Living in the USA as a European: prices, tipping and the number 21

The visa is approved, the apartment is rented, the kids are enrolled in school. And then the real arrival begins: the first grocery run, the first dinner out, the first weather forecast in Fahrenheit. A lot of America feels familiar because you know it from the movies. Some things are different from what you expect, and a few are so different that they will cost you money, nerves or an awkward moment in your first week. Here are the differences Europeans run into most often in everyday life, with the rules behind them. If you prefer it personal and with a sharp pen, read Sebastian's rant What annoys me about you, dear Americans.

1The price on the tag is not the price at the register

In Europe, VAT is included in the price. In the USA, sales tax is added at the register. Florida puts it officially like this: the tax is added to the price of taxable goods and services and collected from the buyer at the time of sale (Florida Department of Revenue). So if you walk up to the register with a twenty-dollar bill for an item priced at $19.99, you will often come up short.

How much gets added is decided not by the federal government but by the state and where you live. Texas charges 6.25 percent, and cities, counties and special districts may add up to 2 percent, for a maximum of 8.25 percent combined (Texas Comptroller). California starts at 7.25 percent statewide, plus local district taxes (California Department of Tax and Fee Administration). Florida charges 6 percent plus a surtax in many counties, New York 4 percent plus city, county or school district taxes. So the rate can change when you cross a city line.

1.1Use tax: when nobody collected at the register

A second term surprises many people: use tax. It is the counterpart to sales tax and applies when you use something taxable without having paid sales tax on the purchase. Florida gives the example explicitly: if you buy a taxable item outside Florida, bring it into Florida or have it delivered there, and pay no sales tax, you owe use tax (Florida Department of Revenue). That is why Texas always speaks of sales and use tax. For a newcomer bringing furniture, electronics or a vehicle in from another state, this is not a detail but a tax you have to keep track of yourself.

In everyday life, that means: add six to ten percent in your head, and up to 11.75 percent in some California cities. For your US company it means something else entirely, namely registration and returns in every state where it becomes liable for tax; that is a topic of its own, explained on our page on sales tax.

2Tipping: not a bonus but part of the wage

Tipping is the difference Europeans talk about most, and it has a sober legal background. Federal labor law allows employers to pay employees who regularly receive tips a cash wage of just $2.13 an hour. The employer may count tips toward the rest, up to the federal minimum wage of $7.25, as a tip credit of up to $5.12 an hour (U.S. Department of Labor). For the waitress in a Texas diner, your tip is not a thank-you on top but a large part of what she lives on.

The states handle this very differently. Texas follows the federal rule at $2.13. California allows no tip credit: tipped employees get the full state minimum wage of $16.90 an hour, and tips come on top. Florida has raised its minimum wage step by step by constitutional amendment, to $15 on September 30, 2026; employers may credit $3.02 of that, so the cash wage is $11.98 (Florida Constitution, Article X, § 24). In New York, the rate depends on the region and the type of employer.

There is no legal tip percentage anywhere. The card terminal in a restaurant usually suggests percentages, and if you are unsure, ask neighbors or colleagues what is customary locally. Leaving no tip in a restaurant with table service sends a very clear message in America. So does tipping too little out of habit.

3Holidays and vacation

The USA has eleven federal holidays, set by the law governing the federal workforce (5 U.S.C. 6103). When one falls on a Saturday, most federal employees get the Friday before off; when it falls on a Sunday, the Monday after. In 2027 that applies to June 19, July 4 and December 25 (Office of Personnel Management). Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Ascension Day and December 26 are not on the list. In return, many holidays fall on a Monday and create a long weekend: Labor Day, for example, falls on September 6 in 2027, and Thanksgiving is on a Thursday in late November, November 25 in 2027. If you want to fly or reach a government office on these long weekends, plan early.

More important is what the law does not say. Federal labor law does not require payment for time not worked, whether vacation, sick leave, or federal or other holidays (U.S. Department of Labor). Whether you get Thanksgiving off and how many vacation days you get is usually set by your employment contract; Illinois, for instance, gives employees up to 40 hours of paid leave a year, usable for any purpose (Illinois Department of Labor). If you come from a country with statutory minimum vacation, negotiate this before you sign. How Americans spend their scarce free time is something Sebastian describes in the article Vacation and leisure.

For entrepreneurs moving to the USA with their family, there is a second side to this: school vacations, working hours and government holidays do not automatically line up. Don't schedule appointments with authorities on the Monday after a holiday weekend when offices were closed.

4911 and the other numbers

The emergency number for police, fire and ambulance is 911 across the whole country; Congress directed the FCC to make it the universal emergency number for all telephone services (FCC, 911 and E911 Services). Wireless carriers must put every 911 call from a mobile phone through to the emergency call center, regardless of whether they have validated the caller's contract (47 CFR 9.10). So you'll get through even with a European SIM card or no credit left.

Texting 911 only works where the local emergency call center accepts texts. The FCC advises calling whenever you can; where texts aren't accepted, you'll get an automatic bounce-back message (FCC, Text to 911). Don't even get into the habit of dialing the European 112 in the US.

4.1Beyond 911

• 988 is the nationwide crisis line, for calls and texts. Veterans press 1 after dialing (FCC).
• 1-800-222-1222 is the poison control hotline, free and available around the clock (Poison Control).

Save these numbers in your phone before you need them. Your health insurance card belongs in your wallet; everything you need to know about coverage is in the guide Health insurance by age.

5Miles, Fahrenheit and the month before the day

The US measures in inches, feet, miles, ounces, pounds and gallons. The weather forecast gives Fahrenheit, the gas station gallons, the road sign miles. The table shows the conversions you'll need day to day (National Institute of Standards and Technology). A rule of thumb for the weather: 32 degrees Fahrenheit is freezing, and when you hear 100 degrees Fahrenheit, stay in the shade: that's almost 38 degrees Celsius.

The date is more dangerous than the measurements. American forms ask for month, day and year in that order; the forms of the immigration agency USCIS explicitly say mm/dd/yyyy (USCIS, Form I-90). The 4th of July is 07/04, not 04/07. Write your date of birth the European way out of habit and you have an error on an official form that can follow you through your bank, your driver's license and your insurance. Check every date twice.

621: the number you need to know

Forget what you know about age limits from Europe. In the US you can only buy alcohol and possess it in public from age 21. It isn't a federal law in the strict sense but a very effective lever: states that let younger people buy or publicly possess alcohol lose part of their federal highway funding (23 U.S.C. 158). That's why the limit applies in every state. The same has applied to tobacco since 20 December 2019: retailers may sell tobacco products and e-cigarettes only to people aged 21 and over, with no exceptions (FDA, Tobacco 21).

For families with teenagers, that means a conversation before the move, not after. For adults, it means: carry ID. If you look young, you'll be carded even at 40; bring your passport until you have an American ID. Which IDs count in the US and how to get a state ID or a driver's license is covered in the guide Everyday documents.

7Credit history: your second ID

The biggest difference from life in Europe is invisible. In the US, landlords, car dealers and mobile carriers look at your credit history. If you're new to the country, you don't have one, no matter how long you paid on time in Europe. That leads to deposits, prepayments and rejections that have nothing to do with your income or your wealth, only with the fact that the system doesn't know you yet.

The fix isn't complicated, but it takes time, so it pays to start early: a US bank account, a tax number, a first card, regular use. The right order after the move is laid out in the guide First bank and credit after the move. If you want to start before you move, US Bank Account Opening and Credit Builder show you our way there.

8Settling in also means getting used to things

After a few months you'll add the tax in your head, tip without thinking and say 70 degrees when it's pleasant. Other things will stay foreign, and that's fine. Settling in doesn't mean staying European or becoming American; it means knowing which rules apply and then deciding for yourself how you live.

What to do in your first 90 days, and in what order, is in the checklist Arriving in the USA. And if you'd like to see the country before you commit, Texas is a great place to start.

In short

• Store prices are shown without sales tax. Depending on where you are, up to 8.25 percent is added in Texas, and at least 7.25 percent in California.
• For many workers, tips are part of their pay: federal law allows a cash wage of $2.13 an hour, and so does Texas. California pays the full minimum wage, Florida $11.98.
• There are eleven federal holidays, but federal law gives no right to paid vacation or paid holidays.
• The emergency number is 911, from any mobile phone. The crisis line is 988, poison control 1-800-222-1222.
• Alcohol and tobacco only from age 21, and you'll need ID.

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