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Hot water on demand, well-maintained roads, reliable healthcare, and even a well-stocked grocery store are all things many of us consider part of day-to-day life. We don’t see them as particularly special because they’re usually easily available. For lots of people around the world, though, even one of those would feel like hitting the jackpot.
So when one Redditor asked users to share what Americans consider “basic” that feels like a luxury in other countries, people came through with plenty of answers. We’ve gathered some of the most eye-opening ones below. Scroll down to read them and share your thoughts in the comments.
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#1
Kind of eye opening but our new engineering intern is from Ghana on some sort of lottery work/study visa. He basically reminds me everyday of something that he thinks is amazing that I have taken for granted most of my life. Hot water, garbage pickup, technology, internet service, food availability, healthcare technology, all the different types of cool shoes and nice clothes, the list goes on and on.
“When I got to New York I got picked up in a car to go to a hotel. The car was the most beautiful car I had ever rode in, but when I got to the hotel room.., man… THAT was the most beautiful room I had ever seen.” - Quote from him about arriving in America.
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#2
Nobody fully appreciates Western style plumbing until they visit a place without it. My water is hot when I turn on the tap, I can drink water straight from the tap, and our toilets can handle nearly anything reasonable being flushed.
Edit because a lot of people are missing my point. It’s not that there isn’t acceptable or even better plumbing elsewhere in the world. American plumbing feels like a luxury to a *significant* portion of the world, yet it is almost universally standard here. I can flush toilet paper, take a 45 minute steaming hot shower, and drink as much water as I want. Go ask the average person in most of the world if that seems *luxurious* to them, and they will almost certainly say yes.
#4
Disability infrastructure
Nearly every public building and space is handicap accessible. Australia is decent too. Europe and Asia is trying to catch up with newly built buildings, but so much of their cities are so old that it's not feasible to retrofit them with wheelchair ramps and accessible bathrooms
Loosey Goosey 26 minutes ago
Many old buildings are listed buildings in the UK as they're of historical interest, so any adaptations must not damage the building's character. They also can't be demolished unless they're dangerous to the public.
#5
Driving ettequite.
People in the US complain about how their city/region/state has -the worst- drivers and traffic and will remark about how "unsafe" roads are here.
Having been to other countries I can safely say that US drivers and roads are positively benign.
When you drive in East Asia, South East Asia, and even parts of Europe... you are entering into a real life "Madmax" / "Frogger" situation.
#8
Handicapped accessibility.
Seriously, if you travel, you will quickly realize that just assuming that wheelchairs, strollers, etc can go basically wherever does not hold up in much of the world.
#9
As someone who grew up in a developing country, I think one thing that we take for granted here is PEACE OF MIND.
It's hard to put in words how substantial and consequential it can be. It is all consuming.
When you go to the grocery store here and buy a pack of flour, it's clean and ready to use and you know it's safe. We had to clean everything we used, rice had rocks in them, flour had bugs in them, etc. We also didn't always know if it was safe. It was kind of known that manufacturer often put ground bricks in powdered red pepper, to give you an example.
From clean running water, to safe roads, to not being scammed at every corner- whether by corrupt individuals at every step of the ladder or by anyone you ever do business with (normal shopping, contractors, medical providers, etc.), it truly is a luxury to have peace of mind. .
#10
What countries are we talking about here?
People saying sitting toilets and clean water are thinking about very specific countries and regions.
I honestly think that cheap gas is probably to the best answer and maybe multi bathroom households.
#11
Great clothes dryers that completely dry a full load of clothes in approximately 20 minutes.
Even I still think that’s amazing.
#12
Little things that are pretty ubiquitous in the US but rare in even more developed countries: garbage disposal, automatic garage door openers, somewhat dishwashers.
V 29 minutes ago
Most developed countries don't need garbage disposals in their sinks as their rubbish gets collected frequently enough. And automatic garage doors and dishwashers are usually in new builds, it's only in places that were built before they were a thing that tend to not have them now.
#15
I've never understood why so many European windows don't have insect screens. It's not like there are no bugs!
#16
Water heaters...at least the big whole house ones.
When I visited my wife's family in Thailand for the first time, I was surprised that they only had a small electric water heater for the shower. It also felt sort of sketchy to have something electric in the shower. .
#17
I live in Arizona. Air conditioning is essential for life. I definitely don't set it at 74. I kind of like it set at 81 or 82 f.
#19
The size of US homes and refrigerators are on average much larger than any place I visited outside the US. Which is over 200 countries/territories/etc.
I traveled a lot with my grandfather outside the US. My grandfather was a Spanish folk musician, guitar maker and educator. We traveled A LOT. Often, we stayed at people's homes overnight while traveling.
I remember going to Belgium when I was around 17 or so. The whole family- mom, dad, 2 kids, grandma, mom's brother; lived in a house together where my personal bedroom back in Chicago was larger than their kitchen & dining room combined.
The fridge was only slightly larger than my personal beverage refrigerator next to bed back home.
This was supposedly a "well-off" family and that was why they volunteered to host my grandfather and me.
That was just Belgium though. Japan, France, Germany (no A/C W*F?), Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Sudan, Egypt... tiny, tiny, tiny living spaces.
In fairness, I am a six foot tall dude.
V 25 minutes ago
The fridge thing makes sense. There are so many food deserts in the US that I imagine most people have to do a big shop so they don't have to go back for as long as they can. In Europe and Asia and other parts of the world it's much easier to do lots of little shops. Outside the US I have never lived more than walking distance from a supermarket.
#20
I’m not American; I’m Scottish, but could having a garbage disposal and a massive fridge possibly be seen as basic in the U.S. but a luxury in other countries? I wish I had the space in my flat for a big American fridge, but I don’t think I would use a garbage disposal.
#21
Multiple bathrooms. The median US home has 2.25 bathrooms with new constructions having an average of 2.6. In comparison, the average Australian home at best will have one shared bathroom and a ensuite for the master bedroom.
#22
Clothes dryer machine seemed pretty uncommon in every country I've been to.
Loosey Goosey 23 minutes ago
I suspect this person has mostly been to hot countries where dryers are unnecessary because your clothes will dry after 20 minutes on a washing line. Come to the UK and you'll find many homes have dryers. 🌧
#23
I am mildly fascinated by how celebrities, public figures, and influencers (i.e. people who make a living by being in the public eye) can almost live in any area in your country. From NY to LA to Montana.
Then I saw a map of your transportation networks. You take for granted what becomes possible when it’s easy to travel & move things around.
#24
Free public toilets
Free refills at restaurants
Ice in your drink
Air Conditioning
Giant stores like Walmart or Target.
#25
Pharmacies that give you the actual meds you paid for. Not having to ask friends/locals to figure out which pharmacies are legit is truly amazing.
#28
Havin an AC.
#29
Wild animals just standing around. My old partner used to work in Nigeria. One of his Nigerian colleagues was visiting Philadelphia and was astonished to see Canadian geese in the park in the middle of the city. "What are they doing there? That's food!".
#30
I’m not American, but I can answer from my POV - how accessible everything is.
I constantly see videos and reels of Americans who visit my country (New Zealand) and complain how far away things are, or how stores close at certain times, or how public holidays affect operating hours, or how certain products or brands aren’t sold here.
I’ve also lived in the US and literally everything was available the minute I wanted it. Most stores or malls were a five minute drive away, nothing was ever closed unless it was super late at night, even then you could often find a 24 hour version if you really needed to.
While it would be nice to have everything accessible when I wanted it (a luxury, I guess), I’m kind of glad we don’t have that option. It makes for impatient and lazy people with little respect for customer service workers.
#31
Stores being open on Sundays.
Loosey Goosey 17 minutes ago
Excuse the rest of the world for thinking retail staff shouldn't have to work 24/7. In England, most shops aren't legally allowed to be open for longer than six hours on Sundays, and they can't be open at all on Christmas Day or Easter Sunday.
#32
Cheap gasoline.
We’re hurting right now at $5 a gallon.
At current exchange rates, that’s 98p a liter. The UK would have a parade over gas prices that cheap.
Loosey Goosey 15 minutes ago (edited)
We don't do as much driving in the UK though. One of the perks of being a small country. You can drive the entire length of Great Britain in about 14 hours and whichever direction you go in you're going to run out of land and be in the sea.
#33
Window screens. Even in rural areas of France next to fields and rivers/ streams it seems that window screens are rare. Open a window to get fresh air and the place is filled with insects.
#34
Giant refrigerators. Most places have a fridge about half the size of an average American fridge.
#35
Drinkable water in your home, available at any time, without the need to visit the community pump/well and wait in line.
By "drinkable" I mean - somewhat safe to consume for hydration, but either requiring an hour to boil and cool or literally ingesting soil or sand, along with billions of microbes in the ground water.
#36
As much ice as you want in a drink.
#37
Tons of stuff. Our expectation of what a "middle-class, comfortable life" is is seen as a life only for the wealthy in pretty much every other country. Things like:
- Owning a 2000-sq-ft standalone house with a yard (the median home size in the US)
- Having central AC/Heat and not mini-splits in a couple rooms
- At least a queen size bed that's made up of one mattress, not two mattresses pushed together
- Having two cars per family and at least one of them being an SUV that can fit over 5 people
- Taking multiple domestic and at least one international vacations a year
- Being able to afford all of that and still have money to put in retirement savings with the expectation that you'll retire around 65 and be able to have an enjoyable life until you d*e
I'm not saying most Americans have all these things. But I do believe most Americans consider that life a comfortable lifestyle that should be attainable by most Americans. And that is a big reason why so many people are so jaded and talk about how terrible this country is while living a lifestyle that is way higher than their socioeconomic class would afford them in most other countries. Our expectations of what we should be able to have is much higher than other countries, and often higher than what we are able to achieve.
#39
1 car per person. Most other, even developed countries have 1 car per household.
A dryer. Most other countries use clotheslines.
Debt. Credit cards and widespread, chronic unsecured debt are things unique to America. Being able to buy a 120k$ car on a monthly payment that's 50% of your income is only an American thing.
School transportation. Most other countries expect students to get there themselves, by walking, relying on the family, or public transit.
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