is living in the USA overrated

[capone0]

You worry about expenses but they are still small in comparison to a lot of the developed world. ONe thing that did suprise me is my buddy just moved to Korea, he said the tax rate is 3%. I was shocked. But he said things such as Cars (imported), Housing, etc. were extremely expensive. Not really shocked there since he lived in a big city but import tax on foreign cars was something extremely excessive in Korea (he lives in Seoul). But other things such as food were extremely cheap in Korea and there was never a tip required.

You whine about gas prices, the thing is they are MUCH cheaper than in Europe.

It's all relative. You know the details of all our problems, well those countries have their problems as well. Some of the Scan. countries have insane tax rates.

There is no perfect island coutnry. There are always problems with every country. If you don't like the US, you of course don't have to live here. You can always move.

Personally I like the US. I don't know how I could live without certain things in the US. I need my sports, I need my TV, I like the language, I like the US.

[JussiUt]

In the USA if you're born into "a good family" you have excellent chances to go to college, earn a [censored] of money because of the low taxes and start your own "good family". If however you're born into a moderately poor family, it's very difficult to become moderately wealthy.

The idea of the USA is that "everybody has a chance to fulfil the American dream". Sure, but the government doesn't support people in any way. It's all about the survival of the fittest and as we all know, those who once get to the top have a major advantage against those who are at the bottom. So the American system is very brutal in a way. Then again, the scandinavian system has its fair share of cons too. In the USA you can get super rich and super poor (in Western standards), in Scandinavian countries it's really hard to get super rich and nearly impossible to get super poor.

[capone0]

There seem to be slight favoritism to California Schools in this pool. I wonder why.

Within the US, I'm pretty sure UCSD, UCLA, UCSF, aren't so highly thought of as some of the other Universities slighty below it. Although they all are very good schools.

[Jasper109]

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Wow there have been some very good posts from my original post. Some facts about the USA.

Education might be very good, but it is very very expensive. A good college education for 4 years can run approximately 100,000 dollars. If the student doesn't have parents to help them or some sort of scholorship, they payments of this loan can be excessive.

I worked in a hospital with an intern doctor who took out extra loans so she could study and not have to work alot during school. She was about 150,000 in debt and wasn't happy. If you have money living here or your family does, you are looking pretty good.

Taxes are said to be lower then other parts of the country. Isn't that rerlated to your costs and standard of living and expenses. If you take home 65 or 70 percent of your income yet housing costs are very high, doesnt that count in the formula. Our social security system is looking to going bankrupt in the coming years. Housing prices are very high in major cities in the US.

I live in an area where the average homeowner pays 6,000 per year or more in taxes on there property. People work 2 jobs and in there spare time sleep and rest. Because of the nature of society being so money conscious where i live, everything is very high in costs.

My friend makes 125,000 per year and is single and when he looked to buy a house and looked at all expenses he was shocked. He even said to me, do you think i can make it?? Not everybody who lives hear is successfull business people and has a college degree making big money. In ny state the mandatory child support for one kid is 17 percent. Cable and internet costs 120 per month.

I live a very basic life and dont worry about scenary etc. I just want a decent place to live,car, good environment etc.

I just wonder how great it is living here when the people around me are so bitter and fed up. Gas prices almost 4.00 per gallon a few months back. Expenses expenses etc.

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[HesseJam]

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I suppose it is subjective, but New Zealand has a sub tropical area, temperate forests, rainforests, desert, mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, black sand beaches, white sand beaches, beautiful rolling hills and plains, crystal clear lakes and rivers, and all in a country smaller than california.



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This is 100% true.

I traveled 3 weeks in NZ and lived 3.5 years in the US. The US has breathtaking scenery and variety but everything is quite far apart. In NZ, scenery and climate can change completely every 40 miles.

Plus, if you fell asleep boozed up anywhere in the streets in NZ, your chances will be greater to be hit by a meteor than that 1 cent is missing out of your pockets next morning.

[Peoplez]

I just have to say with all this talk going on about taxes, if you play poker for a living EU >>>> USA we don't have to pay any taxes on our winnings. Then again if you mainly play live poker there is no debate where is better, for example in my country there is ONE casino and it's a big country in land area. Anyway, it doesn't really matter where you live if you can do what you want and live with the people you love.

[PokerBot123]

Norway > World IMHO.

For all of you that have never put your foot outside the US, you are welcome to come visit. Just watch out for the icebears.

[villafan]

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In the USA you can get super rich and super poor (in Western standards), in Scandinavian countries it's really hard to get super rich .....

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That is not correct, at least not in my country (Norway). The taxes are very high for work (they screw the middle class), but capital gains are very lightly taxed (which often is the source of income you have when you get extremely rich). This is the reason why an enormous amount of people have become extremely rich the last decade.

Capital tax is 28% for companies and investors. There was no divident tax up until last year, but a new rule says that if you make your stock investments through a company, there will be no tax on your profit from the stock trading until you take out the money from the company through dividend. This means that an investor can accumulate wealth and his winnings in the stock market over for example 10 years before he start to pay taxes (when he take the money out). The net present value for this is HUGE and creates a lot of very rich people.

Norway is a great country for rich and poor people, but it is hard for middle class working people.

[Najeh_Davenport]

You can get away with a lot of [censored] in this country...

[iSTRONG]

Canada > USA