[mrtksn]

For Cuba to be fine, UK doesn't need to be bad. I do love the British way of life and the economic and social freedoms in the UK.

My point is that, happiness and life satisfaction are not tied to the abundance of consumer goods. When you are sad you don't have to buy something, it's alright to have a few options and your happiness level doesn't need to change by your next purchase. You can experience that in Cuba.

[perl4ever]

I honest-to-God don't know how you live, and what it is you get away from in Cuba.

I've been to NYC a couple of times.

Things I got there (in more than one trip):

   a terrible pretzel from a street vendor (cold and *wet*)
   a *fantastic* cup of coffee at a cafe where I was meeting someone
   a bowl of lentil soup (surprisingly very cheap)
   some chicken lo mein, about the same price and exactly the same generic dish as anywhere I've been in the US, except perfectly executed, really fresh and hot
   a chicken souvlaki pita, one of the best, although the place (in Queens) smelled kinda like urine

As you can see, everything that was memorable consumer-wise was cheap food. I didn't have any expensive meals or buy any "consumer goods" that I recall.