To wonder why anyone would want to live in America?

[allergon842]

I follow a woman on Instagram who moved from England to the States and someone commented "America is only great if you're white, rich, and healthy".

Putting aside Trump/politics, I've always found it weird why anyone would want/would have wanted to live there. I understand if you're from a developing country, but I don't see the appeal for anyone who comes from Europe. The lower taxes and opportunities are enticing, but if you can't make it, you can fall very easy with the lack of a safety net. It seems to be only decent if you're a top earner ($100,000+).

Thanks for the correction

My sister (English) and her husband (American) are both in higher education there, so mediocre salaries and can afford a beautiful home, and in 22 years of living there have never been in any of the situations people bang on about. I have been to the US many many times too including a couple of months ago. No country is perfect.

I'm not a 2nd amendment fan. I'd be happy for guns to be banned, but it's a little misleading to exclude the fact that 59% of paediatric gun deaths (under 18) are by a family member/domestic situation rather than a random school shooting.

Not true at all; I lived in a major US city and now live in a small coastal New England city. I've always been very comfortable at night on my own, and I am not remotely unusual in that way. Actually hopping in the car shortly to head to NYC for a visit to my best friend; she's raising her children on the UES and does not have safety concerns (specific to the city). It's very common for people to be out on their own at night in US cities.

My husband works for a UK company but is an American citizen in the US. His colleagues who've come over from the UK earn about half of what they pay the Americans for the same role and they can't leave because their visas are tied to work. It's horrible, and basically indentured servitude. He's become close with a few who are working through the green card process specifically so they can find other jobs here.

How are they different from an "active shooter drill"?

Thank you for telling me

I think the annual leave policy is industry specific. I work in tech sales and have had unlimited PTO for years now; it's common in my industry but very much not so in others. It's also misleading, as leave still needs to be taken judiciously and you cannot take too much/take a lot consecutively. There aren't official policies around it so it gets murky and people end up taking less than they would otherwise. Parental leave also varies from company to company and state to state. I saw someone post about getting 24 weeks; a close friend in Georgia had a baby recently and between her company's policy and her state FMLA, she only got 8 weeks, total.

A US based relative has unlimited PTO, but is expected to check emails and answer any work calls. So its not what Id call annual leave. Taking more than 10 to 15 days per year raises questions about commitment to the firm.
Also they are tech land CA, near San Jose and working days are longer, commutes are longer (and WFH is increasingly limited). There is noone around after 8pm, as they are all in bed for a 6am departure for school or work. So walking alone at night doesn't feel safe. The local High School starts at 7am. Its a very different lifestyle.

My company has unlimited PTO and I don’t don’t know anyone who takes as little as 10-15 days PTO (annual leave) so it must be industry dependent, yes. For one thing, the firm is closed for 2 weeks over Christmas / New Year, so that’s 10 days’ leave off the bat.

Most people take 5-6 weeks off a year, as standard. I take 8 weeks off because I can hit my metrics with this much time off. If you don’t see a future at your employer, nothing stops you taking a lot of time off in your last 6-12 months. I know someone who didn’t do any work whatsoever in his 2 months’ notice period (a mixture of annual leave, paid sick leave and generally checking out).

Overall it is definitely business friendly because the conscientious will take fewer than 25 days (this was the allowance before unlimited PTO came in) and the employer doesn’t have to pay out accrued PTO when you leave. But for the average worker, it’s a better deal than the fixed 5 weeks I was getting in London.

As for answering emails on leave - again, this is industry dependent. I was 100% doing this in my role in London, so no change there.