How I See the US After Living Abroad for 15 Years [CULTURE SHOCK]

Mar 11, 2024

Things are still very expensive here. It's pretty easy for me to spend more money on rent than my total monthly cost of

living

in Croatia or Portugal. Here I pay more for utilities alone than I spent renting a four-bedroom house on a vineyard in Montenegro. So this is a little bit of a different style of video than what I've done before on this channel, but I've been wanting to do it for almost the entire year that I've been back

living

in the US because I basically spent half my life living in foreign countries and since returning due to global circumstances, I have noticed quite a few things that have intrigued, bothered or saddened me about what life is like in the United States today. that's life.

So I just wanted to share some of these ideas with you. The good, the bad and the ugly. I'm curious to hear your opinion or if you agree, and I don't want to offend anyone, but sometimes clichés and stereotypes are based on truth and some stereotypes about the US that I have come to believe are factual and quite some. So if you're new here, you're probably wondering where the hell have you been all this time? Well, if you've ever lived

abroad

, you know that sometimes you say you're going away for a month or a year, but then you never come back and that's pretty much what happened to me.

More Interesting Facts About,

how i see the us after living abroad for 15 years culture shock...

I lived

abroad

for the first time when I studied abroad at age 20 and one semester turned into two semesters and one year turned into seven or eight, yada yada yada. Because once I realized I could live in foreign countries, and usually for less money than it cost me to live in the United States, I kept going. culture

shock

and perhaps we can all learn something from it.

So whether these things are positive or negative, good or bad, you are the judge. I'm going to try to be as objective as possible. Here we go. The first thing I noticed when I returned to the United States was America's mentality of consumerism and materialism. Everything is so big, so expensive, so extreme or so over-the-top and over-the-top, from cars to roads to shopping malls to the amounts of food you get in restaurants to the selection of things you can get in supermarkets. grocery. So the first thing I had was kind of consumerism overload when I came back and I spent so much money in the first two months that I was only here to go out to eat and shop and buy things on Amazon.

I mean, I had been living in countries that didn't even have Amazon and one time, uh, I had to mail some stuff from Bali and I had to mail it on a ship like it took three months to get to my house in Florida. and in the US it's like you can get everything you want on demand and everything always has to be bigger and better. And I guess that's part of the nature of capitalism and competition and also why the United States has so much room to expand and grow. But everything here is truly larger than life.

It's really hard to get in and out of there without spending more money than you anticipated. And usually when I travel I'm sad that there's only one brand of peanut butter

And even though I thought I don't technically live here, it feels weird to be here without having a car, to walk or ride a bike like I used to do in Amsterdam, which is totally normal. And then here it's like there's a stigma to it. So I don't have a car right now, but even when I did I never used it because I just biked everywhere because I liked it. I don't think many Americans realize that status is something downplayed or something hidden. Like in the Netherlands, for example, where I have been living on and off for a few

years

, they are not ostentatious with money.

Like you wouldn't know if someone had a lot of money. Like everyone wants to mingle and even royalty, even the king and queen are known to be quite modest. They'll like to ride bikes, just wear normal clothes and whatever. And then in the United States it is as if everything is flashier, more expensive and the bigger the better. And so I've felt like there's more pressure to show off a little bit here. I found myself feeling like I needed to dress more. Like I need to wear high heels again for the first time in

years

and wear more makeup and stuff.

And I started to wonder why culture and society of consumerism, but also direct marketing and advertising, like the sheer volume of billboards, advertisements and commercial breaks on television and what they advertise, has been quite jarring. First, pharmaceutical marketing and advertising: I believe it is illegal to advertise pharmaceutical drugs in all countries except the United States. And so to see such a large volume of commercials promoting medications for people to like themselves, prescribing a medication by seeing a commercial and then going to their doctor and asking for that medication is very

shock

ing.

It is shocking that this is allowed and accepted. And then seeing billboards like the ones that advertise emergency room and hospital wait times, like why would you want to advertise something so good about the emergency room

There are no dryers in Europe, it is very rare that you have a dryer and a dishwasher in your home. So seeing ads for dryer sheets and more efficient liquids that go in the dishwasher and you don't need to do the dishes anyway is surreal. Now, this consumerism thing is not something new to me because I remember when I was selling real estate in Costa Rica, I remember these clients specifically who bought this beautiful lot with an ocean view and said: we want to simplify, we want to move. to Costa Rica. So they sold all their stuff, got rid of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stuff from their house in Massachusetts and moved to Costa Rica and literally replaced all their stuff.

Like, they built a three-story house and filled it with more stuff and invited me to come see it when it was finished and I thought, what's all this? And they had basically imported their consumer habits

It is actually more expensive to live in the US than most countries, even Florida which is a tax free state when it comes to state income taxes and we have a lower cost of living than many other states. Things are still very expensive here. It's pretty easy for me to spend more money on rent than my total monthly cost of living in Croatia, Portugal, or Costa Rica. For example, my rent while living abroad has ranged from 150 euros a month living in Bulgaria to maybe two or 3,000 dollars a month in a place like Australia, Japan or Hong Kong.

But in the United States, like in my neighborhood, simply looking for an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment in a nice area of Miami easily costs between $1,500 and $2,000 a month. And on top of that, you have hundreds of dollars on your Internet electricity bill. Here I pay more for utilities alone than I spent renting a four-bedroom house on a vineyard in Montero. And for what I pay for a furnished Airbnb here, I could get a two- or three-bedroom furnished Airbnb on the beach in Mexico. So yes, the cost of rent is higher, the cost of utilities is higher, the cost of insurance is higher, and the cost of healthcare is higher.

My insurance policy probably costs at least three to $350 a month with a $10 or $15,000 deductible or I could pay like a thousand dollars a year or even a few hundred dollars a year to get emergency medical and travel coverage with safety wing . So it's pretty crazy. As if I paid out of pocket to receive medical treatment anywhere in the world. Like I would pay $20 for a doctor's appointment in Thailand or Costa Rica or Nicaragua or something, the same thing here or the same procedure would cost thousands of dollars. Another thing I quickly realized once I got here was that the pace of life is significantly more intense in the United States.

I have discovered that in other countries people have more balance, at least people have a better quality of life and they like a more sustainable and not so intense pace of life. Like the first time I went to Europe, one of the first things I noticed was the quiet lunches and so many people sitting outside and enjoying the weather, enjoying the day, enjoying their food, enjoying a glass of wine or a beer with the lunch. . And that just doesn't happen in the US unless it's Sunday brunch or something. Even if you work from home, you probably ate at your desk while working from home, even if you didn't have to travel anywhere and even if you didn't have to go downstairs to get food or pick it up. above.

And I think that just comes from this ingrained American workaholic culture. In that sense regarding food, it's like the food just doesn't taste that good. I'm not saying there aren't amazing chefs or amazing restaurants, but the quality of the ingredients is not good. I think a big part of the reason is that there are some really big food suppliers. So everything tastes pretty uniform. Well, not just food suppliers, but factory farms, GMO ingredients, mass production, you can taste the difference in the food and there is a lack of flavor. And also because in American convenience consumerism, you can get any food. any fruit, any vegetable in or out of season at any time of the year as long as you want to pay more for it.

But that means the food isn't as fresh or it has had to travel further to get here. But in other countries I have eaten a lot more depending on the season and the food may be simpler but it tastes better. For example, I am convinced that children would like to eat more vegetables if they came from Bulgaria

Well, not only did I buy sweet potatoes, but I made sure to go to a big grocery store where I could find sweet potatoes because I was craving them and it was summer and they didn't have them. But throughout my travels I have such vivid memories of specific foods that I ate my entire life growing up in the US, but that tasted completely different in that other country because I was from there. They were local, organic and seasonal products. So whether it's a pineapple in Costa Rica or an avocado or tomatoes and cherries and apples and plums and pears and peaches in Bulgaria, almost everything in Bulgaria tastes good.

Uh, they're yogurt too.

ButThe United States has one of the highest obesity rates in the world and I can't help but think it's a combination of all those factors. I also drink, I feel like people drink more

But I feel like the way Americans treat drinking is like always getting drunk as quickly as possible and exceeding moderation. And that's another thing. And well, alcohol sales have apparently skyrocketed in 2020, but it's probably due to another reason. Speaking of being at home a lot and working from home, I've noticed that the infrastructure isn't that great.

So Internet, telecommunications, cell phone service, these things are very expensive in the US and not elsewhere. So in Estonia you can pay a few euros and get an unlimited data plan on your SIM card or in Mexico I just received three SIM cards for customers, it cost me like $10 each to get a data plan for a month. I mean, in the US, your cell phone will probably cost at least 30 or 40 dollars a month or more than a hundred dollars a month. You're probably paying over a hundred dollars for your Internet and cable package and you'll pay a third of that in another country.

But even though there is not good customer service with monopolistic style companies like telecom providers in the US, one positive thing I have noticed is how good the services are in general, like if you go out to eat at a bar or a restaurant or any Service you go to like a salon, um, retail store, the people are really friendly and the customer service is really good. I mean it's a tipping society so maybe people are working to get better tips. Maybe it's just a cultural thing. But I always feel that when I go out in public in the US, people are very friendly, whether they are selling me something or not.

I mean, strangers strike up conversations with me quite often. It could be like at the pharmacy or waiting in line at the produce market or standing and watching the sunset here in Miami.

But then when it comes to making new friends, I've found it's particularly difficult this year and I've found dating to be particularly difficult and I've found that the conversations I've had when I meet people have been different. , like less depth than during my trips. And maybe it's because when you travel and meet foreigners in other places, you don't know when you'll see them again. So you kind of cut through the small talk and get right to the really deep

A lot of it is like gossip, uh, which I'm not used to either because when you don't live in your home country, no one talks about you because no one knows you're there

I'm not really used to that after living abroad for 15 years or my perception is that they get wrapped up in pretty petty things because they're first world problems. Maybe it's all the headaches and inconveniences and Murphy's Law and things that go wrong while traveling or maybe being exposed to extreme poverty and pain that can be seen publicly on the streets, that got me thinking that. The little good things, those little moments in life are very meaningful but just like the little annoyances are not important. So when people complain to me that someone cut them off in traffic or someone said this to them on a Zoom call or someone said this about so-and-so or what he was wearing or whatever, I'm like, you know. , I have seen what it is like to live in slums and in a landfill and never have been outside the gates of that landfill.

And I know what it's like to live without electricity and not know what a window is because you've never had a window in your house. What is glass? When I lived in Nicaragua and was managing the construction of an office, I had to explain to the construction workers how to install the window because they didn't have windows in their houses. So when you have that perspective, I don't want to sound pretentious because I know I've had a lot of opportunities and privileges to travel, but it also humbles you and puts you at ease. And so when I hear even my family members talk about silly, trivial things that happened, I think: get over it.

Let's not waste time having a negative conversation about something that doesn't really matter in the whole scheme of the world. Another thing that was quite shocking when I got here was how intense the mainstream media was. And obviously the coronavirus is a big topic in the news around the world, but in general in the US it seems to be this cycle of fear, politics, violence, healthcare and then just outrage about everything. And other countries obviously cover these topics and cover politics and things like that and their news, but most other countries have a public option in their healthcare system or healthcare is free or included in their taxes or whatever.

Or they don't have health problems as big as we do. So it's not always the main focus of conversation in the news. And other countries also have political debates and different sides and different ideologies and perspectives, but most countries have more than two main political parties. So it's not this us versus them mentality all the time. It is somewhat more diluted and distributed among different groups. I'm not saying there's a right or wrong way, but it definitely makes sense when I look at US culture, how everything has become simplified and gamified

So, I don't know, I think maybe that's due to a lot of different things, but it's not really necessary. But at the end of the day, people are intrinsically good and that doesn't matter what country you are from. So in America I think most people are good

I think overall the most important thing I've noticed is that America is something of a walking contradiction and paradox. We are told that America is the best at most things or has the best at everything, but that is not necessarily true. Then I heard a guy on the news say, yeah, we have the best healthcare system in the world, but blah, blah, blah. As if he had to present what he was saying with propaganda.

I mean, we're just not the best at everything that affects internet speed. It's just about keeping things in perspective and realizing that not everything is as it seems. There's something called the Hoffstead index, which ranks countries based on different variables, such as how individualistic or collectivistic they are, and each country can score differently. And when I studied this in college, I found it very interesting because I didn't even know what it was.

And so, since the industrial era, America has become more individualistic and people have become more separated and more dispersed. And I think that could be one of the causes of the problems we face in modern society, especially when people take on one hundred percent of the responsibility for childcare and remote learning, and both parents have to work full time. complete. jobs to put food on the table and remain below the poverty line. And like all of these other issues in the US, returning to the US during this time has reminded me a little bit of why I basically dedicated my entire life to helping people discover ways they can live life for themselves. themselves. terms so that they don't have to stay stuck in a physical geographic location or in a paradigm or in a way of thinking.

So if you're thinking about traveling somewhere or moving somewhere, just chase it, chase that curiosity and keep trying to open up your worldview. Before publishing this video, I just have one more thought for you. The United States of America is a phenomenal country filled with hundreds of millions of incredible people. But my sense is that, in many ways, we have been taught more to value hard work and independence, sometimes at the expense of logic, empathy and humanity. Needless to say, the American capitalist system has resulted in more freedom, more wealth, more innovation, and more opportunity for countless people in multiple generations across the planet.

However, this system is not perfect and does not always work to the benefit of individual people. So, as you contemplate your unique place in this completely wonderful time in human history that we find ourselves living in now, how can you ensure that you are living your life according to your values, your principles, and your goals, while discerning where you consume, whether it is what you read, what you eat or what you buy. And equally important how you react to the many distractions, temptations and noise of the outside world. Feeling gratitude for the conditions we find ourselves in on the planet right now, but also recognizing and facing the very real challenges of modern life, can help us diagnose where we feel stuck and where we feel unhappy.

In 1772, the men John Hancock and Samuel Adams made the decision to speak out and took action that, in the words of Napoleon Hill, would trigger the revolution that would change the entire trend of civilization. And he also writes The power that gave this nation its freedom is the same power that must be used by every individual who becomes self-determining. The power that gave this nation its freedom must be used by each and every individual in their individual path in life. The ability to travel alone as a woman in today's world is not lost on me and has given me so much clarity in my worldview, but also in my sense of self and a degree of confidence that I don't think I could have achieved otherwise. any other way.

And my goal in creating this channel was to pass on that gift to

Let me know in the comments below if you agree or if I missed something. I'm sure that although I talked a lot, I missed a lot of things and we'll see you in another video.

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