British Couple Reacts to 25 Common Misconceptions About The United States That Simply Aren't True 

Is that Archie I hear in the background??? 💙💙💙

Considering we are more than 300 million people whos roots come from every other country in the world, I think we do amazing.

As far as healthcare, 2 years ago, I was uninsured. I was found unresponsive in my home by a friend. I was quite literally near death with a rare type of meningitis. I was in the intensive care unit for a month and in a rehabilitation hospital relearning to walk and care for myself for two months. I had excellent care and the hospital worked with me to get my bills covered.

On the AC thing, most of the Europeans that bring this up are shocked when you show them a globe. The geographic center of the Continental United States (so not counting Alaska and Hawaii) is on the same latitude as Sicily. The northernmost point on the lower 48 states is on about the same latitude as Paris and the southernmost point is on about the same latitude as Egypt/Sudan border. So most of the US is going to be warmer than most of Europe.

A majority of states allow concealed carry of firearms. But the ruling statement is “concealed”, so unless someone is sloppy, the idea is that no one really knows who is carrying.

Fun fact. America invented the refrigeration and Cooling system. Air conditioning. You're welcome. 😂🇺🇸

What is rarely mentioned about public transportation in the U.S.: our population density away from the coast is MUCH less than nearly all other industrialized nations in the world. Even where I live, people need to drive on average 100 miles round-trip per day to commute to and from work. This makes public transportation unfeasible here. I live in central Indiana, which it just gets worse the further west you go... until you get to the west coast.

It depends where you live in the United States The bigger cities do have good transportation

Back in the late 1970s we had a British family move next door to us in the Houston area. He was paid a stipend for living in an arid zone like his 1800s comrades were paid for working in India. Of course, his house was air conditioned, as was his car. But the concept of his UK employer was that they were sending him and his family into harsh living conditions.

As a US citizen, I find these videos interesting because they always discuss differences as a country, but we have so many differences and misconceptions between states. For example, I had a boss located in Utah. I’m in Arkansas. She made a comment about me living in a one stop light town. I’m in NW Arkansas. Very different than the rest of the state. (I wasn’t insulted btw). It’s just so interesting what we think even within our own country.

I live in an area where I see guns around, and hear guns fired. But very rarely hear gun-related crimes, or a whole lot of crime happen. The area is safe! But then again, most more-rural places are safe in the US.

I’ll also say that the scary things you see on TV can be things the majority of us will never personally experience in our lifetime. When u see things and are shocked you must understand that even those of us who don’t live in the big cities are also just as shocked.

It’s always interesting to hear these. I’m an American (from NY) who married another American (from FL). We both served in the military and lived and traveled around the world. Being from different regions, we grew up in different cultures. We had different accents and ate different foods. Our children have had an even more unique experience having never had a “hometown”. Our oldest child now attends university in Scotland. We hear similar misconceptions from her friends. They all talk about her being a “different kind of American.” I do think our family has a unique perspective and wider frame of reference. No one can truly generalize a country as large, diverse, and populous as the US. Admittedly there is a lot we don’t do well and need to improve, you can say that about any country. But if we were truly all broke and dumb, we wouldn’t be in the top 10 richest and most educated countries in the world. One only needs to read comments on videos like this from non-Americans to know the US does not corner the market on ignorance.

This is actually a pretty fair and balanced video. Disagree with a couple things but its a pretty good video.

In general, if your income falls below a certain point the government will pay your medical bills and medicines (or the majority of the costs) - but you sometimes need to register for it. I needed an MRI once and was low income. The hospital filed the necessary paperwork to pay the $10K cost of it and did the MRI. An ER visit is often evaluated as a required stay until they discharge you because malpractice costs for improper medical care for an ER visit starts in the millions of dollars and if it involves a patient death that likely rises to over $100 million - that's sometimes enough to shut down a hospital.

I took a train from Boston to San Francisco. We had a sleeper car and switched trains in Albany NY and Chicago. It took 3 days. Excellent food included if you have a sleeper. There's also sandwiches etc for those in the coach. We did this in 2001.

If you subtract out the 5 or 6 big US cities with the highest crime, the average in the rest of America is about the same as Europe. Regarding another point about friendliness, there are big regional differences in the US. People in the Northeast US tend to be more stand-offish, and harder to get to know quickly. In the South, you might be invited to dinner the first time you meet someone.

His comment that most Americans have never heard gunfire refers to gunfire from criminal activity. In rural Georgia where I live, hearing gunfire during hunting season is a daily occurrence. However, I have never heard or seen gunfire out of anger or directed at any other human being. Millions of Americans have concealed carry permits so we may go most places armed as long as the firearm is not openly displayed. In my state a permit is not even needed and most people I know go about armed daily. Despite this our violent crime rate is very low.

Love how you work everything out, think about it WITHOUT automatically hating Americans 😊

Public transport in Europe vs America is night and day. The two continents are simply different versions of civilisation.

I interact with about 50 people during a normal day and none of them know that I have a concealed firearm on me and I hope they never have to find out

When I took Shakespeare classes in college, the professor told us not to try using English accents while reading aloud, saying that American English is closer to how it wouldve sounded back then. I dont know why he thought he needed to say that (guessing some goof-ball students from other semesters), but I found it amusing. 😂

I have to say I really enjoyed listening to the baby in the background. It was very cute.

There are apparently three trains a day from NYC to San Fransisco. It takes 3 days and 9 hours to get there (4100 km). Paris to Moscow is 3500km and only runs once a week.

Enjoyed this and felt it was pretty fair. So glad the point about each state having its own government and being almost like a separate country was brought up. I live in Texas which is far different than Maine or Missouri, for instance. Also, I live in a small town of under 7,000. There are three languages spoken here, and three cultures represented, including their food, festivals, customs, etc. This country is very diverse and it's impossible to say, "The US is______" (fill in the blank) because it's huge. TFS

Most people who carry a gun in the US carry it concealed. Open carry is much less common even in states where it is legal.

Hollywood has always had a bias against southerners

You can actually take trains that will take you from East Coast to West Coast. You do of course have to go to the larger cities to board these trains and you might have to transfer a couple times to get where you want to go, but there are trains that will take you from New York City to Los Angeles. As you said, our country is so large that some of our cities are nearly as big as some countries, so the concept of Public Transportation is a little different. There are "local" means of Public Transportation, such as subways and speed lines and local bus routes and then there are interstate means of Public Transportation such as Passenger Trains and Long distance buses commonly called inter-city buses or coach buses such as Trailways bus service.

For the no insurance thing i had to be hospitalized for dehydration i was seen in prompt time and the bill that came was a little over 6000 dollars

I've lived in places in the US that reach 125F (51 C) and in places that reached as low as -40F (same Celsius). The temperature in the United States (and that's just the lower 48) varies wildly. From hot, cold, dry, humid, etc.

If you get hurt in the U.S. people will go out of their way to help, render 1st aid, call emergency services (police, fire and medical) immediately descend upon you and take you nearest hospital even by helicopter (life flight) with proper facilities to treat you, from their trauma specialist surround you and tend to your needs, when can they collect vital information like people to contact to make decisions for you should you be unable to. Your life and welfare are the utmost importance, the money is not really a consideration, but travelers insurance is always a good idea ❤.

I am very low income now that I’ve retired due to some financial difficulties. But I don’t ever have to worry about getting medical care the matter fact, I am with a plan right now that I get everything paid for because I’m low income. I had wonderful medical care through my work my whole working life now I have Medicare, which is still great healthcare, even though many people downplay it and think it’s bad. People without any insurance can always get help in an emergency room or an urgent care center. They care for you first and then worry about if you have money second.

I almost commented on gun convo. But going straight to “nope we aren’t touching that” makes sense. Great job of explaining but not diving in

I am not a member of law enforcement in the U.S.A. but I work as an armed security guard, and I also teach firearms safety. People would be shocked to know 1 out of 10 people they meet on the street carry a concealed firearm, and you would never know it.

I had a close friend in college in the early 80's that was a refugee from Czechoslovakia. However he would always insist that he was Czech, NOT a Czechoslovak, so it didn't surprise me when it became two countries once the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist in the early 90's. As for Americans excessive patriotism, I never experienced that as a child growing up in the 60's in California. There was a lot of opposition to the Vietnam War and when Nixon ended the war and the troops came back, they were treated very badly by parts of the American public and many were spit upon. And in those days, the US military was not a volunteer military - we had the draft - so it was not their choice to fight in Vietnam. I think all the flag flying and respect for the volunteer military was a reaction to that horrible treatment of the Vietnam Vets when they came back home. It was like the American public was blaming the soldiers for losing the war when it was really the generals like Westmoreland who were deceiving the public. Add Watergate and then the oil shocks causing hyperinflation and the stagnation of the US economy, Americans were not feeling good about themselves or the country. The Nadir was the failed rescue attempt of our embassy hostages in Iran which doomed the Carter Presidency. The Reagan recovery, the success of the 84 Olympics and Reagan's optimism brought back some of the pride, but the first Gulf War is what drove it to where it is today. Americans did not want to repeat the mistakes of how they treated Vietnam Vets, but most pundits were predicting tens of thousands of US casualties, so when the final tally of less than 200 fatalities due to hostile action, the US public exploded with pride and that is where we are today.

Me and my wife were born in Portugal we live in the United States now We speak Spanish Portuguese English and French

The little one had a thing or two to say about the air and a few other topics. So sweet😊

Guns are a tough issue and I don’t blame you for not weighing in. Personally, I have been never held a gun and I know no one that owns a gun other than a few people who have hunting rifles. I’ve never seen anyone fire a gun in public. But then again, I live in the northeast.

There are more guns than people in the States. My first husband had one. My second husband had four. I have to assume that every household around me is armed. (BTW, in San Francisco there are more dogs than schoolchildren. And you cannot buy a gun in SF.)

The reason you don’t see all Americans wearing guns is because a lot of us are concealed carry and we don’t advertise the fact that we are carrying a firearm.

As of 1869, An American could take a train from NY to California. A lot faster now but the infrastructures been there for a while.

Over last summer my boyfriend got injured after getting laid off from his job. He had to go to hospital with no insurance. When the bill came he got a 75% off the bill for being an uninsured patient. It was actually cheaper than if he had insurance because of deductibles. I have insurance and can't afford an emergency.

This is the 2nd time that James said Southerners are farmers. That's actually a Midwestern stereotype since all of our farms are in the Midwest.

Why laugh at us for air condition? I live in Maine, east coast, US. It gets so damn humid you feel like you’re breathing water. Have that on a 100 degree day, you can get hospitalized. So why why why make fun of that?

a big part of it is that america is the place that everyone can complain about with almost no repercussions, while the vast majority of other countries, if people complain about them, face at least some repercussions

5:50 the longest train journey is Lagos, Portugal to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It is a 7,108 mi (11,440 km) journey that takes 10 days to complete (Note: it requires multiple connecting stops)

I'm 62... live in the South (US). I've heard guns. But, it has only been hunters or sports shooting (targets). I've NEVER heard a gun shot in malice.

There are very few Passenger only rails in the US. UPRR in Nebraska handles about 150 trains per day on their mainline, with 14-15,000 cars and sorts about 3000 car per day into new trains. And can change out bad wheels on cars in as little as 8-12 minutes. Then there are other RR in the state including the BNSF.

As far as America being "imperialistic" because of how many bases we have around the globe, I'm pretty sure 95%, if not more, of our bases are established on invitational basis. Meaning, the host government of said country wants our military presence in their country as a possible deterent toward a neighboring threat. And with most of our bases, comes jobs and an economic boost for the local towns. Just like the US Air Force at RAF Lakenheath in the UK, or Ramstein Air Base in Germany, or newly established US Army Poland which the Poles are paying for new barracks being built for the US Army there. Not to mention our bases in Japan and South Korea. We're not "imperialistic." People around the world tend to b*tch about America, but when sh*t hits the fan, well? Love y'all Brits. 😉🇺🇲🇬🇧

Love hearing the baby chime in 😊

True hospital can’t turn you away but you will get a bill that will last decades May have to mortgage your home. Medicine and health care: I have been on a medication 20 years,while working 30.00 month upon retirement 925.00. ( Copaxone) Many have to stop medication or go out of the country to purchase it. Please get travel insurance.

10:00 You are more likely to be hurt in France than in the US.

The U.S. has a rail system that used to be used by passengers across the country back in the horse and buggy days. It's mostly used to move products now, after cars were invented and became affordable and are much more comfortable, convenient, and cheaper.

Nice choice. One of the best comp videos I've seen in a while... definitely there for more of this dude

I really liked this video.

In my area it is not uncommon to see someone carrying a handgun, Every time I am outside the house on my property I am carrying a gun, You can even walk into the police station with a holstered gun, We even have a church where many carry a gun. The only time I do not carry is in a medical building or a school. Sometimes in a store I do not carry depending why I go there.

So nice to hear your little one join in now and then. Love you guys.

We have public tranport in my small town. But no one hardly uses it! I live close to town, about 20 minutes away.

One thing I don't think was emphasized enough was just how different laws can be from state to state. For instance, the state I live in has permitless carry, where no permit is needed to carry a firearm concealed. Go one state west and not only do you have to have a permit to carry concealed, but the state is looking at passing laws banning the ownership of certain firearms that are in common usage throughout the nation. Taking my legally carried firearm and traveling one foot over that state line and I am instantly breaking that state's laws.

I was hospitalized for a week a few years ago. Not ICU, no surgery, not even an ambulance (which can run $1,000-$2,000 alone). The bill was more than $82,000.

Czechoslovakia became the Czech Republic and Slovakia although the Czechoslovakia name is only used as the name for the alliance between these two countries in the UN. Basically it’s a small verbal agreement that basically states that if something happens to either country the other would help in any way it could. It’s the same with Yugoslavia which broke apart although one country is creating a sort of alliance on the UN level. It’s the same deal except with some extras like avoiding Russia, or doing certain tasks that might toe the line between the right politics and the wrong politics.

Health care here in America is not based on whether you have insurance or not. They will take care of you first, then ask for payment. It's true that healthcare is not cheap, but if, for some reason, you can't pay, they will work with you even going so far as to get you insurance coverage. I have never been turned away from getting taken care of, and usually the question of whether you have insurance or not comes later on.

Also about guns, every time my brother in law from Cardiff comes over to the US for a visit, all he wants to do is shoot because it's fun heh

The imperialistic thing....hmm. I mean if not for our forces being on lots of other countries, we wouldn't be to help sauid countries as fast if a war breaks out. Our forces kinda helps bring some peace by saying "If you want to mess with this country, don't forget we have forces there and will defend them from you!" It's more of a deterrent.

I have visited Europe 5 times, and always have this exchange: “What about xxx event in America?” “What about xxx event on (next city over).” 9/10, the person doesn’t know the headline in the neighboring city’s news or something that happened in their own city that day. Then you embarrass them for not even knowing their own country, but they are listening to a professional media organization that spends more on market research than your country spends on its military - and they don’t even understand our culture.

About guns, there are often-quoted statistics about how there are more guns than adults in the US, and this picture gets painted that everyone in the US has a gun. A majority of the guns in the US are owned by two very distinct groups: people who live in more rural areas and hunt, and criminals in cities. In the UK, criminals in the cities also have guns, same for every other major city in the world. The rural contingent in the US is the only part that's very different from the rest of the world, many of the rural folks own 5 or more guns per household. That's why what he said is true; a majority of people in the US have never even seen a gun in real life, or even heard one fired.

I hate to tell him he has n0 idea who is carrying a weapon. It is many more than he thinks

The UK has priced common people off the trains

I love trains. LMFAO Get it? Cho Cho

About public transportation, there is a LOT of variation on that in different parts of the country. In Michigan it is almost non-existent outside the three largest cities, with poor or no public transportation options to get from one city to the other, and absolutely no public transportation to get you to the smaller and mid-size cities and towns. Often, no public transportation between suburbs and cities either. Since the US is 97% rural area, you can accurately say that a majority of the US has no public transportation at all, BUT, only 15% of Americans actually live in rural areas. The real public transportation problem for most people is about getting from or to a rural area, from or to a city.

My mom came from Lincolnshire with dad from Glasgow to America in the 50s. She had always heard that our streets were paved in gold. A euphanism of course. She thought it was true and was looking for the gold roads. So naiive

Not all Americans walk around carrying firearms. Brandon Herrera, Hold My Whiteclaw, and TFE walk into a bar. 😎

No one can fault you for any stereotyping the south. The south is actually a stickler for hospitality towards most. As far as the" hillbillies of the Apalachicola area have been always been thought of ignorance and the like, but in actuality the area was settled by, I believe, the Dutch, and were very well spoken in proper English and education. However they have gone through a lot, that is beyond a comment here. Nice video guys. C ya

Us federal law states that no hospital can deny service to a person in need of assistance. They can charge you obsenly after but they MUST allow care.

I agree with everything except public transportation. Yes, some larger cities or metropolitan areas have good public transportation, but I'd say most of the US doesn't.

Regarding the Gun thing… I've met many people from other countries who seem to think that all Americans own guns, but the fact is that only about one third of Americans own guns.

If i ever meet somebody no matter where theyre from im a friend for life if u have fed me before lol

The Guard in time of war fall under the command of The Department of Defense [yes, we use S where you use C]

You two are pretty wise.

I taught US and military History at the University level. I used to hammer the students with the fact that the US is a group of 50 countries, called States, that have their own government, police forces, and militaries, economics and cultures. This group of 50 countries is under a single umbrella called a Republic, and has a central government whose primary job is supposed to be to maintain a National military, negotiate international trade, and handle Foreign affairs. Unfortunately 😃this has changed drastically over the years.

Phoenix Arizona is in the desert last year there was 52 days of 110° Fahrenheit so air-conditioner is mandatory

Big Cities have public transport. However, you go to remote areas..not so.

Imagine being in a country where it gets to around 39C with a humidity index of 93%

I do live in an open carry state and frankly I love being able to carry if I want. I also have a concealed carry permit so I don't have to show my gun but can still be able to protect myself if I want. I do hear gun fire almost every day. But to be fair I live in the country and there are coyotes around here so people are protecting their farm animals. If you'd like you could stop in on your visit and I can let you shoot a gun. However you'd better off at a firing range which could also be arranged.

I lived in Chicago until I was 31 and never went for my drivers license because it didn’t make sense with how good public transportation was. I even moved into a suburb just bordering Chicago and the public transportation was just the same, but then I had a job were public transportation was impossible and learned to drive.

The train that crosses state lines I wouldn’t call public transportation. Public transport is within city boundaries like trams or subways and buses

The US Imperialistic comes from the US having 750 military based in over 80 countries. No other country comes even close.

We have trains that you can take across the country. They’re just not as fast as other countries they’re more scenic and slower. I’ve always wanted to take one across country.

In America there's a law, a hospital can't deny service, so if paramedics find a hurt person, they must transport them to the nearest hospital, then they must provide services. They had to do this because there was a time when they could refuse service, that's no longer the case Though since then American debt has risen, and though we can't contribute it to all hospital debt, there is still the factor that when a person dies they tend to leave a huge debt behind them. At the same time many also go into bankruptcy because with continuing medical issues, there debt keeps rising. I'm not an advocate for either side, there's a lot you have to learn when you become disabled, so I've had to learn a lot from out patient advocates, which is always provided if you know where to find them.

So.....National Basketball Soccer?!!

Dear Beesleys, wow! This is my 1st time watching you. You're great. Once we became our own nation, we tried to create our laws as the Swiss has, especially when it comes to firearms. Go to visit them, and you will probably hear about the next shooting competition is. Nearly every town has them. Our crazies are on both ends of the left and rights. They actually help our comedians with fresh materials. I will finish with our imperialism as we last expanded in 1899, I believe, after going to war with Spain. We picked up a couple of islands in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. I loved your comments and enjoyed your video. God's Blessings, Irish

Our own politicians go on TV and social media and say how terrible it is... To try and claim that they can fix it. It's all BS. The best thing that could happen was the politicians shut their faces and let the rest of us get along with business. Things are looking good here.

Medical bills in the USA cant gain intrest. That means you might have a ginormous bill but as long as you make SOME sort of payment you're fine, and you can pretty much tell the hospital what you can pay a month. I paid 20$ a month once for a bill. It took me a long time to pay it off, but with no interest, it's possible to pay off one day. And if the amount you can pay ever changes that's fine too. You can lower your payment, and also there's no penalty for paying more a month than required. No one will EVER be denied medical care here.

This video was one of the best misconceptions about the United States videos I've seen. Most of these misconceptions and stereotypes do come from our biased media and entertainment industries. Even a lot of the statistics and polls are from biased institutions.

21:11 other than military or law enforcement, I’ve only seen one person open carrying in my entire 41 years in the US, and I live in KY!

These guys planning a Texas trip right as it's about to explode.

Here's the deal. Legal gun owners who follow the law, own LOTS of guns. As a gun owner most only use it at the shooting range, or other designated places to shoot. Hunting season, but there are even FEWER hunters. The stereotype is guns are everywhere. NOT true.

I can't take a train from Bangor Maine to Boston but we used to be able to.

Also add, Euros generally pay MUCH more in taxes than most in the USA. So much so that if I moved to the UK I would pay an additional $70,000/year. Oh I forgot about getting "free" healthcare for that $70,000.00 in the UK. LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Within cities and from cities to suburbs we have good public transport. But it’s hard to take the train from a city to an obscure town somewhere. Thats where Europe is better. But then again, we have so much space.