is living in the USA overrated

[scorer]

im not going to limit this headline because of the growing concern of gambling laws and the patriot act, however it plays into this topic. We here about how wonderfull living in the states is etc. I would venture to say its good and probably very good compared to other smaller countries etc. However, we always hear about how great it is here and how wonderfull. Im not so sure that living here is better then for example the UK or Austrailia. There are lots of great places in this world. So i would like to hear where you live,your experiences, and do you think the USA is so wonderfull. I'm not putting this country down or even saying its bad. I am wondering if living here is so great as compared to what others have expereinced.

[swede123]

Using a real broad stroke one could group countries based on desirability into three or so groups. In the most desirable group you have the rich nations of the world, including the US, Canada most of Europe etc. Within this group I'd say it becomes pretty subjective and personal in terms of picking a favorite.

I grew up in Sweden, lived there for 17 years of my life. As I came to the US as an exchange student I immediately felt more at home in the US than I did in Sweden. I didn't dislike it back there, far from it, but things just felt right in the States. So now I live here in America. Talking to friends and family back home they can't understand how I could choose to live here rather than there.

Swede

[bwana devil]

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As I came to the US as an exchange student I immediately felt more at home in the US than I did in Sweden.

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interesting. ive never heard anyone say that about moving to a foreign country.

It's nice to see the lack of flaming in this particular thread. The OP set a nice tone. For me, I think it's one of those questions best answered by people who have lived in several different countries, with various types of geography, political structures, education systems, health systems, religions, ethnic groups, etc. Those are the people I like to talk to. I think we all get tired of folks who say "I live in best country in damn world," but they have never even been anywhere else, let alone lived abroad.

[TheMetetron]

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As I came to the US as an exchange student I immediately felt more at home in the US than I did in Sweden.

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interesting. ive never heard anyone say that about moving to a foreign country.

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Feels that way for me up here in Sweden/Denmark. Already feel much more at home than in the states.

[TheMetetron]

Oh and taxes... 57% after 50k USD in income.... 25% sales tax.

Yeah it sort of shocked me too.

[Evan]

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Oh and taxes... 57% after 50k USD in income.... 25% sales tax.

Yeah it sort of shocked me too.

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I must be reading this incorrectly, because there's no way you moved to Scandanavia without knowing this. Surely no one that can operate a computer could be so dumb.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

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As I came to the US as an exchange student I immediately felt more at home in the US than I did in Sweden.

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interesting. ive never heard anyone say that about moving to a foreign country.

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Feels that way for me up here in Sweden/Denmark. Already feel much more at home than in the states.

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see you back here in year

OP: the USA is the best country in the world for smart driven people. If you are intersted in a life of modest leisure and wine drinking, then parts of Europe are nicer.

if you're on the lam, I would imagine Brazil is pretty nice

[talentdeficit]

living pretty much everywhere is overrated. (especially the uk). there are tradeoffs no matter where you go, it all depends on your priorities.

[ps27]

Best country in the world.

Some reasons:
a) climate, your choice
b) taxes, i think they are too high but the average european would be shocked at how little we pay.
c) education

There are tons more, those are the main three.