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redwood66|1405007215|3710502 said:mayerling|1405004946|3710477 said:Rhea|1404983517|3710325 said:nkarma|1404979207|3710316 said:JanesJewels|1404967350|3710272 said:mayerling|1404962784|3710236 said:DF, immigration is not a good way to judge how great a country is. Look at the kind of immigration the US gets (in masses, not individual immigration). People from clearly less well-to-do countries want to move here, en masse. Yes, you might get the odd Swede, the odd Finn, the odd Brit, but you certainly won't get them en masse.
But isn't it quite difficult for people from those countries - Sweden, Finland, Britain - to legally move here? Move permanently, I mean, not doing a year's work here with their company. I think the only two ways are to marry or to have a job that can't be done by an American? And I think - don't quote me on this - but I think I read somewhere that Britain is excluded from the green card lottery. So maybe other European countries are excluded too. I think it's very hard for Europeans to come here permanently without a special skill or marrying a US citizen. The way some of the study abroad students were talking at college, they'd gladly exchange high taxes, crowded conditions and unreliable weather for the choices in lifestyle that the US offers, (City? Prairie? Mountains?) and the generally lower taxes (depending on state).
Just saying that the difficulties of moving here might explain the lack of European mass immigration.
ETA: Wouldn't it be interesting to see what would happen if free immigration was allowed between America and Europe for, say, a year? I wonder how many Europeans would come here. I mean, the weather's not so good in Scandinavia! And I wonder how many Americans would pack up and go to Europe.
The weather I think is really the least of people's worries in where they want to live. I think quality of life in terms of healthcare, public transport, education, poverty, violence, income, etc... are going to rank well above weather. Actually Scandanavia has lovely weather most of the year even more so than the northern & NE US, imo. People from Scandanavian countries have been consecutively ranked the happiest in the world even though they pay the highest tax rates. So I wouldn't use them as an example of European countries that wish they could immigrate.
Agreed! I think the initial draw would be there but then reality would kick in. It seems great for a 2 wk holiday in the Florida sun, but the same friend who wants the Florida sun and large American style property also is self-employed and wants 3 - 4 kids. On balance, I think the reality of health care, tax breaks for the self-employed, family leave and benefits including for men, and holiday time (6 weeks versus 2 weeks) would mean that a permanent move to the US wouldn't be that appealing for a significant percentage of Europeans.
The bolded has a price that I am not willing to pay so someone else can sit on their a$$. I was back to work in the prison 8 weeks after a c-section with my twins. Why should someone else pay for me to be at home?
That's interesting, but what has it got to do with the topic at hand? Rhea was offering her opinion on why she doubted citizens living in countries with policies and institutions that supported family values would NOT want to live in the U.S. Your remark would make more sense in a "Non-Europeans, How Do You Feel About Europe" thread.