this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2025
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And people who aren't part of any of these, do you think you are "missing" something?

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[–] xenoc@lemmy.world 5 points 24 minutes ago (1 children)

Definitely. I spent several years living in a South American country, one that is considered almost "high income" for the region. Uruguay. Now back in the States I still recognize how much less we USA folks could live on if our society was not so pushed by constant consumption by the corporatocracy's propaganda.

Learning to think in another language. Learning how even everyday things like doors and locks are different. Feeling distant from yet also slowly growing into that new to me culture

Smaller space, more use of renewables for heat, cooking, electric generation. Smaller cars than the giants on US roads that everybody here seems to "need". Yet many of those very small cars are indeed USA street legal if Hyundai/KIA, GM, etc imported the Brasil-Made Chevrolet Onyx, the Argentina-made small Chevrolets, the South American KIA Picanto, VW "city car" the Volkswagen Up! (Already on EU streets in an even smaller version)

Grocery stores with more home made and store made products. Yet without the massive duplication we have of entire aisles of breakfast cereals, soaps, etc. There was a reasonably broad degree of consumer choices but not the overwhelming and ridiculous amount here.

People shopping in small amounts for what they need that day. Rather than huge hauls from Costco?

And the universal and affordable healthcare. Which was not the single-payer free-at-service nonsense that some US politicians claim everywhere in the world' has. (Dear Bernie, NOBODY in the world has that!) Paid out of your local social security tax equivalent if employed, or about $60 US per month to buy into it if neither employed nor on benefits. Small "ticket charges" for physicians, labs, imaging, and about a $40 US ticket charge for the hospital ER. ZERO charge for hospital stay and all labs, tests, etc during that stay.

Mandatory voting with real competing parties and coalitions of parties. Military used almost only for UN peacekeeping.

There were frustrating times, and I personally had family reasons to return. But I still miss it, and sometimes envy those of my Uruguayan friends who could afford to travel to the US and my US friends that could afford homes in Uruguay while keeping a home also in the US.

One learns in ones bones that the US way is not the only way.

[–] 3x3@lemy.lol 1 points 29 seconds ago

The grocery thing is probably the universal experience when moving from a country where the average person has a high disposable income to low. There are simply more choices.

[–] DashboTreeFrog@discuss.online 5 points 34 minutes ago

I don't feel like nobody can understand my POV. I grew up moving country to country and my classmates growing up led similar lives and probably had similar POVs. It was only in college that I realized most people lived their whole childhoods in one city, not counting vacations.

I think you'd be interested in looking into the concept of "Third Culture Kids". I think the original book may be a bit outdated and lack some of the complexity of modern globalization, but it definitely made me realize a lot of things about myself when I read the book the first time way back.

[–] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 5 points 42 minutes ago

I am not sure what you mean with pov that no one else’s understand because many of my European friends speak english on top of native language.

What i can attest is that each language has its own expressions, saying and emergent philosophy that is not always translatable in other languages.

The language you speak/think directly influences what and how you think. Knowing multiple is therefore a very enriching experience.

[–] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 hour ago

Absolutely! A lot of an country's or region's culture and history is reflected in their language. In their expressions, vocabulary, loan words, etc.

[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 1 points 17 minutes ago

No? The majority of my coworkers are also multilingual. They travel more often than I do.