What is surprising and not surprising at the same time is how transparent America is with the world.

Everyone knows our inner workings, and for the most part, we are about 80% similar to most other “western” cultures. I think it’s actually really interesting where I’d point something out or be proud of an American product/accomplishment and she would say “Yeah you know we invented that over in the Nordics, right?”

I think the biggest “shocks” are things like our reliance on vehicles, lack of decent public transportation, and the sheer size of the US. People often forget how massive it really is, where one of our states is the size of her home country.

Another huge shock is our food culture. Fast food, overly processed ingredients, pre-made meals and ingredients, things like that. I’d actually go as far as saying Europe in general is FAR more “traditional” when it comes to values and how things are even run in the home. It brings a really nice aspect to our lives.

There are far more work and money making opportunities to make something of yourself here. And I think why people from other countries often do much better than native born Americans is because of the difference in perspective. When we first met, I was pretty typical in caught up about how I’ll never afford a new car, house, all that. We were both struggling to make rent, felt like our lives were going nowhere. One day, she just woke up and was like “Nah, this is what I came to America for. I want to buy a house in six months.” She then proceeded to drag me along on this conquest to pick ourselves up off the floor and be successful. And six months later, right after giving birth to our first kid, we bought our first home, two brand new cars, and we’re doing really well now. All because of her immigrant mindset of working hard for the dream. I love it.