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Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

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Re: Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

#41

Post by davidandgoliath »

heavyset_go wrote: post #26

Depends. A heart attack in the US can cost over $1 million to survive, and can very easily bankrupt small business owners and those in the middle to upper middle classes. Cost of living has been increasing at rates that engineer compensation has not kept up with at all, especially in cities. In many EU countries, you get 35 days of paid vacation mandated by law, along with 6 months to over a year of maternity and pat…

> A heart attack in the US can cost over $1 million to survive, and can very easily bankrupt small business owners and those in the middle to upper middle classes

How does that work when (most? all?) healthcare packages often have ~3-7k max out of pocket fees per year?

Re: Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

#42

Post by scotty79 »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #21
version_five wrote: post #4

I'm in Canada and the US is very appealing to me. More money, more personal freedom, better healthcare, more choice of food and other goods. I understand there is lots of disparity and some people are very badly off there, and I hear bad things about certain cities (but I'd want to do my own research before I believe what I read online). Overall though, if you're well off, the US is very appealing. Just to add, recen…

> more personal freedom This is big to me (and not in a "muh freedum!" way). My perception is that in the US, you can just do something. Start a business. Start a political party. Start a protest. Change your name. Change your face. Change your profession. Change your religion. Change your gender. Some of those may be non-trivial, and you have no guarantee of success, but you can do them in the US easier than you can…

My perception is you can't even skip mowing your lawn without vist from local Karens claiming you are destroying their property value.

I think if you actually attempt almost any of the things you listed you'll rough some feathers of people in that space and they will retaliate, because USA freedoms rely on lack of central control that allows inordinate amount of local bullying.

Re: Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

#43

Post by scotty79 »

davidandgoliath wrote: post #41
heavyset_go wrote: post #26

Depends. A heart attack in the US can cost over $1 million to survive, and can very easily bankrupt small business owners and those in the middle to upper middle classes. Cost of living has been increasing at rates that engineer compensation has not kept up with at all, especially in cities. In many EU countries, you get 35 days of paid vacation mandated by law, along with 6 months to over a year of maternity and pat…

> A heart attack in the US can cost over $1 million to survive, and can very easily bankrupt small business owners and those in the middle to upper middle classes How does that work when (most? all?) healthcare packages often have ~3-7k max out of pocket fees per year?

Probably what happens is that in your health emergency you suddenly discover that your specific problem won't be covered because it's expensive enough that some small print kicks in.

Re: Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

#44

Post by Mandatum »

jpgvm wrote: post #28
deanmoriarty wrote: post #20

Regardless of the salary, I have never seen a place as beautiful as the West Coast, specifically the cities of San Diego, LA and SF. It still gives me goosebumps and watering eyes today when I land there. It might be that I am conflating the opportunities that the area has given me with the actual beauty, but I don’t think so. And I was born and raised in the beautiful Mediterranean coast in Europe.

Heh. Come to Australia. West coast is nice but has nothing on Australia or New Zealand when it comes to beauty.

I agree the US coast don't have much to write home about, however Montana, Colorado & rockies, Yellowstone, there's so much nation park lands and accompanying towns in the US that really do match up to AU and NZ.

Re: Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

#45

Post by soueuls »

I lived two years in the US as an exchange student, it was pretty fun and that’s what allowed me to learn English.

But I was not really impressed. Recently someone offered me a position in FAANG company, I refused despite the high salary.

In my humble opinion, your country is too diverse that it’s starting to hurt, you are being polarized over trivial stuff and social interactions are too shallow (I prefer opposite countries where it’s harder to engage with people but where discussions get a lot deeper)

Also the American dream is not really appealing to me, I have lived in 5 countries (for at least a year), the US is the one I enjoyed the least

Re: Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

#46

Post by Mattasher »

busterarm wrote: post #27
Mattasher wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We moved from Toronto to Florida at the beginning of last year. Could not be happier with the decision. The US used to be much more of a monolith, now there are huge differences between the states. All of Canada is still in a mass hysteria that will continue for years.

I moved from New York to Florida a few months ago and feel much the same. I have previously lived in Toronto and always thought of it as like New York but worse. Every day that I live in Florida feels like one of the best decisions I've made in my life so far. That said, the US has never been the best place to live. Copenhagen beats every city I've ever been to by miles.

Copenhagen looks like a lovely city but from what I can tell it's almost impossible to purchase real estate there.

Re: Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

#47

Post by dataflow »

davidandgoliath wrote: post #41
heavyset_go wrote: post #26

Depends. A heart attack in the US can cost over $1 million to survive, and can very easily bankrupt small business owners and those in the middle to upper middle classes. Cost of living has been increasing at rates that engineer compensation has not kept up with at all, especially in cities. In many EU countries, you get 35 days of paid vacation mandated by law, along with 6 months to over a year of maternity and pat…

> A heart attack in the US can cost over $1 million to survive, and can very easily bankrupt small business owners and those in the middle to upper middle classes How does that work when (most? all?) healthcare packages often have ~3-7k max out of pocket fees per year?

Apparently https://khn.org/news/a-jolt-to-the-jugular-youre-insured-but... although this one is for $100k; not sure what drives it higher.

I won't copy it here, but search that page for "surprise bills", "balance billing", and "loophole".

Re: Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

#48

Post by dang »

merlinscholz wrote: post #31
vanusa wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lest I come across as a glass half-empty person, let me mention a few things about this country that I genuinely like and which rare (if not unique) throughout the world: (1) Genuine ethnic diversity (simply unmatched in its breadth and scale), and a genuine, bedrock belief that (at least in principle) if you're a citizen you have a right to be here and to live your own life, dammit whatever your ancestry, religious…

Sorry but this just feels like you've never left the US: 1) The diversity may be partially right, but even if you are a citizen there still is enough discrimination especially against black people than in many first-world countries 2) Okay I grant you that, for a single country the US is very beautiful, mostly because of its sheer size. That's not to say there aren't beautiful spots in other countries though, there j…

Please make your substantive points without getting unduly personal. Your comment would be fine without the first sentence.

Re: Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

#49

Post by CodeGlitch »

scotty79 wrote: post #42
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> more personal freedom This is big to me (and not in a "muh freedum!" way). My perception is that in the US, you can just do something. Start a business. Start a political party. Start a protest. Change your name. Change your face. Change your profession. Change your religion. Change your gender. Some of those may be non-trivial, and you have no guarantee of success, but you can do them in the US easier than you can…

My perception is you can't even skip mowing your lawn without vist from local Karens claiming you are destroying their property value. I think if you actually attempt almost any of the things you listed you'll rough some feathers of people in that space and they will retaliate, because USA freedoms rely on lack of central control that allows inordinate amount of local bullying.

> Karens

Off topic, but why is this term even remotely acceptable? If this was used to refer to an ethnic minority then everyone would be screaming "racist". Not to mention it's also sexists.

Re: Ask HN: Is the US still the best place to live?

#50

Post by beecafe »

CodeGlitch wrote: post #49
scotty79 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My perception is you can't even skip mowing your lawn without vist from local Karens claiming you are destroying their property value. I think if you actually attempt almost any of the things you listed you'll rough some feathers of people in that space and they will retaliate, because USA freedoms rely on lack of central control that allows inordinate amount of local bullying.

> Karens Off topic, but why is this term even remotely acceptable? If this was used to refer to an ethnic minority then everyone would be screaming "racist". Not to mention it's also sexists.

It would be if it was, but its not so it isnt.
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