Hello!
I’ve seen a few posts praising the US and I can’t deny that I’ve also had a very concrete goal of moving permanently to the US eventually. I’m from the EU so the “reality” that I have of the US comes mainly from the media. With this being said, I’d like the brutally honest opinions of those that experienced the US first-hand, whether you’re American, have always lived in the US and absolutely hate it, or if you moved from the EU to the US and are loving the experience.
- As expats, I think we’re all running from something from our home country (work conditions, family situations, etc). What made you move to/out of the US?
- Do you feel your QoL (quality of life) has improved with your move to/out of the US?
- If so, would you attribute this to working conditions/salary? Or living conditions such as more free time, good pension/retirement, etc
- Do you plan on going back to your home country? If so, what is the main driver of that decision?
Last, but not least, for those living in the US, do you believe that the pros of having more/better career opportunities (at least for skilled labor/PhD level) in the US outweigh the cons of living there, namely:
- poor/expensive healthcare
- extremely high tuition fees for colleges
- high crime rates (naturally highly dependent on the place you live)
- small amount of time for maternity leave (I don’t mind the small amount for paternity leave, but in Scandinavian countries mothers can have up to a year of maternity leave which I believe is very beneficial for the kids. I do value countries that value and protect the family structure)
- … and a general low work-life balance? (This last bullet point is not as important to me as I do like and appreciate the hustle culture of the US which makes effort/skills be more appreciated and compensated)
Thank you all! Apologies in advance if this has been asked multiple times before, but I’d like to condensate different perspectives in a single thread if possible as it might be helpful for others as well! :)
I’m from the US and I very much like my home, so this isn’t a “diss the US” comment, and I agree with most of your points but tuition is indeed absurd compared to the majority of EU countries.
I live in Switzerland now and tuition here for ETHZ - top 10 worldwide ranked university is about $1500-$1800 per year. I did. my undergrad in the US through the UC system which is indeed super reasonable for in state residents but even in the early 2000s it was around $11k/year not counting all the overpriced textbooks. It’s not even close.
Assuming he is smart enough and works hard enough to qualify through the gymnasium system here, my kid will have the right to attend ETHZ or any of the other federal/local Unis at that same price point. And it doesn’t depend on the subjective charity evaluation of a third party entity.
I love the US and where I grew up and one day I might find myself back there, it had a lot of great features but this point is not one of them.
Just an aside—my daughter did her undergrad in the CSU system, and her grant money covered tuition, books, and gas for commuting. She lived at home.
It can be done here with little to no money or debt.
Anecdotally it’s possible to have a low cost college experience in the U.S. but from a data perspective it’s quantifiably more expensive here, extraordinarily so.