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There are many places to live in the United States of America; some by the sea, some by the sea and mountains, some by rivers, some without the sea, mountains or rivers, and some places have less than thrilling terrain. Many people tend to seek the ideal location (including myself), later finding out that the place or places they sought after so much were not so great, leading them to move again and again (or, at least they want to move). The question being asked is, are Americans (U.S. citizens) today less content in where they live than people in other countries?
I don't know about less content or not, but Americans do have a lot more mobility than many people in other countries -- that's for sure. It seems so many Americans have lived in many states throughout their lives.
Also, indeed the US has such climactic and geographical diversity, from the cool forested landscapes of the PNW to the fall foliage of New England to the bayous of Louisiana and the searing heat of Arizona, and more if you count Alaska and Hawaii -- it's probably one of the most diverse in that sense. Many countries are a lot smaller in area and have only one major type of climate zone or landscape, or fewer cities spread around them.
People also don't realize and sometimes don't stop to ponder that the US has such a large population across its many cities, towns and countrysides and that it's the third largest population of any country -- only China and India are bigger in that regard!
I think Americans are just naturally restless and like to move around and typically like to look for a place to settle down in once most get older and start to have large families.
I would say yes, Americans are less content compared to our peers. The US as a whole is very far behind our peers when it comes to health coverage, cost of college, income equality, paid vacation, crime, quality of public schooling, secularism, equal rights, and other issues that greatly affect quality of life and standard of living. While our peers are similar to the US in that there are plenty of content people and people who would like to move to another part of the country, I think US has a much larger percentage of people who would like leave the country all together.
I would say yes, Americans are less content compared to our peers. The US as a whole is very far behind our peers when it comes to health coverage, cost of college, income equality, paid vacation, crime, quality of public schooling, secularism, equal rights, and other issues that greatly affect quality of life and standard of living. While our peers are similar to the US in that there are plenty of content people and people who would like to move to another part of the country, I think US has a much larger percentage of people who would like leave the country all together.
I agree, it hurts to be on top and then to lose that status. Other than equal rights and a greater emphasis on conservation, I would say the US hit its heyday in the 50s and 60s. The standard of living for most has steadily declined since then. I also blame the media and trends such as materialism, dog-eat-dog competition, the breakup of the nuclear family unit, excessive individualism (every man for himself forget the impact on the other person), and of course greed and lack of morals by the elite that leads to such phenomenons as outsourcing. Its hard to live in a country and happily wave a flag on Fourth of July when living in that country is some morally bankrupt person who sold out their country by shipping jobs to China. I try to smile and wave the flag because I still love the flag and try to pretend that that 1% is not there and is a traitor to America.
Can only speak for myself. I grew up in a neighborhood in NY that went downhill very fast. Some years later, I was afraid to drive thru it, let along live there. Over the years, we have moved several times because of job transfers. So I feel more mobile...I had to keep picking up my roots, and I have experience in that. So even as I look toward retirement, i am not thinking "how can I leave where i grew up and have all my roots?" ... I am thinking "why should i stay in what happens to be the last place we got transferred?".
I think if I were in an area with extended family and long-term community commitments, i would feel differently. Contentment comes with satisfaction. I am content with many aspects of my life....
But since i have a house with too many stairs, and live in a cold, snowy area and I love the warm sunshine, and I KNOW from experience that I can change that, I am less content.
The grass is always greener across the fence, and the US has a lot more grass on the other side of our fences. Huge numbers of Americans, maybe the majority, live hundreds or thousands of miles from their roots and their families, which to a Belgian or a Korean is unimaginable. Yet, Americans have accepted this fact of life, and have largely abandoned their sense of connection with distant families, and can remain contented even when far from home. But, even without the family roots connection, Americans still see their country as a land in which there are plenty of other places in which they might harbor a desire to move on to. Most people are still harboring a secret or an open desire to resettle in some other part of the country, and are imperfectly contented with where they are. Simply because the expanse of geography affords so many alternatives.
Duh. Because, with the exception of Native Americans, every single American is descended from someone who woke up one morning and said, "I'm not taking this crap anymore." And they packed up their families and their belongings, boarded a boat or an airplane, and came here. Even then, they didn't just stay close to their port of entry. They then moved into the interior until they found a place to put down roots, often at great risk to themselves.
I may move around alot (not by choice) but one thing I can say for certainty is that I am content here in the U.S. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the entire world.
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