Americans have been revealing what things from other countries they’d like to see more of in the States, with roundabouts, recycling and Her Majesty The Queen all featuring.
Other envy-inducing things found abroad include the metric system, small cars, longer maternity leave and fast trains.
The wish lists appeared on an internet forum following a question posed by one of the users.
One Reddit users revealed that he wished roundabouts were more common on American roads rather than endless traffic lights
DrQuackerz12 asked Reddit: ‘Americans of Reddit, what things from other countries do you wish were common where you live?’
Transport has been proving a popular topic.
User r!ngr wrote: ‘Roundabouts – I spent a week driving around Portugal and felt like I only hit two traffic lights. It’s so good to always be rolling.’
While JacATac said he wished that ‘cities were built for people, not cars’.
Another user, cerebralTurbulence, said he wished that people drove smaller, quieter and more economical cars on the road.
While sd9101 admitted he wanted to see more mopeds and motorcycles on highways.
He explained: ‘They are still considered taboo and dangerous here because people don’t respect and take caution around bikes on the road. Someday…’
One American said that contactless payments should be more readily available in the States
And at the top of ReindeerFl0tilla’s wish list is ‘high-speed trains’.
Paying for goods in shops and restaurants also came up with nerdobirdo saying she wishes contactless payment was more common in the US.
She explained: ‘It drives me crazy that I have to insert the f***ing chip into the reader and wait for 10,000 years instead of just tapping it.
‘If I want to tap anything it has to be through my phone and that’s just more unnecessary steps.’
While spooncreek said he wished shops would include the tax in the price on store shelves.
RingGiver said they wished America ‘had Queen Elizabeth’ while Devildude4427 said they wanted to see another British staple more often.
One American living in Wales said he wished that electric kettles were more common in the US
He explained: ‘Electric kettles! As an American who is living in Wales currently, holy s*** these things are so much more convenient than filling up a Pyrex cup and microwaving water for 3-4 minutes.’
DealerCamel29 said they would like to see afternoon siestas becoming more common in the US, while Joe434 wishes that all American employers would offer ’30 days standard vacation time’.
And maternity leave in America was criticised as being ‘beyond f****d up’ by djams1228, who wrote: ‘The absolute max we receive here is 12 weeks and it’s completely unpaid. However, most women go back after six weeks because three months without income can be a struggle.
‘The United States and Papua New Guinea have roughly the same policies in regards to maternity leave; you pop out a baby and return to work almost immediately afterward’.
And another Reddit user said he wished there would be more privacy when using the loo in the US.
Mr-Skeltal wrote: ‘Public bathrooms WITHOUT GAPS in the stalls. There’s no point to having gaps between the doors.’
Concern for the environment is something that Fuzzypeachbuttz would like to see more of, stating: ‘Sometimes I even get made fun of for recycling! I just don’t want the planet to look like a dump when I’m 90.’
For CreamOfMushroomStamp, however, it’s ‘the metric system’ that’s the bugbear, adding ‘I think it’s just a matter of being in too deep and unable to go back. It’d take a lot of time and money to convert’.