I was sent an email. It was sent by Svetochka and came from one of her friends, a friend that reads my blog. A friend outside of Russia….I will use the email, but not give who it is from…
Why do people want to go to UK when they can go to the US which is so much better? OK, I’ll bite….what makes you think the USA is so much better?
Until recently, we had a second home in the USA which we had for 17 years and while we enjoyed our time there I could not have lived there permanently.
There are many, many things that are better in the UK than in the US, most obviously, universal healthcare, a much safer society due to proper gun control, school shootings are unheard of in the UK, the last of which was some thirty years ago which led to our current gun restrictions.
Quality of supermarket food in the UK is far higher and much cheaper than the US. Much of the junk sold in US supermarkets is, to us, inedible, and is directly responsible for the nations obesity and poor health.
Nobody dies or goes bankrupt because they cannot afford healthcare in the UK. We are not known for our great weather but it is a temperate climate and not prone to the extremes that much of the USA suffers from. We were very careful in picking the times we stayed at our home in South Carolina. It was far too hot and humid in the summer.
The British countryside is beautiful and within easy reach. Most Brits can be in open walking country in minutes. In the USA, there might be vast areas of wilderness but you might be a 6 hour drive away from it.
The USA is pretty archaic when it comes to bureaucracy, payment systems, TV and internet services, much of which is poor quality and more expensive, not a good combination.
We sold our home in SC last February, at that time we still had not seen any business taking contactless payments. It has been universal in the UK, even down to the smallest one man businesses, for several years. Chip and pin was universal also, several years before it was in the US. Online shopping, online banking is all much more sophisticated in the UK.
The quality of plumbing and electrics in our US home was laughably bad. Some of the appliances look like they were designed in the 1950s.
We, unfortunately, do have poverty in the UK, but it is all relative and the levels of poverty we witnessed in the US were far greater and on a much bigger scale.Overall, cost of living was much higher in the US, especially if you take into account healthcare costs.
Frankly, it is difficult to see where you could get the impression that the USA is ‘so much better.’
Source: peppy200@gmail.com – Gmail
I did not touch the emails content at all and it is from someone in the UK, a person who has lived in the US also! Then last night I started thinking about what they said. I will rewrite with Russia in mind and what I think….my answers are in parenthesis…
Why do people want to go to UK (Russia) when they can go to the US which is so much better? OK, I’ll bite….what makes you think the USA is so much better?
Until recently, we had a second home in the USA which we had for 17 years and while we enjoyed our time there I could not have lived there permanently.
(Until 15 years ago I lived in the USA. I was born and raised there, yet I am not able to live there anymore! I find much more freedom, liberty and safety in Russia.)
There are many, many things that are better in the UK than in the US, most obviously, universal healthcare, a much safer society due to proper gun control, school shootings are unheard of in the UK, the last of which was some thirty years ago which led to our current gun restrictions.
(There are many things that are better in Russia than in the US, most obviously, a universal healthcare, a much safer society due to proper gun control, school shootings are unheard of in the Russia, the last of which was some copycat version many years ago which led me to appreciate gun control. The Russians are not at anyone’s mercy by not having weapons everywhere!)
Quality of supermarket food in the UK is far higher and much cheaper than the US. Much of the junk sold in US supermarkets is, to us, inedible, and is directly responsible for the nations obesity and poor health.
(Quality of supermarket food in the Russia is far higher and much cheaper than the US. Much of the junk sold in US supermarkets is, to us, inedible, and is directly responsible for the nations obesity and poor health. Russia is very big on non-GMO foods and that is a big deal…)
Nobody dies or goes bankrupt because they cannot afford healthcare in the UK. We are not known for our great weather but it is a temperate climate and not prone to the extremes that much of the USA suffers from. We were very careful in picking the times we stayed at our home in South Carolina. It was far too hot and humid in the summer.
(Nobody dies or goes bankrupt because they cannot afford healthcare in Russia. We are not known for our great weather but winter is something that you get use to and learn to deal with. Even with the extreme colds, hardly anyone is homeless and without foods to eat. Yes, it is brutal and a harsh winter. Most everyone owns their homes…)
The British countryside is beautiful and within easy reach. Most Brits can be in open walking country in minutes. In the USA, there might be vast areas of wilderness but you might be a 6 hour drive away from it.
(The Russian countryside is beautiful and within easy reach. Most Russians can be in open walking country in minutes. In the USA, there might be vast areas of wilderness but you might be a 6 hour drive away from it. A Russian in Moscow will be able to find a huge park literally anywhere in the city to walk in and it is walking distance away. It was a major reason why Svetochka was disturbed by the American life, when she visited many years ago…)
The USA is pretty archaic when it comes to bureaucracy, payment systems, TV and internet services, much of which is poor quality and more expensive, not a good combination.
(The USA is pretty archaic when it comes to bureaucracy, payment systems, TV and internet services, much of which is poor quality and more expensive, not a good combination. (Russia is the same as UK!))
We sold our home in SC last February, at that time we still had not seen any business taking contactless payments. It has been universal in the UK, even down to the smallest one man businesses, for several years. Chip and pin was universal also, several years before it was in the US. Online shopping, online banking is all much more sophisticated in the UK.
(I left 15 years ago and I still do not see a huge following with business taking contactless payments. It has been universal in the Russia, even down to the smallest one man businesses, for several years. Chip and pin was universal also, several years before it was in the US. Online shopping, online banking is all much more sophisticated in the Russia…)
The quality of plumbing and electrics in our US home was laughably bad. Some of the appliances look like they were designed in the 1950s.
(The quality of plumbing and electrics in my US homes was laughably bad. Nothing built to take freezing weather. I had to rewire and re-plumb myself to have a safe home and that was having built new ones several times. The new homes were so substandard. Older homes had to be plumbed to remove lead pipes Some of the appliances look like they were designed in the 1950s. I had to rewire old homes to remove two wire on insulators systems eaten bare by rats to make livable…)
We, unfortunately, do have poverty in the UK, but it is all relative and the levels of poverty we witnessed in the US were far greater and on a much bigger scale. Overall, cost of living was much higher in the US, especially if you take into account healthcare costs.
(We, unfortunately, do have poverty in Russia, but it is all relative and the levels of poverty I and Svetochka witnessed in the US were far greater and on a much bigger scale. Overall, cost of living was much much higher in the US, especially if you take into account healthcare costs. Russians almost also all own their homes and or flats. Utilities are very cheap…)
Frankly, it is difficult to see where you could get the impression that the USA is ‘so much better.’ (I agree!)
WtR