Where is the European Rick Steves for those travelling to the US?

Like Jo said: while German travel guides give some cultural tips, there isn't really an analogous demand for calming fears like "what should I wear" and "how not to look like a tourist" and so on. I think the reason is that generally, if you paint with a really huge brush, Germans tent to underestimate the cultural differences between Europe and America, while Americans tend to overestimate the differences. As a caricature: Americans fear that Europe is so different and has so strange customs that they will unknowingly commit one serious social blunder after another, while Germans naively assume that America is really just an English-speaking Germany with an impressive landscape.

"I can assure you that some visitors to our shores could definitely use a lesson in how to behave here." I find it fairly distressing that Kathleen seems to believe that (a) Europeans need a website to teach them how to behave in the US, and
(b) the point of the RS website is to teach Americans how to behave in Europe. I see this website as helping travelers to Europe travel around, use the trains, make museum reservations, etc. Europeans generally do not need that kind of information about travel in the US, or if they do, it is easily found on Tripadvisor in the United States forums, where I see lots of questions by Europeans about the best way to visit the Grand Canyon, etc. (But they rarely if ever ask how to dress. )

Ed... very funny story, made me laugh out loud. On anothe note... maybe some of us want to 'be a temporary local' because we have this romantic image in our minds about what European life is like, or maybe because for some of us, those are our roots (not all, I said some) and we feel this connection with Europe.

As a European who has been to the States a few times, I think that there are only two important customs to learn: Don't swear and remember to tip!

Unless your research is more multilingual than mine I would assume most of it would be hidden. The UK equivalent of RS you would find, but I would not be able to find the French, Italian or German equivalents. Plus many Europeans can't afford travel to the US. If they leave Europe it is more likely for cheaper destination such as Asia or Africa.

I haven't really seen one aimed at UK people. I think people would generally use the culture/etiquette section of things like the Lonely Planet/Rough Guide book and website etc. I wonder if people don't feel there is a need as much because there is so much about America in the media. For example, most Brits I know already knew which words Americans might not understand and the American equivilants simply through films or books before they went to America. E.g. most Brits know the word 'fag' could be misunderstood. Another example is that I already knew religion was potentially a more risky topic of conversation in America than in the UK from watching and reading news reports. Perhaps someone should start a website if we are all offending you all without realising it!

Laura, I know one girl who moved here from over the pond at age 13 who would have really appreciated knowing in advance it is best not to ask a boy for a rubber in math class. Took my teacher over ten minutes to restore order to the class. ---- For those unaware: rubber (UK) = pencil eraser
rubber (USA) = condom

The travel industry for Europeans to go to the US is huge, so sorry ed, I don't think your statment about it being too expensive for Europeans is very correct. Not even sure what you are basing this on. Germans especially, like to travel to the States and the euro/dollar exchange is great for them. They do like going on sort of themed trips though, the National parks, the Wild West with some Indian reservations thrown in, Alaska cruises, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Christmas shopping in New York or Miami, doing the West Coast or the Pacific N. West. In fact, didn't we just have a thread about just this topic? To be honest, I don't think they care much about what they are wearing, cause it doesn't matter. There are guide books though that give information about how to behave, not to take your tops off at the pool, not to let your little toddlers be naked, dry counties, don't talk politics or religion, and stuff like that. ( I have only read the German ones, the French or Italian or Swedish or Dutch or Finnish or Greek or Spanish may be completely different of course)

Jo, I was basing it on one conversation I had with a 20 year old from Portugal who told me that travel to the USA is too expensive and all he and all his friends where heading to either India or Africa, except the ones with money who were going to tour Europe. Might be at the 20 year old backpacker stage it is too expensive and not for the older tourists. Or maybe just for his community of social economic status.

Travel in USA is generally cheaper than in western Europe. Hotels, restaurants, sights, renting cars, gas etc. If independent travelers want to sightsee in most cases unlike in Europe they need a car. But the biggest obstacles for Europeans are (I know I talk to them): some of them still need visas, they don't like our immigration procedures (finger prints, having picture taken, writing customs declaration, etc), for many this is the main reason why they would not visit USA (some of them even asked me if US is the police state), if you are monolingual and don't speak English you practically cannot go for independent travel in the USA. We here in the US have it much better, we can go to Europe not speaking their language, they better speak English if they want our business but that's not true vice versa.

Most of my extended Flemish family and the Germans I know are interested in seeing a few things in the US: New York, National Parks, cowboys and Hollywood. They couldn't give less of a damn about "becoming a temporary local".

ed, Europeans travel to the US on a scale roughly equal to Americans traveling to Europe. There was a long, boring thread on this topic. Some dork (me) researched the statistics. My theory is that Americans (maybe our friends from the north too) are from a culture of assimilation. Successive generations have arrived on our shores learning the key to being American is blending in. If they couldn't blend, they made darn sure their children did. It is in our DNA. You see that reflected in lots of the questions here about types of clothes, shoes, hats, etc to wear. RS tapped into this with the whole temporary local schtick. Being called a "tourist" is like a dirty word here.

Good question. One thing comes to mind.........Most other countries in the world, Europe included, study English from an early age. They also are constantly bombarded by American culture (MTV, Subway is now bigger than McDonalds overseas, the radio has 90 percent English/American tunes in our area, etc.) In contrast most Americans do not know or learn a second language much less 3-4 languages. Americans do not have chain restaurants from Japan, Italy, India, etc. on every corner. Frankly, Americans are really sheltered when it comes to foreign culture. You ask a very poignant question in that did you search for information in English only or for info in Mandarin, Czech, Russian, etc. ? I mean this rhetorically, Kathleen I do like your topic, don't want it to sound accusatory.

I went to a bookshop in Belgium yesterday to find the answer to this very question. The travel section was huge, but there was no European counterpart to Mr. Steves. And actually, the section on US travel was fairly small.

This has brought on some interesting dialog from both sides of the ocean. It has been my experience that both sides do a bit of unfair lumping how all people are in each country. One thing can be said not all American or European areas are the same for culture variety or the ability to speak fluently more than their mother tongue.

There are big differences between the big cities/tech hubs and rural areas. I've been all over both & have more to see. I'm lucky because I live where I can experience so many different people. I can most certainly say that the San Francisco Bay Area region has a very diverse population & a high percentage of that population speaks more than one language. We are an area of immigrants. Almost everyone I know from work and personal life is fluent in at least 1 other language besides English. There is a high rate of marriages here of people from different countries, so it is not uncommon for 2 - 3 languages to be spoken in 1 household with English most likely the common ground. Even though my family has been here in America for generations there was Italian & English spoken. In school we learn from the classroom and playground Mexican Spanish at pretty young age. Folks are now immersing their kids in non English speaking daycare from infantcy. I've been married to a Czech for 10 yrs, & I had to learn that as well in order to talk to his family each year when we visit. Out of all of his large extended family in Czech Republic, only 4 people can speak some English & only 2 of them fluently. And all of them didn't know what to think of me at first. "Dallas" came to mind when they first heard about me. And then they thought I would be tan & blond (surprise! I am the complete opposite - pale white from working all the time) since I'm a native Californian. They have come to realise that I'm not that much different in values and views than they are. We still have a big laugh unraveling the myths about each culture as they pop up.

Hmmm, seems I ruffled a few feathers here. What I meant by my original question was not to accuse/complain/whine/offend anyone. I simply was curious why there seems to be no European equivalent to RS. I worked in the tourism industry for quite a few years to put myself through college. Quite a few encounters with visitors (Europeans and non-Europeans) leads me to believe that a LOT of information about the US is gleaned from TV/Movies/News. I don't really think those things give quite a true actual picture of what the US is like. I certainly had a hard time explaining Nebraska to an Irish girl I worked with! And I have had Europeans tell me I don't sound American (whatever that means). LOL As for Christopher's advice on not swearing and tipping, I found the opposite to happen: Europeans most definitely swear a lot MORE than Americans and they most definitely tip a lot LESS than Americans. :-)

One last thing. I do agree with some posters who seem to be saying that Americans are more worried about offending local Europeans than Europeans are of offending local Americans. I spent a summer being called Kasha, Katya, Katerina, Katie (ugh) and Kate by all the European help at a summer island off the New England coast. I didn't mind. I figured it wasn't something to get my panties in a bunch over. But I definitely knew not to call my fellow English bartendar Bill. He was WILLIAM. :-)

To Kathleen: That's exactly what I mean. Europeans swear a lot and don't tip. That is why we Europeans have to remember not to swear and remember to tip when a on holiday in the Us. Especially the custom of tipping the maid at a hotel is very foreign to us Europeans and you easily forget it since she is "invisible" to you.