You brought a smile to my face. Bringing up road trips and diners.. There is nothing more American than taking a road trip and stopping at the local diners for a bite to eat. Forget the fast food. You'll get some of the best home cooking at the local diner.
Brought a smile to mine too. :) I've crossed this country back and forth several times. Best food I've ever had came from absolute dives hidden along the road. Love it all!
Those parts hit me in the nostalgia. I can't do the road trip part (can't drive), but as soon as it cozies up to spring a little more, I'm going to walk down the street to the diner...
@@chrisr3671 depends where you are, in London there are over 100,000 hydrants. I think I’ve heard you’re never more than 100m from one. Elsewhere Im not sure, I know our engines carry a lot of water
They've been trying to update them to a newer better standard. But I think only big cities can afford it right now, though strangely enough I haven't actually looked at any lately, should try to find one since I live in Las Vegas. Seems like something we could afford. All the roads are always been worked on and fixed.
I think the National Park system is one of the things that Americans should be most proud of. From the famous and easily accessible parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon to the less known and much more remote parks like Great Basin, Gates of the Arctic, and Zion. Each one of them is an absolute gem. Conversely, I also think the lack of decent intercity passenger rail (to say nothing of high-speed rail) is one of the things Americans should be most regretful of.
the NP'S are stunning I did the grand canyon and Zion on the same road trip Zion is better, one of the most beautiful places in the world. if you tell the average brit about it they look at you like you are an idiot, in the US they only seem to want to go to florida and Vegas. Laurence didn't mention the interstate road system which enables those road trips
no trains is why the USA has the strongest car culture in the world.. im all set with countries that have a rail culture ive sen it and im not impressed.. too much walking with a car i drive right up to where i want to go and carry on my business and then go right to the next place no missed connections no bus rides no smelly loud rude diseased people to share the ride with.. no teens vaping like mad.. no foreign tourists arguing at full volume like no one else is there.. no being groped no being pushed off platforms by nutters.. yea no im all set with rail transit.. been there done that got the mental scars to prove it.
I agree on both counts! We have some really amazing parks all over. My parents have been lucky enough to see so many lately, they were able to stay busy during the pandemic, ha ha
@@ripvanwinkle2002yes but it destroys cities and causes way more congestion and pollution and then we don’t get communities the way you do in Europe and if you are a person who can’t have a car you are fucked. Think about how massive a 12 lane super highway is opposed to a single rail line that can move more people in the same amount of time. Putting up highways cuts communities apart and destroys places where people could be living driving up housing prices, reducing foot traffic to local businesses and forcing people to live farther away which makes more people need cars to get where they are going, increasing time stuck in traffic and making the need to give huge percentages of the real estate in cities to parking which tears up the communities even more. Look at photos of Houston in the 30s vs in the modern day and you would think the Germans must have bombed it for five years straight in WWII and we never bothered fixing it. Look at Boston before the big dig and see how the north end was entirely cut off from the rest of the city by a giant highway and how the west end was entirely destroyed by it. Now the downtown of the city has just giant random empty spaces that no one can do anything with. The city has turned a lot of them into parks thanks to the big dig but the scars of the lost neighborhoods and communities are still there. It happens over and over and over. It’s perfectly fine to have cars and use cars and have good car infrastructure but cities should not be prioritizing them over public transit which can move more people and create fantastic atmosphere. The best places in every city are the streets that are closed off to car traffic and people can just walk wherever they want. They just spring to life in a way that a Houston overpass without a sidewalk but with a parking lot can’t compete with.
As an American, our State/National parks are the thing I love most about this country. Especially out in the midwest/west. Yellowstone almost feels like a different planet.
They’re so iconic, in Gran Turismo, one of the most important tracks in the franchise, Trail Mountain, is canonically locating in Yellowstone. So is El Capitan but not as many people care about El Capitan
him pulling out the american accent for the "Good Morning!" was the funniest thing ive ever seen also, even though everything is similar, you can practically go into a different country by going a few hundred miles in whichever direction
*As a Brit now living in America I find that something that is uniquely American is not just eating breakfast at a diner but eating breakfast with friends and family. Just like in the UK you would eat out with friends and family but in the evening. Where I live there is a local diner and if you go there Saturday or Sunday morning you will see the same people there with their kids, family and friends, week after week. Eating out in the morning is a very uniquely American thing. Something I never experienced n the UK.*
It’s a truly beautiful sense of community right? Same feeling I had when in France when I stopped by the local deli and saw the same people being bread for the week and enjoying pastries. It’s things like those that give the human experience meaning
We go to eat after Church on Sunday, every Sunday. We usually go with another family, who's daughter goes to school with ours, or we see someone we know there, and end up sitting with them if possible. :)
I'd say in America breakfast is the most common meal where families will go out somewhere to eat. Breakfast is a lot cheaper to buy for a big family, plus and mom and dad probably wanna have some drinks if they're going out somewhere for lunch or dinner lol.
I have to concur quite emphatically about the road trips. Englishman here, travelled Route 66 back in 2019, but with some detours. Starters in LA, finished in Chicago, and I’ve gotta say, driving along the PCH and through the west and the deserts and different geographies that you’ve got over there is as close to a spiritual experience as I’ll ever have. I’ve never seen anything like it. Truly astounding. The drive through the Sierra Nevadas was terrifying and mesmerising, and then when we dropped down and not long after we found ourselves in the deserts of Nevada. That was just amazing. Can’t wait to come back this year.
When driving through Newport, Oregon some time ago, I happened to see a road sign that made me do a double take: Boston, Massachusetts 3,365 miles. At first I thought maybe it’s a joke, so I looked it up. Sure enough: Route 20 covers 3,365 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, to Newport, Oregon. Wowsa! Sounds like a great adventure! It’s now on my bucket list!
Drove across Nevada in a large moving truck that wouldn't stay in gear going downhill. I hate Nevada. Up. Down (grab the shift lever). Up. Down (grab the shift lever). Rinse, repeat 100 times.
I'm American and that's how I learned to love America. That and people are shockingly polite. I grew up in cities, so I assumed everyone was the same...nope, from Florida to Washington state, we almost never came across anyone who was overtly rude, and the 66 is just beautiful and littered with small regional museums that teach you about that state or area that you would have never known if you'd taken the 40.
As a person born and raised in right on the border of the Sierra Nevadas and the desert, I always took for granted how beautiful that area I lived in was. There's a certain openness to that part of the world that you don't get anywhere else.
As an American, I have romantic feelings about trains. I wish we had more here in the states. I have no experience with them but it seems like it would be awesome to get in a train in Ohio and ride to Arizona for example.
Same. If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend a trip in Europe or Asia by train. It's one of those things that the USA should clearly be working towards, but we just aren't.
@@ScotchIrishHoundsman Here's something crazy: For once they actually aren't the bad guys. At least in Texas, it's been lobbyists for airlines, hotels, and fast-food chains that have blocked a lot of railway progress from ever being made.
@@bahmuut4825 Don't forget to add local politicians who want a stop in their communities, regular citizens who do not want a train to go through their cities or towns!
Vox has a great video on the California High Speed rail construction if you want to know why we may never have something like that it's called "This high-speed rail project is a warning for the US."
Laurence, as a native Detroiter, you have no idea how much it means to me to hear that you prefer Detroit style pizza to both Chicago & NY. I feel like so many times when people mention cities associated with pizza, they fail to realize Detroit’s place in pizza history. Many people are surprised to learn that there is such a thing as Detroit style pizza.
I don't think many people know it by name but they're familiar with the style. Like Pizza Hut Pan pizza while not the same is certainly inspired by Detroit Style, same with Little Caesars Deep Dish. There was a place in San Diego called Square Pan Pizza which was Detroit style. There's even frozen ones made by Motor City Pizza Co. But yeah for some reason they rarely mention Detroit like they do with Chicago or New York for some reason.
@@oblivieon1567 Little Caesar’s deep dish is 100% Detroit style pizza, and I would apologize for that if it weren’t for the fact that their $5 Large pizzas were far better than they had any right to be. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t get Little Caesar’s when I’m in the mood for pizza, but if I’m looking for a cheap meal and don’t mind eating pizza, you can’t beat that deal. If I’m getting pizza delivered, my favorite is Jet’s Pizza. If I’m going out to eat and feel like eating pizza at a restaurant where I can order a beer, I’m going for Cloverleaf because it’s less than a mile from my house, or if I’m in another part of town I’m going to Buddy’s.
I think America comes together over a crisis better than most. When the tornadoes demolished a large part of Kentucky, help arrived from all the states around Kentucky. The electric crews came from other states to help get the power back on, etc. We may disagree on politics but when we are in need, we pull together. I think it's our best strength.
A lot of time those crews show up due a mix of Federal Regulation and market forces... resource sharing agreements exist due to the fact there are only so many linemen or specialized pieces of equipment needed most of the time. We can use our sheer size as a resource - and we are very VERY good at logistics. The South probably gets the short end of the stick though - think about those Southern crews that have to head north every year after a big ice storms wrecks the North East 🥶
@@bridgetkane2856 that's pretty much a human failing though, most people have a hard enough time accepting and dealing with problems that are right in front of them, never mind problems that are so far away it's easy to put off as "somebody else's problem". the solution I think is to just keep pointing at things and say THIS is because of THAT. and not things that are far away, but things that are right here. for example why are ticks and lymes disease spreading northward? answer: global warming. I never knew what a tick looked like when growing up. I never saw even one, and I spent most of my childhood running around in the woods, laying in fields, sleeping on a bed of leaves... not one tick. can't even walk in the woods in the spring now without taking several of them off, and hoping I haven't missed any. nobody ever talks about the spread of ticks being connected with global warming, warmer winters mean that more pests survive for the following year.
you are so correct about Diners.. unless they are done poorly, there is something about them. they seem more like youre at your aunts house for breakfast and a bunch of rarely seen cousins have popped by as well.. its weird but it feels like family somehow when youre in a diner..
Great video! I'm Canadian, and think your list is spot on. America does a lot of things really well! When I visit the U.S. I'm always impressed with how friendly and outgoing so many Americans are, and how many of them have a cheery and positive disposition!
I went fishing in Canada with my father several times. The locals were LOUDLY rude. In addition, the game wardens would stop use EVERY DAY to check for licenses. The SAME wardens every day. They would come to the fishing camp every night to check limits as well. The FIRST Nation guides warned us. We decided to spend our money on this side of the border after 2 seasons of this.
God bless you for your positive commentary of my homeland. Sometimes this place feels hopelessly lost with all the madness today but it helps to hear a little upbeat commentary from someone relatively new here. Actually means a lot.
Also, the wild thing about our road system is that despite how big our country is, you can get onto your pedal bike and literally get to just about anywhere. It might take you several months, but you can.
When I went to college friends from India spent weeks on the road to get to visit as many American cities and parks. After a while they spoke about the difficulties of driving from city to city within India military checkpoints and bribery and I began to understand what they were experiencing from the road trips in America. You can drive as far as you want as long as you obey the laws and you won’t be stopped every 20 miles for a military checkpoint and search of your car.
You really nailed the appeal of the local American diner with its comfort food and comfortable ambiance. You mentioned “the pour of the coffee”; I can’t think of anyplace other than the American diner that has the reassuring ritual of the waitress floating through the restaurant every 15 minutes with a glass globe of coffee topping off everyone’s cup. Though it’s usually quite unnecessary, it leaves one feeling nurtured.
Yes! I pictured a diner that recently closed near me. There were a few of the servers that had been there for a very long time and still wore the old school dresses with apron and nurse shoes :) I miss it.
It’s the magic of a greasy spoon diner. Lots of good food for cheap, very casual. Not too much variety in the menu from place to place so no matter which one they’ll have your favorite, but each one has its own flavor.
Thank you for sharing this. Americans, as a passionate vocal people, tend to be overly patriotic to a fault, or seem to completely hate their own country. And we get a lot of flack from other countries. I know there's things we could improve on, but it's so nice to hear someone from another perspective share and appreciate what we got right. It also reminds me not to take some things for granted.
We don't hate our own country, we only love saying that we hate our own country, just because we can. I mean, we'll still go to sporting events and shout, "U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!"
@Mark Adams I think you just nailed it. Dissenting Americans, in general, don't hate the entire country, just some things it does, or how it does them.
@@markadams7046 No, I DO hate my own country. You couldn't pay me enough to shout "U.S.A!" anywhere, especially not at a sporting event. 4 of the things he lists are just "bread and circuses" used to keep Americans just happy enough not to question anything. None of those 4 are particularly important. And I completely disagree on streets. Our streets are one of the things that make us terrible. They force expensive car culture (purchasing cars, car insurance, and gasoline are extremely expensive compared to public transportation done correctly) on all of us while making healthy alternatives like biking or walking to essential goods, services, and jobs dangerous if not impossible. Maybe we're better than the UK at some of these things, but that doesn't make us good. We have failing infrastructure, rapidly growing wealth inequality, an ineffectual federal government incapable of passing meaningful or helpful legislation, the most expensive healthcare system in the world that turns out some of the worst health outcomes out of any wealthy nation, a fragile economy incapable of weathering even the smallest disruption without assistance in taxes (which are mostly paid for by the work masses), zero paid mandatory paid days off (sick, vacation, holiday, or maternity), one of the most expensive education systems in the world that is increasingly ineffectual at providing career advancement, and so many other shortcomings, I'd run out of electricity for my computer before I finished typing them all. The only thing we're ostensibly "good" at is having the largest military budget. It's so large, it's bigger than the next 13 largest militaries combined. Of course, we can only have that by neglecting the needs of our people at every turn.
I agree I’m American and I watch so many of these videos it’s so cool seeing your country through an outsider’s experience. It helps us learn so much about our country.
When people define "Americana" (which is admittedly a nebulous term), diners are a big part of that. I also like that he included Quantum Leap alongside great American entertainment like Star Wars and the MCU.
Shockingly excellent "Good morning." Like not just the accent, but the cadence and tonality and everything. Took me right back home. And I'm still here. how'd you make me nostalgic for something I'm currently immersed in??
@@seanm676 You must be joking, as a USA expat living in Latin America I can tell you from personal experience, and the view of many expats, that the USA is looked upon as the very worst first world country in which to live, examples as to why: cost of living, lack of universal healthcare, no proper gun control, political polarization, utter ignorance of the outside world as a result of living in a bubble thinking that the USA is the “ best country to live in”, the list is endless, I might as well stop or I will write a book. Best regards to you and enjoy living in that hellhole.
I think America will always receive negative points from foreigners due to the media. I wish more people would leave their misguided opinions of America at home and visit America with an open mind.
I am shocked at the number of foreigners who say they are afraid to visit because they think they'll be shot! Have been here 62 years and was only shot at once! (was a police officer, lol) And they missed.
The problem is the highly negative american media portrayal of america as essentially the worst country ever and the source of all bad things, and the young people who buy into it and perpetuate it, completely ignoring that there are very good reasons why so much of the world wants to come here, risks their lives to come here. They know what their own countries are like. What our young people need to do is go to those places and then maybe they will appreciate the enormous blessing it is to be in america. Familiarity has definitely bred contempt in american young people.
@@timriehl1500 The US is quite large and so has various regions that are as violent as Columbia for example. Places like Detroit. Advise a foreigner to stay away from the bad parts of the country
@@silverletter4551 Depends on how you look at the numbers; I know people in Detroit. It isn't the hellscape you want to portray. "Bad" parts? All countries have areas that are economically depressed with higher crime rates. I will be advising people to come and enjoy the entire country and to ignore people who have their own agenda in promoting fear.
Also blows my mind how iconic road trips and America are. From my experimenting on Google maps, I couldn't find a larger stretch of land inside England than a 7.5 hour drive. In America, you could drive for 50 hours and still not make it coast to coast depending on start/end points
Drove from Boston to Seattle a couple months ago. Took 10 days. It was amazing to watch the scenery change. But while we do have a few places of incredible beauty our natural beauty is nothing compared to Europes which is just constantly so much more dramatic and varied and we can’t compete with the little ancient villages and castles tucked along the side of every sweeping mountain crashing into the sea
I think a lot of people, both here in America and abroad, tend to focus on the negative but just like any other country, there are things we do great and things we don't do well. I think a lot of people see the world in black and white but the truth is that, in most cases, reality is somewhere in the gray.
It's also part of how the half-asleep human brain does things, zeroing in on the negative. Far better to intentionally focus on each moment as it comes, and notice precisely how many more good moments there are than bad.
@@JariDawnchild Yep. It has a good reason for it too. It served our ancestors well to remember, for instance, where bears and lions hung out so they could avoid those areas.
Laurence we do international foods really well. Just about every major city in every state has a chinatown, little Italy, Germantown, cuban, mexican. I'm just saying you can always find a variety of foods anywhere you go and they're usually really good.
I wouldn’t say you can get good Mexican food ANYWHERE. I can see Tijuana from my backyard and can honestly say no one does Mexican food like a border town.
I once read a delightful column suggesting how to handle immigration…set up a series of mini kitchens on the border(s). Let everyone who wants to enter designate someone from their homeland to cook a typical meal from home. Let a panel of tasters…nearby residents, border patrol,etc. be the judges.. Well, it works as well as whatever we’re doing now.l,
Visiting Europe a few times during my working years, I came to appreciate just how _convenient_ the U.S. is. Stores don't close at 4:00 P.M. as they do in, say, Switzerland. In the '90s, I saw a small 13" crt TV in a store window for the equivalent of $750, and realized that was at least 3X the cost of the same in the U.S. And was then informed that you had to pay a yearly fee to the government to legally received over the air programing(!) You couldn't really just stop somewhere randomly and grab a take out pizza. Etc, etc. I realized that as an American consumer, I was quite spoiled.
Convenience for shit food/product vs. food to die for and culture to boot. 450 million+1 disagree. Vast majority of Europe is far more pleasant, amenable and convenient for its citizens compared to US.
@@Tonyx.yt. tbf, from an American pov 4:30 and 7:30 closing times are relatively the same. 24-hour stores and restaurants have been the norm even in small towns (10k) for 30 years. The only times we don't have open shops is on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving. But even then, we still have gas stations, drug stores, and a few Chinese restaurants.
I think one of the best things America does well is vacations. You don't need to go outside this country to experience a top notch vacation in a place far from where you live and completely different from where you live. And there are countless places you can go in America to have that vacation.
On a flight back from Europe several years ago, my dad and I ended up striking up a conversation with a gentleman from Ireland, who apparently took regular trips back and forth between the US and the UK. One thing he said he struggled with was making the transition from lefthand drive to righthand drive vehicles. He told us a funny story about a time when, at some point after arriving in the UK, he got in the left seat of the car he was driving, spent a bit of time looking for the steering wheel in confusion, then upon realizing what country he was in, opened the glove box and pretended that he'd been looking for something in there all along, just to avoid looking and feeling stupid lol. I wonder if others who regularly make the trip across the pond also have this problem. I can't drive, due to complete blindness, but if I could drive, and I frequently traveled between America and Britain, something tells me I'd struggle with that myself. hahaha
This is a strange one, but my experience has been that the U.S. does better plumbing than any place I've visited. Only when I've been abroad have I fully appreciated the fact that I turn on my tap and have warm water with good pressure without thinking about it! I wonder if some of this has to do with the age of things in the U.S. vs other European countries, but I really appreciate it now!
It probably does have something to do with age. Most cities in the US were built well after indoor plumbing was created and have been designed literally from the ground up with plumbing and sewage in mind.
I haven't traveled far outside the US, only to various former British Caribbean islands so far, but that is definitely something I noticed. As soon as I leave the US I basically treat it like I don't have running water because it feels like I don't compared to the US.
Having traveled around the world, there are a couple things I think America does really well. 1. Prices for luxury goods. I've never been anywhere in the world where electronics, computers, cars, furniture, etc are cheaper than in the USA. There's always a sale somewhere providing you with great low prices or really affordable payment options. That just doesn't happen anywhere else. I currently live in Asia and it's just silly how it's cheaper for me to ship in luxury goods from Amazon and pay shipping than it is to buy them here. 2. Convenience. Europe can do an ok job at this too, but around the world no one handles the shopping center like the USA. On one intersection, you can have a grocery store, Wal-Mart, 12 places to eat, an auto repair shop, a drug store, shoe store, liqueur store, craft store, clothing stores, bank, and a church. It's crazy how easy it is to go out for an afternoon. Here where I live in Asia, you have to travel all over town to complete your shopping list, do your banking and get a haircut.
Half of those shops you listed at #2 are things Wal-Mart takes care of... they even have glasses shops and hair parlours next to the Subway in the Wal-Marts I've been to. Hell I'm pretty sure some Wal-Marts will even have places to do your taxes.
It works in reverse, too. It's always boggled my mind how it's cheaper to import goods across 6000+ miles of the Pacific ocean, than it is to make it here. Those luxury goods you bought through Amazon likely originated IN Asia. Our upside down friends in Australia seem to take it in the shorts worse than many, with the price of imported goods.
Kills me that the US had rail connections almost everywhere, and electric trolleys around many towns, more than 100 years ago. This has always disappointed me as an American that my country gave up something wonderful for filthy buses and cars.
@@Sum41rthe1 The USA is designed for personal FREEDOM. The freedom to start whenever you like, stop whenever and however you like, and turn off or around whenever you like. Try that on a train.
@@dandiehm8414 ahhhh, you're one of those America is the only country that has freedom guys. You do realise I can drive a car where I want to. Just I have the option of jumping on a train
if you look into it, Rockefeller's oil company bought all the electric train system in California and replaced it with gas powered buses, since he sold oil it was done for the money, not convenience or demand what i want is both a great road system and a great public transportation system, some speed rails like Japan has would be awesome
I have traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and Central America. Whenever I go somewhere new, I always check out the plumbing. I look in hotel rooms, rest stops, restaurant bathrooms, etc. I know it’s not glamorous or exciting but the plumbing we have in America is amazing compared to a lot of other places I’ve been. I really enjoy your shows and I appreciate the positive messages. Thank you.
You don’t the cultural knock effect that situation creates until see foreigners (usually people from China) visiting the US on bus tours. I once did a roadtrip with my family from California to Yellowstone and Idaho during the Solar Eclipse a few years ago and we stopped at an RV park in Western Montana. The owner was a Asian lady who told us that she had to put signs up in the bathroom to tell Chinese tourists not to squat on the seat (their feet were on the toilet). It was quite comedic to say the least.
I traveled to Ireland and loved it, but the restrooms I experienced had sinks with hot water faucet on one side, and cold water faucet on the other. My grandma had that kind of sink in her very old house. But in Ireland, in the fancy pub, the hot water faucet temperature was SCALDING, and the cold water faucet was ICY. It was challenging to wash my hands... even if there had been a plug to fill the basin to mix the temperature, I wouldn't do that in a public restroom...
Thank you for a positive spin on the USA! So many Americans either take this country for granted or prefer to focus on the negative, of which there is more than enough, of course. As a retired Navy vet, I salute you and the U.K. (which I have truly enjoyed on my infrequent visits)! May we all have a better 2022 -- and the years after that.
Likewise in Britain we have people come over and all I hear is grievances and resentments about the country and how terrible we are. It’s great meeting Anglophiles who appreciate our country
I love all of these America/ English channels, no need to name them all. I am terrible at, how do you say taking the piss. I rip them to shreds .I travelled in the States, coast to coast. I met the kindest, most generous open honest best people I have ever met. All across the States. So when I /we take the piss, it's all in good humour. And we love you all.
@@simonpowell2559 yep, I want to fly over there at some point! From Stonehenge to the Magna Carta to the filming locations for Highlander, so much I want to see. 🙂
Laurence, I guess it takes an outsider to see some of the good things about the USA. I'm afraid most of us citizens are spending our time arguing about what went wrong and who should be blamed for it. Thank you as always, Laurence. All my best to you, your wife, and Kafka, your cute kitty cat. Happy New Year!
@@toomanysecrets7121 yeah I'm sorry but no country gets as much shit as United States does. It doesn't matter if they are from the third world shit hole of South America to some shit hole in the Middle East they all think they can dunk on America.
Thank you Laurence for reminding me and everyone else who watches your videos that America is not how it seems portrayed in the news. When you live right outside Washington DC it’s nearly impossible to find or hear of something, anything good. But the truth is while we may be a politically divided country the vast majority of Americans are polite and kind and generous people who just want to live a fulfilling, safe, and happy life.
So true. For quite a while now, the news at home and abroad paints this crazy picture of America as some kind of shooting gallery. I'm in my 50s and traveled all over the country, including lots of long road trips, and I have not once seen a gun drawn, let alone fired at someone. It also doesn't help the way our own movies portray our own people. Southerners, especially, get a very warped portrayal.
I agree with you except for the "safe" part. Not that Americans want to live in perpetual danger but "safetyism" is killing our freedom and prosperity. American greatness was the result of our willingness to take personal risks. Safety culture emphasizes risk avoidance which, in turn, leads to utter confusion when it comes to things like how to deal with everything from COVID to transgenderism.
@@douglasskinner I completely agree with your sentiment. I suppose I should clarify, when I said safe, in my head I meant safe from things like war (unless it’s necessary) or terrorist attacks, not safe as in the nanny state has to make you afraid of everything.
Generous, helping others in need and providing humanitarian disaster relief both home and abroad through charitable means. Loving your neighbor as yourself.
I grew up poor and encountered gun violence, my mom was in a store that was held up and there was a gunfight outside my apartment later. I went to a high school where someone was stabbed to death in the school and another where over a dozen police cars were called because of a riot. I saw marijuana sold out of a locker and have a friend who is a recovered heroin addict, after she lost her brother to the drug. Many of the suburban Americans I've met since then have been very polite to everyone's faces, but when you get alone with them they hate to have their taxes feed the poor or help them with healthcare. I would rather live somewhere that people weren't polite to your face but voted for healthcare for all and public supported housing. Someplace with fewer homeless people or multiple families crushed into an apartment, hoping not to get caught by the landlord. For a decade I had a good paying union job and then it was much easier to enjoy America, but since I've become disabled and can't get the SSDI I paid into for decades, we're struggling off my husband's income and once again I had a shooting just around the corner from my house. Our car was robbed. I've had windows broken. Don't be poor or unattractive and then the US is great.
I lived in Korea for several years. We kept a running list of things you don't see in Korea. On that list: Lawns. The horizon. And bumper stickers. Americans do lawns because of the preponderance of single family homes. We have vistas. And though bumper stickers aren't as prevalent as they used to be, Americans are good (or bad?) at having strong opinions about everything! Also, I might add, despite the massive size, it's mostly accessible in all directions, at least in the 48. Love your content. And I love Chicago!
Although I'm grieving for many of the things America has lost (or maybe never even had) in these present times, I want to nominate another thing we are superb at: Convenience. Americans have always had a penchant for inventing better ways to get things done or make life less laborious. Mine isn't an original observation. I first heard about it from Alistair Cooke--the American idea of regarding what was formally an extravagant luxury into an absolutely necessity. Maybe this is why almost all cars have electric windows. The ubiquity of motion-detecting powered doors, the credit card, 7-11s etc.
@@jennifer1329 well, yes. Convenience. (Even though Brian couldn't spell it -- is that what you're after, that alone, the spelling?) But that's how what we have all been in for 400+ years now, both your life and mine and before (both capitalism in general -- a system with plusses -- and the scientific/empirical method of improving things over time, standing on earlier giants' shoulders --- it does work. Is that what you meant? America does all that well -- and all of that still does create false starts, wrong paths fairly often, a loss of the past (even our short American past compared to the EU states), and various other things. It can BE disruptive, yes! Whether the next thing is always superior...yes that is debatable. But it does often improve things. I'm not slowly dying from the effects of real polio from the '50s, for example; there are still people in my life (I'm old :-) ) who are in that position...
I have Canadian friends who always love to read American newspapers--they find the variety of stories and interests fascinating. They also love to shop in the local grocery stores because of the incredible selection. One friend said that if a Canadian store had an item, they displayed 2-3 choices, whereas in America, there would be 12 or more of one product (like coffee brands). Also, a huge selection of fruits and vegetables all year round. We are truly blessed here and I no longer take it for granted.
Here in Kentucky, especially in Louisville, we've named a lot of streets after the winning horses of each year's Kentucky Derby (at least the first few decades' worth; for some reason the more recent winners haven't gotten that honor). Also, in the United States in general, we tend to name streets after prominent people. To use Louisville again, they have Muhammed Ali Boulevard and Roy Wilkins Avenue.
When I moved to Lexington KY I stayed at a fabulous hotel on Pink Pigeon Parkway. I wondered what that name meant - it was so bizarre - and I learned that it was the name of a Kentucky Derby winning horse! I then started noticing LOTS of streets here named after other horses. Lexington, by the way, is a fabulously beautiful area and the people are the nicest people on earth. I've met people from New York, Canada, Africa, France, Nepal, Colombia and many other places who fell in love with it when they came here and now they will NEVER leave it.
As an American that is spending a few months abroad and just discovered your channel, this video gave me so much national pride. The world is such a cool place and humanity is so interesting, we should never simply discard another people for being “not us”. That might be one of our greatest failings as a species.
I have been from one side of this country to the other more often than I can remember, all by road trip. There is no better way to see, or gain an appreciation for the diversity we have here than by car. I love this country. Having lived in seven states, and been in 46 of them, I think I have a better appreciation of what this country offers than most; both in landscape and terrain, (and let’s not forget FOOD!). Take a road trip, y’all! You likely won’t regret it. 🚙
It's good to avoid Interstate highways on a road trip. I have found only farmers on side roads. I can drive slower, see the countryside, and skip fast food places for the local cafes.
@@Stilicho19801 agree 100%. I've driven all over the USA as well, only ever use the interstates when we have to get somewhere quick. Diners, local attractions, and local people -- take some time to enjoy those things. I've never been to a place in the US ( and I've been to every state except Hawaii) where I didn't get greeted warmly, and enjoy myself immensely.
@@Stilicho19801 I absolutely agree with you. But I guess I have a quirky sense of adventure, or maybe it's from driving from Atlantic to Pacific coasts and back so often. I think once, you should drive the length of I-40. Just once. Both directions. Just for kicks.
You made some good points. :) The one thing I'd mention would be a sub category of amusement parks: County Fairs. As you've probably discovered, each fall, every county has a fair, which usually has a traveling amusement park, besides all the competitions for best pie, jelly, cattle, sewing, honey, etc. Plus, each state has a state fair which is similar to a county fair, but on a much large scale (well, except for maybe Rhode Island, which is smaller than a lot of counties). Oh, one more thing. Hit the gas man! Hit the gas, man! Punctuation saves lives. :) I really enjoy your videos. Be well.
@@Stephanie-vn6ir Been there, seen that and the size of the enormous pigs. Funny the the strangely selective things you remember about an afternoon experience after a few years go by. My grandparents had a farm outside of Winterset so we went to the state fair and the county fair with the Iowa cousins often when visiting from California. Great fun.
@@sherryford667 I've never been to a state fair before but I've always seen the Iowa State Fair on television with that giant butter cow. Did you say piggies?🐖 It's gonna be a real treat for me!🤓🥰
@@Stephanie-vn6ir Yes, although piggie sounds a bit sweet and benign when you are describing a 600 pound behemoth. They are quite awesome. Not to mention the fun and delicious fair food. Somehow, that's the only place we allow ourselves to eat everything from fried pickles to fried ice cream without guilt pangs. I hope you enjoy it. A unique experience for me.
See this is why I enjoy your channel. You cherish both America and Britain in your mind and heart. It comes through in your videos. Your mind allows you to critique yet see the humor in the shortcomings of both. And your heart allows you to express profound appreciation for both. Your words, tone, everything just communicate how much you cherish both. It’s refreshing to hear and see. And you make us laugh; often out loud. Yet another gift your give though these videos: joy and mirth at a time that sorely needs it. So, thanks! Keep going. And please come to the Deep South sometime. And by Deep South I certainly don’t mean Atlanta, Miami, nor Austin; and perhaps not northern Virginia. 😂 Trav Wilson, Huntsville/Madison, Alabama (from where that other wonderful guy films “Smarter Every Day”)
Born a Hoosier but my heart has long belonged to the south.... most childhood vacations and even my honeymoon were nothing but a beautiful, historic, gracious, fun trip to the south.... From Alabama to Florida to the Carolina's......And I totally agree.... Go south LB ! (Although you can't pay me to go in the hot & humid summer lol.)
Hey. Holiday world! Glad to see it mentioned as an illinois resident. Parents took me there in my childhood. Plan on taking my son as well. Such a good place
W/ regard to pizza, I think it's a good example of a re-import. The original pizzas were in Italy, but Italian immigrants to the US really created what we think of as the modern pizza. The main reason why was that the Italian immigrants to the US had a lot more money to spend on food and could experiment more with what was actually good. Italy has since reimported the improved version.
What I like best about America, is the variety of the nationalities and ethnicities of other people you'll meet here. Quite literally, people from all over the world are to be found in our neighborhoods. It amuses me to hear excited American citizens attempt to speak their high-school Spanish, Italian, German, or French in an effort to relate to our visitors. But, no one seems to want to speak posh English or a Gaelic dialect. That is because, I think, we have trouble speaking and understanding our own dialects of Americanese. God Bless America. God Save the King. Food? Chicago Hot Dogs are my favorite after Toledo's Tony Packo's Hungarian Sausage.
I have a suggestion to combine four of the things you think we do best. When you're ready to take your next trip, why not fly down to Nashville, rent a car, take the leisurely road trip up to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee - pulling off I-40 to visit diners as you go - and visit Dollywood theme park and and the Great Smoky Mountains Nacional Park?
Pigeon Forge is one of my favorite places ever! We have rented a cabin in the Smokey’s for the last two years and love going from the serene quiet of the mountains to the fun of Dollywood! The people are just the friendliest!!! Hope Lawrence visits-he will absolutely love it!
@@napiersh1 If it was before 2016, then you need to come back. In November of 2016, there was a tragic forest fire. But, as Tennesseans do, the city rolled up it's sleeves and rebuilt even better than ever.
@@WriterOfMany Yes! And Townsend, too. I know! Lawrence should come to the next Sasquatch festival, either the one in Townsend or the one in Gatlinburg. Either way he's bound to find lots of people to make videos on.
I loved this reminder of things I also love about America! We also do these pretty well: Sports, pick-up trucks, hamburgers, fairs, holiday decorations, soda/pop, shopping...
When our children were young we took road trip trips all over west to show them what an incredible country they live in. Now they are all grown up and love to reminisce about our adventures.
Proud Cincinnatian here, glad you liked King’s Island. It might not be the biggest, but I’d say it’s the most consistently good park I’ve been to. While most parks have a few great rides and the rest are to fill time, essentially every ride at King’s Island is great.
As a Columbusite, I feel spoiled for being within 2 1/2 hour drives of both Kings Island and Cedar Point. Best Rollercoasters in the world between the two.
@@OhioUltimate979 it’s always funny how the people around Cincinnati are convinced Cedar Point is the better park while those around Sandusky are insistent that King’s Island is better. My brothers and I used to wake up at five in the morning to drive up to Cedar point in time for opening
I love trains and I sure wish the US had a good rail system like Great Britain has. Love your videos. Keep them coming, and let's have more with your wife. You two make a great team.
The issue there is that the U.S. is just too damn big for a large nationwide train network, with not enough demand for traveling those distances to justify such a massive investment. The regional train networks are serviceable over here, and for the larger distances, there's a reason the U.S. has the largest domestic flight market in the world.
Just a few days ago after a long morning of deep cleaning the house, I went to a diner at 2pm and had pancakes with eggs and bacon. It was so lovely and nourishing, but I didn't think twice about it. Your video has made me realize how much I take the diner experience for granted. I didn't realize other places romanticized diners. It is so nice having the option for a comforting meal in a cozy booth at basically any hour of any day.
One of the best things that America does is offer diversity and choices. From food, housing, cars, etc., we've got a lot going on because we recognize that people want/need choices. I've watched a lot of "visiting America" videos and one thing that they usually comment on, besides the huge sizes, is grocery stores and how much there is to choose from. There might be 10 choices of say potato chips/crisps in a UK store but here you get no less than 30 in a gazillion flavor combinations in most groceries if not way more plus dips to compliment them. The restaurants that specialize in one thing and have many varieties, like ice cream, i.e. Baskin Robbins 31 flavors or Krispie Kreme/Dunkin Donuts. There's usually something for everyone if you can wrap your head around the fact that that something exists when in other places you wouldn't have that multitude to choose from.
i hosted several foreign exchange students… and the range of choices actually *annoyed* some of them. it was overwhelming. ofc, they were kids & many had not previously shopped for themselves, but it was interesting to see the ‘deer in the headlights’ look repeatedly. i learned to not try to explain so much, because it didn’t seem real to them in words, but to go with them the first time, to shepherd them thru the shock.
Funny, we have a whole aisle of crisp flavours here with everything from roast beef and horseradish flavour to scampi and lemon, but when I was in Florida I struggled to find a flavour that didn't have cheese in it, or spicy (don't get me wrong, I love spicy). I thought the choice as actually more limiting. Mind you, that was 4 years ago - maybe it's expanded. Or maybe different in other states. The only thing that really bothered me about US groceries was the amount of sugar in everything. So much even in the bread. Oh, and the price of cardamoms. Expensive to make a curry over there 👀 But we enjoyed wondering around Publix and Walmart. It's always fun to try new things ☺️ And you could wonder around Walmart for days 👀 It goes on forever.
I will say that driving in Britain and Ireland is loads of fun, and very different than driving in the US. The GPS took me on this cow path between Dublin and Kilkenny that literally had grass growing in the center of the tarmac and there was only hedges brushing the sides of our compact car, with no options to allow anyone past if I encountered another car. Luckily, in the ten minutes I was on this “road,” no one else came toward me. I started out terrified, but was laughing hysterically by the end because it was all so ridiculous! The region with the best road was Orkney, where there was not a single traffic light on the island, but there was no need for one.
You can still do that in the US. Rural areas, especially closer to the east coast, often have little country roads like that. There is still a sense of progression on a road like that though. You lose that sense on the winding roads in cities in Britain. I remember riding in a bus in Kingston and feeling like I had done nothing but go in circles for fifteen minutes.
I would add celebrations. Whether it's sports, holidays, concerts, parades, etc... I feel like we Americans are really good at making a venue full of 100,000 people feel like one big family and we have a blast. As for the street address thing... The house I grew up in was 11 Suncrest My place in college was 19 Slocum My place is South Carolina was 21 Hard Scrabble And my house I live in now back in NY is 44 Riverview
That’s funny, I’ve had a lot of addresses in the US, all in Northern California, and have almost never had one less than four digits. My streets have spanned several cities mostly, or were just really long. I think one in SF had two, but that was a tiny alley in North Beach.
A road trip across the US is absolutely AMAZING! Me and the fiance set off from Northeastern Ohio and drove all the way West to Vancouver Canada :D Was one of the most fun things I've ever done in my life! Even with some of the stresses, including but not limited to not having access to ANY of our money for almost 24 hours when we first got to Canada because our bank was stupid, and my car breaking down in Idaho on our way back lmao Was still something I'd do all over again tomorrow!
I like American Pizza, which is convenient, as I am an American living in America. But I visited Italy a few years ago and was amazed at the true art form they have created in the Italian pizza. Every one is an adventure in sight, taste and texture.
"Townsends" YT channel (colonial America) recently created a pizza for George Washington! No tomato sauce available then, no tomatoes. He had to make some changes but said it turned out surprisingly well.
This is a good list. I love road trips. I wish that the US was more like Europe with minimum 4 week vacations, which would make cross country road trips more feasible.
I'm American and have more than 4 weeks vacation. I wish Americans would stop telling these vacation and healthcare tales online as all you're doing is giving people in other countries more reasons to hate us. Stop with the generalizations. That's simply not the case for every American!
@@ladiuneeq9789 I never said that it was the case for every American. However, it is not a mandatory requirement that employers give their employees 4 weeks of paid vacation, like it is in Europe. I just mentioned that I think it would be a great thing if we had the same thing here in America. I don't see how it is a bad thing to love your country but also want it to be better.
As a confirmed night owl, one of the things America does well (or did, before the pandemic) is 24-hour full-service supermarkets. Yes, the deli, meat and poultry counters become self-serve only after about 10 p.m., but the fact that you can pick up all manner of stuff at 3:53 a.m., even in semi-populous areas, is magnificent.
I only shop at the ONE place that is 24/7 after the pandemic. Green Bay for a 100k city used to have 6 grocery stores open 24/7 and a number of other places (fast food, QuickTrips, CVS), no mas, only one grocer (Woodmans) is 24/7 and it is the biggest, best, most selection, and least expensive (fortunately). I think the QuickTrips have returned and truck stops (of course).
I think one of the things we do well is "convenience". When I was still working, I got off at 2:00 am. It was so convenient to go to Walmart or one of the grocery chains to pick up a few items. Also at Walmart the night time Associates would usually be on their break sitting outside so it felt safe for a woman to get out of the car. As for diners, my siblings live in Baltimore and love to go the diners late at night (we are all in our 60s and 70s). I love one that is run by Greek people - it has the BEST pastry counter. They are open 24/7. We do not have that where I live.
I chuckled at the "quirky roadside attractions". I lived in a small AZ historic mining / current rodeo town (touristy) where the old jail tree still stands, complete with dummy prisoner. The historic main street had mannequins too and they always freaked me out. The end of my street had a covered wagon until it got damaged by a storm.
Road trips are WONDERFUL!!! The ability to travel, to pull over for roadside attractions, to visit national parks and historic places I've never seen before - America is it's own treasure, expansive, quirky and beautiful.
You're definitely right about the Detroit style pizza. Detroit style is so underrated/unheard of, and looked down upon by both New York and Chicago. As an Ohian I'm obligated to hate Michigan but have to give it to them for Detroit style pizza. And, Detroit dogs which I believe was the inspiration behind Skyline Chili
@@WriterOfMany Detroit style pizza is baked in a rectangular pan which allows the edges of the crust to essentially fry. You would think that it makes for a very heavy pizza like Chicago style but the dough is incredibly crispy, light, and doughy all at the same time. If you are aware of pizza hut or dominos "pan pizza" then that's the closest analogy I can think of even though they are terrible. They aren't even in square shapes. Jet's is a good chain to experience it if you can find them but the best is obviously within Detroit itself.
@@WriterOfMany Detroit style was invented at a restaurant called "Buddy's Pizza" in 1946. He got a deal on some leftover rectangular pans from an automotive plant, hence the shape. I work for Little Caesars - our Deep! Deep! Dish pizza follows the same tradition and is available nationwide. Love the crunchy corners!
I grew up in a very remote part of Alaska. Yes, Alaska! Where the men, are men. And so are the women. That is because this place give 0 about your gender, age, race or anything else except your respect, your preparedness, and your skills at surviving in a sometimes hostile land. So, when I hit my early 20's and wanted to explore the lower 48, I did what anyAlaska chick would do I went down and got a job driving semi trucks coast to coast. My mom wasn't thrilled. I was 5'9" tall, cute as a button, and strong as an ox. Lol she wanted to know why I would do this?! I told her it was the only way I could figure out how to board as many ski resorts and ride as many rollercoasters I could get a load to or through. I have 2 - 4'x8' collages. One of lift tickets. The other of ticket stubs. I ended up breaking even financially but, I had the best time doing it. Living fearlessly. Good times.
It’s interesting to hear your perspective about eating in a diner and going on a road trip. For Americans it’s just a familiar and common theme from our own lives. Now I see from your perspective how your only previous experience with these things would’ve been from movies. Very interesting.
Thanks so much for including positive things about the US. I read the Times of London online every day and I'm absolutely floored by the level of anti-Americanism in the subscriber comments - and it seems the majority feel this way. I lived a bit in England and had no idea how badly we' as a nation and we as a people are thought of (and now some negative encounters there, not instigated by me, make sense). Always enjoy your videos Lawrence!
This makes me sad. Visiting UK is a bucket list dream that I will probably never be able to do. But many US tourists are not wealthy, and may only be able to travel internationally (excluding Mexico and Canada) once in their lifetime. So they travel to someplace they have an affinity for, or have dreamed about visiting. It's nice that people were polite to you, but to find that it was merely that is indeed disheartening.
I find that so disheartening. Sad part is, the majority of those nay-sayers have likely never been here at all. What they think they know of the US and what they REALLY know are two different things.
I see a lot of those comments too and I admit it bothers me. They can be very rude and I don’t understand why. Do they think they are without faults? Years ago we went to Germany and the Czech Republic and people were so friendly to us! London is a trip I’m planning now (for when Covid eases up).
I love your channel. Which brings me to one of the other things that America does very well: it supports the ability to be creative. There are many examples, including TH-cam, and other creator based platforms. As a result, we have the ability to experience other cultures, and other points of view in a very creative way.
Thank you Laurence - I lived in the UK for 7 years and was appalled at how stressed a Londoner could be about taking a road trip! Absolutely freaking out. For me when I lived out West, getting in the car and driving to the Pacific was an absolute delight.
American Midwesterner here and a lover of road trips. On TV, I remember seeing an Englishman who lived in a large city talking about how he hated taking a road trip here: "The sky is too big." Having traveled a bit in the UK, I remember thinking how everything, even the sky, somehow seemed smaller. The open road and all of its wacky surprises have always held great fascination for me, and if glorious scenery is included, then all the better.
When you touched on parks -- and you did mention their vastness -- one thing you slightly over looked was the way so many large parks also have truly unique adventures within them. Like the Appalachian Trail. That's not, strictly speaking, a park as it is an experience. Anyone who decides to can hike the entire Appalachian Trail, which runs from Georgia (just above Florida) to Maine. It's about 2,200 miles long and over 2 million people do it EVERY YEAR (not the same 2M). There's also one in the West called the Pacific Crest Trail that starts in near the Border of Mexico and ends on the Canadian border. It is a massive 2,600+ miles long. If you never did it, I recommend trying. At least part way. Many hike a shorter distance, like on a weekend, for instance.
I enjoyed this video. The US has its share of shortcomings (as do all nations), but I enjoy exploring the 'continent-wide' land mass without having to cross international borders (something especially helpful since the pandemic started). I've traveled in all 50 states, and in every county of a sizable fraction of them. I've been to the UK and like that country, too.
I've seen most of the country, I just need to hit the corners and outliers. Maine, the Pacific NW, Hawaii and Alaska are about all I have left except for island territories. I'm planning sometime in the next couple years to do an epic road trip from Florida to Alaska to cross off a bunch of those.
You had me at Detroit pizza. It’s awesome. Thanks for this video. I wish we as Americans would be more grateful for the wonderful country that has been such a great blessing❤️
You touched on things that I have always appreciated. I love our theme parks and lived near Disneyland as a child in the 50’s. Live near Disney World as a retiree, and lived 20 miles from Kings Island for 30 years. I also took my children to the park in Santa Claus Indiana when it was called Santa Claus land, because my husband has pictures of himself as a child there. I love a road trip and I’ve crossed the United States on the interstates even while they were being built! I traveled route 66 for the first time this summer! Yes our house numbers are usually four digits but I currently live in a house that only has two numbers (34) which I love because it’s so unique. I really enjoyed this episode. It’s nice to hear nice things about America.
I'm from Evansville, IN so I also went to Holiday World all the time as a kid. School trips, church youth group. It was always so much fun. When we go back to visit my family, my kids love to go as well. It's changed a lot over the years!
@@Essy311 we lived in Evansville in the early 70’s. Two of my kids were born there! It was during that era that we went to, Santa Claus land. I guess the name changed in 1984. One of my daughters went to an event there a few years ago and she did say it was completely different.
Chicago does streets very well. Always loved that you could refer to “such and such hundred north” and “such and such hundred west” and a true Chicagoan will know exactly what intersection it is.
You know, come to think of it, whenever my family did a whole trip down into the states over a summer or whatnot, it was always centered around some kind of national or state park. So I have to agree with you on that one.
When I crossed the pond to live here in California about what now feels like a century ago, I immediately adopted road trips and State and National Parks. It laid the foundation for decades of hiking, which I’m still doing into my 70’s. Hiking in a park always helps to right the out of kilter world again. It helped save my sanity during the pandemic. You’re spot on on all counts, Lawrence!
I have lived in South Dakota for 35 years. I have come to love the open plains. We have a much bigger sky than Big Sky, Montana where the horizon is cut off by mountains.
I really like this channel, it’s nice to see someone appreciate the US. I feel the same way about Europe, I’ve been all over Europe and lived there for 2 years and I always appreciated the different cultures there!
Road trips are my favorite way of making a week-end special--just a half day of travel, followed by dinner and a couple drinks at the local bar. I've always lived in Upstate NY (a 15 minute drive to Lake Ontario) but there are so many day trip worthy spots to visit, and I always make sure to have the CDs in the car for every outing. The small towns, the landscapes, the diners; it's all fabulous. Thanks for this one, Lawrence, it was a keeper. The longer road trips are cool, too, but I don't seem to really do those anymore.
Oh thank you so much for this marvelous (and true) list, I have been so discouraged lately by the disheartening things, politics, shootings, racism....it did me so much good to be reminded of all the good we have here. Thank You.
I don't know. In my travels around the world, I think the USA handles racism better than most places. It's probably the most diverse and accepting place I've ever been. Europe's history with racism and their current struggles with it are well known and obvious. Asia (where I live) is very homogeneous and has very deeply held racist beliefs. For example, you'd be shocked at how horribly Japanese people treat dark skinned people, or how Taiwanese people treat Indonesians and Filipinos like garbage. Many Middle Eastern countries want to exterminate an entire population just because they're Jewish.
You brought a smile to my face. Bringing up road trips and diners.. There is nothing more American than taking a road trip and stopping at the local diners for a bite to eat. Forget the fast food. You'll get some of the best home cooking at the local diner.
Brought a smile to mine too. :) I've crossed this country back and forth several times. Best food I've ever had came from absolute dives hidden along the road. Love it all!
Better eats
Those parts hit me in the nostalgia. I can't do the road trip part (can't drive), but as soon as it cozies up to spring a little more, I'm going to walk down the street to the diner...
Yup we do ...Hello from San Francisco California
@@sheilaharrison8547 The American "diner" started as a stationary small eatery, shaped oblong to simulate a train dining car.
"Those fire hydrants you see in the movies are actually real." That gave me a laugh.
I'd find it odd if there wasn't a hydrant every few blocks. Even homeowners insurance ask that question.
Are there no fire hydrants in the UK? I mean on streets?
HAHAHAH😂
@@chrisr3671 depends where you are, in London there are over 100,000 hydrants. I think I’ve heard you’re never more than 100m from one. Elsewhere Im not sure, I know our engines carry a lot of water
They've been trying to update them to a newer better standard. But I think only big cities can afford it right now, though strangely enough I haven't actually looked at any lately, should try to find one since I live in Las Vegas. Seems like something we could afford. All the roads are always been worked on and fixed.
I think the National Park system is one of the things that Americans should be most proud of. From the famous and easily accessible parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon to the less known and much more remote parks like Great Basin, Gates of the Arctic, and Zion. Each one of them is an absolute gem. Conversely, I also think the lack of decent intercity passenger rail (to say nothing of high-speed rail) is one of the things Americans should be most regretful of.
And many states decided they had to compete with the federal government so there are countless state parks.
the NP'S are stunning I did the grand canyon and Zion on the same road trip Zion is better, one of the most beautiful places in the world. if you tell the average brit about it they look at you like you are an idiot, in the US they only seem to want to go to florida and Vegas. Laurence didn't mention the interstate road system which enables those road trips
no trains is why the USA has the strongest car culture in the world..
im all set with countries that have a rail culture ive sen it and im not impressed.. too much walking
with a car i drive right up to where i want to go and carry on my business and then go right to the next place
no missed connections no bus rides no smelly loud rude diseased people to share the ride with..
no teens vaping like mad.. no foreign tourists arguing at full volume like no one else is there..
no being groped
no being pushed off platforms by nutters..
yea no im all set with rail transit..
been there done that got the mental scars to prove it.
I agree on both counts! We have some really amazing parks all over. My parents have been lucky enough to see so many lately, they were able to stay busy during the pandemic, ha ha
@@ripvanwinkle2002yes but it destroys cities and causes way more congestion and pollution and then we don’t get communities the way you do in Europe and if you are a person who can’t have a car you are fucked.
Think about how massive a 12 lane super highway is opposed to a single rail line that can move more people in the same amount of time. Putting up highways cuts communities apart and destroys places where people could be living driving up housing prices, reducing foot traffic to local businesses and forcing people to live farther away which makes more people need cars to get where they are going, increasing time stuck in traffic and making the need to give huge percentages of the real estate in cities to parking which tears up the communities even more. Look at photos of Houston in the 30s vs in the modern day and you would think the Germans must have bombed it for five years straight in WWII and we never bothered fixing it.
Look at Boston before the big dig and see how the north end was entirely cut off from the rest of the city by a giant highway and how the west end was entirely destroyed by it. Now the downtown of the city has just giant random empty spaces that no one can do anything with. The city has turned a lot of them into parks thanks to the big dig but the scars of the lost neighborhoods and communities are still there.
It happens over and over and over. It’s perfectly fine to have cars and use cars and have good car infrastructure but cities should not be prioritizing them over public transit which can move more people and create fantastic atmosphere. The best places in every city are the streets that are closed off to car traffic and people can just walk wherever they want. They just spring to life in a way that a Houston overpass without a sidewalk but with a parking lot can’t compete with.
I think something else America does well is attract smart, deep thinking and entertaining people to come live here. Making us that much better for it.
I see what you did there!
Keeping them here might be a challenge...
@@Sab_MJsMama I'm quite alright with the morons leaving and the good smart people staying!!!
Word!
❤️
As an American, our State/National parks are the thing I love most about this country. Especially out in the midwest/west. Yellowstone almost feels like a different planet.
The National Park system is probably one of the best ideas we've ever had as a country.
They’re so iconic, in Gran Turismo, one of the most important tracks in the franchise, Trail Mountain, is canonically locating in Yellowstone. So is El Capitan but not as many people care about El Capitan
They are fantastic. Easily the best thing America has. America is honestly really beautiful but the city dwellers just don’t go to see any of it
The ones in the Appalachian area are magnificent as well
@@connorbingel7134 Can't afford to, rent too damn high :P
him pulling out the american accent for the "Good Morning!" was the funniest thing ive ever seen
also, even though everything is similar, you can practically go into a different country by going a few hundred miles in whichever direction
*As a Brit now living in America I find that something that is uniquely American is not just eating breakfast at a diner but eating breakfast with friends and family. Just like in the UK you would eat out with friends and family but in the evening. Where I live there is a local diner and if you go there Saturday or Sunday morning you will see the same people there with their kids, family and friends, week after week. Eating out in the morning is a very uniquely American thing. Something I never experienced n the UK.*
It’s a truly beautiful sense of community right? Same feeling I had when in France when I stopped by the local deli and saw the same people being bread for the week and enjoying pastries. It’s things like those that give the human experience meaning
We go to eat after Church on Sunday, every Sunday. We usually go with another family, who's daughter goes to school with ours, or we see someone we know there, and end up sitting with them if possible. :)
@@toddellison5128may God watch over you and yours.
I'd say in America breakfast is the most common meal where families will go out somewhere to eat. Breakfast is a lot cheaper to buy for a big family, plus and mom and dad probably wanna have some drinks if they're going out somewhere for lunch or dinner lol.
@@boxman7044 yes but in france the sense of community is everywhere and in america its nowhere because america is majorly soulless suburban sprawl
I have to concur quite emphatically about the road trips.
Englishman here, travelled Route 66 back in 2019, but with some detours. Starters in LA, finished in Chicago, and I’ve gotta say, driving along the PCH and through the west and the deserts and different geographies that you’ve got over there is as close to a spiritual experience as I’ll ever have. I’ve never seen anything like it. Truly astounding. The drive through the Sierra Nevadas was terrifying and mesmerising, and then when we dropped down and not long after we found ourselves in the deserts of Nevada. That was just amazing. Can’t wait to come back this year.
When driving through Newport, Oregon some time ago, I happened to see a road sign that made me do a double take: Boston, Massachusetts 3,365 miles. At first I thought maybe it’s a joke, so I looked it up. Sure enough: Route 20 covers 3,365 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, to Newport, Oregon. Wowsa! Sounds like a great adventure! It’s now on my bucket list!
Drove across Nevada in a large moving truck that wouldn't stay in gear going downhill. I hate Nevada. Up. Down (grab the shift lever). Up. Down (grab the shift lever). Rinse, repeat 100 times.
I'm American and that's how I learned to love America. That and people are shockingly polite. I grew up in cities, so I assumed everyone was the same...nope, from Florida to Washington state, we almost never came across anyone who was overtly rude, and the 66 is just beautiful and littered with small regional museums that teach you about that state or area that you would have never known if you'd taken the 40.
As a person born and raised in right on the border of the Sierra Nevadas and the desert, I always took for granted how beautiful that area I lived in was. There's a certain openness to that part of the world that you don't get anywhere else.
@@californiahiker9616 That's the longest continuous road in America. Route 20. Newport OR to Boston.
As an American, I have romantic feelings about trains. I wish we had more here in the states. I have no experience with them but it seems like it would be awesome to get in a train in Ohio and ride to Arizona for example.
Same. If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend a trip in Europe or Asia by train. It's one of those things that the USA should clearly be working towards, but we just aren't.
@@AllUpOns because we have many major auto manufacturers and the oil industry, it’ll never happen.
@@ScotchIrishHoundsman Here's something crazy: For once they actually aren't the bad guys.
At least in Texas, it's been lobbyists for airlines, hotels, and fast-food chains that have blocked a lot of railway progress from ever being made.
@@bahmuut4825 Don't forget to add local politicians who want a stop in their communities, regular citizens who do not want a train to go through their cities or towns!
Vox has a great video on the California High Speed rail construction if you want to know why we may never have something like that it's called "This high-speed rail project is a warning for the US."
Laurence, as a native Detroiter, you have no idea how much it means to me to hear that you prefer Detroit style pizza to both Chicago & NY. I feel like so many times when people mention cities associated with pizza, they fail to realize Detroit’s place in pizza history. Many people are surprised to learn that there is such a thing as Detroit style pizza.
I don't think many people know it by name but they're familiar with the style. Like Pizza Hut Pan pizza while not the same is certainly inspired by Detroit Style, same with Little Caesars Deep Dish. There was a place in San Diego called Square Pan Pizza which was Detroit style. There's even frozen ones made by Motor City Pizza Co. But yeah for some reason they rarely mention Detroit like they do with Chicago or New York for some reason.
Detroit became my favorite right after NY. When it's done right it really is the best. From a native NYer.
Clevelander here and I do enjoy a good detroit style pizza
@@oblivieon1567 Little Caesar’s deep dish is 100% Detroit style pizza, and I would apologize for that if it weren’t for the fact that their $5 Large pizzas were far better than they had any right to be.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t get Little Caesar’s when I’m in the mood for pizza, but if I’m looking for a cheap meal and don’t mind eating pizza, you can’t beat that deal.
If I’m getting pizza delivered, my favorite is Jet’s Pizza. If I’m going out to eat and feel like eating pizza at a restaurant where I can order a beer, I’m going for Cloverleaf because it’s less than a mile from my house, or if I’m in another part of town I’m going to Buddy’s.
OK, I'll bite! (Figuratively, as I've never been to Detroit!) What's the scoop on Detroit pizza? Hard to beat a Chicago deep dish!!
I think America comes together over a crisis better than most. When the tornadoes demolished a large part of Kentucky, help arrived from all the states around Kentucky. The electric crews came from other states to help get the power back on, etc. We may disagree on politics but when we are in need, we pull together. I think it's our best strength.
I half agree with you. When the crisis is not discriminate to anyone, yes, we can band together. But when the situation is reversed.......🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️
When the disaster is tangible yes, otherwise no. The US has not been good with the pandemic or climate change
A lot of time those crews show up due a mix of Federal Regulation and market forces... resource sharing agreements exist due to the fact there are only so many linemen or specialized pieces of equipment needed most of the time.
We can use our sheer size as a resource - and we are very VERY good at logistics.
The South probably gets the short end of the stick though - think about those Southern crews that have to head north every year after a big ice storms wrecks the North East 🥶
@@bridgetkane2856 that's pretty much a human failing though, most people have a hard enough time accepting and dealing with problems that are right in front of them, never mind problems that are so far away it's easy to put off as "somebody else's problem".
the solution I think is to just keep pointing at things and say THIS is because of THAT. and not things that are far away, but things that are right here. for example why are ticks and lymes disease spreading northward? answer: global warming. I never knew what a tick looked like when growing up. I never saw even one, and I spent most of my childhood running around in the woods, laying in fields, sleeping on a bed of leaves... not one tick. can't even walk in the woods in the spring now without taking several of them off, and hoping I haven't missed any. nobody ever talks about the spread of ticks being connected with global warming, warmer winters mean that more pests survive for the following year.
Lately, FEMA has done a terrible job on natural disasters.
you are so correct about Diners..
unless they are done poorly, there is something about them. they seem more like youre at your aunts house for breakfast and a bunch of rarely seen cousins have popped by as well.. its weird but it feels like family somehow when youre in a diner..
Great video! I'm Canadian, and think your list is spot on. America does a lot of things really well! When I visit the U.S. I'm always impressed with how friendly and outgoing so many Americans are, and how many of them have a cheery and positive disposition!
Thank you.
Why thank you, my dear. That was very kind. And may I return the compliment.
Hi from Southern Canada 😂😂❤️❤️❤️
I went fishing in Canada with my father several times. The locals were LOUDLY rude. In addition, the game wardens would stop use EVERY DAY to check for licenses. The SAME wardens every day. They would come to the fishing camp every night to check limits as well. The FIRST Nation guides warned us. We decided to spend our money on this side of the border after 2 seasons of this.
Coming from a Canadian, this high praise indeed! 😊 Down here in the USA, we consider your hospitality and friendliness up in Canada almost legendary.
I’m an American living overseas and this video made me extremely homesick! Getting breakfast & coffee at a diner is something I miss terribly 🥲
I don't like coffee, but I can do breakfast food at any time in a diner.
God bless you for your positive commentary of my homeland. Sometimes this place feels hopelessly lost with all the madness today but it helps to hear a little upbeat commentary from someone relatively new here.
Actually means a lot.
Hilarious that you did the American accent "good morning" almost as a throwaway. You are just consistently entertaining!
Not just an American accent, but a recognizable Chicago accent. Good ear, Laurence!
@@dwasifarkaralahishipoor2223 it was eerily good
Also, the wild thing about our road system is that despite how big our country is, you can get onto your pedal bike and literally get to just about anywhere. It might take you several months, but you can.
I always say that the only limiter for bile travel in the US is distance.
@@jasperrice8456 lol bile travel yuck
@@melovekittie It takes some gall to bring up bile travel.
@@NoNumbersAfterName You are amazing for this joke
That's not entirely true. On some interstates and highways it is illegal to ride a bike
When I went to college friends from India spent weeks on the road to get to visit as many American cities and parks. After a while they spoke about the difficulties of driving from city to city within India military checkpoints and bribery and I began to understand what they were experiencing from the road trips in America.
You can drive as far as you want as long as you obey the laws and you won’t be stopped every 20 miles for a military checkpoint and search of your car.
You really nailed the appeal of the local American diner with its comfort food and comfortable ambiance. You mentioned “the pour of the coffee”;
I can’t think of anyplace other than the American diner that has the reassuring ritual of the waitress floating through the restaurant every 15 minutes with a glass globe of coffee topping off everyone’s cup. Though it’s usually quite unnecessary, it leaves one feeling nurtured.
yes - unlike Australia Melbourne particularly where one overpays for mostly average small cups of coffee
Yes! I pictured a diner that recently closed near me. There were a few of the servers that had been there for a very long time and still wore the old school dresses with apron and nurse shoes :) I miss it.
It’s the magic of a greasy spoon diner. Lots of good food for cheap, very casual. Not too much variety in the menu from place to place so no matter which one they’ll have your favorite, but each one has its own flavor.
Thank you for sharing this. Americans, as a passionate vocal people, tend to be overly patriotic to a fault, or seem to completely hate their own country. And we get a lot of flack from other countries. I know there's things we could improve on, but it's so nice to hear someone from another perspective share and appreciate what we got right. It also reminds me not to take some things for granted.
Why are you so correct?
We don't hate our own country, we only love saying that we hate our own country, just because we can. I mean, we'll still go to sporting events and shout, "U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!"
@@markadams7046 I'm with you on this one. I've always seen it as more of a feuding family kind of thing.
@Mark Adams I think you just nailed it. Dissenting Americans, in general, don't hate the entire country, just some things it does, or how it does them.
@@markadams7046 No, I DO hate my own country. You couldn't pay me enough to shout "U.S.A!" anywhere, especially not at a sporting event. 4 of the things he lists are just "bread and circuses" used to keep Americans just happy enough not to question anything. None of those 4 are particularly important.
And I completely disagree on streets. Our streets are one of the things that make us terrible. They force expensive car culture (purchasing cars, car insurance, and gasoline are extremely expensive compared to public transportation done correctly) on all of us while making healthy alternatives like biking or walking to essential goods, services, and jobs dangerous if not impossible.
Maybe we're better than the UK at some of these things, but that doesn't make us good. We have failing infrastructure, rapidly growing wealth inequality, an ineffectual federal government incapable of passing meaningful or helpful legislation, the most expensive healthcare system in the world that turns out some of the worst health outcomes out of any wealthy nation, a fragile economy incapable of weathering even the smallest disruption without assistance in taxes (which are mostly paid for by the work masses), zero paid mandatory paid days off (sick, vacation, holiday, or maternity), one of the most expensive education systems in the world that is increasingly ineffectual at providing career advancement, and so many other shortcomings, I'd run out of electricity for my computer before I finished typing them all.
The only thing we're ostensibly "good" at is having the largest military budget. It's so large, it's bigger than the next 13 largest militaries combined. Of course, we can only have that by neglecting the needs of our people at every turn.
3:47 - that "good morning" is incredible, I could listen to that on loop
It is nice to hear some things that we do well here from someone with a broader perspective. I often enjoy your videos.
Things America does well: 7 entries
Things America does poorly: everything else.
@@koalatycontent1305 ok buddy
I agree I’m American and I watch so many of these videos it’s so cool seeing your country through an outsider’s experience. It helps us learn so much about our country.
@@koalatycontent1305 ok doomer
@@koalatycontent1305 🤣🥰🤣
When people define "Americana" (which is admittedly a nebulous term), diners are a big part of that.
I also like that he included Quantum Leap alongside great American entertainment like Star Wars and the MCU.
I love how he showed his geek when he mentioned entertainment, it was all sci-fi and fantasy. It just made me happy. 😊
Oooh yeah! Also I bet he would be a crackerjack at going back in time and putting right what once went wrong! Oh boy! 😁
@@FollowmedowntheNumberWhole I expect there'd be a "blimey" in there somewhere, possibly a "cor" as well 😂😂 I love Britishisms!!
Shockingly excellent "Good morning." Like not just the accent, but the cadence and tonality and everything. Took me right back home. And I'm still here. how'd you make me nostalgic for something I'm currently immersed in??
This is a nice shift; I never hear anyone list good things about my country. I'm happy you're haveing such a pleasant experience here.
Bc you don’t have to, America is objectively the best country and people look for reasons to degrade it
@seabm676 Lmfaooo then your circumstances are very very different than most of the population here
@@bigbud8182then leave
@@seanm676 You must be joking, as a USA expat living in Latin America I can tell you from personal experience, and the view of many expats, that the USA is looked upon as the very worst first world country in which to live, examples as to why: cost of living, lack of universal healthcare, no proper gun control, political polarization, utter ignorance of the outside world as a result of living in a bubble thinking that the USA is the “ best country to live in”, the list is endless, I might as well stop or I will write a book. Best regards to you and enjoy living in that hellhole.
@@Jst4vdeos kys
I think America will always receive negative points from foreigners due to the media. I wish more people would leave their misguided opinions of America at home and visit America with an open mind.
I am shocked at the number of foreigners who say they are afraid to visit because they think they'll be shot! Have been here 62 years and was only shot at once! (was a police officer, lol) And they missed.
The problem is the highly negative american media portrayal of america as essentially the worst country ever and the source of all bad things, and the young people who buy into it and perpetuate it, completely ignoring that there are very good reasons why so much of the world wants to come here, risks their lives to come here. They know what their own countries are like. What our young people need to do is go to those places and then maybe they will appreciate the enormous blessing it is to be in america. Familiarity has definitely bred contempt in american young people.
@@timriehl1500 The US is quite large and so has various regions that are as violent as Columbia for example. Places like Detroit. Advise a foreigner to stay away from the bad parts of the country
@@silverletter4551 Depends on how you look at the numbers; I know people in Detroit. It isn't the hellscape you want to portray. "Bad" parts? All countries have areas that are economically depressed with higher crime rates. I will be advising people to come and enjoy the entire country and to ignore people who have their own agenda in promoting fear.
@@rebeccaburrow7199 Hey that was pretty well put Rebecca. I totally agree.
Also blows my mind how iconic road trips and America are. From my experimenting on Google maps, I couldn't find a larger stretch of land inside England than a 7.5 hour drive. In America, you could drive for 50 hours and still not make it coast to coast depending on start/end points
Drove from Boston to Seattle a couple months ago. Took 10 days. It was amazing to watch the scenery change. But while we do have a few places of incredible beauty our natural beauty is nothing compared to Europes which is just constantly so much more dramatic and varied and we can’t compete with the little ancient villages and castles tucked along the side of every sweeping mountain crashing into the sea
I always love how nice other people are when they talked about America, it really does make me think “hey, this place isn’t too bad after all!”
What makes America great are the citizens. The average people.
@@Hi-jw7oq ya’ll are very nice, thank you!
Everyone who thinks a
America is bad needs to spend a month elsewhere.
@@Anne-pv9cb well it's kinda hard to do that at the moment now isn't it?
Was never bad. Was better back in the day tbh.
I think a lot of people, both here in America and abroad, tend to focus on the negative but just like any other country, there are things we do great and things we don't do well. I think a lot of people see the world in black and white but the truth is that, in most cases, reality is somewhere in the gray.
I totally agree.
📻🙂
Agree
It's also part of how the half-asleep human brain does things, zeroing in on the negative. Far better to intentionally focus on each moment as it comes, and notice precisely how many more good moments there are than bad.
@@JariDawnchild Yep. It has a good reason for it too. It served our ancestors well to remember, for instance, where bears and lions hung out so they could avoid those areas.
Well said!
Laurence we do international foods really well. Just about every major city in every state has a chinatown, little Italy, Germantown, cuban, mexican. I'm just saying you can always find a variety of foods anywhere you go and they're usually really good.
I wouldn’t say you can get good Mexican food ANYWHERE. I can see Tijuana from my backyard and can honestly say no one does Mexican food like a border town.
I once read a delightful column suggesting how to handle immigration…set up a series of mini kitchens on the border(s). Let everyone who wants to enter designate someone from their homeland to cook a typical meal from home. Let a panel of tasters…nearby residents, border patrol,etc. be the judges..
Well, it works as well as whatever we’re doing now.l,
Visiting Europe a few times during my working years, I came to appreciate just how _convenient_ the U.S. is. Stores don't close at 4:00 P.M. as they do in, say, Switzerland. In the '90s, I saw a small 13" crt TV in a store window for the equivalent of $750, and realized that was at least 3X the cost of the same in the U.S. And was then informed that you had to pay a yearly fee to the government to legally received over the air programing(!) You couldn't really just stop somewhere randomly and grab a take out pizza. Etc, etc. I realized that as an American consumer, I was quite spoiled.
I would say the UK has become a lot more convenient in a similar way to US more so than continental Europe
Convenience for shit food/product vs. food to die for and culture to boot. 450 million+1 disagree. Vast majority of Europe is far more pleasant, amenable and convenient for its citizens compared to US.
store close at 4 pm? oh come on... maybe 30 years ago in switzerland, now it's common closing between 7.30 and 9 pm
@@Tonyx.yt. whats old is new, since covid and lack of workers lots of stores are going back to the 1900s with early closing
@@Tonyx.yt. tbf, from an American pov 4:30 and 7:30 closing times are relatively the same. 24-hour stores and restaurants have been the norm even in small towns (10k) for 30 years. The only times we don't have open shops is on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving. But even then, we still have gas stations, drug stores, and a few Chinese restaurants.
I think one of the best things America does well is vacations. You don't need to go outside this country to experience a top notch vacation in a place far from where you live and completely different from where you live. And there are countless places you can go in America to have that vacation.
On a flight back from Europe several years ago, my dad and I ended up striking up a conversation with a gentleman from Ireland, who apparently took regular trips back and forth between the US and the UK. One thing he said he struggled with was making the transition from lefthand drive to righthand drive vehicles. He told us a funny story about a time when, at some point after arriving in the UK, he got in the left seat of the car he was driving, spent a bit of time looking for the steering wheel in confusion, then upon realizing what country he was in, opened the glove box and pretended that he'd been looking for something in there all along, just to avoid looking and feeling stupid lol. I wonder if others who regularly make the trip across the pond also have this problem. I can't drive, due to complete blindness, but if I could drive, and I frequently traveled between America and Britain, something tells me I'd struggle with that myself. hahaha
This is a strange one, but my experience has been that the U.S. does better plumbing than any place I've visited. Only when I've been abroad have I fully appreciated the fact that I turn on my tap and have warm water with good pressure without thinking about it! I wonder if some of this has to do with the age of things in the U.S. vs other European countries, but I really appreciate it now!
It probably does have something to do with age. Most cities in the US were built well after indoor plumbing was created and have been designed literally from the ground up with plumbing and sewage in mind.
I was so stressed in England because the food was so heavy and the water pressure in the toilets was so low...
I haven't traveled far outside the US, only to various former British Caribbean islands so far, but that is definitely something I noticed. As soon as I leave the US I basically treat it like I don't have running water because it feels like I don't compared to the US.
And you can run hot and cold taps together from one faucet
The downside being that plumbing in suburbia alongside the other utilities, is not financially sustainable because the density is too low.
Having traveled around the world, there are a couple things I think America does really well.
1. Prices for luxury goods. I've never been anywhere in the world where electronics, computers, cars, furniture, etc are cheaper than in the USA. There's always a sale somewhere providing you with great low prices or really affordable payment options. That just doesn't happen anywhere else. I currently live in Asia and it's just silly how it's cheaper for me to ship in luxury goods from Amazon and pay shipping than it is to buy them here.
2. Convenience. Europe can do an ok job at this too, but around the world no one handles the shopping center like the USA. On one intersection, you can have a grocery store, Wal-Mart, 12 places to eat, an auto repair shop, a drug store, shoe store, liqueur store, craft store, clothing stores, bank, and a church. It's crazy how easy it is to go out for an afternoon. Here where I live in Asia, you have to travel all over town to complete your shopping list, do your banking and get a haircut.
That oil money backed by all the nukes of the US military.
Very interesting thanks for sharing.
Half of those shops you listed at #2 are things Wal-Mart takes care of... they even have glasses shops and hair parlours next to the Subway in the Wal-Marts I've been to. Hell I'm pretty sure some Wal-Marts will even have places to do your taxes.
@@Eric_The_Cleric I was in wal-mart about a month ago and they had people there getting their taxes done!
It works in reverse, too. It's always boggled my mind how it's cheaper to import goods across 6000+ miles of the Pacific ocean, than it is to make it here. Those luxury goods you bought through Amazon likely originated IN Asia.
Our upside down friends in Australia seem to take it in the shorts worse than many, with the price of imported goods.
This is exactly what we need to hear in America right now. Thank-you for your positivity! 😊❤️
Kills me that the US had rail connections almost everywhere, and electric trolleys around many towns, more than 100 years ago. This has always disappointed me as an American that my country gave up something wonderful for filthy buses and cars.
We have Goodyear to thank for that.
The USA is literally designed for the car. Such an odd idea to me.
@@Sum41rthe1 The USA is designed for personal FREEDOM. The freedom to start whenever you like, stop whenever and however you like, and turn off or around whenever you like. Try that on a train.
@@dandiehm8414 ahhhh, you're one of those America is the only country that has freedom guys. You do realise I can drive a car where I want to. Just I have the option of jumping on a train
if you look into it, Rockefeller's oil company bought all the electric train system in California and replaced it with gas powered buses, since he sold oil it was done for the money, not convenience or demand
what i want is both a great road system and a great public transportation system, some speed rails like Japan has would be awesome
I have traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and Central America. Whenever I go somewhere new, I always check out the plumbing. I look in hotel rooms, rest stops, restaurant bathrooms, etc. I know it’s not glamorous or exciting but the plumbing we have in America is amazing compared to a lot of other places I’ve been. I really enjoy your shows and I appreciate the positive messages. Thank you.
Haha well after having to throw your toilet paper in the trash in Greece, you begin to really appreciate modern plumbing.
@@ekaski1Just be thankful they had toilet paper. 🤪
Squat toilets, yikes! 😳
You don’t the cultural knock effect that situation creates until see foreigners (usually people from China) visiting the US on bus tours.
I once did a roadtrip with my family from California to Yellowstone and Idaho during the Solar Eclipse a few years ago and we stopped at an RV park in Western Montana. The owner was a Asian lady who told us that she had to put signs up in the bathroom to tell Chinese tourists not to squat on the seat (their feet were on the toilet). It was quite comedic to say the least.
I traveled to Ireland and loved it, but the restrooms I experienced had sinks with hot water faucet on one side, and cold water faucet on the other. My grandma had that kind of sink in her very old house. But in Ireland, in the fancy pub, the hot water faucet temperature was SCALDING, and the cold water faucet was ICY. It was challenging to wash my hands... even if there had been a plug to fill the basin to mix the temperature, I wouldn't do that in a public restroom...
My mom always took us on road trips across the US. I feel lucky for the privilege of all those trips. The US is beautiful.
Thank you for a positive spin on the USA! So many Americans either take this country for granted or prefer to focus on the negative, of which there is more than enough, of course. As a retired Navy vet, I salute you and the U.K. (which I have truly enjoyed on my infrequent visits)! May we all have a better 2022 -- and the years after that.
Likewise in Britain we have people come over and all I hear is grievances and resentments about the country and how terrible we are. It’s great meeting Anglophiles who appreciate our country
I love all of these America/ English channels, no need to name them all. I am terrible at, how do you say taking the piss. I rip them to shreds .I travelled in the States, coast to coast. I met the kindest, most generous open honest best people I have ever met. All across the States. So when I /we take the piss, it's all in good humour. And we love you all.
@@simonpowell2559 yep, I want to fly over there at some point! From Stonehenge to the Magna Carta to the filming locations for Highlander, so much I want to see. 🙂
Laurence,
I guess it takes an outsider to see some of the good things about the USA. I'm afraid most of us citizens are spending our time arguing about what went wrong and who should be blamed for it.
Thank you as always, Laurence. All my best to you, your wife, and Kafka, your cute kitty cat. Happy New Year!
@@toomanysecrets7121 yeah I'm sorry but no country gets as much shit as United States does. It doesn't matter if they are from the third world shit hole of South America to some shit hole in the Middle East they all think they can dunk on America.
Thank you Laurence for reminding me and everyone else who watches your videos that America is not how it seems portrayed in the news. When you live right outside Washington DC it’s nearly impossible to find or hear of something, anything good. But the truth is while we may be a politically divided country the vast majority of Americans are polite and kind and generous people who just want to live a fulfilling, safe, and happy life.
So true. For quite a while now, the news at home and abroad paints this crazy picture of America as some kind of shooting gallery. I'm in my 50s and traveled all over the country, including lots of long road trips, and I have not once seen a gun drawn, let alone fired at someone. It also doesn't help the way our own movies portray our own people. Southerners, especially, get a very warped portrayal.
I agree with you except for the "safe" part. Not that Americans want to live in perpetual danger but "safetyism" is killing our freedom and prosperity. American greatness was the result of our willingness to take personal risks. Safety culture emphasizes risk avoidance which, in turn, leads to utter confusion when it comes to things like how to deal with everything from COVID to transgenderism.
@@douglasskinner I completely agree with your sentiment. I suppose I should clarify, when I said safe, in my head I meant safe from things like war (unless it’s necessary) or terrorist attacks, not safe as in the nanny state has to make you afraid of everything.
Generous, helping others in need and providing humanitarian disaster relief both home and abroad through charitable means. Loving your neighbor as yourself.
I grew up poor and encountered gun violence, my mom was in a store that was held up and there was a gunfight outside my apartment later. I went to a high school where someone was stabbed to death in the school and another where over a dozen police cars were called because of a riot. I saw marijuana sold out of a locker and have a friend who is a recovered heroin addict, after she lost her brother to the drug. Many of the suburban Americans I've met since then have been very polite to everyone's faces, but when you get alone with them they hate to have their taxes feed the poor or help them with healthcare. I would rather live somewhere that people weren't polite to your face but voted for healthcare for all and public supported housing. Someplace with fewer homeless people or multiple families crushed into an apartment, hoping not to get caught by the landlord. For a decade I had a good paying union job and then it was much easier to enjoy America, but since I've become disabled and can't get the SSDI I paid into for decades, we're struggling off my husband's income and once again I had a shooting just around the corner from my house. Our car was robbed. I've had windows broken. Don't be poor or unattractive and then the US is great.
I lived in Korea for several years. We kept a running list of things you don't see in Korea. On that list: Lawns. The horizon. And bumper stickers. Americans do lawns because of the preponderance of single family homes. We have vistas. And though bumper stickers aren't as prevalent as they used to be, Americans are good (or bad?) at having strong opinions about everything! Also, I might add, despite the massive size, it's mostly accessible in all directions, at least in the 48. Love your content. And I love Chicago!
I hadn't heard the word preponderance before and had to look it up. Thanks for inadvertently teaching me a new word today!😊
OPIONIONS?!? REALLY???!!! YES WE DO!!!! Head to Iowa and ask about the WEATHER !!! 🤬🤬🤬
Although I'm grieving for many of the things America has lost (or maybe never even had) in these present times, I want to nominate another thing we are superb at: Convenience. Americans have always had a penchant for inventing better ways to get things done or make life less laborious. Mine isn't an original observation. I first heard about it from Alistair Cooke--the American idea of regarding what was formally an extravagant luxury into an absolutely necessity. Maybe this is why almost all cars have electric windows. The ubiquity of motion-detecting powered doors, the credit card, 7-11s etc.
Convenience?
@@jennifer1329 well, yes. Convenience. (Even though Brian couldn't spell it -- is that what you're after, that alone, the spelling?) But that's how what we have all been in for 400+ years now, both your life and mine and before (both capitalism in general -- a system with plusses -- and the scientific/empirical method of improving things over time, standing on earlier giants' shoulders --- it does work. Is that what you meant? America does all that well -- and all of that still does create false starts, wrong paths fairly often, a loss of the past (even our short American past compared to the EU states), and various other things. It can BE disruptive, yes! Whether the next thing is always superior...yes that is debatable. But it does often improve things. I'm not slowly dying from the effects of real polio from the '50s, for example; there are still people in my life (I'm old :-) ) who are in that position...
@@jennifer1329 lmao I thought he was referring to an ex girlfriend Connivance.
Though nowaways you would have to go to South Korea to know how convenient life can be. I guess it's all relative 🤷♀️
@@jennifer1329 I know, right?!? I just noticed that myself. There are times when auto-correct speaks to deeper truths perhaps. Embarrassed.
I have Canadian friends who always love to read American newspapers--they find the variety of stories and interests fascinating. They also love to shop in the local grocery stores because of the incredible selection. One friend said that if a Canadian store had an item, they displayed 2-3 choices, whereas in America, there would be 12 or more of one product (like coffee brands). Also, a huge selection of fruits and vegetables all year round. We are truly blessed here and I no longer take it for granted.
Thanks for reminding us of the many things that we take for granted!!!
His description of our parks and geography got me really proud to be an American. This country is beautiful
Here in Kentucky, especially in Louisville, we've named a lot of streets after the winning horses of each year's Kentucky Derby (at least the first few decades' worth; for some reason the more recent winners haven't gotten that honor). Also, in the United States in general, we tend to name streets after prominent people. To use Louisville again, they have Muhammed Ali Boulevard and Roy Wilkins Avenue.
When I moved to Lexington KY I stayed at a fabulous hotel on Pink Pigeon Parkway. I wondered what that name meant - it was so bizarre - and I learned that it was the name of a Kentucky Derby winning horse! I then started noticing LOTS of streets here named after other horses. Lexington, by the way, is a fabulously beautiful area and the people are the nicest people on earth. I've met people from New York, Canada, Africa, France, Nepal, Colombia and many other places who fell in love with it when they came here and now they will NEVER leave it.
@@chevychase Yes Lexington is surprisingly international compared to the surrounding counties.
And every city has a road named after Martin Luther King Jr
@@thebagel3426 and its always the street with the most crime.
@@gallendugall8913 Too true . MLK Jr. was a great man .
As an American that is spending a few months abroad and just discovered your channel, this video gave me so much national pride. The world is such a cool place and humanity is so interesting, we should never simply discard another people for being “not us”. That might be one of our greatest failings as a species.
Ah, a blood angle player
I have been from one side of this country to the other more often than I can remember, all by road trip. There is no better way to see, or gain an appreciation for the diversity we have here than by car.
I love this country. Having lived in seven states, and been in 46 of them, I think I have a better appreciation of what this country offers than most; both in landscape and terrain, (and let’s not forget FOOD!). Take a road trip, y’all! You likely won’t regret it. 🚙
It's good to avoid Interstate highways on a road trip. I have found only farmers on side roads. I can drive slower, see the countryside, and skip fast food places for the local cafes.
@@Stilicho19801 agree 100%. I've driven all over the USA as well, only ever use the interstates when we have to get somewhere quick.
Diners, local attractions, and local people -- take some time to enjoy those things. I've never been to a place in the US ( and I've been to every state except Hawaii) where I didn't get greeted warmly, and enjoy myself immensely.
I've also road tripped all over the US. Been to 85 units of the National Parks and every state but Alaska. So much to see!
@@Stilicho19801 I absolutely agree with you. But I guess I have a quirky sense of adventure, or maybe it's from driving from Atlantic to Pacific coasts and back so often. I think once, you should drive the length of I-40. Just once. Both directions. Just for kicks.
What states have you not been to?
Arkansas actually has a NATIONAL park that's an entire city, Hot Springs National Park. Beautiful!!
You should visit one on the states that have HUGE state fairs, like Minnesota or Ohio. You would absolutely love it!
You made some good points. :) The one thing I'd mention would be a sub category of amusement parks: County Fairs. As you've probably discovered, each fall, every county has a fair, which usually has a traveling amusement park, besides all the competitions for best pie, jelly, cattle, sewing, honey, etc. Plus, each state has a state fair which is similar to a county fair, but on a much large scale (well, except for maybe Rhode Island, which is smaller than a lot of counties).
Oh, one more thing. Hit the gas man! Hit the gas, man! Punctuation saves lives. :)
I really enjoy your videos. Be well.
Let's eat, grandma!
Let's eat grandma!
You forgot to mention the giant butter cow 🐮 they do at the Iowa State Fair! 😆🤓
@@Stephanie-vn6ir Been there, seen that and the size of the enormous pigs. Funny the the strangely selective things you remember about an afternoon experience after a few years go by. My grandparents had a farm outside of Winterset so we went to the state fair and the county fair with the Iowa cousins often when visiting from California. Great fun.
@@sherryford667
I've never been to a state fair before but I've always seen the Iowa State Fair on television with that giant butter cow.
Did you say piggies?🐖
It's gonna be a real treat for me!🤓🥰
@@Stephanie-vn6ir Yes, although piggie sounds a bit sweet and benign when you are describing a 600 pound behemoth. They are quite awesome. Not to mention the fun and delicious fair food. Somehow, that's the only place we allow ourselves to eat everything from fried pickles to fried ice cream without guilt pangs. I hope you enjoy it. A unique experience for me.
See this is why I enjoy your channel. You cherish both America and Britain in your mind and heart. It comes through in your videos. Your mind allows you to critique yet see the humor in the shortcomings of both. And your heart allows you to express profound appreciation for both. Your words, tone, everything just communicate how much you cherish both. It’s refreshing to hear and see.
And you make us laugh; often out loud. Yet another gift your give though these videos: joy and mirth at a time that sorely needs it.
So, thanks! Keep going. And please come to the Deep South sometime. And by Deep South I certainly don’t mean Atlanta, Miami, nor Austin; and perhaps not northern Virginia. 😂
Trav Wilson, Huntsville/Madison, Alabama (from where that other wonderful guy films “Smarter Every Day”)
Born a Hoosier but my heart has long belonged to the south.... most childhood vacations and even my honeymoon were nothing but a beautiful, historic, gracious, fun trip to the south.... From Alabama to Florida to the Carolina's......And I totally agree.... Go south LB ! (Although you can't pay me to go in the hot & humid summer lol.)
Hey. Holiday world! Glad to see it mentioned as an illinois resident. Parents took me there in my childhood. Plan on taking my son as well. Such a good place
W/ regard to pizza, I think it's a good example of a re-import. The original pizzas were in Italy, but Italian immigrants to the US really created what we think of as the modern pizza. The main reason why was that the Italian immigrants to the US had a lot more money to spend on food and could experiment more with what was actually good. Italy has since reimported the improved version.
Your description of the American diner is poetic. It painted a sensory picture of sights, sounds and aromas beautifully. Very Norman Rockwell-ish!
What I like best about America, is the variety of the nationalities and ethnicities of other people you'll meet here. Quite literally, people from all over the world are to be found in our neighborhoods. It amuses me to hear excited American citizens attempt to speak their high-school Spanish, Italian, German, or French in an effort to relate to our visitors. But, no one seems to want to speak posh English or a Gaelic dialect. That is because, I think, we have trouble speaking and understanding our own dialects of Americanese. God Bless America. God Save the King.
Food? Chicago Hot Dogs are my favorite after Toledo's Tony Packo's Hungarian Sausage.
I have a suggestion to combine four of the things you think we do best. When you're ready to take your next trip, why not fly down to Nashville, rent a car, take the leisurely road trip up to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee - pulling off I-40 to visit diners as you go - and visit Dollywood theme park and and the Great Smoky Mountains Nacional Park?
Took my kids there a few years ago. Drove down from Ohio. We had a great time.
Hi, fellow Tennessean! Lemme add enjoying Cades Cove in there as well! (Located either right outside or inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
Pigeon Forge is one of my favorite places ever! We have rented a cabin in the Smokey’s for the last two years and love going from the serene quiet of the mountains to the fun of Dollywood! The people are just the friendliest!!! Hope Lawrence visits-he will absolutely love it!
@@napiersh1 If it was before 2016, then you need to come back. In November of 2016, there was a tragic forest fire. But, as Tennesseans do, the city rolled up it's sleeves and rebuilt even better than ever.
@@WriterOfMany Yes! And Townsend, too. I know! Lawrence should come to the next Sasquatch festival, either the one in Townsend or the one in Gatlinburg. Either way he's bound to find lots of people to make videos on.
I loved this reminder of things I also love about America! We also do these pretty well: Sports, pick-up trucks, hamburgers, fairs, holiday decorations, soda/pop, shopping...
When our children were young we took road trip trips all over west to show them what an incredible country they live in. Now they are all grown up and love to reminisce about our adventures.
We all needed this quite frankly. Things aside from the stereotypes. Thank you Laurence
That “good morning” was perfect lmaoo
Proud Cincinnatian here, glad you liked King’s Island. It might not be the biggest, but I’d say it’s the most consistently good park I’ve been to. While most parks have a few great rides and the rest are to fill time, essentially every ride at King’s Island is great.
As a Columbusite, I feel spoiled for being within 2 1/2 hour drives of both Kings Island and Cedar Point. Best Rollercoasters in the world between the two.
@@OhioUltimate979 it’s always funny how the people around Cincinnati are convinced Cedar Point is the better park while those around Sandusky are insistent that King’s Island is better. My brothers and I used to wake up at five in the morning to drive up to Cedar point in time for opening
@@samreid6010 Distance makes the heart grow fonder, or something like that
I love Diners as well. I have never been to a bad one. A good way to find a great diner is to look for the place where all the truckers go.
I love trains and I sure wish the US had a good rail system like Great Britain has. Love your videos. Keep them coming, and let's have more with your wife. You two make a great team.
The crime on them would be insane. Any train that goes to a major city would be a death trap.
@@Anne-pv9cb ever heard of law enforcement or security?
@@rossedwardmiller Certain sectors are trying to outlaw that.
The issue there is that the U.S. is just too damn big for a large nationwide train network, with not enough demand for traveling those distances to justify such a massive investment. The regional train networks are serviceable over here, and for the larger distances, there's a reason the U.S. has the largest domestic flight market in the world.
@@Anne-pv9cbthere are safe trains in the US. They go to major cities and are not places of crime. In fact, trains are a safe way to travel.
Just a few days ago after a long morning of deep cleaning the house, I went to a diner at 2pm and had pancakes with eggs and bacon. It was so lovely and nourishing, but I didn't think twice about it. Your video has made me realize how much I take the diner experience for granted. I didn't realize other places romanticized diners. It is so nice having the option for a comforting meal in a cozy booth at basically any hour of any day.
One of the best things that America does is offer diversity and choices. From food, housing, cars, etc., we've got a lot going on because we recognize that people want/need choices. I've watched a lot of "visiting America" videos and one thing that they usually comment on, besides the huge sizes, is grocery stores and how much there is to choose from. There might be 10 choices of say potato chips/crisps in a UK store but here you get no less than 30 in a gazillion flavor combinations in most groceries if not way more plus dips to compliment them. The restaurants that specialize in one thing and have many varieties, like ice cream, i.e. Baskin Robbins 31 flavors or Krispie Kreme/Dunkin Donuts. There's usually something for everyone if you can wrap your head around the fact that that something exists when in other places you wouldn't have that multitude to choose from.
i hosted several foreign exchange students… and the range of choices actually *annoyed* some of them. it was overwhelming. ofc, they were kids & many had not previously shopped for themselves, but it was interesting to see the ‘deer in the headlights’ look repeatedly. i learned to not try to explain so much, because it didn’t seem real to them in words, but to go with them the first time, to shepherd them thru the shock.
In fact, sometimes too many choices😎
@@ianmackenzie686 It's a problem many people in the world wish they had. :)
@@douglasskinner
Absolutely! Everyday in North America is a blessing.
Funny, we have a whole aisle of crisp flavours here with everything from roast beef and horseradish flavour to scampi and lemon, but when I was in Florida I struggled to find a flavour that didn't have cheese in it, or spicy (don't get me wrong, I love spicy). I thought the choice as actually more limiting. Mind you, that was 4 years ago - maybe it's expanded. Or maybe different in other states. The only thing that really bothered me about US groceries was the amount of sugar in everything. So much even in the bread. Oh, and the price of cardamoms. Expensive to make a curry over there 👀 But we enjoyed wondering around Publix and Walmart. It's always fun to try new things ☺️ And you could wonder around Walmart for days 👀 It goes on forever.
I'm so glad Detroit style pizza is finally getting known. It's so good and has a great tie into the automotive industry.
I love the old-style diners that resembled stainless steel railroad cars. They had juke boxes along the counter and at each booth. They were the best.
I will say that driving in Britain and Ireland is loads of fun, and very different than driving in the US. The GPS took me on this cow path between Dublin and Kilkenny that literally had grass growing in the center of the tarmac and there was only hedges brushing the sides of our compact car, with no options to allow anyone past if I encountered another car. Luckily, in the ten minutes I was on this “road,” no one else came toward me. I started out terrified, but was laughing hysterically by the end because it was all so ridiculous! The region with the best road was Orkney, where there was not a single traffic light on the island, but there was no need for one.
Hey! At least if the road only has one lane, you don't have to worry about staying on the left side! :D
those are called boreens
Could you imagine driving a F350 or similar style pickup on those country roads! You'd be hitting the hedges.
It’s because Britain and Ireland have nary a straight road in the country, while the US has tons of straight roads
You can still do that in the US. Rural areas, especially closer to the east coast, often have little country roads like that. There is still a sense of progression on a road like that though. You lose that sense on the winding roads in cities in Britain. I remember riding in a bus in Kingston and feeling like I had done nothing but go in circles for fifteen minutes.
I would add celebrations. Whether it's sports, holidays, concerts, parades, etc... I feel like we Americans are really good at making a venue full of 100,000 people feel like one big family and we have a blast. As for the street address thing...
The house I grew up in was 11 Suncrest
My place in college was 19 Slocum
My place is South Carolina was 21 Hard Scrabble
And my house I live in now back in NY is 44 Riverview
That’s funny, I’ve had a lot of addresses in the US, all in Northern California, and have almost never had one less than four digits. My streets have spanned several cities mostly, or were just really long. I think one in SF had two, but that was a tiny alley in North Beach.
A road trip across the US is absolutely AMAZING! Me and the fiance set off from Northeastern Ohio and drove all the way West to Vancouver Canada :D Was one of the most fun things I've ever done in my life! Even with some of the stresses, including but not limited to not having access to ANY of our money for almost 24 hours when we first got to Canada because our bank was stupid, and my car breaking down in Idaho on our way back lmao Was still something I'd do all over again tomorrow!
I like American Pizza, which is convenient, as I am an American living in America. But I visited Italy a few years ago and was amazed at the true art form they have created in the Italian pizza. Every one is an adventure in sight, taste and texture.
"Townsends" YT channel (colonial America) recently created a pizza for George Washington! No tomato sauce available then, no tomatoes. He had to make some changes but said it turned out surprisingly well.
I like the Detroit style as well.
This is a good list.
I love road trips. I wish that the US was more like Europe with minimum 4 week vacations, which would make cross country road trips more feasible.
Yes!
I'm American and have more than 4 weeks vacation. I wish Americans would stop telling these vacation and healthcare tales online as all you're doing is giving people in other countries more reasons to hate us. Stop with the generalizations. That's simply not the case for every American!
@@ladiuneeq9789 I never said that it was the case for every American. However, it is not a mandatory requirement that employers give their employees 4 weeks of paid vacation, like it is in Europe. I just mentioned that I think it would be a great thing if we had the same thing here in America. I don't see how it is a bad thing to love your country but also want it to be better.
Depends on your job; I work for a state government in a unionized job and have 4 weeks of accumulated leave. Had 6, but used 2 at Christmas.
@@timriehl1500 good for you
As a confirmed night owl, one of the things America does well (or did, before the pandemic) is 24-hour full-service supermarkets. Yes, the deli, meat and poultry counters become self-serve only after about 10 p.m., but the fact that you can pick up all manner of stuff at 3:53 a.m., even in semi-populous areas, is magnificent.
I only shop at the ONE place that is 24/7 after the pandemic. Green Bay for a 100k city used to have 6 grocery stores open 24/7 and a number of other places (fast food, QuickTrips, CVS), no mas, only one grocer (Woodmans) is 24/7 and it is the biggest, best, most selection, and least expensive (fortunately). I think the QuickTrips have returned and truck stops (of course).
Just wait until you go to a Japanese 7/11. Whole new thing that is
I think one of the things we do well is "convenience". When I was still working, I got off at 2:00 am. It was so convenient to go to Walmart or one of the grocery chains to pick up a few items. Also at Walmart the night time Associates would usually be on their break sitting outside so it felt safe for a woman to get out of the car.
As for diners, my siblings live in Baltimore and love to go the diners late at night (we are all in our 60s and 70s). I love one that is run by Greek people - it has the BEST pastry counter. They are open 24/7. We do not have that where I live.
I chuckled at the "quirky roadside attractions". I lived in a small AZ historic mining / current rodeo town (touristy) where the old jail tree still stands, complete with dummy prisoner. The historic main street had mannequins too and they always freaked me out. The end of my street had a covered wagon until it got damaged by a storm.
Bisbee? Think I went there as a kid
Road trips are WONDERFUL!!! The ability to travel, to pull over for roadside attractions, to visit national parks and historic places I've never seen before - America is it's own treasure, expansive, quirky and beautiful.
You're definitely right about the Detroit style pizza. Detroit style is so underrated/unheard of, and looked down upon by both New York and Chicago. As an Ohian I'm obligated to hate Michigan but have to give it to them for Detroit style pizza. And, Detroit dogs which I believe was the inspiration behind Skyline Chili
What is Detroit style pizza?
@@WriterOfMany Detroit style pizza is baked in a rectangular pan which allows the edges of the crust to essentially fry. You would think that it makes for a very heavy pizza like Chicago style but the dough is incredibly crispy, light, and doughy all at the same time. If you are aware of pizza hut or dominos "pan pizza" then that's the closest analogy I can think of even though they are terrible. They aren't even in square shapes. Jet's is a good chain to experience it if you can find them but the best is obviously within Detroit itself.
@@WriterOfMany Detroit style was invented at a restaurant called "Buddy's Pizza" in 1946. He got a deal on some leftover rectangular pans from an automotive plant, hence the shape. I work for Little Caesars - our Deep! Deep! Dish pizza follows the same tradition and is available nationwide. Love the crunchy corners!
Fellow Ohioan who LOVES detroit style pizza.
Detroit style is the only reason Ohio let's Michigan exist
I grew up in a very remote part of Alaska. Yes, Alaska! Where the men, are men. And so are the women.
That is because this place give 0 about your gender, age, race or anything else except your respect, your preparedness, and your skills at surviving in a sometimes hostile land.
So, when I hit my early 20's and wanted to explore the lower 48, I did what anyAlaska chick would do I went down and got a job driving semi trucks coast to coast. My mom wasn't thrilled. I was 5'9" tall, cute as a button, and strong as an ox. Lol she wanted to know why I would do this?! I told her it was the only way I could figure out how to board as many ski resorts and ride as many rollercoasters I could get a load to or through. I have 2 - 4'x8' collages. One of lift tickets. The other of ticket stubs. I ended up breaking even financially but, I had the best time doing it. Living fearlessly. Good times.
Thanks for the shout out for Detroit style pizza. It is wonderful 👍
It’s interesting to hear your perspective about eating in a diner and going on a road trip. For Americans it’s just a familiar and common theme from our own lives. Now I see from your perspective how your only previous experience with these things would’ve been from movies. Very interesting.
Thanks so much for including positive things about the US. I read the Times of London online every day and I'm absolutely floored by the level of anti-Americanism in the subscriber comments - and it seems the majority feel this way. I lived a bit in England and had no idea how badly we' as a nation and we as a people are thought of (and now some negative encounters there, not instigated by me, make sense). Always enjoy your videos Lawrence!
This makes me sad. Visiting UK is a bucket list dream that I will probably never be able to do. But many US tourists are not wealthy, and may only be able to travel internationally (excluding Mexico and Canada) once in their lifetime. So they travel to someplace they have an affinity for, or have dreamed about visiting. It's nice that people were polite to you, but to find that it was merely that is indeed disheartening.
I find that so disheartening. Sad part is, the majority of those nay-sayers have likely never been here at all. What they think they know of the US and what they REALLY know are two different things.
I see a lot of those comments too and I admit it bothers me. They can be very rude and I don’t understand why. Do they think they are without faults? Years ago we went to Germany and the Czech Republic and people were so friendly to us! London is a trip I’m planning now (for when Covid eases up).
Anti-Americanism is the second most popular sport in the UK.
Abroad I never introduce myself as an American. I just say I’m from Texas and people seem to automatically like you for it.
I love your channel. Which brings me to one of the other things that America does very well: it supports the ability to be creative. There are many examples, including TH-cam, and other creator based platforms. As a result, we have the ability to experience other cultures, and other points of view in a very creative way.
Thank you Laurence - I lived in the UK for 7 years and was appalled at how stressed a Londoner could be about taking a road trip!
Absolutely freaking out. For me when I lived out West, getting in the car and driving to the Pacific was an absolute delight.
American Midwesterner here and a lover of road trips. On TV, I remember seeing an Englishman who lived in a large city talking about how he hated taking a road trip here: "The sky is too big." Having traveled a bit in the UK, I remember thinking how everything, even the sky, somehow seemed smaller. The open road and all of its wacky surprises have always held great fascination for me, and if glorious scenery is included, then all the better.
@@donnabrowne5307 When I went to Scotland I LOVED seeing the big open sky. So different from the cityscape I'm used to.
Thank you
That picture of you in front of Abraham Lincoln on the Conestoga wagon is in my hometown of Lincoln Illinois!! Thats right near the bowling alley.
When you touched on parks -- and you did mention their vastness -- one thing you slightly over looked was the way so many large parks also have truly unique adventures within them. Like the Appalachian Trail. That's not, strictly speaking, a park as it is an experience. Anyone who decides to can hike the entire Appalachian Trail, which runs from Georgia (just above Florida) to Maine. It's about 2,200 miles long and over 2 million people do it EVERY YEAR (not the same 2M). There's also one in the West called the Pacific Crest Trail that starts in near the Border of Mexico and ends on the Canadian border. It is a massive 2,600+ miles long. If you never did it, I recommend trying. At least part way. Many hike a shorter distance, like on a weekend, for instance.
I enjoyed this video. The US has its share of shortcomings (as do all nations), but I enjoy exploring the 'continent-wide' land mass without having to cross international borders (something especially helpful since the pandemic started). I've traveled in all 50 states, and in every county of a sizable fraction of them. I've been to the UK and like that country, too.
I've seen most of the country, I just need to hit the corners and outliers. Maine, the Pacific NW, Hawaii and Alaska are about all I have left except for island territories. I'm planning sometime in the next couple years to do an epic road trip from Florida to Alaska to cross off a bunch of those.
@@wingracer1614 I hope you have a safe and wonderful trip!
Really enjoying all the positive comments about America here. Thanks!
You had me at Detroit pizza. It’s awesome. Thanks for this video. I wish we as Americans would be more grateful for the wonderful country that has been such a great blessing❤️
You touched on things that I have always appreciated. I love our theme parks and lived near Disneyland as a child in the 50’s. Live near Disney World as a retiree, and lived 20 miles from Kings Island for 30 years. I also took my children to the park in Santa Claus Indiana when it was called Santa Claus land, because my husband has pictures of himself as a child there. I love a road trip and I’ve crossed the United States on the interstates even while they were being built! I traveled route 66 for the first time this summer! Yes our house numbers are usually four digits but I currently live in a house that only has two numbers (34) which I love because it’s so unique. I really enjoyed this episode. It’s nice to hear nice things about America.
I'm from Evansville, IN so I also went to Holiday World all the time as a kid. School trips, church youth group. It was always so much fun. When we go back to visit my family, my kids love to go as well. It's changed a lot over the years!
@@Essy311 we lived in Evansville in the early 70’s. Two of my kids were born there! It was during that era that we went to, Santa Claus land. I guess the name changed in 1984. One of my daughters went to an event there a few years ago and she did say it was completely different.
Chicago does streets very well. Always loved that you could refer to “such and such hundred north” and “such and such hundred west” and a true Chicagoan will know exactly what intersection it is.
You know, come to think of it, whenever my family did a whole trip down into the states over a summer or whatnot, it was always centered around some kind of national or state park.
So I have to agree with you on that one.
When I crossed the pond to live here in California about what now feels like a century ago, I immediately adopted road trips and State and National Parks. It laid the foundation for decades of hiking, which I’m still doing into my 70’s. Hiking in a park always helps to right the out of kilter world again. It helped save my sanity during the pandemic. You’re spot on on all counts, Lawrence!
I have lived in South Dakota for 35 years. I have come to love the open plains. We have a much bigger sky than Big Sky, Montana where the horizon is cut off by mountains.
Am so glad you enjoy it here as much as you do and it is refreshing to see such optimism regarding the States: especially lately.
I really like this channel, it’s nice to see someone appreciate the US. I feel the same way about Europe, I’ve been all over Europe and lived there for 2 years and I always appreciated the different cultures there!
Road trips are my favorite way of making a week-end special--just a half day of travel, followed by dinner and a couple drinks at the local bar. I've always lived in Upstate NY (a 15 minute drive to Lake Ontario) but there are so many day trip worthy spots to visit, and I always make sure to have the CDs in the car for every outing. The small towns, the landscapes, the diners; it's all fabulous. Thanks for this one, Lawrence, it was a keeper. The longer road trips are cool, too, but I don't seem to really do those anymore.
Oh thank you so much for this marvelous (and true) list, I have been so discouraged lately by the disheartening things, politics, shootings, racism....it did me so much good to be reminded of all the good we have here. Thank You.
I don't know. In my travels around the world, I think the USA handles racism better than most places. It's probably the most diverse and accepting place I've ever been. Europe's history with racism and their current struggles with it are well known and obvious. Asia (where I live) is very homogeneous and has very deeply held racist beliefs. For example, you'd be shocked at how horribly Japanese people treat dark skinned people, or how Taiwanese people treat Indonesians and Filipinos like garbage. Many Middle Eastern countries want to exterminate an entire population just because they're Jewish.
@@drsch true some country's and people act like it doesn't exist which I think makes it worse