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! :)

  • KnightCPA@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    “Extremely high tuition fees for colleges” this is also highly dependent on states and whether or not you’re considering having children in that state.

    You’re initially correct, it’ll be high tuition rates for you, but your future generations may greatly benefit from a citizenship/resident status.

    Example:

    My dad is an expatriate from Morocco to Florida, USA.

    He never finished college because he had kids he had to work to support. However, Florida is one of 17 states that offers state-government-funded merit scholarships. Between that and fafsa, I went to a state university (UCF) completely free the first go around.

    UCF is a highly recruited STEM school (engineering, finance, accounting) with a pipeline to high paying LOTS of jobs on the space coast. A lot of these jobs easily pay 6 figures in the first 5-10 years of the career, offer good health insurance, et cetera.

    Work life balance will be profession and company dependent. I’ve been at companies where I worked 60 hours / week every year, and I’m currently at a company where I work 25 hours / week.