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Former Americans Explain How Their Lives Have Changed Since Leaving The USA

Former Americans Explain How Their Lives Have Changed Since Leaving The USA
Photo by Nico Smit on Unsplash

Life outside of the USA is different.

The small things are different. The day-to-day is different. The social contracts are different.

So after a long time living outside of the USA, it stands to think you might change, too.


u/whizzythorne asked:

Ex-Americans of Reddit, how has your life changed since moving out of the US?

Here were some of those answers.


More Of A Shift

I've lived in several different countries so the changes were different in each one. The one major/constant one is that I travel a lot more now. Not because I have some sort of passion for travel or because I feel like I missed out on it living in the US (I traveled a lot as a kid). It's just so damn easy, that it's not even much of a thought. Traveling outside of your state is a hassle but outside of the U.S., that's a major trip. Traveling to a neighboring country now is a 1-2 hour train and I am in a completely different culture, with a different language, different food, etc.

Rho-Aias

That Last Bit...Might Wanna Rethink?

I'm still American but living in west/central Africa since 2007.

Negatives about being here: there's not the variety of restaurants found in the states. Health care often isn't very good, though it is really cheap (root canal $80 for example). Many cities don't offer a wide range of activities either.

Positives: I can afford a housekeeper twice a week to clean the place and do laundry. Restaurants and bars are really cheap. 24 oz. beer is a dollar. People are very social and easy to meet. There really isn't a lot to spend money on so I save quite a bit of my salary. I can piss along side of the road if I need to and nobody cares.

ontrack

Nutrition

Moved to Switzerland 5 years ago. The biggest difference is that there is more vacation time and higher salaries. This causes lower stress in general—people are always talking about their next holiday. In fact it's hard to get together with friends sometimes because someone is always on holiday!

Less road rage and better drivers and public transit goes absolutely everywhere. We drive much less here and didn't have a car for the first three years.

Subsidized pre-school (spielgruppe). No school on Wednesdays. Two hour lunch breaks. All the shops are closed on Sundays and holidays.

No Mexican food :(

We cook a lot more because eating out is incredibly expensive. We also lost about 10 lbs each from walking everywhere / eating better.

swiss_baby_questions

Minor Things Get Fixed

I've lived in a few countries outside of the US: Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, and Georgia (the republic)

Main everyday benefits are public transportation is really easy, convenient, and cheap to use every day. I also eat out a lot more because it's much cheaper and more relaxed.

I haven't had to deal with health stuff much, but when I have, it's awesome and life changing. For example, I recently partially dislocated my shoulder and am able to afford out of pocket service at one of the best physical therapists in my city. In the US, I can't afford insurance and would just not see a doctor since it isn't extremely painful or life threatening.

Persimmon_Leaves

Österreich

Not me but my brother. He moved to Austria and loves it there. One thing that's changed though is that it's absolutely messed up how he speaks English. He's learned a lot of German but English is so widespread over there it's still what he usually uses. But all the people he talks to have a somewhat thick accent when they speak it which he's kind of adopted over time. He has to put a lot of effort into how he talks when Skyping with our mom or she can't understand a word he says.

Col_Walter_Tits

It's Always About The Healthcare

I was living in Hong Kong for a few years but returned due to the protests.

The best things were public transit, having fast, reliable public transit and just getting on a double-decker bus after work and spacing out on my phone or jumping on a train and being on a beautiful mountain ready to hike within 40 minutes was amazing.

The food was incredible. I think a lot of westerners go and get pizza or pasta or whatever they're used to but it's expensive and not very good. The little dumpling shops and random Sichuan noodle places though can't be beat.

And of course healthcare. There's an inexpensive public option that you have to wait for and also an expensive private option that still has to compete with the public option. So the prices aren't bad at all even with the private doctors and you get something for the extra cost. I never waited more than a couple minutes for a scheduled appointment and the care was far superior to anything I've ever dealt with in the US.

A visit for food poisoning and flu ran me $45 USD with prescriptions. $80 USD for the dentist. $700 usd for 3 months of concerta and a meeting with a specialist. Now I'm back in the US, my wife had to go to an appointment at the nicer local hospital. We waited for an hour in a dirty waiting room with furniture that's falling falling apart for a scheduled appointment that lasted all of 15 minutes, and talked to the doctor for just 2 minutes. $650 without any medications.

dmsfx

Living Got Easier

Still American, been living in Barcelona for 17 years.

On balance it's been a great experience. Mostly as a result of sheer luck I wound up in a place where my shortcomings weren't as big of a problem as they were back in Seattle, and I really came out of my shell. I discovered new talents, started a successful business, met a nice boy, fell in love and got married.

How has my life changed? Well, I have fairly severe ADD, and that kept me from being successful in my chosen IT profession. Here I found a passion for hospitality and opened a burger place that has now become a top-rated mini-chain in the country. Due to the high cost of opening a business like that in the US, I never would have been able to manage it. Here I did.


Quality of life is better in general: good free healthcare, public transport everywhere, awesome food and wine, great climate and weather. Cost of living is generally pretty low compared to the US, even though I'm in one of the most expensive real-estate markets in the country.

On the other hand, something I've noticed and discussed with my American friends is that by comparison, life here is harder than the US (depending on where you are there). By hard I mean so much is a hassle. Those cute mom-and-pop stores here are great until you actually need to buy something and have to go to six places and they are all out of it because they only stock one so you've wasted half a day and still won't get the thing you need until next week. So much paperwork and bureaucracy, city governments and state agencies with entire hierarchies of functionaries who only exist to prevent you from doing what you need to do. Sooo many lines to stand in. Supermarkets that are anything but super and keep bankers' hours. Sky-high taxes. It costs thousands of Euros and the better part of a year to get a drivers' license here, but everyone drives like a drunken toddler so what was the point? I could go on.

Life here is great, but I suspect we'll wind up back in the US in a few years.

alaninsitges

Capitalism Hasn't Taken My Life Away

I'm still an American, but I have been living outside of the US for the better part of the last decade.

It's nice to have affordable medical insurance and to be able to go to the doctor without worrying about the price. It's also nice to have amazing and affordable public transportation, not just in my city, but throughout the whole country. Other positives include low crime, clean cities, not a ton of aggressive homeless people. Apartments are also extremely affordable, even in the most desirable parts of town.

On the downside, I'll always be a foreigner here, and the air pollution is way worse here than in the US. Also, fresh produce is way more expensive here than it is back home.

ballsackjohn

My Life Isn't Dependent On My Wealth

I am a Norwegian-American and I have lived in Iceland, Norway, and the Faroe Islands. I am now living in Moscow, Russia, waiting for my residency to be processed. The main change from moving from the States to Russia is the availability to great health care without buying health insurance. I had an MRI done for $20 and they gave me a thumb drive of the scans so I can take it to whichever other clinic I might want to. Then I had 3 ultrasounds during one session, with blood work, and it all only cost around $45 dollars. These appointments were all done on the same day I called to make them and within a 5 mile radius of my home. This was all with a private healthcare clinic too, which is more expensive than just the State run healthcare. So yeah, it's amazing to have that. It's also nice to be able to buy a nice apartment and Summer house without taking a mortgage. I'll just add that life in Russia is much more similar to the United States than it ever was while living in the Nordic countries that I had lived in.

jonasbjarki

It Really Is All About Healthcare

I no longer have to determine if I'm sick enough to go to the doctor or ER because of costs. Medical treatment here is almost entirely covered by taxes, and it's an amazing feeling after living in the US. I won't lose my savings if I get cancer or have a car accident. If I don't feel well, I just pop down to my doctor for a free visit. (Yes, I know nothing is truly free.)

I have more free time and less stress. Work-life balance is valued more here. No one questions or cares if I take a sick day or need time to go to an appointment. I'm able to pursue hobbies and have a decent social life without other areas of my life being impacted. Life is just more laid back. It took me about five years to adjust to it, but I've fully embraced it now. When I visit the US, I'm always very glad that I no longer live there.

PE_Class_Champ

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.