Any Europeans that emigrated to America (US) how would you compare it to your original country?

3 comments

1. Short-term move to the US in my 20s and have since left

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   Personal Pros:

   * Really appreciate Americans strong beliefs on the natural rights of the individual
   * Yanks are a lot more optimistic and positive
   * Great opportunities to grow personal wealth

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   Personal Cons:

   * Political gridlock at the federal level while most ignore the political working at the state level resulting in sub-optimal governance
   * Fetishisation of the military
   * Limited knowledge of non-US nations

2. My family lived in the US for much of my childhood (ages 6-15). We moved back here for several reasons but, I’m still toying with the idea of working there when I graduate college. The US is much richer and more diverse than my current country, The schools were much better, within walking distance of our house there were several international stores including a Mexican butcher, an Asian grocery store and a store for imported European goods as well. Having access to this wide array of stuff really got me into cooking at a young age.

   The con is that is that it’s a very low-trust and frankly paranoid society. I remember one day that I was walking home from school for the first time (I was about 11 and I had taken the bus before then) a family friend was driving by and stopped to check up on me and make sure that I knew the route and wouldn’t get lost, after that a random guy walked up to him and accused him of being a pedophile (sidenote: I’m white and the family friend was black and looking back I’m 100% sure that played a role in the incident). This was not just one lone nut, despite it being expected and normal for people to be friendly with their neighbors and strangers a lot of Americans are simultaneously incredibly paranoid about their neighbors and strangers. I think there was a study that found that after 2001 the number of Americans who believe that the country is getting more dangerous keeps increasing even during periods where crime was falling.

   That paranoid attitude and the fact that the people who hold them are the most likely to own guns is making me hesitant to move back. One of the advantages Georgia has over the US is that things FEEL much safer here. I think this is one of the few places where few people are afraid to walk home alone at night.

3. I moved from the US to Europe five years ago. Life here is much more tranquil, I don’t own or need a car and I have friends from all around the globe. And our women just won the World Cup!