Expat Tip – What to Eat Before You Leave the USA

I am going to Florida this month for this first time since I moved abroad over a year ago and I am so excited! I get to see my friends and family, soak in the sunny weather, go to the beach, wear skimpy clothes and eat alllll the food! So for other soon to be expats, here is my list of places & foods I’m going to stuff my face with while back in the States, so you’ll know what to eat before you leave the USA

You can tell this is a Floridian’s list, but most apply more widely.

• Fish Tacos! They don’t exist in Europe.
• American Chinese food – They have really good real Chinese food in the Netherlands.
• All the Mexican food – Literally cannot find good, authentic Mexican food here.
• Key Lime Pie – Closest thing in Europe is lemon tarts.
• Fried Chicken – In Europe you can only get this at KFC.
• American Style BBQ – In Europe, they’re missing the good sides like mac & cheese, cornbread, and extra BBQ sauce.
• Sandwiches – They are good here, but totally different.
• Meatball Subs – The kind you get at a pizza place.
• Bagels – They have them here but it’s rare to find a good one. We have them delivered from New York!

And specifically these places

• Jimmy Johns – Seriously, you can’t get sandwiches like this in Europe.
• Publix Subs – For the Floridians.
• Panera – They don’t have easy, yummy lunch places like this.
• Chick-fil-a – I haven’t found a really delicious chicken sandwich in Europe.
• Chipotle – They have a similar place in the Netherlands called Salsa Shop, but it’s just not the same.
• Dominos – I was craving my favorite college cuisine and they have it here, but it’s not at all the same.
• Five Guys – They have really good burgers here, but not the greasy semi-fast food tasting ones.

If you’re a fan of Starbucks, McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Dunkin Donuts, or Papa Johns, you can get this is Europe!

I also have an embarrassing list of the things I’m going to stock up on at the grocery store in the U.S.

I’m sure I’ll have more to add to this list when I get back from Florida. I will definitely be obsessing over everything I eat there.

What foods do you think you would miss if moved abroad? Tell me in the comments so I can make sure to eat it!