Just one disclaimer at the start, I've never been outside the US (Despite a desire to) so most of what I know of comes from here or the media or the people I have met from elsewhere.
That said, there are alot of things about this country that I like and dislike. The things I love about living here are probably the same things that you love about living wherever you do. Everyone loves the people, food, recreation and work that they grew up around. Like someone said earlier, I love the fact that I can drive to just about any climate without leaving my country. Alot of the time I wish I could do it faster legally, but thats just cause I like driving fast sometimes.
I'm not a huge fan of our current government, and definetly don't like the current administration. Its fairly clear that alot of other people in our country agree, since the last two presidential elections have been two of the closest on record. Alot of people are ignorant and just believe what they are told, which is unfortunate, but I imagine its true in other countries as well.
While I'm kind of indifferent on the whole gun control issue, I will say that (and this depends on where you live) a large majority of Americans have never even held a gun, not to mention thought of purchasing one. Like was said before, with proper motivation, one can aquire anything, be it guns, drugs, booze, bomds, or fluffy kittens (if they were banned). Please reference one of the bigger atrocities to occur on US soil in the recent history, Columbine. A couple of 16 year olds managed to get a hold of a veritable arsenal of weaponry without even a hint of warning. So the gun control thing is kinda tricky, and there are pretty powerful arguments for both sides. Its mostly that the people who do own one and really care about it, are the most outspoken about it. Everyone wants to have it their way. Which is my biggest gripe with the US in general.
Everyone feels like everyone elses business is their own here. Are you gay and want to get married to your lover? Too bad, some self rightous christian conservative is worried about you showing his kids that its allright to be gay, so its not legal. Want to smoke pot? Too bad, someone has decided that its going to destroy the country, despite the fact that its very clearly less drestructive then Alchohol. There is an endless list of stuff here that isn't allowed because one group of people have decided that its immoral for them, so its gotta be immoral for everyone else, and hence illegal.
However, when it comes down to it, in general people are quite kind, generous and intelligent, despite different beliefs. Yes, you won't always get along with everyone, and there are plenty of assholes in the world, but you'll find them in every reach of the universe (I'll say that till someone proves me wrong). But for your everyday experience, unless you are looking for the crappy people and experiences, you'll find that just about anywhere is bearable, and many are downright awesome once you get to know it a bit. I've lived in several different parts of the US, and can say that in alot of ways its almost like moving to a different country. I imagine it would be less of a culture shock for me to move to the UK then it would be to move to the Southern US.
Hehee......bringing this thread back into a semblance of Top Gear like talk, I think you Brits have it better when it comes to cars. Just watching Top Gear (fairly religously I might add) and FIfth Gear, I grow jealous constantly, even for such lowly cars as a Ford Focus or something else in its class. I can't tell you how much I would love to see a TVR or a Noble in person, not to mention having the chance to own one. The British car culture is just so much more rich and vibrant and cool. Maybe I'm seeing greener grass on the other side, but just that makes me want to spend time over there.
Hehe......ok.......its late and I'm ranting on a bit too much, so I'll stop there. I just felt a need to react to this thread a bit and put in some words. We were getting a few people who were showing fairly extreme views earlier, and I decided to show some other ones and some less extreme views too. I do think that most Europeans would find plenty to like here and would feel less awkward then you might think, just as we would if we came there. Just promise that you'll try not to think of all of us as Texans, as its a whole another world. It would be like us thinking that all of you all were Cockney tounged Football hooligans or something.
Cheers,
JH
p.s. For the bloke who did the "18 US states" post. Its just Georgia, New England isn't a state its a region, and its spelled Massachusetts. Other then that you did pretty well. Hate to say it, but you might have done better then alot of Americans. Oh well. -JH