Copyright buzzfeed
"I got my Australian Citizenship in 2016. Always was thinking of potentially moving back to the US but those thoughts pretty much died in 2024 and I’m not coming back in the next several years." Work. I work a lot less than I would in the US for a lot more money. Four weeks of paid holiday is nice. My retirement funds are set up automatically without me thinking too much about it. I can’t just be laid off without getting some compensation. There’s a lot of work stuff that’s better. Healthcare. Last Xmas, I contracted some virus that put me in the hospital for two days. Wiped me out completely and was doing a number on my immune system. The hospital I went to sorted me out great and literally the only interaction I had with payment was one woman coming over to me asking for a copy of my Medicare card. Didn’t pay a thing. Lifestyle. It’s much more relaxed. I don’t want to earn millions of dollars. I’m happy with working and saving and making a decent living and as a result, I finish off work and get to go to the beach or head to the pub with friends. It’s easier down here. I’m far from family (and everything). My mom had a health scare earlier this year and if I dropped everything immediately, it still would have taken me two days to get there. If I want to go on a quick weekend away in a new city my choices are Melbourne, Brisbane, or Auckland, because everything else is at least a five hours flight. Visa laws. It took years to get my visa sorted, even with a supportive employer and an expensive immigration lawyer. Friendlier people. I don’t think many people recognize it but Americans, as a group, tend to be friendly people that actually want to make friends. When I go back to the US, I can have a conversation with a random person at a bar and if we get along, sometimes a friendship can form. That’s really hard to find in Australia. I like the US but, in the past decade or so, I’m happier and happier I moved away. It feels like the world is moving on while it just kept spinning its wheels. I always enjoy going back and seeing family and friends and visiting new places but I can’t live or work there anymore." —Zerogravity86
