4 ms·

I’d love to know why you think quality of life is higher in the US.

• systemvoltage 5y ago
  You can check some objective data here - OECD Better Life Index: http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/ http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/
  • Sharlin 5y ago
    As expected, the US makes it to the top ten only if you very single-mindedly value housing (ie. huge suburban houses) and income above everything else such as safety, environment, work–life balance, and actual life satisfaction! Otherwise you see the usual suspects at the top: the Nordics, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Netherlands, then followed by the US, the UK, Germany etc. Some of the metrics also seem rather dubious: the US scores high in health despite the well-known failings of its healthcare system.
  • zimpenfish 5y ago
    It's objective, perhaps, but not overly useful - e.g. the US gets 8.9 for health, partially because the life expectancy at birth is about the average. Except that completely ignores the quality of that life (ironic) and things like "going bankrupt because you broke your leg in a car accident", etc.
    • j_wtf_all_taken 5y ago
      Just gotta be rich, then the health care system is awesome. Its incredible how high maternal mortality is in the US. Like a development country.
• Bayart 5y ago
  To be fair to Americans and to ourselves, we have often different and conflicting notions of what quality of live entails. That results in quite a bit of cognitive dissonance. For example we don't value square footage nearly as much as you guys do