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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?

#51

Post by scotty79 »

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.

Ask all the Dicks you meet if they are offended by how their name is used.

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

#52

Post by simonblack »

Are the (significantly) higher salaries worth it?

Higher?? You'd have to be joking. When most people need several jobs to make ends meet?

When there is no single-payer health-care for the average joe? When a brief visit to an emergency room will set you back thousands. And if you don't have a job, it's very probable that you won't have any health insurance either. In other countries, a you can have a triple cardiac bypass for zero out-of-pocket expenses.

When people have very little paid holiday leave per year, if at all? In some countries, they get four to six weeks holiday per year, paid at normal (or higher) wage rates.

When waiters and waitresses have to survive on what tips they get, instead of getting a reasonable living wage and tips are extra on top.?

When many roads, bridges, schools, hospitals are in bad states of disrepair because there is no money for the infrastructure?

When many of the country's airports look like 1960s hangovers from the third-world. Have you seen modern airports in the Middle East or Asia?

The US is nowhere near the 'best place to live'. Sorry.

Check out the 'most livable places' list 2021:

1 - Norway; 2 - Ireland (tie); 2 - Switzerland (tie); 4 - Iceland (tie); 4 - Hong Kong, China (SAR)(tie); 6 - Germany; 7 - Sweden; 8 - Australia (tie); 8 - Netherlands (tie); 10 - Denmark.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/best-coun...

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

#53

Post by Broken_Hippo »

dataflow wrote: post #22
Broken_Hippo wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has been a while since I've lived in the US, but I think it is completely possible to pay $1000/month for health insurance. For a single person, a family is more. Employers subsidize your insurance, after all. I was paying couple hundred a month for two people - subsidized - and that was years ago. A family plan was even more. Even then, you have to have money to use it. On top of the insurance premiums, you'll ha…

Oh, for a family it can definitely be more; I was citing numbers for a single person. For a single person it depends on your age I think. If you're young then it doesn't need to be anywhere near that high, but it of course gets higher as you get older.

It'll be barely below $1k for a single person, no matter the age, and it'll be considerably worse than employer-provided insurance. Young folks generally cannot afford health care, even with insurance.

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

#54

Post by busterarm »

Mattasher wrote: post #46
busterarm wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

As a foreigner? Yes, you need government approval which is extremely difficult to get. You can as a permanent resident after some years.

It's certainly a hot market as well, but there are a number of different options for financing. If your job is good enough it's certainly achievable and most of my software engineer friends there own their apartments.

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

#55

Post by deanmoriarty »

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.

Could you tell me what you found interesting about Florida?

I am currently in the Midwest and deciding where to go next, specifically back to the West Coast where I lived for a decade, or branch out to another warm state (FL, TX).

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

#56

Post by deanmoriarty »

mbrodersen wrote: post #40

I don’t think it ever was in general? I was offered a green card and a high value job in California. I decided to accept a job in Australia instead. That was the right choice for me. But YMMV of course. I think it depends on your personality, job situation etc. whether the US is the right choice for you or not.

What made you decide to go to Australia as opposed to California with green card prospects? From my limited view point, the opportunity you left on the table was massive.

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

#57

Post by farvieg »

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…

Why would you expect to be paid without working?

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

#58

Post by busterarm »

deanmoriarty wrote: post #55
busterarm wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Could you tell me what you found interesting about Florida? I am currently in the Midwest and deciding where to go next, specifically back to the West Coast where I lived for a decade, or branch out to another warm state (FL, TX).

Weather, roads that more than support the amount of traffic, variety of activities, quality of local produce, balanced political temperament (there's a roughly even left-right split but the local politics are fairly centrist rather than the extremes of national politics), local politicians aren't obviously corrupt (as opposed to Cuomo/Adams/De Blasio) or obviously absolute fucking morons (De Blasio) either, favorable tax structure, favorable civil liberties legislation.

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

#59

Post by heavyset_go »

farvieg wrote: post #57
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…

Why would you expect to be paid without working?

That's quite the spin on paid vacations or maternity leave.

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

#60

Post by mbrodersen »

deanmoriarty wrote: post #56
mbrodersen wrote: post #40

I don’t think it ever was in general? I was offered a green card and a high value job in California. I decided to accept a job in Australia instead. That was the right choice for me. But YMMV of course. I think it depends on your personality, job situation etc. whether the US is the right choice for you or not.

What made you decide to go to Australia as opposed to California with green card prospects? From my limited view point, the opportunity you left on the table was massive.

I have lived and worked in the US and I realised that the Australian culture is a better fit for me. I probably would have made more money in the US but that is not #1 on my list of what is important. The amount of misery, stress, and anxiety I saw every day in the US was not something I agreed with. Coming from a well functioning European country, it was a shock to me to see people begging in the streets. Before living in the US I had never seen a beggar “live”. Only on TV. It was a massive culture shock for me. Australia is a perfect blend of Europe and the US. Best of both in my opinion.
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