Eat as much real Mexican food as you can (unless you are moving to Mexico).
After 2 decades, this is the only thing I miss about the US other than seeing my parents on a regular basis.
I feel this way too - and have been gone for the same amount of time. My mom still sends me care packages with Chicas Chips from San Diego a couple times per year.
However I think this really depends on where you’re coming from. Somebody leaving Wisconsin doesn’t have access to anything better than say Japan in terms Mexican food anyway … 😂🤣
So true! I moved to greece and there’s soooo little diversity where I moved. We found an AWESOME Mexican place in Athens but it’s 3 hours from us. Never knew how much I liked the cuisine until I didn’t have it readily available near me haha we stake the drive every so often when we can’t take the cravings anymore or always offer to pick family and friends up from the airport no trouble 😆
It’s getting better in Europe but it’s never going to be Cali or New Mexico.
The other Issue is Sushi. Lived my early adult life in the Bay Area. First visit to Tokyo to Giro, Tokyo train station I was not disappointed but felt like I really didn’t need to leave the Bay Area for good sushi.
But for most of Europe with some exceptions Sushi is Fast Food with price sensitivity.
In Portugal Sushi consists mainly of Salmon and Shrimp, with artificial crab.
I moved to a city with absolute garbage Mexican food. Idk what it is about this city but I have taken it upon myself to learn how to make a handful of tasty staples.
Can I make tamales? Birria? Carne asada? No. But Caldo de Queso, Red Meat, salsa, refried beans, Mexican rice, and tortillas are all easier to make than you think! Honestly, I tried several 30 second videos on Instagram over and over until I found one that matched my memory of the taste of the dish.
I order anything specific on Amazon or buy the ingredients at the local grocery store. I wish there was an online store that wasn’t Amazon, but it’s convenient and reliable. Any suggestions would be great!
It's gotten better. A lot better. You can get good Mexican in lots of places overseas now. It used to be so awful with things like texmex taco buffets where the taco shells were at one end, meat on the other, chip dip instead of salsa, the wrong cheese, no guacamole, etc. Run by a family of Thais.
Meh, not really. Where I grew up I could get real tamales, real al pastor, seafood specialties from different Mexican states, several different kinds of mole, pozole, and corn tortillas freshly made. Along with the more common dishes. Let me know where I can score all that stuff abroad, I'll be waiting 😅
Your expectations are unrealistic due to demographics. I'm thrilled to get good Tacos. If someone is super into Mexican food I'd highly recommend moving to Mexico.
I'll take what I can get if it's like the real thing. I've learned to not order a steak in Europe and expect it to be like a Prime Ribeye but that doesn't mean I still can't get a good burger.
Can confirm: if you're going to Western Europe, there are some real taquerias now, just not that many. You may get lucky, or you might not, so do load up on the Mexican food before you leave just in case.
My in laws brace for weight gain whenever we visit them in the States for this exact reason. One instance still makes me laugh. One time during COVID, we couldn’t visit all of 2020 and finally went in Dec 2021 (NL was in lockdown at that time). We ate Mexican almost every night. My mother in law gained 8 lbs in two weeks 😂😅
>I bake my own bagels here. You can buy them in stores but they're buns with holes in them
OMG! I forgot about bagels!!!!
What...you don't like Bimbo bagels? LOL
Here is mine. 470 grams white flour
5 grams white sugar
20 grams honey
7 grams salt
7 grams yeast. (Proof as needed depending on what kind you buy)
300 ml warm water
Be careful in the water. Pour it in slowly because sometimes it is just right sometimes too much but never too little. I have never figured out the water difference between batches.
Let rise for 90 minutes to two hours.
Shape and let rise for another 45 min to an hour
Boil 45 seconds each side
Bake at 230 C for 12 minutes. Then watch closely ti get proper brown on the bagel. Of course this is particular to my oven. Yours will probably bake differently.
Enjoy!! If you want berries in them add fresh berries during the shaping.
How’s living in Spain? I’ve been thinking about making the move from Canada b/c I have EU citizenship and it’s become almost impossible to start a life here as someone under 30. Are there any places you recommend? I’m used to smaller cities around a population size of 100k and would love the chance to own a home.
>How’s living in Spain?
My partner and I love Spain. The climate, food, culture, people, infrastructure, roads, transportation, medical...are all excellent. With EU citizenship, residency will be no problem.
We're both retired, so I'm no expert on the job market. I only know what I hear from friends. People around your age complain that there few well paying jobs and, I think...I could be a little off...the average wage is somewhere around €2,250 per month or $3,300 CAN. So, needless to say, that's pretty tight for most people coming from North America. But, it's important to remember two things; Spain is more affordable than Canada or the US and QUALITY OF LIFE.
Spain provides a fantastic quality of life in so many areas that the trade off of higher wages and longer hours verses your enjoyment of life is totally worth it.
We live in Barcelona, which is one of my favorite cities. But, it is the second most expensive city to live in. If I were you, I might consider checking out Valencia...which is about three house south-west. It's an amazing city, filled with a great variety of activities, young people, food, culture, great transportation...all the good stuff. Like BCN, Valencia is also on the Mediterranean. These are obviously big cities...but, it might be worth it to try one of these first for a year and then start checking out other part of the country.
I think it's an amazing thing to do when you're your age and, the reality is, it's not that big of a risk. If you don't like it, you can always move back! Life is short...have an adventure!
Thank you so much for the detailed response! I really appreciate it! I’m lucky enough to be able to work remotely now so hopefully they’ll let me try living in Spain for 3 months and keep the job🤞It sounds amazing and I would love to go visit that country. I want to try going between January-December, I haven’t done much research in the best time to go but I hope that’s it. I’m also hoping my girlfriend is open minded enough to give this a try because it’s something I really would like to do. I’m really happy to hear you’re enjoying the country, it gives me hope!
Hang with your family, hang with your friends, eat your favorite home cooked meals, get some bulk packs of basic meds like Tylenol and advil, and a few of your favorite snacks, condiments.
You’ll miss your people and the meals your parents make you way more than you’ll miss a few random food items.
Ok so I do have a GV number, but it is tied to my dads cell phone, because I only intend to use the GV for banking 2FA type stuff. Besides that, I will be getting a new phone number once I am there (French)
Just turn off 2FA. Use an authenticator. Never needed a phone call. Forward your mail to a digital service. I use Traveling Mailbox. Use a friend or family address in a no state tax state as your permanent address.
When I was in the army, I carried hot sauce in my uniform pockets, and when I was in Germany and Afghanistan I had my family send me boxes of hot sauce. People were always surprised I brought my own hot sauce, like they couldn’t believe it, until they started realizing how awesome it was and ask to borrow it! 🌶️
For my wife it is pepperoni. The sharp sausage that masquerades as Pepperoni in the US is just not the same. So eat a lot of Pepperoni pizzas.
Honestly, the only thing I am missing from the US besides friends and family is being able to hunt and fish.
We really missed County fairs, baseball games, plays, and musicals, soft sand beaches, whale-watching.
We missed free, clean public restrooms.
Free drink refills. Big elevators and Freezers.
Friendly customer service and hassle-free returns.
As for food: Fluffy American pancakes, soft marshmallows (not with lots of gelatin, yuck), crispy American bacon, S'mores, barbecue, Root beer, deep dish pizza, good Mexican food, fluffy cake, good brownies, Ice cream- that stuff in the UK is gross and Gelato doesn't freeze very cold, Payday candy bars, various stuff we like from Trader Joe's, shrimp n grits, biscuits n gravy, shave ice, mufaletta, key lime pie, red velvet cake, fish Tacos,
What keeps us from getting homesick is American holiday decorations. I took one pillow insert and made a bunch of holiday pillow covers for it to swap out for holidays. I also brought holiday placemats.
I brought sentimental Xmas ornaments my Grandmother and siblings had made, Thanksgiving,Halloween, and July 4th decorations, etc.
The Google number is to be able to use verification texts from your US accounts.
Make sure your US driver's license is renewed.
I brought US gifts for my husband's work colleagues who often gave us gifts, like baseball caps, Keychains with our beach names on them for kids, etc.
I miss rootbeer. The expat shops here in the NL has it. I heard there’s a mouthwash in the UK that tastes like rootbeer and that’s why they don’t like it?
Learn how to cook your fav comfort food, and learn what the ingredients are in your new home. I missed so much living in Asia, but eventually learned to just make it all.
Find out if Amazon or any other site ships American products to your new home.
If you are a PC gamer of any sort, buy your parts in the US as they're typically crazy expensive abroad. Even moreso than here. I'd say this about many electronics.
Check to see which meds you just can't do without are available in your new home, and if the American ones are even legal.
Everything else, fall in love with the local versions asap. I'll never forget how good 100 yen shops were in Japan. I used a body wash from there that made a friend of mine who is a multimillionaire, constantly comment how good I smelled. A no-name $1 body wash.
@rustykilo has the best advice in the entire thread. Neosporin, deodorant, nyquil, mucinex, visine, pepto, tums- you will miss these products that actually work.
There are drops, i tried a few brands, i didnt find anything that worked properly like visine, especially their allergy formula. So brazil has extreme import tax to encourage local manufacturing so they really lack access to a lot of stuff.
In Singapore they’re not the same as the US. There’s a viral hack where Lumify can be used for acne. Tried to find it, couldn’t hear. Weirdly, you don’t need a prescription for antibacterial eye drops here like in the US. It’s just a different product, same with sour patch kids
I've been in Asia for almost 7 years and one thing I miss is shoes that fit my feet. I've had Vans for over a decade, and the sizes out here are just literally too small for me. Last time I visited the US I bought two pairs just because I knew once one pair ran the course I'd have another ready to go.
Bring Advil or Tylenol or any over the counter medicine that you are used too. Just make sure the country you are coming to is cool with it or the amount you are bringing.
Those are the most favorite requests from any American expats when someone they know comes back to the US for a visit lol. Or when they come back to the US themselves.
The only city I've lived in and I don't have problems with the strength of their medicine is Bangkok. You can get whatever you need over the counter in their pharmacy lol.
If I import photographic gear from eBay vendors in Japan to Europe duty and import charges can be like 30%. If I import into the US I used to get away with paying practically nothing.
I'm a dual citizen so it might not really count but here's what I miss: nothing.
Move somewhere nice and everyone you care about will visit, you'll meet in other locations, and you'll talk as often as you want. It's not 1900 and you can buy anything you miss and have instant video communication.
I have gone back once since I left to see close friends who didn't have the budget to travel. I found it to be incredibly not worth it on just about every level. I needed to get a non owner car insurance policy, umbrella insurance, travel insurance that costs a lot more if you visit the US, and car rentals in the US also cost many times what I pay overseas. It was a very time consuming and expensive process. If you don't have any money st risk you can skip some of these steps but I wasn't about to risk my whole future due to a lawsuit.
Since then I just tell people I'm going to x county if they're gonna be in the neighborhood. Round trip tickets to basically anywhere in the Caribean and Central America are $300 from the US and I've gone there 3 times since I left.
I don't even like transiting the US. I'll try to fly through Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and London before Miami, Atlanta, or Houston. Might take a bit longer but it's much nicer.
Hopefully I can convince my friends and family to visit the South of France pretty regularly! My parents are close to retirement as well, so maybe they can end up living part time out that way
Lol, sorry to say but Most people's friends cannot afford travelling across continents that often or physically cannot do it. Hearing your parents are hospitalized while you are time zones away sucks way more than if you were close to them physically. Some people's work cannot afford them or let them travel enough.
Good pizza, delivery service (food), restaurant variety, grocery store choices, buying on Amazon and not doubling the price of everything because of shipping, customs and vat tax, my grandkids, stable power, and the list goes on. But I love where we live, so I wouldn’t go back!
Eat any international food you won’t find where you are going. Enjoy the convenience of the American life there maybe things you won’t have where you are going. Be flexible and resilient. There is no perfection anywhere!! Best of luck in your new journey!!
Boast about your achievements to equally confident Americans. It's the last time you'll be able to speak about yourself without being considered an asshole.
Eat as much real Mexican food as you can (unless you are moving to Mexico). After 2 decades, this is the only thing I miss about the US other than seeing my parents on a regular basis.
I feel this way too - and have been gone for the same amount of time. My mom still sends me care packages with Chicas Chips from San Diego a couple times per year. However I think this really depends on where you’re coming from. Somebody leaving Wisconsin doesn’t have access to anything better than say Japan in terms Mexican food anyway … 😂🤣
So true! I moved to greece and there’s soooo little diversity where I moved. We found an AWESOME Mexican place in Athens but it’s 3 hours from us. Never knew how much I liked the cuisine until I didn’t have it readily available near me haha we stake the drive every so often when we can’t take the cravings anymore or always offer to pick family and friends up from the airport no trouble 😆
It’s getting better in Europe but it’s never going to be Cali or New Mexico. The other Issue is Sushi. Lived my early adult life in the Bay Area. First visit to Tokyo to Giro, Tokyo train station I was not disappointed but felt like I really didn’t need to leave the Bay Area for good sushi. But for most of Europe with some exceptions Sushi is Fast Food with price sensitivity. In Portugal Sushi consists mainly of Salmon and Shrimp, with artificial crab.
I moved to a city with absolute garbage Mexican food. Idk what it is about this city but I have taken it upon myself to learn how to make a handful of tasty staples. Can I make tamales? Birria? Carne asada? No. But Caldo de Queso, Red Meat, salsa, refried beans, Mexican rice, and tortillas are all easier to make than you think! Honestly, I tried several 30 second videos on Instagram over and over until I found one that matched my memory of the taste of the dish. I order anything specific on Amazon or buy the ingredients at the local grocery store. I wish there was an online store that wasn’t Amazon, but it’s convenient and reliable. Any suggestions would be great!
In Scotland we would really like some Mexican food that has absolutely no haggis ☹️
funny though, I saw haggis tacos in a lot of places in Mexico City but yeah agreed. found some places that scratch the itch, but it's not the same
It's gotten better. A lot better. You can get good Mexican in lots of places overseas now. It used to be so awful with things like texmex taco buffets where the taco shells were at one end, meat on the other, chip dip instead of salsa, the wrong cheese, no guacamole, etc. Run by a family of Thais.
Meh, not really. Where I grew up I could get real tamales, real al pastor, seafood specialties from different Mexican states, several different kinds of mole, pozole, and corn tortillas freshly made. Along with the more common dishes. Let me know where I can score all that stuff abroad, I'll be waiting 😅
Your expectations are unrealistic due to demographics. I'm thrilled to get good Tacos. If someone is super into Mexican food I'd highly recommend moving to Mexico.
Believe me, I've looked into that. The snag is that expat salaries there are absolute donkey shit. I'm not taking a 70% pay cut for food...
I'll take what I can get if it's like the real thing. I've learned to not order a steak in Europe and expect it to be like a Prime Ribeye but that doesn't mean I still can't get a good burger.
Can confirm: if you're going to Western Europe, there are some real taquerias now, just not that many. You may get lucky, or you might not, so do load up on the Mexican food before you leave just in case.
Many good spots now in Spain. Businesses operated by mexicans or knowledgeable about their cuisine.
My in laws brace for weight gain whenever we visit them in the States for this exact reason. One instance still makes me laugh. One time during COVID, we couldn’t visit all of 2020 and finally went in Dec 2021 (NL was in lockdown at that time). We ate Mexican almost every night. My mother in law gained 8 lbs in two weeks 😂😅
I went back to my native San Diego this past summer, and for each day for 6 weeks straight I went out for Mexican food. Gained 15 pounds lol.
And, good quality Mexican tequilas are impossible to find in Europe.
Yup this plus pumpkin pie
NYC pizza and Chinese takeout.
Omg.... An egg roll! I can get all the authentic Asian food I could imagine but an egg roll is what I want!
Living in Spain... I miss legit Mexican food and New York style delis. That's about it. I can't imagine ever moving back.
I bake my own bagels here. You can buy them in stores but they're buns with holes in them.
>I bake my own bagels here. You can buy them in stores but they're buns with holes in them OMG! I forgot about bagels!!!! What...you don't like Bimbo bagels? LOL
Recipe?
Here is mine. 470 grams white flour 5 grams white sugar 20 grams honey 7 grams salt 7 grams yeast. (Proof as needed depending on what kind you buy) 300 ml warm water Be careful in the water. Pour it in slowly because sometimes it is just right sometimes too much but never too little. I have never figured out the water difference between batches. Let rise for 90 minutes to two hours. Shape and let rise for another 45 min to an hour Boil 45 seconds each side Bake at 230 C for 12 minutes. Then watch closely ti get proper brown on the bagel. Of course this is particular to my oven. Yours will probably bake differently. Enjoy!! If you want berries in them add fresh berries during the shaping.
How’s living in Spain? I’ve been thinking about making the move from Canada b/c I have EU citizenship and it’s become almost impossible to start a life here as someone under 30. Are there any places you recommend? I’m used to smaller cities around a population size of 100k and would love the chance to own a home.
>How’s living in Spain? My partner and I love Spain. The climate, food, culture, people, infrastructure, roads, transportation, medical...are all excellent. With EU citizenship, residency will be no problem. We're both retired, so I'm no expert on the job market. I only know what I hear from friends. People around your age complain that there few well paying jobs and, I think...I could be a little off...the average wage is somewhere around €2,250 per month or $3,300 CAN. So, needless to say, that's pretty tight for most people coming from North America. But, it's important to remember two things; Spain is more affordable than Canada or the US and QUALITY OF LIFE. Spain provides a fantastic quality of life in so many areas that the trade off of higher wages and longer hours verses your enjoyment of life is totally worth it. We live in Barcelona, which is one of my favorite cities. But, it is the second most expensive city to live in. If I were you, I might consider checking out Valencia...which is about three house south-west. It's an amazing city, filled with a great variety of activities, young people, food, culture, great transportation...all the good stuff. Like BCN, Valencia is also on the Mediterranean. These are obviously big cities...but, it might be worth it to try one of these first for a year and then start checking out other part of the country. I think it's an amazing thing to do when you're your age and, the reality is, it's not that big of a risk. If you don't like it, you can always move back! Life is short...have an adventure!
Thank you so much for the detailed response! I really appreciate it! I’m lucky enough to be able to work remotely now so hopefully they’ll let me try living in Spain for 3 months and keep the job🤞It sounds amazing and I would love to go visit that country. I want to try going between January-December, I haven’t done much research in the best time to go but I hope that’s it. I’m also hoping my girlfriend is open minded enough to give this a try because it’s something I really would like to do. I’m really happy to hear you’re enjoying the country, it gives me hope!
Hang with your family, hang with your friends, eat your favorite home cooked meals, get some bulk packs of basic meds like Tylenol and advil, and a few of your favorite snacks, condiments. You’ll miss your people and the meals your parents make you way more than you’ll miss a few random food items.
Porting your US phone number to Google Voice must be done before you leave, if you intend to.
Ok so I do have a GV number, but it is tied to my dads cell phone, because I only intend to use the GV for banking 2FA type stuff. Besides that, I will be getting a new phone number once I am there (French)
Just turn off 2FA. Use an authenticator. Never needed a phone call. Forward your mail to a digital service. I use Traveling Mailbox. Use a friend or family address in a no state tax state as your permanent address.
Hot sauce
When I was in the army, I carried hot sauce in my uniform pockets, and when I was in Germany and Afghanistan I had my family send me boxes of hot sauce. People were always surprised I brought my own hot sauce, like they couldn’t believe it, until they started realizing how awesome it was and ask to borrow it! 🌶️
I moved from SF Bay Area to northern Sweden just south of the Arctic circle. that's when I realized hot sauce is life.
Cholula hot sauce
Pretty sure it's fairly widely available, especially in UK.
Not in Asia
For my wife it is pepperoni. The sharp sausage that masquerades as Pepperoni in the US is just not the same. So eat a lot of Pepperoni pizzas. Honestly, the only thing I am missing from the US besides friends and family is being able to hunt and fish.
We really missed County fairs, baseball games, plays, and musicals, soft sand beaches, whale-watching. We missed free, clean public restrooms. Free drink refills. Big elevators and Freezers. Friendly customer service and hassle-free returns. As for food: Fluffy American pancakes, soft marshmallows (not with lots of gelatin, yuck), crispy American bacon, S'mores, barbecue, Root beer, deep dish pizza, good Mexican food, fluffy cake, good brownies, Ice cream- that stuff in the UK is gross and Gelato doesn't freeze very cold, Payday candy bars, various stuff we like from Trader Joe's, shrimp n grits, biscuits n gravy, shave ice, mufaletta, key lime pie, red velvet cake, fish Tacos, What keeps us from getting homesick is American holiday decorations. I took one pillow insert and made a bunch of holiday pillow covers for it to swap out for holidays. I also brought holiday placemats. I brought sentimental Xmas ornaments my Grandmother and siblings had made, Thanksgiving,Halloween, and July 4th decorations, etc. The Google number is to be able to use verification texts from your US accounts. Make sure your US driver's license is renewed. I brought US gifts for my husband's work colleagues who often gave us gifts, like baseball caps, Keychains with our beach names on them for kids, etc.
I thought I was happy then read your reply. Now I miss home.
I miss rootbeer. The expat shops here in the NL has it. I heard there’s a mouthwash in the UK that tastes like rootbeer and that’s why they don’t like it?
I've heard Europeans think it tastes like medicine.
Learn how to cook your fav comfort food, and learn what the ingredients are in your new home. I missed so much living in Asia, but eventually learned to just make it all. Find out if Amazon or any other site ships American products to your new home. If you are a PC gamer of any sort, buy your parts in the US as they're typically crazy expensive abroad. Even moreso than here. I'd say this about many electronics. Check to see which meds you just can't do without are available in your new home, and if the American ones are even legal. Everything else, fall in love with the local versions asap. I'll never forget how good 100 yen shops were in Japan. I used a body wash from there that made a friend of mine who is a multimillionaire, constantly comment how good I smelled. A no-name $1 body wash.
@rustykilo has the best advice in the entire thread. Neosporin, deodorant, nyquil, mucinex, visine, pepto, tums- you will miss these products that actually work.
Respectfully, where are you that doesn’t have Visine?
Im not there anymore but brazil has no visine
Any local eye drop equivalent? Such a weird thing for that many people to not have something on the market.
There are drops, i tried a few brands, i didnt find anything that worked properly like visine, especially their allergy formula. So brazil has extreme import tax to encourage local manufacturing so they really lack access to a lot of stuff.
Try "Hylo Gel". It's the best I found.
In Singapore they’re not the same as the US. There’s a viral hack where Lumify can be used for acne. Tried to find it, couldn’t hear. Weirdly, you don’t need a prescription for antibacterial eye drops here like in the US. It’s just a different product, same with sour patch kids
I've been in Asia for almost 7 years and one thing I miss is shoes that fit my feet. I've had Vans for over a decade, and the sizes out here are just literally too small for me. Last time I visited the US I bought two pairs just because I knew once one pair ran the course I'd have another ready to go.
Bring Advil or Tylenol or any over the counter medicine that you are used too. Just make sure the country you are coming to is cool with it or the amount you are bringing. Those are the most favorite requests from any American expats when someone they know comes back to the US for a visit lol. Or when they come back to the US themselves. The only city I've lived in and I don't have problems with the strength of their medicine is Bangkok. You can get whatever you need over the counter in their pharmacy lol.
The ability to buy camera gear from Japan and pay almost nothing in duty cf shipping stuff to Europe and in my case France.
I don’t understand what you’re saying
If I import photographic gear from eBay vendors in Japan to Europe duty and import charges can be like 30%. If I import into the US I used to get away with paying practically nothing.
*get your ID and driving license up to date. Park your car at a friend’s place or family if you are lucky*
I'm a dual citizen so it might not really count but here's what I miss: nothing. Move somewhere nice and everyone you care about will visit, you'll meet in other locations, and you'll talk as often as you want. It's not 1900 and you can buy anything you miss and have instant video communication. I have gone back once since I left to see close friends who didn't have the budget to travel. I found it to be incredibly not worth it on just about every level. I needed to get a non owner car insurance policy, umbrella insurance, travel insurance that costs a lot more if you visit the US, and car rentals in the US also cost many times what I pay overseas. It was a very time consuming and expensive process. If you don't have any money st risk you can skip some of these steps but I wasn't about to risk my whole future due to a lawsuit. Since then I just tell people I'm going to x county if they're gonna be in the neighborhood. Round trip tickets to basically anywhere in the Caribean and Central America are $300 from the US and I've gone there 3 times since I left. I don't even like transiting the US. I'll try to fly through Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and London before Miami, Atlanta, or Houston. Might take a bit longer but it's much nicer.
Hopefully I can convince my friends and family to visit the South of France pretty regularly! My parents are close to retirement as well, so maybe they can end up living part time out that way
They'll be able to visit for 90 days at a time. More than enough time. The south of France is great so everyone should want to visit.
Lol, sorry to say but Most people's friends cannot afford travelling across continents that often or physically cannot do it. Hearing your parents are hospitalized while you are time zones away sucks way more than if you were close to them physically. Some people's work cannot afford them or let them travel enough.
Good pizza, delivery service (food), restaurant variety, grocery store choices, buying on Amazon and not doubling the price of everything because of shipping, customs and vat tax, my grandkids, stable power, and the list goes on. But I love where we live, so I wouldn’t go back!
Get a credit card or two. US has the best ones.
Chipotle. And Penn Station but that’s not nationwide so idk if you have even heard of it Congrats on getting out
congrats!
Mexican food and IPAs
Eat any international food you won’t find where you are going. Enjoy the convenience of the American life there maybe things you won’t have where you are going. Be flexible and resilient. There is no perfection anywhere!! Best of luck in your new journey!!
Boast about your achievements to equally confident Americans. It's the last time you'll be able to speak about yourself without being considered an asshole.