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rraaarr  ·  3703 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Discussion: Why do you stay in the US?

I'm foreign (from NZ) and moved to the USA. I love New Zealand, it's an amazing country and I hope to raise a family there one day. However, it is small and there's just not the access to opportunity that there is here in the US. My view of the US is pretty utilitarian - I enjoy living in California and I have friends here, but I'm here because of what being here can do for my career. The flip side though, is what I'd say to any American (or anyone at all) considering jumping ship to live in another country. It's rarely the right decision to make. Whatever issues or problems you have here won't disappear because you move countries - unless you are literally a refugee on the run from war or despotic governments. And the US does not have a despot in power, as much as some people would like to characterise him that way. Stick it out and make your country a better place rather than running away to somewhere else. Moving countries is hard, you're without everything familiar, even if you move to another English-speaking country. Your family, your friends, your support network, they're all gone. Even the brands at the supermarkets are different and you have to get used to whole different ways of life. If you leave a country for the wrong reason, you'll only end up unhappy and resenting your new home for being different from the one you left.