If you are coming to the United States from another country, there are a lot of things that are different in the USA that you may not know of. We learned them during our 2 month trip in America. We went through 16 states and Canada-now we are writing what we learned here so you know before you get to the USA!
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1. There are different state laws. Unlike European countries where there (usually) is one set of laws that apply to the entire country, there are different laws in every state. Speed limits are different depending on where in the country you are, gambling may or may not be legal, cannabis is legal in some states but possession of it in other states may get you in big trouble. If you’re traveling across many states, look up before you go what you can and can’t do before you cross the state line.
2. There are Billboards every five meters. You will see every kind of advertising you can think of right next to the road. “Guns saves lives”, “Tell your doctor to give you this antidepressant”, “Jesus is our saviour”, “Don’t cook meth”, “next McDonalds in 2 miles, right next to every other fast food chain you can think of”
3. Huge sizes. Cars, buildings, people, food. Everything is bigger than you would expect.
4. Camping is not allowed unless in camping areas where you have to pay. Although we never had a problem finding a place somewhere next to the road where we could just park over the night and get going in the morning. We heard stories of policemen showing up and just asking people to drive away, but that did not happen to us. Unless the officer is in a bad mood you will most likely not have any big problems sleeping for free.
5. Taxes not included on prizes in supermarkets. You won’t know how much to pay until you’re actually at the cashier.
6. Tipping. Employees in service businesses often have a fairly bad salary and tipping is where they make money. Really confusing for us but you might get in to it better than we did. Expected tipping for a sit down dinner: 15-20%
7. Fastest and shortest way is usually not the same. The GPS might say one way and the map might show another. We followed the GPS once and it took us on a 10-hour detour. So look at the map, and don’t just trust the GPS.
8. Hostels, especially in cities, are usually fully booked long in advance. If you’re planning to visit a major city, don’t just show up and hope for the best. We spent three hours driving around in San Francisco and two more walking before we found the a not so nice and most overpriced hotel room. In major cities, always book in advance!
9. Border crossing to Canada. Remember that it’s two different countries with entirely different laws when it comes to weapons/alcohol/tobacco. Also declare everything you have in the car. We forgot about some cases of beer and some bottles of booze + a can of pepper spray. Long story short, the friendly border officers took our stuff, let us go without any charges but we are now flagged in Canada until 2022.
10. In some cities there are more cops than in any other place in the world but on highways there are actually not as many as you would expect. We never got pulled over or had any trouble with the law enforcement so sadly we can’t give more advice when it comes to cops.
11. Gas is really cheap in comparison to European standards; sadly most Americans are not aware of this. And junk food. Junk food is really cheap.
12. Buy an annual pass to National Parks. If you’re going to visit more than 3 National Parks the annual pass will pay for itself. It’s valid for a year and you can enter every national park in the country
Extra:
Be aware of the f**king killer bears. They will eat your face and may rip off the doors of your car if they can see food inside. This is a tip for you, but also will help save the bears. A bear that gets too used to humans will eventually get shot by park officials because it’s a danger to us. So for the bears’ sake and your own, stay away from them and hide all your food. Always hike in groups and make noise. Around every trail you will find a big board with guides of which animals are in the area and how to behave if you see them. Don’t be stupid, keep safe.
