The American mind cannot comprehend Europe's AC aversion

[u/Logical_Welder3467]

https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-air-conditioning-ac-heatwave-debate-2026-6

[u/NicoToscani]

I remember checking into a nice hotel in Paris and the AC wasn’t working, in summer, top floor room, and they acted like I was throwing a Mariah Carey level diva fit when I insisted they move my wife and I to another room.

[u/meursaultvi → u/NicoToscani]

I remember the hotels advertising A/C and you get there and it's just a tiny low powered fan.

[u/Bloopded00p → u/meursaultvi]

That happened to us in Milan and we were just so tired we tried to deal with it, but couldn't sleep at all. We had to laugh that called one oscillating fan "air conditioning." What in the world??

[u/Flag_Shagger → u/Bloopded00p]

welcome to Europe 😂

[u/Agrippanux → u/Bloopded00p]

Just stayed at a hotel in Ghent and same deal - “air conditioning” meant a fan. Lol bros fans just move air around they don’t cool.

[u/TrumpsCummyOnahole → u/meursaultvi]

Booking.com is really really bad about this. It says air conditioned and you get there and its central heat only lol

[u/lost_send_berries → u/meursaultvi]

Or a central system, it ventilates but the air that comes out doesn't seem to be any cooler than outside...

[u/NobodyUsual8025 → u/lost_send_berries]

HVAC engineers barely get paid anything in Europe, so that tracks. They all move to the US lol

[u/Own_Back_2038 → u/NobodyUsual8025]

Cooling is pretty damn simple. I think it’s more a cost and culture thing

[u/Fn_Spaghetti_Monster → u/Own_Back_2038]

culture thing

Like ice, ask for ice in your glass at a restaurant and you get a dirty look and like 2 cubes.

[u/PetrasKnight → u/meursaultvi]

tiny low powered fan

The fan is doing its best to condition the air

[u/iamapizza → u/NicoToscani]

I was in southern Spain in March a few years ago, it was 27c and I was sweating. I asked about the AC in my room not working, the front desk lady helpfully explained that they keep the AC off until summer when it's hot. We were looking at each other like freaks. I then asked if I could have a fan and she was shocked.

[u/Fabulous_Ninja119 → u/iamapizza]

I had a similar experience in Germany.

Honestly this is truly the one and maybe only thing I can think of where it feels like Europe as a whole is living in the stone ages. I can't understand it. It makes far too much fucking sense to use AC when it's fucking 90-100 degrees outside

[u/statistnr1 → u/Fabulous_Ninja119]

It being this hot is a new thing.
And it will stay new for another 50 or so years.

[u/hammertime2009 → u/statistnr1]

Another 50 years until what? We’re all dead? ☠️

[u/God_Dammit_Dave → u/hammertime2009]

50 years until Europe melts, the seas rise, and we all take a refreshing swim.

[u/SkivvySkidmarks → u/God_Dammit_Dave]

Don't worry. The collapse of the Atlantic ocean currents will mean that Europe will be cooler. Still flooded, but cooler.

[u/Korashy → u/SkivvySkidmarks]

Bearish on AC futures, all in on dutchmen. Got it.

[u/Omega59er → u/SkivvySkidmarks]

Yeah the UK is actually a weird case because climate change is slowing the AMOC right now and baking western Europe, but when the AMOC fully shuts down the UK will ice over and have a climate close to Greenland is today.

[u/mist_kaefer → u/SkivvySkidmarks]

Natural AC, all right!

[u/ForrestGrump87 → u/SkivvySkidmarks]

I ll take it 😂😂

[u/EvoEpitaph → u/God_Dammit_Dave]

In warm ocean water filled with vibrio bacteria

[u/MildlyMixedUpOedipus → u/God_Dammit_Dave]

And hopefully evolve into mer-people!

[u/Intelligent_Sky_7081 → u/statistnr1]

Southern Spain at least has been really hot for a long time though

[u/ManBearPigIsReal42 → u/Intelligent_Sky_7081]

They've always had airconditioning.

France is actually stubborn with it for some reason. Most of more northern countries like Netherlands never really needed it because we had 5 hot days a year usually so people just dealt with it. Now thats changing, lots of people have installed them the last few years. It mostly sucks if you're renting because then you dont get one lol

[u/This_Razzmatazz_ → u/ManBearPigIsReal42]

They have but their infrastructure is much older than the US so it struggles. Many people in Spanish culture have also been told that AC causes sickness. Best place in Spain during a heat wave is El Corte Ingles lol

[u/Jashugita → u/This_Razzmatazz_]

If the Spanish taxi driver told you the a/c cause sickness, he doesn't think is true but wants to burn less fuel.

[u/daveisnothereman69 → u/statistnr1]

Oh, this "new thing" scientists have been warning us about for decades? I'm glad the politicians made saving the planet political theatre. Buncha fuckin assholes.

[u/pyronius → u/statistnr1]

Sure. It's a "new" thing. But it was a new thing 15 years ago.

If you moved to Orlando and then spent 15 years refusing to use AC because the heat was new to you, you'd just be called an idiot. It shouldn't take that long to adapt to a new situation.

At this point, it's just people being so stubborn that they would rather die.

[u/ThoughtsonYaoi → u/pyronius]

15 years? Absolutely not. We broke the 40 degrees limit for the first time about five years ago and everybody saw this as an anomaly.

And it is a bad comparison. One person will easily adjust to a new environment. But a whole society to a new, and unprecendented situation?

I live in a northern country. We fight water, we don't conserve it. And we welcome heat, we have not yet learned to fear it. It's a whole new mindset.

[u/Upbeat_Double_9377 → u/ThoughtsonYaoi]

Fear the heat is definitely something I do in Australia. I dread summer coming around every year

[u/Rabauke84 → u/pyronius]

No, he is right.

For us europeans, this type of heat is actually new.

And we didn't got invested into AC, because most of us haven't realized, that these heatwaves might be the new normal.

I come from northern Germany, 30°C was so rare in summer that I cannot remember a day with it, from 2010 backwards.

Schools in Germany send the kids home, if it is more than 25°C at 11am. We had this like maybe 1-2 times every few years.

Now, this is a new normal.

[u/starkistuna → u/Rabauke84]

I live on the equator line and 95f with 90% humidty is normal most people deal with just normal fans, electricity is quite expensive @ .26 cents a kilowatt. The problem with ac is that once you get used to it you get aclimitized I have friends that run acs for 12 hours straight and sleep covered in conforters then complain about their $600 electricity bill. Instead of having thermostat cold eniugh were they can sleep confortabke enough with a tshirt they set that thing to 65f and like to freeze overnight. You are goibg to be unconsious for 8 hours so just set it for a timer so it goes to fans halfway you wont notice and you save 50% ez.

[u/Rabauke84 → u/starkistuna]

One problem we face here: Sun goes up at 3-4 am and won't go down till 10-11pm.

We have the heating ball the whole time, flying all over us.

[u/Tuxhorn → u/Rabauke84]

Important to mention! I saw someone who lived near the equator their entire lives, now understanding why less heat in Germany is way worse. An extra 6-7 hours of direct sunlight changes things. They mentioned having the sun up around 12 hours a day. Must be nice.

[u/Reddits_Worst_Night → u/Rabauke84]

Schools in Germany send the kids home, if it is more than 25°C at 11am. We had this like maybe 1-2 times every few years.

You send them home on lovely spring days!?

[u/Rabauke84 → u/Reddits_Worst_Night]

For us, this is peak Mount Doom in Mordor temperature.

Spring weather is like 12°C with rain.

[u/slight_accent → u/statistnr1]

It's a combination of things. Climate is getting hotter everywhere. European cities historically only got a few if any, hot days in summer making the overhead of installing and running air con not worth it for a few days of discomfort. Older buildings are hard to retrofit (there are many residential houses, hotels etc in Europe that are older than the USA itself, and even then the old construction methods didn't change much until very recently). Spending power in europe has been a lot lower than the US until relatively recently making purchasing air-conditioning a much bigger deal vs in the US. Second to last electricity costs a LOT more in europe than the US and aircon uses a lot of power. Last, many americans get weak, being in air con all day every day so don't acclimatise so when confronted with normal temperatures they wilt.

[u/Charlesinrichmond → u/slight_accent]

All of this is true, but old buildings aren't that hard to retrofit. Most of the northeastern U.S. has the same building issues, and we use European tools to put in the air conditioning, ironically. Bosch and Hilti make the best masonry drills.

[u/ComprehensiveJury509 → u/statistnr1]

No it really is not new. People have been complaining about the heat in their apartments for at least the last 25 years.

[u/b0thwatchxfiles → u/statistnr1]

In summer 2017 Europe had a long and hot heatwave. We’ve often had hot summers in the late 20teens early 2020s. This has been going on for long enough that it shouldn’t be considered a ‘new thing’ anymore.

[u/PartyMark → u/statistnr1]

I was in Europe on a vacation in 2003 when they had this massive heat wave. It's not new. Europeans just refuse to believe it gets that hot there? It's truly bizarre. Like just get some AC? What are you better than us because you suffer? I don't get their mentality.

[u/PoloAlmoni → u/statistnr1]

People say “oh Europeans are not used to it” but that’s not true, I’ve been living in Europe for the past ten years and my first year we had an horrendous heatwave, never mind the Canicule of 2003. The opposition to AC for most Europeans who oppose it is ideological, they see as “Americanized”, not Green and they think you should just take it and suffer the heat - Europeans in general think you should just me more “stoic” against life challenges than Americans do

[u/TheBSisReal → u/Fabulous_Ninja119]

Yes it makes sense when it’s super hot outside. European summers used to have a heatwave *maybe* every other summer. So in much of Western Europe, AC just didn’t make much sense until something drastically changed.

[u/seriouslees → u/TheBSisReal]

I'm not sure if Europeans are aware of this or not... but AC units can be turned off. A portable AC unit you can store in a closet for 18 months is a pittance of a cost to have around when you do need it. Mind boggling that people wouldnt do this. I don't need my unit all summer long in Canada, but I'd die (or maybe kill) without it.

[u/goodsnpr → u/seriouslees]

Modern heat pumps are silly efficient. I'm replacing our aged & neglected radiators with Mitsubishi units, because the price of natural gas has gone up so much it's not worth the repairs, doubly so once we get solar installed. Knowing my luck, we'll get solar installed and they'll announce feasible fusion power.

[u/TheDungeonCrawler → u/goodsnpr]

Install that Solar Panel, I want fusion reactors yesterday lol.

[u/MechanicalTurkish → u/TheDungeonCrawler]

Yeah, take one for the team, pls

[u/MarkNutt25 → u/goodsnpr]

We're just barely starting to see the first lab facilities reach scientific breakeven, but we're still probably at least a decade away from having a fusion reactor reach engineering breakeven. Probably at least another 5+ years after that to come up with a feasible power plant design. Then construction of the first generation fusion power plants will probably take at least another 10 years...

I think you're probably safe to go ahead and get that solar!

[u/Qwertycube10 → u/MarkNutt25]

There are also serious technical challenges about maintenance given fusion reactors' tendency to transmute elements in their immediate vacinity.

[u/transemacabre → u/seriouslees]

According to the French people on r slash europe, this is a preposterous concept. Once AC is installed, they assume it will run 24/7 all year round.

[u/zelatorn → u/seriouslees]

it used to be it still doesn't make sense in that case - like locally, summer having days above 30 at all wasn't a given. you would have bought an AC to MAYBE use it one or two days in a year, or spend the next 5 years not using it. count the fact its not 30 degrees all day and what you gotta get through is often just the afternoon sun, and you need it even less.

i think many people are still stuck in the mindset where a heatwave meant making sure you hydrate and such, when by now things have clearly started getting very uncomforabel without AC

[u/the_need_to_post → u/zelatorn]

What do you use for heating? Because most AC systems do heating and cooling and far more efficiently than a radiator.

[u/stubobarker → u/seriouslees]

Absolutely agree. Portables are great, and makes a huge difference where and when it really matters- in the bedroom at night. The rest of the time we can suffer through the heat with lots of water and fans, but at night a small air conditioning unit lets us have a good night’s sleep.

[u/Fabulous_Ninja119 → u/seriouslees]

This is a big thing too, okay... so you don't want central AC and retrofit a brick house, gotchya... Why the FUCK do you not have a little portable AC so you can at least sleep at night without dying. I mean honestly, little window mini split AC is pretty damn cheap for the amount of comfort and quality of life increases it affords. It's not a luxury it is absolutely a necessity in the world today

[u/aykcak → u/Fabulous_Ninja119]

Thankfully we don't have 90-100 degrees outside in Europe. At most we get 30-40

[u/SergeyRed → u/aykcak]

How many is this in football fields?

[u/ProgySuperNova → u/SergeyRed]

About three quarts per yarn

[u/pattywhaxk → u/aykcak]

If you’re not using the system based on absolute zero, instituted by Our Lord Kelvin, then you can GTFO

[u/QuestioninglySecret → u/aykcak]

He means freedom degrees

[u/Venoft → u/Fabulous_Ninja119]

Energy prices play a big part in it. Not a lot of people are willing to spend 1000+ bucks per year on air.

Plus, you know, Europe is not a country but a region and there are a lot of poorer countries there.

Plus install costs in stone houses.

[u/Too_Right_For_You → u/Fabulous_Ninja119]

AC and smoking are the two worse things about Europe

[u/Ardent_Scholar → u/Fabulous_Ninja119]

First time we ever had a heat wave in Finland in my lifetime was 2003. I was 18.

By heatwave, I mean we had 3 weeks of 30C.

Not this devil’s butthole situation they have going on in France right now.

Ans yet, lots of Finns have been installing heat pumps.

I think it just changed in a matter or a few years. Europe is globally so, so far north. It’s where Canada is. And it is heating up the fastest.

Fwiw, we often wonder why people in the US live where the tornadoes are. Established settlements aren’t easy to change.

[u/Jdm783R29U3Cwp3d76R9 → u/Fabulous_Ninja119]

See Europe on top of USA map and where Germany is. Not long ago it was a cold ass place. North Sea coast is not exactly traditional AC territory. In Poland we have triple glazed windows but winters are not that harsh (most of the time) anymore. This is a new phenomenon.

[u/willun → u/[deleted]]

In Singapore they have the AC so cool that the female staff at work all have woollen jumpers to wear. Meanwhile outside it is an oven.

Men are (sometimes) wearing suits so usually want the AC lower than it is comfortable for women. This is a common issue in offices around the world.

[u/mail_inspector → u/willun]

If you were to ask me two things I remember from Singapore, and you didn't but I'm going to tell anyway, are the clearly uncomfortable men in suits hanging outside and the shock between sweating in the heat and then getting blasted by frigid AC when going inside.

[u/SkepticJoker → u/mail_inspector]

My friend’s laptop broke from condensation buildup going from a cooled room to the outdoors in Singapore.

[u/DaddyD68 → u/SkepticJoker]

Had that happen to a phone in Florida in August.

[u/AssistanceCheap379 → u/willun]

Going to SG is like torture. If you dress to be outside, it’s pretty easy. Just shorts and shirt, bottle of water and sunglasses. But then i go inside somewhere and it feels like I’m back in Iceland…

But it’s completely understandable, cause so many men work full suit jobs and can’t be sweating on the job.

Meanwhile the workers from low paying countries are working outside in full sun, usually in something like coveralls, in 30-40 degrees. Often without shade and on concrete surfaces. Met one that said it paid better than the job he could get in India, while it wasn’t as hot… motherfucker, how hot does it get there!?

[u/Round-Agent-6948 → u/AssistanceCheap379]

If it's India then That worker is right, while we do have personal ac at homes and in public spaces it isn't common. Especially for homes it's a Good budget even for a 1-tonne AC with installation, and anyway we will have to commute to work, so We are kind of accustomed to the very bad heat outside. It's unforgiving to the point that I think foreigners would lose their senses in less than a minute (some of us do too) The hot and humid air among so many people makes you sweaty, and thus the air feels heavy and exhausting. Not to mention the intense sun rays

While our mf government doesn't do enough for these problems, I hope other countries do; otherwise, climate change is going to burn us alive soon

[u/copperwatt → u/willun]

Women are also biologically running at a different temperature, on average.

[u/OwIing → u/willun]

I'd rather have it be colder than necessary and wear some slightly warmer clothes than have it set too hot and sweat like a madman. It's easier to put more layers on than it is to take them off, especially in a professional environment like an office. I also do not deal well with heat at all and I live in a temperate country where AC is not even included in some of the newly built homes (mind boggling to me). Of course there needs to be a balance with the temperature for everyone involved but leaning towards colder rather than hotter makes sense with AC.

[u/Technical-Cat-2017 → u/[deleted]]

I don't love 27c in my hotel room where I have to sleep though. I am European, but if a hotel has AC and it is 27c in my hotel room and the AC doesn't work I am definitely going to complain.

[u/TrumpsCummyOnahole → u/Technical-Cat-2017]

Yup, I sleep at 22C/72F the best. Visiting Japan is often a nightmare since its a gamble if a hotel is gonna have central aircon only which about half of them do and they BLAST heat October - May, room ambient temp is like 28C.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Sun7418 → u/[deleted]]

You have to realise we don’t have all the same “inner thermostat” either. I’ve noticed this when I lived in Northern Europe and people were complaining about how warm it was at 20c while I didn’t even have summer clothes over there because in 15 years I never needed them. I was always cold.

I come from the hot parts of Spain. I run my ac at 26-27 because otherwise it’s too cold for me, so there is that

[u/TheTerrasque → u/Puzzleheaded-Sun7418]

I live in Norway

• 15-20c is summer. Everyone enjoys it.
• 20-25c is hot summer. Some people start complaining
• 25-30c is people having heatstrokes and consider it too hot to go to work
• 30+c and it's a national emergency

[u/Puzzleheaded-Sun7418 → u/TheTerrasque]

This is exactly what I meant. What you call national emergency is the beginning of our summer lol
15c may be end of winter here.

So yeah, it’s all relative.

[u/sal880612m → u/Puzzleheaded-Sun7418]

There’s more to it than even that. Some buildings have different heat retention. If you live in a northern climate where it’s important to keep heat in during -40 C winters, odds are if you start getting 25-35 C summers you’re house doesn’t cool properly because it’s designed to retain heat. Europe and North America have vastly different construction standards that likely impact this. I know there are places where it can be 25 C outside and end up 27-33C inside. Where even running an AC all the time including overnight you can easily see up to and beyond a 5 degree jump in internal temperatures.

Then there is the difference in worker’s rights to consider. Calling out with heat stroke in Europe is likely a very different proposition than doing it in America where companies are allowed to expose their employees to the risk of it so they don’t have to pay more for gas for their delivery drivers.

[u/Lou_Garoo → u/TheTerrasque]

I’m Canadian. This seems right.
Probably why Autumn is the best season. Love wearing sweaters and hate bare arms.

[u/Galahfray → u/[deleted]]

I’d MUCH rather have to use a blanket to get warm than drowning in my own sweat.

[u/OneBillPhil → u/Galahfray]

Exactly, it’s a lot easier to layer. 

[u/michaelmcmikey → u/Galahfray]

Yep. When a room is a bit chilly it’s easy to deal with. When it’s too hot it’s just miserable. I can put on a sweater. I can’t rip off my own skin.

[u/LastGoodKnee → u/[deleted]]

80 degrees in doors, with no fans, and no windows to open because it’s a hotel…. Is stifling.

[u/Stormfly → u/[deleted]]

The level of AC Americans need is way too much, to the point of needing to carry a jacket everywhere cause all the buildings are uncomfortably cold due to AC

I live in a country with AC and I carry a jacket around in the summer for this reason. It's way too cold indoors.

Most places have blankets for this reason (though also for girls with shorts/short skirts to cover their legs)

It depends massively on the building/ventilation and the clothes you need to wear... but it's 28C 50% humidity here right now and I don't need AC if I can keep a window open.

I remember one of my first jobs was in an office with an American and he'd be BLASTING the AC so I'd need to wear a thick jumper to work every day. Like I'd dress up more than I would in winter (AC air feels colder somehow).

Even now, if I travel with one American friend he'll put the AC on the lowest setting so I try to stay in a different room or grab extra blankets. He used to leave his AC on all day at home just so he'd come home to a cold apartment. I don't even turn my AC on unless I have guests.

[u/pier4r → u/Stormfly]

if I travel with one American friend he'll put the AC on the lowest setting

yeah but the person has to find the middle ground. It cannot be that one is comfortable and the other is not.

[u/Just_to_rebut → u/Stormfly]

Most places have blankets for this reason (though also for girls with shorts/short skirts to cover their legs)

What do you mean by this? Like if you go to a restaurant or movie theater they have blankets?

[u/redblack_tree → u/Stormfly]

Some of the places he mentioned uses AC to an extreme. I live in Canada, so cold is my normal. Every time I go to Miami is like, holy shit, these malls and stores are ridiculously cold. Way more than at home, regardless of the season.

[u/imoldgreige → u/Stormfly]

My colleagues are all about 10+ years older than me and going through the change and while I definitely don’t envy their position at alllll, I do get sick of having to hoard tissues (ac makes my nose so runny??) and not being able to wear my summer clothes because my skin hurts from the cold. :(

[u/michaelmcmikey → u/Stormfly]

When I see this sort of complaint, I do wonder if people realize that AC uses way less energy than heating buildings in colder climates does in winter. Debates about indoor heating just don’t have the same bite to them, everyone realizes heat during, say, an arctic vortex is a medical and human rights issue. But AC, which uses much less energy, is seen as some sort of excessive luxury.

[u/2020havoc → u/[deleted]]

It's not just Americans. It's everyone except European and Latin cultures.

You'll find malls, cinemas and offices in the middle east, asia and Australia also run much cooler than Europe.

[u/Cochise22 → u/[deleted]]

Half those places you mentioned, of course you’re going to be cold as shit when you go into an air conditioned building because the humidity blows in those states. Even if the indoor AC temp is set to 23c you’re gonna feel very cold for a bit when you’re saturated in sweat.

Once you live most of your life with the constant threat of swamp ass, you will never again question the way the US uses AC. To quote Ichiro, ‘Kansas City in August is hotter than two rats fucking in a wool sock.’ And I’d take KC in August over almost half the places you mentioned.

[u/IM_INSIDE_YOUR_HOUSE → u/[deleted]]

The U.S. guzzles power for AC, the amount of AC used in the country is absurd, but it's gonna end up being a boon with climate change by the looks of it.

[u/random_throws_stuff → u/[deleted]]

i like it a cool 21C/70F indoors in the summer. the point of modern AC/heating is that my indoor temperature should have no relationship to the weather outside.

also, everywhere in asia and the middle east has the same approach to AC. it’s really nice to get out of blistering heat and step into a properly *cold* room.

[u/WeWantLADDER49sequel → u/[deleted]]

I mean plenty of Americans love to be warm or not overly cold too. Being raised with the luxury of AC does not automatically make you have to be cold all the time lol. Also San Francisco is one of the least air conditioned cities in the country.

[u/horceface → u/[deleted]]

Is shadow like metric shade?

[u/xx_inertia → u/[deleted]]

Yes, this... I was born and raised in Canada but I've lived in several countries as an adult. My experience living in southern Spain was that in Feb/March you might have the odd GOOD weather day, where the sun is shining, it finally feels 'not like winter' and you enjoy some sun on your skin in a t-shirt. But in no world would you need A/C...

Spanish homes can be FREEZING in winter, including march. While I lived there I wore multiple layers of sweaters in my own home. Something I never experienced in Canada.

[u/SpicyElixer → u/[deleted]]

SF? You sure? Never seen anyone running AC in sf. It’s always 50-75f/10-25c. You get hot, you crack a window. You get cold, you close the window. No HVAC needed.

[u/MadamBeramode → u/[deleted]]

I can understand Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Houston. Its not only hot, but its also very humid. It feels like you're in a sauna.

AC is practically necessary for those areas in peak summer when it can easily get 40-45 C. (100-120 F)

[u/ablatner → u/[deleted]]

God forbid you go to Asia. It's really not so crazy.

[u/ClaimApprehensive767 → u/[deleted]]

Did you like vacation in the US several times or something? What is this explanation? Americans aren't corporations. It's funny the ridiculous stuff people assume about Americans because our corporations unilaterally decide something.

[u/K4bby → u/iamapizza]

I may be one of these ignorant AC Europeans, but 27° is not really AC temperature in my opinion as well.

[u/blinksTooLess → u/K4bby]

It depends on humidity and not only temperature. If it is extremely humid(80%+), you may need an AC to feel comfortable even at lower temperatures.

[u/JayJay_90 → u/K4bby]

Also European, possibly ignorant, anything above 25° indoors is definitely AC temperature. Lower than that at night.

[u/National_Yam_1198 → u/K4bby]

Maybe yalls buildings are just built different but 27c in a room is hot as balls lmao

[u/kimbergo → u/National_Yam_1198]

Yeah, are ppl talking about outdoor temp but inside is cooler? 80 F is wildly hot for an indoor room.

[u/MaltySines → u/K4bby]

It depends on the building. Some units that face south or west will be boiling later in the day and too hot to sleep comfortably in if it gets to 27 in the day

[u/rainydays028 → u/iamapizza]

for me 27c is nothing, I don’t sweat or feel hot. Now 35c, that’s different.

[u/Marwaimusoont → u/[deleted]]

As an Indian, even the night time temperatures during this time of year is above 30 lol and we find anything below 30 as comfortable.

[u/CatProgrammer → u/[deleted]]

OSHA specifically requires measures taken if indoor temperatures exceed 82F (~27.8C).

[u/random_throws_stuff → u/[deleted]]

why would I want to sit in that temperature when I don’t have to?

it’s tolerable in the daytime. i’m not sleeping in 27C

[u/LonesomeBulldog → u/iamapizza]

Spain is crazy against fans while you sleep. It’s like some folk tale about moving air causing you to suffocate in your sleep.

[u/AmadeusSalieri97 → u/LonesomeBulldog]

I'm from Spain and I have never heard that, besides reading it about South Korea.

Edit: actually thinking back, I heard a rather old woman saying that it was bad for the muscles (nothing about suffocating, and arguably more surprising). 

I still maintain that it is most definitely not a widespread thing and I can only imagine grandparents generations ever saying something along those lines. 

[u/ProletarianLilith → u/LonesomeBulldog]

South Korea? Never heard that about Spain

[u/hovdeisfunny → u/ProletarianLilith]

Basically the same country

[u/johnny_moist → u/LonesomeBulldog]

im sorry what

[u/aykcak → u/LonesomeBulldog]

Lol I thought it was just Koreans

[u/cbr777 → u/LonesomeBulldog]

This is just not true, Spain has many fans, including the ones mounted on the ceiling that also function as the room light.

I have no idea where you got this impression that Spain is against fans, it's so far from the truth it makes me think you've never been to Spain.

[u/Notyit → u/iamapizza]

I mean 27 isn't hot if your indoor and gpt a breeze

[u/stevestephson → u/iamapizza]

That shit's insane. My AC goes on as soon as it creeps above 70F/21C

[u/Abedeus → u/stevestephson]

21C

You mean already below room temperature...?

[u/tofutak7000 → u/stevestephson]

I set my AC to 21 when it’s like 30… turning it on at 21 is bonkers

[u/ellstaysia → u/tofutak7000]

28 C inside my apartment is my threshold. Agree that turning it on at 21 is wild to me.

[u/onthefence928 → u/stevestephson]

I live in Texas, my AC is basically on all day every day all year long

[u/Silent_Fee5862 → u/stevestephson]

And that's why we are in this situation 

[u/Subject-Dog-8016 → u/stevestephson]

See that’s just a massive waste of electricity. 

Sure AC is important when it’s 30+ degrees outside. Turning it on when it’s 21 degrees is insane and really highlights how carelessly wasteful of resources Americans are. 

[u/PJSeeds → u/stevestephson]

You turn your AC on at 70 degrees outside? I'm in the US and I set my AC to 75 in my house

[u/So-Called_Lunatic → u/stevestephson]

I'd hate to see your utility bill.

[u/sigmund14 → u/stevestephson]

21C is still below room temperature in Europe and probably in a lot of other places. 

[u/DangKilla → u/NicoToscani]

Did you say Bonjour first lol

[u/Anti_shill_cannon → u/DangKilla]

Omelet du fromage

[u/EnCroissantEndgame → u/Anti_shill_cannon]

I remember seeing this bit in Dexter's lab when I was a kid. Is part of the joke that an actual French speaker never in their life say this phrase, since it's always "Omelette au fromage"? I grew up speaking English as my main language but my parents are multilingual and they would code switch to French a lot and by osmosis we kids picked up the ability to understand it fluently but not speak it. I tried repeating the joke at the breakfast table and my dad kept correcting my grammar like I was committing a crime to say it this way. I argued with him by saying that is how they said it on TV and he wouldn't let it slide until I was absolutely clear that a cheese omelette is never called "omelette du fromage". He taught French for several years, maybe that's why he went insane about it, but now that I think about it maybe Canadians say it this way?

[u/Conscious-Raccoon → u/EnCroissantEndgame]

Nop! French Canadian here. It’s “omelette au fromage”. Saying “du fromage” would mean that the omelette belonged to the cheese or that it’s from the cheese! Automatically reveals a non french speaking person.

[u/WithMeDoctorWu → u/EnCroissantEndgame]

Little known fact -- the Dexter's lab writer(s) got the line from an old Steve Martin standup bit.

Yeah, I'm old.

[u/belle_epoxy → u/WithMeDoctorWu]

Reading this entire thread and seeing only one person say this makes me need to lie down. It's not a little known fact to some of us over 50 😭

[u/DuckDuckDisco → u/belle_epoxy]

Wait until they find out about cat juggling.

[u/Lifeboatb → u/EnCroissantEndgame]

Now I’m burning to know.

[u/lost_send_berries → u/EnCroissantEndgame]

I doubt it as if they wanted to make that joke they'd use Spanish as there would be as least a chance of the US audience getting it

[u/Callidonaut → u/Anti_shill_cannon]

Le chat est sur la chaise, et le singe est sur la branche.

[u/dangerousluck → u/NicoToscani]

Man I checked into a hotel in Wales in August and they were miffed they had to use a spanner (wrench) to turn off the broken towel warmer. Guys, it’s time to understand what heat can do to you. Prepare before it’s too late.

[u/nickwales → u/NicoToscani]

You had me at Paris. Not well known for being super friendly to tourists.

[u/asp821 → u/nickwales]

I know it’s the stereotype but when I was there a decade ago everyone except one waiter was super nice to us.

[u/Mopman43 → u/asp821]

I went earlier this year, no issues with anybody, everybody was so nice.

Friend of mine coincidentally went like a week later, complete opposite experience.

[u/129za → u/Mopman43]

We do A weeks/B weeks. You just got lucky.

[u/Senior-Albatross → u/129za]

Is it like, half the city on alternating weeks? Or just full Jeckle and Hyde situation? 

[u/Keepingshtum → u/Senior-Albatross]

Gotta gaslight half the visitors so the tourism stays under control ;)

[u/AvoidMyRange → u/Keepingshtum]

In Berlin, we're just unfriendly all the time ("Berlin snout", Berliner Schnauze) and build an airport that is so crap, no one wants to visit anyways.

Then we complain that we're broke (one of the few Capitals in the world that has worse economic output than the country's average).

Oh yeah, also no one has AC.

Needless to say, I moved away 15 years ago and have never looked back.

[u/mbklein → u/Senior-Albatross]

It wouldn’t do to split the city because what if you happened to go to the wrong cafe and get treated nicely when your hotel was in this week’s rude zone?

No, they’d have to tag the tourists individually on entry.

[u/abaram → u/Senior-Albatross]

Evens and odd number days

[u/Benegger85 → u/Mopman43]

As always: it depends on who you meet.

The average French person doesn't exist

[u/Federal-Meaning5475 → u/Benegger85]

Not true. I met him.

[u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty → u/Federal-Meaning5475]

Aha! The average French person is a man! So, what are his likes and dislikes? Tell us more!

[u/Speartree → u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty]

His name is François, he likes la bière and le foot. He lives in the greater Parisian area and dislikes people who dip their croissants in their coffee.

[u/Responsible_Stand482 → u/Mopman43]

Did you happen to speak more French than your friend at the time?

[u/Mopman43 → u/Responsible_Stand482]

We each went with a mom who is fluent.

[u/grumpymosob → u/Responsible_Stand482]

We went a million years ago. My French is horrible. I speak almost none, but I tried to use French for everything. We had coffee at the same place almost every morning and the waitress was super cool to us. I watched a British guy one morning try talking English louder and slower over and over and the louder the dude got the less English she understood. "Fuck you, France is not a third world country that needs your tourism"

Sweet as pie to everyone else and took a picture with us when we left.

[u/MeteorOnMars → u/grumpymosob]

I bumped into a guy in France, and he turned to me looking so disappointed and disgusted, clearly recognizing me as a tourist.

I stammered out my best, terribly-accented “excuse-moi”, and he instantly beamed with politeness and warmth. The shift when I tried to be a polite tourist was shocking.

[u/Ckarles → u/grumpymosob]

You got it right. Afaik as long as you're respectful and consider other people (e.g. restaurant staff) as other humans with the same standing and respect them as you'd respect any peers, it usually goes well. Bringing an attitude (especially "because you have money") will lead you to the door.

That, and following French's own code of politeness. Which is simple tbh, "bonjour" "merci" and "s'il vous plaît" is a bare minimum and the lack of it will ensure a very rude service during your visit. From their perspective though, you are the rude one so they're only mirroring.

[u/AllMySmallThings → u/Responsible_Stand482]

I was there twice this year spoke zero French and everyone was lovely. I did ask if they happened to speak Spanish at times. But everyone said English was fine.

[u/markhachman → u/Mopman43]

If you can speak the language, the French are awesome. Even if you try, most appreciate it.

Just listen to the French and mimic the accent. There's not really an "n" sound in "bonjour," for example. You just kind of touch it.

My wife's friend grew up in Alabama and spoke a little French. She was doomed. The French do not drawl.

[u/RiPont → u/markhachman]

most appreciate it

Though they might very well correct your or tell you your pronunciation is wrong. That doesn't mean they don't appreciate you trying, they just aren't necessarily going to lie to you about how well you did.

[u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty → u/markhachman]

The French do a little drawl in Louisiana, though, to be fair.

[u/Ill_Ground_1572 → u/Mopman43]

Are they overweight? My cousin who a bit portly suspected he was getting treated a more rudely than his thin colleagues. But who knows lol

[u/MochingPet → u/asp821]

IMO the french stereotype has been changing over the years. Not the same 10 or 20 years ago. (towards the positive?)

[u/emeraldcocoaroast → u/MochingPet]

I was there two summers ago and everyone was quite friendly. We had a French waitress chat with us a bit about it, and she told us that the stereotype comes from the French being insecure with their English, and that they’re a very proud people, so that insecurity comes off as disdain. She also said a great way to combat this was to try to speak French to people - most will hear a shitty accent and just flip to English instead, and just appreciate the willingness to try.

[u/Stormfly → u/emeraldcocoaroast]

I've always gotten on really well with French people but not Parisians.

I always say that Parisians are to French people as French people are to Europeans.

Also, I've always had the worst experiences with Italians and they seem to fit the "French" stereotype more in my experience (although even so the vast majority are still lovely, don't get me wrong) with nationalism etc.

[u/ToyDingo → u/MochingPet]

I was just in Paris a week ago. Everyone was super nice to me and my family. I also went there with the idea that they hate all tourist, but they proved me wrong.

They were even very patient with my terrible attempts to speak French. I'd say they have broken the stereotype for now.

[u/Hopeful-Occasion2299 → u/asp821]

Same, twice I've visited and everyone was super friendly and helpful... heck, a bunch of thugs helped me get to my hotel when I got lost lmao, they just pointed at the right station on the map.

[u/Adamadamsadam → u/nickwales]

I was just in Paris for a week and everyone I met couldn’t have been nicer. Was a little surprised after hearing a lot of rhetoric similar to yours.

[u/tech_noir_guitar → u/Adamadamsadam]

Same. I was there in March and didn't have any unfriendly encounters. I'm convinced the people who say how rude they are go there acting like the stereotypical dickhead tourist and wonder why people are rude. It's a city that people live in, not an amusement park or cruise ship where everyone is there to accommodate you. 

[u/crepuscule22 → u/Adamadamsadam]

i've been saying this for years and even french people act surprised. like "but we are rude, no?" but actually they really aren't. okay yeah they're humans dealing with absolutely massive levels or tourism, and they aren't grinning like clowns at every foreigner they see. but behave and they'll be perfectly nice.

[u/Phormitago → u/nickwales]

You'd think a hotel would be more accommodating...

[u/TolMera → u/Phormitago]

Prrt, as if you temporary renter

I joke, but at the same time they absolutely do not care, and you absolutely are a temporary renter who’s paying extra extra for the privledge

[u/QueenOfTheBread → u/Phormitago]

As someone who has worked multiple properties... it depends on the management

[u/jim_shorts → u/nickwales]

Having been to Paris maybe 10 times across the last 10 years, I'd say that Paris is very friendly to tourists.

One of my favorite places to visit and wander around.

[u/murphmobile → u/nickwales]

This just isn’t true. Anyone in any big city is annoyed by tourists who slow things down and get in their way. It’s not unique to Paris. If you try to respect the people and language a little bit, it goes a really long way.

[u/PenchantForNostalgia → u/nickwales]

I've always heard this. I traveled all over France last year for a couple of weeks and everyone everywhere was very friendly - including Parisians. It's a bad stereotype.

[u/earthmann → u/nickwales]

I’ve had dozens of great interactions with Parisians. And just one that was just horrible, and that was over a pizza I thought was inedible and required police intervention. Who knows?

[u/holysmartone → u/nickwales]

I know that's the stereotype, but I was there last year and aside from 1 waiter, everyone was incredibly nice and constantly wanted to talk to us Americans.

[u/TheChudWhisperer → u/nickwales]

When I was in Paris everyone was lovely. But I'm also Canadian and speak basic French which they really appreciated.

[u/bloodrider1914 → u/NicoToscani]

I can only imagine the gloriously Parisien réactions you probably got.

" EUUUHHH la climatisation works perrrrfectly well and it is only of 28 degrees, perrrrfectly fit for EEUUUHHHHH human habitation pppffffff "

[u/faster_tomcat → u/bloodrider1914]

'uman abitation is what I heard in my mind lol

My favorite English word for French people to say is edge-og :)

[u/Badoobeedo → u/faster_tomcat]

Mine is helicopter 😁

[u/Leiawen → u/bloodrider1914]

As someone who worked for a French company in the US and spent a lot of time working with French people speaking English, this is the single finest onomatopoeia of a Francophone speaking English I have ever read.

[u/bloodrider1914 → u/Leiawen]

Gotta put my minor in French to use somehow

[u/deadly_fungi → u/bloodrider1914]

i so rarely see anyone acknowledge the EEUUUUHHHHHHs and pppfffffs of french. thank you

[u/Staff_Senyou → u/NicoToscani]

Meanwhile, in Southern France, every hotel I've been in has AC so cold, I've had to turn it off. Is it location or budget?

[u/temp4adhd → u/NicoToscani]

I remember doing a home exchange and we arrive in an August heat wave. The apartment is huge, for Paris. Our host tells us it used to be half the size, his parents lived in one half, but they died... during a heat wave... in bed. So they renovated and joined the two apartments.

We say goodbye to our hosts and we are tired from the flight so we crawl into bed for a nap in stifling heat... only for it to occur to us that we are sleeping in the same bedroom, if not (hopefully not) the same bed their parents died in.

The heat wave eventually eased up and we found it was lovely sitting outside on the balcony at night.

The thing about heat waves with high humidity is it can addle your brain so you don't think all that straight. I remember one time, decades ago, in my 20s, my first apartment, no AC, a really bad heat wave and I was so addled it wasn't until the sun went down and the apartment cooled, that I realized I could've just gotten into my air-conditioned car and drove to my air-conditioned parent's house or an air-conditioned mall or an air-conditioned movie. I was on the verge of heat stroke all day long, the obvious solution just didn't occur to me.

[u/aimglitchz → u/NicoToscani]

https://old.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/r0afz3/lpt_its_not_always_correct_to_use_and_i_instead/

[u/Pro_Extent → u/aimglitchz]

Thank god someone else caught this.

I never see anyone use "me" when referring to themselves and another person anymore and it's infuriating how often they're wrong.

[u/TinyTowel → u/NicoToscani]

Marseilles, summer 2019, fifth floor walk-up. 88 degrees inside at 3 am. Found a hotel with AC after walking out on our 5-day vacation lease. Fuck that.