Disturbing reason why a person wants to leave America

[nun]

I'll be retiring to the UK (probably) even though I'm pretty depressed at the way the country is trending.....it's acquiring many of the aspects of the US that I don't like, but it still has some positives and the no cost to me health care is a big one, although that's under attack right now.

 

[Beryl]

Let the crazies/haters/fearful leave -- with quickness.

I don't agree with everything done in the USA -- past or present -- but I contend that it is one of the best places to live on the earth. I think the USA embodies the MLK quote:

“The Arc of the Moral Universe Is Long, but It Bends Toward Justice”

That said, I wouldn't mind living in New Zealand, Canada, the Camaroons, or Hong Kong. The world has many lovely places and people.

 

[audreyh1]

In our travels fulltiming around the US we found huge cultural differences between states and even regions within states. One can probably find a more culturally compatible area if needed within the US. And even in a given location, you create your own culture by whom you choose to associate with and what you choose to watch/read.

We don't watch national news or mainstream TV or even major box office movies, so we aren't really exposed to the "homogenized" aspects of US culture. Some of the descriptions above don't feel familiar to me. But then again, we are living in our own little world.

 

[Bestwifeever]

In our travels fulltiming around the US we found huge cultural differences between states and even regions within states. One can probably find a more culturally compatible area if needed within the US. ...

Definitely. I don't know families that left the US to raise their children by choice, but I know two who moved from the Chicago suburbs to very rural areas and a less intense lifestyle once their children reached the middle grades. Much like one might do in retirement, not always necessary to go far to change one's life.

 

[haha]

And some have decided to take it nationally

Naughty person!

 

[braumeister]

In our travels fulltiming around the US we found huge cultural differences between states and even regions within states. One can probably find a more culturally compatible area if needed within the US. And even in a given location, you create your own culture by whom you choose to associate with and what you choose to watch/read.

+1, but I would delete the word "probably."
With a lifetime of travel behind me, I firmly believe that the range of possible social environments is unlimited.

Here in the USA, you could even divide it in half along the Mississippi River and find the whole spectrum in each half.

IMHO there is no real reason to have to emigrate; those folks simply haven't taken the time to investigate the possibilities at home.

 

[M Paquette]

Their concerns were varied, but the common theme seemed to be a general cultural erosion of respect for people in public, catering to the lowest common denominator, 'I'm a victim' mentality, the applauding of the likes of Jersey Shore and lack of personal responsibility.
.

Ah. Find a community without any TV reception or cable service. That'll help.

And for those who do have cable, think of what happens when folks are raised seeing the residents of "Jersey Shore" or "Myrtle Manor" as successful people in life. They've got their own TV series, so they must be doing really well, right?

 

[audreyh1]

Ah. Find a community without any TV reception or cable service. That'll help.

And for those who do have cable, think of what happens when folks are raised seeing the residents of "Jersey Shore" or "Myrtle Manor" as successful people in life. They've got their own TV series, so they must be doing really well, right?

I happen to live in a very polite area, so I'm always amazed when people talk about how rude and obnoxious people are in the US.

But then again, I don't turn on and watch the junk on TV (or radio). I do see quite a bit of cr*p on the internet, but that's easy to ignore/avoid.

Audrey

 

[Mulligan]

+1, but I would delete the word "probably."
With a lifetime of travel behind me, I firmly believe that the range of possible social environments is unlimited.

Here in the USA, you could even divide it in half along the Mississippi River and find the whole spectrum in each half.

IMHO there is no real reason to have to emigrate; those folks simply haven't taken the time to investigate the possibilities at home.

This is minor but very annoying to me. I live in a small town, and this occurs naturally here, but I cannot stand it when people do not give you personal space when walking or do not follow any etiquette at all when walking. I have been to a few major metropolitan areas in Midwest and it still isn't too bad. People as a general rule do not run you over, cut you off, and do say thank you when you open door for them into a restaurant, store, or hotel. Vegas in the strip area,however is another story. People walking around there act like they own the whole area, cutting you off, no courtesy etc. I go out there quite often, and have changed my attitude. Whenever someone tries to cut me off walking from a bad angle or zig zagging all over walk area because their face is buried in their phone, I do not defer anymore. I brace my side, let them have it with the body check and say "excuse you". I don't put up with it anymore. Well I do defer sometimes if they look like they are capable of kicking my butt even if I am in the right.

 

[traineeinvestor]

America has issues - but so does every other country on this planet.

 

[brewer12345]

+1, but I would delete the word "probably."
With a lifetime of travel behind me, I firmly believe that the range of possible social environments is unlimited.

Here in the USA, you could even divide it in half along the Mississippi River and find the whole spectrum in each half.

IMHO there is no real reason to have to emigrate; those folks simply haven't taken the time to investigate the possibilities at home.

Yep, Denver and subrban Jersey might as well be different countries. The people I work with in Kansas City would be another country entirely.

 

[Gumby]

The past was never as good as you remember. The future will never be as bad as you fear.

 

[HFWR]

Ah. Find a community without any TV reception or cable service. That'll help.

And for those who do have cable, think of what happens when folks are raised seeing the residents of "Jersey Shore" or "Myrtle Manor" as successful people in life. They've got their own TV series, so they must be doing really well, right?

More disturbing to me is the fact that people watch, not that the programs are on...

 

[youbet]

I do defer sometimes if they look like they are capable of kicking my butt even if I am in the right.

Thats an excellent strategy..........

 

[marko]

And for those who do have cable, think of what happens when folks are raised seeing the residents of "Jersey Shore" or "Myrtle Manor" as successful people in life. They've got their own TV series, so they must be doing really well, right?

I do believe there are people who view getting a reality show/winning the lottery as real career paths.

 

[Birchwood]

Lots of folks move abroad, for a variety of reasons. A small minority do so bec. of conspiracy theory!
I've read there are a lot of Americans in the Philippines not because it's better there, but because their dollars can buy more quality of life.
Similarly, retired folks live in Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua , Panama and other
countries.

Life is still good in the United states, if one can afford it!

 

[Semiretired2008]

I know a few people that after retirement started picking up on conspiracy theories - they did not follow them prior to retirement. One that I have known for over 20 years is pressing our friendship with the depth that he is taking with following and being so out spoken with the topic. He tries to avoid the topics with me, but sometimes just cannot constrain himself and I just have to remind him that our friendship is older than these theories... It always makes him backoff - at least around me. He picked them up through boredom in retirement and needing something to occupy his time and mind...

 

[Letj]

I don't agree with everything done in the USA -- past or present -- but I contend that it is one of the best places to live on the earth. I think the USA embodies the MLK quote:

“The Arc of the Moral Universe Is Long, but It Bends Toward Justice”

Agree but we need to get rid of commercial driven trash tv, hyper consumerism, crime (we have the highest crime rate in the developed world and higher crime rate than china with almost 4x the us population), get to know our neighbors a bit more and have reasonable cost universally accessible health care.

 

[haha]

Agree but we need to get rid of commercial driven trash tv, hyper consumerism, crime (we have the highest crime rate in the developed world and higher crime rate than china with almost 4x the us population), get to know our neighbors a bit more and have reasonable cost universally accessible health care.

I agree with you, but unfortunately it will never happen. Young vibrant cultures have none of the curses that we now have, although they can have their share of crime. But when the Marshall finds the miscreants, the jury convicts them and the judge sentences them to be hung by the neck.

Our society will get steadily worse, or worse in jumps and starts, no matter who says what to the contrary.

When we sentence someone to lethal injection, he lives on average another 14 or 15 years, costing a lot of trouble and money along the way.

I hear the optimists, and I respect their opinions. But civilization is a one-way street, and we done missed our turnoff.

Ha

 

[Mulligan]

I agree with you, but unfortunately it will never happen. Young vibrant cultures have none of the curses that we now have, although they can have their share of crime. But when the Marshall finds the miscreants, the jury convicts them and the judge sentences them to be hung by the neck.

Our society will get steadily worse, or worse in jumps and starts, no matter who says what to the contrary.

When we sentence someone to lethal injection, he lives on average another 14 or 15 years, costing a lot of trouble and money along the way.

I hear the optimists, and I respect their opinions. But civilization is a one-way street, and we done missed our turnoff.

Ha

I have to agree with you, Ha, but I am a little more extreme in this area than you. I live in a rural area of guns rights and personally have one on the night stand myself. But in all honesty, I am fully cognizant I would be just as safe with a chicken feather on the night stand instead, as there is really no major crime and certainly no murders around my local residence. But if implementing a system of canning, amputations, and hangings would bring back "civil" in civilization, I would not be opposed at all; as I personally do not vandalize, murder, steal, or rape.

 

[Hamlet]

How do you reconcile this view with the fact that per-capita crime has been dropping pretty steadily for 20 years?

The 24-hour media echo chamber makes it feel like things are going to heck-in-a-handbasket, but by most objective measures crime has been getting better since the early 90s.

I agree with you, but unfortunately it will never happen. Young vibrant cultures have none of the curses that we now have, although they can have their share of crime. But when the Marshall finds the miscreants, the jury convicts them and the judge sentences them to be hung by the neck.

Our society will get steadily worse, or worse in jumps and starts, no matter who says what to the contrary.

When we sentence someone to lethal injection, he lives on average another 14 or 15 years, costing a lot of trouble and money along the way.

I hear the optimists, and I respect their opinions. But civilization is a one-way street, and we done missed our turnoff.

Ha

 

[haha]

How do you reconcile this view with the fact that per-capita crime has been dropping pretty steadily for 20 years?

The 24-hour media echo chamber makes it feel like things are going to heck-in-a-handbasket, but by most objective measures crime has been getting better since the early 90s.

I addressed crime because that was part of what was being talked about. It is not necessarily the most salient thing when discussing the health of a society.

I have read statements like yours, but I am not interested enough to really try to track things down. It might be exactly correct. If so, one possible explanation is that a big % of crime prone men spend a large part of their lives in prison. Three=strikes rules have to have made a difference. Ready access to abortions has also been mentioned. But all these things are loaded with controversy, and unless it is the major issue in someone's life, it would not rate the costs to figure out. Plenty of crime enough to keep me on my toes, even though Seattle overall is supposedly a low crime city.

Lastly, I need to make these sorts of statements reasonably often so that I don't lose my Get-Off-My-Lawn status to lesser practitioners. A man must protect his brand.

Ha

 

[M Paquette]

My very favorite meme on this theme so far:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/people-moving-to-canada-because-of-obamacare

Unclear on the concept...

 

[nun]

My very favorite meme on this theme so far:

People Who Say They're Moving To Canada Because Of ObamaCare

Unclear on the concept...

If these are real they are filled with multiple misunderstandings, one being that you can't just move to Canada, you'll need a residency visa. Canada is a foreign country not the 51st state.

 

[Hamlet]

What I find very interesting about the last 20 years of crime statistics is that they have dropped in pretty much every state, regardless of any particular state's policies. So it doesn't appear to be related in a meaningful way to gun laws, three=strike rules, Rudy's New York clean-up, improvements in policing, etc, since these policies are set state by state, and every state regardless of policies has seen a vast improvement. I guess there has probably been an overall trend to incarcerate that might have had an effect.

The nation-wide change in abortion is a possibility best left undiscussed here.

My favorite theory is that the drop in crime rate lags the phase-out of leaded gasoline by 15-20 years. Kids who grew up with the extra lead exposure committed more crimes when they reached the high-crime young adult years. There have been international studies that claim to be able to see this trend at varying times around the world, but I haven't dug into the studies themselves.

I'm hoping that I will always welcome kids on my lawn.

I addressed crime because that was part of what was being talked about. It is not necessarily the most salient thing when discussing the health of a society.

I have read statements like yours, but I am not interested enough to really try to track things down. It might be exactly correct. If so, one possible explanation is that a big % of crime prone men spend a large part of their lives in prison. Three=strikes rules have to have made a difference. Ready access to abortions has also been mentioned. But all these things are loaded with controversy, and unless it is the major issue in someone's life, it would not rate the costs to figure out. Plenty of crime enough to keep me on my toes, even though Seattle overall is supposedly a low crime city.

Lastly, I need to make these sorts of statements reasonably often so that I don't lose my Get-Off-My-Lawn status to lesser practitioners. A man must protect his brand.

Ha