A British man spent three months in America and came home saying Americans actually live, and the UK has been nothing but depressing ever since

A British TikTok user who posts as Tristan (@_tristantrue) says three months in the United States made coming home hard. His short clip went up and has since picked up nearly a million views, with replies from both sides of the Atlantic.

Tristan films himself on a selfie camera, and the message is in the on-screen text. It says that after “spending three months in the USA,” coming back to the UK “has been nothing but depressing.” The text ends with the line “Americans actually LIVE and have an ounce of enthusiasm in them.”

His caption admits “there are many problems with that country.” He still wrote that the people he met across the US were “infinitely more likeable and go-getters than us brits,” and said he could see himself moving there one day. Most commenters agreed with him, though many of the Americans who replied added a caveat about how things are going at home.

Viewers say Americans are friendlier and more ambitious

Many commenters, a lot of them from Europe, wrote that they felt the same way after their own trips to the US. They described Americans as chatty with strangers and supportive of big plans, and some compared that with a gloomier mood back home. Americans in the thread thanked Tristan and told him to come back.

One viewer who has visited three times wrote that “it’s not cringe to be ambitious over there.” Another said Americans “say hi to you on the streets when they dont even know you.” A third user blamed “tall poppy syndrome” in the UK. Several Americans added a version of the same line. “Mind you, we are at our lowest…” one wrote, and another told him to return “when we are under new management.”

Some viewers say visiting isn’t the same as living there

Other commenters said three months doesn’t show what daily life in the US is like. Several brought up limited paid time off and health insurance costs. A few Americans wrote that they’re struggling financially and working long hours just to get by.

“meh, any place looks better when ur just visiting or on vacation there,” one user wrote. Another said Americans get “like 1 week off a year.” A commenter who moved from Texas to Manchester wrote that Americans are “way too (Fake) nice” for them. One American user said the country’s ambition is “really just mental instability.”

Tristan hasn’t said what took him to the US for three months, and several viewers asked. A few guessed Camp America, and others wanted to know the name of the song playing over the clip. Other travel videos have gone viral on TikTok, including one filmed on a man’s first day in China.