Article created by: Rasa Žilinskaitė
No country is perfect, but the United States often gets bad press. From gun control to healthcare and political division that seriously hampers positive change, there are a lot of issues the land of the brave is currently facing. But there are plenty of victories it can celebrate as well.
So let's take a look at a recent Reddit post by user KyleB2131 that asked people: "What does America do better than most other countries?" More specifically, its 11,800 comments, where folks have been listing all the things they believe the US should be proud of.
I love the Interstate Rest Areas on road trips. I'm a Canadian from the west coast, and was always VERY impressed with the 24/7 rest areas. Clean washrooms, nice grassy areas for dogs, picnic tables, and a lot of times people selling crafts, or offering free coffee!
I've only driven through the western states, (WA,OR,CA,NV,UT,AZ) but yeah, those rest areas were always reliable. Always well marked signs when the next one was coming up. Just made everything about travelling easier! Thanks neighbours!
National Parks
Chatting, I’m from an Asian country where most people will avoid talking to stranger. But you can literally talk to anyone you met in the street in the US and most of them are willing to talk
Turning corn into things that are not corn.
Holidays. My favorite time to be an American is October, I love how hype we get about Halloween here.
Wilderness/land conservation. Hands down. It still isn’t enough and it’s largely a product of the fact that this continent was industrialized/colonized so late in the game + its sheer vastness, but we have some of the best land conservation schemes on the planet. It might be the only thing where I prefer the US over much of Europe, and it’s a huge thing.
Serious answer? Logistics. We're quite a large country and we've gotten very good at moving things around.
Jazz
Handicap/wheelchair accessibility. Even in smaller towns, our family member in a wheelchair got in and out of restaurants and stores easily.
Honestly? Being friendly and welcoming to strangers. Saying this as a Canadian.
Air conditioner everywhere and free public restrooms. You have to pay to use the restrooms in Europe.
Geodiversity. We have nearly every biome on Earth available in the lower 48 alone. Adding Alaska and Hawaii just completes the set.
Question: Is there any biome that doesn't exist in The US?
Buffets. No buffet I’ve had can beat the one’s I had in the states.
The ability of the American farmer to produce food. It is really staggering the amount of food that is grown here.
Good ethnically diverse food.
There’s a lot that Europe does better about food (for instance, care about quality of ingredients and preparation even at “everyday” priced restaurants).
But in most of the non-US world, you can get very good food of the place you are in, and maybe some mediocre Asian food. (England and Indian food being an exception.) If you are in Rome, for instance, the Italian food will be excellent, but you won’t find a great Spanish tapas bar, Mexican taqueria, or some great pho.
The fact that in most major US cities you can get excellent food that represents a dozen or more different food cultures is unique and awesome.
Women's sports are really wells supported here - so are female athletes.
Despite many memes americans might say about it - if you go to other countries female athletics is really almost non-existent.
Theme Parks
While we have a LONG way to go, the USA is comparatively better than a lot of places regarding supporting people with disabilities.
Convenience. In other countries I’ve lived in, many shops and businesses close relatively early and you can’t easily get food or groceries delivered to your door.
Make sure there's ice in your beverage
Cultural diversity. We have a place for everyone, despite what some people say
A non-sarcastic answer: public parks
Entertainment
Many of our restaurants offer free bread, or chips and salsa at the Hispanic restaurants. Very few places I’ve been in the world offer a free food item to snack on while waiting for your food to arrive.
General aviation. There are few countries in the world where you can hop into a light airplane and just go. No flight plan required, no extra taxes and fees, just freedom. There are over 5000 public use airports in the US and more than 10000 private use. I'm not talking about millionaires and billionaires flying their gulfstreams around, but the middle class American putzing around in a Cessna on a weekend. Yes, it is an expensive hobby but can be much more attainable than a lot of people think.
Right turn on red light
Sewage treatment. A lot of countries you'd consider modern and Western are only just now installing treatment plants so they aren't just dumping their sewage directly into the ocean.
Putting people on the moon & putting cheese like substances in spray cans. Nobody else comes close.
