Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
It’s pretty easy to take something for granted when you’ve had it for most of your life. As you grow up, you start to notice that in reality, a lot of things many of us take for granted are considered desirable rarities for folks who are worse off.
Someone asked “What’s a luxury that many people don’t realize is a luxury?” and netizens shared their best examples. We also got in touch with the person who made the thread to learn more. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Living alone, in solitude, doing whatever the hell you want.
RELATED:
#2
Open minded, loving, supportive, understanding, & caring parents.
#3
Being able to publicly call the leader of their country an idiot, with no consequences from the government.
Bored Panda got in touch with the netizen who posted the question and they were kind enough to share some more of their thoughts with us. Naturally, we wanted to know if there was a story behind their curiosity on this topic.
“I’ve always been very interested in the extremes and superlatives, but there’s often a disconnect between what people believe to be the most, the least, the worst and what is actually true. Thought it would be enlightening to know what misconceptions there might be and at the same time educate people on the facts.”
#4
Healthy since birth...
#5
Knowing where your next meal is coming from.
Getting out of bed in the morning and having a comfortable place to pee.
#6
Autopay for bills and utilities. If you don’t need to check your account to pay a bill, that’s living a good life for me.
Serial pacifist 1 year ago (edited)
I often try to explain to my kids how much of a blessing is having a simple faucet with running, clean water. Not only was it the stuff of sci-fi around the world a hundred years ago, when our great-grandmothers would go to the river to wash/clean/ bring drinking water, but it is unfortunately (and scandalously) a luxury even today for billions of people around the world.
The thread had quite a few responses, so we wanted to know why they thought it ended up being so popular. “Good questions need to be ones that people are excited to both read and answer. This meant that a lot of people would initially post because they have strong feelings about something and then it snowballed into something big,” they shared.
#7
Air travel. People b***h and complain about everything: the seats are too small, it costs too much, food sucks, the flight was delayed. But it's pretty amazing to pay a few hundred dollars and arrive on the other side of the country (or globe) the same day.
Nils Skirnir 1 year ago
Don’t care much about the food or entertainment. The seats do suck though.
#8
Living in a home that's secure from the elements, safe from crime and in a good neighborhood. Not available for alot of people.
#9
Having free time for hobbies, travel, and enjoy leisure activities. Many people in poverty or working multiple jobs don't have time or money.
Lastly, we wanted to know if they had any favorites from the thread or personal examples. “Definitely none that are as good as the ones in the thread but I think people overestimate the probability of gaining popularity or success doing the same things as other people. The balance of novelty and establishment is a hard one to reach. Novel enough that it is not so saturated but established enough that there is a likelihood of success.”
#10
Laundry machines!
#11
Tattoos. I’m a tattoo artist. Don’t argue with me about the price being too high or how you “need” a tattoo. They’re a luxury that you save for, you absolutely don’t “need” it and should never prioritise them over bills, food, etc.
#12
A good quality bed.
#14
Buying things in bulk. Not everyone can shell out that much money at once, even if it saves money in the long run. Also, not everyone has the space to store it.
#15
Being able to get your kids braces, glasses, and whatever other health related things they need.
Shopping for food and new basic clothes without having to worry about not having money left.
Magenta Blu 1 year ago
Dental care. People can live with not aligned tooth, but not being able to afford dental care is sad.. i have been trying for almost A YEAR to save enough for a dentist appointment, but I just cant save, because i have to eat, pay bills and feed my family... So dental care have always to wait
#16
Having a regular 9-5, not having to work evenings or weekend.
sturmwesen 1 year ago
Being able to reduce your hours for mental health.. I am down to 35 and still struggle to build up my energy again. I was asked if I wanted less hours. Who is gonna pay my bills?
#17
Experiencing silence.
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Since developing tinnitus, silence is something I will never experience again unfortunately
#19
It may seem minor, but having a variety of shops, restaurants, and activities in your town. A lot of people(in the US, at least) only have a Walmart, McDonalds and a disheveled bowling alley in their town.
#20
Having a closet full of clothes and shoes for different occasions/seasons. Many people have only a few outfits and struggle to stay warm or dry.
#23
Having access to information on pretty much anything, anytime we want. The internet is such a wonderful thing and so many people use it for basic stuff like porn or answering Reddit questions.
#24
Having a car/driving. I used to have to walk everywhere before I got a car. an even in my small town everything is miles apart. no sidewalks. not pedestrian friendly. it sucked. driving is a luxury I will always appreciate.
Doozle bug 1 year ago
I live in a walkable city in regional Australia. I don’t own a car and I am criticised regularly
#26
Having total control of where and how you live.
Pittsburgh rare 1 year ago
Refugees and, in developed countries, housing crisis. The 1% is moving people around like pawns.
#27
Living past age 30 with no tooth problems.
Bec 1 year ago
Access to affordable dental care. I know I went without in my 20s due to lack of insurance, playing catch up once I got insurance was not fun (as I also have a bit of anxiety about the dentist). I wish I would have spent a little $ or utilized free or low cost services for upkeep in those years.
#28
# High-Speed Internet. Many areas in the world still struggle with slow or no internet connectivity.
Liz The Biz 1 year ago
I wish we could go back at least 30 years to when we didn't have the Internet. We've allowed ourselves to be shoehorned into a world where nothing functions without the Internet and it causes more problems than it solves. Look at the recent Microsoft outage. In my workplace for example, when the Internet goes down the computers don't work, the phones don't work, the CCTV doesn't work, even the photocopier doesn't work. Everybody gets angry when there's no Internet. The world was a much happier, simpler place before the Internet.
#29
Being able to contemplate deeper topics and explore concepts. I’ve been in situations where I’m just thinking about survival and getting through another day. Never in there could I sit and think about anything else.
#30
Ice. Americans in particular seem to think it just magically appears, but it requires both clean water and electricity to make.
#31
Garage. It feels like a luxury to have a garage cleared out enough to park cars in. No scraping ice & snow in the winter or having your car turn into an oven in the summer. And adds a layer of protection from car thieves.
#32
Having "spending money" -> Not living paycheck to paycheck.
I've lived paycheck to paycheck, and now that my career is coming to an end, and I've steadily paid my bills over the past few decades, I'm finally out of debt.
No mortgage payment. No car payment. Cell phone, internet, and utilities are all I've got. It sure is nice to go out to eat, put gas in the car, or buy groceries without having to check my bank account.....which is slowly growing regardless. It's nice to always see a bigger balance regardless of incidental expenses like gas or groceries. I mean, I pretty much do what I want knowing that, should I check my account, there will be more in it than the last time I checked. It really negates the necessity to even check my balance.
I can go buy a new TV, or put tires on my car whenever I want. Maybe some new rims? Nah. I've got a 1982 GE refrigerator. I'll just go buy a new one.
This is a luxury.
Many friends and family are stuck in what I used to be: paycheck to paycheck. And it *sucks* having to put something off or figure s**t out because you can keep the car from getting repo'ed *or* fix the broken washing machine....but not both. Looks like another day at the laundromat.
Don't think I'm not grateful or have forgotten how much living paycheck to paycheck sucks in today's economy.
It's sad that having "spending money" is now a f*****g luxury.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 1 year ago
I see myself in this post. It is an awesome feeling now but I easily remember the times when I had jam sandwiches for dinner before my next paycheck came in.
#33
Having toilet paper that doesn't feel like sandpaper on your delicate bits.
Michael P (Perthaussieguy) 1 year ago
I grew up with Izal toilet paper. Some of you may remember it. When I went to my best friends house and they had soft tissue, I often smuggled some sheets back home with me.
#34
Minimalism. The idea that you don’t keep a lot of things around because if you end up needing it in the future you could buy it new. It’s the opposite of hoarding in the sense that you may not need something right now but you might some day.
StrangeOne 1 year ago
Tbf, I used to have that mindset, growing up low income, and living in my adulthood low income. But in recent years I've appreciated the mindset of just letting go of the "just in case" items. It feels so liberating and relief there's less excess to pack if I need to move, and it's given me less urges to spend money on c**p to bring in the home.
#37
Having a grocery store near by.
#38
Bidets, I used to live in the phillipines then moved to the US, and oh do I miss bidets
#39
Meat being plentiful and affordable.
I had a friend who moved to the United States from Bulgaria as a teenager. There are LOTS of things he told me about his life back in Bulgaria that made me realize how much I took for granted growing up in a developed country (getting to school each morning was a 2 hour train ride; his childhood home was heated by a wood furnace that took an hour to get going; the only toys/games available were, and I am quoting him here "the things Russia didn't want") but the one that most rang to me, the one I'll never forget, was when he saw a commercial with a freezer stocked full of meat, laughed and said "Who freezes meat?"
I thought he was kidding, but no, he wasn't. Turns out, for a lot of people around the world, the idea of having so much meat that you can freeze it and save it for later is a fantasy.
Nils Skirnir 1 year ago
Many places they prefer to buy meat and veggies daily, rather than freeze it. It’s often not they can’t, but that they don’t want to.
#40
Owning and regularly upgrading to the latest phones, computers, and other gadgets is a big luxury. Many people around the world have limited or no access to this.
#41
Apparently electric toothbrushes. The refill heads are now $40…
whiterabbit 1 year ago
They make cheap knockoffs that fit on the name brand toothbrushes, you can buy them on Amazon for a fraction of the cost.
What do you think ?
Crescent 3 1 year ago
Unpaid Internships - Some of my friends in college and law school were able to take unpaid internships in our field. However, I, and many others could not afford to work and not get paid because we had to pay for our rent, food, and other bills. So while the more well-off folks were getting valuable experience and developing contacts for the future, I was delivering pizzas or working on a moving truck during my breaks. This gave them a tremendous advantage when it came to applications and interviews.
Will Cable 1 year ago
For me it is peace and quiet. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere it is a luxury. I find myself wearing earplugs more and more.
Bec 1 year ago
I like where I live, it is a pretty safe neighborhood, but there are so many obnoxious motorcycles and cars that rev their engines. I visited a friend for a week in a really nice area with mainly vacation homes, one thing I noticed was how quiet it was.
Load More Replies... Crescent 3 1 year ago
Unpaid Internships - Some of my friends in college and law school were able to take unpaid internships in our field. However, I, and many others could not afford to work and not get paid because we had to pay for our rent, food, and other bills. So while the more well-off folks were getting valuable experience and developing contacts for the future, I was delivering pizzas or working on a moving truck during my breaks. This gave them a tremendous advantage when it came to applications and interviews.
Will Cable 1 year ago
For me it is peace and quiet. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere it is a luxury. I find myself wearing earplugs more and more.
Bec 1 year ago
I like where I live, it is a pretty safe neighborhood, but there are so many obnoxious motorcycles and cars that rev their engines. I visited a friend for a week in a really nice area with mainly vacation homes, one thing I noticed was how quiet it was.
Load More Replies...
Related on Bored Panda
