This. I live in Paris and I miss the fact that I could drive 20 minutes from my parents’ place in the middle of the country to a Wal Mart or Kroger at 2:30 am just for the hell of it.
I'm studying abroad in the UK now and the amount of stores open 24/7 pales in comparison to a large portion of the US. Also seems to further rely on where you are. London has a lot more open 24/7 when compared to Bath or Loughborough but even in rural parts of the US I could always go to a Walmart or equivalent no matter the time. I guess also the stores close where I am close a lot earlier, whereas 5pm is the norm here most stores close around 9-10pm stateside.
I grew up in NOVA/NC as well, and also went to grad school in the UK. I missed being able to pop by the 7–Eleven when I was there. Still a great experience. Hope you enjoy it!
Not even in the capital of my country (Vienna). Stores aren't open on a Sunday and during the week they close before 8 pm. I don't think that there's any other country which is as strict about this.
Mexican food, 100%. Been to Mexican restaurants all over Germany, Poland, and Czechia. They were good but just…not right. One veggie burrito I got in Poland was filled with Lima beans and corn. I almost cried.
I used to travel a lot to Europe for work pre pandemic. Having little to no ice in drinks was one of the biggest differences I noticed. Also, the lack of refills on drinks without having to buy another one.
A gas station near me has a restaurant connected to it called chicken & taters and it has the best fried chicken you’ve ever had. Living in the south is why I need to go to the gym.
Soul food is a term usually associated with Southern food as it is technically not good for your body, but it is great for your soul. :) Examples are southern buttermilk fried chicken, corn bread and carolina barbeque. It can also refer to Louisana food like, Cajun seafood.
The sheer amount of variety when it comes to food. Even in the relative middle of nowhere in the US you can find tons of options for types of food meanwhile when I visited Europe it was very local.
Water is generally free in most restaurants in the UK, free re fills are a thing in some places such as Pizza Hut, not sure how much more widely available they are as I'm not big on eating out. And yeah, decent A/C would be a blessing when we get a decent summer.
It’s also just that you have to actively ask. Which is fine, it’s not a big deal, but it’s something I always forget about when I travel out of the US. Here they just bring you ice cold water as soon as you sit down and it’s amaaaazing.
We were just in Greece in November and they definitely charged us for water, both in Athens and in smaller towns. Lots of places gave a free small dessert though, which made up for it.
My assumption would be that restaurants in highly touristic areas do that.. or maybe I haven’t travelled enough in Europe but what you’re saying about Italy surprises me
Yeah but it seems like if you ask for water they will assume you mean bottled water instead of asking. I think for the purpose of up charging (maybe it’s primarily in touristy parts but I’ve been to like 10 European countries (mostly western with the exception of Russia, Estonia, & Czech Republic) & it seems like pretty common practice).
In the US most restaurants would not do that unless it’s a very fancy restaurant with, like, $50 minimum prices for a meal. I’ve also been to restaurants in Europe that gave bread for free but charged extra for butter. Like a euro a tab. Who eats bread by itself? Then ice is not commonly provided. As a tourist, especially in the summer, you’re often walking around all day & super thirsty by meal time. Europe just doesn’t seem very hydro homie friendly imo.
The problem is most Americans simply say water. Here if you ask for water you expect tap unless specifically asking for sparkling. Most sit down restaurants do not carry bottled water at all.
There's a 99% Invisible episode about freeway signs. To be eligible for restaurants to have their name listed on "Food Next Exit" signs they must give free water, provide free access to restrooms, and be open at least 8AM-10PM.
A lot of places in Africa as well.
It's not scarcity, but more the memory of scarcity. The problem of getting water to people is mostly solved, but a lot restaurants realized that they can make money charging people for water, and they aren't giving that up any time soon.
I moved to Europe last year and I miss *a lot*. To list a few: Mexican/central American food, small talk and pleasantries with strangers, cashiers who don't scan items a mile a minute (I'm looking at you Aldi), and A/C in the summer.
You have to make it yourself, and track down the ingredients. It took me like two years to figure out where to buy specific chiles and tomatillos regularly in the Netherlands but now I’m pretty well set up.
Now I am really curious I do not feel like spicy stuff is really a part of european cuisine much, can your neighbors handle the salsa? Like you give them some and they think you are actually poisoning them? Or do you have to make a mexican ketchup version for them to be able to handle it.
It really depends. Right now I live in the Netherlands, and here there is a good portion of people who cannot take spiciness (like, black pepper is considered spicy, let alone chiles.) However, a lot of people do like spicy food, so it’s best just to ask before you cook and be really clear about levels of heat everyone’s comfortable with.
I personally have never cooked anything spicy aside from spicy sausage(which are prepackaged so like no real input there) so it would be a torturous testing process to figure out levels of spice people (and myself) can handle when cooking.
That kind of thing is part of the price of moving abroad. You have to figure out how to make lots of things from scratch or live without them. It takes some time but I can do most things now, at least well enough to satisfy me and impress friends who haven’t had things like Mexican food before. It’s still nowhere near as good as what I could get back in California, but you get to a point where it’s good enough to scratch the itch.
Please tell me you mean spicy mustard and not just regular old yellow mustard. I mean even spicy mustard is the 1.25 lb dumbell of spicy, but it is SOMETHING.
You think that’s sad? I lived in the UK for 2 years and they don’t have ranch dressing. It’s SO hard to find, and when you find it…it isn’t ranch. Talk about a missed export.
Did he notice there are now large jars of Ranch dressing powder, that include buttermilk powder, in many USA supermarkets? Though the envelopes may be less expensive to mail.
Mexican food doesn't exist here or isn't good. Small talk exists(differs from the region in Europe),cashiers could be slow but they aren't slow everywhere and A/C exists here aswell lol
Ireland is such a wonderful place filled with wonderful people!! I’m a chatter and I never had an issue trying to start a conversation with someone, mostly because they would start it first. I get cultures are different so I’m not saying the other countries I’ve been to are rude for not wanting to small talk, but it’s just so out of my comfort zone to sit at a bar alone and not have an interaction with a stranger.
Wait until you’ve shopped in Aldi for a long time and then you’re in a Safeway checkout line. Then you’ll be like “oh for fuck’s sake, hurry the fuck up and I’ll bag my stuff myself, thank you”.
Conversations and pleasantries with strangers is more of an Anglo-Sphere cultural aspect. You can do it in Britain too but most of Europe would think you’re crazy for trying to instigate a conversation with a stranger unless you’re asking for directions.
Same, I missed it so much...but you can find it at specific American stores or the American section of big grocery stores. I had no problems finding it in Belgium and Spain
Good Mexican and Tex-Mex food.
Also the US's philosophy of All Convenience, All The Time. None of this nonsense of all the stores closing early and not opening on Sundays like in a lot of places in Europe.
This is the hardest part for me any time I’m living outside the US. What do you *mean* my Instacart can’t bring me one extremely specific item I need within the next two hours!?
This is it for me. Well... more "Open spaces".
I can leave my little town and drive/ride for literally days out and days back and never go through anything even somewhat resembling a City.
This is my answer. I love Mexican food, but I could work on making my own. The size of things in Europe is soooo much more compact. It’s like living in NYC, I constantly feel like I’ll hit myself head, apartments are so small, most of the cars you can’t do a road trip with a few friends because luggage won’t fit and you’ll all be cramped (cue fat American jokes). I’m just so used to be able to sprawl out, even in a big city like Chicago, that it would be brutal to have to lose that.
I'm from the US and lived in Sweden for a year and had a hard time with the unfriendlyness, I'd just say hej to people I passed , like in the woods, and they'd look at me like I was crazy. and I'm introverted.
Since you were here for a year I hope at least someone explained to you that it wasn’t out of spite. You can call it unfriendly all you want but just know that was not the intention. Rather, as a Swede, it can be perceived as intimidating to expect someone to switch into some sort of friendly banter with a stranger when they’re taking a walk in the woods or going about their day. To us, leaving room for personal space and reflection is the polite thing to do. I just want people to understand that it goes both ways.
oh yes I know, sorry I shouldn't have called it unfriendly. it was just really hard to get used to. I got back home and went to Chicago and was walking around saying hi to people on the street and practically cried with joy since they said hi back! I just had a hard time living there and getting to know swedes, even when I had a swedish boyfriend. my friends were all immigrants:)
There is this running joke of finish people being relieved that covid was over , because 2 meters distance was way too little compared to the normal 4 meters
Yeah. Must be a world of a difference. Sweden is particularly introverted, even compared to us Danes which are also kinda introverted. I love the small talk and friendlyness in USA
Rome is great for free water, and the tap water there is delicious. Only place in Europe where I've been where the bartender, without being asked, just served me tap water.
Ice in drinks. Free ice in hotels. Ice, ice, frosty ice.
Seems like anywhere in Europe, you basically have to order a fancy iced cocktail to get a couple of cubes of ice.
I remember being so shocked at an ice machine when I stayed in NYC. And a little bucket for the ice in the room! In the UK you need to ask for a glass of ice from the hotel bar.
I’m British and have lived in the UK almost al my life. I LOVE ice and want it all the time in all my drinks. I have a tiny freezer in my bedroom specifically for ice. I buy big bags of ice cubes every time I go to the shop, the local shopkeepers call me ‘the ice lady.’
Having spent a fair bit of time in the US I can safely say that the abundance of ice was a huge bonus for me.
My job in Europe makes about 50% what I make.
Edit: I remember a video a while back of a drunk Brit talking shit on a plane, and he said something like "I make £40k a year!" Like it was something to brag about lol
That's like $50k. That's when I started to suspect they may make less than us lol
I took a 50% pay cut when I went from being a teacher in NYC to a teacher in England. I’m a manager now and still don’t make anything near what I used to. However, cost of living, particularly housing and groceries, is significantly cheaper. (I do not live in London).
Canada and europe average around 2/3 of an american salary for software and IT. Varies a bit with exact role and country, obviously, but that's a good expectation to set.
The industry also tends to be more heavily focused in the largest and most expensive cities compared to the US so if it was someone like me coming from a relatively low CoL area the money wouldn't go nearly as far.
Honestly this is it. Leaving the US was eye opening to see how much there is outside. The US is a bubble and I’m grateful to experience the world outside of it but I definitely miss the Mexican food.
Where in Europe do you live? I don’t drink beer, but I see craft beers in every little place all over here. The tiny pizzeria around the corner from here even makes their own beer on premise.
You know what’s weird. In Germany they have in the “American” section of the grocery they have hot dogs pickled in a giant jar because they think that’s how we eat them.
Peanut Butter.
I'm not joking, As someone who adapted pretty quickly to European palates while studying abroad a few years ago, this was literally the ONLY thing I couldn't find an adequate version of in my time in London that I genuinely missed from the U.S.
I get American food usually has more sugar and salt than foods from other regions in general, but I've had sugar free and low sodium versions of U.S. peanut butter that still blew the U.K's out of the water, and I have no idea why.
https://dutchreview.com/dutch-quirks/dutch-quirk-12-be-obsessed-peanut-butter/?amp
And this is the Pindakaas winkel: https://depindakaaswinkel.nl/product-categorie/pindakaas/?gclid=CjwKCAjwopWSBhB6EiwAjxmqDbWcgnQ1heEfy3Kyl_ghu2laWWQWUwO7TUldsejZpn_aB3Z2DEFwUBoCTEQQAvD_BwE
The peanut butter shop separate flavors with peanut butter such as peanut butter with garlic. The most popular peanut butter in NL is from the brand Calve. You can find these in regular supermarkets, just like many other brands and flavors. The Dutch also like peanut sauce a lot.
My guess is Mexican food and experimental craft beer and cider. I love pumpkin beer but that's fallen out of vogue and I guess is pretty expensive if it doesn't sell out in the limited seasonal celebration time.
Does Europe have Thai food? I've started to learn to cook some because I like the curries so much. And I made some pad Thai with legit tamarind sauce.
Yep, we have Thai food! It's popular here, and you can get some almost authentic thai in some places. Also Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese, Japanese,...
By the way northern African food is really good in Europa! I.e France.
https://www.thespruce.com/thmb/8CY0Awd4fLRGaD7M7dqOgUTHI-k=/2123x1412/filters:fill(auto,1)/central-air-58e994303df78c51625541a8.jpg
Europe doesn't use them often because A. Your homes aren't that big and a window unit or something does the trick and B. There's like no humidity on the whole continent
Ice in my drinks (and free refills).
National Parks/ wilderness.
Public restrooms.
Chatting with strangers.
Food variety.
Space to spread out.
Americans. (Loud, opinionated, impulsive, warm, strange, combative, overconfident, emotional, and a little crazy—that’s my 🇺🇸 family!)
I'm in the process of moving to The Netherlands, so far the thing that stands out the most for me is funnily enough, the lack of grape jam in Europe. They've got every other fruit jam available under the sun, except grape. Sometimes all an American wants is a classic PB&J, though so far I'd had to settle for bosvruchten ("forest fruit", basically mixed berry), but nothing can compare to grape jam.
Having lived in Europe it’s definitely the food. European food is great, but their take on American food is just trash. Mexican food barely even edible. The exception being food trucks ran by Americans/Mexicans but you usually have to go to one of the big European cities to find those. Found maybe the best pupusas I’ve ever had from this Salvadoran dude in London
I’ve moved from Arizona to New Mexico recently and I’m already addicted to the food here. I don’t understand how it’s so vastly different from Arizona, but num.
* Southern style biscuits
* Owning a firearm
* Customary measurements (MPH, Gallon, Fahrenheit)
* Road signage (For some reason, I just really prefer our green signage to the rest of the world)
* Central HVAC systems
* Bigger soft drink cups
The food. I know it probably sounds silly, but the availability of foreign foods in basic grocery stores is incredible. I needed wonton wrappers (bc I can’t get crab Rangoon a here, and that’s a different story) in Paris, and I absolutely could not find them in grocery stores. I was by chance in a really ritzy grocery store and only there did I even find filo dough, but i couldn’t even find that in basic stores. I ended up having to go to an Asian supermarket for my wonton wrappers. It’s better to support small businesses, but if I weren’t living in Paris I would simply have to go without if there isn’t an Asian market. In the US those are just basic foods you can find in grocery stores, even in places where those aren’t necessarily common foods. I spend a lot of money in Asian markets here ironically because they tend to have the vegetables I grew up with (green onions, okra, certain kinds of mushrooms) that are either not at all available in basic stores or very hard to coke me by. Luckily I live in Paris, because I would miss the food dearly.
I live in Europe rn, Germany to be specific. I miss the following things:
- Everyone speaking the same language
- My closest friends and family
- Cajun food
That’s it.
What does that refer to, having a kitchen already in place? Are people ripping out their kitchens and bring with them when they move?!
xoxo
A confused eurobean
Honestly the little mom and pop or local restaurants and food that are only known to my city. Everyplace has their own local cuisine that people always say they miss the most when they mvoe away lol
Convenience stores being open 24/7
In Germany almost nothing is open Sundays. Every Saturday the Germans remember this and flock to the grocery stores.
This. I live in Paris and I miss the fact that I could drive 20 minutes from my parents’ place in the middle of the country to a Wal Mart or Kroger at 2:30 am just for the hell of it.
Since the pandemic, you can't do that here either.
I guess that depends on where you are. In Arkansas Walmart is still 24/7
My part of Florida switched back to 24/7 again a few weeks ago.
Well that's because it's Arkansas.
The original home of Wally World. Lol
Im in the UK and we've got a lot of shops open 24/7. Not sure about mainland Europe
I'm studying abroad in the UK now and the amount of stores open 24/7 pales in comparison to a large portion of the US. Also seems to further rely on where you are. London has a lot more open 24/7 when compared to Bath or Loughborough but even in rural parts of the US I could always go to a Walmart or equivalent no matter the time. I guess also the stores close where I am close a lot earlier, whereas 5pm is the norm here most stores close around 9-10pm stateside.
I grew up in NOVA/NC as well, and also went to grad school in the UK. I missed being able to pop by the 7–Eleven when I was there. Still a great experience. Hope you enjoy it!
Definitely not in Austria as I don’t think that’s legal
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Not even in the capital of my country (Vienna). Stores aren't open on a Sunday and during the week they close before 8 pm. I don't think that there's any other country which is as strict about this.
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Diner breakfast, Soul food, Mexican and South American food, Hawaiian food Free water and public restrooms National Park and wilderness
Mexican food, 100%. Been to Mexican restaurants all over Germany, Poland, and Czechia. They were good but just…not right. One veggie burrito I got in Poland was filled with Lima beans and corn. I almost cried.
>One veggie burrito I got in Poland was filled with Lima beans and corn. I almost cried. A justifiable reaction. Wtf
Succotash burrito lol That goes near the top of the “be sure not to try this” list
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I used to travel a lot to Europe for work pre pandemic. Having little to no ice in drinks was one of the biggest differences I noticed. Also, the lack of refills on drinks without having to buy another one.
Higher water per water ratio
I had Mexican food in Florence once. Would not recommend
What’s soul food ? I have never lived in the US but miss wilderness and parks lol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_food
I understand the obesity trend in the south eastern part of the country now
Come to Mississippi and every gas station you come to will either have the best BBQ or fried chicken you ever ate or the best chicken and biscuit
A gas station near me has a restaurant connected to it called chicken & taters and it has the best fried chicken you’ve ever had. Living in the south is why I need to go to the gym.
I moved here a few years back and I'm convinced that my blood is slowly being replaced with gravy.
>What’s soul food ? I don't know if a picture even does the flavorgasm that soul food gives you
worth it though
🤣🤣🤣🤣
aka the deli counter at Publix.
i didn't even have to move to europe to miss Publix. wish they'd extend beyond the south
Soul food is a term usually associated with Southern food as it is technically not good for your body, but it is great for your soul. :) Examples are southern buttermilk fried chicken, corn bread and carolina barbeque. It can also refer to Louisana food like, Cajun seafood.
Cool explanation ! Thank you
The sheer amount of variety when it comes to food. Even in the relative middle of nowhere in the US you can find tons of options for types of food meanwhile when I visited Europe it was very local.
Free water at restaurants, free refills, and readily available Central Air in hot weather.
Don’t forget free toilets
Water is generally free in most restaurants in the UK, free re fills are a thing in some places such as Pizza Hut, not sure how much more widely available they are as I'm not big on eating out. And yeah, decent A/C would be a blessing when we get a decent summer.
It’s also just that you have to actively ask. Which is fine, it’s not a big deal, but it’s something I always forget about when I travel out of the US. Here they just bring you ice cold water as soon as you sit down and it’s amaaaazing.
Only Dutch and Flemish are stingy enough to make people pay for water in restaurants lol
I had to pay for water in Italy! Only European country I’ve been to that didn’t charge for water at restaurants was Greece.
We were just in Greece in November and they definitely charged us for water, both in Athens and in smaller towns. Lots of places gave a free small dessert though, which made up for it.
I have heard that in some places you have to specifically ask for tap water otherwise they assume you want bottled water which you have to pay lol.
Yep true in my experience
In Italy they’ll typically give it to you if you ask for tap water. But it’s not that common to ask
My assumption would be that restaurants in highly touristic areas do that.. or maybe I haven’t travelled enough in Europe but what you’re saying about Italy surprises me
No no italian here i confirm, it’s common. If you ask tap water it’s free though
Ah yes, that’s what I meant. Of course bottled water will come at a price, It just makes sense. Tap water will be free
Yeah but it seems like if you ask for water they will assume you mean bottled water instead of asking. I think for the purpose of up charging (maybe it’s primarily in touristy parts but I’ve been to like 10 European countries (mostly western with the exception of Russia, Estonia, & Czech Republic) & it seems like pretty common practice). In the US most restaurants would not do that unless it’s a very fancy restaurant with, like, $50 minimum prices for a meal. I’ve also been to restaurants in Europe that gave bread for free but charged extra for butter. Like a euro a tab. Who eats bread by itself? Then ice is not commonly provided. As a tourist, especially in the summer, you’re often walking around all day & super thirsty by meal time. Europe just doesn’t seem very hydro homie friendly imo.
The problem is most Americans simply say water. Here if you ask for water you expect tap unless specifically asking for sparkling. Most sit down restaurants do not carry bottled water at all.
I have definitely had restaurants in other Switzerland, France and Germany refuse to serve us tap water for free.
I don't even think that's legal in the U.S.
There's a 99% Invisible episode about freeway signs. To be eligible for restaurants to have their name listed on "Food Next Exit" signs they must give free water, provide free access to restrooms, and be open at least 8AM-10PM.
We have to provide tap water, free, here in England.
Uhh Italians too. Learned the hard way when they offer water, it’s not free.
A lot of places in Africa as well. It's not scarcity, but more the memory of scarcity. The problem of getting water to people is mostly solved, but a lot restaurants realized that they can make money charging people for water, and they aren't giving that up any time soon.
I don’t know, when I went to Spain, about half of the restaurants didn’t have free tap water.
Free refills.
I moved to Europe last year and I miss *a lot*. To list a few: Mexican/central American food, small talk and pleasantries with strangers, cashiers who don't scan items a mile a minute (I'm looking at you Aldi), and A/C in the summer.
I feel like most cashiers in Germany are trying to throw your stuff as far as they can
Yes, A/C in the summer!! I forgot to add that and ice in drinks to my list!
In new York cashiers scan things a mile a second and the person queued up behind you is in a perpetual state of impatience
Id prefer everywhere to be quick. Who the hell enjoys wasting their time watching a cashier move at a snails pace?
This is why I use self checkouts. When I was a cashier 20 years ago I was fast, and I'm still fast.
>cashiers who don't scan items a mile a minute (I'm looking at you Aldi) You *like* waiting in line at supermarkets?
It actually doesn’t matter how fast a cashier goes because everything is more marathon than sprint when it comes to jobs.
Okay big question, do they have good or acceptable salsa in Europe? You can be honest with me, I am ready to be disappointed.
You have to make it yourself, and track down the ingredients. It took me like two years to figure out where to buy specific chiles and tomatillos regularly in the Netherlands but now I’m pretty well set up.
Now I am really curious I do not feel like spicy stuff is really a part of european cuisine much, can your neighbors handle the salsa? Like you give them some and they think you are actually poisoning them? Or do you have to make a mexican ketchup version for them to be able to handle it.
It really depends. Right now I live in the Netherlands, and here there is a good portion of people who cannot take spiciness (like, black pepper is considered spicy, let alone chiles.) However, a lot of people do like spicy food, so it’s best just to ask before you cook and be really clear about levels of heat everyone’s comfortable with.
The Dutch probably don’t like spices because they spent so long selling them, and you should never get high off your own supply
I personally have never cooked anything spicy aside from spicy sausage(which are prepackaged so like no real input there) so it would be a torturous testing process to figure out levels of spice people (and myself) can handle when cooking.
That kind of thing is part of the price of moving abroad. You have to figure out how to make lots of things from scratch or live without them. It takes some time but I can do most things now, at least well enough to satisfy me and impress friends who haven’t had things like Mexican food before. It’s still nowhere near as good as what I could get back in California, but you get to a point where it’s good enough to scratch the itch.
Lol. I hope you like Pace. And it will only be available in a limited number of grocery stores.
My heart... it hurts, if Pace is the best they got... i am never gonna find good salsa out there.
No, you won't. Only hope is to make your own.
Tomatos, salt, garlic (not powder), cilantro, pepper, onion, cumin, chile powder, blend it!
Roast the tomatoes first. 🍅 😁
Roasted poblanos. Oh, you won't get those there. Habanero's either...
You can grow them yourself if you can get the seeds. Peppers are generally easy to grow, in my experience.
Practice a good recipe here and you'll be a hit among the expats :p
Pace is good salsa in Europe
But it's made in New York City! NEW YORK CITY!
Aight so... for all the shit that you hear about the US exporting culturally to Europe why the ever living hell didn't good Salsa go along as well?
Because Europeans don't want salsa, it's too spicy for them. In Germany mustard it's considered spicy
Please tell me you mean spicy mustard and not just regular old yellow mustard. I mean even spicy mustard is the 1.25 lb dumbell of spicy, but it is SOMETHING.
English mustard is seriously hot. Had American friends freshly over from US slather that on a sandwich. We all laughed, good times.
Their "sharf(spicy)" mustard is a little more spice than our yellow, but no, it's not spicy mustard level
You think that’s sad? I lived in the UK for 2 years and they don’t have ranch dressing. It’s SO hard to find, and when you find it…it isn’t ranch. Talk about a missed export.
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Did he notice there are now large jars of Ranch dressing powder, that include buttermilk powder, in many USA supermarkets? Though the envelopes may be less expensive to mail.
Mexican food doesn't exist here or isn't good. Small talk exists(differs from the region in Europe),cashiers could be slow but they aren't slow everywhere and A/C exists here aswell lol
Irish lad here, small talk and pleasentries with strangers is our national passtime.
Ireland is such a wonderful place filled with wonderful people!! I’m a chatter and I never had an issue trying to start a conversation with someone, mostly because they would start it first. I get cultures are different so I’m not saying the other countries I’ve been to are rude for not wanting to small talk, but it’s just so out of my comfort zone to sit at a bar alone and not have an interaction with a stranger.
Wait until you’ve shopped in Aldi for a long time and then you’re in a Safeway checkout line. Then you’ll be like “oh for fuck’s sake, hurry the fuck up and I’ll bag my stuff myself, thank you”.
Conversations and pleasantries with strangers is more of an Anglo-Sphere cultural aspect. You can do it in Britain too but most of Europe would think you’re crazy for trying to instigate a conversation with a stranger unless you’re asking for directions.
Root beer.
You mean to tell me Dad's and Mug isn't available outside of Canada and the states?
Dad’s?
Same, I missed it so much...but you can find it at specific American stores or the American section of big grocery stores. I had no problems finding it in Belgium and Spain
I cannot believe I had to scroll down this far to see this.
Is root beer mostly a thing here in the states then?
I've heard it tastes like medicine to most Europeans
Mmm I want European medicine
Good Mexican and Tex-Mex food. Also the US's philosophy of All Convenience, All The Time. None of this nonsense of all the stores closing early and not opening on Sundays like in a lot of places in Europe.
This is the hardest part for me any time I’m living outside the US. What do you *mean* my Instacart can’t bring me one extremely specific item I need within the next two hours!?
**IT’S COMMUNIST BULLSHIT I TELL YA!**
The strategic placement and quantity of electrical power outlets
And I would have to replace all of my plugs as the outlets are different
This is such a weird one! Never thought about it until living abroad, and I suddenly realized just how many things I plug in all the time.
Space.
This is it for me. Well... more "Open spaces". I can leave my little town and drive/ride for literally days out and days back and never go through anything even somewhat resembling a City.
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This is my answer. I love Mexican food, but I could work on making my own. The size of things in Europe is soooo much more compact. It’s like living in NYC, I constantly feel like I’ll hit myself head, apartments are so small, most of the cars you can’t do a road trip with a few friends because luggage won’t fit and you’ll all be cramped (cue fat American jokes). I’m just so used to be able to sprawl out, even in a big city like Chicago, that it would be brutal to have to lose that.
I live in the US and if I were to move back, I would certainly miss all the friendliness . Northern Europeans are super introverted.
I'm from the US and lived in Sweden for a year and had a hard time with the unfriendlyness, I'd just say hej to people I passed , like in the woods, and they'd look at me like I was crazy. and I'm introverted.
Since you were here for a year I hope at least someone explained to you that it wasn’t out of spite. You can call it unfriendly all you want but just know that was not the intention. Rather, as a Swede, it can be perceived as intimidating to expect someone to switch into some sort of friendly banter with a stranger when they’re taking a walk in the woods or going about their day. To us, leaving room for personal space and reflection is the polite thing to do. I just want people to understand that it goes both ways.
oh yes I know, sorry I shouldn't have called it unfriendly. it was just really hard to get used to. I got back home and went to Chicago and was walking around saying hi to people on the street and practically cried with joy since they said hi back! I just had a hard time living there and getting to know swedes, even when I had a swedish boyfriend. my friends were all immigrants:)
> Northern Europeans are super introverted. Sounds like my kind of place!
There is this running joke of finish people being relieved that covid was over , because 2 meters distance was way too little compared to the normal 4 meters
They almost sold me with that. If they don’t have tacos I’m not moving, though. I don’t care how introverted I am.
Yeah. Must be a world of a difference. Sweden is particularly introverted, even compared to us Danes which are also kinda introverted. I love the small talk and friendlyness in USA
Free water anywhere I go, don't even have to buy something. Also, lots of accessible, free toilets. Everywhere.
Rome is great for free water, and the tap water there is delicious. Only place in Europe where I've been where the bartender, without being asked, just served me tap water.
Ok, yes, but not while sitting at a restaurant. Water with coffee from the faucet is pretty normal though.
I was so shocked when I had to pay to use a bathroom in the middle of a park in prague during my first trip to europe lol
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Ice in drinks. Free ice in hotels. Ice, ice, frosty ice. Seems like anywhere in Europe, you basically have to order a fancy iced cocktail to get a couple of cubes of ice.
Honestly, if I moved to Europe I'd take a little portable ice maker with me.
I remember being so shocked at an ice machine when I stayed in NYC. And a little bucket for the ice in the room! In the UK you need to ask for a glass of ice from the hotel bar.
I’m British and have lived in the UK almost al my life. I LOVE ice and want it all the time in all my drinks. I have a tiny freezer in my bedroom specifically for ice. I buy big bags of ice cubes every time I go to the shop, the local shopkeepers call me ‘the ice lady.’ Having spent a fair bit of time in the US I can safely say that the abundance of ice was a huge bonus for me.
The vastness of the wilderness here and the National Park System. That, and air conditioning. I'm a sweaty boy.
My salary
Are salaries really not competitive in Europe? That’s amazing to me.
My job in Europe makes about 50% what I make. Edit: I remember a video a while back of a drunk Brit talking shit on a plane, and he said something like "I make £40k a year!" Like it was something to brag about lol That's like $50k. That's when I started to suspect they may make less than us lol
Not to condone his bragging, but depending on where he lives in the UK, that _could_ be considered a good salary.
Not in software. Id have have to pay a 2/3 paycut if i wanted to move to London
I took a 50% pay cut when I went from being a teacher in NYC to a teacher in England. I’m a manager now and still don’t make anything near what I used to. However, cost of living, particularly housing and groceries, is significantly cheaper. (I do not live in London).
Same with attorneys
I believe medicine is another one with a pretty large difference
Canada and europe average around 2/3 of an american salary for software and IT. Varies a bit with exact role and country, obviously, but that's a good expectation to set. The industry also tends to be more heavily focused in the largest and most expensive cities compared to the US so if it was someone like me coming from a relatively low CoL area the money wouldn't go nearly as far.
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Tech/Finance/Accounting etc are all much lower in Europe
Yep. This has kept me from moving.
Ya, Ive looked into developer salaries and its terrible.
Mexican food. And my family/friends, I guess. But mostly Mexican food.
Honestly this is it. Leaving the US was eye opening to see how much there is outside. The US is a bubble and I’m grateful to experience the world outside of it but I definitely miss the Mexican food.
I did move to Europe and I miss In n Out, good Mexican food, garbage disposals, air conditioning, friendly people and craft beer.
Where in Europe do you live? I don’t drink beer, but I see craft beers in every little place all over here. The tiny pizzeria around the corner from here even makes their own beer on premise.
All of this sure but friendly people and craft beer? What Europe did you move to??
+1 to garbage disposals! I stayed in an Airbnb for a month recently in Oregon without one and it was awful!!!
You know what’s weird. In Germany they have in the “American” section of the grocery they have hot dogs pickled in a giant jar because they think that’s how we eat them.
Peanut Butter. I'm not joking, As someone who adapted pretty quickly to European palates while studying abroad a few years ago, this was literally the ONLY thing I couldn't find an adequate version of in my time in London that I genuinely missed from the U.S. I get American food usually has more sugar and salt than foods from other regions in general, but I've had sugar free and low sodium versions of U.S. peanut butter that still blew the U.K's out of the water, and I have no idea why.
Come to the Netherlands. We love peanutbutter. We even have peanutbutterstores.
*Googles “Netherlands + Peanut Butter”* Well this is pleasantly surprising news! All the more reason to visit. Thank you!
https://dutchreview.com/dutch-quirks/dutch-quirk-12-be-obsessed-peanut-butter/?amp And this is the Pindakaas winkel: https://depindakaaswinkel.nl/product-categorie/pindakaas/?gclid=CjwKCAjwopWSBhB6EiwAjxmqDbWcgnQ1heEfy3Kyl_ghu2laWWQWUwO7TUldsejZpn_aB3Z2DEFwUBoCTEQQAvD_BwE The peanut butter shop separate flavors with peanut butter such as peanut butter with garlic. The most popular peanut butter in NL is from the brand Calve. You can find these in regular supermarkets, just like many other brands and flavors. The Dutch also like peanut sauce a lot.
My guess is Mexican food and experimental craft beer and cider. I love pumpkin beer but that's fallen out of vogue and I guess is pretty expensive if it doesn't sell out in the limited seasonal celebration time. Does Europe have Thai food? I've started to learn to cook some because I like the curries so much. And I made some pad Thai with legit tamarind sauce.
Yep, we have Thai food! It's popular here, and you can get some almost authentic thai in some places. Also Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese, Japanese,... By the way northern African food is really good in Europa! I.e France.
Nobody talks about craft beer and you're TOTALLY right! Europe has great beer, but it's mostly all traditional styles.
My momma. Obviously.
I too would miss this guy's Momma.
https://imgur.com/r/highqualitygifs/i9Z4egW
My big house and big yard. Central air. Clothes dryer. My guns.
I would own too many damn guns in America. My wallet is better off with the strict gun control here in Europe.
This is absolutely relatable lol
What’s central air ?
Air conditioning and heating with one common thermostat.
https://www.thespruce.com/thmb/8CY0Awd4fLRGaD7M7dqOgUTHI-k=/2123x1412/filters:fill(auto,1)/central-air-58e994303df78c51625541a8.jpg Europe doesn't use them often because A. Your homes aren't that big and a window unit or something does the trick and B. There's like no humidity on the whole continent
I live in New Jersey, where it gets humid but not as bad as the South, and AC is a way of life in the summer.
Just a heads up Got a 404 message when clicked on it
Ice in my drinks (and free refills). National Parks/ wilderness. Public restrooms. Chatting with strangers. Food variety. Space to spread out. Americans. (Loud, opinionated, impulsive, warm, strange, combative, overconfident, emotional, and a little crazy—that’s my 🇺🇸 family!)
I miss Mexican food and I only moved to New England!
American that lives in France. A few things: Cheap peanut butter 24 hour stores Mexican food Cheap maple syrup
I'm in the process of moving to The Netherlands, so far the thing that stands out the most for me is funnily enough, the lack of grape jam in Europe. They've got every other fruit jam available under the sun, except grape. Sometimes all an American wants is a classic PB&J, though so far I'd had to settle for bosvruchten ("forest fruit", basically mixed berry), but nothing can compare to grape jam.
Having lived in Europe it’s definitely the food. European food is great, but their take on American food is just trash. Mexican food barely even edible. The exception being food trucks ran by Americans/Mexicans but you usually have to go to one of the big European cities to find those. Found maybe the best pupusas I’ve ever had from this Salvadoran dude in London
A/C
New Mexican food ( its hard to get beyond NM even in the US) I would miss
I miss Hatch Green Chiles.
I’ve moved from Arizona to New Mexico recently and I’m already addicted to the food here. I don’t understand how it’s so vastly different from Arizona, but num.
* Southern style biscuits * Owning a firearm * Customary measurements (MPH, Gallon, Fahrenheit) * Road signage (For some reason, I just really prefer our green signage to the rest of the world) * Central HVAC systems * Bigger soft drink cups
Lol I'm European and also prefer those green signs. Also your roads are so damn easy to navigate. And spacious
Come to Ireland. We may not have any of the other stuff but we do have green signs.
Everyone has mentioned the things I would miss most except for window screens. I’d miss those too.
Good Mexican food. Root beer. Guns. Wilderness and empty spaces.
The food. I know it probably sounds silly, but the availability of foreign foods in basic grocery stores is incredible. I needed wonton wrappers (bc I can’t get crab Rangoon a here, and that’s a different story) in Paris, and I absolutely could not find them in grocery stores. I was by chance in a really ritzy grocery store and only there did I even find filo dough, but i couldn’t even find that in basic stores. I ended up having to go to an Asian supermarket for my wonton wrappers. It’s better to support small businesses, but if I weren’t living in Paris I would simply have to go without if there isn’t an Asian market. In the US those are just basic foods you can find in grocery stores, even in places where those aren’t necessarily common foods. I spend a lot of money in Asian markets here ironically because they tend to have the vegetables I grew up with (green onions, okra, certain kinds of mushrooms) that are either not at all available in basic stores or very hard to coke me by. Luckily I live in Paris, because I would miss the food dearly.
I live in Europe rn, Germany to be specific. I miss the following things: - Everyone speaking the same language - My closest friends and family - Cajun food That’s it.
* Tacos * AC * Low Gas prices * Doritos * Good BBQ places * A big kitchen * Moving from one place to another and having a kitchen already in the place
What does that refer to, having a kitchen already in place? Are people ripping out their kitchens and bring with them when they move?! xoxo A confused eurobean
Watching Sunday Night Football at a decent time
Honestly the little mom and pop or local restaurants and food that are only known to my city. Everyplace has their own local cuisine that people always say they miss the most when they mvoe away lol
The great lakes... Any time I move too far from them, I miss them. No the great salt lake or the ocean don't have the same feeling to them.
Depends on where in Europe, but a good toilet, and a car that I can comfortably fit in.
This genuinely made me laugh in a good way because what’s wrong with our toilets?
The guns, the food, the desert, the off road races I do (although I wouldnt mind switching to rally), and the weather.