Last month officially marked seven years of my living in Europe. When we arrived in London in 2019, I had my dream job, I had accomplished my goal of moving abroad, and already had my bank holidays booked with those cheap European flights everyone was always bragging about. I figured work, travel, and London life would be the future for the next few decades.
How naive.
Three years later, a new job, new country, new apartment. This was it now, we were going to stay in Amsterdam for at least five years, maybe forever. Researching citizenship requirements, housing prices, and building a strong community.
Fast forward four more years, and I’m living in the South of France, no “real” job, and no idea what the future holds, so I won’t even try to guess.
Seven years in Europe has changed what I value, but it hasn’t erased the oddly specific American things I crave. I’ve become accustomed to the joys of affordable healthcare, working to live (vs. living to work), and a lack of gun violence. And yet, there are still things I miss about America.
This is probably the biggest category, and the one that anyone living outside their home country, no matter where they’re from, can probably agree on. No matter how wonderful the food is in your new home, you’ll still miss familiar tastes that are hard to find.
Mexican food is a big one for me. I think any American living in Europe can attest to the absolute travesty that is Mexican food on this continent. What passes for nachos, tacos, even guacamole, can be truly sad. In France, you can’t even find black beans to try to re-create some dishes at home!
Pizza is another one. Sure, real Neapolitan-style pizza is great and all, but sometimes I just crave a greasy, NY-style slice with pepperoni - pepperoni, not artisanal salami. And the same goes for wings. Yes, they technically exist, but you’re better off if you just don’t bother.
It’s not always full meals; sometimes it’s smaller ingredients. What I’d give some days for a bag of Nestle chocolate chips, some Goldfish crackers, or real sprinkles (not “hundreds and thousands,” wtf England?). Related but not food - Ziploc bags. I know this sounds so specific and annoying, but the Ziploc bags in Europe are completely worthless.
And, as a millennial who spent too many years in corporate girl-boss mode, I still miss my oversized emotional support iced coffees. I know they’re obscenely large, poor quality, and probably not good for me, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t want them.
Another biggie, and a common topic of commiseration among my fellow North Americans abroad. Everyone knows that a trip back home is an opportunity to stock up on Sudafed, NyQuil, and Excedrin; all things you won’t find on pharmacy shelves over here.
Sure, you can buy weed on any corner in Amsterdam, but an Excedrin pill? Practically contraband.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I recognize that there isn’t as much of a need for such strong meds here because we have things like sick days, socialized medicine, and affordable healthcare - all very normal European concepts that much of American culture still seems personally offended by. If you’re not feeling well, instead of popping a pill and moving on with your day, you simply call out of work. No one is questioning you, pressuring you, or mentally noting your absence for your next performance review.
And it’s not just the medicines. Even some small items like teeth whitening strips and Tide pens are hard, if not impossible, to find.
American consumerism is a hard habit to break. Yes, my apartment in France is smaller than anything I’ve rented in the past 10 years, and yes, I still wish I could shop at Costco.
Apparently, the idea of “stocking up” is très américain, but constant little grocery runs can still get annoying. Sometimes I don’t want a tiny bag of almonds and one roll of paper towels. I want enough unnecessary snacks to last through an apocalypse, and so much toilet paper that I’ll be storing it in obscure corners of my apartment until I forget where I hid it. Technically, Costco exists in Europe, but unless you live near one of their few locations and have a car, it’s not really a practical solution.
Target is another obvious one. Sure, we have Monoprix in France, there’s M&S in the UK, and HEMA in the Netherlands, but none of these quite scratches the itch that Target does. I find it much easier to walk out of these stores with nothing in hand (not a bad thing, btw), and none of them offer the chance to buy an oversized iced coffee the moment you walk in.
Bookstores are another one, particularly since I’m in a non-English speaking country. Whenever I hear of a new book I’m interested in, I add it to my to-read list, and once every few months, I place an order from Waterstones in the UK. Even with the extra expense of shipping them to the EU, this seems to be the most reliable and cost-effective option. I’ve tried to find independent bookstores where I can reliably find the titles I want, in English, but haven’t found one yet, and unfortunately, I’m still a long way away from being able to read entire novels in French.
Each new country I’ve called home has added its own items to this list as well. I lament the lack of Cadbury creme eggs and Indian takeaways that can only be found in the UK, the ubiquity of Tony’s chocolate and aged gouda from the Netherlands, and I know that France has set an impossible standard for bread and wine.
I know many foreigners who move abroad and suddenly wear their distaste for their home country’s little luxuries like a badge of honor; you’ve seen them in the Facebook groups.
“Ewww, why would you want ranch dressing when you’re in France?”
“Don’t you know that much sugar and red 40 are bad for you?”
“Just go to the market and eat what’s in season.”
Thank you, Karen.
I still think about the woman in the Americans in London group a few years ago who asked where she could find “American sushi” (iykyk). I know she was probably just innocently trying to find the taste of something she missed.
Deep down, we’re all some version of her, craving something we can’t find. To be clear, I wouldn’t trade the life I have now for the one I had before moving abroad, but I would certainly be tempted by a plate of tacos and a large iced coffee.
Keep an eye our for these in your inbox soon…
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