Life Pro Tip for Americans: If you can save up for a plane ticket and go to another country. Europe would be my recommendation. It amazes me that there isn’t a mass exodus going on in the US. I don’t understand why anyone would possibly choose to live there tbh.
Good luck getting visas and residence permits.
I (Danish) am married to an American and it was easier for me to get a US green card, than for her to get a residence permit in Denmark. After living some time in the US we decided to move to Denmark and while it’s great to live here, it was a freaking painstaking process to get her a permit.
Sure if your family came over here in the last 100 years. My family came over from Ireland somewhere around the famine, it’s too far back, I’ve checked. Y’all need to stop telling us its so easy to just move out of the us, it’s fucking not.
Europe isn’t a country and it’s not always easy to just move to another country. You have to actually be desirable to have in the country to even be considered.
That’s kind of the big problem with a lot of the Americans talking about moving to Europe for benefits. They lack these benefits because their jobs aren’t specialized or well paid, and European countries aren’t likely to accept their visa applications. Outside of marrying a European national, the best path is probably collective bargaining in the states.
Also just packing up and leaving means leaving behind all your family, friends, possessions. Very probably you’ll have to practically start your career over from a much lower stage, learn a whole new language and live as an outsider in a culture you’re unfamiliar with.
In addition, the people who would most benefit (the very poor with poor paying jobs that don’t have these benefits) are the least able to do so. It’s not just a plane ticket, you need lawyers to help you navigate the process.
And the reality is that despite what social media makes it seem, America isn’t the unbearable dystopia the internet makes it out to be. Do we have problems? Abso-fucking-lutely, more than most first world countries, but not so much that it’s sensible for most to uproot their whole lives to emigrate.
As a European, I would make 3-4x in my job if I was American. Of course somethings would be more expensive (education, healthcare, housing). Personally I would be better in states. I would still not want my county to change to states, because that inequality is not good for the whole country.
For the average person, America is much better than most places in Europe.
For people who aren’t doing as well, though, it’s much worse.
I think you’re vastly overestimating how well-off “average” is in the US.
I don’t think that’s true at all. Your middle class percentage is tiny compared to most of Europe, and while you also earn a bit more, that money goes to a much stronger social safety net in most of Europe, too (at least in our more successful countries).
I would also wager that middle class workers are more comfortable here, because of guaranteed 5-7 weeks holiday, 37 hour work weeks (for the vast majority), guaranteed parental leave, and just generally a very unionized job market.
I make over $200k in a retail sales job…it’s very specialized but still retail sales. No college. I live very well here in the US. Perhaps I could move to Europe and make this sort of money with only my drive to sell, but I’d doubt it. Also family …I love my family and see them often.
Hi there. American here. I am actively learning both French and Dutch in case shit really hits the fan here in the states so I could potentially move to Europe.
Dutch here; while learning new languages is always a good thing, speaking Dutch is the least of your worries if you’d want to move here. Many expats don’t even try, since the majority of Dutchies is quite fluent in English.
If you’re serious, make sure you have job skills that are wanted over here so a company can sponsor you (and prove they cannot fulfill the vacancy). It’s basically how it works in the US too.
Or, if shit really hits the fan over there, you might be able to get a visa as a refugee :)
Life Pro Tip for that guy: You should understand what you’re talking about. The reason why all these European countries have these great social programs is because they actually are tough on immigration and don’t have the strain on social programs like we do. If it’s such a shithole, why are immigrants risking their lives to enter the US by any means available?
“Strain on social programs” lol.
“why are immigrants risking their lives to enter the US by any means available?” if you want to talk about mexicans, then this is only immigration they can afford.
You mean to tell me we can completely afford all the social programs we have and the country actually isn’t in debt?
You do realize there are far more nationalities than Mexican entering the country, right? I know racist hear the word immigrant, and all they think is brown people, but come on. Do better.
