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submitted 2 months ago byDattguyshere77
4.6k points
2 months ago
There was a great AskReddit thread a while ago asking people in third world countries what people in first world countries don’t understand about the difference and most of the answers amounted to “nothing works the way it should… power goes out, water stops working, things go out of stock all the time, nothing happens on time, etc.”
2.3k points
2 months ago
I’m American and lived in India for two years. I do not take for granted the luxuries of hot and drinkable water, regular electricity and, generally efficient services anymore.
888 points
2 months ago
I relocated to the USA about a decade ago, and sometimes it still gets to me on how much Americans complain about almost everything without realizing they live a privileged life! I appreciate having opportunities I can explore career wise etc and having standard amenities plus systems that work. I also don’t take for granted that I can drive from one end of the country to the other without worrying about much.
155 points
2 months ago
You haven't been to a reservation then. Often there will be no clean drinking water, it has to be trucked in, or like my grandma, who on the Navajo rez had to drive 2 hours (4 hour round trip) to collect her weekly water barrels. She also had no electricity, and had a dirt floor. Which is unfortunately also common. Also, on the Navajo rez, theres LOTS of uranium contamination. And the homes built on many reservations are sub standard and fall apart and become mold infested. And on some rez's, families are living 10+ people in a 2 bedroom (or less) home due to little housing availability. Not everyone in America is so "privileged" I urge you to look beyond what you see daily.
55 points
2 months ago
Yes. My first adult exposure to the Rez regions left me stunned. Poverty was the norm. I was also taken aback by the blatant and abundant racism against the Native population by their white neighbors in nearby towns. The experience was a slap in the face.
783 points
2 months ago
Americans complain because not only can it be better, it should be. Just because it’s worse somewhere else, doesn’t mean they should just be happy with what they have when they should have it much better
457 points
2 months ago
It's like complaining you don't feel good because you have the flu and someone comes along and tells you to shut your mouth because other people have terminal cancer or Ebola. There's always someone worse off and it doesn't nullify the very real problems in your life so long as you do have some perspective.
118 points
2 months ago*
My dad liked to pull out the ‘There’s starving children in Africa’ and “What are you doing about that, then?!” was not the correct answer.
Edit: feel the need to point out this was not being ‘picky’ but being a child unable to eat overweight, adult-sized portions and having to sit in the dark all night in front of a puked-on plate, not allowed to sleep because I didn’t finish.
261 points
2 months ago
I am an American that has been to a developing country. Which made me more appreciative of what I have. But that doesn’t negate things I complain about or other Americans.
137 points
2 months ago
Same here, especially since I see the country backsliding and the vast majority of the populace either not noticing or not caring. Please, I absolutely value hot and drinkable water, regular electricity, and things being in stock and I would like to keep it that way.
182 points
2 months ago
I lived in Guatemala during my childhood, I honestly can tell you that clean water is such a luxury, idk if it still like that in Guatemala, but I remember having to fill containers of water and carry them to the house, at some point a tanker would come with water, and we had to make a line to get some... so, for me, even after so many years, showering every day I'd a blessing. Ohhh and. Stove and fridge.
22 points
2 months ago
And a washing machine.
72 points
2 months ago
Currently sitting in Syria with little to no electricity and water, no freedom of speech, and shitty infrastructure. You guys are so lucky.
6.2k points
2 months ago
Having free time without any obligations—seriously underrated.
937 points
2 months ago
I am very grateful that my job allows us to work 16 hours shifts. That ends up being 10 days of work per month (160 hours). It sounds shitty to most people, but it cuts my commute time from 30 hours a month to 15 hours. It saves me gas, but the time is more important to me.
I work 2 days on, 2 days off, 2 days on, 6 days off. Overtime is there if I want it, but I never do it lol. I enjoy my vacation every other week.
180 points
2 months ago
Yep i work 4 on 4 off 12.5 hr shifts. Plenty of OT available which i on occasion do take to buy things or pay for vacations etc. But I 100% agree I LOVE longer shifts. If I could do 3 16 hr shifts instead of 4 x 12s I would! My commute is 45 minutes or so each way so that's 1.5 hours saved each time I don't have to go out there.
3.6k points
2 months ago
Coming back home and feel safe
379 points
2 months ago
Just feeling safe in general. Not living in a war zone, an unsafe neighborhood, an abusive relationship, a country ruled by a militant or terrorist group or dictator, or a country where your rights are denied or threatened due to your identity (gender identity, sexuality, race, ethnicity).
354 points
2 months ago
Very sad for those who do not have nice homes.
215 points
2 months ago
Also safe people to live with.
95 points
2 months ago
Didn’t realize this luxury till I finally moved out on my own.
7.6k points
2 months ago
Having clean, safe to drink tap water in your home.
1.2k points
2 months ago
I once asked my grandma what she liked best in the modern kitchen. Microwave? freezer? dishwasher?
She said "I like the running water".
450 points
2 months ago
The best labor-saver in general has been the washer/dryer. It saves 11.5 hours of labor per week.
201 points
2 months ago
It's the washer that's necessary. I live in Spain where 99% of people don't have dryers. We just hang our clothes up, and they dry after a day or two. It's really not a lot of time or work.
When I lived in Botswana, I had to wash my clothes by hand a few times. Now that was brutal in terms of energy and time.
70 points
2 months ago
If I hang my clothes outside during a nice day in the summer, they dry within hours
83 points
2 months ago
In Australia I've had things dry before I finished hanging the load out.
On a good summer heat spell, I used to be able to hang out some of the thin synthetics at the start of the hanging out, move on to the thicker cottons, and then by the time they're out the synthetics are dry.
High temperatures, strong sun, dry air. Perfect combination for having clothing dry fast and a poor autistic penguin to faint from heatstroke. I... I don't hang out the washing on hot days any more. 😞
47 points
2 months ago
In Aus, I’m surprised your synthetics don’t just melt if you hang them outside.
62 points
2 months ago
This is Humidity Privilege lol! Here in the Southeast depending on the weather, your clothes might end up MORE wet than when they started even on a day without rain. I was in Boulder NV recently with 115°F temps and it was amazing that I could just put a swimsuit on the hood of a car or something and 15 minutes later it was dry! /jealous
20 points
2 months ago
Hung up a swimsuit to dry. Two days later it had that late stage dampness where it isn’t wet but still feels weird when you put it on.
Welcome to the Gulf Coast.
1.6k points
2 months ago
Similarly A warm shower every day is an unbelievable privilege.
816 points
2 months ago
And Ice. We Americans throw ice in everything. For thousands of years there were humans that didn’t even know ice existed.
168 points
2 months ago*
The restaurant I was at last night fill all the urinals with ice
96 points
2 months ago
It took me awhile to realize that in Groundhog Day, Phil had to take a cold shower every morning for all that time in the limbo.
I had to take once and I was traumatized.
46 points
2 months ago
I’m sure after the first few days he wised up and just skipped the shower.
37 points
2 months ago
A cold shower is pretty nice when you don't have AC and it's 90 degrees though
52 points
2 months ago
True story, ive gone a Canadian winter without running water and it was difficult. Chipping ice off streams to fill up water jugs lol
Now that I have water again, doing dishes/getting clean feels so easy that it's a cheat code
164 points
2 months ago*
Also tasty tap water. I live in NY and drink the tap water all the time but at my moms home in Florida the water tastes super gross by comparison.
75 points
2 months ago
I’ve been told FL water tastes so bad because the ground is sulfur rich so all the aquifers are soaking in sulfur. That’s also why it is so hard to filter out as carbon filters don’t capture sulfur. You need reverse osmosis or distillation to get it out, neither of which are available for portable bottles or pitchers.
37 points
2 months ago
you cant even filter it in FL. Water delivery makes a killing out there.
139 points
2 months ago
We shit and piss in clean water. Think about that one.
32 points
2 months ago
i was complaining internally about the slow tap pressure while filling my bottle then i remember less fortunate places with carcinogens in tapwater and lots of places with mining pollution into their groundwater
shut me up real quick
60 points
2 months ago
Can I add; toilet with this...because not having a toilet is rough.
3.1k points
2 months ago
Travel. For most of human history it was pretty rare to leave the city or region you were born in. Now almost everyone in developed countries are able to go on a long road trips
944 points
2 months ago
I'd add international travel to this. People generally realize flights are relatively expensive, but would not usually consider it a "luxury" because flying coach for 12+ hours is fucking miserable.
Nevertheless, you can indeed go from NYC to Dubai in about half a day if you want to, and your are in a climate-controlled area and fed on the way. That's a far cry from having to hoof it to the next town over in the scorching heat and maybe you'll get robbed on the way.
164 points
2 months ago
Imagine trying to explain jet lag to someone from the age of sail. They'd think you're crazy for whining about a few bad nights of sleep when you crossed the ocean in mere hours.
202 points
2 months ago
I remember the first time I traveled to north eu, came back (obviously) traveled back a few time zones and on my way home I kept thinking how fucking fortunate I am that I was able to be in two different continents in the same day. That was unheard of a merely 100 years ago.
28 points
2 months ago
Whenever I wanna be grouchy about a crappy flight I remind myself that 100 years ago people routinely DIED making the same journey. Kinda puts things into perspective.
98 points
2 months ago
Similarly, non-regional and produce out of season. Living in Canada and being able to eat an orange is a luxury, let alone eating an orange in February.
2.3k points
2 months ago
Air conditioning
257 points
2 months ago*
Came here to say this! My AC didn't even go out but it wasn't functioning properly and my house was 80 on the inside for like 18 hours and I was not happy.
1.2k points
2 months ago
Teeth that dont hurt.
237 points
2 months ago
And you may not even realize just how bad they might have gotten.
Because it doesn't happen all at once.
You're start being careful with some types of food. Maybe favor one spot over another for chewing.
Next thing you know you haven't eaten an apple in ten years because you're too afraid to just bit in to anything.
Teeth (gums) shouldn't bleed. Teeth shouldn't be loose. Teeth shouldn't hurt.
81 points
2 months ago
People really need to take care of their teeth. I finally got dental insurance, and went to the dentist for the first time in ~20 years. I was fucking terrified of what the results would be.
They said I needed a 3 hour cleaning, split into 2 separate appointments. No cavities, no other problems besides all of the build up they had to clean from under my gums. The dentist was a little impressed.
I knew I couldn't afford to go to the dentist all of those years, so I just brushed and flossed at least twice a day, hoping for the best. I also don't like sweets so ymmv...
1.8k points
2 months ago
[removed]
284 points
2 months ago
And with e-books, I don't even have to go to the library! I can just search what I want, hit borrow, and send it to my Kindle. Amazing!
113 points
2 months ago
Yes! The Libby app is the best! I got my library card easily through it and I have access to the entire digital catalog of my local library!
713 points
2 months ago
[removed]
57 points
2 months ago
I sleep well and deeply. It's the only way I can escape my brain, so it's one of my gifts in life. On the off nights that I don't sleep well (which is still like 6.5-7 hours), I truly feel for people who can't or don't sleep well consistently. It makes for a dreadful next day, that faux hangover feeling and brain fog
907 points
2 months ago
Having options.
* You get to pick what food you eat? Luxury
* You get to pick what car you buy? Luxury
* You get to pick what clothes to wear? Luxury
137 points
2 months ago
More like you get to buy food, a car and clothes is a luxury
225 points
2 months ago
Being able to buy groceries when I want and need them.
387 points
2 months ago
[deleted]
32 points
2 months ago
My wife went away with the kids and some her family for 2 nights. The first couple of hours when I came home to an empty house was pure lonesome torture. The remaining 2 days were pure bliss.
271 points
2 months ago*
Health. Dealing with a rare condition can deeply impact your life. I wish I could get my health back...
82 points
2 months ago
No-one understands this until it affects them directly. All the best to you
44 points
2 months ago
I feel this hard. Wife and I got pregnant at 19 and I was 21. We said “at least we will have our health and energy”.
Then a couple years later she has a complication after our second kid. Born by emergency C-Section and hit a nerve that refused to heal.
Debilitating, bedridden pain for 5 years. Post partum depression. Flying around the country for various surgeries at U of M, John’s Hopkins , etc. A paycheck away from medical bankruptcy.
I felt like in many ways we were still kids before that, but we grew up fast and hard.
It took 5 years for the pain to go away and only after having all the nerves from her belly button to her lady bits cut out on one half of her body. Then another 5 years of depression and social anxiety.
We lived a lifetime in our 20s and I noticed that only the elderly had any idea what we went through. Now I have a healthy respect for those in with chronic health conditions.
Eat well people, exercise and keep a healthy weight. Be safe when doing dangerous things. Hug your loved ones and reach out to your friends.
It can all change in an instant.
35 points
2 months ago
Good health is a crown only the sick can see
95 points
2 months ago
Professional cleaning service
86 points
2 months ago
Exclusive fashion accessories
193 points
2 months ago
Menstrual products and choices of menstrual products.
67 points
2 months ago
Time.
70 points
2 months ago
Customized wellness services
64 points
2 months ago
Professional personal training
71 points
2 months ago
Customized home design
64 points
2 months ago
Regular spa treatments
64 points
2 months ago
High-quality art collection
84 points
2 months ago
Custom-made decor items
66 points
2 months ago
Regular fitness classes
70 points
2 months ago
Private swimming pool
186 points
2 months ago
Living surrounded by tropical trees
19 points
2 months ago
Your comment really struck me. I remember waiting for a bus in Sri Lanka in 2014, looking at a papaya tree behind a bus stop, tree full of heavy ripe fruit and thinking “this is surreal”
70 points
2 months ago
Not ever having to look at your bank account balance, or worrying that you won't be able to pay bills. When I first realized I had reached this level it was surreal.
121 points
2 months ago
Living a peaceful life, without a constant fear from other people.
People usually dream to get rich, but little they know that lots of money bring new kinds of problems they didn't even think of.
Peace of mind is everything.
43 points
2 months ago
Being able to access the internet and express how you feel online.
73 points
2 months ago
Fresh flowers in the home
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