French YouTuber Lucile admits she landed in the United States carrying a backpack full of clichés. In a recent video, she walks through the assumptions she held as a European – and what survived contact with reality after living and working in the U.S. and visiting 15 states. Below are ten stereotypes she believed, how her experiences confirmed or debunked them, and a bit of my own commentary on why these ideas persist.
1) Patriotism Everywhere (and a Bit of “World-Center” Energy)
Lucile says the first thing that stunned her was how visible patriotism is. Flag-lined streets, Fourth of July decor, the national anthem at ballgames, even the daily Pledge of Allegiance in schools – none of that is common in France. She found a lot of it charming (Chicago’s suburban July 4th décor hooked her), while also noticing how polarized Americans can be about their own country. She also encountered the occasional “America is the center of the world” moment – like thinking dollars work in Paris (they don’t). My take: patriotic rituals feel louder in the U.S. because they’re woven into everyday life. That doesn’t mean blind nationalism; it just means the symbols are onstage.
2) Americans Are Bad at Geography
We’ve all seen “name any country” street interviews. Lucile is skeptical of those gotchas – but she has run into a recurring, awkward mix-up: people hear about her French-Spanish background and later confidently introduce her as Mexican. She emphasizes that these are educated, well-meaning folks, which makes the error more puzzling. She chalks some of it up to listening, not just geography. And she gives Americans grace: the United States is enormous, with 50 states to memorize before you even look abroad. Fair point. Many Europeans couldn’t place U.S. counties on a map either. The lesson isn’t that Americans are uniquely clueless; it’s that everyone has geographic blind spots, especially outside their own daily context.
3) Americans Don’t Travel
Lucile says this one was flat-out wrong. The old “only 10% have passports” line is outdated, and she notes that a large share of Americans have visited at least one other country. The difference, in her view, is volume and proximity: Europeans rack up stamps because going abroad can be as easy as a weekend drive. The Netherlands to Belgium? Bikeable. Meanwhile, most Americans have just two neighboring countries, and flights beyond that get pricey fast. Given the U.S.’s size and variety, domestic trips scratch the wanderlust itch—hiking in Ithaca may replace a Barcelona weekend simply because distances are vast. My read: travel isn’t just culture; it’s geography and budgets conspiring together.
4) No One Speaks Another Language
This, Lucile says, is “not entirely true.” The U.S. was built on immigration, and roughly one in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home. That aligns with what she encountered: multilingual families and rich immigrant communities. She also notes that plenty of Americans begin learning languages later, even if they didn’t start in school. The stereotype likely sticks because English dominates global media, which can make Americans seem linguistically insulated. But look a layer deeper – in neighborhoods, churches, groceries, and community centers – and you’ll hear Spanish, Chinese dialects, Arabic, Vietnamese, French Creole, and more.
5) Healthcare Will Bankrupt You
Friends warned Lucile not to “break a leg” in America. Her real-world test case was far milder: an ear infection at urgent care cost her $300 out-of-pocket before insurance reimbursement. That bill rattled her – especially compared to a similar visit in Paris that cost her €0 with insurance, or roughly $26 if she’d paid cash. She’s seen both ends of the U.S. spectrum: friends skipping dental care entirely because they can’t afford it, and luxury clinics sending moms home with Chanel goodie bags after delivery. Her verdict: anxiety is baked into the American system, because prices vary and outcomes depend on your employer-based plan. It’s not a moral failing; it’s a structural one. And her relief at France’s predictability is telling.
6) Everyone Sues Everyone
From a European vantage point, the U.S. can look like the Wild West of litigation – billboards for injury lawyers, constant waivers, viral “crazy lawsuit” headlines. Lucile zeroes in on the infamous McDonald’s hot-coffee case, which she learned was far more serious than the punchline suggests: an elderly woman suffered third-degree burns and initially asked mainly for her medical bills. Media caricature, she says, turned a legitimate claim into a national joke. That’s the pattern: extreme, telegenic cases define the stereotype. In everyday life, the few lawsuits she’s seen were for good reasons. My view: when healthcare is expensive and liability carries real costs, courts become a venue for sorting who pays. That’s not unique to the U.S., but the spectacle often is.
7) American Food Is All Junk
Lucile came in skeptical – Europe’s main “contact” with U.S. cuisine is often global fast-food chains. Then Southern fried chicken changed everything. In Atlanta, she met a chef whose 1945 recipe involves overnight marinating and careful craft, and she fell for chicken-and-waffles (a pairing that makes many Europeans faint). Her broader takeaway: the U.S. is a continent-sized pantry of regional traditions – barbecue styles, Cajun and Creole, Tex-Mex, Pacific Northwest seafood, New England bakeries – plus a staggering range of immigrant cuisines cooked by people who import spices and keep recipes authentic. My addition: if your sample size is only KFC and Olive Garden, you’re not sampling America – you’re sampling corporations.
8) Work Is Life (and Side Hustles Are a Given)
“Always on” is how Lucile describes the American relationship to work – emails, side hustles, monetizing passions. She’s careful to point out necessity (people juggle jobs to make rent) as well as culture (entrepreneurial itch). In France, she knows many talented hobbyists who never feel pressure to sell their art; in the U.S., there’s a stronger current pulling you to “make it a business.” It’s neither good nor bad in the abstract – it’s a different set of incentives. The upside is dynamism and opportunity; the downside is burnout and blurred boundaries. Her observation fits what many immigrants say: the American escalator moves fast, but you have to keep walking.
9) Relentlessly Optimistic and Outgoing
Small talk took practice, Lucile says, but now she loves it. That default friendliness – holding doors, chatty cashiers, “How’s your day going?” – adds a layer of daily lightness, especially for someone from a culture that’s more reserved. Optimism can seem naïve to Europeans; to Americans, it’s social grease and a form of civic courtesy. Is it universal? Of course not. But as a baseline vibe, cheerful pragmatism is as American as a diner coffee refill. And Lucile’s experience echoes a common pattern: what feels superficial at first eventually reads as hospitality.
10) Everything Is Big – Really Big
On this one, Lucile says the stereotype is entirely true. Highways, cars, houses, portion sizes – plus the one big thing that makes all the other “big” possible: distance. She once took the train from New York to San Francisco and it was a three-day odyssey. That scale explains a lot of earlier stereotypes: why Americans travel domestically, why cars trump trains, why a four-hour drive gets you to Ithaca instead of another country. It also reframes “American excess” as a logistical response to geography. Big spaces encourage big stuff – no conspiracy needed.
Do Americans Think They’re the Center of the World?
Lucile tucks this idea into her patriotism section, but it’s worth pulling out. The U.S. exports so much culture – movies, news, apps – that it can feel omnipresent abroad. That feedback loop (the world watches America; America assumes the world runs on America) produces the occasional blooper, like offering dollars in Paris. But Lucile’s audience, people who actively seek cultural understanding, proves the opposite is common, too. Curiosity cuts both ways. Her advice is universal: read up before you go anywhere, and assume things work differently than they do at home.
What Survives the Stereotype Test
After living and working in the U.S. and visiting 15 states, Lucile lands in a nuanced place. Some clichés are real (visible patriotism, XXL scale), some are myths (Americans don’t travel, all food is bad), and most are context-dependent (healthcare, litigation, languages, work tempo). Her closing sentiment is generous: the U.S. is a great place to be from – flawed like every nation, but rich in culture, energy, and possibility. My two cents: the fastest way to dissolve a stereotype is to replace it with a story – your own, preferably. Lucile did exactly that, and her observations remind Europeans and Americans alike to trade sweeping claims for lived detail.
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Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.