The problem in the US is that besides English, you might be exposed to some Spanish. And not much else unless you seek it out. Or have immigrant friends. Without consistent practice, and some more native speakers, any learned language just rots away.
I learned German for several years in college. It was fun. Went to a local brewhouse with my classmates and talked in simple german while we had dinner, it was a good time. Now, other than my own attempts at saving my whithered skill, and a couple bedtime songs for my kids, I don't use it.
And even when I was better at it, using it as a tourist in germany was moderately helpful, but it wouldn't have been nearly enough skill to pass any kind of immigration language proficiency exams.
Speak for yourself. Love and miss that cooler, predictable weather. Sick of this shit where I send my kids to school in 30 degree weather and pick them up in 70-80 degree weather. ALSO...IT. FUCKEN. WIMDY. And to top it off stank ass Bradford pears spaffing into the breeze through spring and summer. Oh and lots of tornados every year. Oklahoma weather is bullshit.
Yup, I always hit FDroid first. I often look at alternatives to apps as well. I ditched Swiftkey as I mentioned. I've switched to organic maps for mapping but I hit the google maps website for business info. And lastly I'll go to Aurora.
Not the person you asked, but fellow Graphene user here. I don't whole ass into everything so I still grab a few things from the play store, but I use Aurora instead of play. The details on apps and ability to install older versions of apps is fantastic.
I honestly haven't run into a con yet. It's been equally or more stable than even AOSP for me so far. I've been on it for several months now.
Maybe one con might be that a non savvy user won't know what to do with everything. Even if they don't though, there is so much that's just default in support of privacy and security they will be miles better on Graphene than on another platform.
I did decide to find a few alternative apps to replace ones I had used previously. Finding an alternative keyboard to swiftkey was the biggest pain but worth it. I got Heliboard and installed a swiping library and once I got the dimensions of the board dialed in it has been an excellent replacement.
Man...tons but I'll just pick a few. (OK a few turned into a lot anyways)
Music:
Driveways (lots of heavy Blink 182 influence)
Shiny Toy Guns (Especially the first album)
Lauren Babic (Started with YouTube but my favorite female vocalist)
Dream State (Before CJ Gilpin left, new singer is men for me)
Tash Sultana (Flow state was fantastic)
Like roses (Splenetic is my favorite song feel like they just need a big break to get big)
Savlonic (Started as a joke band, became really solid)
Movie/Show:
Blood Machines (Music by Carpenter Brut, whole short film is in the same style as his music videos)
Tomo-Chan is a Girl! (Cute anime romance about a tomboy girl wanting to be recognized by her boy bff)
Mushi-Shi (Very chill and intriguing stories about mysterious Mushi creatures)
The Air I Breathe (Left a lasting impression on me, has Brendan Fraser pre-hiatus and Sarah Michelle Gellar among other great cast)
H (South Korean Thriller about a psychopath and a detective, really excellent. Was hard to find a copy in the us)
Taking Chance (Excellent Kevin Bacon movie, should really hit hard on any military family)
Role Models (Not sure if it's underated but never see anyone mention it. Hilarious movie with Paul Rudd and probably Seann William Scott's best comedy work imo)
Better Off Dead (John Cusack comedy about a teen break up and eventually recovery. May have been better known at the time but hilarious movie)
Game:
Xenogears (Seems more well know now, but absolutely was a pivotal game on my youth and no one knew of it for years)
Katana Zero, Mirror's Edge, Ghostrunner, System Shock Remake, Prey, Stalker(I know I know but it always needs more fans imo lol)- (All games with mixed audience levels but still ones I feel don't have enough recognition.)
Hidden Cats, 100 Cats, X full of Cats, and Find All - (Really cute and cozy hidden object games. Most are either very cheap or free and I think more people should grab them and enjoy them.)
Books:
William Arand/Randi Darren books. There is a whole huge universe involved. They look like just harem smut on the surface, and his Randi Darren books do have a lot of smut to them, but there is an overall linking story through all of the books that is very enjoyable and intriguing. One of those "plot" books that has an even better actual plot imo. (First few books are rough on the edges but still good.)
Legends & Lattes (I'm sure it's well regarded in the "Cozy Adventure" groups, but it needs more recognition outside of that.)
Something can be well regarded and some people can still find that insufficient if it's important enough to them. Or they haven't the anecdotal experience of others enjoying it to their level.
The problem in the US is that besides English, you might be exposed to some Spanish. And not much else unless you seek it out. Or have immigrant friends. Without consistent practice, and some more native speakers, any learned language just rots away.
I learned German for several years in college. It was fun. Went to a local brewhouse with my classmates and talked in simple german while we had dinner, it was a good time. Now, other than my own attempts at saving my whithered skill, and a couple bedtime songs for my kids, I don't use it.
And even when I was better at it, using it as a tourist in germany was moderately helpful, but it wouldn't have been nearly enough skill to pass any kind of immigration language proficiency exams.