It’s pretty easy to take something for granted when you’ve had it for most of your life. As you grow up, you start to notice that in reality, a lot of things many of us take for granted are considered desirable rarities for folks who are worse off.
Someone asked “What’s a luxury that many people don’t realize is a luxury?” and netizens shared their best examples. We also got in touch with the person who made the thread to learn more. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.
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Living alone, in solitude, doing whatever the hell you want.
Open minded, loving, supportive, understanding, & caring parents.
Being able to publicly call the leader of their country an idiot, with no consequences from the government.
Bored Panda got in touch with the netizen who posted the question and they were kind enough to share some more of their thoughts with us. Naturally, we wanted to know if there was a story behind their curiosity on this topic.
“I’ve always been very interested in the extremes and superlatives, but there’s often a disconnect between what people believe to be the most, the least, the worst and what is actually true. Thought it would be enlightening to know what misconceptions there might be and at the same time educate people on the facts.”
Healthy since birth...
Knowing where your next meal is coming from.
Getting out of bed in the morning and having a comfortable place to pee.
Autopay for bills and utilities. If you don’t need to check your account to pay a bill, that’s living a good life for me.
I often try to explain to my kids how much of a blessing is having a simple faucet with running, clean water. Not only was it the stuff of sci-fi around the world a hundred years ago, when our great-grandmothers would go to the river to wash/clean/ bring drinking water, but it is unfortunately (and scandalously) a luxury even today for billions of people around the world.
The thread had quite a few responses, so we wanted to know why they thought it ended up being so popular. “Good questions need to be ones that people are excited to both read and answer. This meant that a lot of people would initially post because they have strong feelings about something and then it snowballed into something big,” they shared.
Air travel. People b***h and complain about everything: the seats are too small, it costs too much, food sucks, the flight was delayed. But it's pretty amazing to pay a few hundred dollars and arrive on the other side of the country (or globe) the same day.
Don’t care much about the food or entertainment. The seats do suck though.
Living in a home that's secure from the elements, safe from crime and in a good neighborhood. Not available for alot of people.
Having free time for hobbies, travel, and enjoy leisure activities. Many people in poverty or working multiple jobs don't have time or money.
Lastly, we wanted to know if they had any favorites from the thread or personal examples. “Definitely none that are as good as the ones in the thread but I think people overestimate the probability of gaining popularity or success doing the same things as other people. The balance of novelty and establishment is a hard one to reach. Novel enough that it is not so saturated but established enough that there is a likelihood of success.”
Laundry machines!
Tattoos. I’m a tattoo artist. Don’t argue with me about the price being too high or how you “need” a tattoo. They’re a luxury that you save for, you absolutely don’t “need” it and should never prioritise them over bills, food, etc.
A good quality bed.
Buying things in bulk. Not everyone can shell out that much money at once, even if it saves money in the long run. Also, not everyone has the space to store it.
Being able to get your kids braces, glasses, and whatever other health related things they need.
Shopping for food and new basic clothes without having to worry about not having money left.
Dental care. People can live with not aligned tooth, but not being able to afford dental care is sad.. i have been trying for almost A YEAR to save enough for a dentist appointment, but I just cant save, because i have to eat, pay bills and feed my family... So dental care have always to wait
Having a regular 9-5, not having to work evenings or weekend.
Being able to reduce your hours for mental health.. I am down to 35 and still struggle to build up my energy again. I was asked if I wanted less hours. Who is gonna pay my bills?
Experiencing silence.
Since developing tinnitus, silence is something I will never experience again unfortunately
It may seem minor, but having a variety of shops, restaurants, and activities in your town. A lot of people(in the US, at least) only have a Walmart, McDonalds and a disheveled bowling alley in their town.
Having a closet full of clothes and shoes for different occasions/seasons. Many people have only a few outfits and struggle to stay warm or dry.
Having access to information on pretty much anything, anytime we want. The internet is such a wonderful thing and so many people use it for basic stuff like porn or answering Reddit questions.
Having a car/driving. I used to have to walk everywhere before I got a car. an even in my small town everything is miles apart. no sidewalks. not pedestrian friendly. it sucked. driving is a luxury I will always appreciate.
I live in a walkable city in regional Australia. I don’t own a car and I am criticised regularly
Private back yard, dishwasher, own laundry machines, money for daily treats
Having total control of where and how you live.
Refugees and, in developed countries, housing crisis. The 1% is moving people around like pawns.
Living past age 30 with no tooth problems.
Access to affordable dental care. I know I went without in my 20s due to lack of insurance, playing catch up once I got insurance was not fun (as I also have a bit of anxiety about the dentist). I wish I would have spent a little $ or utilized free or low cost services for upkeep in those years.
# High-Speed Internet. Many areas in the world still struggle with slow or no internet connectivity.
I wish we could go back at least 30 years to when we didn't have the Internet. We've allowed ourselves to be shoehorned into a world where nothing functions without the Internet and it causes more problems than it solves. Look at the recent Microsoft outage. In my workplace for example, when the Internet goes down the computers don't work, the phones don't work, the CCTV doesn't work, even the photocopier doesn't work. Everybody gets angry when there's no Internet. The world was a much happier, simpler place before the Internet.
Being able to contemplate deeper topics and explore concepts. I’ve been in situations where I’m just thinking about survival and getting through another day. Never in there could I sit and think about anything else.
Ice. Americans in particular seem to think it just magically appears, but it requires both clean water and electricity to make.
I was expecting to see drinkable tap water. And sewerage systems.
Unpaid Internships - Some of my friends in college and law school were able to take unpaid internships in our field. However, I, and many others could not afford to work and not get paid because we had to pay for our rent, food, and other bills. So while the more well-off folks were getting valuable experience and developing contacts for the future, I was delivering pizzas or working on a moving truck during my breaks. This gave them a tremendous advantage when it came to applications and interviews.
For me it is peace and quiet. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere it is a luxury. I find myself wearing earplugs more and more.
I like where I live, it is a pretty safe neighborhood, but there are so many obnoxious motorcycles and cars that rev their engines. I visited a friend for a week in a really nice area with mainly vacation homes, one thing I noticed was how quiet it was.
Load More Replies...I was expecting to see drinkable tap water. And sewerage systems.
Unpaid Internships - Some of my friends in college and law school were able to take unpaid internships in our field. However, I, and many others could not afford to work and not get paid because we had to pay for our rent, food, and other bills. So while the more well-off folks were getting valuable experience and developing contacts for the future, I was delivering pizzas or working on a moving truck during my breaks. This gave them a tremendous advantage when it came to applications and interviews.
For me it is peace and quiet. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere it is a luxury. I find myself wearing earplugs more and more.
I like where I live, it is a pretty safe neighborhood, but there are so many obnoxious motorcycles and cars that rev their engines. I visited a friend for a week in a really nice area with mainly vacation homes, one thing I noticed was how quiet it was.
Load More Replies...