[mesk]

I'm thinking a lot lately about which country would be best for my future, and somehow US is never there. Maybe for me without family yes, but otherwise I see it like there, I would be one illness away from bankrupcy, one crazy kid with a gun away from family tragedy, one <what if> away from <unsolvable problems>. Sure, being in top 10% is cool, but will my kids be also so lucky? And the middle class in the US already thinks they are struggling (hence the last vote) - as someone said numbers can't feed you. But, hey, I'm maybe too old ;)

[majormajor]

The thing about the US is that it's very unevenly distributed. So it depends on what you'd be doing and how much money you'd be making / already have.

If you have a professional-class job the US is often the best place in the world to be for illness. You'll have a fairly high salary (especially comparing globally) and an insurance plan with an out of pocket max that is probably 10-15k per year (or much less, for most tech employers). If REALLY concerned with illness, filter for places with good supplemental long-term disability insurance and live in a state that has some of their own like CA.

The US spends A LOT on healthcare per-capita. So your access to doctors / specialists / hospitals in major US metros is generally excellent and rarely has the sort of waits that you see in a lot of countries that spend less on healthcare.

The problem with US healthcare is that it's usually either (a) fucking great for you or (b) fucking terrible for you. Very non-uniform.

[keybored]

> The thing about the US is that it's very unevenly distributed. So it depends on what you'd be doing and how much money you'd be making / already have.

The Veil of Ignorance, anyone? Even invented by an American.

People here need to consider the state of a society without spending 80% of the bytes on the what-if of being a 135+ IQ individual with a passion that coincides with the work tasks of amazingly successful megacorporations based on the West Coast. At least when we’re supposed to be talking in the abstract.

[eitally]

This is the kind of comment written by someone who only knows a country from its headlines. The US, as a resident, skews wildly from the popular narrative in many ways much of the time -- regardless who is in charge.

[mesk]

> The US, as a resident, skews wildly from the popular narrative in many ways much of the time

Much of the time, thats it, you named it. To me the worst case scenario (I work in IT, so I often think in the worst case scenarios) in few relatively common situations, _seems_ to be much worse in the US.

Common, like being ill, visiting hospital, going to school, being stopped by the police.... (headlines again).

[aftbit]

Anywhere in the world, you might be "one <what if> away from <unsolvable problems>." That's not a US-specific thing. The US is better at some things and worse at others. Obviously we all make these choices on different merits, but IMO don't live in fear.

Being in the group of people who has a choice of countries to live in _and_ being in the top 10% in the US puts you in the top 0.1 to 1% globally. Enjoy it while you can!

[indymike]

> And the middle class in the US already thinks they are struggling

Middle class financial issues in the US are age related. College debt, cost of raising children, buying a home combined with low entry wages put young people in a hole it takes 10-30 years to crawl out of. But when they do they quickly accumulate wealth. There are also a lot of people who choose to not save. That is a choice you don't have to make.

[shafoshaf]

Not to mention that A LOT of millenials are about to inherit a ton of money from the Baby Boomers. The Boomers are just lasting longer because of advances in health care, all of whom are on Medicare which is government funded health insurance. In fact, about 40% of Americans on are federal healthcare between Medicare and Medicaid.

[sirbutters]

"hence the last vote".

You are implying that logic fits the results. It doesn't.