We haven’t visited the US since October 2017, and we’d forgotten just how different life is in the US vs. the Philippines! The biggest difference is the sheer quantity of anything and everything so easily available. So much to eat, do, buy! But these are some of the differences you might not think about and take for granted!

– Central heat/air – We were cold arriving from 90 degree humid weather to 60 degree dry weather, so my dad turned on the heat in his house. Central air does not exist in the Philippines and the kids wondered where the heat was coming from, so I showed them the vents.

– Warm water from the tap – We only have cold water, and a shower heater just for our shower. I miss doing dishes with hot water!

– Bathtubs – You only find bathtubs in 5 star hotels; even luxury condos don’t have them. It’s one of the things my kids miss most so they’ve been taking baths every day herein the US!

– Flushing toilet paper – We don’t have sewage systems so you never flush toilet paper down the toilet.

– Bathrooms with toilet paper – Most public bathrooms do not have toilet paper; they have a bucket of water for you to flush… and wash yourself.

– Clean tap water/water fountains – My kids always loved drinking from water fountains, but you can’t drink tap water in the Philippines.

– Air conditioning – When we first moved to El Nido, there wasn’t a single business that had air conditioning. Now I can think of 2 restaurants and 2 coffee shops that have air conditioning!

– Great customer service – I was blown away by our experience at the urgent care center when Olive broke her finger. But that is really pretty standard in the US whereas good customer service is extremely rare in the Philippines!

– No brownouts/water shut offs/internet outages – I asked Charlie what was different between the Philippines and the US and that was what he answered. We have regular electricity brownouts, water shut offs (droughts!) and our internet goes down regularly.

– Street lights! I can see at night!

– Cross walks! I can cross the street instead of running in between traffic!

But we’re used to the island life, and I like appreciating everything we do have, even though it can be frustrating at times. What would be the hardest for you to live without?