Post
by crapstone » Mon Jan 25, 2010 4:05 am
Johnsienk, obviously you watch a lot of tv and believe it- I just had my daughter via c section about 5.5 months ago, and had to have emergency surgery after that, and was in hospital for about 3 days for that surgery. Guess how much my portion of the hospital bill is- and did I mention I have health insurance. And also do not forget all my pre-natal Dr visits- I owe over $30,000. Did I mention I do have health insurance?? So I know I will be paying this for another 15 yrs.
Do you know how much it costs to get a 4 yr degree? Over $30,000, to go to a decent public or private school. A masters degree costs about the same..
We live in a suburb of Chicago, and even we cannot afford a detached house with a nice big backyard, of course unless we buy a house about 40 miles outside of the city. We both have masters degrees, and make a pretty good living.
Yes, there are many people that live very well, in those nice huge houses that you see on TV. But 60% of the population live in regular small townhomes, or small old houses passed down to them, or simply in small regular houses, mostly with no backyards.
Yes, states like TX have humongous houses that feel like they are free coz of how cheap they are. But do you know how many people are abandoning those nice big houses because the illusion has finally come to an end- it is time to pay up, and they realise they do not have the money to afford it.
So, as lifeart has correctly said, as an immigrant, I do have an option to leave, and I take it. Do you know how easy it is to be laid off here- to the employers, you are just a number. A dollar sign. I lived in Ireland for a few years, and even though the country is not as advanced as say the UK or US, I did feel the sense of being a person working for a company, not a dollar sign.
Wanderer is also right, 10 days vacation, vs 30 days in the UK. 6 Wks maternity leave in the states, vs 6 months or more in the UK and the rest of europe. And btw they can decide to fire you/lay you off during your maternity leave, while in europe you are protected against it. I could go on and on and on as to why my human life is more important than what Hollywood projects the life in the states to be.
Also, yes, we get paid higher here, but guess where a quarter your salary goes- healthcare bills!! So it all balances out to the same thing. Altho i will admit, northern England pays pittance! I dont know how people afford to live there.
My brother lives in England and works as a dentist, came to visit us in the states over the summer for the first time, and was floored by the place. He said he couldnt understand why we live here!!
And yes, chicago had the highest gun deaths in the whole of the USA last year. Here I have a higher chance of dying of a gun shot in a mall, at the office, on the street, really as much as in any war zone (ok, not as bad, but close!).
So yes, America has its positives. I will admit. But the negatives sometimes outweigh the positives, esp when it comes to raising a family and wanting to live life. Here we work for 40 hours a week, while in most of europe it is 37.5. I remember in my last job, every time I needed to take 3 or more days of my vacation in a row, my boss always called me in to ask why. Taking a whole week's vacation is almost unheard of, and some companies even discourage it. I remember when I was in Ireland, my boss always wanted to know why I do not take 2 wks vacation at a time. It is because I am programmed to only take a day or two at a time! So we choose to leave!! It is kind of a no brainer. And oh yes, the housing is much larger, but do you know how much it will cost to fill out that space with furniture, and to heat and cool that huge house in our extreme summers and winters? My uncle owns a beautiful 5 b/room house and spends $600 or more each month in the winter to warm it up..... I don't care who you are, that is way too much money to be shelling out each month for heat.... We haven't factored in the high property taxes in the state of Illinois, that is either paid monthly, or yearly...and all the other bills of course.
Lifeart is right, the rich really really have it good. If you have a lot of money, this is the place for you. Not europe. But the common working man, who is like 70% of the population, is better off being in europe where the european laws protect the common worker... trust me on this! I have experience living in both continents! And I have loads and loads of relatives and friends I grew up with that live here, that are miserable because of the stress and scared everyday of losing their jobs, because when you do, some employers do not even pay for your severance, you lose your healthcare benefits etc... like I said, I could go on and on about why we choose to leave. Being laid off here is very different from being laid off in europe.
But, this is just my opinion, there are still loads of people that live here that could not imagine themselves anywhere else....
