4 ms·

Maybe try living there? I have in both. Life is definitely better in Western Europe.

seibelj 6y ago
Ah yes, the “true happiness is simply moving to another country” argument. The truth is that life is what you make of it - the happiness you seek cannot be provided by any government. Plenty of people are happy and plenty of people are empty, sad, unfulfilled, and depressed in every country on earth. That said, I will prefer to live in places that give me more choice - more economic choice, more living choices, more everything choices. I am by any global metric a wealthy person and my US tax rate is very low compared to every other western nation except for tax shelter countries. And I prefer to have less government mandating where my wealth is spent and retain more control over my life. What’s so wonderful is that apparently anyone (just like yourself!) can so easily uproot their entire lives to experiment living in two different countries! Although research tells me that Scandinavian countries, The Netherlands, and France have very difficult requirements for immigration. I need to learn Dutch? Huh? In the USA it’s so much easier!
- supportlocal4h 6y ago
  I'm a bit unclear about your ending. You want to move to the Netherlands but don't want to learn Dutch? Are you one of those Californians who are desperate to escape California but then try to change all the rules of your new home to match what you had in California? Just so you know, this is very irritating to your new neighbors. I live in the USA. I like it here. But you say it is better because it has lower taxes and doesn't make you learn Dutch. Others point out that your taxes + your health insurance premiums + doctor fees are not less than Netherland's taxes that include healthcare. When I lived outside the USA I made a significant effort to learn the language. I've never understood why one would not. If these are your main reasons for preferring the USA they seem pretty weak. Your first paragraph is a much stronger position.
  - seibelj 6y ago
    The healthcare situation in the USA is totally bonkers, but in general I prefer to be taxed less and receive fewer services from the government, and then use the saved money to select (or go without) my own service providers.
    - pertymcpert 6y ago
      As a result, your less wealthy neighbors are worse off. And you also suffer because of this as well, you just don't realize. Anyway, it sounds like you deserve all of the problems of the US since you're not actually interested in making anything better. As a result, you'd be a net negative to anywhere you move with that mindset.
- pertymcpert 6y ago
  > Plenty of people are happy and plenty of people are empty, sad, unfulfilled, and depressed in every country on earth. When you look into the metrics, you'd see what kind of vapid bullshit this is.

Ah yes, the “true happiness is simply moving to another country” argument. The truth is that life is what you make of it - the happiness you seek cannot be provided by any government. Plenty of people are happy and plenty of people are empty, sad, unfulfilled, and depressed in every country on earth. That said, I will prefer to live in places that give me more choice - more economic choice, more living choices, more everything choices. I am by any global metric a wealthy person and my US tax rate is very low compared to every other western nation except for tax shelter countries. And I prefer to have less government mandating where my wealth is spent and retain more control over my life. What’s so wonderful is that apparently anyone (just like yourself!) can so easily uproot their entire lives to experiment living in two different countries! Although research tells me that Scandinavian countries, The Netherlands, and France have very difficult requirements for immigration. I need to learn Dutch? Huh? In the USA it’s so much easier!

supportlocal4h 6y ago
I'm a bit unclear about your ending. You want to move to the Netherlands but don't want to learn Dutch? Are you one of those Californians who are desperate to escape California but then try to change all the rules of your new home to match what you had in California? Just so you know, this is very irritating to your new neighbors. I live in the USA. I like it here. But you say it is better because it has lower taxes and doesn't make you learn Dutch. Others point out that your taxes + your health insurance premiums + doctor fees are not less than Netherland's taxes that include healthcare. When I lived outside the USA I made a significant effort to learn the language. I've never understood why one would not. If these are your main reasons for preferring the USA they seem pretty weak. Your first paragraph is a much stronger position.
- seibelj 6y ago
  The healthcare situation in the USA is totally bonkers, but in general I prefer to be taxed less and receive fewer services from the government, and then use the saved money to select (or go without) my own service providers.
  - pertymcpert 6y ago
    As a result, your less wealthy neighbors are worse off. And you also suffer because of this as well, you just don't realize. Anyway, it sounds like you deserve all of the problems of the US since you're not actually interested in making anything better. As a result, you'd be a net negative to anywhere you move with that mindset.
pertymcpert 6y ago
> Plenty of people are happy and plenty of people are empty, sad, unfulfilled, and depressed in every country on earth. When you look into the metrics, you'd see what kind of vapid bullshit this is.