Europeans Are Sharing The Everyday Things America Has That They're Jealous Of, And I Had No Idea
Reddit user u/Prof_XdR asked European Redditors, "What do Americans have every day that you see as a luxury?"
The answers they shared really surprised me. Here are the most popular American things that Europeans wish they had more of:
1."If you have insurance: healthcare. Yeah, you see all the absurdities of the US healthcare system, however everything is much faster. You can get a specialist in a few days or a non-emergency surgery in a week. In Europe, it may take months."
2."Garages are pretty uncommon here, and it definitely seems like a luxury to have a house for your two or three cars attached to your house for your people."
3."College availability. The US has outstanding community colleges and easy transfer to world-class universities. In EU, such universities are unavailable without family or prep school credentials in advance."
4."Insulation and heating. Eastern Europe and Scandinavia were different, but in the UK and much of continental Europe, 'heavy curtains' are viewed as suitable insulation in the winter and the heat goes on for an hour and a half a day. Brrrr."
5."Wild legal car customization. Here in Switzerland, you'd have to pay about 10K in order to install a turbocharger on a small car and It can only add 10% of power (legally)."
6."For some people, the size of your homes in places like Utah and Texas. There's a dedicated room for everything. Kids playroom that isn't the living room or the kid's bedroom, walk-in pantry room, a laundry room, and more."
7."More 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."
8."Free use of public bathrooms. Using them in Europe usually costs .50 cents to a full Euro."
9."Europeans cannot comprehend how much better American vented clothes dryers are. There is a reason nobody in the US line dries their clothes. American dryers dry everything perfectly at low temperatures, unlike ventless dryers which just kinda heat the clothes up. The dryer in the average American home is better than the ones in European laundromats."
10."You can pretty much choose to live in any climate you like when you live in the USA and still be in the same country. You like four seasons? Move to the Northeast. You like humid ocean climate? Move to Seattle. You like dry warm weather? Move to Los Angeles. You like deserts? Move to Arizona. You like warm and humid weather? move to the Southeast. As a German who loves warm weather, I am always jealous because of those options. If I wanted to try to move somewhere warm I would have to move to a new country and learn Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, Greek, or other southern European languages."
11."24 hour pharmacies."
12."Air conditioning. Americans pump it all summer long."
13."Free refills at restaurants."
14."Extensive national parks."
15."Backyards. I'd plant so many vegetables."
16."Being a consumer in the US is incredibly convenient. There's same-day or next-day free delivery on almost any item on Amazon. Most stores and restaurants are open seven days a week and you're able to return almost anything you buy for a full refund, no questions asked."
17."Apartment complex pools and the regular washing of the windows of high-rise buildings (it’s infrequent in Europe)."
18."Huge schools with labs and gyms and theaters."
19."Big kitchens and big refrigerators and freezers. Even in my student apartment, we had a pretty good-sized kitchen. I was dating a Czech girl and her parents came to visit. When they went to my apartment for dinner, the mom was just amazed at the size of my fridge. They were amused when I dumped the scraps in the sink and turned on the garbage disposal. They’d heard about it but had never seen one."
20."I’m surprised no one has mentioned a nice shower. Not everywhere in Europe is the same but far too often showering is a chore instead of a relaxing experience."
21."Real Mexican food. We have Mexican restaurants in my home country but the owners are usually not Mexican and it’s just not the same. Now, I’m living in Japan and it’s the same problem. Mexican food is so delicious."
22."It used to be 24-hour stores and restaurants. That went away with covid."
23.And lastly, "Fresh air. It’s illegal in America to smoke in restaurants for example."
Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
