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

#1

Post by kurizu4444 » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 10:49 PM UTC

Are the (significantly) higher salaries worth it?

If you could take your salary and live in a different country, would you do it?

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

#2

Post by johng » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 10:52 PM UTC

I think this one is going to be entirely subjective. It depends on what you want and what your priorities are.

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

#3

Post by MarcelOlsz » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 11:01 PM UTC

johng wrote: post #2

I think this one is going to be entirely subjective. It depends on what you want and what your priorities are.

Some days I'll listen to Marty Robbins and day dream of dropping everything and moving to West Texas.

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

#4

Post by version_five » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 11:01 PM UTC

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, recent events have made the US even more appealing, but the "brain drain" from canada is very real and people have been moving to the US to make a better life for themselves for decades. I don't believe anything has changed

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

#5

Post by ArtWomb » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 11:03 PM UTC

Yes. Strong IP. Colossal market. Access to capital. Talent pool. State of the Art R&D. As well as the culture of "doing big things" ;)

But there is a major headwind in location / real estate / cost of living. I was really intrigued by a recent poster who said $150k was enough for a 3 year run rate for their entire team in India!

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

#6

Post by et-al » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 11:04 PM UTC

Folks would totally salary arbitrage if it was easy, but there's a few hoops to jump through (payroll allowing it, mail forwarding, timezones with coworkers, new languages, new bureaucracies). Not to mention the caring for older family members usually moves up in priority as they age.

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

#7

Post by dexwiz » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 11:05 PM UTC

Unless you are in the Bay Area, NYC, or similar, the salaries aren't that much higher. You also have to weigh that against the lack of social services. Sure you can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, but that can be easily wiped away by a major medical event or chronic illness. By very few measures is the US the best place to live, but those indices also combine large swaths of very different regions.

FYI, I currently live in SF, but have worked elsewhere in the US and made considerably less. Maybe the difference isn't so stark now with the rise of remote work. But I do think remote work will ultimately lead to another wave of outsourcing, especially as the barrier for tech continues to decrease.

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

#8

Post by vanusa » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 11:06 PM UTC

Was it ever?

Social atomization, hyperconsumerism and a generally blighted physical environment (who-gives-a-fuck suburban sprawl nearly everywhere) are what define your life in most parts of this country, if you don't earn a high enough salary to offset their effects. That, and the relentless "life == work" mentality exhibited even in other comments in this thread.

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

#9

Post by f0e4c2f7 » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 11:10 PM UTC

I think it is but the edge is slipping. If you're willing to do freelancing / consulting you can work your way up to US prices in Europe or with more effort in Asia.

I would be interested in hearing what place might eventually (or now) be the US but better.

The US I grew up in felt a little more naviely optimistic and ambitious which I would like to find more of.

Lately it seems like I mostly meet extremely capable people who have access to massive capital and they choose to live a quiet life and retire rather than build stuff. Which is fine...but not what I'm looking for.

India seems like a compelling possibility. Maybe Nigeria in a couple years?

It's worth pointing out too how much this depends on city too.

SF used to be the place that still had all that stuff but I've heard it's pretty tough to live there now.

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

#10

Post by KiranRao0 » Tue, Jan 11, 2022, 11:13 PM UTC

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…

As a Canadian living in the US, here is my experience:

Advantages

  - Higher Salaries (as a SWE, but similar for friends in other high skill professions)  
  - Faster, more accessible healthcare 
  - Easier access to COVID vaccines/boosters
  - Access to more products/services
  - Amazon has everything
  - Better credit card perks

Disadvantages

  - Actually using healthcare is expensive
  - Losing my job is insanely scary (losing healthcare) 
  - Way more advertisements (billboards, credit card offers, drug ads) 
  - Banking is way more fragmented
  - The wealth gap is visibly wider (rich areas are slightly nicer, poor areas are far worse)