Cultural divide between the US and Europe

[kirei_na_me]

Had I been American, I would have left the country at once.

Well, easier said than done, I guess. I have talked about leaving this country, but it's mostly all talk.

We have bought a nice house here, in the nice countryside, where the air is clean(er) and where the schools are good. No one is uptight about anything much, unless maybe some dogs running free who are harassing the neighbor's cat, and it may seem silly to some, but I like the fact that my family is near. I don't think I would trade it for anything right now.

Of course, as time goes by, I might be more apt to moving somewhere else. I know for a fact that if there is ever a draft after my sons are of age, they will be on a plane to Japan. The biggest benefit of dual-citizenship, in my eyes.

See, having a family of your own makes you see things a little differently. It is much easier for older people who have grown children or people who have no children at all to just pack up and move. Take my cousin, for example. She's one of the thousands of people who are trying to acquire Canadian citizenship since the outcome of this past election. She is a lesbian and she and her partner of 20+ years want to move to Canada so that they might be able to have more rights... besides the fact that they just hate everything about the U.S. now. It's easy for them to do that, though, because they are older, they have no children, and their immediate families are almost gone, with the exception of some siblings. They really have nothing much keeping them here.

[Maciamo]

Well, easier said than done, I guess. I have talked about leaving this country, but it's mostly all talk.
...

I understand that it is not always easy, especially with children. Age however is not a major factor for me. I left my parent's house for good (well still visited about once a year ) when I was 18, and studied in various countries (thanks to the numerous exchange programmes).

Even now that I have more or less setlled in Japan, I never really know how long I will be staying here. I could just decide any day to move to another country whenever I feel like it. Sometimes I really feel like leaving because I feel so annoyed by the constant police checks for nothing, and the fact that the Japanese always see foreigners as "henna gaijin" that cannot possibly speak their language and understand their culture. If only this can make me move somewhere else, then the above-mentioned things about the US (esp. Bush) would have much more decisive effects. The problem is always, moving where ? No country is perfect, but some are better suited to one's personality and expectations.

[Duo]

I like moving, I think i would like to stay in Europe, maybe italy, spain, even france, why not, although i am torn, after my studies i don't know, i have come to love Brussels a lot, but part of me feels the brussels era should end, but i don't know, moving to america....... could be possible, but these recent years I have grown very european(whatever that is ) but don't know, for those that like both EUrope and the US, i think Canada is a good compromise :)

@ the topic

There is one thing that I think Europe should be grateful to the Americans, and that's their will to take action, especially in these recent times in the recent Balkan wars. I for one am thankful the US for mobilizing up and fast along with the UK and preventing another catostrophe in Kosovo after the European fiasco in Bosnia, where France ( a sort of underground ally of the Serbs) along with other European powers told the US to stay off, and just sat back and saw thousands of innocent Bosnias slaughtered, and it took the US to fix things up with the Dayton agreement). Europeans can act all high and mighty and whatever they want with the EU now, but let's not forget that they are responsible for other things, one only needs to look at Africa...... I hope that the EU can start a new era for eruope, but one where the West stops acting superior to East europe especially, and stops their favoritisms and still discriminating ways. Soooo, western europeans can criticise all they want, but they still have their own issues to deal with, as do all countries.