Why are Americans so nice?

Love the place, the big plates of food, big cars, big attitudes, I find it all endearing. What spoils it for me is the in-your-face-bitch patriotism, media brainwashing and a completely lack of general knowledge about the bigger world outside of America. Sadly I cannot operate in such a society. I need something more international and varied. Now Canada we can talk about.
 
regulus said:
Love the place, the big plates of food, big cars, big attitudes, I find it all endearing. What spoils it for me is the in-your-face-bitch patriotism, media brainwashing and a completely lack of general knowledge about the bigger world outside of America. Sadly I cannot operate in such a society. I need something more international and varied. Now Canada we can talk about.
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Plus Canada still recognises the Queen
 
I've spent as lot of time in america visiting relatives, not the holiday spots and I find americans to be ruder to each other than anywhere else I've visited. They rarely say please and thank you to each other and normally are only being nice because everyone tips for anything.

Yet to a non american like myself there were nice as you could get. Observing them interacting with each other is completely different.
 
One thing we don't get, to such an extent in the UK is the following though
dude on an American car forum said:
Retail stores do not exist to "help the consumer". They are in business to make a profit, and the consumer getting what they want is a byproduct of that. It shouldn't be that way, but it is.

I worked at a Best Buy part-time (30-35hrs) evenings and weekends for two years to supplement my full-time salary trying to pay off debt. I'm in IT, so naturally I originally applied for a position with their tech group (this was before 'GeekSquad' existed, at least in conjunction with BestBuy). The tech group had no openings, so I ended up in computer/peripherals doing sales.

The bottom line goal of the store is to maximize profit. That all trickles down to district managers, store managers, and team leaders. They all generally would get bonuses/perks based on the department's/store's performance, so all they cared about was that bottom line. Sell as much or as many of something as you can, as quickly as you can do it. The consumer's needs factor very little into that equation. And don't even get me started on the 'Protection Plans' they push. They are nearly 100% profit for the company. The plans were ultimately my reason for leaving the computer dept. at that store.

I had a customer call up one day to ask if we had anymore of a particular laptop that was on sale. I checked stock, and then checked with a manager to ask if it was ok to hold the one we had left for that customer. The manager's only concern was that I talk the customer into getting the service plan before I was even off the phone with them. I pitched it to them, just giving the facts of the plan, and the customer said it sounded good. That customer changed his mind once he was in the store to pick up the laptop. When I went to get the manager's keys to get the laptop out of lockup for the customer, the manager asked if the customer was getting the service plan. I said he had changed his mind and decided to just buy the laptop without the plan. The manager said, "Tell him we're sorry but the last laptop has already been sold." I **** you not.

I quit working computers that day. I ended up transferring to the warehouse where I gladly did the mindless job of unloading trucks, helping customers load TVs and whatnot into their cars, etc. It was much more fun, and I felt better about not being involved with screwing over the customers.

I'm not bragging but I'm a very hard worker and I knew more about computers than anyone else that worked at that store. I really enjoyed the days where I would have a group of customers standing around me as I educated them on buying the right computer for their needs. And it was really sad how I used to get "talked to" about that because I "should be getting people in and out of there, selling them the best computer I could get them to buy with as much ink, paper, cables, etc. as I could." I couldn't do it anymore.
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Mark A said:
I know what you mean there. Thats one thing i really hate about Britain, how everything is so cramped. The roads in some areas are like they're designed for carts, rather than cars. Terraced houses are really depressing, I hate seeing them and would never be able to live in one. New built housing estates in Britain are much better but still not as good as the ones in the US.

But saying that i would absolutely hate the suburb style American way of life. Everybody trying to keep up with each other etc.
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Modern American suburbs are terrible for a lot of reasons. The street layout is appallingly decentralised, making it impossible to implement a public transport system. Combined with single zoning, anyone who wants to go anywhere or do anything must use a car. The average American walks a quarter of a mile a day because of this (compared to New Yorkers, who walk more than four miles a day).

The traditional American suburb is quite good, but the modern form - a house on a long and winding street with 2,000 other houses that has no crossings or other points of interest - would be a soul destroying place to live.
 
There are places like that on the outskirts of Sacramento, I know exactly what you're talking about. Soul destroying is precisely how I'd describe it. Why anyone would choose to live in such a neighbourhood is beyond me.
 
rypt said:
You mean like this?
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The thing is I really don't mind that at all. Yes it isn't as nice as having a lots of individual properties but we don't do that here really any more either, it is the same just on a smaller scale.

These are not considered luxury properties and are comparable to a terrace house price wise depending on area. I don't care about individuality if I have plenty of space, quietness and a swimming pool in the sun.
It would be nice if it was a bit more individual and the landscape in these places doesn't help either, quite often they are made from desert so it is just flat with only man made objects but still compared to living in a tiny terraced house on a main road in the cold and rain. It isn't that bad.

I honestly think all these other factors matter little compared to the fact there is just simply so much space. If you don't mind living not near the sea or a city land is dirt cheap and the climate far superior in many places.

we spend most of our lives saving up for a bigger house and holidays in the sun. why not just live somewhere better?

I just want to sit in the sun in my garden eating barbecue and beer. :D
 
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It's all relative. I find people in Londonshire incredibly rude (lived and worked there for close to 2 years), people in Yorkshire very friendly and Scotland in general the friendliest in the UK.

I was in a Bike shop in Aberdeen with purhase in hand a few years ago when some random American appeared from nowhere being overly nice asking me about a bike on display. My first thought was who the ***** are you and what are you on? A short reply later and I was outofthere. Weirdo.

Edit: I found a pic of him:

pic.php
 
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Scuzi said:
They're better people. It's one of the main reasons I'm desperately trying to emigrate to the US.
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Its normal for people to be overly friendly to new faces, its a way of putting people on ice till you figure them out and place them within your piegon holes. Dim, smart, friendly, not friendly, safe, sly, dangous, rich, poor, leecher or giver. Everyone does it even if they don't realise it. Its not until after the overly friend stage that you can see the person for what they are. That a side I would say they a generaly a friendlyer lot.

Gackt said:
It's not that North Americans are nicer, it's just that the British are walled-off, judgemental, stand-offish and introverted.
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Scubascorpion said:
Because the majority of British people appear to be spiteful, bitter and miserable.
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Once people realise life could and should but isn't better thats the end result.
 
This thread is really old, but as an American, I wanted to address it. In general we're taught from birth to act a certain way. It's not to appear friendly to newcomers or visitors. It's because everyone else acts this way. In order to fit in, you need to be friendly, especially in the southern states like Texas and Louisiana. I grew up in Louisiana and now live in Texas. If you live here and can't carry on a conversation with a stranger, you'll be considered extremely rude. We understand foreigners may not understand this.
I'm pretty sure it has a lot to do with this also being the "Bible Belt". The southern states are full of extreme Christians. In the church, you're supposed to be accepting of everyone no matter what. This isn't always the truth though. Some churches don't accept everyone Most do. So, this "acceptance" carried over into everyday life eventually. In places like New York, there are more immigrants than natural born Americans. So, in general, they're not as friendly. They weren't taught to be that way. Any state with a lot of immigrants won't be as friendly, unless it has a high concentration of immigrants from a friendlier culture.
As far as dealing with kids on video games, it's entirely different. Kids here act completely different than in real life when they're on games. It's a way for them to be asses and something they're not allowed to be in person. My sons are 15, 18, 20 & 21. I can hear the 2 youngest ones upstairs screaming into their video games right now. They are absolutely not allowed to be that in everyday life. The more rude the kid is on the game, the more likely he is not allowed to be that way in real life. My kids are expected to carry on civil conversations with anyone they come across. You can and do talk to strangers in stores and public once you're old enough to defend yourself.
Some visitors find our friendliness very awkward and intrusive. Please don't take it that way. We genuinely are this friendly most of the time. Be careful, of course, that no one is trying to scam you in tourist areas. That's anywhere though.
 
Well said^.

Yes you do get a certain miserable type over here and chavs, well they beggar belief at times. It's a wonder this country is still standing. Party though as people live so close together and council houses/estates don't help. Also the British class system created the hierarchical 'know your place peasant' attitude.

It's true though, church people can be very friendly and loving and as you said they spread this into the wider society. But it seems the current crop of democrats would ban church if they had their way, so your good spirit is under threat.

The few Americans I've come across I always found them very well mannered and respectful really put some of us to shame.
 
Everyone I know who has been to USA/Canada have found them to be friendly and excellent places to live/visit.

My brother and friend went to Canada and some people were initially weary of them as they associated English people with been violent/aggressive/drunks due to their experiences with squaddies.
 
Is the OP including surly airport security staff [ mainly African/Americans it must be said ] , monosyllabic fast food operatives and
argumentative car hire employees in their outrageously inaccurate statement ?
 
Not all Americans are so nice . . .
Four policemen in the US have been indicted for beating up a black fellow police officer who was working undercover.

One of the cops – Dustin Boone – even boasted that ‘it’s a blast beating people’, before the assault took place during protests in St. Louis in September last year over the acquittal of a white officer for fatally shooting a black man.

‘It’s gonna get IGNORANT tonight!!” he texted on the day of the verdict.

‘It’s gonna be a lot of fun beating the hell out of these s***heads once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us apart!!!!’
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Charming, red-neck thugs in uniform.

There are lovely Americans and awful Americans, just like any other nationalities anywhere in the World.
Unfortunately, a majority of Americans elected someone who no rational person could ever describe as "nice" - or "honest".

ps - No US Immigration Officer is "nice" - EVER!
 
Been to the states several times and they are hands down open, welcoming and generous people on the whole. There is an unfortunate underlying racial issue but I found that engaging with people of other colour was great. For example, a black guy in a bar was quite shocked when I opened conversation with him, we talked at great lengths about the differences in racial opinion between the UK and USA. I ended up spending most the night with his black mates drinking, and that was considered abnormal. I think that's more of a regional thing though, probably wouldn't even be an issue in a major city.

stockhausen said:
Q. Why are Americans so nice?
A. Ask someone from Vietnam, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan or various other places around the world :rolleyes:
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Yes, because a government foreign policy is exactly linked to how nice that country's populace is :rolleyes:
 
I'm guessing most of you that think people are not friendly in the UK are not friendly yourselves. I bet you are the guys walking around with headphones on or staring at your phone on the street on your commute. If you actually talk to people you will find most people will be friendly.

Maybe when you're on holiday in the US you are more friendly as you're relaxing instead of going about your busy life and therefore put more effort into conversing with strangers, so it gives the impression everyone is nicer to you?

Also one other glaring factor is that you aren't comparing like for like in most cases. London and other large cities in the UK are more comparable to NewYork and I wouldn't say the people there are overly nice. Especially if you go on public transport. Sure people might be a lot friendlier in sunny California, where they're more than likely well off and get to live somewhere that is sunny all year around. But even then, head down to the seedier parts of LA and you will find again that America isn't always as friendly as the tourist/well off parts make it out to be.
 
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