Why so many Americans trying to leave? (middle school, living in)

[AnthonyB]

Many of the responses just seem to feed the observation more.
The foreigners who want to come here are pretty specific.
The Americans "just want to leave". It's like a fishing expidition. "Which country could I move to? Which country would I like? "I hate it here"
How on earth can an anonymous stranger tell another which country they would like? And why does anyone assume that there would be less stress in moving to another country? I've emigrated several times - it is more stressful, not less. You have to deal with a different culture, different work situations, no family, no longterm friends to help you when things get tough.

I would recommend trying to move to a different State first. I've seen people move from the NY region to North Carolina and rush back because they couldn't stand the culture shock, how on earth could they deal with moving abroad?

And as someone pointed out, the government will change.


You should move somewhere because you love it, or it offers something particular you want, not to run away.

[clongirl]

Yeah, I know he's on the way out thank goodness, but at the time it seemed like things were getting pretty grim and it was quite a depressing time for us, knowing that many of our friends/neighbors voted for the guy the second time around. Of course it wasn't the only reason why we moved but it certainly swayed our decision. We were in Ireland for a few years but we're back in the US again. Whenever you leave and no matter where you go, you just exchange one set of problems/irritants for new ones.

[AnthonyB]

Originally Posted by clongirl

Whenever you leave and no matter where you go, you just exchange one set of problems/irritants for new ones.

I think that is the crux of the matter that people should understand BEFORE uprooting their families. You are dead on there.

[blankstare]

I agree with changing one set of problems for another. It just depends on how much you hate it here. Like me, I really hate this place. It seems like nothing here makes me happy anymore. If I leave for Europe, I might not need a car which means I would save alot of money but I might be exchanging that with being in a situation where I cant even get a job, etc. I also would have to learn another language as Im not interested in the English countries. I want a completely different environment. On top of that, I would have to have a skill that they are in need of which at the present time I do not. And even with all that at hand, I wouldn't make as much money to survive in Belgium, (that's the only country where I know someone). So I think the bottom line is, learn to deal with the new set of problems if you really hate this place.

[Visvaldis]

Americans are in general restless, and have been so for decades. Many move from one place to another within the country. And then move again.
Also, more and more Americans are interested in quality of life instead of quantity. It has already been mentioned that Americans work longer for less benefits, lead stressful lives, can't afford healthcare, can't retire comfortably, are subject to various fears and paranoia, etc. For many the standard of living has gone down and they think their lives may be better somewhere else. There's only one way to find out if that's true.

[clongirl]

I was fortunate to have loads of family/friends in Ireland which made the transition easier but unless you have that, it's not really going to be worth uprooting (kids especially) out of the US. I think that it's easy for people to romanticize any given country and think that it's the same as taking a holiday.

[Contrails]

I lived in both Europe and Brazil for a considerable amount of time. In Europe I was mainly in Portugal but spent 1 1/2 years living in Rome, Italy. I can say that I completely understand the reasons why people would want to leave the U.S.

Generally speaking, life in both the continents I lived in is much less stressful. You have time to spend with friends and family, take trips, go on vacation, spend the day relaxing by the pool, etc..

Here in the States people actually schedule family time They pencil it in on their agendas. Schools send daily schedules home with kids that includes 1 hour of family time. I tell that to people in Europe and they roll on the floor laughing. Things like relaxation, spending time with family, going out to places, etc.. is so natural to them they can't imagine living with out it. Plus, the overall cost of living in both Europe and Brazil is less.

Both places will tax the hell out of you. But in return you receive a degree of social freedom us Americans have a hard time comprehending. Social services, health care, etc.. are all "free" But most importantly is how Europeans are able to live a VERY NICE life on no more than 5 or 6 thousand dollars a month. Try living a nice, stress free life in the States on that much.

I love the United States. There are many things that we do which are better than other places. Mainly, our bureaucratic system is less painful...but that the only bit advantage we have over Europe.

There is a saying that says: Europeans work to live...Americans live to work. That is true. We here in the States are much more stressed, work 3x as much, and have less time for recreation.

In Europe and Brazil part time and full time workers are guaranteed 30 days vacation every year with roll over. In Brazil and some Euro countries they receive whats called the 13th salary which is basically a whole extra months salary in December as a bonus. Everybody gets it; not just CEOs or fat cats.

I am strongly considering moving back to Europe within the next few years. However a good life can be had in the US as well if you jump through the right hoops and have a degree of luck. It all depends on where you live here as well.

All in all I see the reason why many are wanting to leave. It makes sense as I have the same feelings. I know there is a certain person who used to live in the UK who will argue with everything I just said above, but unlike her I lived in Europe for more than just a few years. Same thing with Brazil. My family is from Europe so I have that base and connection over there that provides me with a greater degree of immersion. Take my opinion or leave it...but the quality of life in Europe and in many sectors of Brazil is better.

[wrightclan]

Well, let's see...

I'm not wanting to leave, having just recently returned from Scotland. As for reasons I moved there in the past: The first time, I was just out of High School and spent a couple of years working with a Christian youth organization, prior to going to college. Then the second time was to marry my now lovely wife, who I met while working there. We had to remain there for seven months that time, waiting for a Green card. I was legally unable to work, but was allowed to study a couple of courses at college. Then we moved to Minnesota, for me to finish my B.Sc. at college. Moved back to Scotland for about a year, but unable to make it work financially, returned to Minnesota for a few years.

Eight years ago, we had improved our financial situation, and had made a reasonable profit on our first fixer-upper house in Minnesota. At the same time, my father-in-law in Scotland was terminally ill (now sadly passed), so it seemed the right time to return to Scotland. This time, I had a better job , we were financially better off, and we enjoyed much about life in Scotland.

We have four kids (three born in Scotland, one in Minnesota. ) All but our youngest one had lived in both countries prior to our recent move to Missouri. It was getting difficult financially. Our third house (second in Scotland) was another fixer-upper. This time a 100+ year old row of 3 miners' cottages which had been converted into one home, was falling apart, but had plenty of space for our growing family. We spent five years throwing our lives into that money and energy pit. We never finished it to the level we had intended (I did most of the work myself.) But that which was finished was very nice (if I do say so myself.)

Anyway, for various reasons, not the least of which was the money-pit, we decided it was time to make a decision as to whether to continue, or make a move back to the U.S. We were afraid that we might not even make back what we owed. As it turned out, due to a confluence of circumstances (one of which was the high Sterling to Dollar ratio) we were able to sell the house and make enough profit to buy a nice 3,000 sq. ft. house in a nice neighborhood, a couple miles from where my parents now live. (We paid more than half in cash, and had some left over to invest.)

As Christians, we view that confluence of circumstances as Providence, not least because we thought we were in such dire straits previously. But I digress, and don't expect all readers to see it that way.

As to the OP, I have read a number of threads which made me ask myself some of the same questions. I find this desperation on the part of some to just "get out of here" very curious.

One poster mentioned rising prices of basic necessities as being a reason. Well, I'm sorry to inform you, but I don't think there is anywhere in the developed world where the items mentioned are on a whole less expensive than in the U.S. In fact more often than not, they are very much more expensive than in the U.S.

I do think that living in and experiencing other cultures can be an enriching experience for some. But I think that often the discontent and desperation to just leave this "awful" U.S.A. will not lead to contentedness somewhere else.

There are things and people I loved and miss about Scotland. There are things and people I loved and missed about the U.S., when I was in Scotland. There are things that irritate me about life in both places. But generally, as long as I have my family and friends and a good church family (we have all of those all over the world now), and as long as I can keep my family fed and clothed and relatively happy; then I'm happy and content to live here in the U.S., or in Scotland and would not be opposed to the idea of trying somewhere completely new (provided I had my wife and family on board.)

For now SW MO is home.

[dullnboring]

I think Bush has a lot to do with it.

I think it was the RE-election that really knocked a lot of people's faith in this country down a few pegs, much moreso than the first election. With the first election, we could say "oh, he didn't REALLY win it" or say that "well, no one knew what we were in for with him at the time." It was just a sense of disbelief that even after all he'd done, knowing all about him that we did (really, he hasn't been behaving at all differently now than he was before the election which is why I don't understand why just NOW people are waking up and angry), a solid majority of the people in this country (or at least of eligible voters who showed up) STILL voted to keep him in office. I can angrily shout about how I didn't vote for him and how no one else I know did, and try to tell my foreign friends that Americans aren't as (insert negative adjective here) as they think, only to be met again with the uncomfortable reality that the OTHER side is in the majority. I can no longer pretend that the 2000 election was a fluke or that THESE people don't exist or speak for the majority of Americans because unfortunately they do; and realizing and confronting that has just honestly changed my own opinion of Americans as a whole and has led me to seriously question virtually every aspect of life in America and the values of this country.

It almost doesn't even matter at this point to me what happens in the future. Maybe we'll bounce back in some respects; maybe electing Bush's polar opposite, but whatever the case may be, I feel like I've almost permanently soured on a lot of things in this country, and that my patriotism has been shattered. This isn't the country that I knew growing up and I don't feel that I will ever regain the faith I lost in this country. Maybe that's a good thing in that maybe I was too blindly patriotic beforehand, but whatever the case may be, let's just say I'm really dejected at the state of many things (certainly not everything) in my country nowadays. I had always wanted to live abroad, for at least a few years just to experience life in another country, but I never thought I'd actually attempt to legally emigrate to another country, to seriously consider the possibility of starting up a new life abroad, but it IS something that I have begun to think about in the past few years; and I know that I'm not alone in that. You rarely ever heard of Americans thinking about emigrating in the past and now more and more Americans are. I'm not pointing the finger squarely at Bush for that. I think with increased foreign travel, globalization and the availability of the internet, Americans are doing their own research and saying "hmmm, but it's so much cheaper in Costa Rica" or "wow, look at the health care system in France" or "look at all the vacation time they get in Switzerland" or whatever the case may be, but the fact is that a lot of Americans are opening their eyes to the world and really turning a lens on themselves and realizing that just perhaps the U.S. isn't the greatest country on Earth as we're taught to believe, and perhaps just because we're born here, doesn't mean that we have to stay here.

With all that said, I don't believe that there are really large numbers of Americans seeking to permanently move abroad. The pace has definitely increased, but it's still a fairly small portion of the pie. Most people who don't like one place in the U.S. will just move to another place in the U.S., and most people who move to someplace abroad, are doing so for the experience and the exoticism of it, and find themselves returning after a few years. I personally feel that it would be very difficult for me to consciously decide to make a new country my permanent home, to give up my American citizenship and so forth. However, I do think there's been a change in the mentality of a lot of Americans who are now looking at things on a global scale as opposed to a national one, and no longer feeling that they just have to deal with certain aspects of American life. I don't think that these people who leave are abandoning America. Many of the fundamental aspects of what once represented the glory of America have changed. It's not so much people abandoning America, so much as "America" has abadoned them.

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by clongirl

One big reason why we left was because we were disgusted that the current administration was voted into power again.

And we're having an election in less than a year and the current administration goes away in January 2009. So....