This past June was my 15th anniversary of being a resident alien in the US, and just yesterday I have completed my longest trip to Europe since my move: eight whole weeks. Here are a few things that I missed during my (working) vacation:
- Being served clean tap water and unlimited supplies of ice by default as soon as I sit down in a restaurant, free of charge and often without even being asked.
- Not being exposed to tobacco smoke anywhere, but particularly while sitting down in a restaurant, coffee shop, pizza place, at the beach, the pool, the doctor’s office, and even the hotel room balcony.
- Air conditioning being present; and when being present actually being used; and when used not being told how bad it was for me, and how unnatural it was to require it.
- Having access to a variety of national cuisines when eating out, and a variety of ingredients from all around the world when cooking at home.
- Air travel being accessible to the majority of the population. Americans bemoan their airports as dumps compared to those in Europe and (especially) Asia, not realizing that the target audiences for the two are completely different. I would much rather live in a country where air travel is so commonplace that airports resemble bus stations more than luxury resorts.
There is more, of course, just not top of mind right now. And I could have written the counter post about things available in Europe and not in the US but for the most part people in Europe do know how well they have it in those regards (better tipping culture, fewer shootings, more walkable neighborhoods, saner size of cars, etc.) and they are happy to rub it in the Americans' faces during online interactions so there is no point in bringing it to anyone’s attention.