It's easy for anyone to take for granted how lucky they are.
Many of us wish we were living in a larger home, had a more fulfilling or lucrative job, or wished our family would call us a little less frequently.
When, in fact, there are many others who would be thrilled to have our home, our job, and our family.
In fact, many Americans in general don't realize quite how lucky they are compared to the rest of the world.
Even from the point of view of some of the world's most prolific cities.
Redditor AdventurousAd1943 was curious to learn what things that Americans view as "common place" are, in fact, highly coveted in the eyes of Europeans, leading them to ask:
"Europeans of Reddit, what do Americans have on a daily basis that you consider a luxury?"
Lest You Scoff Before Filling Up...
"Cheap fuel."- MM556
"For most of you, fuel is a luxury."
"In America, because it was built for cars, it's a necessity."
"For many people there is no way to leave their house and do the most basic functions of living, like get food to eat, go to work to maintain income, etc. without a car."
"With that in mind, the average household cost per month on gasoline is $200."
"And that is not spread evenly."
"If you live in a city, you might only spend $30-50/month."
"If you live in a rural area or live relatively far away from work, you're spending $400-500/month in gas."- medicated_in_PHL
Or A Yard, For That Matter...
"Having big yards around the whole house."- IndependentToe297
Ice Ice Baby!
"American size fridges with the double doors and the ice maker."- Th3_Accountant
Kitchen Fridge GIF by bekoGiphy
Front Or Back!
"Houses with porches."- Select-Funny347
"… and 3-season or 4-season sunrooms."- Viperlite
"Oh Give Me Land, Lots Of Land..."
"Big national parks."- Basekid
"When I was in the Alps, I was blown away that there was no single location where you could look out and see only nature."
"Every single valley and every mountain had something human on it."- yeluapyeroc
...As Long As You're Not In Alaska...
"Great big f*cking oceans between themselves and Russia."- ClarkyCat97
Russian GIFGiphy
Doesn't Even Need To Be Central!
"AC."
"Everywhere."
"You get so used to it and forget how summers and winters can feel hot and cold and outright miserable sometimes without perfect indoor climate control."
"A European living in US."- Traditional_Ad_1012
And Yet The Tiny Home Market Is Booming...
"The houses seem so enormous."
"At least compared to the homes in England (London)."
"Even relatively modest American homes seem like palaces to Europeans."
"I also love that the homes are just huge and square."
"Big rooms with symmetry."
"A dream."
"In England our houses are such strange shapes for no reason, I just want a massive square room to put things in that does require a math degree when planning furniture arrangements."- Duck_on_Qwack
Just Watch Your Fingers!
"This grinder thing in the sink (if that's really a thing)."
"Would love to have that."- chelonioidea_style
episode 1 disposal GIFGiphy
The American Dream...
"Seemingly, all of you have huge fully ACed houses with huge fridges that fit a gaming room, playroom, home gym, 3 cars, and empty rooms of all your grown-up kids just in case they come back."
"And the time to somehow maintain it all while also driving significant distances daily to work."
"I have a new mid size house with a small plot of grass, and this sh*t is a nightmare to maintain compared to an apartment."- ShadowBannedAugustus
Blame The Public Transit...
"When I first moved to Europe, my wife’s family (a family of 5, the youngest of whom was 16) were shocked to learn that between me and my parents, we had 3 cars."- mejok
"It's A Privilege..."
"Free public bathrooms and free ice water at restaurants."- titsmuhgeee
Water Day GIF by ZinZenGiphy
It Is Always Assumed...
"Their language, how nice would it be too speak your own language and almost the whole world understands you."
"That's a privilege."- Pungsvett123
Those "All In Ones" Aren't Everything They're Cracked Up To Be...
"As an American that has traveled to Europe several times, the only thing I really ever missed was a decent clothes dryer."
"Every time I've used a dryer in Europe (if the flat even has one), the clothes dryer just seemingly whispered to my clothes to 'try to dry off a bit'."- WisestCracker
You Think YOUR Apartment Is Tiny...
"S O."
"M u c h."
"S P A C E."
"I'm in some architecture shaming groups in Facebook, and most of the posts are just normal spaces in Europe."
"Somehow each room not having its own bathroom is the most terrifying idea for USA people."- Silent-Victory-3861
Home Luxury GIF by The Pozek GroupGiphy
Many Americans have been doing serious research about expatriating to Europe since early November 2024.
Understandable as that may be, they might want to take some of the above-mentioned things into consideration...
