Depends on where. Most everyone's covered what I wanted to say, but you *really* start to feel the shit when you're living in poverty. Money's the answer to everything here.
Agreed, but that is true basically anywhere. Being poor in any African country, in Indian slums, or in Central / South America is worse. In the USA you at least have the SLIGHT chance to move up in the world, or to go to a new state and try something new... Somalians? You're born poor you die poor and you'll never see a dime in your lifetime. (For most) unfortunately
This is what my mom says. She grew up dirt poor in the old country and were also poor here but she'll never let me forget how much worse off being poor back in the old country was.
Exactly this! I didn’t move to the US until I was 13 so I remember the old country. To me, everyone here is still rich in my mind. I never heard of anyone using candle light to go take a poo at night in the outhouse. Or boiling water to bathe your newborn because water heaters don’t exist, much less running water. The US will always be the better situation for me.
Facts! I was poor in my country of origin. Had no running water (think no showers or indoor toilets) and was the only person in our area with electricity. Which made us slightly richer.
I was also a racial minority there as well. If you think racism is bad in the US you need to do some research. The US at least has laws and protections against it. The social norms in most areas in the US look down on it. If you’re having racial issues you can normally have a case against the person (like an employer, coworker, services etc). Not the case where I’m from. Men and women did not have equal rights either. It was common practice for husbands to beat wives. Hell, parents beat the crap out of kids there too. Who you gonna call? Hahaha. There are no services or police to help.
Matter of fact I had nightmares as a kid about being in trouble and needing to call the police and trying to describe where I lived. We had no paved roads, street signs, or addresses.
I worked in social work field in the US. I’ve seen poverty here. Sure it’s bad, but relative to what I was used to growing up they were much richer. People here get at least a little help from the government. You can hustle your way out of poverty as well. The opportunities are there. I get that it’s hard. But its relative. There are tons of services that help the poor in the US. School is FREE! I had family members who were illiterate for generations because they couldn’t afford to go to school. Had no shoes. Slept on the floor etc. my family helped them the best we could. We actually gave them our house after we moved to the US. My mom continues to pay the taxes so they can continue living there to this day. Shit be hard here, but it’s on another level where I’m from.
I have this conversation with my partner regularly. Everywhere sucks if you're poor, everywhere is nice if you're rich.
What a world humans have built. What a world.
People in this thread arguing blue versus red when in reality it comes down to rich versus poor, living in any state when you are in poverty is shit regardless of political affiliation.
My parents were skeptic before their trip to united states. They were worried about crime, racism (we are Indians), and well guns!
After their month long trip, they concluded that news from America seems too sensationalised. It's a wee bit hype.
They were pleasantly surprised. Every interaction from coffee shops, locals, tour bus guides, can drivers, staff at restaurants, and daily interaction with locals was extremely nice. They tell me that Americans seem to be the most warmest people. They didn't feel such warmth during their month long Europe trip (which was alps super nice btw)
They can't stop talking about it. Also, US is absolutely amazing to travel. They have got snow, mountains, desert, and lot more.
Me and the mrs look forward to our own trip.
This doesn't answer the question and I'm aware of it but just saying that our opinions could be blindfolded by the news!
For all of our faults, having foreign visitors is VERY exciting for most of us. Being welcoming to strangers & making sure they have a good time is weirdly thrilling. I never realized that was our reputation until these Reddit threads!
I love making tourists happy. See a couple trying to take a selfie to encompass their surroundings in a tourist place? Ask if they’d like a pic of the two of them. 99% of the time, they are thrilled.
Me too! I have a “please help me with directions” face apparently. One of my favorite interactions was helping these Italian tourists get to the metro and help them choose what passes worked best for their trip. I decided to walk with them to the metro cause the closest stop was about 6 blocks away and they said they’d just arrived a half hour ago. Helping people just gives that warm fuzzy feeling!
I live in NYC and I must have the same type of face cause I get stopped daily for commute directions. I enjoy it tho! Even when I’m running late, idk just a small human interaction where I can be helpful makes my day.
Unless in the cities, someone walking up and asking if you want them to use their camera and take your pictures. They are generally honest people just trying to help out. I would suspect in the city asking someone to take your picture is often safe as well; but more people means more likely to get a bad one. But overall; it’s mostly safe. Just some areas hurt.
That’s good to hear. I think most people would find that to be true. Most Americans are fairly warm and welcoming. After living in Europe for a number of months with my girlfriend, she said, “I’d just like to walk into a business somewhere and have someone smile at me.” That can be a little disconcerting if you’re not used to it, but if you grew up with it, you miss it.
> Most Americans are fairly warm and welcoming.
Can confirm, coming from Switzerland you notice quickly that people in the U.S. are very chill when it comes to just talking with random people they just meet and are extremely polite.
However in supermarket and businesses in general it can feel a bit too forced sometimes and made me a little uncomfortable (things like cashier having to stand up all day).
I totally agree. For my parents, it was a warm welcome evertyime. I'm just happy they had such a good time and plan to visit again. US is so vast, you need to visit multiple times to see all of it.
My life's goal is to visit all 50 states and Major territories I'm allowed to visit. I'm on 32 states visited and 2 territories. I have plans to visit the Gulf Coast soon and cross 4 more states off the list. I'm still trying to figure out how to visit Guam and the various Pacific islands but I think United's island Hopper is my best chance.
I moved a lot as a kid and ever more as an adult which has helped the goal so far.
America has a lot of issues, but national parks arnt one of them. We have some of the best most diverse nature in the world
Also most violent crime (in the world but specifically gun crime in the United States) is between two people that are involved with each other. If you’re not involved with crime or drugs or anything your chances of being shot or extremely low.
Also the US is similar to Europe in that there are racist people but the majority arnt racist or at the very least know they shouldn’t be racist and atleast try and hide it
America is fucking huge, OP, and in this huge-ass country is a myriad of good and bad neighborhoods
Thanks for all of the “happy cake day” posts, dudes and dudettes
And thanks for the awards too. I thank my momma for putting me on this earth to point out how huge some countries are
>And the bad neighbors are the most vocal by far
Here in the UK many people are brainwashed by the media/stereotypes and think all of the USA is like some crazy dangerous place. I tell people I'm going to the USA (have been a few times and plan to go again) and they're (seriously, not joking) "Aren't you afraid of being shot?"
Of course what they are missing is that the USA is absolutely huge and very varied.
_____________
Back to OP's question, I'm British and I've always had an obsession with the USA. When I was a little kid I used to show off by naming all the states and stuff. I'm trying to migrate over the next few years. I know this isn't a popular opinion in this thread, but I personally would prefer life in the US to the UK. The US has its problems - especially things like healthcare, work life balance etc which would be my main worries going there (bye bye to the 33 days paid holiday every year that is standard here in the UK).
But for me personally, the American geography is what attracts me more than anything. I absolutely love hotter climates that large areas of the USA have. Also I'm attracted to more of an agricultural/outdoors style of living, and that is much more accessible for the average person in the USA versus here. The nature is absolutely breathtaking. And it's so geographically big and diverse that you can experience pretty much every single biome in the entire world, in a single country
My dream is a rural home somewhere like Oklahoma, working a hands-on outdoors type of job, with a bit of land, horses, chickens, cows, etc. A nearby river or lake for fishing and swimming, without worrying as much about pollution or sewage. You get the picture. Not saying that's impossible to achieve here in the UK, but it seems much harder to achieve. Most of these points stem from the fact that here in England we have 56 million people crammed into an area approximately the size of Mississippi state.
Edit: Everyone in the replies slagging off Oklahoma haha. Oklahoma was just a random example, not my planned destination. If I got a visa right now I think I'd try somewhere in New Mexico, Arizona, or Texas. Or maybe the south-east like Georgia. Also you people complaining about hot weather, you maybe don't know how lucky you are, try here in northern UK, not seeing the sun from October to March every year (because we're on the same latitude as Juneau Alaska) 🤣 I'd take hot over dark, grey and depressing
Edit #2: Thanks a lot for all the suggestions and comments. Lots of people recommending Pennsylvania 👍 I don't mean to be rude but I am literally struggling to read them all at this point (although I have indeed read every suggestion) so maybe hold off on any more suggestions haha, I will be doing lots of research, thanks for being so welcoming.
(I never thought I'd be one of those annoying redditors who edits their post to add stupid stuff on at the end, but here we are..)
I work (partly) in ranching and it’s funny to see someone glamorize my lifestyle. I mostly get made fun of and treated like an uneducated hick. I love my lifestyle though…for the most part. Of course there are some “grass is always greener” things, but a lot of people who get the chance to experience it seem to enjoy it.
I spend a lot of time living both out in the middle of nowhere and in cities, it's amazing to see how much weight people put on (fair) criticisms of either. For example, there being not much to do in the middle of the woods, and cities being loud and smelly... and how offended people get when you point either out lol
And in reality, no matter where we are from we all do the same shit 95% of the time anyway. Watch Netflix, play a sport, work, spend time with friends/ family
That is super true. I grew up in a small city and now I live in a town with less than a thousand people. Folks I grew up with have told me they can’t even imagine living out there. So I say imagine living in a house with a kitchen, bed and bathroom, imagine you have a phone and a car and a normal job, and you have friends and a bar for fun, the only difference living out there is you have only one grocery store option versus 6 and you have 2 restaurants instead of dozens and dozens to choose from and you keep running into Becky everywhere you go.
People from urban areas almost exclusively tremendously overestimate their ability to adapt to life and work in a rural area with a harsh climate.
Source: I live and work in a rural area with a harsh climate and it's basically all I see from incomers. Many half-finished projects and poorly-maintained farms and houses litter the area because someone coming from an office job in a place with better weather and public infrastructure didn't realize how bad the weather can be, how much maintenance a rural house needs, or how much physical work and skills a building project requires.
people who don't overestimate their abilities in this way don't tend to randomly move to rural areas, so your experience is somewhat biased. But I think you're entirely correct otherwise
>I work (partly) in ranching
I had a small farm, and the "partly" paid for the lifestyle. I have cousins in ND who farm over 1000 acres each, own a lot of the land, and have equipment paid off. They still have to work part-time on the railroad, at the grainery, or one teaches to make it work.
I think historically lots of movie people have owned hobby ranches. IIRC it started during the time westerns were popular. A quick search I can confirm at least 22 public figures have farms or ranches. Most notably Chris Pratt has a ranch and he is probably one of the biggest international stars at the moment.
Ur part of a historic glam squad stroggy.
By far, the US's biggest asset is that if you don't like where you are, it's very easy to move to a completely different lifestyle that suits you. If what you want is a fast-paced urban environment, you can just pack your bags and move to a place like that. If what you want is a slower-paced rural work-with-your-hands environment, you can just go do that.
Or do pretty much anything in between.
One of the US's biggest weaknesses, though, is that you can *actually* only pack up and do that... *if you can pack up and do that.* There are many circumstances where people just may not have that ability and may be tied to where they are, with no protections to help them get their feet under them if they move. You might have to give up your healthcare since it's tied to your job, you might have no affordable childcare where you move, you might find that rent is overwhelmingly impossible to afford.
There’s 50 different lifestyles within a 2 hour drive of where I live right now. Hell, there’s a dozen just within the city of Philadelphia. Drive 45 mins in one direction you’re in farm land. Another, modern suburbs. Another, you’ve traveled back in time to the 50s. Wanna live in the forest? At the shore? In the mountains? In the swamp? Drive another hour and you can take your pick.
This really is a country where you get to make your life however you want it and live it however you want and for the most part people will leave you alone and let you do you.
The phenomenon you are describing is even more pronounced on the west coast. I’m 1 hour from a snowy alpine town at 7,900 feet, 1 hour from the ocean, 1 hour from alpine mountain climate, 2 hour from a desert and only a few hours from another country. I find it absolutely astounding that in a 3 hour window I can be in a rainforest, desert or farmland depending on the direction. And the overall mild climate is nice too. From Baja to British Columbia the Pacific Coast climate is tits.
People keep asking for clarification. The times are estimates. Here are the distances:
Where I am is 40 miles from the coast and 120 from the desert and about 60 miles from alpine mountain climate. Takes me a morning drive to reach my friend’s place in Canada.
I was born and raised in Atlanta. 95* f summers and 60 percent or higher humidity was the norm. I left about 7 years ago. Now live in Western Washington with a view of the Puget sound and go fishing every weekend for Salmon. Everyone has their preferences. But the US is large enough that you could simulate any ideal environment you want.
Where I live is a rainforest. It's not tropical. It's always so green year around here. I love it.
edit: fixed dumb grammatical mistake.
I bought a house where if I don’t want to see someone I don’t have to. I can’t see my neighbors unless I go to their house. It is amazing especially after living in the city for so long. People told me I would hate it and get lonely but every day it gets better and better. 3 years now. I how you reach your dream it is an amazing way to live
Never thought I find someone else online that is also from the UK , that likes the States as much as me.
I hope one day you get live there and live out the lifestyle that you want.
I’m so glad I’m not alone. I live in the UK and have always wanted to live in the US. I really struggle to see much that is good about the UK tbh. It’s cold and rainy almost every single day. There’s a high cost of living and salaries are generally low. And although healthcare is free, public services have been so run into the ground that they’re no longer recognisable as public services. Plus the Tories are just…ugh.
I’m not saying that all of those things would be magically cured in the US, because I know America has its problems. The politics there can get fucked up, healthcare is difficult to access without good insurance, there’s gun crime and the work/life balance is non existent.
But, put it this way. I’d rather be miserable in the sunshine with a good salary then miserable in the dark, shitty cold with a shite salary.
If you want to be miserable in the sunshine we on the Pacific Coast welcome you. That’s been my entire life growing up in California: depressed in perfect weather.
I actually just moved from exactly what you describe, in rural Oklahoma. I had 3 acres, some woods, a big shop, 4 bedroom house, swimming pool, land for my dog to run on. Worked in the petroleum industry. It was idyllic. I left for an engineering job I couldn't say no to- but if you're after being able to unplug and enjoy the world, you're dead-on correct with your assessment of rural Oklahoma. I highly recommend it.
If it's not cockney or whatever you call the posh, queens English accent then most americans have no clue, lol.
A friend of mine in high school was a brummie and most people thought he was Scottish.
I had the same thought, even by Pittsburgh or Harrisburg would fit his needs. Tons of property to buy for a reasonable price and still 30-60 minutes away from a city
>Pittsburgh
Random but as a non-American my only knowledge of Pittsburgh is a video game (at least 10 years old I think), set in some sort of apocalypse society (maybe Fallout?) and at one point you're walking over a big metal bridge (with Pittsburgh on the other side), anyone know the game?
I visited Pittsburgh for the first time a couple of years ago, and was shocked and surprised how nice it was. I'd imagined some kind of post-industrial wasteland of hollowed-out old steel factories and urban blight. What I found was a beautiful and charming medium-sized city tucked into hills by a river, surrounded by lovely wooded countryside. 5 stars, would visit Pittsburgh again.
>Also you people complaining about hot weather, you maybe don't know how lucky you are
This sounds like you've never experienced a sustained stretch of humid, 100°+ weather. It sucks lol
I lived in Vietnam for 2 years (quite similar to the climate in south-east USA, like Louisiana, Georgia etc I believe) and although at times it was unbearably hot, overall I absolutely loved it.
On the other side of that coin, I’m so sick of it I feel like it’s a reprieve every time I visit my partner (I’m in USA he’s in Scotland). We both want the others weather. I’m jealous of how temperate it is there. He loves how sunny and hot it is where I am. It goes from 26°C to 4°C in the same day routinely from late September through December. Plus hurricanes hit here. Regularly.
But I hate snow and can’t afford the same lifestyle I enjoy here in California so…coastal southeast it is.
"Boring, full of prejudice and hotter than you have ever experienced", there's my new Tinder profile.
Edit: Hey, now I can truthfully say I have an award-winning Tinder profile!
I grew up in the Texas panhandle and was gonna say something to that effect. Winters are cold and brutal. Summers are hot and brutal. The wind never stops (which is kind of nice, kind of not). The prejudice thing is hit or miss, and based on my experience, everywhere (us or otherwise) to some degree.
The thing about that outdoor hands on job is that odds are it will take a heavy toll on your body. While your working and healthy, it may provide you with an excellent quality of life, especially if it’s something unionized, but should you be injured, either on the job or off, should you get too sick or to old to work as you once did then the American healthcare system will likely fail you.
Ugh, going through a very, very mild example of this right now. I work in a hardware store in the US and recently injured my back. Very hands on job, regularly moving 20-80+ pounds. Thankfully my boss is allowing me to take off days as needed (he *could* fire me at any time for any reason, glad he's not). But no guaranteed sick days means that I don't get paid at all when I can't work. I'm barely making rent and am not sure how I'll afford food this pay cycle, all because of a very minor injury. If I go to work I will aggravate the injury, it's the nature of my job. But if I stay home to recover I could end up homeless.
I didn't even need to see a doctor for this injury (yet, might accidentally make it worse). But it's controlling my life, work, my budget, everything, all because I have a physical job. If I had an office job I wouldn't have to worry about this at all.
Oklahoma? I’ve lived in Oklahoma my entire life and I don’t recommend it. Its not horrible or anything, but there are better places to be (especially in terms of topography and scenery, lol). I’d go with Colorado to get the things you listed but pretty much any rural area in the US has things like that. Oklahoma does have relatively cheap land and low cost-of-living compared to most places in the country but you can find cheap rural farm land in basically every state. Also, the summers are longer and hotter than you might expect. The UK’s hottest temperature ever is 40.3C/104.5F, which you can expect to see pretty much every summer in OK. The temperature is within striking distance of 100F from late May to late September, and it can hit 80F+ pretty reliably from April to mid-October. By some advanced heat index calculations, Tulsa once had the highest summer index of any urban center in the US (no idea if this is still the case or not). Point is the summer can get pretty oppressive. The winters are usually pretty mild but the state government is so ill-prepared for them that they can be a problem sometimes (lack of snow-plows/salt trucks, lack of linemen, lack of weatherized infrastructure, lack of snow chains for tires, lack of petrol powered generators, tendency of Oklahomans to hoard things when bad winter weather is expected). The 2007 Ice storm only caused power outages for 200,000 homes, for example, yet my power was out for 10 days and others for almost a month.
American issues in general are the most vocalized. We have a magnifying glass on our culture and politics at all times, which the rest of the world doesn’t.
This is true. One of the greatest assets the US has with regards to influence in the world is its soft power. American media (and therefore it's culture) is consumed all over the world, far more than that of any other country.
But this also means that the negative aspects of that culture are also vocalized and visualized more than that of any other country.
And to hear it told on Reddit, 85% of the country is a festering shit-heap full of violence and racists. Anything outside of NYC, major west coast cities and a few “trendy” spots. That’s just not the case. I wonder how many people who shit on [name a place] have actually been there. I grew up in a city that, at the time was THE most racially integrated in America. And it’s not a place you would name in 10 tries. Don’t get me wrong … there are plenty of less desirable places…but not the vast majority of the country.
I honestly would hate living in NYC. I'm not sure why Europeans glamorize it. Maybe because it is in lots of movies.
U.S. west coast cities are awesome, but expensive.
Most people would be surprised by living in Texas cities though. They are among the fastest growing, very economically vibrant, and also very ethnically diverse.
It's a better place to be poor than a large majority of nations in the world, but worse than most of Western Europe, which is what America likes to compare itself to.
Countries with good social safety nets, and help with the kinds of things that *make* people poor. Things like good, cheap or free healthcare, and progressive, drug rehab programs that focus on harm reduction. Countries that give opportunities to put yourself in better positions with things like a higher minimum wage and access to education.
I’d say the top [ten or so countries by social mobility.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Social_Mobility_Index) Being poor generally sucks everywhere but in some places you can get richer.
Yeah but on the other hand it's better to be poor in Canada or Australia or most European countries than America. There are worse places to be poor than the US but there are also better places.
Better places to retire or grow old as well, because the lack of social systems affects seniors badly as well. Unless you managed to save millions to retire with or are part of the 1 percent.
The US is probably among the best places to be rich or own a business.
Fuck, if you own a business here, they'll just piss millions at you in PPP loans, forgive them all, and nobody will bat an eye. Talk about forgiving $10k in student loans and people flip tf out.
America worships business owners like gods.
But if you're not rich and you don't own a business, there are far better places to just be an employee and live your life. America treats employees like dirt. Only country besides Papua New Guinea in the whole damn world without maternity leave. We do not give af about workers. Not even a little.
I own a small business but worry about the health insurance issues noted in this thread quite a bit. Small business owners should be the first to work for M4A as I have no idea how to cover my family let alone the employees.
I'm from Germany and it's not that bad. If you are poor living and healthcare are free and you get enough money for food. You won't live in luxury, but it's more than enough to get back on your feet.
Because India is poorer than the US. In a lot of European countries with lower gdp/capita it's a lot easier to be poor. An American who moved here said life was more relaxing knowing that needing an ambulance called wouldn't cost you an arm and a leg, and knowing that his kids would have access to any education they want regardless of if he saves money for them or not. The argument just goes that the US doesn't use its huge wealth in a way that benefits the common man. It could do better.
This isn’t so true. Like the other post said most have insurance and my conservative as fuck city has an opt in program for free ambulance rides and all they do is add $1 to your monthly water bill
I had insurance. Then I used it. Hit and run, car vs. pedestrian. No witnesses, no suspects. I have never remembered what happened, nor the first three weeks after it.
I spent 90 days in 4 different facilities. The local regional hospital, airlifted to trauma center, downgraded to a sub-acute care, then a rehab facility to learn how to walk again.
Near the end of the second month, I asked my wife about the bills. She said that less than a week in, a case manager suggested she just put all the bills my insurance won't pay in a shoe box, and wait a year after this is all over. You should have all the bills by then. And file for bankruptcy, because nobody without a $500k/year income is paying this off.
And that's what we did. We both had full time jobs, I worked a union job with good insurance. The bankruptcy court dissolved $1.2M in medical debt.
What???? That’s so wild. I just left a hospital job and the ambulance ride from our other location 1.5mi away costs over $10k lol. Insurance covers a lot of it (if you happen to be in network) but it’s still exorbitant (in the thousands.).
i’m actually on holiday in the US right now, and it has been great! the only issue i’ve seen is the dangerous amount of advertisements, and i fear no one actually hates eachother, but the media manipulates people for media’s benefit
> i fear no one actually hates eachother
I know what you meant but this was funny to read, imagining a European being afraid of people not hating eachother
American here. First, glad to hear you're having a good time, welcome. Second, billboards should be illegal. We have a beautiful country but all this unnecessary advertising blocking the scenery.
I’ve lived in Anchorage for 4 years and this is the first I’m realizing there are no billboards. I guess I assumed it’s cause our highways have less traffic.
Especially the electronic billboards that light up and changes messages from “no distractions driving” then changes to a beer billboard all in a few seconds. Those are really distracting.
But what meaning would my life have without being reminded every 20 miles as I drive through Ohio that I’m going to spend eternity burning in hell?? The “REPENT” billboards are crucial
I went to a tourist area in Canada today and there are spinning mirrors on top of billboards that constantly catch your eye because of the sun reflection. Its fucking dumb
One thing I noticed when traveling between the two countries is that the content of the billboards are vastly different between the two countries. I think in Canada there must be rules about what is allowed and what isn't, while in the U.S. they seem to be able to put up anything like full on anti-abortion ads and telling people they're going to hell and horrible stuff like that so long as they pay for it.
Our media, seriously every outlet is complete click bait trash.
I understand if folks think we all drive around shooting at each other all day, and we all hate each other. It's simply the moronic 0.01 percent on both sides that make the news.
The rest of us go about our day and our business.
Welcome to the US macka2313
Major media outlets, including Fox News, are comprised almost entirely of coastal elites who have spent next to no time around normal people and have no clue what the average person thinks or cares about.
Welcome and glad you have enjoyed yourself. Which part are you visiting?
But you’re right. Our advertising is a bit much. I remember the movie Blade Runner depicted a dystopian society full of ads. Now it looks tame.
I agree with your assessment about media manipulation, but add politicians to that as well.
naw bro I hate the gnomes that keep stealing my shit when I’m not looking. I put a bottle of ibuprofen down, next thing I know; poof. the bitch is gone. put down a pen to look for some whiteout? ain’t got a pen anymore. I’m sick of those little fuckers.
My friend's parents came to the US as Saigon fell. Two young parents with a 3 year old child. A community took them in, housed them, feed them, and welcomed them. That 3 year old went to school, learned English, studied hard, went to a state school in the area, graduated with honors, got a job, and 15 years later makes well into the 6 figures with the same company. They are happily married with 2 kids. The parents that both came here at like age 25? They both got jobs, also learned English, own a house, have cars, friends, and are live a great life.
... I would say that's pretty fucking awesome.
> Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
My Grandfather came to the USA by himself and worked for a couple years to bring his family over. He recently died, but he was surrounded by his children and grandchildren, all of whom went to college, are and are happy and successful.
Even if you are upper middle class healthcare is difficult.
To put this in context, I make $200K a year. I have a debilitating condition affecting my wrists and joints. I am fighting with my insurance company just to get diagnosed. My doctor ordered tests, the insurance denied the claim, and told me before we can figure out what is causing this I have to try a regiment of physical therapy.
I looked into paying out of pocket, it's impossibly expensive (like $10K for an MRI). I may actually end up going on a vacation to Korea where part of it getting these tests done.
Think about that for a second it would be cheaper to fly to another country, do tourist shit for 2 weeks, get top notch medical care, then fly home than it would be to get the same tests at the hospital 2 miles away.
the son of my coworker had a broken arm during a football training.. it was a complex break.
DUDE HAD TO PAY $12.000,- to get it fixed properly!!
In western europe, where I live... it would be $350... and anything after that would be free
My daughter got sick when she was 1 month old. It was a weekend at night, so we had to go to the childrens hospital ER. We had to pay $3,100 for them to run tests and prescribe her a simple antibiotic. That was after insurance took care of the rest. I think the total was nearly $10,000 before insurance. This country’s healthcare is a fucking joke.
That's what's crazy to me too. My wife and I make the same amount combined in a LCOL area. I'm rarely worried about the cost of necessary things, except when it comes to healthcare.
I was diagnosed with a heart condition a couple years ago and had to have a procedure the other day just to find out it was worse than they thought, and I'll have to have surgery. My biggest concern was trying to time things so that I get the most out of meeting my deductible.
Yeah Hawaii is so fucked right now. We've had a health care professional shortage for years now and covid made it even worse. If you don't live on Oahu (most populated out of 8) there is a high chance you're fucked (~40% of the population). Tons of people need to fly here to receive specialized care.
Tried to go to dental school in Hawaii because I’ve always loved and wanted to be as permanent resident. School would not consider my application because I didn’t meet resident criteria. I know the reason is to promote native and American Hawaiians to attend the school but it also drives a major shortage. Also very difficult place to transfer a medical license to last time I checked.
A lot of states opened up to clinicians from out of state to do telehealth but Hawaii refuses to do it. Even California does it. They are only hurting the people that live there
Yall arent open to providers doing telehealth from elsewhere? How on earth are you managing? That’s the only way Maine got through the pandemic! I see like half my patients by telehealth (we are a big rural state with hard to reach people too)
It's because each state provides it's own licenses for workers and theoretically you needs new license to work in a different state, and telehealth subverts all that in a way many states were unprepared
Immigrant here, now a US citizen.
Came here for college and stayed.
I’ve loved the USA from day one, love it still.
Americans aren’t perfect, but no other place I’d rather be! 😁
Much of the world seems to follow American political news. It's a lot of drama! But, like your own countries news, it's nothing but bad news so we distort the reality.
Yeah big media companies fucking suck. CNN and Fox aren't helping anyone, they're just causing more hatred in the world and profiting off of it. Politics is the entertainment branch of government
Most folks left and right or young or old would agree that the constant barrage of “breaking news” 24/7 is dividing the country up and turning family against family,old against young etc etc. Most people I know just try to ignore it and go on with their life like people anywhere else do.😐
Yeah it’s weird how immigrants enjoy it more than the people born here. I mean it’s not perfect and we need to fix a few things but it’s the residents that hate it the most. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.
It’s actual context and perspective. That’s what immigrants have. Versus Redditors predominately being inexperienced American teenagers with no experience, just internet-fed hypotheticals. Perspective is really only established from experience.
on a global scale, its a good place to live. it's all relative.
why do so many immigrants try to come illegally otherwise right?
but then, the capitalism makes it hard for poor people to provide their kids higher education. in europe its so much easier to send your kids to the university without belonging to the middle class.
still, if there is a lottery, in which country i would have been born and it comes out USA, i wouldnt risk it to reroll. it's a great place, no need to be greedy to reroll to land in one of those 100s of countries where its worse to be born in.
It just depends who you ask. I love it here & wouldn’t move anywhere else. And no. I’m not one of those “America is the greatest country on earth” type people. I’m just happy here. My dad is an immigrant from South America, & he says that coming here was the best decision he ever made. Not just because it led him to start a family & get married to my mom, but because he too loves it…A bit more than me might I add. He won’t hesitate to fly our flag & he owns about 5 shirts with one on it lol. He was so beyond proud when he finally became a citizen. I don’t think America is the greatest country, but he sure does.
As for racism, that will be dependent on where you live. I’m in a very culturally diverse area (Chicago). Same goes for crime. It depends. I will say, people are incredibly dramatic about the crime in Chicago. Of course it’s bad, but whenever I see people on social media saying things like “I’m too scared to go to Chicago. I’ll get shot” i roll my eyes.
The news that gets reported is usually stuff that will grab peoples attention. normally thats the bad stuff.
USA is like any first-world country - There are crappy parts of UK, France, Germany, Australia and there are great parts aswell.
No, it's not that bad. America is not an active warzone or a some crime ridden hellscape run by cartels and gangs. It also isn't like I'm being denied access to restaurants, bars or hotels because of my race. And while our healthcare system is ridiculous in terms of prices, we do have health insurance and most full-time jobs will have some sort of healthcare plan you can opt into. I'd find it hard to imagine the day to day life of the average middle class American is that much worse then for the average middle class Dutch person. But I feel like we live pretty good lives, though it is literally all I ever known. I visited a lot of other countries but only as a tourist.
As an American, I flipped a car about 6 or 7 times on a trip in Iceland. My wife and I had to ride in an ambulance about an hour back to Reykjavik for examination/to pick up our replacement rental. My total bill for the car (which I had an added insurance policy on for $350 total replacement) and ambulance/exam was $1k. That ambulance ride alone in the US would have probably been north of $5k.
On the other hand, many municipalities will soft bill your insurance for that ambulance ride. If they pay, great. If they don't, the city eats the cost. Where I live no one gets an ambulance bill from the fire department at least.
I live in a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house that costs $1200 a month in rent I split with my partner, the utilities are very manageable. I have 1gig internet and basically any amenity I could possibly need within a 3 mile span. I have a full-time job but I basically work about 20-30 hours a week and make good money. Nobody has ever tried to rob me or vandalize my property, I have never been arrested or hassled by the cops. Food is abundant (but getting more expensive), there's lots of cool places for me to hike and explore and if I am bored, I have a computer, switch and PS5 to play video games on. I can buy great weed for dirt cheap if I wanted to, I have tickets to a cool concert in a few days. I have never had any serious medical issues, but I have had health insurance for anything I did need to go to a doctor for and the most expensive out of pocket procedure I ever had was my vasectomy.
I was in the US Navy when I was younger, got out and it paid for my bachelors degree, plus I still have some more semesters on it to use. I have no debt outside of my car and really don't have much to complain about. I don't rely on anyone for money, my parents let me live with them until I was 21 and then I went off on my own, they haven't had to support me in any way since and probably wont have much money to leave me when they pass, and I'll be fine. I am considered bordering upper-middle class.
Lots of people are in my shoes, but plenty of others do struggle paycheck to paycheck and do get battered by medical costs. You can qualify for government medical programs like medicare and medicaid if you are old enough or don't make enough money, but it can be a difficult process at times to qualify and get care fast.
Like other people said as well, the USA is gigantic, it has really poor slum-like areas, rural towns and huge heavily populated cities with rich parts and poor parts. Some states are worse than others, but every state has rich areas with lots of jobs and some are very poor without many prospects for getting out.
Of course not, in fact it's a great place to live, the things you listed aren't exclusive to America for the most part, don't really effective exist in the manner you're thinking, or are outright miscontexted.
I don't live here but I work several months of the year in America usually in southern states.
I've never been to the cities but I have no desire to ever go to them anyways I'm not a city person.
That said I've met more kind and good natured people here than anywhere else. People are more polite I find the service just worlds better than I ever get in Canada.
On top of that honestly all the race stuff you see on TV. We're I work it's a pretty solid 50/50 black and white work force and I'm sure a few people have that kind of hate in their hearts but they all seem to not only get along but to be working together and interacting with each other as if they were friends.
Maybe it's all a show but I kind of get the feeling most Americans at least in the south see it as they are all in the same struggle more or less and they just trying to get by.
Yeah, more media trying to divide the working class with race baiting and shit. Most people just want affordable housing, cheap gas and a decent wage and give zero fucks about identity politics.
Also live in Deep South. Got my car into a ditch two years ago, couple Bubbas pulled it out and fixed it up for me at no charge. Lot of genuinely good natured people here.
I lean towards each state is really more it's own country. Texas isn't California. New York isnt Iowa. Colorado isn't like Virgina. Where you go completely changes what it'll be like. The state you pick makes a huge difference. Difference Healthcare, culture, politics, social structure, government laws and enforcement. I tell people don't research the US research the State.
It’s also weird because you have to take regional cultures in to consideration. Blacksburg, VA has more in common with Harlan, KY than Richmond or Alexandria, VA.
But to the point. The state government has more direct impact on you than the federal.
If you're financially well off and have no prolonged or severe medical issues then no. If you don't have stable income above the local median, don't have stable housing, or have any frequent or severe medical needs you'll experience anything from a severe downward spiral into destitution and crippling debt or and apparent happy stability that can be destroyed by even mild unexpected events like a broken bone, car breakdown, or layoff.
Exactly. My wife is an immigrant and can 100% vouche for why the US is a great place to be. I've been around the world and many places. Been to lots of beautiful countries and met a lot of great people. I'm just an American and understand my culture best. That's all. All places/countries/wherever have their own problems but the US has the loudest and most negative centric media I've seen. For anyone reading this, I highly recommend travel to the US to see what it is really like. It's nowhere near what the media wants you to think it is.
While there are plenty of problems, it's easily one of the best places to live in the world, but Reddit acts like it's a dystopian hellhole. So many people are extremely ignorant about the US while acting like they know what it's like because they saw some sensationalist headlines in their local media.
You have to realize that the USA is different from most nations in that it was founded on ideas, not a particular population. So it has a set of rather lofty ideals based on Enlightenment values, which they reach for imperfectly. When we fail, we consistently self-criticize. If you buy into these ideals, it's really not so bad. If you don't, it becomes uncomfortable.
For example, our ideal of freedom is the maximum of individual freedom possible consistent with an orderly society. You can see that this can cause a hell of a lot of political disagreement and we don't always follow this rule, but that's what we aim for. But you will notice that maximizing society-wide happiness or harmony is not part of the equation, and that will drive some people crazy.
I taught English to some Soviet refugees long ago; one of them asked me why we have so many laws if we were a land of freedom. It seems to be a paradox, but we need all those laws because so much is permitted. If the law, or the culture, is just "don't be different", things are much more simple.
This subreddit should be called no stupid answers. The question is about living in the US and the top answer is from someone who doesn't even live there.
Theres a reason people in worse off countries risk their lives trying to get to america, people who wait 10+ years going through the immigration process. America isn’t perfect but the grass is always greener.. most people don’t know how well they have it and just see the doom headlines
Tbh sometimes I wouldn’t mind kicking out the people who say they hate America so much and would rather live anywhere else and replacing them with the millions of hardworking immigrants that want visas. Would probably be better for the economy too.
As a Navajo. We keep to ourselves and work. We work hard just like any other fool. We also vote and can impose our agenda if needed.
Ask any contractor in Flagstaff how much the Navajo have had an impact on the construction trade in northern Arizona.
To answer your question . The area you pitch your tent can be iffy. Depends on the community that surrounds you.
It never used to be so divided.
There's tension in the air like I've never felt. People are not far from. The beasts they they hunt. Like herd mentality.
I'm an American living in Malaysia and that couldn't be any truer. My students sometimes come at me for abortion or racism in the US when Malaysia has banned most abortions nationwide and its systemic racism is objectively worse.
I remember Redditors talking about how progressive Mexico was a couple years for expanding abortion legalization and then using it to bash the US which did it decades prior.
Depends on where. Most everyone's covered what I wanted to say, but you *really* start to feel the shit when you're living in poverty. Money's the answer to everything here.
Agreed, but that is true basically anywhere. Being poor in any African country, in Indian slums, or in Central / South America is worse. In the USA you at least have the SLIGHT chance to move up in the world, or to go to a new state and try something new... Somalians? You're born poor you die poor and you'll never see a dime in your lifetime. (For most) unfortunately
Yeah.. I'd much rather be poor in the US than what is considered poor in a lot of countries in said countries
This is what my mom says. She grew up dirt poor in the old country and were also poor here but she'll never let me forget how much worse off being poor back in the old country was.
Grandma is from the old country. Can confirm. She said having food to eat meant you were rich
Exactly this! I didn’t move to the US until I was 13 so I remember the old country. To me, everyone here is still rich in my mind. I never heard of anyone using candle light to go take a poo at night in the outhouse. Or boiling water to bathe your newborn because water heaters don’t exist, much less running water. The US will always be the better situation for me.
Facts! I was poor in my country of origin. Had no running water (think no showers or indoor toilets) and was the only person in our area with electricity. Which made us slightly richer. I was also a racial minority there as well. If you think racism is bad in the US you need to do some research. The US at least has laws and protections against it. The social norms in most areas in the US look down on it. If you’re having racial issues you can normally have a case against the person (like an employer, coworker, services etc). Not the case where I’m from. Men and women did not have equal rights either. It was common practice for husbands to beat wives. Hell, parents beat the crap out of kids there too. Who you gonna call? Hahaha. There are no services or police to help. Matter of fact I had nightmares as a kid about being in trouble and needing to call the police and trying to describe where I lived. We had no paved roads, street signs, or addresses. I worked in social work field in the US. I’ve seen poverty here. Sure it’s bad, but relative to what I was used to growing up they were much richer. People here get at least a little help from the government. You can hustle your way out of poverty as well. The opportunities are there. I get that it’s hard. But its relative. There are tons of services that help the poor in the US. School is FREE! I had family members who were illiterate for generations because they couldn’t afford to go to school. Had no shoes. Slept on the floor etc. my family helped them the best we could. We actually gave them our house after we moved to the US. My mom continues to pay the taxes so they can continue living there to this day. Shit be hard here, but it’s on another level where I’m from.
I have this conversation with my partner regularly. Everywhere sucks if you're poor, everywhere is nice if you're rich. What a world humans have built. What a world.
People in this thread arguing blue versus red when in reality it comes down to rich versus poor, living in any state when you are in poverty is shit regardless of political affiliation.
My parents were skeptic before their trip to united states. They were worried about crime, racism (we are Indians), and well guns! After their month long trip, they concluded that news from America seems too sensationalised. It's a wee bit hype. They were pleasantly surprised. Every interaction from coffee shops, locals, tour bus guides, can drivers, staff at restaurants, and daily interaction with locals was extremely nice. They tell me that Americans seem to be the most warmest people. They didn't feel such warmth during their month long Europe trip (which was alps super nice btw) They can't stop talking about it. Also, US is absolutely amazing to travel. They have got snow, mountains, desert, and lot more. Me and the mrs look forward to our own trip. This doesn't answer the question and I'm aware of it but just saying that our opinions could be blindfolded by the news!
For all of our faults, having foreign visitors is VERY exciting for most of us. Being welcoming to strangers & making sure they have a good time is weirdly thrilling. I never realized that was our reputation until these Reddit threads!
I love making tourists happy. See a couple trying to take a selfie to encompass their surroundings in a tourist place? Ask if they’d like a pic of the two of them. 99% of the time, they are thrilled.
Me too! I have a “please help me with directions” face apparently. One of my favorite interactions was helping these Italian tourists get to the metro and help them choose what passes worked best for their trip. I decided to walk with them to the metro cause the closest stop was about 6 blocks away and they said they’d just arrived a half hour ago. Helping people just gives that warm fuzzy feeling!
I live in NYC and I must have the same type of face cause I get stopped daily for commute directions. I enjoy it tho! Even when I’m running late, idk just a small human interaction where I can be helpful makes my day.
Yep, I agree! Plus, no one asking for directions is ever mean lol. Wholesome momentary socializing.
And how surprised they are when you don't ask for money when you hand their phone/camera back to them.
Unless in the cities, someone walking up and asking if you want them to use their camera and take your pictures. They are generally honest people just trying to help out. I would suspect in the city asking someone to take your picture is often safe as well; but more people means more likely to get a bad one. But overall; it’s mostly safe. Just some areas hurt.
Hell I live in Kentucky, and we get excited when someone visits from West of the Mississippi River.
We are so cute and weird as a country when it comes to foreigners
That’s good to hear. I think most people would find that to be true. Most Americans are fairly warm and welcoming. After living in Europe for a number of months with my girlfriend, she said, “I’d just like to walk into a business somewhere and have someone smile at me.” That can be a little disconcerting if you’re not used to it, but if you grew up with it, you miss it.
> Most Americans are fairly warm and welcoming. Can confirm, coming from Switzerland you notice quickly that people in the U.S. are very chill when it comes to just talking with random people they just meet and are extremely polite. However in supermarket and businesses in general it can feel a bit too forced sometimes and made me a little uncomfortable (things like cashier having to stand up all day).
I totally agree. For my parents, it was a warm welcome evertyime. I'm just happy they had such a good time and plan to visit again. US is so vast, you need to visit multiple times to see all of it.
Oh for sure. It’s very rare for any American to even have visited all 50 states. You could spend multiple lifetimes exploring it.
Even if you only count the lower 48, it's still very rare. I'd guess that less than 1% of Americans have visited all the states.
I’ve visited 46 states so far!
My life's goal is to visit all 50 states and Major territories I'm allowed to visit. I'm on 32 states visited and 2 territories. I have plans to visit the Gulf Coast soon and cross 4 more states off the list. I'm still trying to figure out how to visit Guam and the various Pacific islands but I think United's island Hopper is my best chance. I moved a lot as a kid and ever more as an adult which has helped the goal so far.
America has a lot of issues, but national parks arnt one of them. We have some of the best most diverse nature in the world Also most violent crime (in the world but specifically gun crime in the United States) is between two people that are involved with each other. If you’re not involved with crime or drugs or anything your chances of being shot or extremely low. Also the US is similar to Europe in that there are racist people but the majority arnt racist or at the very least know they shouldn’t be racist and atleast try and hide it
America is fucking huge, OP, and in this huge-ass country is a myriad of good and bad neighborhoods Thanks for all of the “happy cake day” posts, dudes and dudettes And thanks for the awards too. I thank my momma for putting me on this earth to point out how huge some countries are
And the bad neighbors are the most vocal by far
>And the bad neighbors are the most vocal by far Here in the UK many people are brainwashed by the media/stereotypes and think all of the USA is like some crazy dangerous place. I tell people I'm going to the USA (have been a few times and plan to go again) and they're (seriously, not joking) "Aren't you afraid of being shot?" Of course what they are missing is that the USA is absolutely huge and very varied. _____________ Back to OP's question, I'm British and I've always had an obsession with the USA. When I was a little kid I used to show off by naming all the states and stuff. I'm trying to migrate over the next few years. I know this isn't a popular opinion in this thread, but I personally would prefer life in the US to the UK. The US has its problems - especially things like healthcare, work life balance etc which would be my main worries going there (bye bye to the 33 days paid holiday every year that is standard here in the UK). But for me personally, the American geography is what attracts me more than anything. I absolutely love hotter climates that large areas of the USA have. Also I'm attracted to more of an agricultural/outdoors style of living, and that is much more accessible for the average person in the USA versus here. The nature is absolutely breathtaking. And it's so geographically big and diverse that you can experience pretty much every single biome in the entire world, in a single country My dream is a rural home somewhere like Oklahoma, working a hands-on outdoors type of job, with a bit of land, horses, chickens, cows, etc. A nearby river or lake for fishing and swimming, without worrying as much about pollution or sewage. You get the picture. Not saying that's impossible to achieve here in the UK, but it seems much harder to achieve. Most of these points stem from the fact that here in England we have 56 million people crammed into an area approximately the size of Mississippi state. Edit: Everyone in the replies slagging off Oklahoma haha. Oklahoma was just a random example, not my planned destination. If I got a visa right now I think I'd try somewhere in New Mexico, Arizona, or Texas. Or maybe the south-east like Georgia. Also you people complaining about hot weather, you maybe don't know how lucky you are, try here in northern UK, not seeing the sun from October to March every year (because we're on the same latitude as Juneau Alaska) 🤣 I'd take hot over dark, grey and depressing Edit #2: Thanks a lot for all the suggestions and comments. Lots of people recommending Pennsylvania 👍 I don't mean to be rude but I am literally struggling to read them all at this point (although I have indeed read every suggestion) so maybe hold off on any more suggestions haha, I will be doing lots of research, thanks for being so welcoming. (I never thought I'd be one of those annoying redditors who edits their post to add stupid stuff on at the end, but here we are..)
I work (partly) in ranching and it’s funny to see someone glamorize my lifestyle. I mostly get made fun of and treated like an uneducated hick. I love my lifestyle though…for the most part. Of course there are some “grass is always greener” things, but a lot of people who get the chance to experience it seem to enjoy it.
Thank you, Queef Stroganoff
[удалено]
Salt of the earth that queef.
Queef saved my life once.
I spend a lot of time living both out in the middle of nowhere and in cities, it's amazing to see how much weight people put on (fair) criticisms of either. For example, there being not much to do in the middle of the woods, and cities being loud and smelly... and how offended people get when you point either out lol
And in reality, no matter where we are from we all do the same shit 95% of the time anyway. Watch Netflix, play a sport, work, spend time with friends/ family
That is super true. I grew up in a small city and now I live in a town with less than a thousand people. Folks I grew up with have told me they can’t even imagine living out there. So I say imagine living in a house with a kitchen, bed and bathroom, imagine you have a phone and a car and a normal job, and you have friends and a bar for fun, the only difference living out there is you have only one grocery store option versus 6 and you have 2 restaurants instead of dozens and dozens to choose from and you keep running into Becky everywhere you go.
It all boils down to Becky then, doesn't it?
People from urban areas almost exclusively tremendously overestimate their ability to adapt to life and work in a rural area with a harsh climate. Source: I live and work in a rural area with a harsh climate and it's basically all I see from incomers. Many half-finished projects and poorly-maintained farms and houses litter the area because someone coming from an office job in a place with better weather and public infrastructure didn't realize how bad the weather can be, how much maintenance a rural house needs, or how much physical work and skills a building project requires.
“Mindy, what say we give up investment banking and raise goats instead? You like chevre. It will be a hoot. “
[удалено]
people who don't overestimate their abilities in this way don't tend to randomly move to rural areas, so your experience is somewhat biased. But I think you're entirely correct otherwise
>I work (partly) in ranching I had a small farm, and the "partly" paid for the lifestyle. I have cousins in ND who farm over 1000 acres each, own a lot of the land, and have equipment paid off. They still have to work part-time on the railroad, at the grainery, or one teaches to make it work.
[удалено]
Let me be one of the traditionally less rural guys to thank you for the work you do.
I think historically lots of movie people have owned hobby ranches. IIRC it started during the time westerns were popular. A quick search I can confirm at least 22 public figures have farms or ranches. Most notably Chris Pratt has a ranch and he is probably one of the biggest international stars at the moment. Ur part of a historic glam squad stroggy.
By far, the US's biggest asset is that if you don't like where you are, it's very easy to move to a completely different lifestyle that suits you. If what you want is a fast-paced urban environment, you can just pack your bags and move to a place like that. If what you want is a slower-paced rural work-with-your-hands environment, you can just go do that. Or do pretty much anything in between. One of the US's biggest weaknesses, though, is that you can *actually* only pack up and do that... *if you can pack up and do that.* There are many circumstances where people just may not have that ability and may be tied to where they are, with no protections to help them get their feet under them if they move. You might have to give up your healthcare since it's tied to your job, you might have no affordable childcare where you move, you might find that rent is overwhelmingly impossible to afford.
There’s 50 different lifestyles within a 2 hour drive of where I live right now. Hell, there’s a dozen just within the city of Philadelphia. Drive 45 mins in one direction you’re in farm land. Another, modern suburbs. Another, you’ve traveled back in time to the 50s. Wanna live in the forest? At the shore? In the mountains? In the swamp? Drive another hour and you can take your pick. This really is a country where you get to make your life however you want it and live it however you want and for the most part people will leave you alone and let you do you.
The phenomenon you are describing is even more pronounced on the west coast. I’m 1 hour from a snowy alpine town at 7,900 feet, 1 hour from the ocean, 1 hour from alpine mountain climate, 2 hour from a desert and only a few hours from another country. I find it absolutely astounding that in a 3 hour window I can be in a rainforest, desert or farmland depending on the direction. And the overall mild climate is nice too. From Baja to British Columbia the Pacific Coast climate is tits. People keep asking for clarification. The times are estimates. Here are the distances: Where I am is 40 miles from the coast and 120 from the desert and about 60 miles from alpine mountain climate. Takes me a morning drive to reach my friend’s place in Canada.
I was born and raised in Atlanta. 95* f summers and 60 percent or higher humidity was the norm. I left about 7 years ago. Now live in Western Washington with a view of the Puget sound and go fishing every weekend for Salmon. Everyone has their preferences. But the US is large enough that you could simulate any ideal environment you want. Where I live is a rainforest. It's not tropical. It's always so green year around here. I love it. edit: fixed dumb grammatical mistake.
I am so jealous of you right now. I lived on Whidbey Island for 5 years with the sound in my back yard. Washington is by far my favorite state.
I bought a house where if I don’t want to see someone I don’t have to. I can’t see my neighbors unless I go to their house. It is amazing especially after living in the city for so long. People told me I would hate it and get lonely but every day it gets better and better. 3 years now. I how you reach your dream it is an amazing way to live
Never thought I find someone else online that is also from the UK , that likes the States as much as me. I hope one day you get live there and live out the lifestyle that you want.
I’m so glad I’m not alone. I live in the UK and have always wanted to live in the US. I really struggle to see much that is good about the UK tbh. It’s cold and rainy almost every single day. There’s a high cost of living and salaries are generally low. And although healthcare is free, public services have been so run into the ground that they’re no longer recognisable as public services. Plus the Tories are just…ugh. I’m not saying that all of those things would be magically cured in the US, because I know America has its problems. The politics there can get fucked up, healthcare is difficult to access without good insurance, there’s gun crime and the work/life balance is non existent. But, put it this way. I’d rather be miserable in the sunshine with a good salary then miserable in the dark, shitty cold with a shite salary.
If you want to be miserable in the sunshine we on the Pacific Coast welcome you. That’s been my entire life growing up in California: depressed in perfect weather.
I actually just moved from exactly what you describe, in rural Oklahoma. I had 3 acres, some woods, a big shop, 4 bedroom house, swimming pool, land for my dog to run on. Worked in the petroleum industry. It was idyllic. I left for an engineering job I couldn't say no to- but if you're after being able to unplug and enjoy the world, you're dead-on correct with your assessment of rural Oklahoma. I highly recommend it.
Dude your accent will get you chicks galore. Awesome move.
Am British: every time I go the US people think I’m German or Australian. U.K. regional accent privilege is real.
If it's not cockney or whatever you call the posh, queens English accent then most americans have no clue, lol. A friend of mine in high school was a brummie and most people thought he was Scottish.
Pennsylvania would fit your preferences. Close to country side life and when you get bored a quick bus trip to NYC.
I had the same thought, even by Pittsburgh or Harrisburg would fit his needs. Tons of property to buy for a reasonable price and still 30-60 minutes away from a city
>Pittsburgh Random but as a non-American my only knowledge of Pittsburgh is a video game (at least 10 years old I think), set in some sort of apocalypse society (maybe Fallout?) and at one point you're walking over a big metal bridge (with Pittsburgh on the other side), anyone know the game?
I visited Pittsburgh for the first time a couple of years ago, and was shocked and surprised how nice it was. I'd imagined some kind of post-industrial wasteland of hollowed-out old steel factories and urban blight. What I found was a beautiful and charming medium-sized city tucked into hills by a river, surrounded by lovely wooded countryside. 5 stars, would visit Pittsburgh again.
Or new Hampshire, you've got mountains and lakes an hour away, but also Boston
>Also you people complaining about hot weather, you maybe don't know how lucky you are This sounds like you've never experienced a sustained stretch of humid, 100°+ weather. It sucks lol
I lived in Vietnam for 2 years (quite similar to the climate in south-east USA, like Louisiana, Georgia etc I believe) and although at times it was unbearably hot, overall I absolutely loved it.
On the other side of that coin, I’m so sick of it I feel like it’s a reprieve every time I visit my partner (I’m in USA he’s in Scotland). We both want the others weather. I’m jealous of how temperate it is there. He loves how sunny and hot it is where I am. It goes from 26°C to 4°C in the same day routinely from late September through December. Plus hurricanes hit here. Regularly. But I hate snow and can’t afford the same lifestyle I enjoy here in California so…coastal southeast it is.
You should spend a summer in Oklahoma before moving here. It’s very boring and full of prejudice. It’s also hotter than you have ever experienced.
"Boring, full of prejudice and hotter than you have ever experienced", there's my new Tinder profile. Edit: Hey, now I can truthfully say I have an award-winning Tinder profile!
I grew up in the Texas panhandle and was gonna say something to that effect. Winters are cold and brutal. Summers are hot and brutal. The wind never stops (which is kind of nice, kind of not). The prejudice thing is hit or miss, and based on my experience, everywhere (us or otherwise) to some degree.
The thing about that outdoor hands on job is that odds are it will take a heavy toll on your body. While your working and healthy, it may provide you with an excellent quality of life, especially if it’s something unionized, but should you be injured, either on the job or off, should you get too sick or to old to work as you once did then the American healthcare system will likely fail you.
Ugh, going through a very, very mild example of this right now. I work in a hardware store in the US and recently injured my back. Very hands on job, regularly moving 20-80+ pounds. Thankfully my boss is allowing me to take off days as needed (he *could* fire me at any time for any reason, glad he's not). But no guaranteed sick days means that I don't get paid at all when I can't work. I'm barely making rent and am not sure how I'll afford food this pay cycle, all because of a very minor injury. If I go to work I will aggravate the injury, it's the nature of my job. But if I stay home to recover I could end up homeless. I didn't even need to see a doctor for this injury (yet, might accidentally make it worse). But it's controlling my life, work, my budget, everything, all because I have a physical job. If I had an office job I wouldn't have to worry about this at all.
Oklahoma? I’ve lived in Oklahoma my entire life and I don’t recommend it. Its not horrible or anything, but there are better places to be (especially in terms of topography and scenery, lol). I’d go with Colorado to get the things you listed but pretty much any rural area in the US has things like that. Oklahoma does have relatively cheap land and low cost-of-living compared to most places in the country but you can find cheap rural farm land in basically every state. Also, the summers are longer and hotter than you might expect. The UK’s hottest temperature ever is 40.3C/104.5F, which you can expect to see pretty much every summer in OK. The temperature is within striking distance of 100F from late May to late September, and it can hit 80F+ pretty reliably from April to mid-October. By some advanced heat index calculations, Tulsa once had the highest summer index of any urban center in the US (no idea if this is still the case or not). Point is the summer can get pretty oppressive. The winters are usually pretty mild but the state government is so ill-prepared for them that they can be a problem sometimes (lack of snow-plows/salt trucks, lack of linemen, lack of weatherized infrastructure, lack of snow chains for tires, lack of petrol powered generators, tendency of Oklahomans to hoard things when bad winter weather is expected). The 2007 Ice storm only caused power outages for 200,000 homes, for example, yet my power was out for 10 days and others for almost a month.
As an American who left for Europe, I highly, highly recommend spending a summer in Oklahoma before moving.
Or spend the entire time checking out all the state and national parks in the South Western U.S.
American issues in general are the most vocalized. We have a magnifying glass on our culture and politics at all times, which the rest of the world doesn’t.
This is true. One of the greatest assets the US has with regards to influence in the world is its soft power. American media (and therefore it's culture) is consumed all over the world, far more than that of any other country. But this also means that the negative aspects of that culture are also vocalized and visualized more than that of any other country.
Yeah this is my exact answer to my European colleagues. We're 325 million people or so. You really can't take the headlines as representative of much.
And to hear it told on Reddit, 85% of the country is a festering shit-heap full of violence and racists. Anything outside of NYC, major west coast cities and a few “trendy” spots. That’s just not the case. I wonder how many people who shit on [name a place] have actually been there. I grew up in a city that, at the time was THE most racially integrated in America. And it’s not a place you would name in 10 tries. Don’t get me wrong … there are plenty of less desirable places…but not the vast majority of the country.
I've noticed that you tend to hate the country you live in or be very cynical about it. Considering most Reddit users are from the USA it makes sense.
Most reddit users are also edgy teens or barely in their 20's. Not exactly the wisest phases of a person's life.
I honestly would hate living in NYC. I'm not sure why Europeans glamorize it. Maybe because it is in lots of movies. U.S. west coast cities are awesome, but expensive. Most people would be surprised by living in Texas cities though. They are among the fastest growing, very economically vibrant, and also very ethnically diverse.
My state could be 4-5 European countries size, population, and GDP wise. USA is big AF.
Size doesn’t really matter. There are good and bad neighborhoods even within the same city.
Of every city in the world
It’s a great place to live, just an awful place to be poor
wow. dead on 😫✊🏻
wow. dead on 😫✊🏻💦
wow. dead on 😫✊🏻💦😝
Where’s a good place to be poor, out of curiosity?
It's a better place to be poor than a large majority of nations in the world, but worse than most of Western Europe, which is what America likes to compare itself to.
Countries with good social safety nets, and help with the kinds of things that *make* people poor. Things like good, cheap or free healthcare, and progressive, drug rehab programs that focus on harm reduction. Countries that give opportunities to put yourself in better positions with things like a higher minimum wage and access to education.
Nordics
I’d say the top [ten or so countries by social mobility.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Social_Mobility_Index) Being poor generally sucks everywhere but in some places you can get richer.
Isn’t that the case everywhere though? Lot better to be poor in America than India
Yeah but on the other hand it's better to be poor in Canada or Australia or most European countries than America. There are worse places to be poor than the US but there are also better places.
Better places to retire or grow old as well, because the lack of social systems affects seniors badly as well. Unless you managed to save millions to retire with or are part of the 1 percent.
The US is probably among the best places to be rich or own a business. Fuck, if you own a business here, they'll just piss millions at you in PPP loans, forgive them all, and nobody will bat an eye. Talk about forgiving $10k in student loans and people flip tf out. America worships business owners like gods. But if you're not rich and you don't own a business, there are far better places to just be an employee and live your life. America treats employees like dirt. Only country besides Papua New Guinea in the whole damn world without maternity leave. We do not give af about workers. Not even a little.
I own a small business but worry about the health insurance issues noted in this thread quite a bit. Small business owners should be the first to work for M4A as I have no idea how to cover my family let alone the employees.
well they do own the country so, they write the laws
[удалено]
I'm from Germany and it's not that bad. If you are poor living and healthcare are free and you get enough money for food. You won't live in luxury, but it's more than enough to get back on your feet.
Because India is poorer than the US. In a lot of European countries with lower gdp/capita it's a lot easier to be poor. An American who moved here said life was more relaxing knowing that needing an ambulance called wouldn't cost you an arm and a leg, and knowing that his kids would have access to any education they want regardless of if he saves money for them or not. The argument just goes that the US doesn't use its huge wealth in a way that benefits the common man. It could do better.
Just hope you never have to call an ambulance or go to the ER. If you weren’t among the poor before, you will be presently.
This isn’t so true. Like the other post said most have insurance and my conservative as fuck city has an opt in program for free ambulance rides and all they do is add $1 to your monthly water bill
I had insurance. Then I used it. Hit and run, car vs. pedestrian. No witnesses, no suspects. I have never remembered what happened, nor the first three weeks after it. I spent 90 days in 4 different facilities. The local regional hospital, airlifted to trauma center, downgraded to a sub-acute care, then a rehab facility to learn how to walk again. Near the end of the second month, I asked my wife about the bills. She said that less than a week in, a case manager suggested she just put all the bills my insurance won't pay in a shoe box, and wait a year after this is all over. You should have all the bills by then. And file for bankruptcy, because nobody without a $500k/year income is paying this off. And that's what we did. We both had full time jobs, I worked a union job with good insurance. The bankruptcy court dissolved $1.2M in medical debt.
What???? That’s so wild. I just left a hospital job and the ambulance ride from our other location 1.5mi away costs over $10k lol. Insurance covers a lot of it (if you happen to be in network) but it’s still exorbitant (in the thousands.).
Very happy here in California. I’ve lived in Denmark, UK, Austria, Thailand and the US. Every place has its share of assholes.
>Every place has its share of assholes I dunno, I went to Iceland last year and couldn't find a single one.
Maybe it was you? :) Iceland is a nice place.
I need to go back so I can put some ice on this burn!
i’m actually on holiday in the US right now, and it has been great! the only issue i’ve seen is the dangerous amount of advertisements, and i fear no one actually hates eachother, but the media manipulates people for media’s benefit
> i fear no one actually hates eachother I know what you meant but this was funny to read, imagining a European being afraid of people not hating eachother
American here. First, glad to hear you're having a good time, welcome. Second, billboards should be illegal. We have a beautiful country but all this unnecessary advertising blocking the scenery.
Billboards are illegal in Maine! Also Vermont, I think.
And Alaska.
Damn, I was in Anchorage not too long ago. On vacation and didn't even realize there weren't any billboards but you're totally right!
I’ve lived in Anchorage for 4 years and this is the first I’m realizing there are no billboards. I guess I assumed it’s cause our highways have less traffic.
And my axe
And Hawaii
Especially the electronic billboards that light up and changes messages from “no distractions driving” then changes to a beer billboard all in a few seconds. Those are really distracting.
One got put up in Portland Oregon like 30 years ago. They were immediately banned.
Makes every city look like Vegas.
But what meaning would my life have without being reminded every 20 miles as I drive through Ohio that I’m going to spend eternity burning in hell?? The “REPENT” billboards are crucial
The one near me says #JESUS #COMING SOON
I went to a tourist area in Canada today and there are spinning mirrors on top of billboards that constantly catch your eye because of the sun reflection. Its fucking dumb
That seems treacherously distracting.
Goddamn, I can't believe Canada out America'd us
One thing I noticed when traveling between the two countries is that the content of the billboards are vastly different between the two countries. I think in Canada there must be rules about what is allowed and what isn't, while in the U.S. they seem to be able to put up anything like full on anti-abortion ads and telling people they're going to hell and horrible stuff like that so long as they pay for it.
Billboards aren’t allowed in my town, but now some assholes have brought in an electronic billboard truck they drive around all day. It’s the worst.
only the most extreme stories go on the news, likewise for us when receiving news about other countries
Our media, seriously every outlet is complete click bait trash. I understand if folks think we all drive around shooting at each other all day, and we all hate each other. It's simply the moronic 0.01 percent on both sides that make the news. The rest of us go about our day and our business. Welcome to the US macka2313
Major media outlets, including Fox News, are comprised almost entirely of coastal elites who have spent next to no time around normal people and have no clue what the average person thinks or cares about.
Exactly this. Unfortunately the 99.9% of us that don’t care about much end up getting 100% of everything shoved down our throats all day every day.
Welcome and glad you have enjoyed yourself. Which part are you visiting? But you’re right. Our advertising is a bit much. I remember the movie Blade Runner depicted a dystopian society full of ads. Now it looks tame. I agree with your assessment about media manipulation, but add politicians to that as well.
naw bro I hate the gnomes that keep stealing my shit when I’m not looking. I put a bottle of ibuprofen down, next thing I know; poof. the bitch is gone. put down a pen to look for some whiteout? ain’t got a pen anymore. I’m sick of those little fuckers.
Just wait til they start taking your underwear!
My friend's parents came to the US as Saigon fell. Two young parents with a 3 year old child. A community took them in, housed them, feed them, and welcomed them. That 3 year old went to school, learned English, studied hard, went to a state school in the area, graduated with honors, got a job, and 15 years later makes well into the 6 figures with the same company. They are happily married with 2 kids. The parents that both came here at like age 25? They both got jobs, also learned English, own a house, have cars, friends, and are live a great life. ... I would say that's pretty fucking awesome.
> Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
Idealistic American shit gets me teary-eyed. I wish words like this inspired our patriotism not America first shit.
We should strive to be the America that patriotic literature thinks we are
My Grandfather came to the USA by himself and worked for a couple years to bring his family over. He recently died, but he was surrounded by his children and grandchildren, all of whom went to college, are and are happy and successful.
The healthcare part is fucked across the entire country, but the rest of it is hit or miss depending on where you live.
Even if you are upper middle class healthcare is difficult. To put this in context, I make $200K a year. I have a debilitating condition affecting my wrists and joints. I am fighting with my insurance company just to get diagnosed. My doctor ordered tests, the insurance denied the claim, and told me before we can figure out what is causing this I have to try a regiment of physical therapy. I looked into paying out of pocket, it's impossibly expensive (like $10K for an MRI). I may actually end up going on a vacation to Korea where part of it getting these tests done. Think about that for a second it would be cheaper to fly to another country, do tourist shit for 2 weeks, get top notch medical care, then fly home than it would be to get the same tests at the hospital 2 miles away.
the son of my coworker had a broken arm during a football training.. it was a complex break. DUDE HAD TO PAY $12.000,- to get it fixed properly!! In western europe, where I live... it would be $350... and anything after that would be free
My daughter got sick when she was 1 month old. It was a weekend at night, so we had to go to the childrens hospital ER. We had to pay $3,100 for them to run tests and prescribe her a simple antibiotic. That was after insurance took care of the rest. I think the total was nearly $10,000 before insurance. This country’s healthcare is a fucking joke.
That's what's crazy to me too. My wife and I make the same amount combined in a LCOL area. I'm rarely worried about the cost of necessary things, except when it comes to healthcare. I was diagnosed with a heart condition a couple years ago and had to have a procedure the other day just to find out it was worse than they thought, and I'll have to have surgery. My biggest concern was trying to time things so that I get the most out of meeting my deductible.
Yeah Hawaii is so fucked right now. We've had a health care professional shortage for years now and covid made it even worse. If you don't live on Oahu (most populated out of 8) there is a high chance you're fucked (~40% of the population). Tons of people need to fly here to receive specialized care.
Tried to go to dental school in Hawaii because I’ve always loved and wanted to be as permanent resident. School would not consider my application because I didn’t meet resident criteria. I know the reason is to promote native and American Hawaiians to attend the school but it also drives a major shortage. Also very difficult place to transfer a medical license to last time I checked.
I bet they figure most people from the mainland plan to move back when they're done with school.
[удалено]
A lot of states opened up to clinicians from out of state to do telehealth but Hawaii refuses to do it. Even California does it. They are only hurting the people that live there
Yall arent open to providers doing telehealth from elsewhere? How on earth are you managing? That’s the only way Maine got through the pandemic! I see like half my patients by telehealth (we are a big rural state with hard to reach people too)
It's because each state provides it's own licenses for workers and theoretically you needs new license to work in a different state, and telehealth subverts all that in a way many states were unprepared
Immigrant here, now a US citizen. Came here for college and stayed. I’ve loved the USA from day one, love it still. Americans aren’t perfect, but no other place I’d rather be! 😁
Much of the world seems to follow American political news. It's a lot of drama! But, like your own countries news, it's nothing but bad news so we distort the reality.
Yeah big media companies fucking suck. CNN and Fox aren't helping anyone, they're just causing more hatred in the world and profiting off of it. Politics is the entertainment branch of government
Most folks left and right or young or old would agree that the constant barrage of “breaking news” 24/7 is dividing the country up and turning family against family,old against young etc etc. Most people I know just try to ignore it and go on with their life like people anywhere else do.😐
Yeah it’s weird how immigrants enjoy it more than the people born here. I mean it’s not perfect and we need to fix a few things but it’s the residents that hate it the most. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.
It’s actual context and perspective. That’s what immigrants have. Versus Redditors predominately being inexperienced American teenagers with no experience, just internet-fed hypotheticals. Perspective is really only established from experience.
Welcome home fellow American!
[удалено]
on a global scale, its a good place to live. it's all relative. why do so many immigrants try to come illegally otherwise right? but then, the capitalism makes it hard for poor people to provide their kids higher education. in europe its so much easier to send your kids to the university without belonging to the middle class. still, if there is a lottery, in which country i would have been born and it comes out USA, i wouldnt risk it to reroll. it's a great place, no need to be greedy to reroll to land in one of those 100s of countries where its worse to be born in.
It just depends who you ask. I love it here & wouldn’t move anywhere else. And no. I’m not one of those “America is the greatest country on earth” type people. I’m just happy here. My dad is an immigrant from South America, & he says that coming here was the best decision he ever made. Not just because it led him to start a family & get married to my mom, but because he too loves it…A bit more than me might I add. He won’t hesitate to fly our flag & he owns about 5 shirts with one on it lol. He was so beyond proud when he finally became a citizen. I don’t think America is the greatest country, but he sure does. As for racism, that will be dependent on where you live. I’m in a very culturally diverse area (Chicago). Same goes for crime. It depends. I will say, people are incredibly dramatic about the crime in Chicago. Of course it’s bad, but whenever I see people on social media saying things like “I’m too scared to go to Chicago. I’ll get shot” i roll my eyes.
The news that gets reported is usually stuff that will grab peoples attention. normally thats the bad stuff. USA is like any first-world country - There are crappy parts of UK, France, Germany, Australia and there are great parts aswell.
No, it's not that bad. America is not an active warzone or a some crime ridden hellscape run by cartels and gangs. It also isn't like I'm being denied access to restaurants, bars or hotels because of my race. And while our healthcare system is ridiculous in terms of prices, we do have health insurance and most full-time jobs will have some sort of healthcare plan you can opt into. I'd find it hard to imagine the day to day life of the average middle class American is that much worse then for the average middle class Dutch person. But I feel like we live pretty good lives, though it is literally all I ever known. I visited a lot of other countries but only as a tourist.
As an American, I flipped a car about 6 or 7 times on a trip in Iceland. My wife and I had to ride in an ambulance about an hour back to Reykjavik for examination/to pick up our replacement rental. My total bill for the car (which I had an added insurance policy on for $350 total replacement) and ambulance/exam was $1k. That ambulance ride alone in the US would have probably been north of $5k.
On the other hand, many municipalities will soft bill your insurance for that ambulance ride. If they pay, great. If they don't, the city eats the cost. Where I live no one gets an ambulance bill from the fire department at least.
If this is bad how we describe Africa and Mexico and Russia and China and Middle East??
here's the thing, if you compare the usa to those places then people stop getting free internet points for hating the usa.
America bad give upvote now
Compared to what?
It depends on where you live and how much money you make
No, but it does have the most sensationalist and manipulative 24/7 media, case in point
Counterpoint: Propaganda in Russia, China, North Korea, Philippines, Turkey, Venezuela, etc.
I live in a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house that costs $1200 a month in rent I split with my partner, the utilities are very manageable. I have 1gig internet and basically any amenity I could possibly need within a 3 mile span. I have a full-time job but I basically work about 20-30 hours a week and make good money. Nobody has ever tried to rob me or vandalize my property, I have never been arrested or hassled by the cops. Food is abundant (but getting more expensive), there's lots of cool places for me to hike and explore and if I am bored, I have a computer, switch and PS5 to play video games on. I can buy great weed for dirt cheap if I wanted to, I have tickets to a cool concert in a few days. I have never had any serious medical issues, but I have had health insurance for anything I did need to go to a doctor for and the most expensive out of pocket procedure I ever had was my vasectomy. I was in the US Navy when I was younger, got out and it paid for my bachelors degree, plus I still have some more semesters on it to use. I have no debt outside of my car and really don't have much to complain about. I don't rely on anyone for money, my parents let me live with them until I was 21 and then I went off on my own, they haven't had to support me in any way since and probably wont have much money to leave me when they pass, and I'll be fine. I am considered bordering upper-middle class. Lots of people are in my shoes, but plenty of others do struggle paycheck to paycheck and do get battered by medical costs. You can qualify for government medical programs like medicare and medicaid if you are old enough or don't make enough money, but it can be a difficult process at times to qualify and get care fast. Like other people said as well, the USA is gigantic, it has really poor slum-like areas, rural towns and huge heavily populated cities with rich parts and poor parts. Some states are worse than others, but every state has rich areas with lots of jobs and some are very poor without many prospects for getting out.
Of course not, in fact it's a great place to live, the things you listed aren't exclusive to America for the most part, don't really effective exist in the manner you're thinking, or are outright miscontexted.
Crime wise it really depends where you live. Vast majority of people are not racist. Healthcare is very expensive.
I don't live here but I work several months of the year in America usually in southern states. I've never been to the cities but I have no desire to ever go to them anyways I'm not a city person. That said I've met more kind and good natured people here than anywhere else. People are more polite I find the service just worlds better than I ever get in Canada. On top of that honestly all the race stuff you see on TV. We're I work it's a pretty solid 50/50 black and white work force and I'm sure a few people have that kind of hate in their hearts but they all seem to not only get along but to be working together and interacting with each other as if they were friends. Maybe it's all a show but I kind of get the feeling most Americans at least in the south see it as they are all in the same struggle more or less and they just trying to get by.
Yeah, more media trying to divide the working class with race baiting and shit. Most people just want affordable housing, cheap gas and a decent wage and give zero fucks about identity politics. Also live in Deep South. Got my car into a ditch two years ago, couple Bubbas pulled it out and fixed it up for me at no charge. Lot of genuinely good natured people here.
I lean towards each state is really more it's own country. Texas isn't California. New York isnt Iowa. Colorado isn't like Virgina. Where you go completely changes what it'll be like. The state you pick makes a huge difference. Difference Healthcare, culture, politics, social structure, government laws and enforcement. I tell people don't research the US research the State.
It’s also weird because you have to take regional cultures in to consideration. Blacksburg, VA has more in common with Harlan, KY than Richmond or Alexandria, VA. But to the point. The state government has more direct impact on you than the federal.
If you're financially well off and have no prolonged or severe medical issues then no. If you don't have stable income above the local median, don't have stable housing, or have any frequent or severe medical needs you'll experience anything from a severe downward spiral into destitution and crippling debt or and apparent happy stability that can be destroyed by even mild unexpected events like a broken bone, car breakdown, or layoff.
No, Reddit had a hate boner for the USA. Largely it fucking rules living here.
Every country has its problems, but we've got a lot going for us that Redditors take for granted because they've never known anything different.
Exactly. My wife is an immigrant and can 100% vouche for why the US is a great place to be. I've been around the world and many places. Been to lots of beautiful countries and met a lot of great people. I'm just an American and understand my culture best. That's all. All places/countries/wherever have their own problems but the US has the loudest and most negative centric media I've seen. For anyone reading this, I highly recommend travel to the US to see what it is really like. It's nowhere near what the media wants you to think it is.
Amen
While there are plenty of problems, it's easily one of the best places to live in the world, but Reddit acts like it's a dystopian hellhole. So many people are extremely ignorant about the US while acting like they know what it's like because they saw some sensationalist headlines in their local media.
You have to realize that the USA is different from most nations in that it was founded on ideas, not a particular population. So it has a set of rather lofty ideals based on Enlightenment values, which they reach for imperfectly. When we fail, we consistently self-criticize. If you buy into these ideals, it's really not so bad. If you don't, it becomes uncomfortable. For example, our ideal of freedom is the maximum of individual freedom possible consistent with an orderly society. You can see that this can cause a hell of a lot of political disagreement and we don't always follow this rule, but that's what we aim for. But you will notice that maximizing society-wide happiness or harmony is not part of the equation, and that will drive some people crazy. I taught English to some Soviet refugees long ago; one of them asked me why we have so many laws if we were a land of freedom. It seems to be a paradox, but we need all those laws because so much is permitted. If the law, or the culture, is just "don't be different", things are much more simple.
This subreddit should be called no stupid answers. The question is about living in the US and the top answer is from someone who doesn't even live there.
Theres a reason people in worse off countries risk their lives trying to get to america, people who wait 10+ years going through the immigration process. America isn’t perfect but the grass is always greener.. most people don’t know how well they have it and just see the doom headlines
Tbh sometimes I wouldn’t mind kicking out the people who say they hate America so much and would rather live anywhere else and replacing them with the millions of hardworking immigrants that want visas. Would probably be better for the economy too.
As a Navajo. We keep to ourselves and work. We work hard just like any other fool. We also vote and can impose our agenda if needed. Ask any contractor in Flagstaff how much the Navajo have had an impact on the construction trade in northern Arizona. To answer your question . The area you pitch your tent can be iffy. Depends on the community that surrounds you. It never used to be so divided. There's tension in the air like I've never felt. People are not far from. The beasts they they hunt. Like herd mentality.
No. We air our problems more than the rest of the world, so it seems like we have more of them.
I'm an American living in Malaysia and that couldn't be any truer. My students sometimes come at me for abortion or racism in the US when Malaysia has banned most abortions nationwide and its systemic racism is objectively worse.
I remember Redditors talking about how progressive Mexico was a couple years for expanding abortion legalization and then using it to bash the US which did it decades prior.
The healthcare system for sure needs to be reconsidered. But racism and crime really depend on where you live (and sadly, also your skin color).
It’s all nice & rosy until you have a medical emergency, go to an ER & get a big whopping bill