Things I Don't Miss

Driving, and paying for gas. That's for the birds.

Soda made with high fructose corn syrup. I've noticed that soda tastes infinitely better outside the US, I assume because it's made with real cane sugar.

Having to leave my apartment to do laundry, and having to pay for it. Apartments come with their own laundry room and washing machine here.

City noise. In Koreatown, I was constantly bombarded with sounds of car alarms, people yelling or partying, cars honking (or crashing), sirens, and loud music. Here, the only sounds I hear at night are the occasional cats yowling or fighting. In the morning, I sometimes hear the produce trucks with their loudspeaker recordings screaming out what they're selling, but they usually don't start until a little bit before I get up.

Understanding the commercials. They're so much less annoying when you don't know what's being said.

Having to pay utility bills and rent. Here, each month, the amounts for my flat apartment management fee, my cell phone bill, and my internet bill are just taken out of my paycheck. And my rent is free, of course.

Commuting to work. At the job I was working before I came here, I drove 35-40 minutes to and from work each day. Total distance: SIX MILES. Here, I walk to work. It takes three minutes.

Having to talk to other people all the time. I do have to talk all day to my students, which kills me, but other than that, I don't have to converse much. The language barrier has its advantages.

High priced movie tickets. It's not super cheap here, but it's cheaper than in LA. I pay about seven dollars for a ticket here, and I just found out last night, that although they don't seem to have matinee prices here, they do have, let's call them "nuit," prices for late night shows. Only 5 dollars.

Vacuuming.