American lists nine realizations about the United States after 13 years abroad

Evan Edinger arrived in London more than thirteen years ago with plans to study abroad for a short time before returning to the United States. He expected to finish his degree, start a career at home, and settle into a familiar life there. After completing his studies he found himself unwilling to leave and chose to remain instead. He had grown up in New Jersey in a household that kept multiple firearms including a twelve-gauge shotgun, a ten-gauge shotgun, a black powder rifle, and a .410 shotgun. Family members took the children shooting at cans or clay targets and sometimes hunted pheasants or deer. The idea of living without such weapons had seemed unthinkable during his early years. Living in London showed him daily life without widespread gun access. Visits back to places like Philadelphia and New Orleans brought reminders of old concerns about stray bullets and sudden danger that never appeared in his routine in the United Kingdom. That contrast shifted his earlier assumptions about ownership as a necessary right. School lessons in America had presented the national system of government as the model other nations should follow. Time spent observing the parliamentary process in the United Kingdom revealed a different pattern where legislation moved forward without the same repeated blocks between two fixed parties. He came to see that Western European approaches often produced results more steadily even if imperfect. Daily movement in London relied on walking and public transit rather than a personal car. The same pattern held in other European cities and towns he reached by train. Neighborhoods built for foot traffic and cycling made regular exercise a natural part of the day without extra effort or planning. Food rules in Europe limit additives more strictly than those followed by American regulators. Fresh ingredients stayed easy to reach on foot from home, which supported simpler meals. The combination reduced exposure to certain chemicals and encouraged steadier habits compared with conditions back home. Healthcare access followed different structures across Western Europe that avoided many of the gaps familiar in the United States. After more than a decade away Edinger viewed these practical differences as clear outcomes of the choices each society had made.