Do you love living in America.

[ThomasT]

I love Florida have been 5 times and will be going again very soon.

I know the rest of America is not the same fun parks and wall to wall entertainment 

I live in Belfast Northern Ireland its a nice place but the prospect of getting a good job is small.

Theres not much of a chance to become rich here.

Where i live a small 3 bedroom terrace house and i mean small starts around $140000

I would love one day to move to the USA.

Do you think America is a good place to live i have only been to Florida so cant really tell if it is.

How easy is it to get a job,what is the cost of really living there. 

 

[Dan@Adams]

I will say that I absolutely love living here and am very proud of this country. I've been to 30 of the 50 states so far (that number will be increasing this summer!) and I've found something beautiful or amazing about each one. Finding jobs and cost of living will be very dependent on the area though.

[mc2hill]

My parents moved from England before I was born for a better opportunity.  I love visiting my relatives there, but am not sure i would like to live there (unless I won the Lottery!).  

 

I was born and raised in Florida, and moved from the north part of the state to Orlando about 25 years ago.  Orlando is nice, with a large number of jobs available (like most big cities).  If you can handle the 6 months of summer, the fall and winter months are fantastic! 

 

This is a HUGE country, with very diverse weather and people.

 

I do not know if it a better fit for you, but it was for my family. 

[Rich]

If you have a great education or a needed skill, you will have no problem finding work here.  It's a lot harder without those two things. 

 

I've been fortunate.  I only had a high school education, but was one of the last generation who got a manufacturing job, and that job provided a living wage for me to be able to provide for my family while my wife stayed home and raised the kids. I own a house, a couple of cars, my kids are both college educated (which neither me or my wife are), and now I'm retired and have a pension. I am also a veteran and served during Viet Nam.  This country has treated me and my family well.  But I worry for my grandchildren because of my first sentence. Time will tell. But for all of the good and the bad, I'd rather live here than any other country. 

[pirahnah3]

Love living here, working here, and protecting the environment here. 

[GXPaycheck]

Best country ever!

[Ricky Bobby]

yes. Being American is a blessing. God Bless this country, our founding fathers, our Constitution, and the service men and women who fight for our freedom every day!

[AusTroy]

Australia is better ..... Im kidding guys!! I've been to the US 5 times and have loved it every time. If I had to live anywhere else in the world it would be the USA

[GXPaycheck]

Australia is better ..... Im kidding guys!! I've been to the US 5 times and have loved it every time. If I had to live anywhere else in the world it would be the USA

USA would be even better if they would move Holden manufacturing over here!

[DieselDude]

I enjoy living here in America.  My family has been here for many many many generations.  If you have a college/university (degree) and depending on the field of study you should not have a hard time finding a job.  It really depends on the area that you want to live.  Where I live the county does not have many opportunities and I have to drive to the next county over for a job (but alot in this county are retired and the cost of living is low).  I have visited eight states so far.  My current job has allowed me to visit three of the eight.  Since you said you like Florida you might want to look in North Carolina.  You will have both the mountains and also the coast. 

 

The only thing that I do not like here in America is the president.  I am glad it is an election year and he can not run anymore.  Due to him thousands of people have lot their jobs and where I work 60% of the workforce has joined the unemployment lines since I started with the company and also over 100 companies in this field has went bankrupt and closed their doors. 

 

Also, Chris made another good point in his post below but did not come out and say it.   We have the freedom of speech.  Several counties you can not speak out what you think of the government. 

Edited April 9, 2016 by DieselDude

[LFairbanks]

The only thing that I do not like here in America is the president.  I am glad it is an election year and he can not run anymore.  Due to him thousands of people have lot their jobs and where I work 60% of the workforce has joined the unemployment lines since I started with the company and also over 100 companies in this field has went bankrupt and closed their doors. 

 

Not trying to turn this into a political thread, but......there is always a trade off for everything and not everybody will be happy.

 

http://www.factcheck.org/2015/10/obamas-numbers-october-2015-update/

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/business/gas-prices-are-out-of-any-presidents-control.html?_r=1

 

And to answer the OP question, I like it here.  I often think about those in other countries around the world and how they don't have the opportunities that we have here.  Some of it being as simple as owning life necessities, such as a pair of shoes.  As others have mentioned having an education does help but isn't always necessary if you find a niche and work hard.   

 

If you have the opportunity make a trip to the Western US and visit some of the National Parks.  Make the Grand Canyon a priority.  I venture to Florida at least once a year and sometimes two.  I enjoy it there and can see why you like it.  If you haven't visited KSC, you should do it on your next trip.  I have been there 3 times and learn something new every time.  Will go again after they open the new Astronaut Hall of Fame.  

 

In reference to your cost of living question, I would have to say Florida is relatively cheap in comparison to where I live and probably as a whole to a lot of places in the US, with the exception of electricity.  I know when I go I find everything to be just slightly cheaper than home.  Gasoline for example is just slightly lower than home.  

 

http://www.state.gov/m/fsi/tc/79700.htm

Edited April 9, 2016 by LFairbanks

[AusTroy]

USA would be even better if they would move Holden manufacturing over here!

Sadly the days of the Holden Commodore and the HSV ( Holden Special Vehicle ) are over. Aussie manufacturing ceases in 2017. Ford Aus also stops building the Falcon. 2 Aussie icons gone forever...... Sad times indeed. but Ford Aus have started bringing in the Mustang ( hope to get mine at the end of May ) and Holden is yet to disclose what they will be doing.

 

Rumours of Camaro and Corvette have been thrown around but neither are engineered to be right hand drive. I know the market would go crazy if they bought in either vehicle though. We are a country of Euro cars, Small Korean made cars and Mini SUV's at the moment, so Im glad some V8 muscle is being bought in with the Mustang to start with 

[Drive XR7]

If you have a great education or a needed skill, you will have no problem finding work here.  It's a lot harder without those two things. 

 

I've been fortunate.  I only had a high school education, but was one of the last generation who got a manufacturing job, and that job provided a living wage for me to be able to provide for my family while my wife stayed home and raised the kids. I own a house, a couple of cars, my kids are both college educated (which neither me or my wife are), and now I'm retired and have a pension. I am also a veteran and served during Viet Nam.  This country has treated me and my family well.  But I worry for my grandchildren because of my first sentence. Time will tell. But for all of the good and the bad, I'd rather live here than any other country. 

 

It's interesting hearing stories like this. Yours is unheard of now. No longer can you go get a job at the local Ford plant or steel mill and raise a family of 4.

[suke]

Love it here, I also love parts of Europe as well. Unfortunately our government loves Europe so much they want to be like them....which I hate. There's a reason we fought so hard to become independent from them........apparently we've lost sight of that.

[Marylander]

Of course. All things considered, there's not a better place in the world.

[ThomasT]

 

 

 

 If you haven't visited KSC, you should do it on your next trip.  I have been there 3 times and learn something new every time.  Will go again after they open the new Astronaut Hall of Fame.  

 

 

 

Goodness wish i could move tomorrow i need to get a trade under my belt i would say first.

Yeah have visited KSC thought you had put KSC instead of KFC lol.

Heres myself my mum and we brother there. i was only 13 at the time.

[CadillaChick]

Love America no complaints other than living in Jersey which I am working on fixing

[FordFocus897]

Honestly i would rather live in Ireland! Or ideally Australia or Switzerland. Love the landscapes there! Where i live everything is flat. There are some really great mountainous areas in the US, but something about Europe and Australia enamor me

[Audog]

YES!

[Black Bowtie]

I have traveled all over the world during my time in the service, though I enjoy many of the countries, I love raising my two boys and living here in the Heartland! It hurts me when people that live here say they hate America, and if I could I would pay for everyone of them to leave and give up their citizenship to never be able to return.

[gencoupe3dot8]

I hesitate even to dip my oar in here, as the answer is complex, and the story below may explain why:

 

My father fought in WWII, earning multiple silver and bronze stars, spending the majority of his time

behind enemy lines.  This would have a profound affect on both him and our family.  He saw the war

and its impact up close and personal.  He saw concentration camp survivors being airlifted to hospitals.

He rarely talked about his war experience and never with any sense of nationalism or personal pride.

He had a great job as an electrical engineer at Boeing, and quit because they began to build bombers.

While he could have obtained significant wealth (inventions, real estate deals, etc), he always chose to

live a simpler life, working to just be able to feed his 9 children.

 

He and my mother sought out a different way to live, a way were all would work together for the

common good, sharing the wealth to take care of the whole. living together in peace and harmony.

Sound like utopia?  What they ended up joining in my opinion was a cult.  I don't have the bandwidth to

go into it here, but that decision had/has a significant impact on the family, including the split of the family

when a number of us chose not to follow in our parents footsteps.  I was not able to be present at the funeral

of either of my parents because I sought to speak out about the group and its practices.

 

So, how does that relate to the OPs question?  In some ways I believe the founding fathers had something of

a utopia in mind when founding our country. 

 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

 

First, many in the US don't even acknowledge a Creator. Second, a very small percentage of the population controls about 45% of the wealth.  Third, as evidenced by the current election process, it's pretty clear to this author that a large percentage of the population has significant concerns about "deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed".

 

For the poor and middle class, the American dream is becoming the American nightmare.  The promise of working hard and "making good" gets flushed down the toilet as the cost of real estate, cost of goods, and taxes soar!  The poverty line in my state is ~$35,000!  Corporate greed sees companies laying of people in the thousands or tens of thousands, so the C-level folks can make their $10,000,000 (or more) bonuses!  My wife was let go after 16 YEARS of faithful service!

 

Lets look at rankings, for healthcare:

Dead last from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/files/publications/fund-report/2014/jun/1755_davis_mirror_mirror_2014.pdf

 

Disposable household income - DHI - near the bottom:

http://www.lisdatacenter.org/data-access/key-figures/disposable-household-income/

 

Need I go on?  Most of us know, at least instinctively, and through our own experience, the US is suffering from a list of ailments, with no "doctor" in sight.

 

Would I want to live anywhere else?  Truthfully, I simply don't know.  Like many Americans, my nose is close to the grindstone and I don't have the bandwidth to lift my head up long enough to do a reasonable inquiry into the rest of the worlds economy and quality of life.

 

Thoughtfully submitted,

[m]

Edited June 15, 2016 by gencoupe3dot8

[OutLore]

So, I'll jump in here as someone relatively qualified in this specific question.

I am a Brit, living in the US, have lived here for a total of 5.5 years, 1 year in Dallas TX 2007-2008 and then Raleigh, NC from 2012 to now.

The current laws (for those who choose to follow them) mean that you cannot just move here, you will need to find an employer who will sponsor your living here which will allow you to get a visa - however you will need to prove that you are doing a job that it will be hard for the employer to get a US citizen to perform that role. I.E., you can't get WalMart to sponsor you. Of course if you're married to a US citizen (or have other immediate family ties) it can be a little easier, but it's not automatic as some people think.

Even though I am married to a US citizen, that effectively counts for nothing - we still have to prove that we can support ourselves without government aid - hence me still needing an employment visa at this time. (Wife is starting her own small company) I am currently in the process of getting a green card which allows me to work for any US based company rather than my visa, which ties me to my current employer.

However....

If you can get here, it's awesome. My company is global, and I could effectively work wherever I want in the world - I CHOOSE to live in the US.

If you have the opportunity, take it - but ensure that you realize living in another country is not one big holiday (You will be surprised how many people think it is.) You have bills to pay, you have to work, you have to work HARD to make it here. Americans are a hard working bunch. None of this 37 hour week and 30+ vacation days a year. I've been with my company for 15 years and my vacation time is maxed out at 20 days a year.
Make sure you do your research on where you want to live (if you have a choice) - tax rates are different in different states, some have state income tax and lower sales tax some the other way around, some taxes can even be different from county to county.
Cost of living is WAY lower in the US, so you'll mostly come out on top, unless you want to live in New York City or LA or somewhere similar.

The benefits FAR out way the negatives though. The USA has pretty much everything you could ever want. People outside of the US often wonder why so few Americans have passports - it's probably because they don't need to travel for anything. They have pretty much everything that you need within a single country.

Would I want to live anywhere else? Nope. Will that ever change? It might, depending on the outcome in November ;-)

Sincerely,

NASCAR watching (Go JJ!), 2nd Amendment supporting & gun totin', country music listening, pickup truck driving, FREEDOM LOVING Brit.