[milch]

IME there is a large difference in quality in what is available at the super market. Sure I can do a once a year road trip to Monterey. The average organic heirloom tomato at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's is worse than the average organic heirloom tomato at Spar

[raddan]

There are also huge regional differences. When I interned one summer in the Bay Area I was stunned by the quality of the fruit available in California. I realized that, coming from Massachusetts, I had literally never experienced ripe versions of these things before (avocados stand out prominently in my mind).

That’s not to say that we can’t get amazing fruit in Massachusetts, but the selection is quite different. Apples, blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries are all fantastic. Oranges, peaches, sweet cherries, avocados, and many other things are mediocre at best. Getting great in-season fruit and produce is the primary reason why I now have a very large garden, but I need to temper my expectations even for some of the things I grow. Outside of a farmer’s market, this is the ONLY way to get a decent tomato in Massachusetts.

[hn_acc1]

Agreed that fruit selection is very region-dependent. I grew up in the great lakes area - and we had super juicy peaches every summer. I have yet to find ONE peach in California in 20 years that measured up. Even when they're "ripe" and somewhat juicy, the texture is still rough/coarse and severely lacking in flavor.

[raddan]

The Midwest also has tart cherries which are quite wonderful! Except the tree in my own yard, I rarely encounter these outside the Midwest. If you want a great cherry pie, tart cherries are the way.

[quotz]

I was buying the "flavor-bombs" cherry-tomatoes-type varieties, they were the most expensive at like $6-ish per lbs, and even these had less flavor than the average cheap tomato in my native country during summer :D

[kstrauser]

Maybe so, but I’d still think it’s more convenient to occasionally visit a local farmers market than to move to another continent.

[quotz]

I was living in NYC. The farmers markets I visited were a joke. The produce was double the price, and it was more of a "lifestyle" decision to go to a farmers market and post on instagram rather than actually do shopping there. In my native country, farmers markets are default, most people do their produce shopping there, and the farmers markets are found everywhere.

[Jensson]

Moving back to your home continent is easier than staying at a foreign continent though, so if the new continent was worse you of course leave and go back.