Advantages and disadvantages of living in the USA?

[LeoLeah77]

I seriously want to move to America in the future! Can you Americans tell me the advantages and disadvantages of living in America? What are the most family friendly places?

 

[LittleBoSheep]

Well in my experience there is nothing like a fine southern hospitality

 

[corgankidd]

I'm a Northern Californian and I absolutely love it, couldn't imagine living anywhere else! I have mountains in my backyard, ocean minutes away, snow 2 hours away, tons of lakes, shops and cities, and beautiful weather. Everything is near by making growing up here very fun. There is always something fun and outdoorsy to do.

Disadvantages would have to be that the cost of living in California is pretty high if you want a low crime area and the US healthcare system. I love the US though and I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

 

[Kristin52]

Government sucks. Health insurance sucks even more (most of the time)

I live in a tiny town in Pennsylvania and I do like it here, nice and quiet

 

[mamaduke]

Government sucks. Health insurance sucks even more (most of the time)

I live in a tiny town in Pennsylvania and I do like it here, nice and quiet

Agreed. The cost of health insurance is ridiculous, let alone everything else.

I like Ohio - all 4 seasons (rain in spring, sun in summer, pretty leaves in autumn, snow in winter), low cost of living, and the people here in the Cleveland area are actually pretty nice.

 

[Lady_Bee]

I'm not American but I live in NC.

Advantages... Cheap(er) cost of living, beautiful countryside in some parts, people are very friendly, awesome sushi restaurants

Disadvantages for me are lack of sidewalks in most areas, poor public transport (with the exception of major cities I guess?), rotten healthcare system, lots of "sprawl" areas that are not so beautiful, severe lack of Indian food hahaha... ok but it's true! Alright never mind. My town is one of the ugliest and crappiest I've seen so these disadvantages may not apply elsewhere.

 

[Dk1234]

The amazing food! When I hear UK people describe their dinners and stuff it doesn't sound at all appetizing. But that's coming from a big fat American!

 

[baby287]

I'm a Northern Californian and I absolutely love it, couldn't imagine living anywhere else! I have mountains in my backyard, ocean minutes away, snow 2 hours away, tons of lakes, shops and cities, and beautiful weather. Everything is near by making growing up here very fun. There is always something fun and outdoorsy to do.

Disadvantages would have to be that the cost of living in California is pretty high if you want a low crime area and the US healthcare system. I love the US though and I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

I live in northern cali too!!
And she's right, everything is here, amazing seasons. You could go to the beach and go snowboarding in the same say if you really wanted to lol but cost of living is high if you want a safe place to live and forget about health insurance unless you have a great job. My bf has amazing insurance through his work..I'd marry him just for that haha

 

[LittleBoSheep]

I live in KY and if you want good home-cooked food this is the place

 

[Dk1234]

I live in KY and if you want good home-cooked food this is the place

Absolutely! Yay for Kentucky cooking

 

[Seity]

There's so much variety and the country is so big that a lot depends on what you want. I grew up in Southern California. Went to school in Arizona. Currently live in New York and each and every place offers something different.
I've visited a lot of the different states over the years. Some have low cost of living, some absolutely stunning scenery and I haven't even seen everything yet.
There's a lot to be said for the personal freedoms many of us take for granted.
Health system is flawed, mostly because you pay for insurance and then the insurance companies do their best to never pay what they owe and you have to call and harass them until they pay.

 

[Aimee4311]

I live in Texas and I love it! We have a low cost of living, low gas prices, and the people are friendlier than anywhere else I've visited. I can't imagine living anywhere else. My hubby was in the military and travelled an lived all over and couldn't wait it come back to Texas

 

[Casey3]

The healthcare system sucks in the states. And I can't imagine only having a few weeks of mat leave and their ketchup tastes like sugar... well that one isn't important lol but its true!

Move to Canada.. Its beautiful everywhere, we're friendly and we have a great healthcare system !

 

[DragonTamer]

I've lived in Florida since i was born and hate everything about it especially the heat and humidity...i know a lot of people who love Florida but not me... I've visited "up north" and i fell in love... New England is gorgeous and would live there if it didn't cost so much. Florida cost if living varies greatly depending on where you live. I'm in an ok area but it wouldn't break my heart if i had to move to another area...lol

 

[The Alchemist]

Firstly, America is a melting pot. Each state is different than another. I have lived in 2 states, completely different culture, food, people, customs, and dialect. Plus the lingo. I grew up in Fresno, California. Then by age 11, our family moved to Memphis, TN. Omg...I remember the first few months in Memphis. It was very confusing because I had such a difficult time understanding what they were saying. There are pros and cons to both CA and TN. I much prefer living in CA, which is where I am now, in Los Angeles. I figured out I'm very much a city girl. A few years back when I first moved here, I lived on a cute street right on Hollywood Blvd and I enjoyed the many shops and restaurants. There were always something to do. In TN, it's quiet and people are extremely hospitable, hence you get "southern hospitality", whereas people in los Angeles are not that friendly. Nobody, as far as I've lived here, would smile and happily say hello to you. And the freeways/highways (don't know what you call it in UK) sucks - traffic sucks, period.

But all in all, I still like CA despite is expensive and yeah....expensive. Pollution is a huge problem here.

And America has a bad rep concerning health care.

 

[Dk1234]

Yeah I wouldn't say our health care system sucks. It is more expensive but we get a lot more choices and control over our health care. We can for the most part choose whatever dr we like, we can ask for tests if we want them we have a lot more access to health care. That being said most of us pay out the ass for it.

 

[Daisy_Delayne]

The healthcare system sucks in the states. And I can't imagine only having a few weeks of mat leave and they're ketchup tastes like sugar... well that one isn't important lol but its true!

Move to Canada.. Its beautiful everywhere, we're friendly and we have a great healthcare system !

Exactly what I was going to say I'm on my fifth month of paid mat leave

 

[Jaylynne]

Love my country. Each state can vastly differ from weather, economics, culture, demographics... Depends! I live in Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. I'm less than 2 hours to new York city, Washington d.c. and the beach. We get all 4 seasons, plenty of sunshine and snow. Fall is beautiful here. Cost of living depends on which town you live in but there's plenty of options. Southern states are more friendly than northern and western states in my opinion. They have a slower pace of life vs Philly and NYC where everything is fast. There is plenty of space for more people!

Many people are friendly and will help each other out.

Healthcare sucks. I never had issues with it until I had LO. I never used to get sick. It's expensive unless your employer offers good insurance (getting more and more rare). Mat leave is beyond ridiculous! Usually unpaid and up to 12 weeks. Awful.

Not a fan of Obama or our government. No one gets along and nothing productive gets done.

 

[bookworm0901]

The ketchup comment made me laugh cause I've always thought ketchup tastes weird in other places! I've never had Canadian though, only European.

 

[jenniferttc1]

I live in texas, much prefer the south in America It's hot, but you go swimming and cool off, winters are not harsh. Plus we have some kick ass Tex-mex. I HATE our healthcare, and our government period. They have their priorities mixed and lost up their asses.
The CARE we get in hospitals is top notch, but we pay ALOT for that. Too much in my opinion. There is no need to charge 20,000 for a normal vaginal birth.