'Murican here. We're home to every personality under the sun - if you feel like the person you're dealing with is an asshole, they probably are. Disengage and move on - you'll find pleasant people.

Given the political disaster we're about to dive into, you might want to wait a bit to gauge how we treat our guests over the next few months - we've definitely set the stage to go full Nazi, whether or not we actually do remains to be seen.

Fucked up politics aside, welcome aboard if you ever decide to visit!

Sensitivity is more than fine! You'd fit right in. However, you very much need to be able to firmly advocate for yourself, and be confident in what is necessary for your health needs.

The country will kill you quicker than the people. If you do come, remember this place is MASSIVE, the biggest mistake tourists make is going exploring natural spaces. If you aren't prepared, didn't bring a compass, and can't navigate by tree moss and the sun, then it is extremely easy to wander off, and never be found. If the road you are on suddenly switches from asphalt to gravel or dirt, you want to stop your car immediately, consult your navigation, and a damn atlas just in case, and turn back towards the nearest shreds of civilization. Exposure to the elements in this country can be, and frequently is, lethal. The less said about the wildlife the better, but if you're in a car you're mostly safe.

It is so variable.

It is generally true that folks on this side of the pond are more direct and blunt than folks that I've met from Europe, or even from our lovely neighbors to the north. But I wouldn't say it's aggressively so. It's also the case that it's a matter of degrees.

I'm from the southern US, and we tend to be way less blunt, and more wordy than many other areas. Like, the New Yorkers I've known will just up and say something, in one sentence, and it's up to you to like it or lump it. A southerner is likely to edge around a subject a little more, and feel you out before deciding how to say something, and then say it with relatively careful wording.

I'm not even talking about harsh things, I'm talking about something like asking if you like hamburgers.

It isn't perfect, but we tend to be nice to visitors. Not everyone, and not as much as we should, but the places I've lived, or visited long enough over time to get to know people, you're more likely to run into people being curious and helpful as a tourist, or even immigrant, than they would be to someone from the next town over.

So, I don't think you'd have to "toughen up" to visit or live here.

The caveat to all of that is that there are assholes here. There are everywhere, but we're a big country, so even a 1% asshole group is a lot of people.

People in the US probably won't say what they mean directly the same way you would in Europe. The biggest thing I've noticed in the EU is that, to an American, most people are horrifically blunt to the point of being rude. So if you're used to that you should be fine.

Unless you are very fluent in English a lot of American rudeness tends to be very underhanded, so you might not really realize it anyways? It's either that or batshit crazy.

I suppose this depends on where you're coming from. My Eastern European relatives thought that Americans were oddly friendly. I remember my mother saying "Why did the cashier smile at me? She doesn't know me!"

No Americans assimilate better than any other country. That’s kinda their thing. They’re overly friendly if anything.

Avoid the UK though we love tearing everyone including ourselves down.

Ultimately the big downside of the us is that there are no real assitance programs unless your in poverty. So nothing to keep you from falling into poverty. They also tend to be inadequate and don't get to those who need it. If you have wealth living here then it don't matter what your like, you will do fine.

it’s fine, you’d be just fine. Honest.

competitive and that the people are very direct/speak their mind.

I associate this attitude more with East Coast folks. Us in the Pacific Northwest are known for smiles, soft pedalling and strictly passive aggression only.

I'm soft like overproved dough. Deeply allergic to anything competitive and near pathologically conflict averse. I've felt very welcome since I moved here from Australia ~10 years ago.

PNW, SoCal, NorCal, Midwest, New England and the South are some of main culturally distinct areas. I think you're better off finding where you might like to move to and investigating a particular city, state or area. Subreddits and Nextdoor are (alas) probably better for detailed local info, but cast around widely as some forums can be surprisingly polarized - r/oregon was partly a refuge for trolls who'd been banned from r/portland, for example.

Don't move to New Jersey or the Philly area, and you'll probably be fine.

Don't go. It's a failed state. And it will get worse in the future.