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To the well traveled, do you feel America is the best place to live or does it depend on what stage you are in life? Maybe different places are better when you hit retirement age or maybe you feel America is just the best in every department. Why are why not? Please don't answer if you only go for mission trips, or if you only go to super touristy destination.
Everybody has there priorities in life, interests, moods, desires, needs, etc; America can either meet, exceed, or not meet any, all, or none of these needs. All of these factors change throughout a person's life.
First question would be; if you were financially independent, as in plenty of money and no need for work, where would you live? Sure, a person could say "Turkey" for example, but, what if they have medical needs? Well, that would place the US back on the list due to these needs.
I can say right now the only place in the US I ever liked living is here in Miami (where I am at now), I have zero desire to live any other place in the US. I can think of a few other places in the world I rather live than in the US, but the need of income keeps me from doing so.
Five years from now, my factors could change and I could have a different view.
I can give you one valid reason for preferring to live in another developed Western country over the United States - free health care. There's something to be said about never having to worry about health care or the quality of health care, regardless of whether you're employed, unemployed or retired.
The USA is the most convenient place to live with the most opportunities available especially if one has money. But the American health care system is really only affordable to the rich.
Convenience and opportunities will vary depending on what you're looking for. You can make the case that for the average middle class person the US is the most affordable of the developed countries and offers more job opportunities and lower taxes. The quality of life can be better if you want a larger house (more space) and more disposable income.
But if you're financially independent and affluent, these are generally moot points, except possibly the taxation issue. I can see why someone would prefer living in London with all its cultural amenities and proximity to Europe. Or in Southern France. Or in New Zealand.
If you are an independently wealthy retiree looking globally for an ideal place to live, these are the factors I'd consider:
1. Proximity to family and friends. This cannot be understated. If you have a good circle of friends and family it can be a lonely decision to pack up and move to New Zealand no matter how gorgeous the country can be.
2. Proximity to good quality health care, but any developed country will cover this.
3. Weather.
4. Amenities, which can range from outdoor activities to arts and culture. Beaches versus great cities.
5. Ability to gain residency. It's one thing to have a second home in a different country where you spend a few weeks to a few months, but to want to live there for the majority of the year requires a residency permit. Different countries will have different rules. In general if you're a wealthy retiree it's easier to migrate to another country as you can prove you're financially independent and you can usually meet the financial requirements for getting an "investor's visa" that circumvents most immigration rules.
6. Tolerance for lower quality circumstances. This won't refer to your immediate living circumstances for you can live in the lap of luxury in many less developed/second world countries, but when you venture beyond your neighborhood or have to deal with the local bureaucracy, standards can be quite different. See Thailand as an example. Or Bali in Indonesia. Or South Africa. My experience with travel is that the less affluent a country is the greater the red tape and bureaucratic nightmare, then of course there's road conditions and reliability of infrastructure and utilities, as well as the tolerance of seeing many much poorer people, plus in many places security issues. South Africa is a perfect example of a gorgeous country that offers a high quality of lifestyle for affluent people, but you must still deal with high crime and being surrounded by people on very small incomes.
7. Ability to speak the local language(s).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chava61
The USA is the most convenient place to live with the most opportunities available especially if one has money. But the American health care system is really only affordable to the rich.
Your average working-class guy (or woman) is better off in one of the western European countries. Health care, income support, child care, transportation systems...all of this works pretty well. Many of these countries do a particularly good job of training for non-college degree jobs, which then turn out to pay reasonably well and offer good security.
It's interesting that Americans in this socioeconomic class are unlikely to travel and are unlikely to be aware of this.
For highly educated professionals the US is often a better place to be.
I can give you one valid reason for preferring to live in another developed Western country over the United States - free health care. There's something to be said about never having to worry about health care or the quality of health care, regardless of whether you're employed, unemployed or retired.
Agreed. Health care is one of the major reasons the US can't ever be considered "the best" if we are ranking countries. Tying health care to your employer is one of the great mistakes in this country. The US is a great place to live if you are (relatively) wealthy and an increasingly more difficult place to live if you're not. If you can afford it and if you live in a non-rural area, the US medical system is phenomenal in regards to skill level of doctors and access to world-class specialists and researchers.
I find most people who make the knee-jerk blanket statement that "America is the best in everything!!!!" are usually the people who aren't well traveled (probably have never left the country, other than maybe a day trip over the border to Mexico). They just spit out the mantra they have been spoon fed their whole lives: that they are living in the best country, ever. Period. The more you travel to other countries, the more you see that life is pretty great, if not better in some respects, in other countries. And that's OK. There isn't a need to have some sort of inferiority complex about it. I may say pizza is the best food. You say tacos are the best. Just because you favor tacos, it doesn't mean that pizza is terrible. We just have different tastes and different criteria when deciding what is "best".
For maximizing earning potential, America is still the best, but that's about where it ends.
I'm convinced that American life is making a huge percentage of the population psychologically damaged: addiction, depression, anxiety disorder, autism, asbergers, bipolar, bulimia, intellectual disability, impulse control disorder, extreme narcissism, insomnia, PTSD, and all the others. Add to that increasing allergies and asthma, preventable physical disabilities, and of course obesity... Americans are a mess these days.
I see far less of these when I travel and I know the statistics would back up my claim.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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It's great because it is so large and there are so many very different climates/ecosystems within it. It's not so great due to the backward healthcare system and the preponderance of chains. I'm torn on this question.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mels
Tying health care to your employer is one of the great mistakes in this country.
YES, and it cripples our businesses as well as our people. Cripples entrepreneurship. Think about how much more competition our businesses would be if they didn't have to contribute to and administer healthcare. Think about how many people would start their own business if they didn't feel tied to their employer because they needed insurance. It's insane.
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