Things I will miss about America

I wrote this in September last year. But most of it still stands.

Here is a mid term list of things I will miss when we go home:
Maple syrup (real and cheap)
Bagels
Berries (and pick your own farms)
Farm peaches
Access to Smithsonian Museums
Snow (in the street! outside your front door! Making summer worthwhile!)
Easy access to Ikea
LLBean
Free/cheap parking (even at the airport)
College sport
So much to see, without travelling very far! And the country isn't trying to kill you!
Competition in the supermarket industry
Clear delineated seasons, and activities
The space (in this particular area...)

Things I won't miss
Having to sign my life away every time we see a certain medical professional - two pages, initial every paragraph, sign at the bottom...all just to acknowledge that I'm going to pay them.
The underlying tension of existence - having to have enough healthcare, having to save for kids college, school not being the simple, put them in the primary school down the road choice. The pressure to get ahead because the future seems uncertain. Combined with a huge consumer culture that sells you everything and anything. Except contentment, it seems.
Having to pay employer taxes for employing a babysitter (and get an employer number, and withhold federal taxes... all complicated.)
Pavements being intermittent and optional. So you can walk some places, but other places you can walk halfway there and then the pavement runs out.

Things in Australia that I miss
Being able to walk up the road to a friends house (several friends houses, actually). Mostly here, we have to drive.
Understanding the contents of an ingredients list
Understanding all the cultural references that pop up (I have to take notes then walk away and Google some things sometimes)
The smell of eucalyptus trees
Good beaches within driving distance
Proper bread (not soft, not sweet, not with molasses in it...)