From fast food to bad coffee: Our 10 biggest misconceptions about the US

No other country on Earth is as universally known, and misunderstood. Don’t believe everything you hear. Let’s bust some of the myths ...

Everyone is obese … or at least overweight

Our most visited states (including California, pictured) rank well below Australia’s national obesity rate.Credit: iStock

Americans are ranked number two on Earth for obesity (38.5 per cent of Americans are considered obese), but guess what? You’re unlikely to see them. The American states with the highest obesity rates are destinations few Australians visit; like West Virginia, Kentucky and Alabama (one, two and three). Whereas Californians, Hawaiians and Coloradoans (some of our most-visited states) rank well below Australia’s national obesity rate (30.9 per cent compared to California’s 27.6 per cent or Colorado’s 25.1 per cent).

You can’t get good coffee

US brand Blue Bottle Coffee only serves beans less than 48 hours out of the roaster.Credit: Getty

You can get good Australian-style coffee (lattes, cappuccinos etc) all over the US. Sure, Americans have been drinking bad coffee since the first coffeehouse opened in 1676, but since Seattle first started serving lattes in the 1980s, the rest of the country followed suit. There’s more than 20 coffee roasting houses in Portland alone, while gourmet coffee chain stores like Peet’s Coffee and Blue Bottle Coffee (which only serves beans less than 48 hours out of the roaster) prove it’s a myth Starbucks serves America’s only drinkable coffee.

The weather is the same all over the country

America’s hottest destination is California’s Death Valley.Credit: iStock

Many people ask: what’s the weather like in the US? But the US is the world’s third-largest country – it’s 1.3 times bigger than Australia. Temperature ranges from an average annual temperature of 21.5 degrees in Florida to minus 3 in Alaska: a range of over 24 degrees. Head to Fairbanks, Alaska, America’s coldest place and expect a minimum average of minus 27 . Then travel to California’s Death Valley – America’s hottest place – where summer temperatures average in the high 40s.

Their beer is terrible

The US has been at the centre of the craft beer revolution.Credit: Alamy

Americans don’t just drink Budweiser, just like we don’t just drink VB. In fact, the US has the highest number of breweries on Earth (at over 5000), and has been at the centre of the craft beer revolution (with 4750 craft breweries, the UK comes in a distant second with 723). And there’s been a 10 per cent growth in craft breweries each year for a decade. They’re growing because Americans prefer fuller flavours, greater variety of beers and buying beers made by their own community.

Americans love guns

Gun ownership is ingrained in US society thanks to their constitution’s Second Amendment, but three per cent of American adults own more than half of all guns in the US. These super-owners own between eight and 140 guns, where two-thirds of Americans say they’ve never owned a gun and never will. And don’t forget: gun violence is intensely concentrated in the poorest neighbourhoods of American cities, where there’s 400 times more chance of being a victim of gun violence (and if you’re concerned you should also avoid Republican states – Republicans are twice as likely to own guns as Democrats).

Americans are fake

Just because they talk a lot doesn’t mean they’re faking it! Americans tend to have cheery, bright dispositions (even teenagers welcome a chat, and will ask questions) because it’s bred into them as children. But while this might seem inauthentic to other cultures, it’s connected to history. Americans are a mobile people and have traditionally needed to make connections fast. The upside is it’s easy to go out solo to bars and restaurants in the US, because you’re guaranteed to make new friends.

You can’t walk in American cities

Chicago is one of the country’s most walkable cities.Credit: iStock

Just because everyone drives in LA (though there are numerous walking neighbourhoods), doesn’t mean it’s the same all over the US. The majority of cities east of the Mississippi are entirely walkable, and were built long before cars. New York City’s public transport system is legendary (over half the population don’t have a driver’s licence), and most Eastern and Midwest cities are best to visit without a car. Philadelphia is ranked America’s most walkable city, and others like Chicago and Washington DC are close behind.

With no insurance, they won’t let you into hospital

The Emergency Medical Treatment And Labor Act states any individual with an emergency medical condition, regardless of their insurance status, can’t be denied essential lifesaving services. Sure, it’ll cost, but they can’t let you die. Hospitals often offer uninsured patients discounts or to pay the bill off over time. If it’s serious, visit an Urgent Care centre for half the price of hospital. And GP visits don’t cost too much more than some Australian GPs (starting at approximately $US50 or $A78). But get travel insurance.

The US is one culture

There’s been a diversity explosion happening in the US, particularly over the past 15 years –in the period from 2010 more than 95 percent of the country’s counties registered a decline in their white population. There’s been a rapid rise in the Latino/ Hispanic population who now make up 19 per cent of all Americans, while Asian Americans now account for 6 per cent of the population. In fact, the US is now one of the most ethnically diverse and multicultural countries on Earth.

They all eat fast food

There’s a lot more to America’s dining scene than fast food.Credit: iStock

Sure, this is where McDonald’s, KFC, Taco Bell and Burger King all come from. But there’s a lot more to American food. The US is home to one of the world’s best dining scenes with more than 200 Michelin-starred restaurants and cuisine from every corner of the world represented. Eclecticism and experimentation rules the dining scene, and with no real repertoire of recognised dishes, America is perhaps the most forward-thinking dining nation. And who doesn’t love apple pie?