I Left The U.S. To ‘Find Freedom’! But These 9 Eye-Openers About Life Abroad Proved Otherwise…

Everyone’s Ditching America!  But There Are Hidden Perks That Made Me Grateful I Was Born There.

It hit me sometime around my fourth soul-sucking trip to a government office in Kyiv, 1999. 

Walls the color of dishwater, air thick with mildew, old cigarette smoke from a bygone era and Post-Soviet despair.

I was just trying to register my visa so I wouldn’t get fined, detained, or deported.

Or all three.

Each visit brought a new form, a new fee, and a new woman behind a glass window who looked at me like I’d farted during a funeral.

No instructions, just cryptic hand gestures, dead stares, and Russian that felt more like threats than guidance.

And there I stood, passport in one hand, stamped mystery receipts in the other, suddenly and embarrassingly… missing America.

And I wasn’t even gone that long.

Which was strange, because I’d wanted out.

Tired of “live to work” culture, overpriced healthcare, office politics and workplace propaganda Kool-Aid.

I’d leapt into expat life chasing romance, freedom, and “real life” abroad.

And sure, I found it! 

Just ask my Soviet-era massage therapist who cured my sciatica with the force of an Olympic shot-putter and the bedside manner of a prison warden.

But after years bouncing between places like Albania, Ukraine, France, Georgia, Spain, and Thailand, the realities started creeping in.

The little things I used to mock about the U.S.? 

Truth be told… I’d kill for them some days.

So here it is, 9 unexpected reasons living abroad made me genuinely grateful for the U.S. 

• It’s not patriotic.
• It’s not political.
• It’s just honest.

If you’ve ever waited in a government line overseas without air conditioning or been told to “come back tomorrow” for the fifth time, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

1. 24/7 Convenience Is No Joke

Asked for NyQuil at a pharmacy in Tbilisi. The pharmacist looked at me like I’d requested plutonium.

Three pharmacies and some world-class miming later, I walked out with something “for colds”, probably meant for livestock.

Back in the U.S.? I can hit CVS at 2 a.m. and leave with meds, coconut water, a charger, and three kinds of Doritos. No questions asked.

Life Abroad Lesson: In America, convenience is a lifestyle.

Overseas? It’s a scavenger hunt with red tape.

2. Customer Service That Actually Serves

France will humble you. In Dieppe, I once waited 15 minutes at a café while the waiter, clearly free, chose to ignore me.

When I finally flagged him down, he sighed so hard I thought he was summoning demons.

In the U.S., even on a bad day, service workers fake a good mood like it’s their job, because, well, it is. “Hi! How are you today?”

Sure, it’s all a performance act, but after getting ghosted by a cashier in Sofia glued to her smartphone, I’ll take the act.

Life Abroad Lesson: Fake-friendly beats openly indifferent.

Pretend you care, it’s the thought that counts.

3. Accessible Healthcare… Yes, Even With the Price Tag

When my back gave out in Kyiv, I hobbled around like a washed up NFL quarterback.

Then a colleague sent me to Zhenya, an ex-Soviet massage therapist with miracle hands and zero bedside manner.

“Undress!” she barked, then pounded the pain out of my back like it owed her money.

It worked! And she’ll always have a place in my heart…

But if I’d needed an MRI or surgery? That would’ve meant hunting around for a proper facility, greasing palms, and calling someone’s cousin for hospital bedding, no joke.

Life Abroad Lesson: Say what you will about America’s overpriced healthcare and the whole disturbing “deny, defend, depose” playbook of for-profit insurance.

But when you need something done fast and done right, the system delivers…usually.

Just don’t look at the bill until you can stand up straight.

4. Freedom of Expression Actually Means Something

A friend once made a light joke about a Greek Finance Minister over ouzo at a café.

Within minutes, it sparked a heated debate, locals taking sides, and someone yelling about WWII and the German Bankers now running everything.

Abroad, free speech comes with cultural fine print, and plenty of drama.

In the U.S., you can still rant about politicians without triggering a sidewalk symposium… usually…

That said though, more and more are opting for their own “cultural exile” overseas.

We do live in troubling times…

Life Abroad Lesson: Free speech abroad? Sure. If you don’t mind it spiraling into a passionate debate, a table-pounding monologue, or someone yelling about German Bankers.

5. American Optimism Isn’t Just a Stereotype

In France, when I mentioned starting a business idea, a local friend chuckled, shook his head, and said, “Why bother? It’s impossible.”

In Ukraine, even registering something basic took three office visits and a coffee with someone’s cousin who “knows someone.”

Back in the U.S., there’s a weird, almost naïve belief that anything is possible.

• Start a company?
• Launch a blog? 
• Move across the country and reinvent yourself as a goat yoga instructor? 

Go for it!

Life Abroad Lesson: That optimism might be mocked overseas, but it’s also the fuel behind some of the most life-changing opportunities Americans chase, and find.

6. Clean Public Bathrooms (Seriously!)

Let me paint a picture: Ukraine. Train station. Emergency! 

The bathroom looked like a horror movie set built in a rush.

• No toilet seat.
• No toilet paper.
• And for some reason, a bucket and a sponge on a stick…. (don’t ask..)

That’s it!

Just a bucket and a sponge on a stick.

Compare that to the average rest stop in middle America, complete with flushing toilets, hand soap, and maybe even air conditioning if you’re lucky.

Life Abroad Lesson: Never take clean, functioning, free public restrooms for granted.

Abroad, the phrase “Do you have a bathroom?” is often met with a sigh, a key, and an unspoken dare.

As Forrest Gump may say, “Sometimes toilets abroad are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.”.

7. Cultural Inclusion and “Melting Pot” Vibes

In Ukraine, I stood out like a billboard. In France, no matter how long I stayed, I was always “l’Américain.”

Even in friendlier countries like Spain or Ireland, I was still a foreigner with a ticking expiration date.

In the U.S., you can be from anywhere and still eventually be of there.

It’s messy, imperfect, and slow, but the idea of integration isn’t as foreign as it is in, well, foreign places.

Life Abroad Lesson: There’s a reason people still flock to the U.S., not because it’s flawless, but because it tries (sometimes painfully) to include everyone.

That effort counts.

8. Tipping Culture with a Twist

I used to groan at tipping 20%.

Then I had a coffee in a French café where the waiter barely acknowledged me, brought the wrong order, and still expected a polite “merci, au revoir” on the way out.

No tip?

No problem. No service either.

Tipping in the U.S. may be annoying, but it does keep people accountable.

You get bad service? You tip less.

You get great service? You reward it.

It’s a weird little power move that’s strangely satisfying.

Life Abroad Lesson: At least in America, your money talks. Abroad, sometimes your money just vanishes, along with the waiter, without even a “thank you”.

9. The Small-Town Kindness You Never Noticed Before

After years overseas, I came back to the States and walked into a diner in a town I hadn’t been to in 15 years.

The waitress smiled and said, “Haven’t seen you around, passing through?”

No suspicion. No judgment.

Just genuine curiosity and a fresh pot of coffee.

Abroad, especially in smaller towns, being the outsider can feel like you’re crashing a family reunion no one invited you to.

But in a small U.S. town? Someone’s probably already warming up a plate and asking if you want tea or coffee.

Life Abroad Lesson: That small-town American kindness isn’t a myth. It’s just something you don’t notice until you’ve been the outsider long enough to miss it.

A Shift in Perspective

When I left the U.S., I was done.

I was:

• Done with the constant hamster wheel of trying to get ahead, yet constantly falling behind.
• Done with the commutes.
• Done with the crappy jobs and crappy cars.
• Done with the stress.
• Just done with the entire system.

Done, done, done! 

I wanted out. And I got it!

But I also got visa headaches, frozen plumbing in Ukraine, and a masterclass in international humility.

But the further I got from home, the more I started to see it clearly.

Not through patriotic nostalgia, but through earned appreciation.

The U.S. isn’t perfect. Far from it.

But after years abroad, I’ve come to love the things I once rolled my eyes at.

What about you? 

Have you ever left something behind, only to realize how much you actually valued it? 

What made you see it differently?