Non US Giant Bomb duders - what do you miss about the US?

Hello, hello! My last visit to the United States was truly a wonderful thing - I ended up marrying my long-time girlfriend, Along the way I sampled many of the delights which the US has to offer. I'm back here in the UK for the moment and I dearly miss a huge chunk of them - here are a few. (Warning - contains several related Twitpic images)

• Slurpees
• Root Beer (Although I have access to suppliers now)
• Brightly-coloured, marshmallow-infused cereals - the UK has the dreariest cereal aisle known to man, woman and child.
• More than one flavour of Pop Tarts - I witnessed with my own eyes a whole section of Pop Tart goodness.
• Pancake breakfasts - cheap maple syrup too. Maple Syrup in the UK is extortionately priced.
• Tide - my missus misses that too.
• "Having someone else bag your damn groceries". Hmm, she's getting involved a bit more now.
• Toll booths.
• Dunkin' Donuts. I tried to enjoy more than one of those tasty donuts, a cockroach got to the rest first. Grrrr.
• "New episodes of television shows." Although there's this thing called "the internet" which fixes that problem.
• Cheap videogames. Videogames which cost a reasonable amount of money?
• All things Disney. Especially this.
• "Places where you can get everything in one place."
• I miss Target too. That store has the most amazing interior design and signage. Speaking of which...
• Halloween Stores. The ones which open up temporarily and give me delights and scares. I would love to get a US house so I can ridiculously decorate it in Halloween interactivity.
• "Taco Bell" (said in a whisper in the darkness behind me)
• Butterfingers.
• The missus is also confused as to why we celebrate Easter with large chocolate eggs instead of large chocolate bunnies.
• "Medium hot water. Not two seperate faucets. What the hell is that about?"
• Yellow School Buses. I swear I freaked out when I saw one - I only ever see them in US dramas and comedies.
• "Dishwasher."
• Huge American flags everywhere, fluttering in the optimistic breeze. Like this one.
• Oh, and this.

You need to go to Universal Studios: Islands of Adventure whenever you return.

The weather. The weather was great when I was in the US. That and being able to visit NASA. The US is a great country, I really enjoyed my time there, but I don't miss anything really, other than what I just stated. You can certainly get chocolate bunnies in the UK. At easter...they're everywhere. Something I miss about the UK when I was in the US was the countryside. The UK is a mostly green and beautiful country. I'm sure parts of the US are the same, though, just not where I was.

i love the shit America produces, but im never laying a foot on that godforsaken country's soil.. you cant get me to do it even if you pay me

" i love the shit America produces, but im never laying a foot on that godforsaken country's soil.. you cant get me to do it even if you pay me

 so i wont be there to miss anything

"

You live in Israel, so you're already living on the 51st State of the United States. 

OH NO HE DIDN'T!! 

*shit storm brewing in 3...2...*

Can't really think of anything. I lived in the states for 4-5 months a few years back, and there really wasn't anything special about the place that I couldn't get back home in Canada. Unless you count the amazing amount of continuously rude/terrified people. Man was walking around that place an experience. Every single person looked at you like you were about to pull out a gun and rape them on the spot if you so much as glanced in their general direction, let alone having the audacity to say hello or to wave at them as you passed by.

• Slurpees
• More than one flavour of Pop Tarts - I witnessed with my own eyes a whole section of Pop Tart goodness.
• "New episodes of television shows." Although there's this thing called "the internet" which fixes that problem.
• Cheap videogames. Videogames which cost a reasonable amount of money?
• "Places where you can get everything in one place."
• Halloween Stores. The ones which open up temporarily and give me delights and scares. I would love to get a US house so I can ridiculously decorate it in Halloween interactivity.

The prices.

Starbucks. Swedenis like the only country in the world without one.

" 

• Toll booths.
• 
  

" Starbucks. Sweden is like the only country in the world without one. "

I'm gonna flip this thread on it's head. 

" @pickassoreborn said:

" 

• Toll booths.
• 
  

Care to explain this one? "

" @Azteck said:

" Starbucks. Sweden is like the only country in the world without one. "

Weren't they supposed to open one at Arlanda? "

Canada has those things too.... Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Canada....

" @pickassoreborn said:

• Slurpees
• More than one flavour of Pop Tarts - I witnessed with my own eyes a whole section of Pop Tart goodness.
• "New episodes of television shows." Although there's this thing called "the internet" which fixes that problem.
• Cheap videogames. Videogames which cost a reasonable amount of money?
• "Places where you can get everything in one place."
• Halloween Stores. The ones which open up temporarily and give me delights and scares. I would love to get a US house so I can ridiculously decorate it in Halloween interactivity.

 Man, I live in the UK and these things confuse me, since we have all these? :S "

I still eat Cadbury's chocolate. Tastes the same as always. It may not in the future, but it sure does now. Anyway, why is American chocolate so...not nice, compared to European chocolate? Is it the Salt?

We've got all those things in good ol' Canadia... well cept the giant flags. Canada's not huge on patriotism and chances are if you see a building flying a Canadian flag, they're probably flying about a dozen other province/country flags as well.

Never visited the US, but I've lived in Canada and I miss a lot about Canada. Alberta, Canada was like a different world from Sweden. It's hard to describe, but it feels like the rest of the world is sooooooooo far away when in Alberta with the huge open spaces compared to Sweden where the world seems so small. This is going to sound corny, but it really felt like the new world, leaving the past in the old world behind. I can imagine the Swedish emigrants in the 19th century felt something similar. Over there people lived a more laid back life and you cared more about your neighborhood rather than what was going on in China or Turkey. I'm a liberal, but I must say the conservative people in Alberta are nice people and I was attracted to their view of the world. They took care of their own rather than trying to comprehend the entire world and solve global issues.
I think it speaks for itself that I got a severe depression after leaving Canada after having lived there for almost a year and I still several years later have dreams every now and then about going back for whatever reason, but I doubt it's the same thing now after 5 years. Most people I knew have moved to other parts of the globe.

EDIT: Here in Sweden we lock ourself in in our apartments. We have the highest number of one member households in Europe with almost half the population living by their own (even couples often live in separate apartments these days). In Canada I lived on campus where we shared a kitchen. Here we don't have that sort of housing at collage/university. We mostly live in regular apartments. It's like we don't know how to socialize anymore. I see people in Italy inviting the neighbor over for dinner while here we can't have a BBQ in our garden without having high walls around it so that we don't have to see other people while being outside.

You can't blame the cold climate either because it's cold in Canada as well, but the people were much warmer.

I miss it being a small part of the Empire.  You know, the good old days.

All I want is good internet. Everything else is better in Canada.

"I'll tell you what I miss from other parts of America: good chowda. Quincy Market has some of the godliest chowda makers on the planet, but I never get up to Boston to experience it."

I've never been to the US, but being European I can tell you that we have Dunkin' Donuts and Taco Bell (and I don't think much of either, although I miss the times when we had more Subway restaurants around). 

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" i love the shit America produces, but im never laying a foot on that godforsaken country's soil.. you cant get me to do it even if you pay me

 so i wont be there to miss anything

"

You live in Israel, so you're already living on the 51st State of the United States. 

OH NO HE DIDN'T!! 

*shit storm brewing in 3...2...*

"

" Starbucks. Swedenis like the only country in the world without one. "

Everything being so goddamn cheap. If it wasn't for the fact that American food is atrocious, I would consider going there quite often because of how cheap it is once you get there.

I recently went to Raleigh, North Carolina, and I miss the southern hospitality. It's not super southern there, but it is somehow more southern than Florida.

About the only thing i miss after being there for a while was the amazing burger places. But i'm sure i'd get bored of ruining my insides after a while..

cheaper videogames is pretty good as well.

" Hello, hello! My last visit to the United States was truly a wonderful thing - I ended up marrying my long-time girlfriend, Along the way I sampled many of the delights which the US has to offer. I'm back here in the UK for the moment and I dearly miss a huge chunk of them - here are a few. (Warning - contains several related Twitpic images)

• Slurpees
• Root Beer (Although I have access to suppliers now)
• Brightly-coloured, marshmallow-infused cereals - the UK has the dreariest cereal aisle known to man, woman and child.
• More than one flavour of Pop Tarts - I witnessed with my own eyes a whole section of Pop Tart goodness.
• Pancake breakfasts - cheap maple syrup too. Maple Syrup in the UK is extortionately priced.
• Tide - my missus misses that too.
• "Having someone else bag your damn groceries". Hmm, she's getting involved a bit more now.
• Toll booths.
• Dunkin' Donuts. I tried to enjoy more than one of those tasty donuts, a cockroach got to the rest first. Grrrr.
• "New episodes of television shows." Although there's this thing called "the internet" which fixes that problem.
• Cheap videogames. Videogames which cost a reasonable amount of money?
• All things Disney. Especially this.
• "Places where you can get everything in one place."
• I miss Target too. That store has the most amazing interior design and signage. Speaking of which...
• Halloween Stores. The ones which open up temporarily and give me delights and scares. I would love to get a US house so I can ridiculously decorate it in Halloween interactivity.
• "Taco Bell" (said in a whisper in the darkness behind me)
• Butterfingers.
• The missus is also confused as to why we celebrate Easter with large chocolate eggs instead of large chocolate bunnies.
• "Medium hot water. Not two seperate faucets. What the hell is that about?"
• Yellow School Buses. I swear I freaked out when I saw one - I only ever see them in US dramas and comedies.
• "Dishwasher."
• Huge American flags everywhere, fluttering in the optimistic breeze. Like this one.
• Oh, and this.

Anyone else with any stuff they miss about the glorious US of A? "

" @Spoonman671: Say chowder with a boston accent. "

 @pickassoreborn: WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MISS ROOT BEER? IS AMERICA HOGGING IT?????

Also, I miss hiding GIANT eggs at easter (back in my days living in Ireland). When I was a younger lad I loved hunting down the huge ass chocolate egg that took me like, 3 years to finish. 

"  @pickassoreborn: WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MISS ROOT BEER? IS AMERICA HOGGING IT????? "

You can get pretty much all that stuff in Canada, so... nothing really.

I miss having to repeat myself at least 3 times because of my accent, that and Dunkin Donuts coffee and massive bottles of coke.

" @FourWude said:

" @Ahmad_Metallic said:

" i love the shit America produces, but im never laying a foot on that godforsaken country's soil.. you cant get me to do it even if you pay me
 so i wont be there to miss anything
"

You live in Israel, so you're already living on the 51st State of the United States. 

OH NO HE DIDN'T!! 

*shit storm brewing in 3...2...*

"

Unnecessary bullshit comments are highly abrasive and deserving of such recoil, however I don't need another argument right now.  Simply recognize that I am vehemently opposed to your perspective, however I have insufficient inclination to invest the time required to successfully modify it.That is all.  :) "

Take your verbosity and shove it up your ass. You obviously took your time to reply and cared enough. 

That's me caring by the way.

In and Out Burger, how can something so simple be so good! They need one of those here now!

I went up to Seattle a couple weeks ago and what I miss from the states is

Vancouver is missing a few of those things:
Dunkin' Doughnuts (we have Tim Horton's, but I'm not sure how it measures up)
American flags (I find large Canadian flags to be quite striking in their own right)
Disney (although Vancouver has Pixar offices now :P )
The Taco Bells here are awful compared to the US ones

A few things that struck me as odd on your list though:
Toll booths? Really?
Tide isn't a global brand? The UK doesn't have anything comparable?
No dishwashers in the UK?
Box Stores get sickening after the convenience high wears off. Especially Wal-Mart

It's funny the things that people from the UK do when they move here, regarding your Halloween house decorating. The first thing me neighbour did when he moved from Ireland was buy a massive 70s muscle car.

I visited Canada for a month last year and really enjoyed it (hear me out), I'm heading to the US next year in April for PAX, SXSW and Coachella. Can't wait to experience the happy.