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I barely watch the news at all. I'm also an independent, not a left winger. There is just as much wrong with the right wingers as left wingers.
I have to call BS on that statement, not politics but the claim you don't watch news (or social media). Your entire original post reads like CNN headlines of the "panic-porn" hysteria.
Do I see any of what you claim from my town? Absolutely no. No riots, no guns in the street, great healthcare, transit is fine, no one discusses politics (except in social media and TV), no crumbling infrastructure, I live in a diverse town - no one bother with race discussions, we are too busy to hate, raising families, working at steady and rewarding jobs, pursuing hobbies, and enjoying the fruits of our labor.
You hear a distorted vision of America in the media, and in particularly social media - it's all hyperbole and hysterics. You would think the US is a haven of lawless crime with everyone carrying a gun until you read the statistics that say crime has been down every year since the 80s in the US. You would think everyone is living in poverty until you read the statistics that the poverty rate in the US (which in turn would reflect those rich in some countries) has been reducing every year since 2014. News and social media extort everything, it's sensationalized.
What you need to do is step away from that TV news which you claim not to watch, and social media. And no the grass is not greener....
It’s there in that there is a lot of nationalistic pride or trying to push that one’s country is the best at or first to do this or that or has unique these or those things that you can’t find elsewhere or at least can’t find as good a version. What’s generally not really there is commonly stating and believing the blanket statement that one’s country is the greatest country on Earth and it’s almost certainly not a commonplace thing in every country in the world.
It would make for an interesting topic though!
I do think most Japanese believe that their country is great and do not want to leave, hence the relative lack of emigration and large amount of ego stroking with some TV shows where they constantly showcase foreigners bragging about how much better Japan is than their home country of Germany or US or whatever. However, if you go around saying, "Japan is the best country in the world", people will look at you really weird, and probably think you're part of some nationalist political agenda.
I do agree with an earlier poster though for sure. Many older Americans seem to absolutely love the US and find it without much flaw, while not knowing much about the modern lifestyles of other countries. On the other hand, many young Americans are quite critical of the US to sometimes a ridiculous level, and assume that all other developed countries are better. This was pretty apparent to me when I (born and raised American) went to Canada for university. Almost every older person I met said things like "Canada? Why?" in a somewhat snide way, with a smirk. Most young people had the direct opposite reaction, and said things like, "Oh, lucky! Canada is way better!"
While I disagree with the entire concept of a country being objectively "better" than any other, as this is based heavily on personal preference, it does show the pretty big difference in generational thinking.
Guns, people being racists, police brutality, little compassion for others, crumbling infrastructure, too many ghettos, terrible transit, haves have everything have nots have nothing, everybody is a political extremist, millions actually voted for Trump and still support him today, no national health care, arrogance, mass shootings, people are totally ignorant of anything outside of America (Americans barely know American history or geography let along world).
I don't hate America, I love it, But something is wrong. When I travel to other countries, there is something about them that we just don't have here. I'm starting to feel like America is a big fake country. Too many people here are just not what I want to be a part of anymore.
Are all countries like this when you actually live there?
Frustrated with my country right now.
You are not the only one thinking about this. America is going to see a brain drain, because it is mostly the well educated young people that have the ability to easily emigrate. If you have a college degree and useful skills, you go to the top of the list.
You are not the only one thinking about this. America is going to see a brain drain, because it is mostly the well educated young people that have the ability to easily emigrate. If you have a college degree and useful skills, you go to the top of the list.
There is pretty much no way to leave. Jobs, family etc. I still love the USA, but it's a very sick country right now and the rest of the world knows it.
I just can't wait to travel international again. I had to cancel a lot of big plans this year. Really miss traveling. I think that's one thing that would do a lot of people in this country some good. A lot of people here need to get out and see the world and see that the world does not revolve around America and while we do some things great, there are a lot of things we could learn from many other countries.
Guns, people being racists, police brutality, little compassion for others, crumbling infrastructure, too many ghettos, terrible transit, haves have everything have nots have nothing, everybody is a political extremist, millions actually voted for Trump and still support him today, no national health care, arrogance, mass shootings, people are totally ignorant of anything outside of America (Americans barely know American history or geography let along world).
I don't hate America, I love it, But something is wrong. When I travel to other countries, there is something about them that we just don't have here. I'm starting to feel like America is a big fake country. Too many people here are just not what I want to be a part of anymore.
Are all countries like this when you actually live there?
Frustrated with my country right now.
If you roll back to before the communist revolution of 1933, America was a much nicer place.
A lot of people here need to get out and see the world and see that the world does not revolve around America and while we do some things great, there are a lot of things we could learn from many other countries.
Most Americans and immigrants who come to the United States really only care about the economic opportunities and the material standard of living in this country.
That is the holy grail and the yard stick against which everything is measured. The other stuff just doesn't feel as important.
Most Americans and immigrants who come to the United States really only care about the economic opportunities and the material standard of living in this country.
That is the holy grail and the yard stick against which everything is measured. The other stuff just doesn't feel as important.
Yep, personal living standards and opportunities. are what gets people. For example, Singapore has some pretty strict laws and authoritarian measures, but there's still a lot of people trying to move there with a good 38% of people in Singapore being non-citizens an even greater proportion of people born outside of Singapore. It gets even more lopsided with the Gulf Coast Arab countries like Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait. I have friends who aren't Muslim and aren't Arab who've moved to the UAE from the US and it's almost completely for economic opportunities. The same goes for some people I know who've moved from the US to Germany and Japan.
Of course, economic opportunity and high living standards can vary quite a bit from person to person which is why you'll also find large expat populations from wealthier Western nations in places like Shanghai and Beijing (Beijing blows though). On a personal level, it can still make a lot of sense for someone to move to another country even if that country is less developed than the one they're from. The grass could be greener for the OP elsewhere, but it really depends on the context (especially when it comes to ability or willingness to learn other languages) and what he's striving for.
Asian countries richer than Japan attract foreigners from both developed and developing countries. Most go for the money and low tax rate instead of planning to stay permanently. Westerners also move to developing countries to enjoy higher socio-economic status and cheaper costs.
You hear some westerner men say they enjoy living in developing countries because they have friends, girlfriends, wives and children in the countries. Or they love the cultures, climate and environment of the places.
Yep, personal living standards and opportunities. are what gets people. For example, Singapore has some pretty strict laws and authoritarian measures, but there's still a lot of people trying to move there with a good 38% of people in Singapore being non-citizens an even greater proportion of people born outside of Singapore. It gets even more lopsided with the Gulf Coast Arab countries like Qatar, UAE, and Kuwait. I have friends who aren't Muslim and aren't Arab who've moved to the UAE from the US and it's almost completely for economic opportunities. The same goes for some people I know who've moved from the US to Germany and Japan.
Of course, economic opportunity and high living standards can vary quite a bit from person to person which is why you'll also find large expat populations from wealthier Western nations in places like Shanghai and Beijing (Beijing blows though). On a personal level, it can still make a lot of sense for someone to move to another country even if that country is less developed than the one they're from. The grass could be greener for the OP elsewhere, but it really depends on the context (especially when it comes to ability or willingness to learn other languages) and what he's striving for.
Yeah, I was trying to suggest to the OP that many of us have traveled in other countries and we still came to the conclusion that the United States is a preferable place to live in, crazy as that may seem.
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