re: Why Is Life In America So Horrible and Oppressive? Why Are People So Miserable?

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There's a reason everyone lives in a (relative to America) tiny house with a tiny car and a tiny "garden" backyard.

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Everyone? Because I'm pretty sure I've seen, first hand, plenty of country houses. They even have SUV's. I can find an affordable villa in Spain this second and buy a truck.

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You can only produce about 20 gallons of garbage a week per household, according to the gov't, so you'll need a compactor and you'll have to really watch what you do.

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Somehow people survive these horrible conditions. Damn. I guess that 6 wk vacation helps them recuperate.

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If you want any kind of healthcare you must go through the government and have them decide for you.

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Do you mean have them assign you a date for treatment based on the severity of your illness? Triage? Yeah - I agree that it's not ideal. But, at the very least, every man, woman, and child goes to sleep at night every day of their lives not worrying about the OPTION of treatment. The result? Treatment, just depending on the timeline. And I'm pretty sure that you still have the option to seek private treatment on your own accord.

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All kinds of random consumer goods are much more highly regulated and can only be found in certain spots with ridiculous taxes.

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Money, money, money, moneyyyyyy. Moneyyyy.

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Gas in super expensive. But hey, 6 weeks a year, you can get away from it.

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To their credit (if we're discussing europe), at least public transportation isn't a disaster for the most part.

Honestly, I just wish there was a movement in this country to start rewarding some of the hardest working people in the world with just a little more vacation time. But, given our culture, it's a pipe dream. There will always be people clinging to this idea that if you want more vacation time, you just need to work harder.

I'll never understand the global attractiveness of the US to a foreign special skills professional that might offer invaluable knowledge to one of our hospitals or technology firms. Should I work 50 weeks a year in the US, putting in 80 hours a week? Or should I work 46 weeks a year in some other country?

Obviously people have different priorities in life. I understand that. I just think there are loads of people in this country who would be happier and healthier, with more stable family environments, if we ever got lucky enough to go down that path.