reply to post by nocty
I'm so glad you asked.
I've spent four or more days in each of the following; Germany, the UK, Ireland, France, and Italy. Once our unit left Afghanistan in early '05 I
spent a couple of months in Georgia as well, doing training exercises and working with the local forces while we taught them some of our tricks of the
trade. Basic marksmanship, radio comm, MCMAP, etc. (my job there was MCMAP)
You should really read a person's posts before making things personal. I'm not offended, just amused. Now, as for my reasons...
Well, currently Germany's got a terrible birth rate while it's percentage of senior citizens just keeps rising. It's got a glass ceiling for women
the likes of which would send Americans screaming for equal opportunity, and oh, let's not forget the underlying tension between what used to be East
and West German citizens. Add that onto a sensitivity about antisemitic remarks (DON"T be the idiot saying 'That freakin Jew' or 'Dude, how
Jewish') and you've got a really pleasant place to live, yeah. No thanks.
Italy's nice, I'll give it that. Somehow. They've got the fourth or fifth highest population density in all of Europe, a waste disposal problem,
and a political system that makes our laugh and point at it. Then again, they've only existed as a unified nation since what, 1870? That's an even
younger nation than we are, governmentally speaking. Don't get me wrong, if I had to live in Europe I'd choose Italy as my second option.
I don't like France. Sorry. The culture's just too far off from what I grew up with. That was a surreal experience.
The UK is...different. I've got a half-dozen friends living in the UK and I try to avoid asking what bugs them about their country. Like us here
stateside, they seem to have a list miles long. For me though, the biggest problem is their gun control. For that reason alone I won't live there. I
don't have many complaints about the UK, especially as I don't live there, but their gun control is a disaster.
Ireland is lovely, but when compared to the US it's like the difference between NY, NY and...say, Arkansas. If I moved to Ireland it would be to
abandon modern life, because that would be the best way to integrate with it's people. You can talk to plenty of people who haven't traveled farther
than the next town in all their lives, and see no need to. Nope, if I were to leave the US I would go to the Emerald Isle, and more for familial
reasons than any other. Good Olde County Fermanagh.
Those are but a handful of countries that make up Europe. Europe also has Croatia, Serbia, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, oh gee, let's not forget
a chunk of Russia, and plenty more besides. Instead of labeling an entire continent, with it's myriad problems, better than the US, go ahead
and pick and choose. Yes, I understand that traveling between European countries is a bit different than going to Canada or Mexico, but until the EU
can claim a national flag, it is a collective of national representatives. Come on now.
I stand by my statement that given the choice, I would rather live in America's best years than that of any European nation.
. but i must say that there are those out there making their personal dreams come true THROUGH hard
work and a little thinking outside the "box" and not by sheer luck or bc they were born into wealth. i can testify to this because i see it. 
