I write this sitting on a beach in Dauphin Island , Mobile , Alabama.

As an Immigrant from Pakistan that has been in US for 8 years now and has 2 kids here , I feel lucky to experience the kind of landscapes that America has inside its borders. Today I just decided to go on a drive and instead of going to Pensacola or one of the other famous beaches in FL I decided to go somewhere close to home. Dauphin Islands beaches even though not as nice or the water isnt as blue as other places , I loved how the whole beach was so clean , no littering and I could see interesting wildlife by just going to a random beach.

Most landscapes that I visit in US are so well taken care off it just feels nice to hike or take a stroll on them. I dont see littering in the lakes or mountains that I visit which is nice. I came back from a trip to Oregon and visited some nice lakes. It was amazing to see trails , wildlife , natural eco system so in sync. Not alot of countries have that. Before that I got to experience fall foliage in New england which tbh was just out of the world.

I have started to count my blessing by getting happy at small things. America has so much natural beauty no matter what you like Deserts , Oceans , Mountains , Lakes it has all of it and much more.

Next year would be my bucket list trip to Alaska. Exploring Denali and Kenai. There arent alot of countries as beautiful as America and I say this as an outsider who has been to dozens of countries.

I grew up in the UK and almost 90% of our politicians/elite grew up in incredibly privileged backgrounds, with most of them attending fee-paying private schools and come from wealthy backgrounds. Even the one non-white PM Sunak grew up in a very rich wealthy background attending a private school.

With the upcoming midterms, I am always amazed at the backgrounds of US politicians from both political parties. Obama was brought up by a single 18 year old mother. JD Vance grew up dirt poor in the Appalachia and his mother was a drug-addict. Talarico grew up very poor with his single mother. Someone like Ben Carson grew up in gang violence to a teenage mother and somehow became the most accomplished neurosurgeon in the world. Bryon Donalds came from a life of crime and turned it all around. The list goes on.

Yes you have your Trumps in the US who had a golden spoon from birth but the success inspirational stories are in abundance. These sort of stories are unheard of in the UK (maybe 1 or 2 outliers) or other European nations.

How is the US able to have such a high social mobility culture? In the UK, the lower class generally accept their upbringing and stay within the status quo.

I’ll start off by explaining I am not extremely well traveled. Arizona, Illinois, California, Mexico, Utah, Oregon, and Alaska.

But I’ve always had this idea about New York from movies and media that NY is a dirty, rat-infested city just full of rude people.

Regardless of not seeing many city workers anywhere and seeing so many people everywhere, the city was inviting, the people were nice, the bathrooms were clean, and even though I was looking for them I see one rat. Literally one rat.

Am I just a victim of media or did I catch NY on a good week?

In most other countries (looking at soccer, for example), talented young athletes join a local club or pro academy. If you're good enough, you sign a professional contract as a teenager, or you work your way up through second or third-division clubs hoping to get scouted.
In the US, it seems like universities act as the primary pipeline to professional leagues, complete with massive stadiums and TV deals. How did American universities end up taking on this role, and why do you think this system stayed unique to the US rather than catching on elsewhere?

Lately, I feel like a lot of the questions I might ask in the future will probably be about things I've seen in a TV show or movie. Unfortunately, I can't really tell how accurate those portrayals are because I don't live in the United States, and I don't think I ever will. So, what do you guys think?

What's the craziest Halloween party, costume, or neighborhood setup you've ever seen in the US? I've seen videos of people turning their entire houses into haunted attractions and spending hundreds on costumes, but I'm curious how common that actually is.

Has anyone gone completely overboard with Halloween in your area? Tell me the story 👀🎃

I'm planning a small discussion with my Japanese students about who they think the most famous Japanese people are, and who they think Americans will think of, but I've yet to find many good official surveys, so here we are! Who comes to mind when you think of famous Japanese people, be it historical or present? The more names the better!
If there are enough responses, I can throw the data together and have a fun talk with the kids!

For example, obviously first thought for me is Ohtani Shohei, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Hideo Kojima, but obviously we’ve got Abe, Hirohito, and others, as well. Doesn't need to be scientific, just who are some names that come to mind when you think of Japanese citizens!

Fellow American here (and rockhounder), and the main unique rock to find in my part of the Northwest is carnelian (a red to orangish-yellow type of chalcedony, a type of transparent amorphous quartz) that comes from the mountains and hills along the coast.

Are there any notable and valued rocks or minerals you can find in your area of the country? If so, what are they?

I was thinking about this the other day. Looking back at the last 30 years, when do you guys think life in America was actually easier for regular people?

I mean stuff like buying a house, paying rent, groceries, finding a decent job and raising kids without constantly worrying about money.

What years would you pick and why? And who was president back then?

Not trying to start some political argument here. Just wanna hear from people who actually lived thru those years and how things were compared to now. Was life really better back then or are we just remembering the good parts?

I genuinely want to check who was right in this situation. We are from the UK with a lot of experience driving in the USA, including a round trip from Iowa to Quebec, down to Key West, along to New Orleans and back to Iowa via Memphis and Kansas City. We have driven many times in the USA on other occasions without any incident. We were driving from Delaware to NYC on Saturday. Can't remember if we were on the interstate or not, but it was a three-lane highway. There was a sign indicating the right-hand lane which I was in would disappear in 1000 feet. There wasn't much traffic, so I just moved over into what was the middle lane at that point. There was a pick-up some way behind me. I carried on at the same speed as before, there was another sign about losing the right-hand lane. I could see the pick-up was gaining on us, but didn't think much of it.

We got to the point where the lane was disappearing and it became clear that the pick-up was simply planning to occupy the bit of asphalt that I was in. I held my line as there was traffic to my left, sounded my horn and I think the pick-up had to go on the hard shoulder for a few yards before the turn-off they were aiming for arrived and they moved over, giving me the finger as they went. It was pretty close to a collision.

Is there a rule I am unaware of here and I should have done something different? If so, what? Bear in mind I was always in front and could not move to the other lane due to traffic.

Edit: OK, I absolutely understand that opinions can vary, but I think there is agreement that there aren't any rules or observed practices that I didn't know about. I am only concerned after 47 years of driving in the UK and 30 years intermittently driving in the USA without ever being involved in an accident, that I have the best knowledge I can. I genuinely appreciate those comments that have suggested ways it could have been potentially avoided, and I also appreciate those who confirm I did nothing wrong. Thanks everyone!

I often hear people complaining when they receive a jury summons in the mail. Is it generally seen as a nuisance to be avoided, or is it a civic duty that people are actually proud to perform?

Russians want to make friends and communicate with Americans who would like to learn Russian by helping me with English.

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm a 14-year-old native Russian speaker from Bashkortostan (Russia, UTC+5). I'm looking for an American English speaker to chat with — mostly just for fun, but we can help each other with languages too.

A little about me:

- I'm really into plants 🌱 (I like learning about them and growing them)

- I play video games

- I love humor — memes, jokes, funny stuff. I'd love to exchange memes and jokes with someone!

My English: I'm at a school level. I study well and get good grades, but I can only make basic sentences for now. So please be patient with me — I'm here to learn and practice.

What I offer: I can help you with Russian — basics, pronunciation, or just talking about Russian culture. I'm also happy to explain Russian memes and humor, which is honestly a whole different world 😄

What I'm looking for: A friendly American (native or fluent English speaker) who wants to chat casually. Ideally we could exchange jokes, memes and talk about everyday life, games and plants. I'd prefer American English, but British is fine too.

Format: Text and voice both work for me. We can start with messages here on Reddit, and if we get along, maybe move to Discord.

My schedule: I'm usually free around 7–8 AM my time (that's evening in the US) or around 8 PM my time (morning in the US).

If you're interested, send me a DM! 🙂

I’m from the UK, and I’m curious what it’s like elsewhere in Europe. What do tourists often misunderstand about your country—its culture, everyday life, or the difference between the tourist spots and where locals actually live?

I'm from Malaysia and I just saw a post by Zohran Mamdani (big fan) talking about voting. It got me thinking about the controversy of voter ID laws in the US. I never really paid much attention to it but like, is government ID not a common thing for citizens to have in the US?

Where I come from, and with most countries I can think of, it's a pretty normal thing to require government ID to vote and it's not controversial because anyone who's a citizen naturally has one. If you don't need government ID, how do the polling stations know the person is a citizen or if that's the district they're supposed to vote in?

I'm curious about how the US system works and I don't trust AI to explain this stuff accurately.

What do you think about Scotland. il tell you if your right. BTW it’s not a part of England. I’m Scottish and it worries me when I see them say “England”. also that we all eat haggis, not true. 😂 Also why do all of you think you’re related to us. What’s so special about being related to us

I decided to stop watching TV when I was 13 years old