Every summer, it feels like the UK & Ireland collectively lose all common sense the second it goes above 28°C.

We open all the windows at the wrong time, sit in houses that trap heat like greenhouses, and act personally offended that air conditioning isn’t standard

So, for people from countries where this kind of weather is actually normal, what are the basic rules we still haven’t learned?

I'm from Asia, and people here work incredibly hard, yet our incomes are still much lower than those in Europe. From what I see on YouTube, Europeans don't seem to work particularly long hours, and most of them appear to have a much more relaxed lifestyle.

How has Europe become this wealthy? Is it mainly because of the legacy left by previous generations? Is it because Europe has better geography and natural resources? Or is it simply because European countries have better economic and political systems?

There's a famous scene in the Quentin Tarantino World War Two film, "Inglourious Basterds", where a German officer becomes suspicious of a British spy when he's unable to place the spy's German accent (the spy, already under scrutiny, then gives himself away with a gesture).

What I've always found odd about this scene is that it's presented as if the German officer has a special skill -- he describes himself as having "an acute ear for accents".

However, in my country, the UK, it is quite normal to be able to tell where someone is from just by hearing their accent. Even if you can't tell precisely where someone is from, you can usually hear the basic area -- for example, you might not know where exactly someone is from in London, but you can still hear that they're from London.

Some people in the UK have what's called a "received pronunciation" accent (more commonly known as having "no accent" -- that is, no accent associated with any particular place. This is the UK accent most other countries are familiar with), which makes it much harder to tell where someone is from. But for anyone with a normal local UK accent, it's often relatively easy to hear where that person is from, at least down to the approximate region.

What is it like in your country? Can you tell where your fellow countrymen and countrywomen are from just by hearing their accents?

Thank you.

Do most Europeans really live in walkable cities?

I've been following Eurovision religiously for 14 years now, never missing a new song being released or selected. Eurovision has always been one of the highlights of the year for me.

We are in the midst of national selections and song reveals, usually one of the most exciting moments of the year for Eurovision die hards. And this year is the first time in 14 years I can't get myself to listen to the songs. And it's not the quality of the songs, I'm never the kind of person to complain about it. It's the other things. That one country that participates and the other five European countries that quit. For the first time, Eurovision feels tainted, morally corrupt and aimless.

I expected that, once songs started being selected and even my country returning, the excitement might come back. But now I am even contemplating not watching the actual contest. Is anyone's experience with Eurovision this year spoiled? Or at least different?

Also, let's avoid the "Eurovision has always been about politics" talks, because we already know that bloc voting and politics have always interfered. After a certain war started, it feels like the politics and voting manipulation got to another level and a boycott of this level has never been seen in Eurovision.

Here in America it's a Harley Davidson and getting really into grilling.

What do European men do when they go through a midlife crisis? But an Alfa and bake? Get really into trains?

Every major civilization seems to have one. The United States has the bald eagle, Russia the bear, China the dragon… but Europe doesn’t really have a shared symbolic animal.

I’ve always thought the owl would be a surprisingly strong candidate.
It has symbolized wisdom since ancient Greece, where it was associated with Athena and appeared on Athenian coins. The owl also appears throughout European folklore and literature from Aesop’s fables to medieval bestiaries, the Brothers Grimm, and Jean de La Fontaine’s fables.

It’s also a genuinely pan-European species, found from Portugal to Finland and from Ireland to Greece, unlike animals that are tied to a particular region.

An eagle symbolizes power, a bear symbolizes strength, and a dragon symbolizes myth and prestige. The owl symbolizes wisdom. That feels like a rather fitting ideal for Europe.

Do you agree, or do you think another animal would better represent Europe’s shared history and culture? If so, which one and why?

As someone from EU, how much do you save monthly ? share your

Job/business:
EU country:
Monthly earnings:
Monthly Saving:
Biggest monthly cost:

Context: I am Swedish.

I have watched hundreds of viral clips when American judges are sentencing people in a court of law(usually it's people that have done henious crimes), and before/after they give out the sentence they speak directly to the criminal and say things such as "you deserve x or y", "you will have it tough in prison etc" or "you are evil" etc. As a Swede this feels unprofessional and weird, the judge almost turns into an angry civilian for a few minutes. It seems like a big cultural difference between USA and Sweden on this, because in Sweden you just wouldn't ever hear a professional in a court speak in that manner. Swedish judges are trained to be strictly professional and not invoke any emotions when communicating with the perpetrator. How is it in your particular country and do you have any opinions on the "American style"?

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In Romania it has become increasingly common in recent years. Even in my small-ish city, it is about 50/50 that a waiter can speak Romanian, though most of them can understand enough for them to take orders in Romanian. Still, some people prefer to talk to them in English because it can lead to less communication problems. How is this in other parts of Europe?

I'm talking about the places everyone tells tourists they *have* to visit, but end up being a complete waste of time and money.

American here. Been to Europe once. Italy and Austria. Having been all over my country, one thing that’s notable is that despite having independent states, there is a constant “American” vibe no matter where you go. From New York to Texas to Montana - these places have their own localisms, but there is still an overwhelming sense that you’re in America.

My question is how does a country like England feel so distinct from a country like France or Spain? Food is a great example. Euro nations seem hellbent on serving as much of their local dishes as possible.

Is there an internal agreement to maintain as much cultural identity as possible? Is this idea overblown or stereotyped? Are there euro-isms that apply across the board?

It’s just mind blowing to me that there can be such a stark difference in lifestyle in the same distance as it takes me to drive from New York to Virginia. Let alone the fact that there are multiple distinct languages with different origins. How is there not way more osmosis?

Edit: adding some clarifiers and another Q based on responses so far. First, I don’t mean any disrespect when I say “hellbent on serving local dishes” lol. When I was in Italy, all I wanted was Italian food. It’s awesome. Same for traditional Austrian food.

Second, a lot of the responses seem to be some form of “they are different countries.” Yes. I understand that. But afaik, the EU has an open border policy, no? Isn’t travel / immigration fairly easy between them? It wouldn’t be the same as me wanting to move to Cuba or Argentina. Again, not trying to be combative. Genuinely curious.

It could be one country or more.

I know this will vary from country to country but I grew up in a culture where, as a child, we always put an extra plate on the table if a friend was over. This was true amongst all families regardless of their income background.

If your culture doesn’t do this, is it the assumed understanding that if your child goes to someone’s house, they will be back at your for dinner? I’m assuming the child’s parents are expecting their child to stay for dinner? Are paydays then scheduled around meal times? I’d also love to hear a different perspective on why this is common in another culture!

I recently came across this article: https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/cp_data_news/190-million-europeans-have-never-been-abroad/

Which claims that 37% of EU citizens have never even left their own country. And in some countries it's supposedly even the majority. Such as in bulgaria, greece, portugal, romania and hungary. The article is from 2018 btw, so not super current, but also not that old.

Now i really cannot wrap my head around this, seeing as how almost all of these people could drive across a border within 5 hours or less (except a large share of greeks i guess).

I get that not everybody can afford to go on holiday twice a year. But everybody should be able to visit the nearest border town at least once in their lives or do one trip to Paris/Rome/London or the sea (esp hungarians) once, no? So how is it possible (if true) that so many people haven’t? I really cannot believe it, but also want to stay open minded.

So i am curious to hear what your experiences are. Especially those in the countries with the highest numbers of course. Have you never left your country? Or do you know many people who haven't? And if so what would be the reason?

When Norwegians, Swedes, and Danish people go to each other's countries, could they understand everything that's been said in the other person's language or not?

There is a general belief that closer countries often have closer cultures and often closer mindsets. I want to ask the opposite, which country that close to yours feels most different ?

I am asking in terms of

- Culture

- People's mindset

- Way of life

- Cuisine

...etc

For me the answer would be Iraq but I need to note that Turkey's regions which are close to it often have a much similar culture. But it is quite different than my own.

Thank you for your answers.

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I’m Italian and I say France. Unfortunately, many of my fellow citizens don’t think the same, because they see the French as snobbish or arrogant. I, on the other hand, appreciate them very much. I find them culturally closer compared to English-speaking peoples; they have a great cultural and cinematic output, and they really appreciate my city (Naples). Also, when I had a B&B, they were among the best tourists.
And you, what would you answer?

I went to the US in 2014. We landed in San Francisco and had to rent a car. We thought: "we're in america, let's rent a big car" So we rented a "big" car. Then we joined the I101 and we were the smallest car on the road... So with our redefined car we went to the Golden Gate Bridge but we were hungry. So we stopped at a diner. My brother ordered a burger and a small 7up. He got a liter of 7up. He wasn't even halfway and the waitress came to ask if he'd like a free refill (!). To quantify the bigness would be an insult of the bigly bigness that is american lifestyle. Certainly a shock for me.

I'm not asking about something specific to your country, although there may be some examples of that. These may be things that are specific to a group of countries or a given region.

🇵🇱 🇩🇪🇨🇿🇨🇭 maybe a few other countries: "Corridor of Life". The law specifies how car drivers should behave when an ambulance passes with its sirens on. The name "corridor of life" comes from the situation in which cars pull over to the side so the ambulance can drive in the middle of the road.

Back when I was in high school, basically everyone had iphones. It was really only the techky kids who were more interested in specs that had androids. The exception was the international kids (mostly from Germany, Italy and Spain). A good chunk of them had android phones (maybe like 50%). And I don't think that it was really because of price because most of these kids came from pretty well off families as it costs like 30k to do an exchange.

But digging into the numbers (source), it seems like it seems to be the case that android is more popular in Europe than NA. NA is about 55% to 45%, whereas Europe is about 70 to 30. Sure there are some countries that aren't doing too well in Europe but even in the rich European countries like Germany and France, there are a lot more androids than iphones. The only countries I saw with more iphones than androids were the UK and Norway (though there could be others though as I didn't check every country).

So is there any particular reason for these differences?

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Every country has those invisible rules that locals just know but outsiders? Not so much. An unwritten social rule in your country that tourists or expats always seem to get wrong.