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95% of the U.S. has MUCH nicer weather than anywhere in Western and Northern Europe.
I've been to Germany several times and did not like it. Weather is bad except few weeks during summer.
Cities were boring, and Germans are intolerant to immigrants.
Not all Americans work that much... so don't come tell us we work a lot.
We have 40 hours workweek too.
Actually many Europeans are jealous of America and would LOVE to live here if they could have, especially after visiting Los Angeles/Orange County, Miami and NYC area.
I must disagree with this. I live in NYC and I don't like it. It's dirty, everyone is impatient and always in a rush. I don't feel all that safe. NYC is nothing to write home about. On the contrary, I felt safer in Israel than I do in my own backyard. Miami used to be amazing- but the real estate values have fallen big time since all the Cubans moved in. I have nothing against Cubans- but Miami isn't as nice as it used to be... and I'm only 30. Los Angeles is ok, but I didn't think the people were that friendly. I don't think any European would be jealous of any of those 3 cities. Personally my favourite American city is Boston.
I'm not an American hater, but the US is nothing close to being the best country in the world. If I'm not mistaken, Scandinavian nations have the highest quality of life. We are nowhere near the top. Stop being so warped and realise that even though we are a highly developed, respected nation, we are nowhere near perfect and we still have a lot of evolving to do.
I don't think there's a single country that is vastly superior to the US at the moment. You have to weigh what is important to you, what skills/experience you have, what options you have, and there may be different countries that would offer a better quality of life given those factors, though perhaps not for someone else. Some countries may have better social safety nets, better architecture, people-oriented city planing, cleaner, more green space, great location in the world, but less job opportunities (especially for foreigners), some may have miserable weather (too cold, too hot, too cloudy, too sunny, too rainy, too dry), some may be overcrowded or sparsely populated, some may have an unfriendly or outright rude population, some may be too expensive to even consider moving to for many people, some may not be in a convenient location, etc.
I must disagree with this. I live in NYC and I don't like it. It's dirty, everyone is impatient and always in a rush. I don't feel all that safe. NYC is nothing to write home about. On the contrary, I felt safer in Israel than I do in my own backyard. Miami used to be amazing- but the real estate values have fallen big time since all the Cubans moved in. I have nothing against Cubans- but Miami isn't as nice as it used to be... and I'm only 30. Los Angeles is ok, but I didn't think the people were that friendly. I don't think any European would be jealous of any of those 3 cities. Personally my favourite American city is Boston.
I'm not an American hater, but the US is nothing close to being the best country in the world. If I'm not mistaken, Scandinavian nations have the highest quality of life. We are nowhere near the top. Stop being so warped and realise that even though we are a highly developed, respected nation, we are nowhere near perfect and we still have a lot of evolving to do.
I must say, I don't understand all the enthusiasm for NYC. There was a poll asking whether San Francisco or NYC was preferable, and NYC won. My observation is that Europeans love San Francisco and tend to feel at home there, relatively speaking. NYC is as 'dawg says: dirty, crowded, rude. I've never been there that there weren't huge piles of garbage on the sidewalks. When I travel abroad, I avoid big cities. That might be a good rule of thumb for Europeans visiting the US, with rare exception.
Americans think the quality of life here is better than in Europe because until recently, it wasn't too difficult to own a home, meaning a plot of land and a house. But there's a lot more to quality of life than that.
The US has a long way to go before it can measure up to much of Europe. This isn't bashing America, it's saying there's a lot of room for improvement. If you pretend the problems aren't there, you deny the opportunity to improve conditions, and make a good country a truly great one.
I must say, I don't understand all the enthusiasm for NYC. There was a poll asking whether San Francisco or NYC was preferable, and NYC won. My observation is that Europeans love San Francisco and tend to feel at home there, relatively speaking. NYC is as 'dawg says: dirty, crowded, rude. I've never been there that there weren't huge piles of garbage on the sidewalks. When I travel abroad, I avoid big cities. That might be a good rule of thumb for Europeans visiting the US, with rare exception.
It depends on personal interest of course. But New York City is America's quintessential city. It is the largest, most urban and most developed and one of the oldest cities in America. It's the only city whose public transportation system is comparable to the level of those of top cities like London and Tokyo.
So, that's why as a general rule of thumb, I suggest people visit New York City. Of course, it can be overwhelming too for those who don't like huge megacities like that. For them, other cities may be more to their taste - such as the ones I listed in bold in my previous post. I assume that a lot of people - especially from Europe - would prefer to visit cities that are compact, urban, have good architecture and public transportation (unless they just want to hang by the beach or mountains or something).
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 06-16-2012 at 12:08 PM..
I must say, I don't understand all the enthusiasm for NYC. There was a poll asking whether San Francisco or NYC was preferable, and NYC won. My observation is that Europeans love San Francisco and tend to feel at home there, relatively speaking. NYC is as 'dawg says: dirty, crowded, rude. I've never been there that there weren't huge piles of garbage on the sidewalks. When I travel abroad, I avoid big cities. That might be a good rule of thumb for Europeans visiting the US, with rare exception.
Americans think the quality of life here is better than in Europe because until recently, it wasn't too difficult to own a home, meaning a plot of land and a house. But there's a lot more to quality of life than that.
The US has a long way to go before it can measure up to much of Europe. This isn't bashing America, it's saying there's a lot of room for improvement. If you pretend the problems aren't there, you deny the opportunity to improve conditions, and make a good country a truly great one.
NYC isn't that bad overall. It just shares the same problems the rest of America does, though they're harder to avoid since it's a dense city, not spread out like many other cities in the US. San Francisco has a mellower vibe and unique look to it, less harsh weather, but it's much smaller, still expensive, still has crime and dirty areas. I can't think of a US city that I've been to that is clearly better than the rest in all ways.
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