Americans & Europeans CLASH Over This!

[00:00:00]This is the easiest country to rage bait. I swear to God, >> the French have life so good and they hate existing so much. All right, so for my people that live in France, what are the pros and cons of living in France?

[00:00:10]And how would you compare that to living in the United States? You ever heard the saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." I guess the saying technically is the grass is greener where you water it. But today, we're going to be getting into something that's pretty interesting because I stumbled across a video of an American living in France. And she was absolutely miserable at her French audience because it seemed like all of them were very negative, incredibly pessimistic. And it starkly contrasts with the American optimistic attitude. Now, there's two sides to the story because if you look at it in one direction, right, where you're like, "Oh, well, Europeans are just pessimistic people. They they just see the world in a grim light." then I feel like that's a very close-minded way of looking at things. And if you flip it around and you're like, "Well, Americans are just ultimately optimistic because anything is possible and everybody should believe anything is possible." I feel like both of these philosophies have some pros and cons to them. But if you look at the American optimistic mindset, there's a lot of caveats to it.

[00:01:04]Obviously, us Americans love bragging about the American dream. Anybody can travel to the United States and make it.

[00:01:10]I'm not sure if that's the case in these day and maybe. Let's say that is the case. a small percentage of people actually get to achieve the American dream. You know what I mean? It's become a lot more difficult in recent years.

[00:01:21]And then of course the ideology of soaring to the moon and having these great goals and aspirations are going to be not as accepted I feel like across Europe no matter what country you go to because at the end of the day people are pretty realistic. They're like okay well don't shoot too high. You have everything you could ever want here. But that's the thing I feel like across all of Europe the hustle mentality isn't really a thing. So people don't need to aim incredibly high. Most of the countries throughout Europe have relatively decent systems that focus on taking care of their people. Do they all have their flaws? Absolutely, just like any system. But for the most part, most of the systems throughout Europe value quality of life and don't focus on working people to death. Where in contrast, American companies and American culture coerces people into working harder than they have the energy to, sacrificing their free time, and doing it at the expense of their health.

[00:02:09]We're going to be checking out what this lady had to say and see if she made some decent points. Obviously, the comment section was predominantly split between the Americans and the French people that hopped in and they were kind of firing back and forth between each other. But for you guys, is there a hustle culture in your country? Do people want to shoot for the stars and aim incredibly high and build these big businesses and make all this money? Or are people more relaxed where you are? Or or is there some nuance? Are there some people that love to, you know, aspire to become tech billionaires and other people that just love chilling? What is the social norm as far as that goes? Also, is American optimism perceived as fake where you're from. But as always, help us hit a million subscribers by liking this video and subscribing if you haven't already.

[00:02:50]>> Uh because every time I say something even like remotely positive, you guys are like, "Actually, no." Like, oh my god, it's this is the easiest country to rage bait. I swear to God. I feel like that's why I got my success so fast is because you guys are so quick to anger.

[00:03:06]So quick to comment on something. I posted my apartment criteria. It's like really [ __ ] basic. I'm like natural light. I want a [ __ ] window under €1,000 safety and a decent smell. And you guys are like that's impossible with this budget. Actually not in Paris. You are not going to find good [ __ ] This is why nothing works out for you babes. You guys have the most pessimistic mindset.

[00:03:32]Yeah.

[00:03:32]>> So obviously what she's aiming at is that at least for her French audience, people are very pessimistic. Come off as very contrarian as well. And anytime there is any sort of compliment thrown in the direction of French people, they're like, "No, it's not that good.

[00:03:45]It's not that great." So I had to talk about this because there's something that us Americans do that she just did that grinds my gears. Now context is everything. And what she was talking about was a lot of the people in France saying that, hey, for the preferences you want, in Paris, one of the most expensive cities in the world, you're not going to be able to afford a place with your preferences for the amount of money that you have available. And she's like, "Oh, well, you guys are just being negative." It's like, "No, ma'am. You're being delusional." Delusional optimism.

[00:04:16]It makes you come off as arrogant and dumb. Like I said, I think they were just trying to do her a solid by letting her know that she wasn't going to get the selection that she was looking for with the preferences that she wanted with the amount of money that she had access to, which was not very much money. And she took that the wrong way.

[00:04:31]And she's like, "Don't tell me I can't.

[00:04:33]Tell me that I can." The perception is it doesn't matter what you say in France, it's going to get shot down quicker than you can get it out. And it's very bummy for a lot of Americans traveling over there. You know what I mean? But this is the same sentiment that I've heard from Americans traveling all over Europe. On the flip side though, I do think that our overoptimism in a lot of cases does come off as delusional, arrogant sometimes, and very fake. And I do understand why that is because if for instance, right, in the case of social interactions where you're walking by somebody and you say good morning and they're like, "Oh, good morning, whatever." Like, you know, you guys just casually say good morning.

[00:05:11]You're like, "Oh, hey, how are you?"

[00:05:12]Right? That's what a lot of us Americans love to do.

[00:05:14]>> Hi, how are you? Hi, I'm >> Hi, how are you?

[00:05:18]>> Hi, I'm good. And >> Hi, how are you?

[00:05:21]>> Hi, I'm good. And you?

[00:05:25]>> WHAT THE?

[00:05:25]>> WE LIKE WALK UP TO each other. We're like, "Hey, how are you?" We don't expect you to tell us how you actually are. And we keep on keeping on. We keep on walking in our direction and we go about our day. But you go in Europe and do the same thing. That's where the perception comes from in that instance, right? You walk by somebody, you're like, "Oh, hey, how are you?" And they're like, "Oh, I'm actually very good. I just got hired on." and then you keep walking. I think the idea of being negative is actually tied to the brutal honesty tag that we've slapped on most European countries and it's just people letting us know, hey, I understand that you want to do all these crazy things, but do you have a foundational plan that will sustain your lifestyle? Okay, cuz you guys live in your delusion so much that from what we see from where we're at, you guys are swimming in copious amounts of debt. And not just medical debt, you're swimming in optional debt.

[00:06:10]like you're pulling out credit cards, taking out personal loans, buying things you can't afford, and then wondering why the IRS is banging on your doorstep, and collections is at your doorstep as well because you haven't paid all the money you borrowed. That's the thing. I think all of that kind of feeds into this American mindset of everything will work out. Trust me, bro. because we have so many systems in place in the United States that are used to prey on our funds and our energy in hopes that, you know, we'll make it out of the gutter and become successful eventually. For instance, a lot of people say all the time, you have to spend money to make money. So, people will take out loans and blow it on things that they think will blow up their business or their startup businesses and they fail. So, now they're just broke with a lot of money they have to pay back and they're like, "You know what? It'll work out.

[00:06:59]Let's do it again. Run it back. And then people from the outside looking in are like, "What are you doing? What are you doing?" On one side of the spectrum, I do see where she's coming from where it seems like everything that she mentions and seems to bring up, people seem very like burnt out and contrarian and just down in the dumps and grumpy, right?

[00:07:19]Very negative, very pessimistic. But on the opposite side, I see how it could be very annoying for how us Americans come off when we're overly optimistic. We come off as very fake when we're too nice because obviously our definition of nice does translate to being pretty fake in a lot of cases. Now, when we saw Europeans travel to the United States in light of the World Cup, you got to see that we're pretty hospitable. Like, we'll show you guys around our country.

[00:07:42]We pride our country a lot. We're like, "Oh, we love where we're from. Yes, it has a lot of problems, but we do love the perks and the amenities that come with it. So, we're very open to showing you guys where we live, all the cool stores and intricacies that are inside our humble abodess and living quarters and stuff like that and even neighborhoods and villages and stuff.

[00:08:01]But when it comes to how we interact with people, especially when there's the the endless trope of Europeans and Americans like, you know, bumping heads over cultural differences, that is one big cultural difference that I've seen that can go either way. You didn't find what you wanted because you guys have no faith. No faith in things working out for you. I am like the most abundant person I know. I always get the best opportunities. Things always work out for me. And I'm going to keep this optimism. But damn is it hard in a French society because y'all are quick to push someone's down. How dare you dream? How dare you think things are going to work out for you? They inevitably won't. Yeah. With that mindset, >> there's a lot to process here. But ultimately, it does seem like what she's saying does come off a little bit arrogant.

[00:08:45]>> I always get the best opportunities.

[00:08:48]Things always work out for me.

[00:08:49]>> Because you don't know the next person's situation. It's hard to be optimistic when you don't understand someone else's situation. You know what I mean? If someone's just telling you, "Dude, you're sad. Just be happy, bro. Just be happy." And then, of course, it comes off as disingenuous. You know what I mean? So, yes, obviously, like the American mentality of things will work out. we got this whatever. It's a response to what we've had to go through in our country, but we try to project that on other people. There are so many different situations that people go through on a day-to-day basis. So many different living situations, working situations, and everything in between.

[00:09:22]And to tell somebody that, oh yeah, you guys are just negative, defeists, pessimistic, and contrarians and stuff.

[00:09:28]Things just don't work out for you because you're just too negative. For the most part, you have to look into why people are thinking that way. You have to really dive into the weeds and seeds of what that culture is and what the people in that culture have to go through on a day-to-day basis in whatever area they're living in. Because let's take the entirety of France.

[00:09:45]France is pretty big. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty big. So, if you go to certain areas of France, people might be more happy and positive than other areas. If you go to Paris, I mean, good [ __ ] luck. I haven't heard uh too many optimistic things about the people in Paris because there's tourism fatigue. Obviously, that it boils down to a deeper understanding of why people are the way they are. It's very easy to look from the outside in and just make a quick judgment and move on. And then again, it makes us look very arrogant.

[00:10:09]Americans upsetting Europeans by being gregarious, optimistic, and happy is always funny. They really hate that we aren't miserable 24/7 like they are. All right. All right. Listen, there's a lot of things that we don't like in the United States. I could fill a whole CVS pharmacy receipt for all the things that we complain about on a daily basis. Yes, we're optimistic, but we also do be complaining a lot about our own stuff. I mean, don't forget who's running THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW, but let's not be too cocky. You know what I'm saying? The French have life so good and they hate existing so much. All right, so for my people that live in France, what are the pros and cons of living in France? And how would you compare that to living in the United States? For the people who have gotten the chance to visit the United States or even live there temporarily, what was that experience like for you? How does that compare to France? France is big, so it just depends on where you live, I feel like, in France, right? But the overall, if you were to put the entire French mentality into one big thing, how would you view that? Like, is it negative for the most part or is it misunderstood? Is it positive? And it's perceived as negative. I mean, I've actually heard a lot of other European countries dunk on France, too. I'm not going to lie. Yo, like if if you I've talked to people from Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and they've had some questionable things to say about France. So, I'm just saying there must be something in the water over there in in AC across France cuz again, it wasn't just Americans complaining about France. I can pull up plenty of videos and I can even have some people on here on the YouTube channel to talk to you guys about their experiences in France. Now, they all say it's a beautiful country. It's just a lot of the interactions with the people uh sometimes get a little iffy and stuff. And it's not all the time, but I have heard a significant amount of stories of people having not the best experiences interacting with people, but they were all situational. I feel like I'm not sure how true that is on a regular basis, but I do think that over tourism has had a massive effect on France along with a lot of the political things that are going over there currently. And by the way, I have no idea what those are, but politics always plays a nice role in how people are in the society. Case in point, look at the United States. It's not just France, it's the entirety of Europe. Okay, so there's a misconception and I want to talk about this. My very first place in Europe I ever traveled to was Germany.

[00:12:19]So I traveled to Germany for my first time. And of course, I had reacted to hundreds of videos prior to traveling to Germany of what the Germans were going to be like and what the environment's like and like Germans are known for following the rules and being very pushy and judgy and mean and forward. And that's not what I got when I first got there at all. That's not what I got at all. People were very friendly. people were very welcoming, open-minded and stuff. Of course, I traveled to Cologne, Germany. So, I feel like they call it the California of Germany for the most part. So, maybe that had something to do with it. But even when I did branch out and travel to other cities and Bundesla in Germany, I was able to have a good time with the people and it was it was fun. I mean, also it helped that I was able to teach myself some German to navigate a little bit. So, I think people also saw that I was trying to learn the language and stuff and, you know, I was respectful. Yes, I did make a lot of mistakes as well. I'm not perfect at all, right? And I'm not saying I'm the golden boy that traveled and had the best experiences ever, but I did have very good experiences and they were very contrary to what I was seeing and hearing online. So, I do think that at the end of the day, if you want to experience and see what all of these opinions and criticisms of different countries are, the best way to experience it is hopping on that plane, landing in the country, and experiencing it yourself. Now, if you want to make it easier on yourself, learn the language.

[00:13:30]If you want to make it even easier, do some research on the customs and courtesy so you're able to mend with people very well. Exactly. French, but I spent four years in the US. When I came back to France, I literally went into a depression because of that. Hey, so maybe there is some truth to this negative French mindset. Now, again, I wouldn't slap that entire mindset on all of Europe, right? But is there some truth to this? Let me know in the comments. Being delusionally optimistic hurts no one. And most of the time, it all works out anyways. And that's where I feel like we have to be careful. Being optimistic is fine, but being delusionally optimistic can have its negative repercussions. Like I said, if you are unaware of the situation you're in or other people are in and you're delusionally optimistic, it can get you in a tight bind. And in some cases, it can repel people from you because obviously if you're being very dismissive, cuz the delusional optimistic part comes with negative connotations, right? Cuz delusional is not a good thing. Being delusional is not good. Like I don't think there's any context where being delusional is a good thing. It's a coping mechanism, right?

[00:14:28]It's a coping mechanism. there's something going on and you have to be delusional to make it through whatever that mechanism is and it's not necessarily great because you're not accepting what's happening in front of you and you can't properly strategize around that. Part of being delusionally optimistic involves disregarding others depending on what your situation is because we can't say that every situation of being delusionally optimistic is a great situation. We don't know what other people are going through. They just love bonding over complaining. One thing that I think is interesting is the constant criticism from us Americans to Europeans that they complain a lot. But I think that the reason why there's a lot of complaints that we see from Europeans is because their respective societies actually do something about their complaints. And I got to see that firsthand in Germany. A lot of the places I went to, I'm like, "Wow, the service and stuff is is pretty good. I mean, it wasn't the greatest, but at least the establishments I was going to were amazing. They were phenomenal." And then I looked at the Yelp reviews and people were so critical. They're like, "Oh, the food was lukewarm. the people were d they were just ripping every establishment apart and then each establishment made corrections to make the experience more enjoyable for the customer. Okay, so maybe it wasn't with the intent to keep the customer happy, but it definitely was with the intent of making sure the business ran more effectively. So, I did notice that a lot of complaining led to actions that took place that rectified whatever the complaint was for the most part, especially if it was like a structural or architectural thing or something that could directly impact the business in a way that would bring in more money and stuff. Those are things that I noticed, but I could have it wrong. You guys let me know in the comments down below. Do you think that the art of complaining, providing criticism, leads to a better place, or do you think it falls upon deaf ears?

[00:16:11]And my perception of things being taken care of in European countries is skewed and stuff. And I was like, "Oh, that's crazy." Cuz I know in the United States, we don't really listen to criticism like that. I mean, we do, but we don't. I'm French and haven't unclenched my fists since 1973. Dang. The more I read these comments, I'm starting to think y'all French people kind of negative. Married to a German, and the pessimism is hard to listen to sometimes. When I travel to South America, I would be on tours with several groups from different European countries. They would all [ __ ] to me.

[00:16:39]The lone American about each other. I can definitely understand why there's been so many conflicts that have uh started in Europe because for as big of a continent as Europe is and all those different countries next to each other, their next door neighbors, there are so many polarizingly different cultures. Uh there could be a custom where you got to kiss people in the cheek in one country and then right next door the neighboring country is like, "If you if you kiss me, I'm punching you. You're losing teeth.

[00:17:04]I'm collecting your teeth and putting them on a necklace." I'm French and I agree with you 100%. Well, even the French were agreeing, so maybe France is just straight up negative. But I wouldn't say all of Europe is. I'm pregnant, and one time I told my French in-laws that I thought I would have an easy labor like my mom had with all of her kids. They were like, "No, don't be so positive because things can turn around and you'll be disappointed."

[00:17:25]Hello. Why do we have to be scared new mamas all the time? That's got to be annoying. That has got to be annoying.

[00:17:31]So, anyways, you guys let me know what you think about this in the comments down below. Uh, it's obviously pretty diabolical.