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+).

Why would anyone want to live in india---- my step dad.
Why would anyone want to stay in rural poor town in vietnam -- I do.
Why would anyone want to to stay in a not so nice area in thailand ---- my sister.
Why why why, well its down to what people like and want.

Because anyone who says anything like, "America is only great if you're white, rich, and healthy," is a rage baiting saddo along with the person who posted it on MN for comments.

Median income in US is $63k compared to $52 k in the UK.

I understand that many people would not move to the USA because of the inequality of income. Which creates the question of why not move to say Cuba where there is far less inequality of income compared to UK but with the caveat of everyone being poorer.

We and DC have only ever been on holiday. DH has been on work trips.

People who have lived there be honest do people "go out at night on their own". Extended family who have studied there basically say every major city is dangerous at night and no-one goes out after dark on their own

A PA in the nhs is band 4 so roughly £28k… my cousin in Texas does that job for $90k. My cousin’s house is a massive 4 bed twice the size of ours plus a lovely basement - same price.

Where do you live in the UK that you hold this view?

Yes, I left the UK for the US, but that was mainly due to pay/career opportunities. I loved everything else about living in the UK. It’s a fantastic country and I can’t get my head around all the negativity (from people who choose to continue living there, no less!)

Yes. I was probably out about five nights a week.

The roof bar in the Gansevoort hotel was a common choice, or a bar near there in the Meat packing district.

I’d go to museums, restaurants, concerts, or just to wander round the streets.

Then there were clubs, and parties.

Mite than once I’d go straight from a bar or club to the trading floor to start work.

There are some truly horrible and dangerous parts of Europe. But I appreciate that it’s a big continent with nice countries too so I don’t wonder at people choosing to live here.

The USA is vast - not one place where everyone and every place is the same. I’ve often thought that each state is like a different country.

And she’ll be paying $$$$$ for healthcare insurance for all her family, deductibles for any treatment on top, extortionate bills for medication, tips on everything, taxes at the till in some states whenever you buy goods …

That's good to hear. I know someone who gets scared when her adult DD goes out out on her own in London at night and is adamant that she'd be attacked when on her own.

If not white, then insanely rich and preferably in New York. And by New York I mean Manhattan, and by Manhattan I mean Billionaires Row or the West Village 😳.

“Taxes at the till” is the equivalent of VAT. In my State this is just under 9% (with many things exempt), in lots of states it’s 0%.

Far lower than 20%….

“$$$$ for healthcare” would not wipe out the pay differential between £28k and $90k. Not even close. Especially with lower income tax

”Extortionate bills for medication” - not if she has insurance. 🤦‍♀️ And actually, far more medication is covered by standard insurance in the US than by the NHS.

But nice try.

I moved there aged 24.

Err no it isn’t

Health-related costs are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States, driving over 500,000 personal bankruptcy filings every year. Even though the majority of filers actually have health insurance, high deductibles, co-pays, and illness-related work losses regularly deplete personal savings.

The combination of a uniquely decentralized healthcare system and high out-of-pocket costs creates a significant financial burden for American families.The primary factors driving medical bankruptcy in the US include under insurance.Many commercial or employer-sponsored plans come with high deductibles. Once a critical or chronic illness strikes, out-of-pocket maximums quickly exhaust a household's emergency funds.

The United States healthcare system is widely criticized by citizens, doctors, and lawmakers as a profit-driven model that exploits patients through soaring premiums, complex billing, and artificial medication pricing. Unlike most developed nations that view healthcare as a public utility, the U.S. relies on a fragmented, commercialized market. This structure incentivizes private insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers to maximize revenue, leaving everyday Americans vulnerable to immense financial strain.

Americans spend the most on healthcare in the industrialized world – an estimated $4.9tn in 2023 – but have the worst health outcomes, according to analysis by the Commonwealth Fund.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/26/us-health-insurance-system-doctors

Terrifying! We’re so so lucky!

It’s not!

I lived in a major city in the Midwest for seven years and I felt comfortable walking home at night at 2 am. My friends and I were going to bars that closed at 5 am and would walk a mile home,

I used to go on solo walks in the middle
of night and never felt unsafe. TBH, there were quite a few 24 hours places around so it was rare that there was no one about. If I wanted pancakes at 3 am I could get some.

There are unsafe areas everywhere regardless if you live in a village, town, or
city. Heck, my in-laws live in a village outside Newcastle and they were telling DH about their area having an arsonist. Never had that when I lived in a major city or a suburb in the States.

I’m another one who feels safer walking around NYC than I did walking around London (although I love London and think the danger/criminality of the city is completely overblown). I am going to a rave tonight in Brooklyn which finishes at 10pm and will be making my way back to Manhattan on the subway, as I’ve done many times before. I’m a petite woman in my 30s.

Listen, I don’t even really want to visit the place under Trump, and I certainly wouldn’t feel safe sending my child to school there.

But I did live there for a couple of years from 2012 and it was brilliant. The people were great, the city I lived in was amazing (and I never felt unsafe), I had good health insurance, visited some breathtakingly beautiful places and generally had a wonderful few years. I was relatively well paid, well insured and yes, white, though so I don’t know if I’m proving the point. Definitely a lot of flaws but an awful lot of good too.

I love NYC. If I win the lottery I'd like to live there for a while.

Why did you leave?

DS has a friend who moved to NYC and he told her that she just Ubers back after a late night out

The average annual cost for a non-subsidized employer-sponsored family health plan in the USA approaches $27,000 (roughly $2,250 per month).

When you account for exchange rate $90k would be say $5350 a month if say B in Washington but you’re going to be paying that $2,250 a month on insurance which we don’t have in the UK. The average deductibles for a family of 4 are $4,500-$4900 on top so $408 on top per month. Then there are the extra costs with tipping etc.

You also spend a massive amount on petrol (gasoline). While the price per gallon or liter is significantly cheaper than in the UK and Europe, total fuel spending is high due to massive driving distances and the popularity of large, less-efficient vehicles

That £2513 a month for £28k is looking very similar when you take off the above costs for health, tipping , petrol etc. I’d be saving my arse off too for medical emergencies.

I don't know how people can say its better health care. I'm on a fairly new medication which I initially had to pay for in the UK, this was costing me £300 a month. I've come across people in the USA paying the co-payment for the health insurance at a rate of more then $1,000 a month for the same drug. This is supposedly the co-payment not the full cost of the drug, the drug prices are way overinflated in the US.

I don't want to worry about my kids going to school and needing bullet proof back packs and I'd much prefer to face a possible stabing in the UK then allow everyone access to guns. Yes I appreciate that this isn't everywhere but when there is more than 200 school shootings a year in the US last year, its a big no from me.

I think the US has the best and the worse in the western world it’s a country of extremes

my family we’re living far more comfortably 10 years ago and even more so 20 years ago and that’s the same for many in the US

I can see the appeal if you are on the higher end of a middle income or above

I go to California every year and the cities have really deteriorated but there is so much wealth around. It’s a beautiful state but one that is over run with social problems that comes down to wealth distribution

In London there’s a homeless camp near my office right in the centre of town. It seems to be tolerated by the police and the local authorities and we’re just supposed to accept the harassment that it brings.

Death by stabbing rates are actually higher in the US than the UK, but dwarfed by the gun figures. There were more than 160 school shootings in the US last year, I don't think there has been one in the UK since Dunblane. It's insane to suggest that the UK could reduce the already lower rates of knife crime by legalising gun ownership.