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You actually hit it nail on the head. I'm a British guy who married an American woman and I've been in the US about 3 years now. I live in Gary, IN (the nice be

You actually hit it nail on the head. I'm a British guy who married an American woman and I've been in the US about 3 years now. I live in Gary, IN (the nice beach community, south of Lake Michigan) but the I hear the daily horror stories of things that occur here. I doesn't bother me too much, I think shit happens everywhere and we're good people (as in, we're not looking for trouble), and I was raised to have my guard up (out of sight/out of mind etc). But, I think you're right. I've never felt more doom/gloomy since I moved here, and I literally have the best life I've ever had. I plan on having kids here, but hopefully moving back to the UK at some point, to benefit of our healthcare, schooling, etc, but we'll see.

magduf 8y ago
I've seen YouTube videos of American expats coming back home and saying the one big thing they noticed, after spending significant time in someplace like Europe, was how utterly paranoid Americas are. I've felt this myself just after having a short vacation out of the country. It's not really unsafe here (unless you're in downtown Baltimore or Detroit or something), but everyone is just so paranoid that it feels like you're living in a war zone. You should definitely move back to the UK if you have kids. The education alone is worth it: American public schools are absolutely horrendous, and the worst in the developed world. The healthcare is also an important factor.
- eertami 8y ago
  > worst in the developed world Current government policy in the UK is trying desperately to make the UK public schools steal that title.
  - mrec 8y ago
    I don't follow education policy so I'm not sure what you're referring to here, but I'd be curious to hear what you think the government's motivation is for "trying desperately" to do this. I mean, accidentally wrecking education while trying to do something else is perfectly plausible, but deliberately wrecking education is kind of a strong claim.
- kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
  American public schools are fine if you live where they aren't hollowed out by a weak tax base.
  - sk5t 8y ago
    A weak tax base and/or nonparticipatory parents would do it.
- eeeeeeeeeeeee 8y ago
  I'm not surprised by the paranoia. I think it's a natural reaction to the disgusting state of America, one which encourages a kill-or-be-killed mentality. There is very little of a safety net if you fall through the cracks (and the safety net built up during the 20th century is rapidly being torn down). Health care costs are the number one cause of bankruptcy in America. And if you can't afford your rent/mortgage and don't have any family, well, you're screwed, you're homeless now. At least with your job you have some sense of control over that, you can work harder and better, but that doesn't always matter either. But the fact that you can lose everything over a health issue, that may be (and often is) due to no fault of your own, is obviously going to make people paranoid. It makes you feel entirely powerless and completely at the whim of an unjust system. I went to the ER for chest pains the other day, and I have health insurance, and the bill was $2500. Luckily I can afford that, but how many people could not? The system is basically screaming at you "just die already, we don't care about you." All of these things encourage a state of fear, where we are all this close to being knocked down into destruction. I think paranoia is a natural reaction to our state of affairs, but obviously everyone handles it differently. Some even thrive in it, because they enjoy that level of brutal competition.
  - magduf 8y ago
    Maybe, but as one who grew up in this country, I can say that this state of paranoia simply did not exist to this extent decades ago. Personally, I think it happened after 9/11. People just weren't like this back in the 80s and 90s, and many of those factors were, if anything, worse than they are now. At least now, with ObamaCare, you aren't totally screwed on pre-existing conditions. And if you go back before the New Deal, or into the Gilded Age, things really were dog-eat-dog back then with zero safety net, but middle-class Americans weren't generally paranoid back then.
    - magduf 8y ago
      I'd also like to point out that the crime rates were a LOT worse back in the 1970s, and have been steadily falling ever since then. There's even a theory that leaded gasoline is to blame. Anyhow, even with worse street crime back in the 70s-80s, Americans simply weren't paranoid back then like they are now. Back then, kids routinely ran around by themselves with no adult supervision, and this is now unheard of in suburbia, even though the crime rates are a small fraction of what they were back then, and kidnappings were never a common thing.
avgDev 8y ago
Hey, I was also born in EU but moved to US with parents. I feel as living in EU is much chiller and the pace is slower. I also feel as humans have better rights in some of the countries. I live in a upper class suburb, which is nice. However, I too would like to move back to EU, but as SE I can make a bit more in the US. I might try getting a remote gig maybe that will allow me to move. But is is hard when you have family in the US.

magduf 8y ago

I've seen YouTube videos of American expats coming back home and saying the one big thing they noticed, after spending significant time in someplace like Europe, was how utterly paranoid Americas are. I've felt this myself just after having a short vacation out of the country. It's not really unsafe here (unless you're in downtown Baltimore or Detroit or something), but everyone is just so paranoid that it feels like you're living in a war zone. You should definitely move back to the UK if you have kids. The education alone is worth it: American public schools are absolutely horrendous, and the worst in the developed world. The healthcare is also an important factor.

eertami 8y ago
> worst in the developed world Current government policy in the UK is trying desperately to make the UK public schools steal that title.
- mrec 8y ago
  I don't follow education policy so I'm not sure what you're referring to here, but I'd be curious to hear what you think the government's motivation is for "trying desperately" to do this. I mean, accidentally wrecking education while trying to do something else is perfectly plausible, but deliberately wrecking education is kind of a strong claim.
kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
American public schools are fine if you live where they aren't hollowed out by a weak tax base.
- sk5t 8y ago
  A weak tax base and/or nonparticipatory parents would do it.
eeeeeeeeeeeee 8y ago
I'm not surprised by the paranoia. I think it's a natural reaction to the disgusting state of America, one which encourages a kill-or-be-killed mentality. There is very little of a safety net if you fall through the cracks (and the safety net built up during the 20th century is rapidly being torn down). Health care costs are the number one cause of bankruptcy in America. And if you can't afford your rent/mortgage and don't have any family, well, you're screwed, you're homeless now. At least with your job you have some sense of control over that, you can work harder and better, but that doesn't always matter either. But the fact that you can lose everything over a health issue, that may be (and often is) due to no fault of your own, is obviously going to make people paranoid. It makes you feel entirely powerless and completely at the whim of an unjust system. I went to the ER for chest pains the other day, and I have health insurance, and the bill was $2500. Luckily I can afford that, but how many people could not? The system is basically screaming at you "just die already, we don't care about you." All of these things encourage a state of fear, where we are all this close to being knocked down into destruction. I think paranoia is a natural reaction to our state of affairs, but obviously everyone handles it differently. Some even thrive in it, because they enjoy that level of brutal competition.
- magduf 8y ago
  Maybe, but as one who grew up in this country, I can say that this state of paranoia simply did not exist to this extent decades ago. Personally, I think it happened after 9/11. People just weren't like this back in the 80s and 90s, and many of those factors were, if anything, worse than they are now. At least now, with ObamaCare, you aren't totally screwed on pre-existing conditions. And if you go back before the New Deal, or into the Gilded Age, things really were dog-eat-dog back then with zero safety net, but middle-class Americans weren't generally paranoid back then.
  - magduf 8y ago
    I'd also like to point out that the crime rates were a LOT worse back in the 1970s, and have been steadily falling ever since then. There's even a theory that leaded gasoline is to blame. Anyhow, even with worse street crime back in the 70s-80s, Americans simply weren't paranoid back then like they are now. Back then, kids routinely ran around by themselves with no adult supervision, and this is now unheard of in suburbia, even though the crime rates are a small fraction of what they were back then, and kidnappings were never a common thing.

avgDev 8y ago

Hey, I was also born in EU but moved to US with parents. I feel as living in EU is much chiller and the pace is slower. I also feel as humans have better rights in some of the countries. I live in a upper class suburb, which is nice. However, I too would like to move back to EU, but as SE I can make a bit more in the US. I might try getting a remote gig maybe that will allow me to move. But is is hard when you have family in the US.