- you don’t have to be particularly careful about pickpockets anywhere in Europe, at least not more than anywhere else in the world.
- you always get free tapwater in restaurants if you ask for it anywhere in Europe, also most waiters are also generally pleasant (of course there can be unpleasant people anywhere)
- not sure about the tax thing (why would you care about that as visitor anyway?) - atleast we have free healthcare and free university shrug
- haven’t heard from anyone that got arrested for a „rude“ tweet lolwhat
You don’t have to visit of course but it would surely expand your horizon. When I visited the US for the first time I realised that most of the prejudices against Americans weren’t true (that most Americans are fat, stupid and greedy for example - sure a lot of them are but not the majority)
That was one thing I could never wrap my head around.
The other thing was the extreme use of AC. I can understand AC to an extent, but they were making it so cold I had to bring extra clothes just to go in the supermarket for example - what the heck?!
In the Netherlands you'd have a hard time. Most places will refuse, especially if that's the only thing you're ordering.
There are a lot of pickpockets in Paris, I've never been victim of it but I've witnessed it several time. Never saw that in the 5 years I lived in Tokyo or the 3 years I lived in SF.
You always get free tapwater in France (that's the law) but not in Poland.
I agree in that I would recommend anyone to visit Europe - even European should visit other European countries! But it's important to remember that Europe is made of several very, very different countries.
I would still argue all I wrote above applies generally to all countries in the EU. Could not reproduce your tapwater experience in Poland so ymmv
Yes, in America as long as you stay in the right parts of town, and don't venture off the house at the wrong time, you wont get mugged or (10x as likely as in Europe) shot, including getting shot by the police (also 10x as likely as in Europe).
>We have free water at restaurants, and the staff won't treat you like a mooch for asking about it; in fact most staff of any business will make at least a basic attempt to be pleasant towards you. You get your money's worth in food portions at restaurants, the taxes are cheaper, you won't be arrested and fined for making a rude tweet.. why exactly would I want to visit Europe?
No reason, please stay where you are.
Enjoy tons of crazies in the streets, any idiot being able to get a gun and even carry it around in public, a huge drug "epidemic" (off and on counter), crampling public infrastructure (and laughable public transport), suburban nightmarish landscapes, areas of such dire poverty that look more like the third world than a western country, a widespread ignorance and lack of education, an abusive police force that treats citizens like medieval peasants (and throws them to jail with 10x the ratio compared to a western europe country), the healthcare sector and insurance companies taking people for suckers, a cutlture based around mindelss consumption, and other such niceties.
And of course people that can seriously ask "why would I want to visit Europe" based on internet paranoia they've read about pickpockets everywhere (meaning: when they get dead center into the most densely packed tourist traps), the inavailability of free water in restaurants, and "small" portion sizes (because, obese people need to eat their preferred portions too).
We have some real problems with policing here, but as a foreign tourist you’re more likely to die in a plane crash getting here than to be shot by the police.
[1] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/section/127
This makes it even worse... Since those armed people can also shoot you.
In constrast the German police kills about 10 people a year, which given the population would amount to the US police killing 45 people total (so 5% that of the US). France, the worst example, the analogy would amount to about 250 per year (so 25% that of the US).
For homicides, Germany had 260 in 2026. That would amount to 1135 projected to the US population difference. France (again a worst case) has 734 per year. In US terms that would be equal to the US having 3772 per year. Adjusted for population, the US has around 5x the number of France and 16x the number of homicides Germany has. Other western european countries are much lower.
In theory, but reality fewer than 10% of all homicides are committed by someone who is a stranger to the victim. Of those, about half are the result of an argument that escalates to violence. You're exceedingly unlikely to be the victim of any violence as a tourist in almost any part of the US that a European might visit.
Taxes are country specific, you‘ll find some EU countries with lower taxation than your average US state, eg Bulgaria.
Being rude on Twitter won’t land you in jail, please.
> why exactly would I want to visit Europe?
Business, sightseeing, and cheap dentistry.
Jail time was on the table in this instance I had in mind.
That is, what you're saying is even more ridiculous than an European refusing to go to the US for fear of getting shot in the streets.
Because I have to ask and unless I'm explicit they'll bring a 330 mL glass bottle which is extremely annoying. That forces me to drink beer all the time just to avoid that which is not exactly ideal.
> eg Bulgaria
The VAT there is 20% which is much higher than any place in the US.
My opinion of American tourists is such that I can't tell if this is a joke, and I'm Canadian, ffs.
Drinking beer so you don’t need to drink water from a bottle - well ok, you do you.
To see stuff? US doesen't really have that have much besides nature worth seeing/experiencing from a traditional tourist perspective. Almost all the cities besides a handful are extremely boring in comparison (and in those worth visiting like SF you're very likely to get stabbed by a drug addict or even shot)*.
To be honest besides not having free water in restaurants (if I have to ask it's already not free (emotionally)) none of those other things you've mentioned seem like a big deal for me.
> vigilant for pickpockets
In some places? Sure. But IMHO even in notorious cities like Barcelona it's not really that bad.
* well that's certainly not true.. but if you base your opinion on what some Europeans might be saying on Reddit/etc. you might end up believing stuff like this.
The necessity for tips is visible from a mile away.
That’s okay, we don’t want you. I lived the first 28 years of my life in the downtown historic area of an increasingly touristy European capital and American tourists were always the worst :)
The Chinese tourists can be frustrating because they travel in tight packs and take up a lot of room, but at least they understand they’re not visiting an amusement park and are not the center of the world.
My favorite were always fellow European high school and college kids traveling in small groups. You’d never even realize they were tourists if not for the oversized backpacks. They just blend in, aren’t loud, respect the locals, and seek authentic experiences.
You don't see people shooting heroin literally 5 metres away from a tourist attraction in Paris (for the record - right next to the queue of tourists to get on the cable car at Powell/Market stop).
From personal experience, most large French cities (Toulouse, Lyon...) have higher QoL than Paris, for much lower prices. Would not be surprised if this is also true for London/rest of UK, perhaps other countries as well.
Had a friend say the same was similar for Amsterdam vs other cities (eg Eindhoven) in the Netherlands
Even in the US, it's probably easier to have a nice life on a reasonable budget in someplace like Denver or St Louis than in NYC or Washington DC. Capitals tend to expensive, crowded and loud.
I grew up in Houston. I've heard enough rich Texans bitching about Mexicans not speaking English to disagree with that statement.