# Americans: what would you miss from home if you moved abroad? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 21, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817 "2008-10-21T00:04:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/21 "2008-10-21T02:08:44Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > I’m from the South, what can I say? Bless your little heart! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/22 "2008-10-21T02:10:10Z")
LOL, yes I should have been more specific. The bar smoking ban starting on January 1, 1998. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/23 "2008-10-21T02:11:23Z")
My family and my Yankee games. I would hate not getting to games anymore. I know I could pick up the game on a broadband connection at least, but I like to actually be at the games. I would probably end up craving good (NYC style) Italian food and Bagels. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/24 "2008-10-21T02:11:58Z")
Well, **dangermom** wasn’t talking about bars. In fact, IIRC, she’s LDS, so I doubt she would have much reason to visit bars at all. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/25 "2008-10-21T02:13:47Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I would probably end up craving good (NYC style) Italian food and Bagels. Ah, but what if you were an expat in _Italy_, hmmmm? You know where they have lousy bagels? Israel. True story. They have these things called bageles, which are delicious, but more like a pretzel than a bagel. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/26 "2008-10-21T02:19:49Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > The American supermarket. Specifically, the 2000 square feet of produce I can buy…any type of fruit or vegetable, in season or out… > > I’m never leaving California. Well, the American supermarket is great in that regard. But if I go to Ralph’s or Albertson’s, the produce is often tasteless. But if I buy produce in a country like Colombia or Mexico or Cuba, the produce tastes better. Not always, but most often. It seems like the American supermarket is more concerned with appearance than taste. Even in East Hollywood, a Thai market seems to have better tasting produce than the local Ralph’s. Of course, this could all be just psychological. There’s something about a Ralph’s that just seems very sterile. Really, the OP’s question needs to specify where you’re going. If you’re going to some remote place in Ghana, it’s a lot different from going to Buenas Aires. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/27 "2008-10-21T02:23:57Z")
Affordable dental care. Foods of all kinds. Mexican especialy. I heard you guys can’t get Ranch dressing over there. Is that true? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/28 "2008-10-21T02:28:51Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Ah, but what if you were an expat in _Italy_, hmmmm? > > You know where they have lousy bagels? Israel. True story. They have these things called bageles, which are delicious, but more like a pretzel than a bagel. Well as far as I know real Italian cuisine will depend on the part of Italia you are in and won’t resemble typical New York Italian style foods. As to bagels, all bagels are bad once you are 80 miles outside of NYC and most are bad outside a 5 mile limit tops. For the two hundred bagel makers in my county, only 3 can make a real bagel. I won’t even speak of the crap that Manhattan bagels tries to pass off as a bagel. I was hoping I was going to be an expat to Eire actually. I generally like Irish food and I am reasonably sure I can get good Ale there when I want it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/29 "2008-10-21T02:29:24Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > I heard you guys can’t get Ranch dressing over there. Is that true? Good gad, Sir. One doesn’t _buy_ salad dressing; one makes it, _fresh_ at the table. -Nero Wolfe. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/30 "2008-10-21T02:32:25Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > As to bagels, all bagels are bad once you are 80 miles outside of NYC Lenders? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/31 "2008-10-21T02:47:33Z")
Mmmm, bagels. And I vote for Western Bagel as a good bagel venue. Also, I was indeed speaking of all public places, not bars. I did go to a bar in Berkeley in about 1995 and it was unpleasantly smoky. …I must have entered a bar since then, but I’m not remembering it right now. (For concerts and such.) In the UK, I particularly remember the shock I felt sitting on a bench in an indoor shopping mall (waiting for my husband to finish paying in the Tesco near Elephant and Castle) and this guy just sits down and lights up right next to me! It was complete involuntary culture shock–up to that moment I had not given a thought to the fact that at home public smoking was just nonexistent, and it was perfectly normal in the UK. I had become so accustomed to an almost completely smoke-free daily existence that this little thing was utterly unexpected. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/32 "2008-10-21T02:53:01Z")
In N Out Burger ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/33 "2008-10-21T03:00:26Z")
The only thing I miss is the ready availability of inexpensive fruit, especially berries. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/34 "2008-10-21T03:07:30Z")
The ability to get a nice big glass of water that doesn’t have to come from a bottle or cost more than beer. The shopping hours. The ability to run out to an all-night food place or stop by the local 7-11, open 24 hours/day. Toilets filled with water, instead of a tiny little puddle at the bottom. I didn’t miss American food much, because I always had access to military bases and could shop at an American commissary. Although, if I don’t go to a Taco Bell a couple times a year, I start jonesing bad. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/35 "2008-10-21T03:11:32Z")
Bread/Dairy that lasts longer than 1 week I studied in London and it was SO frustrating how little time food lasted. I’m spoiled on my extra whatevers in my American food to make it last long ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/36 "2008-10-21T03:19:16Z")
When my son spent a year in Germany as an exchange student, the thing he wanted most was Mountain Dew. \ ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/37 "2008-10-21T03:30:52Z")
Pro football. It’s just such a big part of what makes life worth living. I understand that some foreign countries have a game they call “football,” which apparently is what we in the US call “basketball,” but it’s just not the same. ---
**Author:** ![vintageloveletter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@vintageloveletter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vintageloveletter)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/38 "2008-10-21T03:36:48Z")
When I lived in Australia I missed: -my brand of tampons -Mexican food -bagels I promptly got over all this. I missed more things from Oz when I arrived back in America. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/39 "2008-10-21T03:36:50Z")
Mexican food. It’s been well over 10 years, and I still find myself thinking about La Super Rica Taqueria in Santa Barbara. However, that’s missing California, or possibly Mexico, but not so much America. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817/40 "2008-10-21T03:38:21Z")
Man, I can’t even live in the same country without missing the stuff where I grew up with. Yeah, there’s stuff like food & various other things you buy that I missed when I didn’t live where I grew up. But the real thing that convinced me I had to move back was when I started missing the weeds. I’d sit on my back porch in Colorado, and look at the stuff coming up between the cracks, and think to myself “those are the wrong weeds.” Yeah, I’m hopeless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-what-would-you-miss-from-home-if-you-moved-abroad/468817.md?page=3)