Is America a good country to live in? Should I move back? Which city?

[lucazuma]

...well, as some of you know, i was born and raised in Rome where i lived for 28 years before deciding i wanted to live somewhere else. I love travelling and i have been visiting countries around the world for a long time. Different cultures and the wway people live their life in such different ways around the globe, has always fashinated me.

I have visited many places and lived in a few of them.

I lived in Rome, of course, for 28 years circa. Its a 4million people city. 4million romans, that is ...not just any kind of folks...that means that together with the beauty and histoy, the cultural background and the italian charm, you have to deal with the confusion of a 2761 year old city that is still using many of its original roads. Tight windy coblestone ones . Also us italians have a very different approach with personal space. Americans (in general) seam to be phobics about being close to people and especially worried about contact. We like to talk in your face , get close, touch you ALL the time...we say godbye with 2 kisses (eew) and constantly hug eachother...

In Stocholm (Sweden) i lived 2 years. Stockholm is a 1milion poepole city surrounded by water, forests all that nature has to offer! Its the greenest big city i have ever seen. It feels like living in a small town in the midle of Montana but its not...its a big city with sooooo much to do and see. The government (quite socialy inclined) keeps people entertained with plenty of public events all year round, especially in summer. The people are great! The drinking is awsome and i hear work is still strong now...On the down side, it gets -35 in winter and you have 4 hrs of lite  ....oh well

I LOVE NewYork! i spent way not-enough-time there! Its a cultural heaven...you can experiance the world in 16sq miles (the Americanised version of course:) )...its vibrating, moving, exiting but at the same time you can find pokets of down to earth areas that make it worth wile the crazy high rents...i lived in Chelsea and walked to my firm...it sure made a difference in how i could apreciate the city by walking on surfice instead of using the tube...

i also lived in San Diego. Took a semester at UCSD and lived in La Jolla...Sd is really at human dimention with its 1.5(?) million but i personally grew out of it pretty fast. I think its a little too "small" for me.

As for LA, where i currently live, i can say that you REALLY cant beat the weathr-riding combination...no way of even getting close. I have lived in Malibu, Venice, Brentwood and now in Santa Monica so the living experiance i can describe are all "west side style"...altho pretty close to eachother, all these areas have VERY distinct caracterisics. And this is the real LA feature. You go around a block and its a whole different world. All you need to do is figure out what is your area and stick to it. Defenitly work clos to home!!! Commute can suck pretty bad. I work 30 miles away but my commute is on PCH...on the coast AND couter commuting

Its hared to leave LA in spite of the incredible ammout of duchebags

Rent is expensive if you live close to the beach but in general (of course) rents are high but wages are too so...i wouldnt worry about that.

...excuse my spelling folks!

ciao

[38 OFF]

I've lived in three countries, traveled to over 40: including Aussie land and Kiwi land.

Loved them all, to visit.

We have our problems just like anywhere else: But I always come home.

Great thing about the U.S. is it's 50 different countries all in one.

As others have said come here, travel, get a feel for what you like.

[junior varsity]

See Also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHqUipinDyw

[lucazuma]

See Also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHqUipinDyw

...poetry

[55Spy]

The school system of the US is ok in most parts (since you were talking kids) but it all really comes down to what you want to do and where you want to live. 

City life, country life, suburbia... long lengths of roads to ride,  skiiing, desert motorcycle riding, camping, surfing, river and lake sports.  Every type of job imaginable and alot of careers too, not just money makers.  Opportunity to suceed at every corner.  America has it all

well that includes crimes, gangs, drugs, the requirement for dual income families in alot of places, a resurgent depression, teh export of many jobs to other countries, rising unemployment, homes that cost 6-10 years of salary and can eat up 50-60% of your monthly income, job security is a thing of the past the average career (working from college to retirement) involves 6 job changes, oh yeah and some lawyer somewhere has your name on his docket, he'll either be suing you or defending you it's a very litigous society..

Pesonally after spending the past year in Japan and the majority of the previous four in the middle east (like 265-300 days per year) I don't want to go back.  Its a rat race I hate now, with kids the expenses went up immensely which I expeted somewhat but the small things sucked, It used to cost like 20 bucks to sign your kid up for soccer, now its like 70 because of insurance crap.

I plan to go to New Zealand or Australia to see where I want to retire. 

If I were you I'd stay away.  The grass is always greener on the other side ...That said but once I got outside the US I find it greened up elsewhere just not back in the States for me.

[ducati_tim]

You can get caught up in all the commericialism and feel like you need a big house and cool car. Or, you can live more simply, and really enjoy what America has to offer. I live in an expensive city, but a lot of what it has to offer is free. I can walk to a beach with my kids. I can enjoy some kick ass parks and playgrounds. I can hobnob with people from all over the world, and it doesn't cost me a dime.

I also have had the opportunity to do a lot of cool things professionally because I live in the US. Three of my grandparents only went to school through eigth grade. The other was a high school graduate. My parents never went to college, yet I had the opportunity to go to college and to grad school through scholarships.  I totally attribute much of my professional success to the fact that America rewards hard work. I know there are other countries where you can say the same thing, but I don't think anywhere else in the world are there so many that share a similar story as mine.

I lived in Madrid for two years, and I really loved it, but for me, the USA is the place to be.

[printman]

Being America is so large, some hints as what you liked would help.

Living near water for boating. Possibly mountain riding, or the bustle of big city life?

Throw out some interests, and the responses maybe more tailored to you. 

[somegirl]

Melbourne and Stockholm are high on my "move-to" list.  Melbourne would be far easier for me (I could probably get dual citizenship).  Not sure if it'll ever happen though.

[junior varsity]

I totally attribute much of my professional success to the fact that America rewards hard work.

They also reward addicted to hard drug, unemployed mothers who keep spitting out welfare babies.     

[Popeye the Sailor]

One of the finest things about this country (I've met a lot of immigrants (my mother was one)), is that if you're willing to work hard, you can really, basically, get anything you want. There's always room to move up too, something you don't have where you are now.




Have you considered Boston? 

[desmoquattro]

They also reward addicted to hard drug, unemployed mothers who keep spitting out welfare babies.     

...and rapacious corporate executives and trust fund babies who develop new & interesting ways to screw the rest of us who actually work for a living 

[Vindingo]

They also reward addicted to hard drug, unemployed mothers who keep spitting out welfare babies.     

http://ducatimonsterworldwide.org/index.php?board=53.0

[junior varsity]

Fair enough.

[JohnnyDucati]

. . . but I'm interested to hear what you guys think. Which cities should we consider? I have some links in San Fran and LA, and I could maybe find a link or two in NY, but that's a stretch.

How do you find living in the USA? We really need help with this...

Thanks!

BW - best of luck to you in your search.  I think the best person to answer your question is yourself (and your spouse, together).  It's clear that you and your s/o are intelligent people, so you will find work wherever you go.  However, I at least feel that work is not the highest priority in life, and we should work to live rather than vice versa.  Nevertheless, work is a means to our ends, so it is always important.

I suggest that you make a list of the top 10 or 20 things that you most love to do in your spare time.  Maybe do it alphabetically    abseiling, baseball (cricket?), boating . . . you get the idea.  If you live by the ocean now and have for a while, you will miss it dearly if you choose to live in Colorado.  However, if you are passionate about rock climbing, Colorado is probably pretty good.  Your list may tilt more heavily to cultural activities instead of outdoors.  In that case, stay close to the metropolitan centers.

I had the opportunity to live and work in the UK for 3 years and travel Europe quite a bit.  It was a great professional/personal experience, and I often wax nostalgic about those few years and the good times had.  However, the US was and always will be home.  It is an imperfect place for sure, but on balance far more good than bad.  For sure, it is diverse; Ohio is nothing like Idaho, etc.  When it was time to come home, we chose the Pacific Northwest.  It fulfilled "the list" the best.  I believe that if you had 100 free tickets to anywhere to give random people around the world (who want to resettle), the vast majority will still pick the US as their permanent destination.  It was the first choice of my ancestors and will remain so I think for many others for a long time.

If you know what you want, you will find it here.  Be sure to take the climate in to account.  Upstate New York, for example, is beautiful, but bitterly cold in the (long) winter.  There is a reason why the center of population in the US continues to move south and west with every passing year.  Don't rush your decision, but give yourself a dead line.  The long vacation is also a good idea.  Visit the places that are your best prospects before you decide.

Here's the best part.  Since you are part of this crazy italian-motorbike community [moto], you will likely eat, drink and probably sleep virtually for free when you come here.  If you stop by our neighborhood, I'll be the first to buy you a frosty one!    

Have fun!

J

[IZ]

Here's the best part.  Since you are part of this crazy italian-motorbike community [moto], you will likely eat, drink and probably sleep virtually for free when you come here.  If you stop by our neighborhood, I'll be the first to buy you a frosty one!    

That IS what's so great about this place!!  Lots of good people like Johnny, his s/o and the rest of the DMF'ers in the PDX area! 

BW, If you visit the NW..you've got a place to stay in Seattle as well.  Visit after July..you'll have a place in Austin, TX.