Wow, I love this guy. The ending was classic. As an American who has the mindset of a Kiwi, I was quite agreeable with most of your points. Though, some of them are very area-specific. Appreciate the video though, it was fun to see how someone else saw our blind Patriotism and Politics. We have no idea what we're doing.
Speaking as a kiwi,2 points resonated with me,Firstly,the nationalism thing - he's right,we don't do the whole flag waving schtick,but it doesn't mean we aren't proud to be kiwis.We just aren't overt about it.The second point is the last one - our kids do misbehave,but for the most part,parents will keep them under some kind of control.It just embarrasses the parents to let them run amok. Interesting podcast.
As another Kiwi living in the US - you're spot on mate! Some of these things vary wildly across the US depending on the region, FL is toughhhhhhh for some of these issues you raise. Come visit up in the northeast - it's a little different than down South.
Hello Mr. New Zealander - thanks for the insightful commentary. I am a yank but have known quite a few kiwis in my time and always found them to be lovely people. I would love to visit your beautiful country some day. One thing I would suggest is that some of your comments are Florida-specific (even the children-run-wild bit). As you may know, the USA is almost like 50 little countries united together, so there's a lot of variety between states - would encourage you to visit a bunch of them and a combination of rural and urban - this will give you a more balanced perspective and it might change your overall impression of America a bit :) Cheers, Tom
Hi Tom, thank you for the feedback. I'm really keen to explore the USA. This country is massive and has so much to offer. I hope you get the chance to visit NZ. The South Island is where the Lord of the Rings stuff is! All the best, Gavin.
Thanks Gavin- I’m from Northern California and know it well, - it’s pretty popular with travelers- I’m happy to give you some advice in where to go if you are out this way (San Francisco area). Also know “the west” pretty well (AZ, CO, WY, MT, UT, NM) - worth checking out :)
0:16 Tipping 0:55 Vehicle indicator color 1:29 Clothes drying 1:52 Solo cups 2:19 Distracted drivers 3:25 Politics 4:46 Car culture 6:03 Four-way stop signs 6:56 Turning right on red light 7:25 Drive thrus 8:02 Regional language differences 8:50 Measurement units 9:15 Price of internet 9:36 Food portions 10:08 Weak coffee 10:34 Lack of discussion around climate change 10:57 Good customer service 11:52 Availability of styrofoam 12:14 Urinal dividers 12:27 Trucks driving in passing lane 12:57 Confusing coin design 13:33 Patriotism 14:03 Acceptability of out of control children
@@mramckoy That's a pretty stock kiwi phrase, alternative version is to first start with "no offense but.." and then drop an offensive bomb. It's ok though 'cause you say no offense first or after!
I studied in Wellington NZ in 2005, so it's been a while, but I love you're country. This video is wonderful because most of your critical points are ones that I've never noticed before but are TOTALLY true. Thanks for bringing real observations and not just tired stereotypes. God bless the USA and God bless NZ
Just been in California for a trip (I’m a kiwi) and I agree with all your observations. Also.. “lemonade” in US means the non-carbonated old fashioned kind where as I’m used to sprite, 7up etc all being “lemonade”. Their light switches are backwards to ours (I’m used to switching down to turn things on, not up). And like their coin denominations not making sense from smallest > largest, their date format of month/day/year is insane.
I love roundabouts, but sometimes the locals just can't seem to get the hang of them. In some places, roundabouts caused so many accidents they had to be removed. As a native Floridian, I find that embarrassing.
Some people find change to be difficult... even when the end result is safer and more efficient. "My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it."
As someone that is used to roundabouts its so weird and kinda scary watching American motorists barreling through 4 way intersections at 8349397872340923 billion miles per hour, not even slowing down 1mph, why is that? Isn't anyone worried about a destruction derby scenario?
G'day - as a fellow Kiwi who's also been living in the US (for almost 40 years now, in California) - you missed the one biggest thing that surprised me about the U.S. when I moved there: The switches on the walls all go the wrong way - i.e., up is "on"; down is "off". This seems totally illogical and counter-intuitive to me. (Also, unlike NZ, most power outlets don't have switches beside them at all.) (Also, BTW, re. plastic shopping bags - this varies by state. In California, supermarkets don't use plastic bags anymore.)
Totally with you on the distracted drivers. My commute is only 6.8 miles, but it isn't unusual to see cars just ram into the one in front of them. Weird thing is, it happens less in the mornings. I saw three in my last two drives home. My company had a project that sent a few of us to southwestern England for a couple of weeks. Everybody loved the roundabouts! We have a few here in Oregon, but many people don't seem to understand how to use them.
Childless adults in America are generally right there with you on the kid control issue... I'll cut parents some slack for potentially a kid just having a bad day, but you can tell a lot of parents just don't seem willing to impose much control. Thank goodness for noise canceling headphones to deal with long plane flights...
This was fun - thanks. As many other commentators have already said, there are a lot of regional differences in the US so I hope you get to explore more of the country (I'm partial to New England although you may find us to be even more horrifying drivers ;). I think you'll definitely find better coffee outside of Florida (the Pacific Northwest takes it's coffee very seriously). The first time I was in NZ (2005) my mother was so horrified by what she considered the weak coffee that she found herself excited to find a Starbucks in Christchurch. That said, the last time I visited (2018) there was a lot more variety (of coffee and food!). I do love NZ and hope to be able to visit again. I especially appreciate the lack of overdevelopment and adoration of the outdoors...and the kauri trees.
Oh I totally understand your complaint about unruly kids. This phenomenon started occurring back in the 90s when some schmuck in the White House decided that disciplining your children at home or at school was child abuse. And ever since then, the little runts have become menaces to society. And the sad thing is that some of these kids are now in Congress.
As a fellow Floridian, the reason why we don't use clotheslines is the humidity and the surprise thunderstorms that we get most of the year. Also, who wants to be outside when it is summer and it's 100+ and high humidity. Clothes dryers are in pretty much all of the homes.
On the note about coffee, did you make it to a nice coffee shop? Coffee ANYWHERE beside a nice trendy coffee shop is usually not very good. Not even Starbucks have good black coffee. But there are plenty of little coffee shops in most US cities, you just have to know where to find them.
Thanks for the lulz, Gavin! Most of what you described is what separates us Canadians from Americans too. Perhaps you’ll come visit here one day. I’m sure you’ll find it almost just like home. Minus the size of our nickels and dimes.
Great perspective. Thanks for sharing. The one note I have for you is that the culture differs greatly on many of those points in different parts of the country. It's a really big place. Most of those are common truthfully, but where I'm from, people make fun of Florida for being freaking insane in comparison to the rest of the country. We have roundabouts here, our coffee is strong and food is very different regionally, we talk about climate change a lot, and we would never let our kids run amok in public.
Per your climate change question, it's one of those things that has been highly politicized as you mentioned earlier in the video! Certain moneyed interests have kept it a controversial issue so often even well intentioned folks are tired of the fight about it, which often results in silence (as intended)
Hello there! I came across your video on Reddit and enjoyed it very much. I am an electrical engineer here in the United States, so I figured I might be able to explain #13 a bit, for the internet prices. While you were correct that America has a ton of consumers, the other problem that we have is that the country itself is physically HUGE and very spread out. Because of this, telecom companies have to spend an outrageous amount of money to string everything together. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes technical infrastructure you don't think of too often, and this type of infrastructure scales to very complex and expensive levels when distances get as large as they are in the United States. Just for an example that works well in the mind, the average cell phone tower around here has an effective range of about 2 to 6 miles (3 to 9 km). The United States is roughly 3,797,000 square miles (9.834.184 square km). In order to provide coverage to the entire nation, which we pretty much do, we have to have an insane number of cell towers as well as all of the telecommunications infrastructure that serves each of those towers.
"Why are your cellphone plans and data plans so expensive" - Capitalism (those with money want more), lobbyists (research net neutrality), and monopoly (research time warner vs comcast)
Speaking as a Floridian, our drivers are the worst. Also, it’s hard to dry our clothes on the line because of the daily thunderstorms and the 900% humidity
We didn't chose for lack of competition in cellular service. We are under a monopoly. A select number of companies control the entire market. It is the same with cable and internet and health insurance. We are as confused about the situation as you are.
All true,but there are deals out there...gotta look...I am currently on a $18 a month unlimited everything with sprint. Not a better deal around. I think you can still find it online, you bring your own phone. I have had no issues with sprint. Never been throttled. It's a pretty great deal.
Because the US government gave broadband companies $400B to build nationwide infrastructure and they simply pocketed the money. www.huffpost.com/entry/the-book-of-broken-promis_b_5839394
Does anyone remember when we broke up "ma Bell" because they were a monopoly? Supposedly it was to increase competition and lower prices. How's that working out?
tipping in america comes from employers paying works a low living wage and customers feel sorry for the workers...thus you tip to give workers a living wage. in europe and abroad the wage is larger thus customers dont need to tip. american businesses are tightwads its not foreigners
Even as a Canadian, much of this video still rings true. We drive on the right (also right) side of the road, and largely tip (which people generally dislike), but otherwise almost all the other points are dead on. Great video.
There are some bad parents...maybe more than some...but it is not acceptable in our culture to let kids run crazy. Those are simply bad parents but we don't want to get involved with their parenting decisions. The rest of the public will almost immediately criticize those parents when they leave.
Your perspectives on America are most definitely Florida based. I go to Florida and I am amazed how the cultural norms are there as well. BTW we have loads of round-a-bouts in the Pacific Northwest and coffee quality in America can differ from place to place. I have traveled to NZ and drove the whole country in a hired camper van. The one thing I could not find was drip coffee in NZ. It seems every coffee place serves Americanos, flat whites, etc but trying to get a decent cup of drip coffee was impossible. Also the food in NZ was at best mediocre, its mostly bad British based cuisine. I would totally be ok with never seeing another meat pie the rest of my life. The hiking and outdoors in NZ is amazing reminds me a lot of our West Coast here in America. You were spot on though about UA-cam now days. I really like Kiwis they are blissfully blunt in the kindest way possible. You guys typically have more common sense and good moral compass that I wish more Americans would adopt as well.
Fellow kiwi, been living on the Treasure Coast FL for nearly 2 years. I concur with just about everything you say, four way stop signs took a little getting used to until my US born wife filled me in. There's a unique form of Civility here, if that's the right word, people are more polite in some situations than I've found downunder, but also rough as guts in others. The lack of Espresso based coffee in this part of the US is a bit of a drag, places with a decent Espresso machine are hard to find, Starbucks is less than average, other parts of the US I've been to have more of the NZ/Aus coffee culture. Lots of day to day things I like, paying at the pump at Gas stations, Ginormous Soda fountain drinks at Racetrak etc, Its so humid here, you really go through the liquids, 52 oz for 89 cents! (don't ask me what that is in mls!) Interstate Highways, once your on one, you can literally go anywhere in the US without leaving the 'Super Slab' . Just the sheer variety and choice in America of what you can spend your time doing, what you can buy, watch, listen to, consume, it blows me away every day
Reading your comment I just realized that "four way stop" actually means all roads have a stop sign, that's fucking crazy. I thought he was meaning traffic lights, the idea that every direction would have a stop sign never even occurred to me.
Tipping and good customer service are directly connected. If your customer service is poor, you won't get a (good) tip. Thus customer service is good to ensure that you tip. I think it is actually somewhat backwards in the rest of the world. You pay full price, including a VAT, which is roughly equivalent in dollars to a tip, with no guarantee or likelihood for good customer service.
The ASMR video running in the background while ranting about modern UA-cam is 35 minutes long, has no ads running in between and is not sponsored by any product (afaik). Apart from that, great video!
Coffee tastes are regional for sure. In the Pacific Northwest, regular coffee is on the strong side. I imagine the combination of Florida being in the south and the general preference of seniors for weaker coffee (that you can drink all day) might be the issue there.
Mate thanks for the heads up, i'm staying right here in Takanini 😂 As a commercial driving assessor, U.S road rules make me cringe 😮 Great video bro, too much 👍
I'm a kiwi living in North California. Thought you were pretty much on point, mate. Though I do find the customer service here , at times, a tad... disingenuous. It's very polite and courteous, but I find it much friendlier and genuine back home in NZ. Also, thought you might have mentioned the difference in healthcare. Big difference over here. Anyway, enjoyed the video, hope to come across you again.
Its because New Zealanders pay so much more for electricity than in the U.S hence their reluctance to use dryers. Dont worry we would if we could afford it and dont believe anyone who says they wouldnt! lolo
Tipping started from the prohibition, during this time restaurant owners couldn't really pay their servers so they were encouraged to accept tips. Before that tipping wasn't that common
And restaurant owners still don't pay their employee that much (legally) because tipping is standard, so you have servers who now only make a decent living from tips, not from the base rate they get paid from the restaurant.
As a Florida native, yes it's few and far between for someone to use a drying line. It's so humid here it would take forever so we all use electric dryers. I assume the same would be for Lousiana, but maybe up north they use drying lines? As far as being politically divided it's really only been that way for the last 45 presidents or so.
Just visited America last year, the drive on red is spectacular. I told a USA guy that I love that, and he said "don't you have traffic lights/cars back in your country?". Lol!!!
The truck thing: some trucks have their speed regulated. So while they are passing one truck they might be going only one mile per hour faster. So it takes a little time. Climate change not being mentioned, it's a Florida thing. 4 Way stops: there is actually city rules and small town rules. For the small town, it's for the first person who gets there. For the city, first person or protected right of way: it's not your turn but the person going protects you from getting hit by another car -- usually the lane opposite you -- so you go.
Ka pai bro. Sending big hello's from home, Wellington. Take care of you and your family bro, don't forget to pop in home on your travels. Soliddddddd!!!! 🇳🇿🇳🇿🤜🤛🇳🇿🇺🇸
As an American (warning, this gets long): 1. We hate tipping culture too. It started because in the great depression restaurants couldn't afford to pay their waiters, so they asked the customers to decide how much they think the service was worth. Or at least, that's the origin story I've heard. 2. I can't honestly say I've given this any thought before, but after doing googling, it seems the UN created rules in 1949 dictating that brake lights must be red or yellow. Not sure why the US is primarily red, but it's a thing. I'm curious what color your break lights are. 3. Americans almost entirely use electric clothes dryers. It's fast, it's convenient and in some areas like most of the east coast, it's simply too humid out to reliably use clothes lines. Also now a days lawns in most of the populated areas are simply too small to set up clothes lines. Not that people would, I'm not sure it's exactly a status thing, but I think most of my neighbors (just outside DC) would think someone was too poor to afford a dryer if they had to use a clothes line. 4. Red Solo cups are cheap. It's cheap for college students shopping at Walmart the night before a kegger, it's cheap for movie producers. (Heck, Solo probably pays for people to use them in movies.) 5. They are. The ones of us that aren't distracted hate the ones that are. I blame the regulations around teaching and testing drivers before getting a license. 6. Yeeeaaahhhhh I'd say more, but I don't need the backlash I'd certainly receive, so I'll just say sorry. 6.5. I sometimes forget that Chick-fil-a is only in America. I'd say ignore the haters and simply enjoy what you enjoy. Also keep in mind some of the haters are just trolls. They only want a reaction, nothing else. The phrase "Don't feed the trolls" means you shouldn't respond to them. You'll only make them stronger. :P 7. Most of the cars made for the European market don't meet the basic safety standards in the US. As such, most overseas companies either stay away or make/own brands that only make US cars. 8. America is absolutely obsessed with 4 way stops. You're right. Roundabouts are making their way to the US, but it's slow going and mostly only in new development. I've seen them in Virginia, West Virginia, & Colorado so far, but that's only because I've lived in those places, I'm sure they're making their way into every state, just... slowly. 9. Wait, right on red doesn't exist outside of the US?? 10. Drive through churches are still seen as insane by many Americans xD 11. For a really good comparison of accents in America look for Erik Singer's "Accent Expert" series on Wired's UA-cam channel. It's great. For reference, I speak with a "Standard American" accent. 12. Yeah, I hate using Imperial instead of Metric and while many attempts to change this have been.. attempted.. politics gets in the way. :/ 13. Again. Politics. It's bad. Mostly lobbying, poor regulations, and monopolies preventing competition. 14. You can still find trendy restaurants that serve you almost nothing while costing waaaay too much, but on the whole, yes America has insane portion sizes. Affordable (subjective) is because America makes almost every bit of it's food here in the states. We do import a lot of fruit like bananas, but those are often trucked up from Mexico, so it's not very expensive. 15. I was born and raised in the US and I could write a book on how bad American coffee is. Either get fresh beans and a $400 drum roaster off Amazon or find a delivery service that does good quality _fresh_ coffee roasts. I did and I've been a happier man ever since. 16. I'm not sure what news you're listening too, but conservative news will try to hide the concept while liberal news will scream it from the rooftops. (Yes, all news in the US is biased along political lines. Also depending on where in FL you live, it may be very conservative. Physical borders in the US can sometimes correlate with political ones. 17. Having worked in customer service, I can say a lot of people are either frustrated with something going on in their lives and feel the need to take it out on someone or are simply trying to abuse the system so they can get free shit. (Once the manager gets called over it usually works.) 18. Yep, awful for the environment, but the government doesn't care and it's cheaper than the alternatives (usually) so it's still made and readily available. 19. lol 20. There's a lot of reasons for trucks not following the technical law (in most states) of only passing in the left lane. One is that the truck drivers aren't always trained correctly. This became an issue quite recently in Colorado when a not properly trained driver lost control of his truck while going downhill and slammed into a large number of cars. (Even caused an explosion) Another reason is that since the passing only left lane rule is 99% never enforced, people don't follow it (or even know about it in some cases) so this stuff happens. Also, some times people are petty assholes and truck drivers are people. You _can_ buy a CB radio and kindly ask him to move his ass(all truckers have a CB in their cab), though whether he will or not is a question. 21. Coins don't make sense in America and should be discontinued altogether as most people under the age of 70 only pay in credit cards or by cell phone these days, that said, politics, so... $0.01 = Penny $0.05 = Nickle $0.10 = Dime $0.25 = Quarter $0.50 = Half-Dollar (less common) 22. I'd say conservative people are more likely to wave flags when it isn't the 4th of July. The 4th of July is more of just a tradition at this point to decorate with the flag and blow stuff up. Also advertisers will use big data to design their commercials, so if they're targeting conservative areas they're more likely to use things like flags to represent their products. Live in a city a little more up north like New York and you may see a bit less of that. 23. Please do criticize them. I hate this. In my part of Virginia this was only something done by parents who had moved here from the middle east. When I lived in West Virginia I saw people born and raised American who did this. I won't make guesses as to the cause of this (there are books citing numerous causes from social or economic to legislative and available public services), but I don't see this as acceptable at all and I've never had a pleasant interaction with someone who did. I won't be raising my kids like this and I won't interact with parents who won't parent. The biggest reason I've seen for not saying something is that the parent will usually make more noise than the kid once interacted with. "YOU CAN'T TELL ME HOW TO RAISE MY CHILD!!" The yelling and screaming of the parents is often worse than the yelling and screaming of the child. :( I was recommended this video by Digg, so that's something. :)
The funny thing about America is that you'll find a lot of differences through out the country. Round abouts are becoming much more popular especially in the West. A few of the things you mentioned are an issue because of politics. For instance climate change is uniquely political here in the US. Florida is a state that historically has been quite conservative and for whatever reason climate change denial has become the standard throughout that perspective. You'll also find that is the case with desposable plastic and car culture. Appliances are also a big part of American life. If an appliance can do it, we'll buy it. That goes for electric dryers.
A lot of what you mention is regional. People don't dry their clothes outside because of pollution in many areas. Roundabouts show up where new road construction occurs, not a given, but I am seeing a lot of them in newer developments. A lot of this relates to our consumer culture, quicker easier ways to spend, encouraging us to spend with good service, looking the other way at bad behaviour like 'feral children' as long as you are paying.
Good vid, I found Americans to be very polite and friendly, I don’t know if it was just me, but I met a lot of Americans who haven’t talked to a family member in years as they only meet at weddings and funerals, being Irish I thought that weird. I also found Americans very insular, and a lot really are ignorant about the rest of the world, some never even owned a passport, come on Americans get about, there’s a big interesting world beyond the US. PS I loved the place.
In that clip where you got rear-ended by the distracted driver, were you in/around Flagler beach? I grew up around there and that stretch of road you were on looked identical to that area.
Hanging your clothes to dry tends to be something people only do here to save money. So it's often (at least in my experience) looked at as a "poor people thing." Most people that can afford it do have electric dryers in their home
I do it with expensive clothes/fabrics that don't require dry cleaning. Some things will last 3x longer air dried than put in a dryer. Watch out for too much sun-bleaching though! Few things beat that warm feeling of wearing something just out of a dryer tho.
Nobody ever thinks about where the electicity comes from? Maybe some nuclear or coal plant? Next time when you put clothes in your electric dryer, think about the floods in Venice, or the fires in California,... After all, hanging clothes out to dry, it's just one small step for man, but may impact all of mankind!
It depends on the state. That is true in California where I was raised, but here in Arizona, trucks can drive in any lane. It is annoying like the in the video says.
One more thing - you are SO right about the children in this country. It's an embarrassment! Ok - another thing - sorry, but you ARE one of those good-looking people on UA-cam or wherever. And I absolutely loved how you finished the video. Great job!
Child worship... that hits the nail on the head regarding the insane entitlement and narcissism of today's culture. It also explains the extreme polemics regarding people and politics because everyone is running amok, as you said going "me me me me".
I’m glad he points out some of the crappy things we have. Like shitty cell phone providers since the government allows monopolies of industries All of our currency has the amount written on it. Just coins don’t have numbers
Great video! And ending! I highly recommend you come to Canada and if possible, go coast to coast. It'll take a while but I think your observations would be incredible.
If you understand one thing about America, a lot of other things make sense (Especially the child thing): You can be sued by anyone, legally, for almost anything. Children suing the parents is sadly NOT unheard of. Parents being sued and having their children taken away and/or jail time for even so much as speaking/yelling in public, let alone spanking, is not unheard of. Yes, children get their own lawyers in divorces. We started treating children like little adults - This was the mistake.
Fellow kiwi here, most of the things you say I can agree with totally. I spent a week in the US and tipping was driving me crazy, could not live there. You haven't experienced customer service until you've been to Japan though.
Oh, also, Time Magazine has a pretty decent article on the history of tipping in the United States. Currently tipped workers only make $2.13/hour per Federal law; the tips are supposed to subsidize the hourly wage. time.com/5404475/history-tipping-american-restaurants-civil-war/
A handful of observations from a Yank who's lived in NZ: Politics have always been pervasive in the U.S. but it has intensified over the past ten years. There was a time when driving a Toyota was seen as an affront to patriotism. Now you need to be careful about chicken sandwiches. Some states have more traffic circles (sorry, roundabouts) than others. For instance Wisconsin seems to have a lot of them. But they're huge, allowing lots of merging space. I have nightmares about the tight ones I've managed to escape from in NZ, Ireland and Italy. Add to that trying to remember which side to stay on while I shift with my left hand. Talk about distracted. It's feels wrong not to tip my bartender when traveling. It took me awhile to realize that shopkeepers weren't being rude when they spat out 'Ta!' when giving me back my change. Your money is really pretty, with all the birds and colors on the cash. I remember the coffee in NZ being terrible. But most people I knew either drank tea or beer. I also remember an American tourist being bewildered by a sign that advertised tea for $8. (for the Americans, 'Tea' is a whole meal down there, and not like the crumpet filled 'high tea' you hear about). Maybe I'm just old, but the feral kid situation is something very new. Nobody I grew up with would have ever been allowed to scream in public, at any age. Now I see 8-9 year olds throwing top-of-their-lungs tantrums while the parents stand by. My mother would have committed me to an insane asylum if I tried that. Many things you mentioned are multiplied in Florida - politics, religion, bad behavior, terrible driving, southern hospitality, nationalism, food, etc. Many parts of America aren't as 'Amurican' as you observe in FL. If you find differences in culture, language and people interesting, travel around to as many states as you can. You'll find as much diversity as you'll find commonalities. Oh, and you can tell how nice Kiwis are by the fact he recommends the lube.
One other thing about us Americans, we don't give a shit about other peoples opinions. Keep up the good work. Much success to you. By the way, can you do some NZ videos, you seem like a straight shooter.
It's also really annoying that when you go to pay for something, the taxes are added afterwards. Not only do you not know how much it will cost, but also it ends up costing odd numbers of cents. And they have 1c pieces so things are not rounded, and they have paper $1 and no $2 so you end up carrying lots of coins and almost worthless paper
That is something I learnt quickly enough when I initially came over. Very annoying when you want a $5 footlong and it's more like $5.25 or whatever the tax is. I took it for granted that you didn't have to think about adding the tax in New Zealand because it has already been added.
You are right on almost all of your points except the one where you said this video wont go viral. Based on the views of your other videos this one is viral in comparison.
It's funny, my brother actually talked about being "feral". Our mom was actually good on discipline. He meant it in the literal sense of feeling at home in the woods, shoes/clothes optional. Thankfully that was before I was born so I didn't have to see that.
"feral" is a perfect description of other people's kids.
In a lot of cases, though, it's inadequate, where 'rabidly feral' would be a closer description.
It's fairly accurate for all kids lol
Best ending I've seen in a while. 10/10.
Awesome.
Came to say the same thing!
the rant at the end after the 15 minute setup of clean wholesome content was 10/10 would watch again
children running around isn't "acceptable" but the parents will act the same way if you try to correct the behavior.
Wow, I love this guy. The ending was classic. As an American who has the mindset of a Kiwi, I was quite agreeable with most of your points. Though, some of them are very area-specific. Appreciate the video though, it was fun to see how someone else saw our blind Patriotism and Politics. We have no idea what we're doing.
Speaking as a kiwi,2 points resonated with me,Firstly,the nationalism thing - he's right,we don't do the whole flag waving schtick,but it doesn't mean we aren't proud to be kiwis.We just aren't overt about it.The second point is the last one - our kids do misbehave,but for the most part,parents will keep them under some kind of control.It just embarrasses the parents to let them run amok.
Interesting podcast.
As another Kiwi living in the US - you're spot on mate! Some of these things vary wildly across the US depending on the region, FL is toughhhhhhh for some of these issues you raise. Come visit up in the northeast - it's a little different than down South.
Hello Mr. New Zealander - thanks for the insightful commentary. I am a yank but have known quite a few kiwis in my time and always found them to be lovely people. I would love to visit your beautiful country some day. One thing I would suggest is that some of your comments are Florida-specific (even the children-run-wild bit). As you may know, the USA is almost like 50 little countries united together, so there's a lot of variety between states - would encourage you to visit a bunch of them and a combination of rural and urban - this will give you a more balanced perspective and it might change your overall impression of America a bit :) Cheers, Tom
Hi Tom, thank you for the feedback. I'm really keen to explore the USA. This country is massive and has so much to offer. I hope you get the chance to visit NZ. The South Island is where the Lord of the Rings stuff is! All the best,
Gavin.
Thanks Gavin- I’m from Northern California and know it well, - it’s pretty popular with travelers- I’m happy to give you some advice in where to go if you are out this way (San Francisco area). Also know “the west” pretty well (AZ, CO, WY, MT, UT, NM) - worth checking out :)
0:16 Tipping
0:55 Vehicle indicator color
1:29 Clothes drying
1:52 Solo cups
2:19 Distracted drivers
3:25 Politics
4:46 Car culture
6:03 Four-way stop signs
6:56 Turning right on red light
7:25 Drive thrus
8:02 Regional language differences
8:50 Measurement units
9:15 Price of internet
9:36 Food portions
10:08 Weak coffee
10:34 Lack of discussion around climate change
10:57 Good customer service
11:52 Availability of styrofoam
12:14 Urinal dividers
12:27 Trucks driving in passing lane
12:57 Confusing coin design
13:33 Patriotism
14:03 Acceptability of out of control children
Nationalism and Patriotism are two different things. FYI.
G'day from New Zealand! Great video, but that ending? Bloody brilliant, right out of nowhere!
Especially after the "Sorry if I've offended anyone"!
@@mramckoy That's a pretty stock kiwi phrase, alternative version is to first start with "no offense but.." and then drop an offensive bomb. It's ok though 'cause you say no offense first or after!
Thank you for your notes. From them I realize I would most certainly love... New Zealand!
You would it's great here. Watch kiwiamericans vlog, moved to NZ.
I studied in Wellington NZ in 2005, so it's been a while, but I love you're country. This video is wonderful because most of your critical points are ones that I've never noticed before but are TOTALLY true. Thanks for bringing real observations and not just tired stereotypes. God bless the USA and God bless NZ
Just been in California for a trip (I’m a kiwi) and I agree with all your observations.
Also.. “lemonade” in US means the non-carbonated old fashioned kind where as I’m used to sprite, 7up etc all being “lemonade”.
Their light switches are backwards to ours (I’m used to switching down to turn things on, not up).
And like their coin denominations not making sense from smallest > largest, their date format of month/day/year is insane.
I love roundabouts, but sometimes the locals just can't seem to get the hang of them. In some places, roundabouts caused so many accidents they had to be removed. As a native Floridian, I find that embarrassing.
Some people find change to be difficult... even when the end result is safer and more efficient. "My car gets forty rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it."
@@davel3552 nimbyism
How in the hell can you not understand a roundabout... there is literally only *one* rule!
As someone that is used to roundabouts its so weird and kinda scary watching American motorists barreling through 4 way intersections at 8349397872340923 billion miles per hour, not even slowing down 1mph, why is that? Isn't anyone worried about a destruction derby scenario?
Roundabouts would solve the ease and flow of traffic but do not factor in pedestrian crossing.
G'day - as a fellow Kiwi who's also been living in the US (for almost 40 years now, in California) - you missed the one biggest thing that surprised me about the U.S. when I moved there: The switches on the walls all go the wrong way - i.e., up is "on"; down is "off". This seems totally illogical and counter-intuitive to me. (Also, unlike NZ, most power outlets don't have switches beside them at all.) (Also, BTW, re. plastic shopping bags - this varies by state. In California, supermarkets don't use plastic bags anymore.)
Totally with you on the distracted drivers. My commute is only 6.8 miles, but it isn't unusual to see cars just ram into the one in front of them. Weird thing is, it happens less in the mornings. I saw three in my last two drives home.
My company had a project that sent a few of us to southwestern England for a couple of weeks. Everybody loved the roundabouts! We have a few here in Oregon, but many people don't seem to understand how to use them.
Childless adults in America are generally right there with you on the kid control issue... I'll cut parents some slack for potentially a kid just having a bad day, but you can tell a lot of parents just don't seem willing to impose much control. Thank goodness for noise canceling headphones to deal with long plane flights...
Yup. Born and raised in the U.S. and these things are strange to me as well.
This was fun - thanks. As many other commentators have already said, there are a lot of regional differences in the US so I hope you get to explore more of the country (I'm partial to New England although you may find us to be even more horrifying drivers ;). I think you'll definitely find better coffee outside of Florida (the Pacific Northwest takes it's coffee very seriously). The first time I was in NZ (2005) my mother was so horrified by what she considered the weak coffee that she found herself excited to find a Starbucks in Christchurch. That said, the last time I visited (2018) there was a lot more variety (of coffee and food!). I do love NZ and hope to be able to visit again. I especially appreciate the lack of overdevelopment and adoration of the outdoors...and the kauri trees.
Oh I totally understand your complaint about unruly kids. This phenomenon started occurring back in the 90s when some schmuck in the White House decided that disciplining your children at home or at school was child abuse. And ever since then, the little runts have become menaces to society. And the sad thing is that some of these kids are now in Congress.
As a fellow Floridian, the reason why we don't use clotheslines is the humidity and the surprise thunderstorms that we get most of the year. Also, who wants to be outside when it is summer and it's 100+ and high humidity. Clothes dryers are in pretty much all of the homes.
On the note about coffee, did you make it to a nice coffee shop? Coffee ANYWHERE beside a nice trendy coffee shop is usually not very good. Not even Starbucks have good black coffee. But there are plenty of little coffee shops in most US cities, you just have to know where to find them.
Bang on mate....lived in multiple states since 2009...you hit the nail on the head with a lot of observations...
Thanks for the lulz, Gavin! Most of what you described is what separates us Canadians from Americans too. Perhaps you’ll come visit here one day. I’m sure you’ll find it almost just like home. Minus the size of our nickels and dimes.
Liked ESPECIALLY for the message at the end.
Great perspective. Thanks for sharing. The one note I have for you is that the culture differs greatly on many of those points in different parts of the country. It's a really big place. Most of those are common truthfully, but where I'm from, people make fun of Florida for being freaking insane in comparison to the rest of the country. We have roundabouts here, our coffee is strong and food is very different regionally, we talk about climate change a lot, and we would never let our kids run amok in public.
Per your climate change question, it's one of those things that has been highly politicized as you mentioned earlier in the video! Certain moneyed interests have kept it a controversial issue so often even well intentioned folks are tired of the fight about it, which often results in silence (as intended)
How'd this guy come to the conclusion global warming isn't discussed? It's all the news talks about.
Hello there! I came across your video on Reddit and enjoyed it very much. I am an electrical engineer here in the United States, so I figured I might be able to explain #13 a bit, for the internet prices. While you were correct that America has a ton of consumers, the other problem that we have is that the country itself is physically HUGE and very spread out. Because of this, telecom companies have to spend an outrageous amount of money to string everything together. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes technical infrastructure you don't think of too often, and this type of infrastructure scales to very complex and expensive levels when distances get as large as they are in the United States. Just for an example that works well in the mind, the average cell phone tower around here has an effective range of about 2 to 6 miles (3 to 9 km). The United States is roughly 3,797,000 square miles (9.834.184 square km). In order to provide coverage to the entire nation, which we pretty much do, we have to have an insane number of cell towers as well as all of the telecommunications infrastructure that serves each of those towers.
Who would have thought there would be cultural differences? You are darn insightful young man.
Nice little vid. The (sometimes not so) subtle differences in what are otherwise very similar cultures is enlightening. THX!
"Why are your cellphone plans and data plans so expensive" - Capitalism (those with money want more), lobbyists (research net neutrality), and monopoly (research time warner vs comcast)
Speaking as a Floridian, our drivers are the worst. Also, it’s hard to dry our clothes on the line because of the daily thunderstorms and the 900% humidity
We didn't chose for lack of competition in cellular service. We are under a monopoly. A select number of companies control the entire market. It is the same with cable and internet and health insurance.
We are as confused about the situation as you are.
All true,but there are deals out there...gotta look...I am currently on a $18 a month unlimited everything with sprint. Not a better deal around. I think you can still find it online, you bring your own phone. I have had no issues with sprint. Never been throttled. It's a pretty great deal.
The U. S. government refuse to identify cellular services like a utility company and control the level of service and prices.
Because the US government gave broadband companies $400B to build nationwide infrastructure and they simply pocketed the money.
www.huffpost.com/entry/the-book-of-broken-promis_b_5839394
Bring back Trust Buster Teddy Roosevelt.
Does anyone remember when we broke up "ma Bell" because they were a monopoly? Supposedly it was to increase competition and lower prices. How's that working out?
tipping in america comes from employers paying works a low living wage and customers feel sorry for the workers...thus you tip to give workers a living wage. in europe and abroad the wage is larger thus customers dont need to tip. american businesses are tightwads its not foreigners
Bro the washing line thing had me. I said the same thing to my American mrs and she was like "we use dryers" 😂
Even as a Canadian, much of this video still rings true. We drive on the right (also right) side of the road, and largely tip (which people generally dislike), but otherwise almost all the other points are dead on. Great video.
There are some bad parents...maybe more than some...but it is not acceptable in our culture to let kids run crazy. Those are simply bad parents but we don't want to get involved with their parenting decisions. The rest of the public will almost immediately criticize those parents when they leave.
Love the video! You seem like someone I’d want to be friends with. You are spot on with many of your observations.
Your perspectives on America are most definitely Florida based. I go to Florida and I am amazed how the cultural norms are there as well. BTW we have loads of round-a-bouts in the Pacific Northwest and coffee quality in America can differ from place to place. I have traveled to NZ and drove the whole country in a hired camper van. The one thing I could not find was drip coffee in NZ. It seems every coffee place serves Americanos, flat whites, etc but trying to get a decent cup of drip coffee was impossible. Also the food in NZ was at best mediocre, its mostly bad British based cuisine. I would totally be ok with never seeing another meat pie the rest of my life. The hiking and outdoors in NZ is amazing reminds me a lot of our West Coast here in America. You were spot on though about UA-cam now days. I really like Kiwis they are blissfully blunt in the kindest way possible. You guys typically have more common sense and good moral compass that I wish more Americans would adopt as well.
I’m not sure that Florida is known for their coffee, maybe try the PNW.
Fellow kiwi, been living on the Treasure Coast FL for nearly 2 years. I concur with just about everything you say, four way stop signs took a little getting used to until my US born wife filled me in. There's a unique form of Civility here, if that's the right word, people are more polite in some situations than I've found downunder, but also rough as guts in others. The lack of Espresso based coffee in this part of the US is a bit of a drag, places with a decent Espresso machine are hard to find, Starbucks is less than average, other parts of the US I've been to have more of the NZ/Aus coffee culture. Lots of day to day things I like, paying at the pump at Gas stations, Ginormous Soda fountain drinks at Racetrak etc, Its so humid here, you really go through the liquids, 52 oz for 89 cents! (don't ask me what that is in mls!) Interstate Highways, once your on one, you can literally go anywhere in the US without leaving the 'Super Slab' . Just the sheer variety and choice in America of what you can spend your time doing, what you can buy, watch, listen to, consume, it blows me away every day
Reading your comment I just realized that "four way stop" actually means all roads have a stop sign, that's fucking crazy. I thought he was meaning traffic lights, the idea that every direction would have a stop sign never even occurred to me.
Tipping and good customer service are directly connected. If your customer service is poor, you won't get a (good) tip. Thus customer service is good to ensure that you tip. I think it is actually somewhat backwards in the rest of the world. You pay full price, including a VAT, which is roughly equivalent in dollars to a tip, with no guarantee or likelihood for good customer service.
Explain Japan, then, where there is no tipping at all, and customer service is considerably better than it is in the US.
You thought you got political comments on Chic-Fil-A? And now you mention Climate Change? Batten the hatches brother.
The ASMR video running in the background while ranting about modern UA-cam is 35 minutes long, has no ads running in between and is not sponsored by any product (afaik). Apart from that, great video!
The end of that video was the best part
Lifeprotip: IKEA in the US sells big “European style” (for lack of a better word) cloth drying racks for drying your clothes in the air.
Coffee tastes are regional for sure. In the Pacific Northwest, regular coffee is on the strong side. I imagine the combination of Florida being in the south and the general preference of seniors for weaker coffee (that you can drink all day) might be the issue there.
Your entré is our appetizer.
"Feral" Vs "Free Range" Great observation. Just wait till you have been here 27 years!*!*!*!**!
Great video. I had no idea right on red wasn't a universal thing.
You seem a good bloke. BTW, I am sure it has been pointed out THAT the red color of brake lights and turn signals preserves night vision.
Good on ya Gav. Beautiful day here in Brooklands road, not a feral brat in sight....
"It's just a casio" :D LMAO
Mate thanks for the heads up, i'm staying right here in Takanini 😂
As a commercial driving assessor, U.S road rules make me cringe 😮
Great video bro, too much 👍
I'm a kiwi living in North California. Thought you were pretty much on point, mate. Though I do find the customer service here , at times, a tad... disingenuous. It's very polite and courteous, but I find it much friendlier and genuine back home in NZ. Also, thought you might have mentioned the difference in healthcare. Big difference over here. Anyway, enjoyed the video, hope to come across you again.
Hey! St. Augustine!
Cool.
Where do Americans dry their clothes?
Every American: In a Clothes Dryer...this ain't the 1800s anymore Jack.
Its because New Zealanders pay so much more for electricity than in the U.S hence their reluctance to use dryers. Dont worry we would if we could afford it and dont believe anyone who says they wouldnt! lolo
Your rant at the end should be a whole video. So true
Tipping started from the prohibition, during this time restaurant owners couldn't really pay their servers so they were encouraged to accept tips. Before that tipping wasn't that common
And restaurant owners still don't pay their employee that much (legally) because tipping is standard, so you have servers who now only make a decent living from tips, not from the base rate they get paid from the restaurant.
Loved this video. Love the points. Agree with the points.
The R34 Skyline was banned in the US for it's right hand drive set up. The R35 however is sold freely because it has a left-hand drive.
As a Florida native, yes it's few and far between for someone to use a drying line. It's so humid here it would take forever so we all use electric dryers. I assume the same would be for Lousiana, but maybe up north they use drying lines? As far as being politically divided it's really only been that way for the last 45 presidents or so.
Just visited America last year, the drive on red is spectacular. I told a USA guy that I love that, and he said "don't you have traffic lights/cars back in your country?". Lol!!!
Don't know if it's your accent or voice, but you're an oddly good narrator.
Great closing statement as well!
The truck thing: some trucks have their speed regulated. So while they are passing one truck they might be going only one mile per hour faster. So it takes a little time. Climate change not being mentioned, it's a Florida thing. 4 Way stops: there is actually city rules and small town rules. For the small town, it's for the first person who gets there. For the city, first person or protected right of way: it's not your turn but the person going protects you from getting hit by another car -- usually the lane opposite you -- so you go.
Ka pai bro. Sending big hello's from home, Wellington. Take care of you and your family bro, don't forget to pop in home on your travels.
Soliddddddd!!!!
🇳🇿🇳🇿🤜🤛🇳🇿🇺🇸
Adore the ending there mate.
As an American (warning, this gets long):
1. We hate tipping culture too. It started because in the great depression restaurants couldn't afford to pay their waiters, so they asked the customers to decide how much they think the service was worth. Or at least, that's the origin story I've heard.
2. I can't honestly say I've given this any thought before, but after doing googling, it seems the UN created rules in 1949 dictating that brake lights must be red or yellow. Not sure why the US is primarily red, but it's a thing. I'm curious what color your break lights are.
3. Americans almost entirely use electric clothes dryers. It's fast, it's convenient and in some areas like most of the east coast, it's simply too humid out to reliably use clothes lines. Also now a days lawns in most of the populated areas are simply too small to set up clothes lines. Not that people would, I'm not sure it's exactly a status thing, but I think most of my neighbors (just outside DC) would think someone was too poor to afford a dryer if they had to use a clothes line.
4. Red Solo cups are cheap. It's cheap for college students shopping at Walmart the night before a kegger, it's cheap for movie producers. (Heck, Solo probably pays for people to use them in movies.)
5. They are. The ones of us that aren't distracted hate the ones that are. I blame the regulations around teaching and testing drivers before getting a license.
6. Yeeeaaahhhhh I'd say more, but I don't need the backlash I'd certainly receive, so I'll just say sorry.
6.5. I sometimes forget that Chick-fil-a is only in America. I'd say ignore the haters and simply enjoy what you enjoy. Also keep in mind some of the haters are just trolls. They only want a reaction, nothing else. The phrase "Don't feed the trolls" means you shouldn't respond to them. You'll only make them stronger. :P
7. Most of the cars made for the European market don't meet the basic safety standards in the US. As such, most overseas companies either stay away or make/own brands that only make US cars.
8. America is absolutely obsessed with 4 way stops. You're right. Roundabouts are making their way to the US, but it's slow going and mostly only in new development. I've seen them in Virginia, West Virginia, & Colorado so far, but that's only because I've lived in those places, I'm sure they're making their way into every state, just... slowly.
9. Wait, right on red doesn't exist outside of the US??
10. Drive through churches are still seen as insane by many Americans xD
11. For a really good comparison of accents in America look for Erik Singer's "Accent Expert" series on Wired's UA-cam channel. It's great. For reference, I speak with a "Standard American" accent.
12. Yeah, I hate using Imperial instead of Metric and while many attempts to change this have been.. attempted.. politics gets in the way. :/
13. Again. Politics. It's bad. Mostly lobbying, poor regulations, and monopolies preventing competition.
14. You can still find trendy restaurants that serve you almost nothing while costing waaaay too much, but on the whole, yes America has insane portion sizes. Affordable (subjective) is because America makes almost every bit of it's food here in the states. We do import a lot of fruit like bananas, but those are often trucked up from Mexico, so it's not very expensive.
15. I was born and raised in the US and I could write a book on how bad American coffee is. Either get fresh beans and a $400 drum roaster off Amazon or find a delivery service that does good quality _fresh_ coffee roasts. I did and I've been a happier man ever since.
16. I'm not sure what news you're listening too, but conservative news will try to hide the concept while liberal news will scream it from the rooftops. (Yes, all news in the US is biased along political lines. Also depending on where in FL you live, it may be very conservative. Physical borders in the US can sometimes correlate with political ones.
17. Having worked in customer service, I can say a lot of people are either frustrated with something going on in their lives and feel the need to take it out on someone or are simply trying to abuse the system so they can get free shit. (Once the manager gets called over it usually works.)
18. Yep, awful for the environment, but the government doesn't care and it's cheaper than the alternatives (usually) so it's still made and readily available.
19. lol
20. There's a lot of reasons for trucks not following the technical law (in most states) of only passing in the left lane. One is that the truck drivers aren't always trained correctly. This became an issue quite recently in Colorado when a not properly trained driver lost control of his truck while going downhill and slammed into a large number of cars. (Even caused an explosion) Another reason is that since the passing only left lane rule is 99% never enforced, people don't follow it (or even know about it in some cases) so this stuff happens. Also, some times people are petty assholes and truck drivers are people. You _can_ buy a CB radio and kindly ask him to move his ass(all truckers have a CB in their cab), though whether he will or not is a question.
21. Coins don't make sense in America and should be discontinued altogether as most people under the age of 70 only pay in credit cards or by cell phone these days, that said, politics, so...
$0.01 = Penny
$0.05 = Nickle
$0.10 = Dime
$0.25 = Quarter
$0.50 = Half-Dollar (less common)
22. I'd say conservative people are more likely to wave flags when it isn't the 4th of July. The 4th of July is more of just a tradition at this point to decorate with the flag and blow stuff up. Also advertisers will use big data to design their commercials, so if they're targeting conservative areas they're more likely to use things like flags to represent their products. Live in a city a little more up north like New York and you may see a bit less of that.
23. Please do criticize them. I hate this. In my part of Virginia this was only something done by parents who had moved here from the middle east. When I lived in West Virginia I saw people born and raised American who did this. I won't make guesses as to the cause of this (there are books citing numerous causes from social or economic to legislative and available public services), but I don't see this as acceptable at all and I've never had a pleasant interaction with someone who did. I won't be raising my kids like this and I won't interact with parents who won't parent. The biggest reason I've seen for not saying something is that the parent will usually make more noise than the kid once interacted with. "YOU CAN'T TELL ME HOW TO RAISE MY CHILD!!" The yelling and screaming of the parents is often worse than the yelling and screaming of the child. :(
I was recommended this video by Digg, so that's something. :)
The funny thing about America is that you'll find a lot of differences through out the country. Round abouts are becoming much more popular especially in the West. A few of the things you mentioned are an issue because of politics. For instance climate change is uniquely political here in the US. Florida is a state that historically has been quite conservative and for whatever reason climate change denial has become the standard throughout that perspective. You'll also find that is the case with desposable plastic and car culture. Appliances are also a big part of American life. If an appliance can do it, we'll buy it. That goes for electric dryers.
@@imaginaryuser Roundabouts are fine up to a certain point but when the volume of cars increases their ability to cope decreases.
Haven't subscribed to anyone in awhile, but I think I will you- if only to hire a quality narrator at some point if a project comes up.
Best ending ever!
A lot of what you mention is regional. People don't dry their clothes outside because of pollution in many areas. Roundabouts show up where new road construction occurs, not a given, but I am seeing a lot of them in newer developments. A lot of this relates to our consumer culture, quicker easier ways to spend, encouraging us to spend with good service, looking the other way at bad behaviour like 'feral children' as long as you are paying.
Yeah the customer service note is very true. Unfortunately.
Coffee is weak so you have to buy more of it. Bottom line.
Good vid, I found Americans to be very polite and friendly, I don’t know if it was just me, but I met a lot of Americans who haven’t talked to a family member in years as they only meet at weddings and funerals, being Irish I thought that weird. I also found Americans very insular, and a lot really are ignorant about the rest of the world, some never even owned a passport, come on Americans get about, there’s a big interesting world beyond the US. PS I loved the place.
In that clip where you got rear-ended by the distracted driver, were you in/around Flagler beach? I grew up around there and that stretch of road you were on looked identical to that area.
Yeah, just out of St Augustine.
Hanging your clothes to dry tends to be something people only do here to save money. So it's often (at least in my experience) looked at as a "poor people thing." Most people that can afford it do have electric dryers in their home
I do it with expensive clothes/fabrics that don't require dry cleaning. Some things will last 3x longer air dried than put in a dryer. Watch out for too much sun-bleaching though! Few things beat that warm feeling of wearing something just out of a dryer tho.
Laundromats laundromats laundromats
Nobody ever thinks about where the electicity comes from? Maybe some nuclear or coal plant? Next time when you put clothes in your electric dryer, think about the floods in Venice, or the fires in California,... After all, hanging clothes out to dry, it's just one small step for man, but may impact all of mankind!
So nobody gives a shit for the environment then...
The truck thing they are supposed to stay in the right lane
It depends on the state. That is true in California where I was raised, but here in Arizona, trucks can drive in any lane. It is annoying like the in the video says.
The trucks on the highway would drive me crazy
#8-Up here in PA and NJ, we stamped out circles over the last 20 years or so
One more thing - you are SO right about the children in this country. It's an embarrassment! Ok - another thing - sorry, but you ARE one of those good-looking people on UA-cam or wherever. And I absolutely loved how you finished the video. Great job!
Child worship... that hits the nail on the head regarding the insane entitlement and narcissism of today's culture. It also explains the extreme polemics regarding people and politics because everyone is running amok, as you said going "me me me me".
This could go viral with that kind of ending, great video
I’m glad he points out some of the crappy things we have. Like shitty cell phone providers since the government allows monopolies of industries
All of our currency has the amount written on it. Just coins don’t have numbers
Great video! And ending! I highly recommend you come to Canada and if possible, go coast to coast. It'll take a while but I think your observations would be incredible.
Lots of good points. I agree with you on most of them. Welcome to the USA! Hope you stick around.
I love your humor lol America seems complicated lol
You are a kind sausage. Thank you.
If you understand one thing about America, a lot of other things make sense (Especially the child thing): You can be sued by anyone, legally, for almost anything. Children suing the parents is sadly NOT unheard of. Parents being sued and having their children taken away and/or jail time for even so much as speaking/yelling in public, let alone spanking, is not unheard of. Yes, children get their own lawyers in divorces. We started treating children like little adults - This was the mistake.
Fellow kiwi here, most of the things you say I can agree with totally.
I spent a week in the US and tipping was driving me crazy, could not live there.
You haven't experienced customer service until you've been to Japan though.
The entitled customer thing is true, and the good customer service is generally attributed to the tipping culture.
Oh, also, Time Magazine has a pretty decent article on the history of tipping in the United States. Currently tipped workers only make $2.13/hour per Federal law; the tips are supposed to subsidize the hourly wage.
time.com/5404475/history-tipping-american-restaurants-civil-war/
A handful of observations from a Yank who's lived in NZ:
Politics have always been pervasive in the U.S. but it has intensified over the past ten years. There was a time when driving a Toyota was seen as an affront to patriotism. Now you need to be careful about chicken sandwiches.
Some states have more traffic circles (sorry, roundabouts) than others. For instance Wisconsin seems to have a lot of them. But they're huge, allowing lots of merging space. I have nightmares about the tight ones I've managed to escape from in NZ, Ireland and Italy. Add to that trying to remember which side to stay on while I shift with my left hand. Talk about distracted.
It's feels wrong not to tip my bartender when traveling.
It took me awhile to realize that shopkeepers weren't being rude when they spat out 'Ta!' when giving me back my change.
Your money is really pretty, with all the birds and colors on the cash.
I remember the coffee in NZ being terrible. But most people I knew either drank tea or beer. I also remember an American tourist being bewildered by a sign that advertised tea for $8. (for the Americans, 'Tea' is a whole meal down there, and not like the crumpet filled 'high tea' you hear about).
Maybe I'm just old, but the feral kid situation is something very new. Nobody I grew up with would have ever been allowed to scream in public, at any age. Now I see 8-9 year olds throwing top-of-their-lungs tantrums while the parents stand by. My mother would have committed me to an insane asylum if I tried that.
Many things you mentioned are multiplied in Florida - politics, religion, bad behavior, terrible driving, southern hospitality, nationalism, food, etc. Many parts of America aren't as 'Amurican' as you observe in FL.
If you find differences in culture, language and people interesting, travel around to as many states as you can. You'll find as much diversity as you'll find commonalities.
Oh, and you can tell how nice Kiwis are by the fact he recommends the lube.
That was a great comment and I learned a lot. Thanks mate.
I know this may be a bit late, but as per your dryer question. Yes, we all use dryer machines inside our homes haha
Lol he doesn't understand why all the tipping but does have another point about the excellent service... maybe they're related?? :D :D
Number 3 is definitely a Florida thing. It's too humid here most of the year, plus the weather is too bipolar and it might rain on your clothes.
You're not wrong. All of these are correct.
One other thing about us Americans, we don't give a shit about other peoples opinions. Keep up the good work. Much success to you. By the way, can you do some NZ videos, you seem like a straight shooter.
It's also really annoying that when you go to pay for something, the taxes are added afterwards. Not only do you not know how much it will cost, but also it ends up costing odd numbers of cents. And they have 1c pieces so things are not rounded, and they have paper $1 and no $2 so you end up carrying lots of coins and almost worthless paper
That is something I learnt quickly enough when I initially came over. Very annoying when you want a $5 footlong and it's more like $5.25 or whatever the tax is. I took it for granted that you didn't have to think about adding the tax in New Zealand because it has already been added.
Were I live I rarely see Styrofoam cups and grocery stores are trying to phase out plastic bags.
You are right on almost all of your points except the one where you said this video wont go viral. Based on the views of your other videos this one is viral in comparison.
It's funny, my brother actually talked about being "feral". Our mom was actually good on discipline. He meant it in the literal sense of feeling at home in the woods, shoes/clothes optional. Thankfully that was before I was born so I didn't have to see that.