Some great observations in this thread.
I've been living in Sweden for 10 years now and I can clearly see the difference now---though I very well did before I moved from Silicon Valley during the apex of the boom---the good old Clinton days
First, America is one of the most diverse countries in the world, so to try and define Americans this way is an injustice. Having said that, the OP does indeed apply to the middle class and up...and the lower class to an extent. It's living the American Dream...or pretending to hahaha.
It's funny, I'll ask my best friend in California how so and so is doing, and the first that comes out of his mouth is "well, he's doing great, he's making this amount of money, has this <insert fancy (maybe exaggerated) job title here>, and just bought a new car." Ha! I asked how he was doing, like emotionally and something more substantive and less mundane than his business career or acquired material possessions. I can care less unless he or she happens to be an overnight millionaire.
In any case, the majority of Americans and Europeans define themselves by their jobs. Notice that's the first thing people ask you when you first meet them? "What do you do?" It drives me nuts in the sense that I'd rather get to know a person better before I ask what they do. Personally, I can care less. I'll only ask that question if I sense they are good and real people.
Moving on, yes, Americans are a bit more like this, but it's nothing blatant by the majority of people. Just the go-getters who thrive on projecting a certain image---go to Los Angeles, they're the kings of projecting images. Image is everything hahaha. And you know what, some people value those who have an acquired wealth in America. That's how it is. Some of those wealthy people worked really hard for that and came from the depths of hell to be successful, so naturally they are going to boast a bit about it. It's the
American Californian way
And I'll say American tourists are really obnoxious when I see my fellow American citizens out here in Europe. They're extremely loud and arrogant. Not all of them, but I've seen a lot of them.And the store owners here love American tourists---they know who has the deep pockets and who will do the excessive purchasing.
/end of my observations
</It's your favorite foreign movie!!!>
why do Americans always speak about MONEY?: click here to read the entire thread »