Things I Miss in USA, Since Becoming a Digital Nomad in South America
One thing people don’t talk about enough with becoming a full-time digital nomad is that even when you’re deeply grateful for the experience, there are still random things from home that sneak up on you and make you emotional lol. Sometimes it’s not even the big things. It’s the tiny comforts and conveniences you never thought twice about until they disappeared from your daily life.
Since living throughout Central and South America, there are definitely things I miss from the United States, even though I genuinely love the freedom, growth, and perspective this lifestyle has given me.
1.The first thing? Scorching hot showers.
Not regular hot. I mean the kind of shower where the water is so hot it feels like it’s resetting your nervous system after a long day lol. The water gets warm in most places I’ve stayed, and São Paulo honestly had the hottest shower I’ve experienced so far, but it still wasn’t the same. The shower itself was tiny too lol. Back home, I used to literally sit down in the shower sometimes and just let the water hit me while thinking through life. It was a therapeutic full experience to me. Like a spiritual cleanse and emotional support system wrapped into one.
2. Another thing I miss badly is seafood boils, lemmon pepper wings, & tempura sushi (don’t judge me lol).
I’m talking about a real seafood boil with all the flavors mixed together into the sauce, the potatoes soaking up the seasoning, the corn dripping with butter, the sausage, the eggs, the snow crab legs, and your hands burning because you can’t wait for it to cool down before eating it. I miss lemon pepper chicken wings too. Crispy. Wet. Properly seasoned with EXTRA!. I also miss tempura sushi rolls. The food in South America isn’t bad at all, but it is different. Every country has its own flavor profiles, ingredients, and cooking styles, and you realize quickly that cravings are deeply tied to culture and memory.
3.I miss being able to flush tissue down the toilet without thinking about it.
Listen… if you know, you know. I don’t think I need to elaborate further on this one lol.
4.Sometimes I miss being around English speakers too.
It’s not that I dislike hearing other languages, my brain just gets tired sometimes with always working to try and decipher. Living in another language space 24/7 changes you mentally. Even when you know some Portuguese or Spanish, there’s still a level of effort your brain is making constantly. Ordering food, understanding directions, reading signs, scheduling appointments, translating conversations in your head, trying not to accidentally offend people, figuring out slang… it’s a full-time learning experience.
At the same time, I appreciate it deeply because I can literally feel my brain expanding from the exposure. There’s something beautiful about being forced out of linguistic comfort zones because it humbles you and makes you more aware of the world outside of your own upbringing.
5.The thing that shocked me the most financially, though, was electronics.
Electronics in Brazil, and other Latin American countries are expensive. I mean very expensive! Like 50-60% upcharge, type of expensive.
If you plan to become a digital nomad, especially in South America, buy every electronic item you think you may need before leaving the United States. I’m serious. Laptops, microphones, cameras, adapters, hard drives, phones, tablets… everything.
I had to have my dad bring me a laptop because the exact same model was around 60% more expensive in Brazil. A microphone I bought on Amazon for around $10 was closer to $25 here. Smartphones can be extremely expensive too because of import taxes and shipping costs. Once I understood the pricing differences, I finally understood why phone theft is such a common issue in certain places. When a smartphone costs such a large percentage of someone’s monthly income, it becomes an entirely different type of asset.
In Conclusion
Living abroad has made me appreciate the privileges and conveniences I used to overlook in U.S. of America while also helping me detach from the idea that comfort automatically equals happiness.
There are things I miss, absolutely. Some days I crave familiarity so deeply it catches me off guard. But there’s also something beautiful about learning how adaptable you really are when life no longer revolves around convenience.
You begin to realize that comfort and growth rarely live in the same place for too long. I talk about the benefits of nomad life in this article HERE.