I was out yesterday and was eavesdropping on a conversation of a couple of army vets. To my surprise, they were talking about how bad it is in the USA. They talked about how they wished we had public infrastructure and could do things like ban single use plastics. They mentioned how selfish and arrogant most Americans are.

As a Mexican I can say the average person here believes the US is a utopia where everyone is rich, owns a huge suburban house, has material abundance, public schools are great, there’s no crime, and you can get all of this off a blue collar worker’s wage. The US has amazing PR for normies despite the internet existing where you can see reality how it is. Hollywood, celebrities, social media stars, rich border shopping towns, and the exaggerated success stories of immigrants all help sell that image. People here see that the minimum wage over there is $7 per hour and don’t understand that everything costs more as well. I’m generalizing of course. A lot of people pay attention to the news, read books, and/or have first-hand experience with the more shitty aspects of the US empire and have plenty of criticism about them, but it might not be the majority.

For quite a while here in Brazil, the United States was somewhat respected up until the 2010’s. Of course, those more inclined to history, humanities or left-wing politics despise the country, perhaps except the liberal leftists, who normally don’t care about the external world. The non-political minded are inclined to idealize and like the US because it’s related to the media they consume – sports, music, series, etc. Besides that, the country is largely ignored by Brazilians.

Usually the US is admired by the extreme right-wing of my country, especially after Trump’s election. For instance, here is a right-wing gathering in Brazil, where these cursed flags are displayed:

After the election of Biden, the US has been slowly losing its prestige among the right-wing nuts. They still idealize the country, but are extremely disappointed by the president.

I can’t help with this exact question.

But I can say that I’ve visited the US and been gobsmacked. Absolutely baffled. By the way things are and the fact that 300+ million people put up with it. (Although we could probably say the same about any non-socialist country.)

Unnecessarily hostile and aggressive border guards ruin every trip before it starts.

Shops are hard to find.

And before you think about finding a shop, you better figure out if you can walk at all.

If you do walk, expect to be questioned by the police. And by well-meaning locals.

Everyone expects a tip (I understand why, but it’s a strange experience).

You have to work out the tax. That tax always seems very low to me.

Gas prices always seem very low, too, in comparison to the price I usually pay. (Then again, as I understand it, Americans spend more on their rent and other essentials than where I am, so I can see why people complain about fuel prices.)

Food prices are high! Food seemed to cost about three times what it costs where I live (pre-pandemic).

The cost of being a visitor in the US, per day, is double [edit: or triple] that in most of Europe.

I’m unsure if this is anything like what you were looking for. But my brief experience so shocked me that I am unlikely to emigrate, and any future visits are likely to be short ones. (This isn’t a reflection on people as a whole, who seem to be as polite as people anywhere, so far as generalisations are possible.)

Edit: changed a paragraph because it meet have sounded mean, which I did not intend.