I was born and raised in Los Angeles California, and have lived there pretty much my entire life. But I have had the amazing opportunity of living in Barcelona, Spain for 6 months and Prague, Czechia for 6 months. I know that it's really broad to try and compare 2 large areas that have so many differences within themselves. Of course there will be exceptions when we're talking about people who live in rural areas in either Europe or America, but basically I am comparing a larger city life in both of the areas. Remember, it's general and there WILL be exceptions. So let's go ahead & compare what it's like to live in Europe and America:
Stores
Europe- In Europe there are predominantly individual stores for every thing you would need: pharmacy, hardware, electronic, grocery, vitamins, butcher, liquor...the list goes on and on. And most of these stores are "mom & pop" shops, or stores that aren't large corporations or chains. Of course there are exceptions to this, and there are some hyper markets popping up in bigger cities, but overall you typically have to go to several different stores to get all your shopping done. Sometimes I even have to Google where I could get a certain item because I'm not sure what type of store it would be sold at!
America- We are all about hyper markets & department stores here. Why? Convenience of course. Both hyper markets & department stores are stores that have a variety of different products for sale under one roof- sometimes even full grocery sections as well. These are stores like Sam's Club, Costco, Walmart, Kmart, Macy's, Kohls, Target, and the list goes on and on. Most of the time you can go to one store to get all your shopping done!
Grocery Shopping
Europe- The produce in Europe is so fresh, so the food goes bad extremely fast. People go shopping frequently - usually every day or every other day - to just get what they need to use right away. If you go to the store and buy a lot of things (what we would consider a normal amount back in America) you will get looked at extremely funny and most likely your food will go bad before you have the chance to eat it all. True story: I bought a huge bag of potatoes when I first moved to Prague because I thought it would last me forever and we could make a lot of meals with it. Back in America I would always buy bags of potatoes and I have never experienced them going bad- even after weeks. Well, 4 days after I bought the bag, they weren't good anymore. It really opened up my eyes to the difference in produce!
America-We're all about convenience so we try to buy in bulk and limit the amount of times we have to go to the grocery store. This is why stores like Sam's Club and Costco are extremely popular, because we can buy a supply of food for an entire week or 2 in just one trip. We also have rows and rows of freezer foods, which isn't popular in Europe.
Transportation
Europe- Pretty much everyone relies on public transportation. Every major city in Europe has either a metro, bus, or tram system- usually all 3. Typically most people living in European city centers rely on this system, walking, or riding a bike, rather than owning their own car.
America- I'd say unless you live in Manhattan, you probably own and drive a car every day. Even in Los Angeles which does have a metro and bus system, I still drive because it's so spread out and the public transportation system isn't very efficient or go everywhere I want to go.
Working Hours
Europe- Obviously this one completely depends on the country, city, and even company you are working for. But, a typical full-time working week for someone in the EU can range between 25-40 hours. In Barcelona pretty much nothing is open before 9am and everyone shuts down in the middle of the day for 2-3 hours for "siesta" or a mid-day long lunch and nap. And even though I work 40 hours in the Czech Republic, my co-worker (who has lived here for over 15 years) said the average working week is about 25-30 hours for a full-time employee.
America- As we know, the average American work week is 40 hours, but a lot of times it can be even more than that! I heard this saying about life comparing the two that I love and completely agree with: "In Europe they work to live, but in America they live to work." Basically in Europe they just have a job to pay for the things they enjoy in life, but in America we live our whole lives for working and our careers.
Paid Time Off
Europe- This one also depends on the country, city, and employer but you typically receive 20+ days of vacation time per year, plus holidays. A lot of employers also give you a lot of other perks, that I've never experienced when working in the states. For example when looking for jobs in the Czech Republic, pretty much all of them offered 5-6 weeks of paid time off per year, PLUS the following: meal vouchers or an additional daily lunch allowance, gym membership, flexible working hours, and the possibility of working from home.
America- Did you know that under U.S. Federal Law, no employer has to offer vacation days? Yup, you read that correctly. The law literally states that employers owe you 0 vacation days per year. Now typically most employers do- thank god! It's usually around 5-10 days, and you can earn more days the longer you work for that company. And unless you work for an awesome company, I have never experienced any perks that came along with the job like I have found in Europe.
Maternity Leave
Europe- The EU Maternity Leave is a minimum of 14 weeks of paid maternity leave everywhere in Europe. But depending on the country you're in, you can have even more. The best country in the world? Estonia (In Northern Europe, bordering Russia). You get a minimum of 62 weeks of paid maternity leave. Yes, you read that correctly. That's about 1.1 years as a minimum, but a lot of companies offer up to 3 years of PAID MATERNITY LEAVE. So insane.
America- Under U.S. Federal Law, no employer has to offer you paid maternity leave either. Are you surprised? Me either. Just like paid time off, this is completely up to the company you work for and most give you around 12 weeks. But sometimes it's an unpaid 12 weeks.
Travel
Europe- Traveling around Europe is typically very cheap. Since countries are pretty close to one another, you can find really cheap flights, buses, and trains to go from one to the other. Traveling is also a common way of life- everyone travels. For example, in the Czech Republic it's extremely common every winter to go skiing in Italy and Austria, and in the summer go to the beaches in Croatia. It's just a way of life. Also, in some European countries it's required to study abroad for 1 year of college to promote travel and experiencing another culture.
America- Of course there are budget airlines in the states too and you can definitely find a good deal! But overall, I'd say traveling around the states is more expensive than traveling around Europe because it's a lot bigger. And even though we do have some bus and train routes, they're still quite pricey and inefficient. For example a short bus ride from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (4 hours) is usually about $20-30 one way. Or a train ride from Los Angeles to New Orleans takes between 56-100 hours and is about $150-300 one way. CRAZY. I think the best way is definitely a road trip in your own car because most states have pretty cheap gas! (Sorry my California friends, that's not us).
Credit Cards
Europe- In a lot of places in Europe, they don't accept debit/credit cards, only cash. They have definitely gotten better about this compared to when I lived in Barcelona in 2016, but it's still an issue I have run into a lot. Back home, I literally never use cash or have it on me!
America- It's very rare to find a place that doesn't accept cards or Apple Pay. We're definitely more advanced in this sense of technology and paying for our goods/services! It's all about convenience!
Online Shopping
Europe- Of course there are some online shopping sites, depending on the country you live in, but it's not as common as the states. For example, Amazon has a German version which delivers to some countries in Europe (not all!), but I tried to order from it and it said my address didn't exist. Then, I found another Czech Republic online shopping site called Alza, but there was no option to pay with a card online. They said they would email me an invoice and I would have to take the invoice to the post office and pay for it with cash. WHAT. Are we not in the 21st century? I'm confused.
America- Online shopping is life. We all know this. Amazon is dominating the industry, but you can pretty much order anything online- even groceries! Again, we have this convenience thing DOWN!
Water & Bread
Europe- There is typically no free water at restaurants. So remember if you ask for water at a restaurant you need to clarify how much it is, and also specify that you want "still" water because most people in Europe prefer sparkling water. This rule also applies for bread. If a restaurant brings you a basket of bread and butter- typically it's a trap. They'll charge you for it later. So make sure you ask how much it is when they put it on your table, or just give it back to them!
America- I don't think I've ever been to a restaurant that charged for water! We all know that we typically just get a glass of water as soon as we sit down. And if a restaurant brings you a basket of bread and butter, it's nearly always free.
Drinking Age
Europe- Typically the drinking age is 18 everywhere in Europe, and you probably won't get your ID checked when you go to a bar or buy alcohol in a supermarket. Since you have to pay for water at a restaurant anyways, most people just prefer to get a beer or glass of wine instead. (And a lot of time it's cheaper!)
America- Obviously we know that the drinking age is 21, and most places check ID's religiously.
Overall
There are definitely pros and cons to living in both, but here's my synopsis based on my own experience:
Europe- The quality of life is a lot higher in the sense of just enjoying life and not being consumed by work. However, it's pretty far behind in terms of convenience with the different stores for everything, lack of credit card acceptance, and online shopping.
America- The convenience is amazing. Get in your car, drive anywhere you want, and do all your week's shopping in 1 stop- OR even online if you don't want to leave the house. But, we are definitely consumed with work and the pressure of having a successful career that sometimes we don't enjoy life or take time off to travel and just LIVE.
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