An Asian American intellectual who dropped out of the police academy in the US and moved abroad, gained these insightful observations after being overseas:
“Let's face it America is good for some things like making money, developing stable businesses, and enjoying the natural landscape however the standard of living is highly overrated and downright poor in many respects. People in America are stressed, sexless, annoyed, and angry most of the time. You can see it in mainstream American culture, the macho bullshit posturing, the elitism, and the feminist nonsense. I know some people will deny this and call us "pathetic" for our choices but I know too many American expats from all walks of life who are happily living abroad to discount this as mere coincidence. The english speaking western world has really pigeonholed itself as a moralistic, productive, and order based society but I feel the more you order and categorize people's lives the less happy they are. I’m not even going to get into all the racial discrimination, social politics, and other nonsense that pervades every aspect of American life either. Let’s just say that I’m sure you know about as much as I do how bad it can be as an asian minority in the U.S. Actually, it’s not even a race thing these days. I find a lot of my friends from ALL racial backgrounds to express how sick and tired they are of the bullshit they face in daily American life. However, the vast majority of these guys will never leave. They just don’t have the options on the table because they set down responsibilities and roots that will not allow them that mobility. I feel for them, if only they knew..
Once you go abroad it’s difficult to go back. My first extended experience living overseas opened my eyes in a variety of ways. People will always be people but I believe that culture is the single biggest influence on people. There is definitely something wrong with America in this respect. America may be a lot of good things..productive, prosperous, and relatively free but the socialization of its citizens is much less advanced than other (much more economically poorer) countries I’ve been in. The way I look at it quality of life isn’t just all about money. It’s about what you can do with yourself in that society and how comfortable you feel around others. In America I was never truly “comfortable” but always felt tense or slightly agitated at the people around me. There’s definitely a hostility and tenseness to social interaction there that I don’t feel anywhere else. That’s a lot of negativity to deal with daily so it’s not surprising that out of all industrialized first world countries Americans generally have the least healthy lifestyles and shortest overall life spans.”
Another Asian intellectual who moved to Europe had this to say about why he left the US:
“The reason I left the U.S. was because I found it to be a profoundly depressing and soulless existence living in North America. I hate life in U.S. suburbs the most. Cookie-cutter houses. Endless strip malls filled with the same stores (Blockbuster, McDonalds, etc). Having to drive EVERYWHERE. Spending every night watching television or DVDs in my big, isolated house. Weekends with nothing to do but go shopping at the mall. Like many people, I always felt half-dead whenever I spent significant periods of time in the U.S. I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized it. It was American culture. It was the American media. To put it bluntly, American culture is a ghetto culture that values flash over substance, superficial consumerism over spiritual growth. It's a culture that has an invisible racial hierarchy that places Asian men at the bottom and is obsessed with all things white or black American. It's a country that is built for doing business, not living life.
Anyhow, I've lived in many places during my life. And as we all know, each place has its good bits and its bad bits.
I've now learned to take the best bits of the U.S. (namely, service and business) and transfer it to my life abroad.”
One of his sentences above sums up America perfectly, “It’s a country that is built for doing business, not living life.” In fact, I’d say that if there’s one sentence or theme that would sum up this ebook, that would be it. Thus, I’m going to be using it in other parts of this ebook as well as my welcome page.
America is fantastic for some things, such as making money, building secure enterprises, and enjoying the natural landscape, but the standard of living is vastly overstated and, in many ways, simply bad. Most people in America are stressed, sexless, frustrated, and angry. The macho crap posturing, elitism, and feminist nonsense can all be found in mainstream American culture. Some would reject this and label us "pathetic" for our choices, but I know far too many American expats from all walks of life who are content living abroad to dismiss this as mere coincidence.The preceding is a really interesting and timely post. I appreciate the time you spent writing this.
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