Depending on what country you came from, you may be surprised about the differences and common activities Americans enjoy.
Overall, Americans are pretty active and social, with plenty of events to participate in or holidays to celebrate.
Some of these activities may already be common to you but we were pleasantly surprised by some of them.
Please keep in mind that this is not an entire list of what many Americans love to do.
It is rather a Top 5 list of what we observed Americans enjoy doing that was different from the countries we came from!
Now, let’s talk about the Top 5 Activities that Americans enjoy:
1. Barbeque (BBQ)
If this isn’t a typical American thing, then we don’t know what is!
BBQs are a big part of American Culture and they are pretty darn good at it!
American grills can be small or really big and fire up with gas or charcoal. Some may use a Smoker, which slowly cooks your food over several hours and gives it an extra “smoky” flavor that many enjoy (including us).
You can even buy Wooden Chips to give your food a specific flavor. Delicious!
We didn’t really BBQ much (or not that good) until we got here so that was a win ?
Oh, by the way: This country loves to BBQ all year long, not just in the summer!
Sometimes you will see people outside in their winter jackets firing up their grill like they are unstoppable – no matter how cold it is!
Rule of thumb: If it isn’t raining, we can grill 😀
However, Americans love their BBQ so much, you may see them grilling inside of their garage with the door open when it’s RAINING.
Yup, we witnessed it! Not sure how safe this is but we call it dedication!
2. Neighborhood Activities
Neighbors in America like to get together a lot.
No matter if it is for a block party, a BBQ that you spontaneously get invited to – or a holiday that neighbors want to celebrate together.
Sometimes, when the neighborhood is big enough, they may arrange Food and Concert Events where neighbors just bring their foldable chairs to enjoy the program and interact with other neighbors.
Where some of us came from neighbors mostly stay in their space and don’t really interact unless you get lucky.
Where we originally come from, our neighbors usually didn’t say much more than “Hello” or “Good morning”.
We have NEVER seen such friendly neighborhood interactions like in the USA before and absolutely love it!
3. Sports
Football, Basketball, and Baseball are probably the Top 3 sports in this country and many Americans take it very seriously.
This was news to us since most of the world is into Soccer (the actual “football”).
You will see gigantic stadiums for sports games and thousands of people paying a lot of money for tickets during the season.
The vibes at these games are pretty strong and impressive!
Many Americans have their favorite teams, mostly based on where they grew up or what they consider their home State/hometown.
Some American employers even let employees wear their teams Football jerseys to represent their team on Fridays, pretty fun!
4. Potlucks
Potlucks are get-togethers where Americans bring their home-cooked food to share with others. Americans host potlucks everywhere:
At work, with friends, at organizations or planned at social platforms such as Meet Ups.
Potlucks are super fun and a great way to try other’s favorite recipes or food from other cultures and countries.
The biggest mistake you can make at a Potluck: Going to a Potluck without bringing any food! A home-cooked dish is usually what is expected.
If you run short on time, bring a store-bought dessert at least (cupcakes for example).
Otherwise, only skip bringing something if you were specifically asked NOT to ?
A great thing to do at a potluck: If your dish contains something that may cause allergies (Peanut, shellfish and all that stuff that can be really dangerous for some), add a little table card with that info on it.
It is better to bring something that cannot spoil fast or upset people’s stomach (such as raw fish, etc.).
But that’s just our experience!
5. Hunting and Shooting Ranges
No matter if you agree with it or not, many Americans enjoy their guns and gun activities.
One of the first things we noticed is that many American households own guns (especially compared to Europe).
With that mentality comes a wide range of gun-related activities, such as Hunting in Hunting Season (very important: If you hunt outside the Hunting Season, you find yourself having big trouble with the law!).
Another gun-related activity that we have seen here more compared to other countries are shooting ranges.
Interestingly, it is not just men that go to shooting ranges (as the stereotype may suggest, ha!).
A lot of families and women like going to shooting ranges as well to work on their shooting skills.
As you can see, Americans have many activities they live and enjoy!
Are we missing something on this list that surprised you when you came to the United States? Anything we should add? Contact us here!
We would love to hear and reflect on other perspectives that we can publish on our site!
If you are interested in participating in some of these activities and want to find people to do it with, read more here:
Social Life- How to network and find friends in America!
To learn more about American Culture, click on the blog posts below:
How To Celebrate America’s Top 4 Holidays