26 Signs That You've Been Americanized - Live Work Travel USA|Live Work Travel USA
search
top

26 Signs That You’ve Been Americanized

Every now and then I catch myself or my wife with something that we didn’t do back in Germany. Something very American. So I thought it would be funny to list a few things that expats sometimes copy, because they are getting slowly but surely Americanized. I actually just wanted to do a “5 Signs” series, but as soon as I started my list I couldn’t stop. If you’re American and easily offended, please read this instead.

1. You complain about how expensive gas is.

2. You idle your car while eating lunch, windows closed, A/C at 70 degrees on a perfect day in Spring.

3. You’re driving an oversized SUV to be safer on the roads. (If a big car collides with a small car, who wins?)

4. You’re spending money, that you haven’t earned yet.

5. You carry more than 3 credit cards.

6. Your TV is running 24/7.

7. You’re ordering ice with every beverage.

8. You enjoy drinking light, ice cold beer with no crown.

9. You drive to your friend’s house 2 blocks down the road.

10. You never turn off your porch light.

11. You set up Christmas decoration like there’s no tomorrow.

12. You start liking Baseball.

13. You think about the sport with helmets when somebody is talking football.


InterNations.org

14. You own at least one American flag.

15. You just enrolled in a college savings plan.

16. You order your pizza with triple cheese.

17. You’re chatting to complete strangers.

18. You’re wearing flip flops in winter.

19. You buy a gun to protect your home from terrorists.

20. You just got fired and your first thought is how to sue your employer.

21. You say “Excuse Me” for no reason.


I could go on and on, but want to leave some for you to mention. How many of these 26 signs have you noticed on yourself? Please let me know in the comments! Also, please send me your signs of “Americanization”. I’m going to add the good ones to my list as Bonus Signs.

Photo credit: JD Hancock / Foter / CC BY

Opt In Image
Expat Tools right into your Inbox
I hate spam as much as you do.

I'll send you updates about the latest posts about twice a month. On top of that you’ll get access to my Ultimate USA Tipping Guide as well as the Expat Cuisine eBook.

6 Responses to “26 Signs That You’ve Been Americanized”

  1. Christian says:

    Lol, we only complain about how high gas prices are because we are still shocked about the fact that gas prices basically tripped compared to what it was compared to just a decade ago…gas was only 99¢ a gallon for regular across the nation from the late 1980’s to the early 2000’s…When I was 9 years old back in 2001, it was a hot summer day and I was sitting in the car at a gas station here in Chino Hills, California, waiting for my dad to finish filling the car when I remember I was bored and staring at the gas station sign and I remember noticing that the price for a regular gallon of gasoline was $1.38…of course, California has always had above average prices for gasoline compared to the national average…gas maybe now $3.50 a gallon nationally, but it’s more than $4 a gallon here… Here’s a historical chart of national average gas prices from 1918-2012, this chart also shows the price adjusted for inflation in 2012 dollars: http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/images/charts/Oil/Gasoline_inflation_chart.htm

    • Dan says:

      Thanks for sharing, Christian. In Germany it’s about 8 bucks a gallon when I do the math. So, you’re still getting gas fairly cheap.

  2. Laura says:

    Ha! This is hysterical! My husband and I found your blog this morning and are enjoying reading through it. We were both born, raised and live in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s nice to know, not everyone hates America and Americans. Sometimes it feels like that is all we hear from the media, etc. Thanks! Whew!

  3. petra_Joel@yahoo.com says:

    After living in the US for 20+ years (I’m British/German)I still can’t say yes to any of the listed items. Not sure if that is a good or not good thing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

top