It is not so easy to come up with good and sensible reasons why we elect
one country our new home and even more complicated when we decide to confront
it with our native country.
I had to ask myself and people around me who lived or
are still living abroad to give their contribution in writing down a list that
has no pretense of being exhaustive, but an attempt to capture some general
factors that can help us out to come to terms with our dreams, expectations and
even prejudices. Taking informed decisions is important but eventually each and
every one of us has to determine what is right for them. Age, education and
life expectations play a big role in determining which factors contribute to
the list. Originally I planned to come up with ten reasons, however I was
struggling to get at least half down.
So, here we are with the top five reasons to live in
the USA:
1. Space
The most obvious one…everything is big
and large on the other side of the ocean. Big houses, big cars, big roads, big
national parks, the big Mac, this all contributes to displace the lost European
citizen used to overpopulated areas in small hives. Spreading out feels good
but sometimes you feel as if you are one little dot lost on a huge geographical
map, and you start missing your reference points.
2. Availability of products
Shopping 24/7!!! Do I have to say
more?!? Being able to go grocery shopping at 1 am is a thrill too much
irresistible to pass.
Department shopping is cheaper over
there, so every European goes ballistic with their credit cards when they see
Levi’s jeans for $60 or sneakers that cost half of what they pay in Europe.
But let me tell you that the quality
is not the same any more as it used to be. I bought cotton T-shirts twenty
years ago that I am still wearing, nice, comfortable and original stuff still
made in the USA. Recently I bought clothes that have been dumped not even after
a season, stuff made on the other side of the world which has nothing
particularly nice or original about it. I bought some brand shirts for office
wear that were torn after a couple of washing. It seems nobody cares about
quality products and happy costumers!
3. Less bureaucracy
This country is big because it moves
fast. Everything is a phone call away or in the Internet era we can say a click
away. Efficiency probably goes hand in hand with it. You can start any
subscription or utility service over the phone just like more complex stuff
like solving your credit card issues. And that’s a big plus which makes life a
lot easier!
The old continent is gasping to
renovate its ancient apparatus and bring it to the 21st century,
which will hopefully happen soon enough as we are living in a Kafkian
nightmare.
4. Pragmatism
The USA’s motto is “let’s do it”, in
private or public business things get done, unlike Europe where you have to ask
permission for almost everything. Steve Jobs is a prime example of how America gets
things done, albeit his way of dealing with people. James Joyce pinpointed this
sense of paralysis one hundred years ago in his “Dubliners” and this is still
permeating European societies. Maybe this is due to the fact that for Europeans
permission is granted from above, which implies you don’ t take any initiative,
whereas this freedom is something Americans grant to themselves.
5. Where failure is an asset
and not a stigma
A business that doesn’t pick up or
isn’t ready for its market is no big news in the business world. In the USA
though people are willing to give a second chance, if you fail you can get up.
In Europe people tend not to forget or forgive..mmhh
Now let’s what are the top five reasons to live in
Europe:
1. Education
Something that hopefully Europe will
defend with all its strength: a public school system free to its citizens. Even
private schools are not as expensive as their counterparts in the USA.
Americans believe that good education comes with high tuition; this not the
case in Europe where top schools don’t necessarily have high costs.
A phenomenon that the school business
has created is that not always deserving students go to prestigious schools,
but only the ones with thicker wallets.
2. Health services
Just like education, you cannot put a
price on people’s health, especially when those are paying taxes. The first
question you are asked when going to a doctor in Europe is “what’s bothering
you?” in America is “do you have insurance?”.
Public health care is an achievement
of our society, if it were to adopt the American way we would be going back of
hundreds of years.
3. Housing and Infrastructures
American houses are bigger but not
better built than those in Europe.
First take a good look at the
materials, and you’ll see that in Europe there are a lot of choices for
building and improving your house from ecological and efficient products that
protect and use natural sources to high tech stuff for the safety in your house.
Solar panels have been around for
quite some time here, and only recently this option is available in the USA.
Roads and highways are also better
kept in Europe, as well as public lighting. In the area where I lived, people
died because they walked on electric cables that were on the ground after a
snowstorm.
4. Cultural varieties
This is a delicate issue and it is
difficult to approach in a few sentences, so take it as a reflection of a
traveller.
European law has done a lot in terms
of protecting language minorities because there is a major sensitivity towards
national issues.
America has crushed its cultural
varieties creating the myth of the melting pot, where everyone, except for the
Natives, can claim a common fabricated past to legitimate their presence in a
land that isn’t theirs. One of the most shocking experiences for Europeans is
to visit an Indian Rez. We read, we study and yet we cannot understand how this
could happen: too much to get involved in this now….
In America you can travel for days and
end up in place where people still speak the same language, you can eat the
same food and sleep in the same hotel chains. In Europe this is another story
altogether. Cultural identity and awareness is reflected in the language, the
food and types of accommodation. Europe is always trying to catch up with
America, but to see a homogeneous culture from Sicily to Lapland…well it would
be plain boring.
5. Overall quality of life
Daily activities like taking a coffee
in town, having lunch and real home cooked dinner are still old rituals in
Europe, even though these healthy and happy habits are rapidly disappearing.
Europeans treasure their free time,
holidays are a big part of the yearly calendar. In August pretty much all the
big factories are closed, so deal with it. Americans rush through their day,
like a “bite and go” attitude, they consume and devour things but I am not sure
how much they enjoy it.
After all this debating and much consideration
I still can’t decide. Is there a country that comprises the best parts of both
worlds? Why can’t a country learn what works best in another and adopt and
adapt it to its situation?
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