Virgin USA burger lifestyle- Get up, go to work, go home, tv, bed. Meticulously plan every social interaction and pray people don’t cancel. Stay inside and game/watch streams because even though you work your ass off- no money. Go to the same nature parks repeatedly because they are in walking distance. (This is a luxury) Become nervous about driving due to gas prices and risk of accident because you cannot afford to lose your 20 year old vehicle in this market. Spend 60$ for a bag of groceries.
Chad Basque Country Lifestyle- Get up, go to a new cafe because there are 20 of them within a 10 minute walk and it’s fun to try new things. Dig change out of your bag to pay for your breakfast. On your way to get coffee you run into one of your friends. They introduce you to another friend. You have just made a new friend. The park has a ping pong table. Play ping pong. It’s time to get groceries. You use more change to get a fresh bundle of veggies that were grown locally. You spend 5 - 10 euros and get a few days worth of food. After lunch, you take the metro for a euro and go to the beach.
The US sucks so much. I was just in Germany for work in a B tier working city, the kind of place no tourists would ever visit. They still had a vibrant central square, great public transportation, trains to other cities etc etc. It was awesome.
Just the impact of shared infrastructure is so nice. We have this dumb John Wayne complex in the US where every one needs to do do everything and own anything themselves. Sharing is anathema even between neighbors let alone on a societal level. Some people won’t even share with their families and if they do they are resentful.
I’m very lucky in that I have a career and a relatively comfortable life but like… I do not like it here. I have too much going for me to pack up and leave but would never blame anyone for doing so. This place is a raw deal. Always has been even before the Trump shit. First piece of advice I give any young person is leave the United States.
I’m glad you’re out of there. Good luck on your new life.
What really stands out to me is how much good infrastructure bakes in human needs.
In the US I would have to plan walking 10k steps a day. I would have to plan every social interaction. I would have to plan when to go out of the house. No spontaneity. Spontaneity requires money, because that would mean having to get more gas because you HAVE to drive a car. It’s a lifestyle that is antithetical to the needs of the human animal.
While in Spain, my needs are baked in. I walk 10k steps a day because I don’t use a car. I meet my friends because they live in walking distance. I eat better food because regulations mean less garbage in my food. I am spontaneous and walk down mystery streets and explore. There are outdoor gyms and games and events and things to do -for free- all the time. I’ve already cut my anxiety medication down in half.
Virgin USA burger lifestyle- Get up, go to work, go home, tv, bed. Meticulously plan every social interaction and pray people don’t cancel. Stay inside and game/watch streams because even though you work your ass off- no money. Go to the same nature parks repeatedly because they are in walking distance. (This is a luxury) Become nervous about driving due to gas prices and risk of accident because you cannot afford to lose your 20 year old vehicle in this market. Spend 60$ for a bag of groceries.
Chad Basque Country Lifestyle- Get up, go to a new cafe because there are 20 of them within a 10 minute walk and it’s fun to try new things. Dig change out of your bag to pay for your breakfast. On your way to get coffee you run into one of your friends. They introduce you to another friend. You have just made a new friend. The park has a ping pong table. Play ping pong. It’s time to get groceries. You use more change to get a fresh bundle of veggies that were grown locally. You spend 5 - 10 euros and get a few days worth of food. After lunch, you take the metro for a euro and go to the beach.
The US sucks so much. I was just in Germany for work in a B tier working city, the kind of place no tourists would ever visit. They still had a vibrant central square, great public transportation, trains to other cities etc etc. It was awesome.
Just the impact of shared infrastructure is so nice. We have this dumb John Wayne complex in the US where every one needs to do do everything and own anything themselves. Sharing is anathema even between neighbors let alone on a societal level. Some people won’t even share with their families and if they do they are resentful.
I’m very lucky in that I have a career and a relatively comfortable life but like… I do not like it here. I have too much going for me to pack up and leave but would never blame anyone for doing so. This place is a raw deal. Always has been even before the Trump shit. First piece of advice I give any young person is leave the United States.
I’m glad you’re out of there. Good luck on your new life.
What really stands out to me is how much good infrastructure bakes in human needs.
In the US I would have to plan walking 10k steps a day. I would have to plan every social interaction. I would have to plan when to go out of the house. No spontaneity. Spontaneity requires money, because that would mean having to get more gas because you HAVE to drive a car. It’s a lifestyle that is antithetical to the needs of the human animal.
While in Spain, my needs are baked in. I walk 10k steps a day because I don’t use a car. I meet my friends because they live in walking distance. I eat better food because regulations mean less garbage in my food. I am spontaneous and walk down mystery streets and explore. There are outdoor gyms and games and events and things to do -for free- all the time. I’ve already cut my anxiety medication down in half.
I’m very, very grateful to be here.