Non-Americans, how do you feel about America?

[kenny]

Americans, please don't vote in this poll.
Vote in the other one for Americans.

 

[AprilBaby]

If I were not American I would vote but not say a word. Too many Americans on here who might flame them.

Btw, how can i see the result of the poll if I don't vote?

 

[kenny]

If I were not American I would vote but not say a word. Too many Americans on here who might flame them.

Btw, how can i see the result of the poll if I don't vote?

Click on "View results", which is under "Submit Vote".

 

[AprilBaby]

DUH!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

If I were not American I would vote but not say a word. Too many Americans on here who might flame them.

Btw, how can i see the result of the poll if I don't vote?

Yep.

Well, I hope the two people that voted worst country in the world don't have to live in this terrible place.

 

[chemgirl]

I gave it a 7.

Definitely above average and citizens have more opportunities than they would in many countries.

However, I lived in Cleveland briefly for school and would never repeat that experience. Issues with healthcare, gun violence, and racism made me feel uncomfortable on a daily basis.

If everyone were as accepting and caring as the American PSER's I would change my vote.

 

[Sakuracherry]

I don't know how I feel about those country. It's like a love/hate relationship. There's no way I'll live in that small town in Wisconsin where people would stare and laugh at me just because I'm Japanese. After studying political science in college here, there are more things I appreciate about this country and its history, though.

 

[arkieb1]

I voted a 7 (I think bordering on an eight), I have been to much worse countries so I have no idea who voted it is the worst country in the world, it really isn't. You have a lot of wonderful things, ideas, ideals and people. But like most countries there are things you can improve....

 

[mochiko42]

I gave the US a 6.

I lived in the US for four years for college. My husband is also American, from the midwest, and my siblings live out on the West Coast. I am currently living in Asia but previously also lived in Europe, Canada and the US.

I don't think that any one country can be ranked better than the other 195 countries in the world. Every place has its good and bad points. Having said that there are many things that I appreciate about the US. On the whole though, I have a balanced view, since few things are unambiguously good or bad.

1. The principle of having an open and democratic process. (However in practice money plays a large role in determining who has the power. This is something I have thought about a lot recently, as I live in Hong Kong, a society without democracy, yet we have one of the most economically free markets in the world. This week, 500,000 people took to the streets to demand universal suffrage yet in the US you have universal suffrage but it is not a perfect system...)

2. In general, a friendly and welcoming society. Yes there are some ethnic and racial issues, but I love how people are friendly and willing to chat to random people. Currently where I live, social networks are more inward-looking (ie. family, classmates, coworkers) - it's not that common to talk to strangers, and a lot of neighbors don't talk to each other at all. I miss the small daily interactions that I used to get in the US. Although personal safety really varies from place to place. I'm always worried for my SIL who lives in Milwaukee and whenever we visit we hear "oh there was a shooting 2 blocks down the street yesterday" ... (note: I love Milwaukee, the people are nice the food is good and there are many beautiful parts. Yet there are a lot of problems too)

3. Convenience.. I do miss the wonders of online shopping and driving around everywhere. Although now I live in a large city where everyone takes public transport, I do wonder at the environmental cost of everyone having a car and using it to drive two blocks for milk.

4. Education. America has top-notch universities and colleges, but the whole student loan system and the costs of higher education is just unfathomable to me.

5. Healthcare. Sorry America, your healthcare system is not great. You have some of the best technology and professionals in the world (my dad worked at the Cleveland Clinic in the late 60s and did his residency in the US), and the US is one of the richest countries in the world. Yet so many Americans do not have access to this system. (Disclaimer: I don't know the details of the recent changes to the healthcare system and the whole "Obamacare" thing, maybe things will change?)

6. Tax and public services. Americans seem to pay a lot of tax yet the level of public services you receive in return does not seem proportional (road maintenance, public transport services, healthcare, no free higher education...etc). This is something I think about sometimes. My DH also thinks about it because he is living abroad, yet due to the US double taxation issue he has to file both in our country and also in the US, despite being non-resident in the US.. Only the USA and Eritrea taxes its citizens on worldwide income. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_taxation )

I live in a nondemocratic society, but I only pay about 10% tax, yet we have first-class public transport, cheap/free worldclass healthcare (my mum was in the hospital this year for several days for slipped disc surgery; her surgeon was educated in the UK; the total cost of the entire operation & stay & meds etc was US$50.), cheap/free education and a lot of personal freedom (freedom of speech, movement, etc) despite not having the right to vote. If I lived in the US I would be paying a lot more tax, my healthcare would be tied to my employer (and it would still cost more), and I would be panicking about student loans and college trust funds for any children I might have in the future. So... which is better? I really don't know.

7. Creativity and freedom to explore. I love how people in the US are encouraged to explore different professional options and creativity and innovation are socially encouraged. I come from a culture where people are expected to be "safe" and choose careers like doctor/lawyer/civil servant/accountant. Not saying that those are bad, but for a society to be truly advanced and for a rich culture, we need creativity and people thinking crazy new things like Thomas Edison, or even comic artist like Bill Watterson.

8. Beautiful country. America is really a beautiful country. You have some of the most amazing national parks. I love the road trips I've taken around the US. Please don't take your beautiful country for granted.

9. Environment. People in the US tend to be more environmentally aware of conservation and resources recycling, etc etc. Yet somehow as a society in general, it is quite wasteful. Think of all the gasoline people use. Or the big suburban houses people live in compared to the small houses or apartments that are seen in other parts of the world - the amount of electricity/oil/resources per capita seems to be higher in the US). Or the vast amount of packaging and disposable items that are used. And of the large portions of food served in restaurants [even if most of it is doggy-bagged, I would guess that a lot of it is wasted]. ...etc. ) I am not saying that other places are perfect. In Hong Kong, the level of environmental awareness is very low, and the government is just blind in this area.

10. The USA has a lot of good things going for it, but at the same time there's always room for improvement; I don't think it's necessary to argue whether it's the "best" or "worst" country in the world. Every place has its good and bad.

Happy 4th of July everybody! These are just my personal thoughts. Please don't flame me

 

[Maria D]

mochiko42, Thanks for taking the time to write out your very thoughtful post. I found it extremely interesting to hear opinions of my native homeland from the perspective of someone who is not a native but has had the experience of living here and several other countries. Great post!

 

[LaraOnline]

I voted 7 but immediately feel bad and wished I could vote 8.

FWIW, I would vote my own country Australia a 6. Our political culture has been going down the tubes for quite some years now and tbh it seems to be a general cultural issue rather than 'just' being the politicians' fault. The sole budgetary plan in place so far seems to be to rely on bracket creep to keep the government afloat That and shifting the working age up to 70.

 

[justginger]

I gave it a 7, and think I should probably change it to an 8. I would give Oz a 9, because I lean strongly to the left and feel my values are more on par with the majority of Australians when it comes to education (unless they move to an American style system, which is what Mr. Abbott appears to want), Medicare, maternity benefits, and so on and so forth.

Having spent 22 years as an American in the US, I KNOW what a wonderful place it can be. The people are among the most generous, caring hosts in the world - inquisitive and welcoming. Americans work more hours in their lives than any other nationality, they defend their loved ones (and strangers, in some cases) fiercely, and I'm not sure there is any other country that offers the same kind of business opportunities as the States. The technological advancements introduced by Americans has made life what it is in the modern Western world - for every cochlear implant, HPV vaccination, or penicillin isolated by an Australian, there have been 20 cars, atom smashers, personal computers, Mars rovers, airplanes, phones, transistors, angioplasties, ad nauseam from Americans (with a nod to all earlier research carried out by a wide range of different nationalities).

It is easy to see the flaws in a large, egregious, and somewhat boastful country (it is trait I choose to find endearing, like the rudeness of Parisian waiters, lol) - the statistics are well known: homicides, national debt, education rankings. But I still think it is clear to see that the good outweighs the bad. As frustrated as I get with arrogant Americans who crow that the States are perfect, I am equally puzzled (appalled?) by the fact that anyone with reasoning skills could declare it the worst place in the world. When we start seeing Americans landing on Christmas Island in overloaded, rickety fishing boats seeking asylum in Australia, then I'll reconsider my opinion.

 

[missy]

I really appreciate the thoughtful posts going into detail about why they feel the way they do. Especially thank you mochiko. I agree with everything you wrote.
And I also appreciated and agreed with what Sakuracherry, chemgirl, Ginger, arkieb and Lara had to share.

As for the anonymous voters who voted it the worst country in the world LOL. That's why they didn't elaborate in a post and share with us who they are. It's easy to vote hatefully (and a cowardly way to do it without taking responsibility) when you don't have to stand up for your vote.

I would like seeing a poll about if you live in America (and were not born here) why do you live here. What made you choose this country. I am not up for starting polls or threads right now (besides the one I started a few days ago) but would be interested to see from others POV why they chose this country to call home and to live in over other countries.

 

[mayerling]

I voted 6, as in "above average". For what it's worth, I don't think there's such a thing as "best country in the world".

PROs:

1. The mentality that you can achieve everything you want as long as you put your mind to it.
2. Good higher education.
3. Diverse population.
4. Comfortable living conditions (for those who can afford them).
5. Good sports culture (this sounds weird, but I went to a baseball game yesterday and loved how fans of different teams enjoy it together without bashing each other - coming from Europe with its football hooliganism, this was quite refreshing).
There's probably more but I can't think of anything right now.

CONs:

1. The mentality that the individual is more important than the whole.
2. Less than stellar primary and secondary education (Americans not knowing where half the countries of the world are comes to mind).
3. Lack of universal, or even affordable, healthcare.
4. Lack of other social policies like maternity benefits, pensionable age, annual leave, etc. And the mentality that precedes and follows that, as in "I don't want to work for someone else to reap the benefits".
5. Staggering numbers of homeless people.
6. Mass shootings/gun culture.
7. The belief that this is the best country in the world and the assertion and perpetuation of that belief. You might think you live in a nice country, you might not want to leave that country, but actually asserting that it's the best country in the world and believing it is very foreign to me. I lived in the UK for 10 years. It is a highly developed country. Never have I heard anyone say that they live in the best country in the world. There is no such thing; and going by immigration is not accurate.
Again, there's probably more but it doesn't come to mind right now.

 

[Sky56]

Thanks for your comments. As an American, I find them very interesting. I like hearing opinions, no flames from me.

 

[Rhea]

I voted a 7 for much the same reasons as given here. I'd give it a 6.5 if I could. I think mochiko42 summed it up quite well.

I'm an American living in England. I miss my family sometimes but cannot imagine moving back there. My English husband might have considered moving there years ago but not at this point. Our main reasons are lack of health care, high taxes for few services, lack of work and life balance, unawareness of what's happening outside their own country, and environmental and waste concerns. I tease my friend about his 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom house with full basement and attic. He's a single person! To be honest, the idea that a lot of Americans seem to hold that their country is the best in the world makes me uneasy as well. I have trouble holding a conversation with several members of my family who just flat out think the US is THE.BEST.COUNTRY.EVER. Who teaches people this stuff? I have pride that I'm an American but it's not an all or nothing thing. I've never meant a non-American who thinks that way to such an extent.

As mochiko mentioned the two biggest things I miss are the friendliness of strangers and the convenience of getting things in the middle of the night.

On balance, I feel like England suits me better and I'd give it an 8. I don't feel that one country is any better than the other, and the idea of it being that black and white is odd to me, but I do prefer the UK. I like that the news on public TV includes important world news rather than the pothole patrol or endless hours on a very-important-but-not-the-only-thing-happening missing aircraft. I like that when I had a health problem I had no health bills and work had to give me my post-surgery time off at full pay while I recovered. I like that I have 6 weeks of paid vacation and that working more than 40 hours a week is considered to be unacceptable by my employer. I run around the US buying cheap stuff and fully taking advantage of 24 hour stores when I'm there once a year so I'm a bit of a hypocrite. I think I'll struggle most if and when we have children. I can't imagine raising a child in the US education system but I wouldn't want to raise a child away from my family.

 

[justginger]

I voted a 7 for much the same reasons as given here. I'd give it a 6.5 if I could. I think mochiko42 summed it up quite well.

I'm an American living in England. I miss my family sometimes but cannot imagine moving back there. My English husband might have considered moving there years ago but not at this point. Our main reasons are lack of health care, high taxes for few services, lack of work and life balance, unawareness of what's happening outside their own country, and environmental and waste concerns. I tease my friend about his 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom house with full basement and attic. He's a single person! To be honest, the idea that a lot of Americans seem to hold that their country is the best in the world makes me uneasy as well. I have trouble holding a conversation with several members of my family who just flat out think the US is THE.BEST.COUNTRY.EVER. Who teaches people this stuff? I have pride that I'm an American but it's not an all or nothing thing. I've never meant a non-American who thinks that way to such an extent.

As mochiko mentioned the two biggest things I miss are the friendliness of strangers and the convenience of getting things in the middle of the night.

On balance, I feel like England suits me better and I'd give it an 8. I don't feel that one country is any better than the other, and the idea of it being that black and white is odd to me, but I do prefer the UK. I like that the news on public TV includes important world news rather than the pothole patrol or endless hours on a very-important-but-not-the-only-thing-happening missing aircraft. I like that when I had a health problem I had no health bills and work had to give me my post-surgery time off at full pay while I recovered. I like that I have 6 weeks of paid vacation and that working more than 40 hours a week is considered to be unacceptable by my employer. I run around the US buying cheap stuff and fully taking advantage of 24 hour stores when I'm there once a year so I'm a bit of a hypocrite. I think I'll struggle most if and when we have children. I can't imagine raising a child in the US education system but I wouldn't want to raise a child away from my family.

The only dark mark on my future as an expat - having children. There are things about my childhood that I loved and will be sad to see my kids miss out on, because there simply isn't an Australian counterpart to them. High school sports, with early Saturday morning bus rides to the away team's home, full of iced windows, gas station cappuccinos, giggling girls, singalongs. Themed weeks, pep rallies, a school fight song played by the marching band. Cheerleading, being able to dress freely, school dances rife with angst and ecstasy, as only experienced by teenagers. Not to mention what happens AFTER high school - namely, leaving home, moving on a college campus, and discovering how to fend for yourself, making amazing memories and thriving.

These things don't happen here. This subject is the only thing that still gives me a pit in my stomach, a knot of homesickness. There isn't a relatively young person I've met here who hasn't asked what high school and college are like in the States, and wistfully said, 'I wish I had all those things!' One day it will be my kids saying that. I can only hope they understand that Friday night football games are amazing, but not as amazing as going to school with no risk of a classmate pulling a gun.

 

[arkieb1]

I voted a 7 for much the same reasons as given here. I'd give it a 6.5 if I could. I think mochiko42 summed it up quite well.

I'm an American living in England. I miss my family sometimes but cannot imagine moving back there. My English husband might have considered moving there years ago but not at this point. Our main reasons are lack of health care, high taxes for few services, lack of work and life balance, unawareness of what's happening outside their own country, and environmental and waste concerns. I tease my friend about his 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom house with full basement and attic. He's a single person! To be honest, the idea that a lot of Americans seem to hold that their country is the best in the world makes me uneasy as well. I have trouble holding a conversation with several members of my family who just flat out think the US is THE.BEST.COUNTRY.EVER. Who teaches people this stuff? I have pride that I'm an American but it's not an all or nothing thing. I've never meant a non-American who thinks that way to such an extent.

As mochiko mentioned the two biggest things I miss are the friendliness of strangers and the convenience of getting things in the middle of the night.

On balance, I feel like England suits me better and I'd give it an 8. I don't feel that one country is any better than the other, and the idea of it being that black and white is odd to me, but I do prefer the UK. I like that the news on public TV includes important world news rather than the pothole patrol or endless hours on a very-important-but-not-the-only-thing-happening missing aircraft. I like that when I had a health problem I had no health bills and work had to give me my post-surgery time off at full pay while I recovered. I like that I have 6 weeks of paid vacation and that working more than 40 hours a week is considered to be unacceptable by my employer. I run around the US buying cheap stuff and fully taking advantage of 24 hour stores when I'm there once a year so I'm a bit of a hypocrite. I think I'll struggle most if and when we have children. I can't imagine raising a child in the US education system but I wouldn't want to raise a child away from my family.

The only dark mark on my future as an expat - having children. There are things about my childhood that I loved and will be sad to see my kids miss out on, because there simply isn't an Australian counterpart to them. High school sports, with early Saturday morning bus rides to the away team's home, full of iced windows, gas station cappuccinos, giggling girls, singalongs. Themed weeks, pep rallies, a school fight song played by the marching band. Cheerleading, being able to dress freely, school dances rife with angst and ecstasy, as only experienced by teenagers. Not to mention what happens AFTER high school - namely, leaving home, moving on a college campus, and discovering how to fend for yourself, making amazing memories and thriving.

These things don't happen here. This subject is the only thing that still gives me a pit in my stomach, a knot of homesickness. There isn't a relatively young person I've met here who hasn't asked what high school and college are like in the States, and wistfully said, 'I wish I had all those things!' One day it will be my kids saying that. I can only hope they understand that Friday night football games are amazing, but not as amazing as going to school with no risk of a classmate pulling a gun.

I am not sure what they do in WA but in QLD we have schools that have cheerleaders and marching girl teams (Frances Whiting a well known Brisbane author wrote a book called to be a Marching Girl....). Public schools in Canberra have free dress. ALL schools have school dances I remember the angst etc when I was a kid. I moved from a rural area to Sydney to go to University (as a large number of country kids do) and experienced all of those things so I agree that the experience is different from the US but we do have many of those things here too...

 

[kenny]

There are things about my childhood that I loved and will be sad to see my kids miss out on, because there simply isn't an Australian counterpart to them. High school sports, with early Saturday morning bus rides to the away team's home, full of iced windows, gas station cappuccinos, giggling girls, singalongs. Themed weeks, pep rallies, a school fight song played by the marching band. Cheerleading, being able to dress freely, school dances rife with angst and ecstasy, as only experienced by teenagers. Not to mention what happens AFTER high school - namely, leaving home, moving on a college campus, and discovering how to fend for yourself, making amazing memories and thriving.

Yeah, but you Aussies get all those free pink diamonds.

 

[justginger]

I voted a 7 for much the same reasons as given here. I'd give it a 6.5 if I could. I think mochiko42 summed it up quite well.

I'm an American living in England. I miss my family sometimes but cannot imagine moving back there. My English husband might have considered moving there years ago but not at this point. Our main reasons are lack of health care, high taxes for few services, lack of work and life balance, unawareness of what's happening outside their own country, and environmental and waste concerns. I tease my friend about his 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom house with full basement and attic. He's a single person! To be honest, the idea that a lot of Americans seem to hold that their country is the best in the world makes me uneasy as well. I have trouble holding a conversation with several members of my family who just flat out think the US is THE.BEST.COUNTRY.EVER. Who teaches people this stuff? I have pride that I'm an American but it's not an all or nothing thing. I've never meant a non-American who thinks that way to such an extent.

As mochiko mentioned the two biggest things I miss are the friendliness of strangers and the convenience of getting things in the middle of the night.

On balance, I feel like England suits me better and I'd give it an 8. I don't feel that one country is any better than the other, and the idea of it being that black and white is odd to me, but I do prefer the UK. I like that the news on public TV includes important world news rather than the pothole patrol or endless hours on a very-important-but-not-the-only-thing-happening missing aircraft. I like that when I had a health problem I had no health bills and work had to give me my post-surgery time off at full pay while I recovered. I like that I have 6 weeks of paid vacation and that working more than 40 hours a week is considered to be unacceptable by my employer. I run around the US buying cheap stuff and fully taking advantage of 24 hour stores when I'm there once a year so I'm a bit of a hypocrite. I think I'll struggle most if and when we have children. I can't imagine raising a child in the US education system but I wouldn't want to raise a child away from my family.

The only dark mark on my future as an expat - having children. There are things about my childhood that I loved and will be sad to see my kids miss out on, because there simply isn't an Australian counterpart to them. High school sports, with early Saturday morning bus rides to the away team's home, full of iced windows, gas station cappuccinos, giggling girls, singalongs. Themed weeks, pep rallies, a school fight song played by the marching band. Cheerleading, being able to dress freely, school dances rife with angst and ecstasy, as only experienced by teenagers. Not to mention what happens AFTER high school - namely, leaving home, moving on a college campus, and discovering how to fend for yourself, making amazing memories and thriving.

These things don't happen here. This subject is the only thing that still gives me a pit in my stomach, a knot of homesickness. There isn't a relatively young person I've met here who hasn't asked what high school and college are like in the States, and wistfully said, 'I wish I had all those things!' One day it will be my kids saying that. I can only hope they understand that Friday night football games are amazing, but not as amazing as going to school with no risk of a classmate pulling a gun.

I am not sure what they do in WA but in QLD we have schools that have cheerleaders and marching girl teams (Frances Whiting a well known Brisbane author wrote a book called to be a Marching Girl....). Public schools in Canberra have free dress. ALL schools have school dances I remember the angst etc when I was a kid. I moved from a rural area to Sydney to go to University (as a large number of country kids do) and experienced all of those things so I agree that the experience is different from the US but we do have many of those things here too...

I would not have mentioned these examples if I didn't know they were correct here. I have grilled coworkers and virtual strangers about their kids' school activities. There is not a single school I have found in Perth without mandatory uniforms, many down to the colour of their bloody hair ties! My husband had 2 dances in his entire time in high school - we had 4/year starting in 6th grade. No school sports teams (DH said that they sort of had a basketball team - practiced one Sat, had a game the second Sat, alternating - a far cry from daily practice after school, and three games per week), no school cheerleaders, no school marching bands that I have heard of in 9 years now. All of those activities must be done in the larger community. Out of the 40,000 students at my university, there are a couple of hundred who live in 'on campus' accommodation, and they are all from overseas. The country kids live in boarding facilities off campus - I gave a talk at one last year - it was the closest I've found to an authentic college experience (but still, a sorority house it was not). Unfortunately, there is simply no room for local kids or I'd definitely chuff my kids out the door to live there.

Trust me, the difference in teenage life experiences between Perth and the States has not been overstated here. There is an entire element of community belonging due to school identification and competitive representation that is missing. No one here will ask how the football team did against Camdenton when you see a neighbour in public, swing by the library, or sit your kid down in the barber's chair, lol.

 

[arkieb1]

Maybe it's a state thing, my son is 6 goes to a really good public school and they have had 2 dances so far this year at his school. One of our good friends daughters attends University here in Brisbane and she went for 6 months on an exchange to UCLA and she seems to participate in similar activities here (as far as I can see on f/b).

I lived on campus at the University of Canberra for half a year and more than half the students were from Australia and when I went to Sydney Uni I knew people who lived in campus dorms and around half or more were Aussies, maybe that demographic has changed since then, because dorms are expensive. I remember drinking games, initiations (which they have since tried to ban) and a heap of other US style things that went on there....

Some schools have cheerleading here others don't and you do it externally;

http://worldcupcheer.com.au/

I remember thinking it was odd that they have marching teams here in Brisbane (they have a centre over the other side of Brisbane from where we live) because I used to live in NSW 15+ years ago and I don't remember marching teams there then.

 

[missy]

I voted a 7 for much the same reasons as given here. I'd give it a 6.5 if I could. I think mochiko42 summed it up quite well.

I'm an American living in England. I miss my family sometimes but cannot imagine moving back there. My English husband might have considered moving there years ago but not at this point. Our main reasons are lack of health care, high taxes for few services, lack of work and life balance, unawareness of what's happening outside their own country, and environmental and waste concerns. I tease my friend about his 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom house with full basement and attic. He's a single person! To be honest, the idea that a lot of Americans seem to hold that their country is the best in the world makes me uneasy as well. I have trouble holding a conversation with several members of my family who just flat out think the US is THE.BEST.COUNTRY.EVER. Who teaches people this stuff? I have pride that I'm an American but it's not an all or nothing thing. I've never meant a non-American who thinks that way to such an extent.

As mochiko mentioned the two biggest things I miss are the friendliness of strangers and the convenience of getting things in the middle of the night.

On balance, I feel like England suits me better and I'd give it an 8. I don't feel that one country is any better than the other, and the idea of it being that black and white is odd to me, but I do prefer the UK. I like that the news on public TV includes important world news rather than the pothole patrol or endless hours on a very-important-but-not-the-only-thing-happening missing aircraft. I like that when I had a health problem I had no health bills and work had to give me my post-surgery time off at full pay while I recovered. I like that I have 6 weeks of paid vacation and that working more than 40 hours a week is considered to be unacceptable by my employer. I run around the US buying cheap stuff and fully taking advantage of 24 hour stores when I'm there once a year so I'm a bit of a hypocrite. I think I'll struggle most if and when we have children. I can't imagine raising a child in the US education system but I wouldn't want to raise a child away from my family.

The only dark mark on my future as an expat - having children. There are things about my childhood that I loved and will be sad to see my kids miss out on, because there simply isn't an Australian counterpart to them. High school sports, with early Saturday morning bus rides to the away team's home, full of iced windows, gas station cappuccinos, giggling girls, singalongs. Themed weeks, pep rallies, a school fight song played by the marching band. Cheerleading, being able to dress freely, school dances rife with angst and ecstasy, as only experienced by teenagers. Not to mention what happens AFTER high school - namely, leaving home, moving on a college campus, and discovering how to fend for yourself, making amazing memories and thriving.

These things don't happen here. This subject is the only thing that still gives me a pit in my stomach, a knot of homesickness. There isn't a relatively young person I've met here who hasn't asked what high school and college are like in the States, and wistfully said, 'I wish I had all those things!' One day it will be my kids saying that. I can only hope they understand that Friday night football games are amazing, but not as amazing as going to school with no risk of a classmate pulling a gun.
...snip...
Trust me, the difference in teenage life experiences between Perth and the States has not been overstated here. There is an entire element of community belonging due to school identification and competitive representation that is missing. No one here will ask how the football team did against Camdenton when you see a neighbour in public, swing by the library, or sit your kid down in the barber's chair, lol.

I agree. In life there are tradeoffs and I, for one, would take this trade off gladly if it insured the safety of my children. I don't know for certain if one is causal to another but if there is a direct correlation then you can sign me up for life without school dances and friday night/saturday afternoon sports events. No question for me. But I know different people value different things and respect that difference.

I would also miss the "authentic" college experience I had during my 4 years at my undergraduate college but again there are pros and cons to each system. My undergraduate experience cost my parents over 100K and that was in the early to mid eighties.
To be able to get an excellent education free of charge well again I think that is worth the tradeoff of amazing college campus life. You can make those amazing memories as a young adult in other ways. There is no perfect circumstance.

 

[Kelinas]

I voted in the American thread but I'll post this here.
I am an American citizen by birth.
I was a Korean citizen by birth. At 19, I was required to choose one. Recently, Korea has changed the law to allow permanent status.

I chose my American citizenship by default, after being harassed to death by my father. I had, at that point, never been to the states.
When I got to the states the following year, I felt...jipped. lol.
The whole time, I had thousands of people gush to me about how great the US was. How fabulous it was.

I feel I built it up SO much in my mind, and it just wasn't...that awesome.
People are very rude, racist, mean. People got shot and murdered. I understand that it also had to do with the area I was in, but jeez.

(If it means anything, Koreans are really tight knit. The people in general are very thoughtful of the elderly and just helping your neighbors out... with that in mind, I tried to help my neighbor out soon after coming to the states and she just started screaming that I was robbing her sigh.

One thing I can't stand about this place though is the skewed judicial system.

But that's a whole different can of worms.

 

[Kelinas]

I forgot to include that I was born and raised in South Korea.
I left at 20. I spent 2 years in the states. Then returned to Korea for 2 more years. Left at 24. I turn 27 in 2 weeks.
So in reality, I just haven't spent enough time in the States to really make a call.