How did we watch movies before Netflix? Not that long ago, something as simple as enjoying a Sunday afternoon break or a horror movie night required a whole lot of planning. Ten years ago, watching new, original content would surely mean that you would have to actually get out of your house, go to the movies, make a choice, get in line, buy a ticket and sit down for at least fifteen minutes of crappy advertisements. All of that while pretending to be happy with the limited and expensive options of excessively sweet soft drinks and poorly seasoned popcorn. If you were lucky enough, you were going through this long process with the company of that hot date, just waiting for the lights to be turned off, so you could, maybe, make your move without freaking out the grandma sitting four chairs further to the right.
In five minutes, without moving from the comfort of your couch, you can log in a world of movies and a plethora of very addictive series. Don't forget to order your food from your favorite pizza place and buy a nice bottle of wine - you know, to impress your hot date.
Despite being super convenient and allowing much more flexibility in the old and beloved ritual of watching a movie, Netflix also comes at a price. With a monthly membership, people all over the world can watch movies and series instantly. The platform is available in over 190 countries. It is important to point out that 'the content available, for the user to stream, may vary by location'.
Hollywood leads the way in cinematography and TV content items and most of what you will find on Netflix was produced there. Local content is available when possible and aims to achieve greater outreach with members around the globe.
Even if the basic Netflix membership prices don't vary all that much depending on the country, the number of videos available is a whole other story. If you happen to be a globetrotter, you may notice that the series you've been binge-watching lately has suddenly disappeared from your catalogue. All you did was travel from your hometown in California to your friends' house in Berlin, so what's the big deal?
Surely, nobody is going to give you your money back for what you are missing. The fact is, for every episode you watch you are paying something. Let’s say you move abroad to start an amazing Masters' course, it is likely that, depending on where you are, your catalogue could suffer some losses. Even worse, you will be paying for less content items! So, before you make your move - this time, literally, to another part of the world - here is some data on the price of the chill around the world (content items per dollar) in the following seventeen countries.
No surprise that the country where Netflix was born has all the movies and TV shows you can possibly want to see; Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, the lucky Yankees have it all. On the other side, people in Poland have a catalogue as tiny as its territory, and have to pay such a high price for membership that nothing would be left for vodka.
Way up north, in the middle of mountains of snow and polar bears, one happy Canadian is getting ready for yet another perfect night of netflix and chill. So many reasons to be happy there; the cheapest membership price and a huge selection of movies and series to choose from. Members in Canada can enjoy exactly 862 content items per USD paid, talk about another level of chill.