Okay, naive, but I am going to try to be completely non-trolling.
Would I ever move to the US? No.
1. I don't like its political system with bought politicians.
Am I saying everything is great politically where I live? Hell no. But at least here politicians cannot be legally bought by corporations. There is at least some representation in politics. And more than just two evils to choose from.
2. I don't like the high crime rate.
Yes, we have our ghettos too. But nowhere near as bad as the US. Which is why building street cred in Dutch rap is really hard. Those niglets parrot their US counterparts about "poppin' caps" where most won't have seen a firearm outside of Halo.
3. I don't like the inhumane "bootstrap" atmosphere.
Sure, there should be personal responsibility. But there are things beyond a person's control, and they should be helped humanely to overcome that. Losing your house, job and life savings because you fell ill and couldn't afford insurance is not humane.
4. I don't like the too-unequal distribution of wealth.
There should be a wealth differential. But nobody needs to be a billionaire. 1000 millionaires will spend much more than one billionaire, stimulating the economy more so that all will profit. Hell, I voted for a party a few years ago that would raise our top tax rate -- and I'm in that bracket, so not a hypocrite. Purely practical consideration: if me paying a bit more in tax ensures that there are fewer desperate people looking to jack me, then I consider that an effective use of my resources. The alternative, living in a gated community, would also cost me extra. I'll even accept the fact that it will be done inefficiently by the government, which is still better than not at all.
Are there good sides to living in the US? Sure. The americans I know personally (not via GB) are on the whole very nice people. I would like to have more nature, which living in one of the most densely populated countries in the world comes at a high premium. It's really easy to fire people in the US, which is something I truly am jealous of. But I could deal with being fired on a whim, a lot of people can't.
But on the whole I wouldn't choose to live in the US. Or more correctly, I have already chosen not to do it. I was offered a job in NY that I turned down 2-3 years ago. But don't feel bad, I turned down working permanently in Germany as well.
