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So you are a straight European dude in your 20s-30s in one of the most lucrative and in-demand industries in the USA in SV/SF. This might give you a slight cas

by ixacto 13y ago

So you are a straight European dude in your 20s-30s in one of the most lucrative and in-demand industries in the USA in SV/SF. This might give you a slight case of rose colored glasses. You might have seen in your travels to other parts of the country that many Americans do not have this standard of living. To be blunt, it is likely that minority women in the deep south would have a slightly different expierence. The realitiy of living in the USA is : 1. Don't get sick. We don't want to pay for you to go see the doctor, even if it would save $millions in medical bills for diabetes/cancer/chronic disease. There is the legal obligation for any emergency room to stabilize you, but then they kick you out if you can't pay. 2. Don't have kids. Kids cost a fuckton, and the governmnet doesn't really want to pay for it, but they partially do through a clusterfuck of programs (WIC/CHIP et al). There is no legally-mandated Parental leave or anything, that is for those lazy Frenchmen. 3. Don't be a woman. People will make rape jokes about you all the time (hello microsoft, E3) and that would be just the start of it. Never mind access to affordible healthcare like cancer screening and abortion. 4. Be christian, or if that isn't possible be Jewish. Just don't be Athiest/Muslim/Hindu/Bhuddist/.... If you aren't Protestat Christian there is no chance you will be president, JFK excepted. 5. Belive that USA = #1. Keep that flag flying and that coolaid flowing. Disclaimer: I'm just a white guy trying to get a PHD/marketable skills so I can leave this country and move 140 miles north to Vancouver. Yes I know Vancouver has a bit of a heroin/prostitution/housing problem, but it's better than the current situation.

Splotzenbobble 13y ago
As another piece of Eurotrash who has seen (much) more of the USA than the average American, I have some objections to your ehm, objections. 1. Don't get sick - probably true, but apparently they're working on it. I've found the level of health care mediocre compared to back home, but the prices absolutely insane. Think 10 to 100 times higher for the exact same treatments in some cases. Prices are so out of sync with the rest of the world that my insurance explicitly covers full healthcare costs in the entire world except the USA. 2. Don't have that in my home country either, except for the right to take a certain number of weeks of unpaid leave without losing your job (mothers only). Tbh, I don't think it's unreasonable not to get paid for time you don't spend working. 3. If you think this is better outside the US, you're in for a shock. Cultural sensitivities you take for granted will be different or completely absent, and others that make no sense to you will be in place. Simple math will show you that cancer screening of asymptomatic people is completely pointless by the way, but that's a bit off topic. 4. The only one from that list you really don't want to be in the USA is openly atheist. Just say you're not into organized religion instead, and you'll be fine. That said, I've never set foot in a place where being part of a religious minority was considered a good thing. Americans are less likely to openly say what they _really_ think about your kind than Euros. 5. Probably true. In most Euro countries, waving the flag outside the context of international sports may be associated with wingnuts on the extreme right

by ixacto 13y ago

Splotzenbobble 13y ago

As another piece of Eurotrash who has seen (much) more of the USA than the average American, I have some objections to your ehm, objections. 1. Don't get sick - probably true, but apparently they're working on it. I've found the level of health care mediocre compared to back home, but the prices absolutely insane. Think 10 to 100 times higher for the exact same treatments in some cases. Prices are so out of sync with the rest of the world that my insurance explicitly covers full healthcare costs in the entire world except the USA. 2. Don't have that in my home country either, except for the right to take a certain number of weeks of unpaid leave without losing your job (mothers only). Tbh, I don't think it's unreasonable not to get paid for time you don't spend working. 3. If you think this is better outside the US, you're in for a shock. Cultural sensitivities you take for granted will be different or completely absent, and others that make no sense to you will be in place. Simple math will show you that cancer screening of asymptomatic people is completely pointless by the way, but that's a bit off topic. 4. The only one from that list you really don't want to be in the USA is openly atheist. Just say you're not into organized religion instead, and you'll be fine. That said, I've never set foot in a place where being part of a religious minority was considered a good thing. Americans are less likely to openly say what they _really_ think about your kind than Euros. 5. Probably true. In most Euro countries, waving the flag outside the context of international sports may be associated with wingnuts on the extreme right