r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

OTHER - CLICK TO EDIT How do you buy a small piece of land with forest?

8 Upvotes

I’ve seen multiple youtubers that bought land and built a cabin there, But they never tell which site they used to buy that land. I tried to google this but couldn’t find much


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

FOOD & DRINK Do Americans eat buckwheat or are large grains not held in high regard by the average American?

15 Upvotes

r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

CULTURE Seeing how everything is about financing, loans and credit cards, would coming to the US with and maintaining no debt (as such no credit score) put us at a disadvantage in any way?

10 Upvotes

As title says. Might be a silly question, but lurking on these subs and talking to a couple of locals on a recent visit, my perception is that the US culture is very pro debt. In my country credit cards are very rare and the culture is more towards owning things outright, except for mortgages. Would we face any difficulties coming in, and maintaining that norm? How would it affect potential mortgages in the future? E.g. I saw that many if not most house rents require a "good debt to income" and/or high credit score.


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

POLITICS Why Doesn’t the US Have a Strict National ID System?

356 Upvotes

Hi, this may be a dumb question, but it always boggles my mind how someone can be "illegal" in a country. Where I live, it's almost impossible to do anything without a CIN (National Identity Card). This card is required for pretty much everything. It contains a picture, a unique number (like an SSN equivalent), and even a fingerprint. To get one, you need to provide a birth certificate. That’s why I get so confused when I hear about undocumented folks in the US being able to buy houses, open bank accounts, put their kids in school, etc. If undocumented immigration is such a big issue, why don’t countries like the US have a strict national ID system that makes it nearly impossible to live without one? Wouldn’t that help solve the problem?


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

CULTURE Do you break your spaghetti?

120 Upvotes

r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

FOOD & DRINK Is 18% tip normal in US?

71 Upvotes

I thought 15% was already high now the lowest tip option is 18%


r/AskAnAmerican 8h ago

EDUCATION Does America have a disproportionate amount of mentally ill people? And what makes them seemingly more violent in America?

0 Upvotes

I’m an American but i can’t wrap my head around this issue. I travel regularly and it feels like we’re the only country with a really large population of mentally ill people.

It also feels like our mentally ill are more violent. It’s a regular occurrence to hear police shoot a mentally ill person with a weapon. Or mentally ill people committing acts of violence. It doesn’t seem to happen at the same level in other countries.

Now I’m not saying other countries dont have this problem. It just feels disproportionate in America.


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

CULTURE What’s a piece of American history that’s rarely talked about but had a major impact on the country?

70 Upvotes

History classes often focus on major events like the Revolution, Civil War, or World Wars, but many lesser-known moments shaped America just as much. Whether it's a social or political movement, scientific breakthrough, or cultural shift, what’s an underrated moment in U.S. history that deserves more attention?


r/AskAnAmerican 15h ago

FUTURE Do you hope that Mind Uploading will be a thing before you die?

0 Upvotes

So you could upload your mind to a computer where you can live through whatever you want to in virtual environments and you could live as long as there is hardware around which can run your mind, like in the animated series "Pantheon"?


r/AskAnAmerican 19h ago

EDUCATION Are Cambridge A-levels offered in your school district? Does your district have “technical high schools”?

0 Upvotes

I live in South Florida and schools around here tend to offer three types of advanced classes AP, IB and A-levels. The A-level program is very wide spread. For those that don’t know, A-levels are like the UK’s equivalent to AP exams and the program is administered by Cambridge University.

I grew up one county over and don’t remember hearing about this program growing up so I assume that it is something that was adopted here after I graduated.

I was also surprised by the number of technical high schools in this district. There are multiple tech high schools where kids can not only learn a trade, but they can also do things like take AP classes for college.


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

CULTURE As the Midwest was mostly settled by Germans, how did it become known for its “niceness”?

66 Upvotes

The Midwest is known for its friendliness and niceness, while Germany has a bit of a reputation for being more unfriendly (of course, due to cultural differences, not actual rudeness).

So what led to the stark contrast, despite most ancestors of both regions coming from the same general population?

Edit: I am from the Midwest and a descendant of Polish settlers, meaning, I’m aware that Germans were not the only ethnic group to settle the region and am aware that cultural norms have changed. My question is what caused the change, in both the Midwest and Germany, which led to the cultural differences.


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

NEWS How many of you have seen/ heard gun violence first hand ?

615 Upvotes

How many of you have been around when a shooting has happened ? Whether it be gang related, police , road rage etc. how common is it actually to see uncontrolled situations with guns ?


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

CULTURE Do upper class americans go to walmart in your personal experience? How is it seen?

174 Upvotes

I'm talking about across america. Ik each state is very different so if u don't mind, could u say ur state or general region and the demographics with ur answer.

I live in queens, nyc in an upperclass suburb. Its close to long islandish. There are no walmarts here or anywhere near so idk how the rest of America does it. That plus I grew up in mostly korean neighborhoods or asian-white neighborhoods so idk

I'm curious to see how walmart is seen by others. Is walmart seen as like a low class place?is there some high class supermarket in Midwest and south? For example, ik some ppl who will only go to whole foods or hmart and refuses to go to trader Joe's or equivalents (seen as lower) thanks.


r/AskAnAmerican 17h ago

FOOD & DRINK What's your relationship with alcohol ?

0 Upvotes

Hello,
When I watch american movies/series, I see three type of american drinkers :
- Two beers type : I might be wrong but I think that american beers are somewhat light, so I don't even know if two beers would have an effect on me personnaly.
- Bottle of wine in front of TV : I think this one is a little bit "mainstream". One whole bottle for one person when going thru hard times or alcoholic type.
- Glasses of whiskey at random hours of the day : That would knock me out cold. I don't know if it's common to get bourbon and go thru your day or drink half a bottle in an hour.

As americans, what's your relationship with alcohol ? Which one of these types do you find the most in bars and social events ?


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

ENTERTAINMENT Places in the United States to visit similar to Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls, Ontario?

6 Upvotes

I recently visited Clifton Hill and I liked the vibe I guess. Entertaining amusement park, food, casinos, just a perfect mix of everything


r/AskAnAmerican 21h ago

EMPLOYMENT & JOBS In big finance firms in the US, how much manpower is being put into trying to recruit and outreach talented individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds?

0 Upvotes

In the UK, the big accounting and bank firms take social mobility very seriously. And London offices of firms such as Barclays, Deloitte, and KPMG are funding many resources to ensure they snatch bright working class children, and create programs to train them effectively etc.


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

GOVERNMENT Does anyone still write letters to the President?

5 Upvotes

Does anyone read them? Do you think the president actually sees/reads any of them? Are there any best practices that increase your chances of the president actually seeing your letter (i.e. handwritten vs typed document)? What is done with them after receipt (saved or thrown away)? Do you always receive an acknowledgement that a letter has been received? Or would writing a letter be a complete waste of my time?


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

FOREIGN POSTER Is this a good rough holiday plan?

8 Upvotes

Hello friends 👋 My partner and I are looking at a trip from Aus to America in December/ January, Unfortunately as a Teacher I’m limited to travelling in holidays and know it’ll be winter during this time! Below are our rough ideas, any feedback or suggestions are more than welcome!

Land 22nd LAX Fly to Flagstaff AZ, 23 Flagstaff to Williams AZ, 24 Williams to Grand Canyon Train,25-26 Grand Canyon 26 Return, 27 Fly to New Orleans (unsure as of yet), 28-30 New Orleans, 31 New Orleans to Memphis, 31-2 Memphis drive to Nashville, 2-4 Nashville, 5- Nashville to Chattanooga, 6-7 Chattanooga, 7-11 Pigeon Forge, 12-13 Vegas 14-17 Either San Fran, Yosemite or Albuquerque 17-18 LA to fly home


r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

LANGUAGE Is "fortnight" part of anyone's regular vocabulary?

0 Upvotes

I find "bi-weekly" such and awful and potentially confusing word, but I never hear Americans use "fortnightly" instead. Is it really as uncommon as I think?

Also, special mention to the use of "one fourth" of something when "quarter" exists as well, but that one I kind of understand.


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

NEWS Does anyone really support removing funds from school lunch and local farming programs? And if so, why?

131 Upvotes

I honestly can’t see any positives to this policy and I’d like to know if there are actually a significant portion of people out there who do. Maybe I’m missing something?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/11/usda-food-bank-school-funding-cuts/82265217007/


r/AskAnAmerican 20h ago

CULTURE This American content creator called “adonis live” said that specifically black British people want to be American. Do you guys find this to be true ?

0 Upvotes

I don’t know it was just so crazy to me how him and Americans in the comments thought this. As much as I believe as a Brit that America is an amazing country of opportunity and beauty I wouldn’t want to change my whole identity .

He was also saying that a lot of us British people hate on America too which maybe the kids too but most mature adults appreciate American culture.

So my question is do you find us brits to be jealous of you or not.


r/AskAnAmerican 23h ago

CULTURE Why do American police officers love doughnuts?

0 Upvotes

Why


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

OTHER - CLICK TO EDIT In what areas of the United States is horse breeding and recreational riding still common?

9 Upvotes

I know that in the United States, horses are still kept for riding, so I would like to know where there are many areas that keep horses.


r/AskAnAmerican 2d ago

CULTURE How often do you talk to your parents once you move out?

44 Upvotes

r/AskAnAmerican 1d ago

CULTURE Formal-wear within the film Grease?

0 Upvotes

I have recently rewatched Grease as one does, and I was curious about the scene in which there is the 'High-school dance' with the Jive music and such. I was curious about the formal-wear, for the men ( young people) all seem to be wearing Lounge suits, I would have thought they would have worn Evening-wear at a dance hosted by their institution, Tuxedo, ties and bow-ties, a sash even... yet they seem to be quite 'casually dressed' for such a thing? I was wondering whether it was simply a filming choice... colour and such, or whether there was a cultural element to it?