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"If you’re extremely talented or intelligent, the US is probably the best place in the world to live." This is one of the most important points. For the avera

by kloncks 14y ago

"If you’re extremely talented or intelligent, the US is probably the best place in the world to live." This is one of the most important points. For the average American HackerNews reader, life is radically different from the rest of America. I am given opportunities, networks, connections and chances that I wouldn't be able to get this easily anywhere else in the World. The genius of America seems to come from a few very key categories that exist to this day. Silicon Valley is one of them; Hollywood or Wall Street might be others. But outside that, our average is a rather poor showing compared to a lot of other countries around the world that more collectively seem to take care of their people. The problem, in my humble opinion, always stems from ignorance. As a culture, we're just not as aware or respectful as we should be. Other countries know more about the World than we do. That leads to more open-ness and respect.

mbesto 14y ago
I 100% agree with your quote from the article as well. The US is an absolutely amazing place when you are "the best". You get to live the hyperbole and talk about it too. What better place to do so? For example, the US healthcare doesn't suck, it's actually really good. But it's only good for those who can afford it. I've had to go to the doctor three times now in the UK (eye infection, sports injury and regular checkup) and every time I've had to wait 3+ hours to get diagnosed/treated. In the US, my healthcare meant I was in and out in 30 minutes. The US is a great place when you can afford it. That being said, I happily waited in line for the 3+ hours because I knew that other people are being treated for things they normally can't afford in the US. The problem in America, is that no one can even fathom a system like this. It's so foreign to the way we operate our lives (i.e. our culture) because everything we do is deeply rooted in transferences of goods and services in the form of money. ps- I'm also an American who has lived in the UK, Germany, and been to 30+ countries. I share a lot of the same views as the author.
- ericd 14y ago
  Yeah, in visiting other countries, my impression is that the average person is way happier with life, regardless of their financial standing. This in turn makes me happier. I'd be happy to pay way more in taxes in the US to support that kind of living environment. It's hard to realize the difference it makes without traveling and meeting lots of people when you do so, though, and the tragedy is that the current system in the US doesn't allow most people the resources to travel and educate themselves, which seems to negatively effect the chances of having a well educated voting populace.
- dasil003 14y ago
  But you can get private health care in the UK and it's much cheaper than the US. In the US if you can't get health insurance—and I mean literally can't because you are a single payer where no company is willing to offer you a policy—then you pay out of pocket at a high multiple of the negotiated prices insurance companies get. The quality of the actual care in the US is top notch, but the system is beyond fucked up, and the lies spewed by the politicians are positively nauseating. I'm an American living in the UK and I have to disagree with your assessment of the difference. First of all, most of my medical needs are taken care of through my GP who has never taken more than a week advance notice to get an appointment with, and the wait times I've experienced are actually far less than I've experience in various US health providers in Minnesota, New Mexico and California. When I crashed my bike before I had my GP, I did have to wait at a Walk-In Center, for about an hour, and ditto for Minor Injuries where they sent me after an initial evaluation, but that's equivalent to going to an emergency room in the states, because you can't just walk in to the nearest doctor there, you have to be "in-network". Later, through my GP I was able to get several osteopath sessions, a shoulder ultrasound, and physical therapy all of which was very well administered with minimal wait times. I'm not saying the system doesn't have problems, but it's nothing like the bogeyman of socialized medicine that seemingly the majority of Americans have been hoodwinked to believe it is.
jules 14y ago
Even for a hacker news reader the U.S. might not be unequivocally the best place to live. For example I would like to live in the U.S. (perhaps not forever, but at least for some time). There are a couple of things that don't make it a clear cut choice, even if you only consider purely selfish factors: - healthcare: a large health bill or something that the insurance refuses to pay for can still wreck your life - very religious - high HIV rates - gun ownership - cycling unfriendly - social safety net (because even hacker news readers can have bad luck, especially when you do something risky like starting a company) - and of course more important things like distance from friends & family, but that's not a property of the U.S. in itself None of these are show stoppers per se, and perhaps they are irrational fears, but they can tip the scales in favor of other places despite the big bonus points that the U.S. get in other areas.
- 18pfsmt 14y ago
  As an American, I can't help but find your listed "fears" quite humorous (and irrational). The US is a huge country with 300M people, and there is pretty much something for everyone. For example, Portland, OR is extremely bike friendly (as are many other cities), and I've never seen a gun brandished by someone I didn't know. I've never locked my house in the 3 years I've owned it, and my car keys stay in the ignition with my garage door open 90% of the time. Starting a company is a risky endeavor no matter where you do it, but I would advise starting a company in a country with which you are familiar, or with cofounders you trust that are.
  - jules 14y ago
    That list was definitely not intended as a list that applies to all of the U.S.; quite the opposite: some of the points apply to some of the U.S. (I didn't make that clear though). You're right, there's something for everybody. One problem is that this also works the other way; I have to pick from the places where I find an interesting job and where the employer wants to employ me. So far those places have been places where several of the above criteria are unfortunately met. I do know that some of those things are definitely irrational, and would not be a problem in practice (especially gun ownership).
- 14y ago

by kloncks 14y ago

mbesto 14y ago

I 100% agree with your quote from the article as well. The US is an absolutely amazing place when you are "the best". You get to live the hyperbole and talk about it too. What better place to do so? For example, the US healthcare doesn't suck, it's actually really good. But it's only good for those who can afford it. I've had to go to the doctor three times now in the UK (eye infection, sports injury and regular checkup) and every time I've had to wait 3+ hours to get diagnosed/treated. In the US, my healthcare meant I was in and out in 30 minutes. The US is a great place when you can afford it. That being said, I happily waited in line for the 3+ hours because I knew that other people are being treated for things they normally can't afford in the US. The problem in America, is that no one can even fathom a system like this. It's so foreign to the way we operate our lives (i.e. our culture) because everything we do is deeply rooted in transferences of goods and services in the form of money. ps- I'm also an American who has lived in the UK, Germany, and been to 30+ countries. I share a lot of the same views as the author.

ericd 14y ago
Yeah, in visiting other countries, my impression is that the average person is way happier with life, regardless of their financial standing. This in turn makes me happier. I'd be happy to pay way more in taxes in the US to support that kind of living environment. It's hard to realize the difference it makes without traveling and meeting lots of people when you do so, though, and the tragedy is that the current system in the US doesn't allow most people the resources to travel and educate themselves, which seems to negatively effect the chances of having a well educated voting populace.
dasil003 14y ago
But you can get private health care in the UK and it's much cheaper than the US. In the US if you can't get health insurance—and I mean literally can't because you are a single payer where no company is willing to offer you a policy—then you pay out of pocket at a high multiple of the negotiated prices insurance companies get. The quality of the actual care in the US is top notch, but the system is beyond fucked up, and the lies spewed by the politicians are positively nauseating. I'm an American living in the UK and I have to disagree with your assessment of the difference. First of all, most of my medical needs are taken care of through my GP who has never taken more than a week advance notice to get an appointment with, and the wait times I've experienced are actually far less than I've experience in various US health providers in Minnesota, New Mexico and California. When I crashed my bike before I had my GP, I did have to wait at a Walk-In Center, for about an hour, and ditto for Minor Injuries where they sent me after an initial evaluation, but that's equivalent to going to an emergency room in the states, because you can't just walk in to the nearest doctor there, you have to be "in-network". Later, through my GP I was able to get several osteopath sessions, a shoulder ultrasound, and physical therapy all of which was very well administered with minimal wait times. I'm not saying the system doesn't have problems, but it's nothing like the bogeyman of socialized medicine that seemingly the majority of Americans have been hoodwinked to believe it is.

jules 14y ago

Even for a hacker news reader the U.S. might not be unequivocally the best place to live. For example I would like to live in the U.S. (perhaps not forever, but at least for some time). There are a couple of things that don't make it a clear cut choice, even if you only consider purely selfish factors: - healthcare: a large health bill or something that the insurance refuses to pay for can still wreck your life - very religious - high HIV rates - gun ownership - cycling unfriendly - social safety net (because even hacker news readers can have bad luck, especially when you do something risky like starting a company) - and of course more important things like distance from friends & family, but that's not a property of the U.S. in itself None of these are show stoppers per se, and perhaps they are irrational fears, but they can tip the scales in favor of other places despite the big bonus points that the U.S. get in other areas.

18pfsmt 14y ago
As an American, I can't help but find your listed "fears" quite humorous (and irrational). The US is a huge country with 300M people, and there is pretty much something for everyone. For example, Portland, OR is extremely bike friendly (as are many other cities), and I've never seen a gun brandished by someone I didn't know. I've never locked my house in the 3 years I've owned it, and my car keys stay in the ignition with my garage door open 90% of the time. Starting a company is a risky endeavor no matter where you do it, but I would advise starting a company in a country with which you are familiar, or with cofounders you trust that are.
- jules 14y ago
  That list was definitely not intended as a list that applies to all of the U.S.; quite the opposite: some of the points apply to some of the U.S. (I didn't make that clear though). You're right, there's something for everybody. One problem is that this also works the other way; I have to pick from the places where I find an interesting job and where the employer wants to employ me. So far those places have been places where several of the above criteria are unfortunately met. I do know that some of those things are definitely irrational, and would not be a problem in practice (especially gun ownership).
14y ago