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I'm talking about the more extreme cases like India and US, but if you want to take it there I'd say compared to the US the opportunities for you and your child

I'm talking about the more extreme cases like India and US, but if you want to take it there I'd say compared to the US the opportunities for you and your children will be better when you're in the top income bracket.

joelbluminator 6y ago
Yeah, looks like a great place lately you're totally right
- skissane 6y ago
  I used to talk to my wife about moving to the US. It would be good for my career I'm sure. Then there was a school shooting. And my wife said "We are not moving to the US". And I didn't really have anything to say in response. And then there was another shooting, and another one. And each time she said the same thing, and each time I couldn't really manage a response. Eventually, I stopped talking about moving to the US. And now, when there is a mass shooting in the US, my wife doesn't say "We are not moving to the US" any more.
  - joelbluminator 6y ago
    There are good things there of course, first and foremost the salaries and the nice suburban houses. It's a good place to consume things I guess. But there are many illnesses as well, what's happening now could be just a preview if things go sour economically. Also you will work more and probably experience more stress for that money than you would in Europe. On average North Europe is way happier than the U.S but not as many people wanna move there (can be partly explained by the language barriers but I think it's simply people thinking that more money = more happiness).
    - skissane 6y ago
      > There are good things there of course, first and foremost the salaries and the nice suburban houses Australia has lots of nice suburban houses too. But they are expensive, and you'll struggle to get paid enough to afford one. One advantage the US has over Australia – while it has really expensive areas like the Bay Area or Manhattan, it also has lots of medium-sized cities with affordable housing and plenty of jobs – Australia's population distribution is much more lopsided, and the parts of the country with affordable housing tend to have quite limited employment opportunities, especially in fields like IT. (Remote work can help there, but Australian corporate culture is behind the US in acceptance of remote work, although COVID is helping to change that.) > On average North Europe is way happier than the U.S but not as many people wanna move there (can be partly explained by the language barriers but I think it's simply people thinking that more money = more happiness). I wonder if the weather is also a factor? The US – even just counting the 48 states – offers a wide variety in climates – Michigan in winter is colder than Copenhagen, Florida's winter is quite pleasant. Not everyone likes snow.
      - joelbluminator 6y ago
        I think Australia offers a better life for the average person than the U.S but that's just my opinion (though I've never been there). At the same time it's so far from anywhere else, if you're Indian or Bulgarian you better stick to Europe if you want to keep in touch with your family and friends. As for North Europe: I think it's several factors keeping people moving there en masse, the language + familiar culture are very important for immigrants. It's just harder to fit in in a place like Sweden when you don't know the language or the local culture. Even if you never set foot in the U.S you know it. You know Trump, Thanks Giving, 4th of July, New York City etc etc. It may be really superficial knowledge and isn't really gonna help you to make friends there, but it's a big part of why people still want to move there.
        deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
      - SomeoneFromCA 6y ago
        Minimal wage in Australia is way higher tha in US. A regular Joe lives a better life in AU than in US.
        skissane 6y ago
        At the lower end of income, pay is definitely better in AU than US. (At higher ends of income, it tends to be the other way around.) Housing affordability is on the whole a lot worse. The majority of the US population lives in areas with relatively affordable housing. In Australia, the majority of the population lives in areas with low housing affordability. There are a number of contributing factors – US had a big real estate crash in 2008, Australian property prices only experienced modest falls. I think one of the factors behind the more modest crash is that in US most residential mortgages are no-recourse, in Australia full-recourse is the norm, so it is much easier for US homeowners to walk away if their asset is underwater. US foreclosure laws tend to be much more borrower-friendly than Australian laws as well. Differences in population distribution (Australia's population is much more centralised than the US's) is another factor. Yet another factor is that Australia has mortgage interest tax deductions for property investors but not for owner-occupiers (unlike the US where owner-occupiers get mortgage interest deductions) – which I think changes the occupier-vs-investor balance in property ownership in a way which disadvantages the asset-poor majority of the population (while benefiting the asset-rich minority) – and also contributes to the heated Australian property market.

joelbluminator 6y ago

Yeah, looks like a great place lately you're totally right

skissane 6y ago
I used to talk to my wife about moving to the US. It would be good for my career I'm sure. Then there was a school shooting. And my wife said "We are not moving to the US". And I didn't really have anything to say in response. And then there was another shooting, and another one. And each time she said the same thing, and each time I couldn't really manage a response. Eventually, I stopped talking about moving to the US. And now, when there is a mass shooting in the US, my wife doesn't say "We are not moving to the US" any more.
- joelbluminator 6y ago
  There are good things there of course, first and foremost the salaries and the nice suburban houses. It's a good place to consume things I guess. But there are many illnesses as well, what's happening now could be just a preview if things go sour economically. Also you will work more and probably experience more stress for that money than you would in Europe. On average North Europe is way happier than the U.S but not as many people wanna move there (can be partly explained by the language barriers but I think it's simply people thinking that more money = more happiness).
  - skissane 6y ago
    > There are good things there of course, first and foremost the salaries and the nice suburban houses Australia has lots of nice suburban houses too. But they are expensive, and you'll struggle to get paid enough to afford one. One advantage the US has over Australia – while it has really expensive areas like the Bay Area or Manhattan, it also has lots of medium-sized cities with affordable housing and plenty of jobs – Australia's population distribution is much more lopsided, and the parts of the country with affordable housing tend to have quite limited employment opportunities, especially in fields like IT. (Remote work can help there, but Australian corporate culture is behind the US in acceptance of remote work, although COVID is helping to change that.) > On average North Europe is way happier than the U.S but not as many people wanna move there (can be partly explained by the language barriers but I think it's simply people thinking that more money = more happiness). I wonder if the weather is also a factor? The US – even just counting the 48 states – offers a wide variety in climates – Michigan in winter is colder than Copenhagen, Florida's winter is quite pleasant. Not everyone likes snow.
    - joelbluminator 6y ago
      I think Australia offers a better life for the average person than the U.S but that's just my opinion (though I've never been there). At the same time it's so far from anywhere else, if you're Indian or Bulgarian you better stick to Europe if you want to keep in touch with your family and friends. As for North Europe: I think it's several factors keeping people moving there en masse, the language + familiar culture are very important for immigrants. It's just harder to fit in in a place like Sweden when you don't know the language or the local culture. Even if you never set foot in the U.S you know it. You know Trump, Thanks Giving, 4th of July, New York City etc etc. It may be really superficial knowledge and isn't really gonna help you to make friends there, but it's a big part of why people still want to move there.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
    - SomeoneFromCA 6y ago
      Minimal wage in Australia is way higher tha in US. A regular Joe lives a better life in AU than in US.
      - skissane 6y ago
        At the lower end of income, pay is definitely better in AU than US. (At higher ends of income, it tends to be the other way around.) Housing affordability is on the whole a lot worse. The majority of the US population lives in areas with relatively affordable housing. In Australia, the majority of the population lives in areas with low housing affordability. There are a number of contributing factors – US had a big real estate crash in 2008, Australian property prices only experienced modest falls. I think one of the factors behind the more modest crash is that in US most residential mortgages are no-recourse, in Australia full-recourse is the norm, so it is much easier for US homeowners to walk away if their asset is underwater. US foreclosure laws tend to be much more borrower-friendly than Australian laws as well. Differences in population distribution (Australia's population is much more centralised than the US's) is another factor. Yet another factor is that Australia has mortgage interest tax deductions for property investors but not for owner-occupiers (unlike the US where owner-occupiers get mortgage interest deductions) – which I think changes the occupier-vs-investor balance in property ownership in a way which disadvantages the asset-poor majority of the population (while benefiting the asset-rich minority) – and also contributes to the heated Australian property market.