What do people miss about their country of origin?

[ecureilx]

me - I miss the 3 AM street singing after having one too many in our local Swimming club (technically, we are all awash and swimming after getting drunk .. )

i miss guys in v-neck jumper

Careful about V Neck Jumpers, as in a nearby country it is a sign of 'sexual confusion' ..

...
I found a booze shop in Lil India that sells loose cigs here now
60 cents/cig

...

Which is illegal, btw ..

[alittlerisky]

I don't really have a country of origin having lived/worked/educated in maybe 8-9 countries. But I have spent more or less 10 years in each of the following:

Luxembourg: miss the cheap booze and cigarettes

UK: don't miss it. It's a sh!t hole. I can't believe I spent so long there.

Belgium: miss the cheap booze and cigarettes

Doesn't take that much to make me happy apparently.

[Wd40]

UK's biggest advantage I guess is English and the presence of huge diaspora of many ethnicities. The other European countries are nice, but you will struggle unless you learn their language.

[zzm9980]

I miss the ability for 99% to be able to afford to drive!

[alittlerisky]

UK's biggest advantage I guess is English and the presence of huge diaspora of many ethnicities. The other European countries are nice, but you will struggle unless you learn their language.

Umm... Brussels is home to the European Union institutions. So you have some 25 different nationalities who live and work there already. The Vietnamese community is very strong there (last g/f was a Viet)... I suppose it being an ex French colony. Also there are a hell of alot of Arabs. And there is even an African/Congolese neighbourhood, as Congo was a Belgian colony. And all the night shops and run by Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis etc (a bit like the UK). So there is a very varied ethnic distribution.

However you're right. If you don't speak French then you're bascially screwed in Brussels or south Belgium which is French speaking (I am bi-lingual English/French). But north Belgium which is Flemish/Dutch speaking you'd be fine with just English as they all speak English there. Reason for this: American sitcoms/fils are dubbed into French in Wallonie (French-speaking Belgium). In Flanders the same show/fills are in English with Dutch sub-titles, so the kids are basically pretty fluent in English before they even go to school.

[alittlerisky]

I miss the ability for 99% to be able to afford to drive!

Yeah. Belgium motorcycle license requirements:

1. Sit theory exam, easy, I paid 15 euros for an online course, no lessons.

2. Get provisional licence, cheap, about 20 euros (can only drive in Belgium)

3. Go on one day practical training course, about 150 euros. Get certicate.

4. Buy mortorbike with no cc limit, I bought two, an 800cc and a 1200cc.

All of the above can be done in about 1 month

5. After one year, go and exchange provisional for full bike license.

Here it's like 3 years before one can get a full no-linit license!

[sundaymorningstaple]

I miss the ability for 99% to be able to afford to drive!

At least the majority in our own countries CAN drive. Here they just point/aim the car.

[zzm9980]

I miss the ability for 99% to be able to afford to drive!

Yeah. Belgium motorcycle license requirements:

1. Sit theory exam, easy, I paid 15 euros for an online course, no lessons.

2. Get provisional licence, cheap, about 20 euros (can only drive in Belgium)

3. Go on one day practical training course, about 150 euros. Get certicate.

4. Buy mortorbike with no cc limit, I bought two, an 800cc and a 1200cc.

All of the above can be done in about 1 month

5. After one year, go and exchange provisional for full bike license.

Here it's like 3 years before one can get a full no-linit license!

US: Show up and pass test.

Optional: Take Motorcycle safety course (price varies by state, I took mine in Illinois where it was $20 USD), pass, and get a waiver on the test above.

[curiousgeorge]

I've been following this thread and been thinking about what I miss.

And you know, honestly, there is nothing. Yeah yeah things are different here and not as easily come by, the thing I was used to in previous lives. But you adjust and adapt and I am very happy with my life here.

The mountains and fish n chips and all that stuff - that is now vacation treats for me.

I guess at a stretch I miss people putting the toilet seat up before they p**s all over the seat...

[sundaymorningstaple]

Or leave muddy footprints all over the seat, yeah? Hunting is the only thing I actually miss.

[chuckd]

Haggis
Sausage rolls, Sausage supper, in fact just decent sausages in general
Pork pie
Irn Bru
Greggs (the baker)
Buying good cheese and not feeling like it's an overpriced premium treat
A varied selection of sandwiches from a convenience store
A proper rock/metal club with a dance floor and cheap booze

Fortunately, taking a visit back home soon so already had this list of things in my head.

[rajagainstthemachine]

a particular kind of green plant.

[nakatago]

a particular kind of green plant.

Ya mon.

[The Ref]

All fish here seems to be smothered in twice as much batter as there is fish. I havent found crumbed fish anywhere.

No decent hot meat pies but the better frozen ones are OK.

Bread without sugar and preservatives. Australian bread is just different - and the Vietnamese bakeries in Aus often make the best bread. Bread in Vietnam is good too, so I dont know why it is so hard to find here.

Ice break iced coffee - impossible to get and the first thing I have when I go home.

[JR8]

But, I thought all chocolates that we get here are made in the west. Toblerone, Hersheys, Mars, Snickers, Lindt, Ferrero Rocher. No?

No, some of the big brands are made under license in Australia and Malaysia. But even chocolate 'made in the west' comes in different types depending on where the point-of-sale is.

------------------------------------
[i]“I’d try the chocolate because Cadbury is a pretty reliable and trusted brand,â€Â