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    18 Very Common Everyday European Things That Would Be Considered Luxuries In The US

    Okay, but if anything, I think we can all agree that the bread is something Europe does way, way better than we do.

    Brian Galindo
    by Brian Galindo

    BuzzFeed Staff

    I think a lot of Americans would agree that anytime we visit Europe, at some point or another during our vacation, we think to ourselves, Okay, these Europeans really are doing this right! Whether it's the food, the work-life balance, or the cities that are designed with walking or public transportation in mind, there are things that really are better in many, many countries across Europe.

    Carrie from Sex and the City saying, "I'll walk around and do French things, be Parisian"
    HBO

    And recently, Reddit user u/meryse touched upon that very topic when they asked, "What do Europeans have in everyday life that you consider a luxury in America?"

    A person with a backpack on a narrow European street looking at a cathedral
    Alexander Spatari / Getty Images

    Well, lots of Americans chimed in to share the common European things, both big and small, that they thought would be a luxury here in the States. Below are some of the top and best answers:

    1. "No gaps in bathroom stall doors — the ones between the door and the frame."

    Gap in the bathroom stall
    Sarah Palmer / Getty Images

    —u/plan_with_stan

    "Blew my damn mind the first time I was in Europe. I just hadn’t even considered the possibility."

    —u/GotThoseJukes

    2. "Automatically having four to six weeks of vacation at time of hire."

    A couple sitting in deck chairs on a beach
    Viktor_gladkov / Getty Images/iStockphoto

    —u/KoRaZee

    "My current company (US) gives 24 (25 every other year) paid days off as well as six federal holidays to all employees. Before I worked there, in 10 years of working, I never had more than five paid days off in a year at one job, and no paid time off at any of the others."

    —u/Blackfoxx907

    3. "Quality of work life."

    Andrea from The Devil Wears Prada at her work computer
    20thcentfox / © 20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection

    —u/Flat_Unit_4532

    "Quality of added benefits associated with work too. In Europe, people get great benefits from the get-go, versus people in the States who have to stay with a company for years to get similar benefits."

    —u/Carbon-Base

    4. "No high-fructose corn syrup in everything!!! Like, you don't even need to check the label for it."

    A food label saying no gluten, dairy, or high fructose corn syrup
    Ekaterina79 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

    —u/gatzdon

    "Canada is also going down this road. I have family from Europe here now, and I have to teach them to read labels because sugar content is insane in North America. It's hard to find bread that's actually healthy here."

    —u/No_Gas_82

    5. "Those towel-warmer racks and heated bathroom floors."

    A thermostat set at 22 degrees Celsius
    Jorg Greuel / Getty Images

    —u/peeparty69

    6. "Extremely strong consumer protection laws. A bare-minimum quality/duration expectation of all services and products. I love this one because different companies or foreign products try to circumvent this all the time in Europe, and they always lose."

    A keyboard with a "consumer rights" key
    Abu Hanifah / Getty Images

    —u/Elmara5

    7. "'Bum guns.' I want bidets to be widely accepted in the US."

    A bidet next to a toilet
    Kinga Krzeminska / Getty Images

    —u/JPBeanArch

    "Just order one and install it — doesn't need to be accepted by anyone else."

    —u/Saddam_UE

    8. "Can’t believe it’s not more prominent, but the right to privacy, and recently digital privacy. The General Data Protection Regulation is an excellent piece of legislation."

    A graphic showing "GDPR" along with protection, privacy, personal data, and other words surrounding it
    Nicoelnino / Getty Images/iStockphoto

    —u/Gregor_the_headless

    9. "Fresh-baked bread for reasonable prices that you can get within walking distance of your home and isn't full of preservatives."

    A bakery display of fresh loaves of bread
    Sbytovamn / Getty Images/iStockphoto

    —u/Stu_Prek

    "Also, having breads without added sugars in them."

    —u/feminist_chocolate

    10. "Decent-quality chocolate available in almost any random corner shop."

    Trays of chocolate treats
    Assalve / Getty Images

    —u/onetruelord72

    11. "Real farmers markets."

    A farmers market with lots of fresh produce
    Bruno De Hogues / Getty Images

    —u/lukedawg87

    12. "Good public transport outside of main cities. Germans in particular love to complain about their railway, Deutsche Bahn (and rightfully so), but compared with the USA, it's just so much more versatile."

    A smiling woman getting on a train
    Johner Images / Getty Images/Johner RF

    —u/OrciEMT

    "Yeah, I really wish we had better public transportation in the Midwest. I'd go without a car in a heartbeat if it was feasible."

    —u/ApplicationCalm649

    13. "Time. Time to eat in a restaurant without being shoved out. Time to sip coffee at a café. Time to spend with new children. Time to go on vacation. Seems like an unattainable luxury to this American."

    People at an outdoor café
    Dkart / Getty Images

    —u/Kindly-Risk2949

    14. "Can't speak for all of Europe, but workers rights. WTF is 'getting fired on the day'? Or quitting, for that matter? You get three months here."

    A person packing up their work desk
    Yacobchuk / Getty Images/iStockphoto

    —u/TheKobraSnake

    "Had to fire someone on my US team, with her newborn on her arm; couldn't even say how fucking wrong it was, for fear of getting sued. Read three sentences and put the phone down. Absolutely horrible, and apparently the norm in the US."

    —u/MaxBulla

    15. "Food that doesn’t have a ton of artificial additives and nonfood ingredients that make you sick. I never realized that was what was causing my stomach problems until I went on vacation in Europe and within a day had no problems at all. And they came back a day after I returned. Europeans can make great food, even packaged junk food, with just real food ingredients. Why can’t we?"

    A lunch spread of soup and sandwiches on a table
    Alexander Spatari / Getty Images

    —u/LakeCoffee

    16. "Affordable high-speed internet. Like 1 gigabyte/second (up and down!) for under 20 euros per month. With negligible installation fees. And it includes over 100 cable channels."

    A modem and laptop
    Jens Domschky / Getty Images/iStockphoto

    —u/Random_Dude_ke

    17. "I'm just going to assume 'really good cheese' is a legitimate answer."

    A very diverse cheese display
    Alexkozlov / Getty Images/iStockphoto

    —u/November_Riot

    "Definitely! Quality cheeses, cured meats, and bread are expensive luxuries that I occasionally splurge on as a treat in the US, but they're available for a couple of euros in central Europe."

    —u/Mountain_Canary1029

    18. And lastly: "Maternity leave and healthcare come to mind — in particular, affordable healthcare and maternity leave being equally available to everyone. I know in the US, some people have healthcare and some companies offer paid maternity leave, but it's not the standard."

    A health insurance form
    Designer491 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

    "I know someone who works 50-plus hours a week, makes just enough to support his small family (child with special needs), and he can't afford to treat his hepatitis C because the treatment (12 weeks of pills) costs more than he earns in 18 months. He can't afford to pay for health insurance (before a-holes start judging, he was born with hepatitis)."

    —u/greencoffeemonster

    You can read the full thread of responses on r/NoStupidQuestions.

    Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.