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As an American who now lives abroad, air conditioning .
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Windows with screens. When I lived in Geneva, I was in a sixth-floor walk-up flat with no A/C. I was in for a very unfortunate surprise when the weather got warm and I opened the windows only for bugs to swarm in. No screens! How was I supposed to sleep in a hot bedroom and I couldn’t even open my tiny window for some air flow?!
The ability to use restrooms without charge.
Bored Pandagot in touch with the internet user who posted this question and they were kind enough to share some more details. We wanted to know why they picked this topic in the first place. “My friend traveled to Poland, and she was surprised that drying machines for clothes were a luxury. Hardly anyone had them over there.We were also curious to hear their thoughts on why the thread had so much engagement. “Popularity in questions asked on that subreddit are just random really. You can ask the same question another day and not get any responses. Sometimes they hit, sometimes they don’t,” they shared.
Bored Pandagot in touch with the internet user who posted this question and they were kind enough to share some more details. We wanted to know why they picked this topic in the first place. “My friend traveled to Poland, and she was surprised that drying machines for clothes were a luxury. Hardly anyone had them over there.
We were also curious to hear their thoughts on why the thread had so much engagement. “Popularity in questions asked on that subreddit are just random really. You can ask the same question another day and not get any responses. Sometimes they hit, sometimes they don’t,” they shared.
Space. We have so much space. Lived in Japan for 2 years and space is what I missed the most. Bigger cars, houses, trees, cities (more area), businesses, etc… other places mostly seem so cramped. Even bigger cities like Chicago have so much more room comparatively.
Our cheap gas.
We also wanted to hear if this netizen had any examples of their own. “I used to play WOW classic with a person in our guild that lived in Lebanon. He would not always have 24 hour electricity.” We also asked if they had any favorite posts. “I would say the entire thread is my favorite, it’s a humbling read for any Americans that don’t travel outside the country.”
Excellent water pressure in showers. When abroad, showers are like a flower watering pot. I like to feel my shower. Make the pressure strong enough to tear my skin off, then back it off like 10%.
Great disability access. I can go to any place — theatre, store, office, school, whatever — with confidence that I’ll be able to navigate fine in my wheelchair, and they’ll have ramps and/or elevators.
In the early 2000s I asked a refugee from Somalia what if she liked it here. She said yes. “What’s your favorite thing?” I said.“If my house starts on fire I can call 911 and someone will come put it out.““Oh. Yeah. That’s awesome.”.
Garbage collection. When I traveled a little bit, one of the things that struck me most was the amount of garbage in the streets and piled in fields. There is no municipal collection in some parts of the world.
Unless you truly live in the middle of nowhere, access to good Mexican food is basically guaranteed.
That at school your child can get free services like speech therapy.
Controlling the temperature of your home to whatever you want 24/7/365.Most other developed countries are either good at heating or good at AC, but rarely both.
Back yards! Even if it’s small, a patch of land attached to your residence that no one but you has access to is something most people in cities in east, southeast, and South Asia can only dream of.
Libraries. The American public library system is very advanced. It’s also, general speaking, free to use.
We essentially bathe in drinking water.
Regular street-sweeping. You won’t notice it until you go somewhere without it.
Dryers that actually dry clothes. I’m American but my new apartment has a European style 2 in 1 washer/dryer which i thought was cool at first until I used it and it takes 4 hours for a dry cycle, is soooo loud, and the clothes still come out a little damp. I miss my American sized washer dryer separate units
Hot water. Grew up off grid, and hot water from the tap meant you had to have the water pump working and you had to have water in the catchment. Plus propane for the water heater, so hot water wasn’t a guaranteed thing. Been living in “real” houses for the last 15 years and everytime I turn on a hot shower I’m still thankful .
Owning a separate car for every driver in a household.
Drinks with ice ‼️Apparently Europeans don’t like ice. Room temperature drinks don’t quench my thirst.
Flushing toilet paper in the actual toilet.
Vegetarian and vegan options.
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The single family home.The vast majority of people live in apartments or row houses/townhouses.
People obeying traffic signals. Guy I used to work with who was from an African country I cannot recall(this was 15+ years ago) said one of the most suprising things he saw when he immigrated was that people actually obeyed traffic lights. He said where he came from they were treated more like mild suggestions.
The ability to buy anything you can think of and buying online arrives in less than a week…often in two or three days.A lot of countries just don’t have the access to big box stores or infinite option online merchants.
Traveling to other countries without an approved visa.
Fully stocked grocery stores. Life post-COVID showed me how much of a luxury this actually is. I can so vividly remember driving to the store to pick up some things only to find half-empty shelves.
Potable tap water.
The right to protest, hold whatever backwards belief you want, and say whatever you want (of course if it isn’t true threats or fighting words).
The freedom to speak openly about your political and personal beliefs, no matter how stupid or uninformed they are.
Fresh fruit from around the world every day of the year.
Currency that doesn’t devalue every other month.
Spices. Less than 100 years ago paprika was as expensive saffron.
Not caring about customer support. « ill just buy another one »They dont understand that once you pay for something, its supposed to work as long as physically possible.Too many dollars on their hands.
Being able to get insulin. As much as the cost of it sucks, it’s still available at all. I haven’t missed a single day of taking it in over 41 years. It’s why I’m not dead.Government funded dialysis care. I’m not on dialysis but I used to work in the field for years. If you need it, you get it. Without those 3 3-4 hour treatments a week, those people would die.Lack of actual wars in our country for over a century has been pretty nice too.
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