15 Things Normal In America That Europeans Consider A Luxury

Countries and continents differ from each other in significant ways. That’s why we love to travel, so we can experience the various lifestyles on offer in various parts of the world.

Recently, a Reddit thread discussing the differences between America and Europe went viral. With loads of folks sharing their viewpoints, there’s a lot of information and knowledge that has come to light on the topic especially comparing the everyday things that Americans take for granted that Europeans view as a luxury.

More info: Reddit

#1

Image source: DachauPrince, Josh Fields

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 4 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.

#2 The size of your homes in places like Utah and Texas. There’s a dedicated room for everything. Kids play room that isn’t the living room or the kid’s bedroom, walk in pantry room, a laundry room.

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#3 Free refills

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#4 Extensive national parks

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#5 American here visiting Germany right now. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say fuel cost. The station down the road here sell petrol for 1.75 Euro/Liter, that’s about $7.20/gallon if my math is correct. For comparison, I’m from Phoenix Arizona and just paid $2.85 per gallon last week, which is about 0.75 Euro/Liter. Gas is even cheaper than that in the Midwest US.

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#6 Air conditioning. Americans pump it all summer long

Image source: websurfer49, Ashkan Forouzani

#7 Disability access everywhere. I can go to any place — theatre, store, office, school, whatever — with confidence that I’ll be able to navigate fine in my wheelchair, they’ll have ramps and/or elevators

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#8 One thing I really noticed is the lack of escapism in Europe. You wanna go on a long drive to clear your mind? Well, there’s nowhere really to go – you’re always going to find yourself in pretty well developed areas. It’s hard to find true serenity or wilderness.

Image source: thegzak, Pixabay

On a related note, yes there’s traffic in America, but once you’re out of the cities and on open road, good lord… nothing even remotely compares in Europe. Driving is just way more pleasant in the US. There’s a reason Americans would prefer a long drive over a long train trip, but vice versa in Europe. In Europe they also have TONS of speed cameras, so you’re constantly on edge looking down at your speedo to make sure you’re compliant. Americans are anything but compliant ?.