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I would guess that most people from outside the states are familiar with the geographical size of the country, and that this frequently comes off as patronising.

Besides, the fact of the matter is that English dominates as the main language in the US to a far greater degree than Europe. I’m not sure that your analogy really highlights anything except that Europe has many more culturally distinct zones than the US.

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> I would guess that most people from outside the states are familiar with the geographical size of the country

If they do they don't act like it: my experience has been like the OP's, in that non-Americans tend to assume our society and culture is a lot more homogeneous than it is.

Conversely, as an American, American's tend to assume their culture is a lot more heterogeneous than it really is. Tons of people don't travel outside the country because they think that the US has everything when it doesn't at all.

To be fair, the US doesn't have everything, but it does have a lot, so I can see how you could get this idea if you weren't a particularly imaginative or curious person.

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