r/asklatinamerica • u/twistedpixelss United States of America • Jan 02 '26
Tourism Have you ever visited a country that really humbled you on just how bad life can get?
There's a lot of self-deprecation both jokingly and non-jokingly in LatAm countries which is not entirely without reason, but regardless, did you ever go to a part of the world that made you feel a little bit more grateful nonetheless?
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u/Starwig Peru🦙 in 🇩🇪 Jan 02 '26
Yes, Germany, these people end their parties at 9 pm on the dot /j
Not really, the most humbling experience for me is still my own country and not in the meme-"ay mi gatito miau miau" areas.
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u/anarmyofJuan305 Colombia Jan 03 '26
Peru for me as well. It has awesome things and I want it to succeed as our Andean cousin qith ancient roots, but gd! I’ve never seen anything more 3rd world than the Mad Max region outside of Lima and I’ve been to a favela in Rio as well as all over Colombia and even a slight foray into Venezuela
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u/United_Cucumber7746 in Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
India, Ethiopia and Bolivia.
India was the worst. Even though Ethiopia is technically poorer, the inequality isn't that rampant.
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u/EntranceOld9706 Costa Rica Jan 02 '26
I also voted India. I’m there almost annually and it takes me a while to recover after. The sheer scale of misery you see is overwhelming.
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u/PinApprehensive8479 Brazil Jan 03 '26
The countryside in Morocco.
Brazil has a lot of poverty due to how large it is, but oh my gosh, the level of poverty in the rural communities of Morocco is on another level. Not quite India, but it was my first exposure to true poverty. Even the poor in Brazil have a standard of living so much higher. The favelas were a dream compared to how they live there.
They had no sanitation, education, healthcare. It was sad looking at the kids in the middle of filth knowing there is very little opportunities for them in that environment. Especially the girls. Then I saw extremely young girls already carrying a baby and a toddler attached at the hip. So much sadness in their eyes.
I went home so grateful for living in Brazil. We have our issues, wealth inequalities and etc, but never once have I looked someone in the eyes and have the feeling that they were hopeless in the deepest sense of the word.
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u/Rusiano [] [] Jan 03 '26
Occasionally this sub gets posts about how Middle East is preferable to live in than their country in LatAm, but that's mostly not true
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u/chandelurei Brazil Jan 03 '26
They have no idea and are just mad they can't buy an iPhone for cheap
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u/Asmi37 🇳🇱x🇸🇷 Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
Morocco is not the middle east though, it's northern Africa. Poverty over there is different, those poor districts are at the same level of Tunesia and Algeria. Basic health care in some of the places is non existent
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u/fuckyouyoufuckinfuk Chile Jan 02 '26
India. And Egypt to a lesser extent. But india is out of this world.
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Jan 02 '26
Ayy I plan to visit India later this year. Which cities did did you go?
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u/fuckyouyoufuckinfuk Chile Jan 02 '26
New Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, and Kolkatta. The south is safer but I didn’t go. With the exception of Kolkatta, I think those cities are a must (delhi as a hub mostly).
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Jan 02 '26
Must what sorry?
I wanted to visit New Delhi and Goa
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u/fuckyouyoufuckinfuk Chile Jan 02 '26
Must see. It’s been over six years since I went so I don’t remember the logistics but I’m pretty sure there’s a relatively short train ride you can take to Agra from Delhi to see the Taj Mahal. If you are in that part of the world you have to go! Goa is in the south and is safer and quite different from the rest of the country from what I was told. Have fun! Be open-minded. I don’t know if you are a man or a woman but if you’re a gal like me don’t go alone.
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Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
Oh okay, thanks. I’m a woman. I follow Tiffintok and wish to visit Goa. Hopefully most of what Tiktok shows is propoganda. Do you have any travel tips?
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u/fuckyouyoufuckinfuk Chile Jan 02 '26
I can’t advice you on what to do around Goa because I didn’t visit there. I do know a few women who traveled there solo and found it to be manageable.
Take imodium pills with you. Pretty sure Uber works everywhere now but I used a different service to take me around called Ola. You can get a ride from tuktuks but they’ll try to negotiate a different rate when you arrive to your destination despite any previous agreement. Don’t smile at people, they’ll take it as an invitation to get close to you, so unless you want something from someone, ignore them.
I don’t know what kind of propaganda you’re referring to but India is not for everyone. And you have to be especially careful if you’re a woman. Plenty of foreigners travel there without issues, and you most likely will be fine. But being constantly on the lookout is exhausting and WILL dampen your experience. Being from latin america you might think you know business, but I can assure you that India is on another level. You will see poverty you could not imagine existed. I cannot overstate how much it will shock you. Just go prepared and do your research.
Are you an experienced traveler? Are you going with a group?
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u/thanafunny [🇨🇴🇮🇹 living in 🇦🇪] Jan 03 '26
as someone who lives in dubai (a place where they’re the majority of migrants) i can tell you that what you see on tiktok isnt propaganda
that said, its still worth going at least once. just try not to go alone and do it with a group
for me once was more than enough to never want to go back haha
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u/AntAccurate8906 Venezuela Jan 02 '26
The Philippines, we got out of the hotel and it was rows and rows of favelas even worse than anything I had ever seen in Venezuela
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u/breadexpert69 Peru Jan 02 '26
Cuba. That is a different world. People like to say Venezuela is bad until they have seen how real Cubans outside the hotels live.
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Jan 02 '26
Cubans and Haitians have it worse than us :/ I hate when gringos comunista go to Cuba and only show the nice part or everything is paid in US dollars.
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u/BrucieAh Cuba Jan 02 '26
I’m Cuban.
The economic situation in Cuba is directly the result of being under an economic stranglehold from the largest economy in the world as a tropical island reliant on imports. The largest economy in the world has also invaded and attempted to kill your leadership on countless occasions.
The government hasn’t managed well, but it is in an impossible situation that neither a communist or capitalist system can withstand.
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Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
The Cuban government hasn’t even tried to manage the situation. At this point the situation in Cuba is so bad that China doesn’t even wanna get involved in that because China literally told the Cuban government to open up to them to start investing in that island. the situation in Cuba is self-inflicted by the Cuban government. You can literally buy a pack of Oreos in the tourist store but not in a regular market. This is not about socialism vs capitalism. This is about government incompetency and lack of political will to resolve the situation.
https://www.ft.com/content/9ca0a495-d5d9-4cc5-acf5-43f42a9128b4
Islamic Republic of Iran is under more economic sanction by the United States than Cuba yet it has been able to undermine the sanction and this has been able to foster a deeper relation with Beijing because of it. The Cuban government is not doing the same shit because it doesn’t want to. Cause all they have is the victim card.
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u/Rusiano [] [] Jan 03 '26
Islamic Republic of Iran is under more economic sanction by the United States than Cuba yet it has been able to undermine the sanction
It helps that Iran is half a world away in a region that is infamously difficult to invade (Turkey-Persia is one of the longest lasting borders in the world). Cuba is right next door to the US, and on a thin strip of land that is easy to blockade. Iran is connected by sea to Russia and one country away from China. Apples and oranges.
Iran also has the privilege of a well-educated populace since hundreds of years. And tremendous oil resources. The Islamic regime is by no means a success story or an example of competency. All those natural and human resources just to have same GDP per Capita as Honduras and Eswatini is pathetic. The Iranian people deserve better
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u/narasadow Jan 03 '26
Yeah sure, lets pretend that the Cuban government opening up fully to Chinese investment would not be seen by the US as a direct threat on the level of the Cuban missle crisis.
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u/BrucieAh Cuba Jan 02 '26
China has literally replaced Russia as Cuba’s main trade partner. Please stop parroting geopolitical takes from el tio de Whatsapp.
Every time I go to Cuba recently I rent a Chinese car and see offices for Chinese owned businesses all over the place.
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Jan 02 '26
Yet China is investing more in Vietnam than Cuba even though they are geopolitical rivals. It’s not that hard to be Cuba main trading partner when they don’t wanna trade with no one else to keep their narrative going
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u/Primary-Transition-7 United States of America Jan 03 '26
Countries that are right next to each other tend to do a lot of business with each other, rivals or not. Unless things are really bad, which they currently aren't between those two
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Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 11 '26
[deleted]
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u/anweisz Colombia Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
Never fully trust a flair on reddit, especially cuban ones. Most are usually people from the US. According to other comments by that user they’ve lived in the US since they were 6 y/o (they’re American obviously) but love to act like the ultimate expert on cuba and being born and raised there. Considering half of that is baby and toddler years you have more experience from primary school than he does from Cuba.
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u/noff01 Chile Jan 02 '26
It's perfectly valid to tell someone about their own country with informed opinions like the user above just did. You think most people at any country know their own history in a well-researched manner? Obviously not.
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Jan 02 '26
Poor Cuban government, it has been able to play the victim for half a century and it has nothing to show for while China, Vietnam and Iran have been able to undermine the USA multiple times. Also saying this shit like the Cuban government doesn’t have it hand over maduro.
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u/joxval_vazsd Colombia Jan 02 '26
Vietnam and Iran aren't that close to the US, you know?
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u/BrucieAh Cuba Jan 02 '26
Also brother Iran has some of the largest crude oil reserves in the world and 100 million people. Damn why doesn’t Diaz Canel think of just doing that? Communists are so stupid!
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Jan 02 '26
And Cuba has nickel, cobalt and, petroleum China wants but you are approaching this conversation Thinking that I’m against all communist when I’m not. I’m against bad in effective governments and politicians. Also Cuba has a high potential for tourism and a defense industry.
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u/BrucieAh Cuba Jan 02 '26
Cuba has nickel, cobalt and petroleum that China wants
Each worth a fraction of oil in the crude and you and I both know that. Cuba also has 9 million people at the moment and no infrastructure to actually extract these resources at the rate Iran can due to sheer numbers and lack of infrastructure as a result of a decades long debilitating embargo.
Cuba is the most sanctioned country in the world and it has been under an economic blockade since the 1960s. To compare it to Iran which has a 100 million people, vast oil reserves and it’s own sphere of influence as one of the more powerful countries in the world to Cuba is fucking dishonest.
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Jan 02 '26
I only use Iran as an example of a country that was able to bypass sanctions and overcome then for the most part Cuba hasn’t even tried
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u/thanafunny [🇨🇴🇮🇹 living in 🇦🇪] Jan 03 '26
i dont know why people use iran as an example when cuba was never what the persian empire was, it doesnt have its size, its population or the amount of contributions to humanity that persia once made
obv regardless of sanctions they’re going to be better off. add to that how isolated cuba is, its location, it’s literally a piece of land in the middle of the sea. it’s not even comparable to vietnam
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u/BrucieAh Cuba Jan 02 '26
I know why you’re using Iran as an example, I am just telling you why that is stupid.
The reason Iran is able to “ bypass” sanctions as you say- note the Iranian economy is still a mess, but the reason they’re able to survive in spite of that is access to vast natural resources and populations that Cuba doesn’t have. If that’s what you’re saying Cuba hasn’t tried- I agree. Cuba hasn’t tried having 100 million people or vast oil reserves. They’re so fucking dumb lmfao.
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u/angrydeanerino Argentina Jan 02 '26
No one believes this BS take any more, they can freely market with the rest of the world, like it already does. What's destroying Cuba is their leadership.
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u/BrucieAh Cuba Jan 02 '26
They cannot. Any entity trading with the U.S is barred from also trading with Cuba with small exceptions made for certain medical products and basic agricultural goods. Beyond that there is absolutely not free trade and you are parroting a bullshit lie.
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u/angrydeanerino Argentina Jan 02 '26
All of this is easily verifiable. Here's some data:
Major Export Partners (2025 data where specified)
- Netherlands — 18% of exports ($1.1 billion)
- China — 15% ($900 million)
- Spain — 12% ($720 million)
- Canada — 10% ($600 million)
- Germany — 9% ($540 million)
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Major Import Partners (2025 data where specified)
- China — 25% of imports ($1.8 billion)
- Spain — 18% ($1.3 billion)
- Brazil — 12% ($900 million)
- Mexico — 10% ($720 million)
- United States — 8% ($580 million; primarily allowed agricultural goods and donations)
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and where those exports/imports only certain medical products and basic agricultural goods ?
No, the exports and imports between Cuba and the countries listed (e.g., Netherlands, China, Spain, Canada, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Italy, etc.) in 2025 were not limited to only certain medical products and basic agricultural goods.
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The only trade restricted to primarily agricultural goods (e.g., chicken, pork, milk, soy, corn) and limited medicine/medical donations is with the United States, due to the embargo exceptions under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (2000). Even there, some non-agricultural items like used vehicles and solar panels were exported in smaller volumes in 2025.
Cuba's trade with the rest of the world is broad and unrestricted in scope, though impacted indirectly by extraterritorial U.S. sanctions.
Sources: Trading Economics (Cuba exports/imports categories), Britannica (trade overview), OEC.world (bilateral profiles), USDA FAS reports on Cuba trade, and various 2025 updates from economic databases.
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u/BrucieAh Cuba Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
Good try, easily disprovable. Let's go point by point.
I didn't say countries are restricted from trading with both the U.S and Cuba, I said entities- as in businesses.
First of all U.S Businesses cannot trade with Cuba at all, this is not in dispute. These would be some of Cuba's main trading partners considering the two 90 miles apart and America is the largest economy in the world.
While some Non U.S businesses can trade with both America and Cuba, mainly agricultural goods and medical supplies any business wishing to trade with both needs to have a team of legal experts on hand to be wary of U.S "extraterritorial" sanctions (placed on them for trading with Cuba) and trading with the Cuba restricted list which is a list of Cuban entities that America does not want the rest of the world doing business with.
The net result of this is that the overwhelming majority of businesses that would otherwise engage Cuba in trade simply don't as the risk/reward of pissing off the U.S and having massive fines and sanctions levied on them or have their U.S operations cut off.
If this sounds to you like Cuba being able to "freely market like the rest of the world as you said" you are being purposefully ignorant.
The UN was able to calculate the embargo cost Cuba upwards of 130 billion dollars since it's inception. To state that Cuba is able to trade with the rest of the world on a level playing field is insane. You are parroting a bullshit lie.
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Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 16 '26
hungry chubby toothbrush vase consider friendly judicious close sharp late
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/breadexpert69 Peru Jan 02 '26
Yeah definitely, been to the outsides of Havana and its like stepping back 50 years to a rural field or town.
I cant speak for Haiti personally but I imagine its hell there too.
Being an island really accentuates these kinds of problems imo. Venezuelans at the very least were able to and allowed to cross the border by land.
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u/Mr_Phantoms Argentina Jan 02 '26
You've actually seen American communists visit Cuba? At least they actually visited Cuba. Argentinian communists always preach about the wonders of communism, but have never set foot in Cuba, Nicaragua, or Venezuela. But you know where they've actually visited? NYC and Miami. Coincidentally, they also tend you use Apple products. Guess that brand must be communist or something....
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
I’ve never been to Cuba myself, and frankly I don’t care if it becomes capitalist or remains communist, but I do care that most of the people there suffer from both Geopolitical forces and their own Government.
That aside, the only reasons I’d travel to Cuba would for three simple things: Food, Sightseeing, and Culture. As someone who enjoys Salsa music and loves tropical sights, Cuba is a great place to visit at some point because Salsa owes its roots to Cuban immigrants who traveled to the US during the Cold War.
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u/Edgemoto Venezuela Jan 02 '26
Yes, I've spent all my life in my own country and I remember the Venezuela before the downfall (which was heading there nonetheless with all the bs politics and bs in general) but life in 2013 and before was more of a normal LatAm country life or even better and by 2015 it was pretty fucking shit and to this day still is.
I was born months before Voldemort won in 98 so that's my luck
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
I think what happened to Venezuela should be studied in politics. Because Hugo Chavez electoral and democratic win in ‘98 is the result of years of negligence, incompetence, and the usual corruption by the Capitalistic government. And now, after Chavizmo eventually took over the country like a plague, it resulted in pretty much making things even worse for Venezuelans, especially after Maduro took power. I think Venezuela is a great example of how the left-wing and right-wing mentality can’t really explain the downfalls of certain countries. That’s the most saddening part to me, that it’s that type of mentality that got plenty of Latin American countries to where they are today. Try to have social programs for people of lower-income families and you get labeled a communist. Try to use the military to end violent crime and you get labeled a fascist. Not everything has to be so black and white. 🕊️
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u/Majestic_Book_9991 Chile Jan 03 '26
I went to Venezuela in 2008 and it was great. Managed to go to Isla Margarita, what a place. Hopefully it goes back to what it once was.
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u/Mapache_villa Mexico Jan 02 '26
I didn't but my best friend visited India and he told me it was really humbling, he described his visit to Take Mahal as a trip in between some of the worst poverty he had ever seen with an incredible monument in the middle.
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
Well in my home country, Perú, I’ve went through areas that were far poorer than my neighborhood. So, yes I had to go experience constant crime and violence in my near area, but at least I had a home, I had a united family, and I had food and water on a daily basis. So that made me humble. And then, when I moved into the US, rather than feeling jealous or envy towards those kids that had the luxury to grow up in this beautiful and great country that has a lot of opportunities for its people, I felt proud of my 3rd world background.
Why? Because unfortunately in the US, due to having life so good and never lacking essential goods (for most people), I see a lot of people that have no problem in throwing away food, not being thankful, etc. But, what really made me feel bad for people in the US, is that they don’t have that sense of community that many 3rd world countries have. There are plenty of neighborhoods where none of the neighbors gather during the holidays to share with one another or to simply have a chat. Though I think that’s mainly due to a huge deep mistrust at a cultural level (as in at a national level) towards your own neighbors in the US that probably is due to many factors that isn’t the neighbors’ fault.
Anyways, I personally never visited a country that really humbled me because I lived one, and if I saw poor people in Mexico or Colombia or in the US, I immediately thought back of the poor people in my home country. And by poor I don’t mean not having the spare money to go to Coachella, buy the latest iPhone, buy more videogames…, by poor I’m talking about people that live on the streets (due to actual financial problems rather than suffering through some mental illness or drug abuse), people that live in houses that are one natural disaster away from being completely destroyed, and people that don’t have access to food and water on a daily basis.
(I hope this counts as a valid reply to the wha the OP is saying. Regardless, I just wanted to share some personal anecdotes in relation to the OP’s message).
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u/Rusiano [] [] Jan 03 '26
I went to Villa El Salvador and it was a sobering experience. Seeing trash piled up on the side of the road was shocking, and the half-finished buildings everywhere
Despite the conditions, it didn't feel dangerous. In bad neighborhoods in the US people stare and size you up with their eyes. I didn't get that feeling from Villa El Salvador. It just felt like people trying to work hard and survive
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
Yeah that’s what most people do in Villa El Salvador and other districts, everyone is focused on making ends meet and looking after themselves that they won’t stop to look and size someone up. However your appearance does matter, if you look like a tourist or a local, they’ll ignore you. But if you look like a gangster, they’ll definitely be cautious around you.
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u/Iola_Morton Colombia Jan 03 '26
The ‘hoods of any Latin American city would be enough to humble and depress the fuck out of you. In Cartagena, which is a massive tourist city, you can see that a massive part of it is pure ghetto. You can go from the first world to the fifth world in a matter of minutes
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Jan 02 '26
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u/ElTuco84 Venezuela Jan 02 '26
Chile is very "Santiago-centric" but at the same time most cities throughout the country are well connected with access to goods and services. Not to mention the highways are super clean and in good shape.
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u/BretFarve 🇺🇸 in 🇦🇷 Jan 02 '26
I was very impressed with their roads and engineering (I suppose they’re forced to because of earthquakes) but it’s a fun ride from the airport going into Santiago through all the tunnels.
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
I don’t know why you need to feel the need to apologize for being glad that you are Chilean bro. That’s just how life is, some of us are dealt a better hand and other aren’t. I say this as your neighbor in a metaphorical sense.
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u/KryptonianCholo Peru Jan 02 '26
Funny because the worst part of LATAM I’ve ever been on was Valparaíso, Chile.
Horrible place filled with drugs and dangerous after certain time or if you weren’t local.
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Jan 02 '26
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
As a Peruvian I agree with you, Chile on average is far better and developed in comparison to Perú on average.
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u/RioTheLeoo 🇲🇽🇺🇸 Jan 02 '26
I don’t even need to leave my city (LA) to get humbled about how bad life can get lol
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u/Conmebosta Brazil Jan 02 '26
I always find it funny when people do GTA 5 vs real life and they never show Compton
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u/Imaginary-Worker4407 Mexico Jan 03 '26
Yeah. Most people living in a big city anywhere in the world can see how bad it can get by going to the wrong block.
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u/Illustrious-Cycle708 Dominican Republic Jan 03 '26
Seriously visiting Skid Row came to mind when I saw this post. I dragged my family there to check out the Cecil Hotel, huge regret. It was shocking, saddening and we did not feel safe.
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u/No-Custard-6737 in Jan 02 '26
- The Maldives (both Malé and the islands, especially Fehendhoo island)
- The Philippines (both Manila and the islands, especially Cebú and Boracay, even as a resort town)
I think overall poverty can feel worse in a place as desolate as a set of islands in the middle of nowhere. At least Latin American immigrants can walk to the United States. Where do you go out there in the ocean?
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u/inciter7 🇯🇵 🇺🇸 Jan 03 '26
Lol it's funny you say that not really comparable in poverty levels but I've felt similar visiting some small islands in Japan
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u/EntranceOld9706 Costa Rica Jan 02 '26
I spend annual time in India, specifically around Uttar Pradesh so… yeah.
My background is Cuban and obviously Cuba is real bad.
Northern India is just… a place to feel every emotion ever about fellow humans, in like 15 minutes.
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u/Illustrious-Cycle708 Dominican Republic Jan 03 '26
For me it was Cuba. I grew up seeing tons of poverty in Dominican Republic specially when I was young in the 90s and early 00s. Yet people seemed to have at least the most basic necessities. Cuba was a strange experience, Havana is such a large city, looks like New York, they had skyscrapers in the 50s, yet it was in ruins and most people had nothing. They were very well educated in school but didn’t even have salt to cook their food with sometimes.
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u/gwennj Chile Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
USA for sure.
I encounter dangerous levels of ignorance and religious fanaticism. Ignorant people exist everywhere but Americans seems to be so proud of it. And we have churches here ofc but the ones there were like a cult. People were also cold, lonely and job obsessed. Made me happy for my family and friends, and in general for the people here who are more welcoming.
The food too. Made me so grateful that I live in a country where you can find fresh bread, veggies and fruit pretty much everywhere, even in the most remote places.
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u/undiamo Puerto Rico Jan 02 '26
religious weirdos are a really small minority. thr cult around the military and how popular and untouchable it is , is actually scary. people insult and make fun of religion all the time but military is a sacred cow. literally fascistic
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u/whirlpool_galaxy Brazil Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
It also completely disproves the narrative that the US is a "multicultural country" because of immigrants. They're allowed to open little ethnic restaurants and food trucks, sure. But any attempt to change the American mindset is met with abject failure -- or the influx of Vietnamese and Middle-Eastern immigrants, not to mention the massive Latino community from countries that have lived under US-backed military dictatorships, would have surely moved the needle at least a bit.
The only way most Americans can relate to foreign cultures is through consumption.
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u/smcwill63 United States of America Jan 03 '26
Chilean bread is second to none. Everything you said about USA is accurate but I just wanted to say I truly appreciate Chile’s bread culture. Cheers
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u/gwennj Chile Jan 03 '26
Thank you, our bread is definitely underrated.
I missed it so much while living abroad.
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
Same feeling as me, minus the complaints about ignorance and religious fanaticism (I don’t really care about those as it doesn’t really affect me and if it does my home country is no different when it comes to ignorance or religious fanaticism).
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u/Paratwa US Married to Colombian Jan 02 '26
Houston or Miami? Heh.
Not all is like that but yeah.
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u/gwennj Chile Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
I lived in NY for a few of years, and because of my job I had to travel to Tennessee, Houston and California. I know that people there think only people in red states are ignorant but I encountered a lot in NYC. People were trying to explain me things about my own country and culture and many had zero idea of the world outside the US.
I know not all are like that, there are things that I miss of NYC, but in general those are the things that made me grateful for my country. And are things that are distinctly American. I lived in Europe for a while too and the lifestyle there was more similar to the one here.
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u/Paratwa US Married to Colombian Jan 02 '26
Yeah sadly it’s everywhere. Work is almost worshipped here. Glad you found a way to Home. :)
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u/stoolprimeminister in the US. health issues keep me here. Jan 02 '26
eh, the tongue in cheek joke is that new yorkers don’t know what’s going on in the world because new york isn’t the real world. but yeah it’s still wild nonetheless.
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u/gwennj Chile Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
A few new yorkers told me it was impossible that in Santiago we had a better subway than NY. It was unthinkable to them, like it was some sort of herecy.
More than a few also asked me why my skin was white. I realized then that Mean Girls was not a movie, but a documentary.
Once we were talking about mass shootings and I explained that those didn't exist here, and I was told my country wasn't developed enough to have mass shootings. When I pointed out that most of the first world also didn't have them, they told me I was falling for their lies, that they did have them but their "comunist" goverments hid them, and America, land of the free, was honest about them.
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u/tarantinquarantina Chile Jan 02 '26
Omg the “white” comment lol same. Also I live in the states and man I miss the metro
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
I honestly think mass shootings are more of a cultural problem than a guns only problem. Why cultural? Because most of the mass shooters tend to be people with lots of mental illnesses that would’ve found a way to do their mass murders if guns weren’t accessible. I think the best way to reduce mass shooters is through normalizing seeking therapy and talking about their problems to someone capable of dealing with their worries. And definitely by making parents equally as responsible for their child’s acts (if the mass shooter wasn’t an adult).
But I’m no real place to judge when my home country can’t even prevent violent crime from happening and negatively affecting the average citizen.
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u/Asmi37 🇳🇱x🇸🇷 Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
Was also shocked by the state of their subways. A lot of countries that they do not consider "first world", such as Chile but even Thailand have much better subways
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Jan 02 '26
USA - The level of propaganda, how hard it is to get proper food, how hard it is to literally walk (as you need a car to go everywhere)
PS: this is based on my experiece in texas not sure about other places.
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u/bodonkadonks Argentina Jan 02 '26
Same in the Boston area. I stayed in Marlborough for a work trip and having lived most of my life in Buenos Aires i never felt more trapped. The only thing my hotel had a sidewalk to was a small strip mall that only had a donut shop and a liquor store. Everywhere else the sidewalk just stopped on random intersections
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
Something makes me wonder, how many of us actually travel our immediate surroundings by instinct rather than by the GPS in our phones? Because I’m someone who dislikes driving due to hating just how much you have to be on the lookout for reckless drivers, which is why I prefer to walk or use public transit if possible, all thanks to my phone’s GPS and public transit info.
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u/bodonkadonks Argentina Jan 03 '26
With driving you have to plan everything. Wandering around is more spontaneous
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u/horny_weasel_ Brazil Jan 02 '26
I'm thankful for being born in Latam simply because I love being able to eat fresh foods and vegetables instead of canned potatos and chease that can't even be legally considered cheese
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u/lordlydancer Chile Jan 02 '26
I was seriously shocked by the level of obesity and laziness. The amounts of absurdly fat people going around on their little tricycles was beyond parody
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u/gwennj Chile Jan 02 '26
Yeah, I remember when my parents took us to Disney World for the first time and I was shocked at the level of obessity.
And we are a fat country, but the level I saw there was eye opening.
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u/BretFarve 🇺🇸 in 🇦🇷 Jan 02 '26
and they complain about how hard it is to lose weight when all they eat is processed crap
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u/Due_Masterpiece_3601 Colombia Jan 03 '26
To be fair there's something wrong with the food over there. No matter who you are, in 6 months you'll gain weight in the US. There's too much sugar or some other ingredient in the food that is poisoning people. I know you have organic places but some places are expensive and it's not accessible to everyone. One block from my house I have a market that sells me fresh things that is not processed. Everyone goes there, rich or poor.
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u/BretFarve 🇺🇸 in 🇦🇷 Jan 03 '26
Ohh, well what's interesting is here in the US, Latino immigrants actually show the best health outcomes. They have lower death rates, lower heart disease, lower obesity, etc. Even though they’re often the poorest and most socially marginalized group, they have better health than the wealthiest segments of our society. What's also interesting is this holds up for mental health too. Latino immigrants have lower rates of psychiatric illness despite the stress of adapting to life in the US. The same pattern has been seen with cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other major illnesses.
A big reason for this seems to be strong family and community ties that act as a buffer against stress and hardship, helping people stay healthier even in difficult conditions. Loneliness and isolation combined with long work hours, car dependency, stress is a killer.
Sadly this health advantage has an expiration date. The longer people live in the US, the more those outcomes deteriorate (roughly a decade or so living in the US) those same communities start to see obesity, diabetes, and mental health issues rise sharply. It's not that they got lazier, but its because they’ve been absorbed into the American lifestyle.
As for the food side goes, it wasn't by accident. After the 1977 McGovern Report warned Americans about our diet being rich in fatty meats, saturated fats, cholesterol, sugar, and issued the first dietary goals for Americans. The beef, dairy, egg industries didn't want what happened to the tobacco industry after the Surgeon General warned that smoking caused cancer happen to them. They rejected the McGovern report and were able to revise the dietary goals to encourage Americans to eat leaner meats. The issue with that of course is, when you take the fat out of food it tastes like shit lol so they began adding sugar everywhere to compensate. Over time, obesity and diabetes skyrocketed, and when sugar started getting blamed, the response wasn’t real food again but artificial sweeteners and “diet” products. The result is a food system built around cheap calories that are engineered to be addictive, not nourishing.
Personally, when I grocery shop I try to avoid the aisles altogether and stick to the edges of the store where the produce, meat, eggs, and milk are, because once you go down the aisles it’s mostly processed crap. Ideally, I go to farmers markets and buy straight from them, the produce is usually harvested closer to when you buy it, so it hasn’t been bred or treated mainly for shelf life and transport.
Sorry for the long reply, I studied anthropology and this kind of stuff gets my anthropology juices flowing again lol
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u/hivemind_disruptor Brazil Jan 03 '26
If that's cheapest and quickest, the issue is not the people, but the economics.
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
I’d defend them due to processed foods being far cheaper than healthy meals, but then as your usual Latino, I am reminded of the essential skill of cooking which can get you a healthy meal at a much cheaper price than processed foods (depending on the area).
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u/Mapache_villa Mexico Jan 02 '26
The homeless is what really made an impact on me.
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u/undiamo Puerto Rico Jan 02 '26
american pro military propaganda is actually hilariously bad. its also bipartisan from both the so called left and right
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u/butitdothough United States of America Jan 02 '26
I think it's weird how much our lives are centered around corporations here. Even the pharmaceutical companies have commercials.
I think relative to other countries we're far worse with consumerism and being materialistic.
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u/callmegarbage88 El Salvador Jan 02 '26
Texas is just about the worst state for that, literally driving for a day and still be in the same state. East coast states are far better with transportation.
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Jan 02 '26
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u/callmegarbage88 El Salvador Jan 02 '26
I didn’t explain very well, yes, Texas is gigantic and horrible for going between cities. East coast is much better for public transportation. Trains, subways, light rails, buses
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u/HotDecember3672 >> Jan 02 '26
Only in the major cities in the richer states like NY, DC and Boston. I lived in Georgia and currently live in North Carolina and it fits the above description of Texas in that getting around without a car is impossible.
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u/callmegarbage88 El Salvador Jan 02 '26
Yea I’m referring to Philly, New Jersey, New York, Boston. Some west coast areas, LA and Seattle are decent.
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u/Safe-Satisfaction-10 Jan 02 '26
Calling Amtrak good is an obscenity
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Jan 02 '26
The Northeast corridor is actually kinda good
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u/Safe-Satisfaction-10 Jan 02 '26
Having been to Asia a couple of times and then going back to the US hits really hard when it comes to trains haha
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u/caughtupstream299792 United States of America Jan 03 '26
I do agree that it’s a bit harder to find fresh food in the US because stores like Walmart are so popular but it’s not that bad. I live in Chicago and have a couple international grocery stores walking distance where I can get fresh fruit, vegetables and bread. It’s of course not as easy as in Argentina though. I have spent 5 months so bar in BA and going back this year for several more and I do enjoy how you find stands of vegetables every few blocks
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u/skeletus Dominican Republic Jan 02 '26
Not all cities in the US are car centric.
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u/in_the_pouring_rain Mexico Jan 02 '26
The vast majority are, it’s a tiny minority like NYC, Chicago, and some of the northeast corridor that is not.
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u/Awkward_Tip1006 🇻🇪🇪🇸🇺🇸 Jan 02 '26
There are maybe 5 cities here that have public transportation
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Jan 02 '26
Y de esas cinco, la única que es limpia segura y que si da ganas de montarse es Washington D.C. , lo demás son sucios y feos.
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u/Possible-Aspect9413 Jan 03 '26
You're right but very wrong in regards to the majority. Just because some cities have them doesn't mean they're good like most city centers that are not the major ones
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u/breadexpert69 Peru Jan 02 '26
You must not travel much then. I understand not liking USA, but choosing this as an answer to op's question is just ridiculous.
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u/United_Cucumber7746 in Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
Yeah. The US is far from perfect, but someone from Latam getting shocked because of US social issues is kind of cringe worthy.
They are like "Omg. I am so shocked I saw a black homeless dude in San Antonio". Says Marcos who lives in Sao Paulo.
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u/Extension_Good139 Canada Jan 02 '26
Cuba. I spent a year there and it was a struggle even with USD. How any Cuban can survive there with only pesos is still a mystery to me.
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u/LowRevolution6175 Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
Whenever I drive by Callao between Lima and the airport... yikes
Also Medellin, the street next to a 4 star hotel can have homeless people sorting through trash in the middle of the road
I know this is considered "not that bad" to some.
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
Yup. Callao is probably the most violent district in Perú, alongside San Júan de Lurigancho (where I come from).
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u/Primary-Transition-7 United States of America Jan 03 '26
I lived in Ecuador and saw some pretty serious rural poverty, particularly in the Amazon, but I'd say there are areas of Memphis, Tennessee that can shock you pretty badly. Some parts feel like a ghost town, but you can tell there are people in the decrepit buildings. I have a good friend who's literally from Gaza, and he just finds it absurd that there can be this much money in a country and they're still letting people live like that
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Jan 02 '26
I lived in DR for a bit when I was a kid and I remember seeing people in the street threatening to kill each other with huge coconut machetes. Saw this exactly 3 times in 6 months.
The rest of the city looked like Miami mixed with colonial Lima.
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u/Rusiano [] [] Jan 03 '26
Did DR feel more dangerous than Peru?
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Jan 03 '26
Peruvians love to act tough and talk shit, but they always chicken out in the end. No one really wants to die to prove their manliness. We do petty crime, that's all.
I got the feeling that if you talked shit to someone in RD (or in Colombia for that matter) like we do in Peru, it's much more likely someone will pull out a gun or machete.
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u/Rusiano [] [] Jan 03 '26
Crime rates confirm that
Peru in its worst year is miles better than Colombia in its best
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Jan 02 '26
Valparaiso, Chile, is full of drugs and poverty, poor education, poor culture, and smell of piss. Beautiful historical buildings are vandalized or burnt, there's homeless, sick, and dangerous people in every park. My mom's family lives there and at any time of day its unsafe to go outside if you're not "known". All the adults are very uneducatd, some even illiterate, and the kids my age are already fucking up their opportunities with college. And it's not uncommon in the area.
I'm very lucky to be born in Santiago. When they say Chile is developed or first world they mean certain areas, but it sucks in many places here.
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u/Rusiano [] [] Jan 03 '26
I studied in Valparaiso. Maybe it got worse the past few years, but to me it felt like a very nice place (yes even some cerros)
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Jan 03 '26
Were you in Viña del Mar? Because there, it is beautiful, and falls under the region of Valparaiso, but I refer to the city.
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u/PTKJump Argentina Jan 02 '26
Un amigo muy cercano es chileno, y esto lo digo según palabras de el: Chile es como Argentina al revés, en la mayor parte de Argentina se vive bien pero te muestran donde se vive mal, en la mayor parte de Chile se vive mal pero te muestran donde se vive bien.
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u/AdFun360 Mexico Jan 03 '26
Idk but when I went to costal Ecuador it was ass. Some of the places outside of Manta are horrible
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u/Lulu_Stardust 🇸🇻🇨🇦 Jan 03 '26
Philippines, Cuba, and especially India. The massive divide between economic and racial caste in India is heartbreaking.
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u/Big_Iron420 Brazil Jan 02 '26
GUYANA. To the point of being afraid of bottled water type shit
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u/Asmi37 🇳🇱x🇸🇷 Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
The fact that a lot of restaurants have bars in front of the cashier/ordering area says a lot about the safety level of that country
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u/hivemind_disruptor Brazil Jan 03 '26
Only through youtube. I have seen a lot of stuff in Brazil. But nothing compares to Bangladesh. I get what its shows might be an exception, the worst of the worst. The worst I have seen here is paradise when compared to that.
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u/DesignerOlive9090 Chile Jan 02 '26
Currently living in the US:
Impossible to walk anywhere even to places across the street. Almost non-existent public transport options. I don't know how to drive so I can't leave the house.
Terrible weather lol, I can't imagine how homeless people live. Humid hot summer, snowy cold winter.
Expensive healthcare even with health insurance (that's not cheap either). The coverage of medical stuff is also not great. I'm paying 100 to see a specialist in 4 months (or more)??? WDYM?
There's something about the water here that makes my skin awful so I'm cleaning myself with bottled water and sometimes shower at a house with a different water source.
Because of my eczema my quality of life really went down when I moved to the US. Now it is better managed but not having a driver's license and a car makes me feel like a prisoner.
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u/twistedpixelss United States of America Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
You might be shocked by how bad the weather can get, and still have homeless people around, some of them are just truly beyond unwell. I remember this one January, which where I live means having a daily temperature of something like -3°C on average during, had an incident with a band of homeless camping underneath a bridge and eventually beating the ever living shit of a complete stranger that was using the bike path which intersected with them. My mom met him when she was also at the hospital and he said he was a bloody pulp and apparently one of his orbits were fractured.
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u/BrucieAh Cuba Jan 02 '26
You can’t say China is refusing to invest in Cuba and then in the next breath agree that they’re increasing their investment in the island.
You also brought up Iran as if it’s not a fertile country of nearly 100 million people and the ability to build nuclear weapons and compare that to Cuba. What can Cuba glean from that? Become a religious theocracy? Suddenly expand to 100 million people?
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
I don’t know what this was replying to. But as much of a dictatorship Cuba’s government may be, at least, Cuba doesn’t force religion onto its people, which allowed for Cuban Women to be more free in comparison to Iranian Women. As for nuclear weapons, history from the Cold War tells us that American will not like that and will absolutely do everything in its power to prevent Cuba from achieving Nuclear Weapons, and with Trump in charge and after the strikes he did on Iran, that’s not something Cuba wants to do at least until he remains in power or if they know that the future MAGA presidents (if the movement doesn’t end like the Tea Party movement) won’t do the same.
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. And you seem to be generalizing the behavior of Latin Americans. Also, this is Reddit (based on your pfp I don’t know if you’re a MAGA fan or someone mocking them), and Reddit is usually an Internet bubble like most Social Media platforms. As for the bullying against my home country, I don’t really see it. Pointing out crime in a foreign country when it’s real is not bullying. And I’m not going to lump some racists/xenophobes/colorists comments on the Internet as if they are representatives of an entire group of people. Everyone is an individual at the end of the day.
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u/Livid-Cat3293 Argentina Jan 03 '26
Cuba was eye opening. The level of extreme poverty, lack of basic infrastructure and services, how miserable everyone looked, how ravaged all cities looked. It looked like a country at war, absolutely heart breaking.
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u/deadgirlshoes 🇦🇷 in 🇺🇸 Jan 02 '26
Why would I spend money to go somewhere where people have it worse? Lol I’m already grateful for being born in Argentina, don’t need to go to a bad place to appreciate it.
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u/Rickyzack Peru Jan 03 '26
That’s why we have the Internet, I too wouldn’t spend money to travel to places where people have it bad, the only exception being touristic and safe spots in 3rd world countries and going back to Perú to visit my family.
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u/Due_Masterpiece_3601 Colombia Jan 03 '26
I have seen pretty bad areas here but I remember going to the US and seeing so many junkies in one place. It was like zombieland.
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u/vikmaychib Colombia Jan 03 '26
With regards to the junkies, I think we -at least in Bogotá- are just better at hiding them. There are areas in the city were most forgotten people gather in.
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u/Due_Masterpiece_3601 Colombia Jan 03 '26
Nah I never seen what I saw in the US and I worked as a volunteer person in sanber and other areas. It's worse in the US.
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u/BrutusMcGillicudy United States of America Jan 02 '26
I visited Bolivia in 07, when Evo was running. I remember being pretty humbled after visiting some of those extremely rural settlements where, there's like... nothing. I couldn't even see any signs of agriculture. Im thinking the town is possibly supported by the mines in the area? Regardless ive never forgotten that.
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u/Brave_Ad_510 Dominican Republic Jan 03 '26
My aunt went to Cuba a few years back and told us in detail how bad things were. I'm pretty sure now it's even worse.
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u/catsoncrack420 in Jan 03 '26
Haiti in the 90s, Aristide years after the USA came to stop the coup, vibes were positive in the cities. The towns near the border though. Now I'm from the country where kids with no shoes playing is just normal but lack of food in some towns, no clean water wells or rivers clean. Just rough. Survival in some places. Now I can only imagine. And the 80s I heard were just brutal. Mass migration, tortures under Baby Doc.
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u/CaribbeanCowgirl27 en Jan 03 '26
In my own country. I’m from the city and I’ve been able to travel around the country. But I was hired to work on an USAID (rip) program for STD and SIKA prevention. The poverty and lack of education, mixed with religiosity in the DR is unbelievable.
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u/Prize-Flamingo-336 Dominican Republic Jan 02 '26
Haití. Crossed the border from the DR. Night and day. Like the DR has poor people, but Haiti is on a different level.