Here Are Some of the Most Wholesome Things That Happened Last Decade

It’s been a long 10 years, but a lot of great things have happened along the way. A lot of wholesome things that put a smile on our face and made us remember that the good will always outshine the bad.

Here are some incredibly wholesome things from the 2010s that you might have missed!

1. Mom is back home from Afghanistan.

2. Help from a stranger.

View post on imgur.com

3. A very kind act.

View post on imgur.com

4. Best friends forever.

Photo Credit: Tumblr

5. Help each other out!

View post on imgur.com

6. This is all for me?

Photo Credit: Tumblr

7. This cat was very excited when this soldier came home.

8. Meet me “deer” friends.

Photo Credit: Tumblr

9. Of course we can!

10. That is great!

11. This kid is going places.

12. Adorable.

13. An ongoing Tinder joke.

Photo Credit: Tinder

14. This is a nice story.

Ahhhhhh, that’s better! I love me some good wholesomeness!

How did the last decade treat you? Share some high points with us in the comments!

We’d love to hear from you.

The post Here Are Some of the Most Wholesome Things That Happened Last Decade appeared first on UberFacts.

Toucans Are Really Weird and People Are Sharing Facts About Them on Tumblr

Birds totally freak me out. They’re a little too smart, their beaks a tad too sharp…they’re just too much like dinosaurs for my liking.

That said, I have no trouble admitting that they’re interesting, and fun facts are business, so…here are some things you probably didn’t know about toucans.

You’re going to be glad you read through these, I promise.

First, this Tumblr thread that just can’t get over how big their beaks really are (and also, how they sleep omg).

https://worriedaboutmyfern.tumblr.com/post/171023585676

Then, let’s move on to the fact that their beaks are used as cooling mechanisms. What even?

Toucan’s bill has a network of blood vessels and expand them to cool down its body temperature — just like the elephants use their big ears from r/Awwducational

Who doesn’t love babies? ONLY MONSTERS.

Toucans have a courtship ritual that involves throwing and catching berries to each other with their beaks from Awwducational

Baby Toucan Bird from interestingasfuck

This is why they can fly with that enormous beak:

Image Credit: Blogspot

Seriously, that’s so weird!

An X-rayed toucan’s beak from interestingasfuck

Here’s a bonus photo of this “opportunistic omnivore” actually fishing. Sometimes I guess you just get a hankering for meat!

Image Credit: Wikipedia

I promised weird and random, and did I deliver, or what?

Did we leave anything out? Are you enamored with toucans now? Tell us about it below!

The post Toucans Are Really Weird and People Are Sharing Facts About Them on Tumblr appeared first on UberFacts.

People Share the Dark Secrets in Their Families

There are some crazy families out there, and then there are THESE families.

When people ask questions on AskReddit, you know you’re going to get some juicy tidbits, but I don’t think you’re prepared for exactly how juicy it’s gonna get!

Ready? Set? Share!

1. An On-Purpose Accident

“My uncle was pissed at my dad once, and decided to poke holes in all of his condoms. He was dating my mother at the time, and that is how I came about. I wasn’t supposed to know, but my uncle told me once when he was drunk. I am thankful he did it, but that was a pretty douche move.”

2. “Not table conversation”

“We had a family Christmas dinner a few years ago where my aunt and uncles from both sides were staying over at our house. There were probably 10 or 11 of us at the dinner table, and everyone is getting along well like we always do. My cousin, around 14 or 15 at the time, brings up something about how he laid a massive poop earlier that day. The kids laugh and the adults were like ‘that’s not table conversation.’ Then I jump in and say ‘haha yea, there’s things we don’t talk at the dinner table, like politics and illegitimate children.’ Every adult at the table drops their eyes to their plate and goes silent. I’m sitting there like uhhhh, what in the Woody Allen movie is so awkward about all this .

What I didn’t know is that my uncle had an illegitimate child many years ago and thats always been a point of contention between my aunt and him. They also had been arguing about that earlier in the day, and all the adults knew it. Hahah man, that was jokes. But seriously though, never make jokes about illegitimate children unless you are absolutely sure no one has one.”

3. Family Tree

“I recently learned that my mother is the child of an affair. And that my grandfather was illegitimate royal blood from Russia.”

4. “Pet name”

“My family is mostly Portuguese. It used to be completely so, but my paternal grandfather married a French woman. All my life my grandfather called her something in Portuguese that I couldn’t understand. Last year at Thanksgiving I found out it meant ‘The French Whore.’ My grandfather’s parents hated her and called her that. My grandfather decided to own it and made it a pet name.”

5. Piano

“I found out that my mom had an affair with my piano teacher. Not sure that my dad even knows…”

6. “Haunted her till the day she died”

“I am named after my great aunt. I was told by my mother and my grandmother that she died a few years before I was born in a terrible motorcycle accident. I was also told never to bring up my great aunt’s name around my great grandmother as the loss of her daughter still troubled her. Understandable. Nothing was ever mentioned or said and I grew up understanding only the barest of details about her and her passing. A little odd to not know much about the person I was named after, but, whatever.

When I was 24, my great grandmother passed away. At the meal after her wake, my great uncle gets drunk and starts letting all the family secrets fly out.

In passing, he mentioned my great aunt’s suicide and everyone at the table solemnly nodded their heads, except for me. ‘What suicide?’ I asked, ‘Gran told me she died in a motorcycle accident.’

‘Yeah, that was the cover story,’ he replied, ‘Your great grandmother was too embarrassed to tell anyone what really happened and she had to explain the closed-casket at her daughter’s funeral.’

I came to find out my great aunt was a lesbian and in love with a woman from her university. The other woman felt the same way and they hatched plans to figure out a way to be together without their parents knowing. When my great grandmother discovered their plans, she went mental and sent my great aunt half way across the country to separate the two. Little did she know that both women had made a suicide pact that if this were to happen, they would shoot themselves in the head, which they did. My great grandmother, in her homophobia, caused two young women, in love, to kill themselves.Apparently she never forgave herself for what she did and it haunted her till the day she died.

After I found out the truth, I was first incredulous that my entire family had lied to me about the origin of my name, and second, I was deeply disturbed that to ease my great grandmother’s guilt and shame everyone accepted the lie.

Since then, I tell as many people the truth as are willing to listen so that my great aunt’s memory is served. Which is why I am posting this here. Every year since I found out, I have attended Pride. I donate to LGBT charities. I volunteer for LGBT organizations. All in her memory. If certain resources and volunteer organizations existed then as they do now, I might have a totally awesome, motorcycle-riding, great aunt to hang out with.”

7. Cross-Country Move

“The only reason my family is in California instead of New York is because my dad’s father wanted to follow his mistress (which nobody knew about until he died) to California, so he uprooted his entire family and made them move over here.”

8. Hungarian is a weird language

“All this time my family thought that my weird Hungarian last name meant ‘boat builder.’

Well, recently we were enlightened to learn that the closest meaning is actually ‘man who goes around the village at night and picks up the poop buckets from doorsteps.’

9. “Dad doesn’t know”

“My dad doesn’t know that I know that I have two younger brothers and a sister.

I’m also trying to look for them.”

10. Mental Institution

“My grandfather had a younger brother who was mentally disabled.

He pretty much took care of this brother completely until he was about 18, when he left for college. He came back and the brother had been put in a mental institution for months/years. No one had told my grandfather.

My mother only recently found out about him.”

11. Passing

“My dad recently told me a family story of one of his older, distant relatives; we’ll call her Jill. This all happened some 70 years ago, a good 20 years before my father was born. It’s a bit unclear what actually happened, but I’ll try my best to piece it together.

Jill was a ‘plain’ looking girl who was raised on a small, country farm. Being a bit of a quiet tomboy, she didn’t go to school, but took care of the farm’s horses instead.

One day in her teenage years, Jill was in the stables when something spooked one of the horses. It reared up and kicked Jill in the face. Since there was very limited medical surgery, she ended up somewhat disfigured and scarred. She withdrew from much of society and lived solely on the farm as a hermit.

Years of isolation pass and one day, Jill vanishes.

Perhaps her immediate family knew, but no extended family were ever told what happened. That is it, until they were notified of her death four years later. You see it turns out, Jill had run away and enlisted in the army. She had fought overseas in WWII, and had been killed.

Now that might not seem like much of a story, but keep in mind that only men fought in WWII. Jill had somehow managed to pose as a man for four years in the army without being detected, and it was her death that gave her away.

Considering the rest of my family history isn’t very exciting, I think it’s a pretty cool story.”

12. “And they all came to visit”

“So my grandfather is roughly 80 and has five kids (one of which is my father) all ranging from ages 40-50. Well about three years ago, he had a knock on the door, and it turns out that he had a family before he met my grandmother in Iowa and never told anyone.

He had married his first wife in California when he was sent out there in the Navy, and had two or three kids with her. He went and got himself deployed, and she apparently left with the kids while he was gone. Being the mid 1900s, he never found them, so he went on a cross country trip to New York for some reason. Luckily for me, he met my grandmother and had five kids, never telling anyone about his former life. From what we understood he graduated school, went into the Navy after working on some farm for a couple years, and tried to go to New York before getting snagged by my grandma in Iowa.

Well while he was doing this, apparently wife #1 was moving around the country as well, and every couple years, put those kids in adoption, busted them out of adoption, had three more kids from three different dads, but kept my grandpas same last name. So one of the original first kids went on a mission to find my grandpa, found him, and they all came to visit.”

13. Film Hobby

An ex of mine was telling me that her father made films as a hobby of sorts and he actually had some success on the indie horror cult classic scene.

So one day I was bored and decided to Google his name and found a bunch of his films. In most of them, the main character was my ex’s mother and she had at least one full frontal nudity scene in each.

She was pretty attractive and I’m open-minded about nudity anyways, but I have to say I felt a little weird when I watched one of the sex scenes between the mother and the father.

I couldn’t look her in the eyes after that point.

14. “It was looked down upon”

“This happened in May of this year. I have a sister who is four years older than me and a half-brother who is 14 years older than me (from a different father).

My aunt, my mom’s sister, sent out an email to the entire family that vented about 60 years of hatred toward my mother. Right at the end of the email, my aunt clearly indicated that my mom had another kid that no one knew about and had given the kid up for adoption. Huge news to my family who knew nothing about this.

I asked my mom about this and found out that the father of the kid was my brother’s dad, but my mom and him weren’t married when this happened 45~ years ago, so it was looked down upon by others. My mom eventually married my brother’s father and had him, but that was a few years later. After they got a divorce, she got married to my dad about 8 years later.”

15. “Horse people”

“I found out that one of my ancestors was exiled from Russia for challenging an army officer to a duel (with swords) and winning. My ancestor worked in the czar’s stable, and the argument arose when the army officer insisted on riding my ancestor’s horse. The horse threw him off and the army officer shot it.

We’ve always been horse people.”

Oh my… that last one… what would you think if you saw somebody nude and they didn’t know you saw them? I’m guessing that the woman wouldn’t care AT ALL because she made her living doing it.

But we want to know what you think? Let us know in the comments, fam!

The post People Share the Dark Secrets in Their Families appeared first on UberFacts.

Try to Solve These 5 Tricky Riddles

Ready to riddle?

Riddles are a great way to keep your mind fresh, make sure you’ve still got it, or just semi-productively pass the time. Whatever your reason for wanting to solve a few, we think these 5 tricky ones are going to be just what the brain doctor ordered!

5. Don’t soil the produce!

4. Short on cash.

3. Choosing a barbershop.

2. An uplifting riddle.

1. Pick your poison.

Continue reading to check your answers!

People Share Why They’re Still Married, Even Though They’re Not in Love With Their Partners

Relationships can be very tough. They are a lot of work and when you’re in one, you go through many phases and emotions. In short, it’s a bit like a roller coaster ride but with your emotions and very slow.

And sometimes, you fall out of love with someone but you stay with them anyway.

Folks on AskReddit shared their stories about why they stuck with people even though they weren’t in love with them anymore.

1. So I stay…

“I honestly don’t know. Because it’s been more than 25 years and it’s just easier to live as roommates than to go my own way, even though in a lot of ways that would be easier.

Additionally, she would be royally fucked in so many ways. No real income, no place to really go. She wouldn’t be able to afford a nice place. I’d be perfectly fine but she’d be in a world of hurt. I don’t necessarily love her but I don’t hate her enough to do that to her.

So I stay.”

2. Sounds like a disaster.

“She had me convinced everything was either normal or my fault. Then she cheated and is playing the victim because I read some of her messages after I found out she lied. Now it takes a year to divorce where I live so technically still married for a year… Anyone reading this for personal reasons…Just get out.”

3. We don’t mesh.

“We have a special needs daughter, who doesn’t talk. Until she’s able to tell me that something happened and she can understand more complex ideas and situations, there’s no way I’m putting her in someone else’s hands.

My husband and I just don’t mesh, he doesn’t like me and I don’t like him. For the most part we can get along and even have fun doing things together with our daughter. But we haven’t been intimate in years. We’re both in our late 30’s. And we reasonably don’t have family to help.

Although once she starts going to school full time, I believe I will have more options to do something financially productive with my time.”

4. Manipulation.

“I’m thankfully not in this relationship anymore, but out of fear that he’d do something to hurt himself. He threatened to do it when I first brought up that I wasn’t happy in the relationship, and he became incredibly manipulative.”

5. Feeling guilty.

“I was the one super in love. I don’t think he was. Once every 4 or 5 months, we’d have some sort of discussion. The last time, it was that he didn’t know if what we had was love. I should have seen that as a warning. But I convinced him to stay with me after an hour discussion.

I think he felt guilty. I stayed with him through suicide attempts, drug induced psychosis, and moved countries for him. I imagine he felt an incredible amount of guilt, and stayed with me because of that. I think he cared for my well being maybe. But he wasn’t in love. And it’s painfully obvious now that I’m out of the relationship.”

6. Together they’ll stay…

“My brother can’t stand his wife, hasn’t really been in love with her since about a year before their wedding. He talks about divorce to me when we’re alone but he’ll never do it. He thinks he’ll never meet anyone else being 32 with no social life. Plus there’s a strong possibility she might kill herself if they broke up, or at least attempt it. So together they’ll stay. I just hope they don’t bring kids in to it.”

7. Terrified to leave.

“I was in a pretty bad relationship when I was younger. I stayed because I thought nobody else would love me. He was incredibly abusive and would remind all the time that if I left nobody would ever care about me or love me like he does.

I was just so terrified to leave, what if he was right? It’s been almost ten years since that relationship and I’m happy to report that he was wrong, although it’s taken a lot of work to realize that and I still have fleeting moments of doubt.”

8. Building a life together…even if it’s ugly.

“Years back I was in a relationship with a woman who abused me physically, sexually and otherwise. And I did not love her, not for the last year or so when the abuse got bad. So why did I stay if it was so bad?

Well, unfortunately—and this is true for abusive relationship as well as for mundane loveless relationships—people get wound up together and then it becomes very difficult to imagine your life without them, even if it’s not a good life. I guess people are better at surviving the current hardship than breaking away into the unknown. There’s a lot more to my story, and everyone story has its own details.

But I think that’s the basic answer. You build a life with someone, it gets hard to throw that life away.”

9. Mutually beneficial.

“Neither of us experience attraction but we still care deeply for each other. He’s my best friend!

Also the marriage was mutually beneficial.”

10. Jackpot! Maybe not…

“In my first relationship I thought I had scored the jackpot. I was young and he was young and jacked and smart. He over glorified himself and I just couldn’t see that. I looked up to him as a god, mainly because he kept saying I was bad at my studies and cooking and basically everything that I love to do.

I thought I would never get someone better so thus I stayed. I thought I loved him, I thought that was what love was, but I was just proud that I had gotten someone “so amazing.” I was stupid.”

11. Makes sense.

“I loved her dog.”

12. Fear and loathing.

“I’m no longer with them. But was with her for 8 years. I never loved her but stayed because of a combination of self loathing and she relied on me for everything so I was afraid of what would happen if I left.

Also financially I couldn’t live on my own. But I bit the bullet anyway because I can figure out the rest and staying with her was only stunting her ability to learn how to be an adult.”

13. Finally came to your senses.

“I was afraid he’d kill himself because he was so depressed so I waited till he was a bit better mentally.

The second was more of a roller-coaster. I waited 5 months before breaking up because so many things came up. I didn’t want him to think I was obsessed with the number 3 so I couldn’t break up after 3 months. Then it was summer break so I couldn’t see him and i wanted to do it in person. Then his birthday. Then Christmas! I finally broke up in Jan….. And then get back in April because I genuinely fell for him again. We lasted 3 years before I realized I was the only one putting any effort into staying in the relationship and finally broke it off for good.”

14. Ready to be single…

“I love but I’m not in love with my girlfriend anymore. We moved in together too soon. I knew better and did it anyway.

We are completely incompatible living together I’m angry everyday at tons of stuff. But I’m not gonna throw her out cause I do care so I’m helping her save to get her own place and we are playing couple in the interim but I am so ready to live alone and be single again.”

15. Taking care of her.

“She’d probably be homeless. I’ve been trying to help her become more independent and responsible so I can find a clean exit strategy. Interestingly if she had those qualities maybe there would still be some attraction. No one wants an adult child to take care of.”

The post People Share Why They’re Still Married, Even Though They’re Not in Love With Their Partners appeared first on UberFacts.

Ford Created a Noise-Cancelling Kennel to Protect Dogs From Fireworks Noise

I hate to see how upset and nervous dogs get while fireworks are blasting away on the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve (and sometimes on other occasions depending on where you live).

The loud bangs can scare dogs badly and sometimes it seems like nothing will calm them back down. Well, hopefully that will change if/when this prototype noise-cancelling dog kennel from Ford hits the market.

The car company took noise-cancelling technology from their cars and put it into the dog kennel prototype. According to reports, “The kennel, like many high-end headphones, is outfitted with microphones that detect loud noises and cue the speakers to pipe in sound-canceling frequencies.” Ford says that noise is reduced to a level that ensures dogs won’t become upset.

For now, Ford’s people are saying that they built the kennel to show customers how the noise-cancelling technologies in their cars can be used in everyday life. But Anthony Ireson, director of marketing and communications for Ford Europe, said, “If there’s enough interest, we’ll explore the technology.”

It seems like a lot of people are really into the idea of buying this kind of kennel for their dogs.

We love our pets like family, so it’s only natural that a product designed to help ease their fears and anxiety would eventually hit the market.

Here’s a video showing the kennel in action.

Hopefully, this prototype will become available to the public to purchase sooner than later.

What do you think? Would you buy one of these for your pooch?

Let us know in the comments!

The post Ford Created a Noise-Cancelling Kennel to Protect Dogs From Fireworks Noise appeared first on UberFacts.

You Should Treat Yourself to Something off the “Friends” Secret Starbucks Menu

If you’re of a certain age, then you probably remember what life was like before you could watch a television show any ol’ time you felt like it – and for a lot of us, Thursday was the best night of the week to settle in front of the tube.

Chandler, Monica, Joey, Ross, Rachel, and Phoebe were a big part of our lives for over a decade, so if you’re someone who will always equate Thursday with the very best television, well, Starbucks has a little something to help you celebrate – a secret, Friends-themed menu.

Saw this at a local starbucks, super cute! from starbucks

Okay, okay fine – it’s not one of their official secret menus, but baristas all over the country are sharing their love for Friends and the characters on it by taking the time to craft specific drinks to compliment each one. Photos and posts have been popping up all over social media, leaving many of us to wonder just what we’re missing.

Here’s how to find out for yourself, by making a few simple tweaks to Starbuck’s regular menu offerings.

The Ross is a Flat White, or a Blonde Flat White, which are both “predictable, yet sophisticated” offerings. I’m not sure I would describe Ross as the latter, but I think he thinks he’s the latter, so I suppose that works.

This is such a cool idea! from starbucks

If you want to try a Monica, go for a Nitro Cold Brew or a black coffee with an extra shot of espresso because our girl only has one speed, and it’s constant.

A Joey is either a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino with added White Chocolate Mocha Sauce or a Cap’n Crunk Frappuccino, which is part of Starbucks’ regular “unofficial” menu.

If Chandler is your speed, well, get ready to rev up with a Starbucks Doubleshot or a Salted Caramel Mocha.

Ordering the Phoebe means asking for a Coconutmilk Green Tea Latte, unless it’s fall, when you could go for the simple but true Pumpkin Spice Latte.

And our complicated, high-maintenance girl Rachel is going to need a Caramel Macchiato with added espresso, the iced version of the same drink, or even one “upside down,” which I am genuinely going to try.

One store in Ontario is even touting a “Friends Frappuccino,” which is inspired (according to the store’s manager) by the purple of Monica’s apartment and the iconic orange couch in the coffee shop. As best we can tell, it’s a Raspberry Creme Frappuccino blended with a scoop of dragonfruit and ringed with Pumpkin Sauce.

It really seems like you can’t go wrong – you’ve got an array of Starbuck’s typically delicious drinks to choose from, tweaked so you can pretend your favorite Friend would love to have it with you.

What could be more delicious, or more fun?

The post You Should Treat Yourself to Something off the “Friends” Secret Starbucks Menu appeared first on UberFacts.

You Might Not Realize These Phrases and Actions Are Seen as Microaggressions to the Disabled Community

Listen up, people.

When we know better, we do better. And to know better, we have to listen when marginalized communities tell us that something is offensive, hurtful, dismissive, or all of the above.

So read through this list of 14 phrases that can be taken as ableist, then do your best to remove them from your vocabulary – it won’t hurt you to quit using them, but it might hurt another person’s feelings if you choose not to.

Easy decision, no?

14. Why on earth would anyone think this is okay?

13. Promise.

12. That last one, though.

11. Maybe they just think the other person is awesome?

10. I want to shout this from the rooftops.

9. None of these are at all helpful.

8. Maybe just skip the labels.

7. They’re not there so you can have a moment.

6. This makes me sick to my stomach.

5. Stop thinking fair and equal are the same thing.

4. Strictly speaking, vegetables aren’t that helpful of a suggestion any time.

3. I promise it’s not Jesus.

2. Chances are they realize that fact already.

1. It’s not “nice.” And while we’re at it, neither is saying “I don’t see color.”

Now that you know better, do better!

The post You Might Not Realize These Phrases and Actions Are Seen as Microaggressions to the Disabled Community appeared first on UberFacts.

People Who Were Obsessed With a City or Country Share How They Felt About It After Moving There

Have you ever been totally obsessed with a place, but you had never been there? Like you had some totally romantic and idealized version of what it would be like even though you’d never been there?

I felt this way about New York City when I was growing up. I finally went for the first time when I was 21, and I did – and still do – love it, so no big letdown there for me.

But for some folks, the places they’ve fetishized in their minds don’t turn out to be so wonderful.

In this AskReddit thread, people discuss how they feel about the places they were obsessed with that they actually moved to. If you’ve ever done this, tell us about your experience in the comments.

1. At least the summer is nice.

“Into the Wild was my introduction to Alaska. I’m from the tropics.

Met an Alaskan man.

Visited in the summer. Loved it!

Married the Alaskan man.

Moved in the summer after.

Finally found out what an interior Alaskan winter was like.

Hated it, but husband will not move.

Became a reverse Persephone, my cold-weathered husband sends me back to the land of hot weather for a month of the year.

Still completely in love with the Alaskan summer.”

2. A mixed bag.

“Paris, France. I studied French for a long time and eventually moved here to do my master’s degree. I do love the city itself – always something to do, amazing museums/art/culture/architecture – and even though like all cities it can be crowded/dirty sometimes, I still enjoy it. The thing that gets me is how hard it is to get to know and become friends with the French (Parisians in particular).

They are perfectly polite but if I didn’t have a strong foreign student friend community here it would be much more difficult. There are always exceptions of course – I have a handful of good French friends – but a big factor in why I don’t think I can stay in Paris in the long term to settle down (maybe somewhere else in France would be better) is that the coldness can really wear you down. That, and also the bureaucracy. It’s unreal.”

3. Living the dream.

“I dreamed of living in NYC as a teen. I was drawn to the theater, the fashion, the excitement. Now I’ve been living in NYC for about 13 years, basically my entire adult life, and I still love it but my appreciation has changed. A lot of the things that initially attracted me require lots of money, but I’ve discovered so many new things and met so many wonderful people that I don’t miss the loss of that fantasy. I still feel a thrill when I go running over one of the bridges and see the skyline.

I love not driving, and being able to find practically any food or specialty shop I want. I am very plugged into the arts here and love to go to live music, readings, lectures, art shows, and performances, so many of which can be enjoyed for little or no money!

I definitely see how city life doesn’t appeal to many people but whenever I think of leaving I can’t imagine anywhere I might like better.”

4. The good and the bad.

“I’m a small town Midwesterner who really romanticized California (particularly coastal California.) I had the opportunity to move there right after college and it was probably one of the best decisions I’d ever made.

Things I liked: the weather was always perfect (even on rainy days, the temperature was still mild.) There was always something to do. There were so many different beaches and I never got tired of seeing the ocean. I did more hiking in the first year I lived there than I’d ever done in my home state. Lots of good shows and music around the Santa Cruz and SF area. SO MANY GOOD RESTAURANTS. Plus, it felt good to go back to my tiny ass town and tell people I moved to California.

Things I disliked: It’s expensive. The traffic is as bad as they say. There also seems to be an air of ignorance with (not all, but some) people native to the area. For instance, when I told people I was from Iowa, someone asked if we had electricity and running water, another person chimed in that they had a cousin who lived in Montana (which is no where even close to Iowa,) and most people had no idea where to even find Iowa on a map. When you’re from a fly over state, you automatically learn which are the “superior” states because they get a lot of coverage in media and entertainment.”

5. Won’t live there again.

“I’m an American, was a serious Irish dancer my whole childhood. I also play music. I wanted to move to Ireland and go to university there — and I did. Overall, it was a great experience especially in terms of local music / dancing and opportunities to learn more. But also I hated my degree program and ended up studying abroad and then transferring to a school in Canada, where I’m much better settled. I still pinch my pennies to go back to Ireland and visit my friends and stuff, but I’d never ever live there long term again.

Also, I hate cold rainy weather and have asthmatic reactions to mold, so Ireland’s climate was actively trying to kill me the entire time I was there. Good times. No regrets, but also wouldn’t repeat.”

6. The Big Easy.

“New Orleans is deeper and broader than I imagined. 20 years later I have no regrets, only memories that I reflect upon and smile. When I tell stories I have to leave things out, because the reality is unbelievable.”

7. Not in love with London.

“Moved to London with stars in my eyes. A year later, all I think now is how is no one speaks to each other and there’s pigeons everywhere.”

8. Seoul.

“Seoul, South Korea!

It’s my first experience in a big city, and I’m not disappointed! Public transportation is great, food is amazing… i eat a lot of Japanese food here tbh. Depending on where you are in the city, night life is crazy. And i find the older parts of the city to be absolutely beautiful. I know for those born and raised in the system it’s a whole different story, but for a 20 year old foreign student, i can say it’s not half bad.

As far as the negatives go however, the lack of nature can be hugely depressing, i pay $400 a month for a 50 sq ft room, dining alone can be difficult, and there’s always trash everywhere in the streets. Honestly though I think i had a decent grip on reality before coming here. People expect these places to be like an instagram-esque dream world. But at the end of the day, it’s just another place you wake up, do your groceries and pay your bills in. All that fun real life stuff.”

9. Finland = Paradise.

“It was Finland for me. Rather weird country to obsess about, but I started learning the language in high school and fell in love with the culture. Went there for an exchange and was shocked at how close to paradise it was! Beautiful nature, friendly and helpful people, good-quality food and more humane pace of life. It helped that I lived with a wonderful host family in a small town – the people you meet are a huge part of your experience in a place. Best part was getting to learn more Finnish!”

10. Spoiled it…

“Hawai’i. It is absolutely gorgeous. Had land there and spent time there during the downturn.

The tourist thing wears off though, and although it is still an absolutely gorgeous place, the cost of living, the corruption in government, and seemingly like every contractor is trying to rip you off spoiled it for me as a long term relocation.”

11. The old country.

“Not as popular but Greece. My maternal grandparents are Greek. It’s a big loud friendly group and had been my entire life. I had a several month long gap before grad school and a great aunt willing to house me so I moved to Patras. The first few weeks were wonderful I did all the tourist things then I realized how forced all of it was. You can’t just ever have a friend over it has to be a major production.

The food was wonderful but every contractor or small business I interacted with took it at a point of pride to tack on added fees or try to scam me. I was stolen from multiple times. The older people particularly the men had no personal boundaries at all and their wives would hand wave off anything. Everything public that wasn’t intended for tourists was falling to pieces. It was just very sad considering how proud I had been of my Greek roots until then.”

12. Everything they wanted it to be.

“Seattle WA. Spent my first 30 years living up and down the eastern seaboard from PA to GA. I was in grad school in SC and inexplicably Seattle just popped in my head one day – no trigger or anything. For the last 6 months of school (2003) it just consumed me – sight unseen I needed to be there. So that’s what I did. Got my degree, packed up my car with no job, place to live or contacts and drove to Seattle.

It could very well be a self-fulfilling prophecy but it was everything I wanted it to be. The city has changed quite a bit with the Amazon explosion but I’m glad I got to live some “old Seattle”. There’s still plenty of treasure to be mined. Sure the luster is gone but I have a family now and still love to explore the city with my daughter. All my old haunts are gone but the fun now is finding new haunts! It’s what we make of it.”

13. Chicago is a great city!

“Probably not a city that people dream about moving to but for me, Chicago. I loved Chicago from age 6 (saw Ferris Bueller), visited a couple times, loved it even more and then moved here three years ago. It feels like home, I absolutely love it here. Sure the winters can suck but I appreciate the nicer days so much more.”

14. New Zealand is A-OK!

“I wanted to go to New Zealand since I was ten and my best friend moved there, I finally went when I was 25 and got a 1-year working visa. It was awesome, I met my husband there, and saw my old friend again.

It’s still great, I would live there if they’d have me!”

15. Doh!

“Tampa, FL. I’m from the Midwest and we ALWAYS associate Florida with spring break and the beach and happy fun times…

Turns out I live an hour from the beach, traffic is the WORST (largest US city without a commuter rail), and the humidity is always 110% and about to kill me. You can’t really be outside and it sucks.

Edit: because first of all I came back after work to a billion notifications, who knew Tampa would get this much conversation started?

AND SECOND OF ALL because someone remind me about THE DRIVING and I just have to add that to this comment that the driving is the wwwwoooorrrrssttt maybe even worse than humidity, read my comment below for passionate rage about pulling over for emergency vehicles (or the lack thereof I suppose).”

The post People Who Were Obsessed With a City or Country Share How They Felt About It After Moving There appeared first on UberFacts.

Throughout South London, there are…

Throughout South London, there are large sections of fence made out of WWII stretchers. These stretchers were used by civil authorities to transport the injured during the Blitz. They are what remain of the 600,000 built for the city during the war.