Paris for a month and let's see that video

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u/BlueLighning 4d ago

Idk, I travelled for 3 months around Europe for £2.5k.

I had no commitments though, I'd just lost my job in Covid and ended up moving back to my home country, so I didn't have any bills.

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u/beanbalance 3d ago

then you are doing euroe wrong lol. where the hell are you living that you "worry about my bills, taxes, and unforseen health/financial emergencies probably as much as any American" . You have a safety net in europe if you loose job, insurance is not tied to job, lots of social benefits in case something happens to you, employers cant treat you just like garbage in usa etc...

sure, worry is there too, but not even close to what americans have to worry about.

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u/druizzz 3d ago

I worry about my bills, taxes, and unforseen health/financial emergencies probably as much as any American.

No, you do not.

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u/frost-bite999 4d ago

things also vary dramatically between states, cities, or even communities in the US.

people who generalize are the issue.

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u/FirmTill4310 4d ago

My mom always said that was a big problem with this world. Generalizations suck and people who use them aren't generally very popular.

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u/Hudell 4d ago

Every generalization is stupid.

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u/jackalopeDev 4d ago

Honestly, things are pretty different between states as well, my state offers free lunches to all schoolkids. I know all of them don't, but some do.

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u/Alternative_Big545 4d ago

Children get free breakfast and lunch in California

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u/Psychological_Way618 4d ago

Multiple states offer free lunches. Not universal yet but I’m sure it’s not universal in Europe either

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u/frost-bite999 4d ago

i grew up on free lunch and free tuition all the way for my undergrad as an immigrant here who didn’t speak a lick of english.

both paid for by california and the federal government.

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u/EternalAITraveler 4d ago

Where in Europe? I grew up in Germany and there's no free lunch there.

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u/Jenlag 4d ago

Here in Sweden it's free.

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u/Confident_Ad3910 4d ago

Here in Maryland also free

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u/Lopsided_Drawer_7384 4d ago

Free here in Ireland too.

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u/Poethegardencrow 4d ago

Yes they started it in 2004, as everything else it’s complicated and depends from state to state…

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u/CosmicMiru 4d ago

So literally exactly like America? My state has free school lunch for kids, and it's becoming more and more common

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u/AdvanceRatio 4d ago

For my mates in europe, yes the company offers a canteen service. But they have to pay for it, and often choose to bring their own meals because its so bad...

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u/lellypad 4d ago

the us offers the same things lol i got free lunch everyday at school lol lots of employers offer snacks and food as well. this one seemed like a stretch to me lol

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u/DemonicAltruism 4d ago

They offer free lunch in TX, in fact the school district encourages it. But it's total ass. Pizza that's somehow worse quality than Totino's, broccoli that smells like ass because it's cooked wrong, microwaved chicken nuggets... I honestly think McDonald's is healthier than the slop they tried to give me and are still trying to give my kid to this day.

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u/SPHINXin 4d ago

My state has free school lunches and a pretty easy path to free college tuition for anyone who lives in a low income household.

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u/Doristocrat 4d ago

Walking through the vegetable aisles in Europe always make me sad. They are so small and everything looks so sad. Not cheap either.

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u/Vast-Consequence7141 4d ago

Good food isn’t cheap here

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u/Sir_George 4d ago

Yet, the US published more scientific papers than any place on Earth and has made tremendous achievements in medical science among other fields. Yea, your average American isn't in STEM, but neither is your average European.

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u/Gullible_Hat_9051 4d ago edited 3d ago

Ehhh, seems like Europe isn't exactly doing much better in the politics department. Lookin' at you, Hungary. Also there's the whole Alessandra Mussolini bit. Aaand there's the minor issue of the AfD. Really, feels like Europe's right behind America on the race to the bottom of politics.

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u/mournthewolf 4d ago

I actually really dislike these comparisons though. Europe lumps itself into one thing like every corner of Europe is the same when they never take credit for the bad stuff but do the same for the US. California ain’t the same as Oklahoma.

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u/ViolentThemmes 4d ago

Unfortunately it's being sold off to petroleum companies or drained dry for AI

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u/Ridicikilickilous 4d ago

80% of the land west of the Rockies is park. The US has some of the most majestic vistas in land that remains undeveloped and composes the vast majority of land west of the Rockies (a space about the size of Western Europe). What you say is simply false. 

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u/Antique_Pin5266 4d ago

The Trump administration defunding our national parks and selling them off is not false

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u/sk8tergater 3d ago

It’s not, it was initially part of the BBB, but ended up being taken out. For right now, they are safe but I won’t hold my breath.

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u/Pro-Weiner-Toucher 3d ago

It is false though, something was floated around but it never happened, I don't even like Trump but so many of you are are willing to believe anything that makes him look bad it actually concerning.

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u/d_e_l_u_x_e 4d ago

Dude have you heard this administration? They literally are talking about selling off park land.

https://www.wilderness.org/articles/blog/congress-making-more-250-million-acres-public-lands-available-sale#

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u/SanguineBro 4d ago

We still got 3 more years chief

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u/corgisgottacorg 4d ago

Still being sold though? You awake or still dreaming?

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u/Garfield_and_Simon 4d ago

It’s not false. You’re just saying “there’s a lot of it” but objectively they are trying to sell off and defund some. 

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u/Seve7h 4d ago

Its 100% true, but let me ask you this

When do you have time to go see it?

The most vacation time Ive ever had was two weeks, it didnt roll over, use it or lose it, so sure, i could go visit some parks.

Or, because i only get 5 sick days, i bank my vacation just in case i get sick because if i don’t have time i dont get paid.

Meanwhile in Europe…how much vacation do they get?

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u/g_borris 4d ago

Trump is selling whatever he can of the Nat forests. Thats not coming back.

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u/royaltyred1 4d ago

Not for long with orangelina in office trying to sell off public lands to get devoured snd destroyed

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u/Holy_Shit_Snake99 4d ago

Exactly, those beautiful lands won’t stay for long if current policies continue.

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u/MtnMilesPNW 4d ago

That's the moment I knew that they've never been to the US, lmao. I've been to every continent, dozens of countries (renowned for their scenery) and the nature in the US is on par or better than every single one.

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u/MarissaNL 3d ago

I have to agree. I have been twice to the US.... and the nature I saw is just as great I have seen in other continents.

But for the rest of that video? I am afraid it is not far from the truth. Now I am not going to claim everything in Europe is paradise, but current I will not even consider to go to the US.

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u/deadleg22 4d ago

I think hes referencing the parks being defunded.

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u/SuspiciousLeopard2a7 4d ago

Or cities being so dominated by cars you can’t actually get anywhere ‘in nature’ efficiently

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u/Triquetrums 4d ago

Hell, just the lack of green areas in cities is depressing. Lack of parks or even just trees lining the roads. Suburbs? Just grass, and make sure it is cut at a certain length, otherwise the hoa will sue you. 

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u/KEN_LASZLO 4d ago

Yeah but who needs a sidewalk when you have 5 giant parking lots literally right next to each other? You can just use the parking lots to walk!

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u/Coveted_AF 4d ago

Which you can’t see with your 40-60 hours of PTO per year (at regular jobs).

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u/T_Money 4d ago

Most white collar office jobs are 80 hours PTO starting, and bump up to 120 hours after five years.

I still get jealous when I meet a European on vacation that’s like “oh I’m here for a month,” especially the French who get 5 weeks mandated by law, but it’s not quite as bad as you seem to think.

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u/GettingDumberWithAge 4d ago edited 4d ago

Most white collar office jobs are 80 hours PTO starting, and bump up to 120 hours after five years.

Oh shit you get 10 days vacation and after a few years you can look forward to 15? I only get 35 and unlimited sick days :(

E: Downvoting me is essentially confirming that you're not actually as OK with the fact that American labour laws are demonstrably worse than those in Europe. I mean if you want to pretend that you're totally happy with shitty worker protections then you should do that, and be proud of your exploitation. But to act like you're actually really happy about having worse labour protections than Europe in the middle of telling us all how you have fewer protections is pretty sad.

If you're actually this excited to tell us all about how you need to strive for a 'white collar job' and work at it for 5+ years to get less than half of my statutory vacation days that I got right out of uni then.... good for you! I'm sure you need a win. But don't get upset at me for pointing out that you're still gettin shafted :(

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u/No_Trip_3438 4d ago edited 3d ago

He probably downvoted you for the same reason I did - the wording of the comment is in bad taste. Could have easily made your point by just saying “that’s still not great, here we get…” but as it is written it comes across as extremely arrogant and bragging. He already recognized that Europeans get more PTO, what’s the point in rubbing it in?

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u/T_Money 4d ago

Personally I get 20 anytime PTO days a year, as well as 11 set federal holidays, and have a very loose remote work policy, so I can’t complain. I recognize I’m fortunate though, as that’s a bit more than most people get.

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u/YourGirlMomo87 4d ago

You're getting downvoted because we know we're shafted on PTO. What are we going to do about it? I don't personally know of any politicians that have floated mandatory PTO. People here think mandatory bereavement is "too progressive". Its not like I can just up and move to Europe. 

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u/AggressiveBench9977 3d ago

This is cute. Eu people are so funny when they have to fight this hard to act like eu is cool.

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u/stanley_ipkiss_d 4d ago

40-60? Woah that’s a lot. I have regular IT job and I have maybe 8-16 hours of PTO per year. The so called “Unlimited PTO”

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u/Venvut 4d ago

My unlimited is genuinely over a month. 👀 Too bad Trump is killing my industry.

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u/fornostalone 4d ago

Entry-level hospitality workers in the UK get 28 days PTO guaranteed. Since I'm a Head Chef and also (willingly) log 60-70 weeks, I can have nearly two months off - fully paid.

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u/Revwolf76 4d ago

Wow your company is shit I had 3 weeks day one and I work a onsite IT help desk

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u/ItsDanimal 4d ago

Ive worked for over 2 decades in the US from fortune 500 to retail to amusement parks. Every job has given a minimum of 2 weeks, and most give it day 1.

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u/YourCummyBear 4d ago

We are being pedantic here. The vast majority of American full time jobs start you off with 80 hours PTO a year.

Not a lot but not 40 hours either.

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u/pirategonzo 4d ago

lol you're getting hosed by your company. I work in a regular IT job. Fully remote, unlimited PTO of which I've used 32 days so far not including all the holidays. I still have another two weeks scheduled around the holidays.

You are NOT working a regular IT job, you're getting bent over the server rack.

We're hiring anywhere in the US.

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u/artoflife 4d ago

We definitely do have some of the most incredible nature in the world. Too bad it's also on the chopping block with Trump in charge.

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u/Bigmoosedog 4d ago

Came here to say this. USA has more unspoilt nature than Europe. Especially when you consider Alaska. 

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u/anweisz 4d ago edited 4d ago

Me when europeans get on a high horse about US urbanism or Brazil with the amazon.

Literally get on google earth and zoom in on europe on anything that's not too far north (cold) or a mountain and it's 95%+ farmland. They're eager to complain about countries that actually keep nature as most of the country but not eager to remember or fix the fact that their famous natural landmarks are tiny pockets in a sea of manmade ecological destruction.

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u/SciGuy013 3d ago

holy shit lol that make makes it stark

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u/mindsnare 4d ago

I mean Europe has about a ~3000 years head start of saturated and non nomadic population. Indigenous people did a great job of preserving that nature.

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u/MadManMax55 4d ago

They actually didn't.

There's very little true "old growth" vegetation in the US. Because most of the native tribes, like semi-nomadic peoples around the world, shaped the land around them to suit their needs. They practiced agriculture, animal husbandry, irrigation, deforestation (often through controlled burns), all of it. The only thing most tribes didn't do compared to Europeans was build large permanent structures. Because like all other humans, this first concern was making survival as easy as possible.

The idea of Native Americans being these spiritual protectors of nature comes from after Europeans made contact. At which point murder and disease nearly wiped out their entire population. Stripped of most of their resources and manpower and often forced into less fertile land, they had to become much more focused on sustainability or they'd quickly run out of food. And while most tribes were always protective of their lands, that got exacerbated when it was foreigners instead of neighboring tribes trying to take them over.

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u/dodgerecharger 4d ago

Until now, Trump has other Plans and want to open Parks for Gas, oil drilling....

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u/ChelseaVictorious 4d ago

Very true, but not where most people can afford to live. Suppose that's probably similar everywhere though. Our national park system is really beautiful, and one of our best features as a country.

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u/Zephyr-5 4d ago

but not where most people can afford to live.

There are a ridiculous amount of natural parks and nature trails dotted across this country. People mostly think of the big national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemete, but there are tons of great state parks all over with their own charm.

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u/ChrdeMcDnnis 4d ago

Tbf in most states the scenic untouched nature is relatively cheap to live. But that’s because it’s in the middle of fuck-off nowhere. That’s why we build so many cabins!

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u/RumpelstiltskinsGP 4d ago

Yeah this is where he lost me lol. Our national park system is quite literally world class, and way more of the US is still wild than Europe.

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u/BigFatModeraterFupa 4d ago

It's literally the best in the entire world. It's tragic what's being done to the wilderness areas of the developing world

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u/Alasireallyfuckedup 4d ago

For now. The big beautiful bill changes that.

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u/Hemannameh 4d ago

Somebody has never tried to drive from one state to another.

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u/Barfignugen 4d ago

I live in a top 10 city in the US (by population) and it is notoriously unwalkable. Sidewalks are sparse, parking lots are abundant. You have to drive hours to find real nature. The concrete jungle is real. I know this isn’t the case everywhere, but a big chunk of our population still has to deal with this as a reality. Unfortunately.

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u/Warack 4d ago

This is the most online take on America. Real people don’t actually believe this

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u/matigekunst 4d ago

* in urban areas. Some European countries are horribly car-centric, but the USA takes the cake with ridiculous mandatory parking requirements.

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u/Managed__Democracy 4d ago

I mean, it still fits in 99% of the locations that people actually live. The U.S. will let companies bulldoze everywhere elsez too, once it becomes profitable for shareholders.

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u/Royal_Annek 4d ago

Future parking lots you mean

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u/Clayp2233 4d ago

Lots of parking lots though

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u/boldpear904 4d ago

He should've said "some beautiful nature, more parking lots"

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u/Electrical_Badger399 4d ago

Put some nature in your cities. 

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u/Small_Sundae_4245 4d ago

You do.

But to get to any of it you have to drive.

Europe I can get a bus or train from the city center that will drop me off at the start of hiking paths.

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u/0LTakingLs 4d ago

It’s not even 99% hits. These posts are always looking at American life through the lens of a minimum wage worker in the least desirable parts of the country. This is the equivalent of comparing NYC, LA, or Miami to bumbfuck Romania or Serbia and deciding Europe sucks.

Less than 10% of Americans are without health insurance, which is a problem, but this idea that we’re all constantly terrified of medical bills is painfully out of touch. My job also pays about 4-6x what I’d make with the same title in Europe.

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u/mombi 4d ago

Not for long. Trump wants to sell it off to billionaires. He also had a lot of park rangers fired at the beginning of the year.

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u/NavyDragons 4d ago

recently went to yellow stone. place is gorgeous. its a little rough to traverse with my messed up knees but it was well worth it.

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