America Light® in a lot of ways. Its so damn big that most people that don't live in the beautiful parts of the country might live their whole lives and never see it.

Housing is fucked, public transit is fucked, urban planning is fucked, we use migrants as cannon fodder for the minimum wage meat grinder... Man, the list goes on.

Its certainly not the worst place in the world to live but it's really not as good as many people think.

Middle aged American from the mountain west. The people often suck but the scenery is beautiful. I live sorta alone, no other humans but two dogs, two cats, one fish, and four chickens. I work with dogs for a living, training/daycare/boarding/rescue, and I love my career. I live within my means and try and pay the support I’ve had from others forward. Travelled a lot in my youth (the rest of the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe) and enjoyed it even if I’m a bit more of a homebody these days. I have a lot of grievances with the current regime, the people who empowered them, and the capitalist assholes who fund them, but I do admit it’s been a boon for the punk scene. I haven’t seen this many shows a month since the early 00s.

Germany: I think overall, compared to the rest of the world, it’s fine. As a German citizen you are well protected from most of the bullshit life can throw your way: We have strong legal systems, “free” healthcare and are relatively safe from the effects of climate change and military aggression.

But it’s also very frustrating because it could be so much better. Were the 3rd richest country in the world and yet our infrastructure is barely holding on. Bridges are collapsing and roads have giant potholes. Our train system is expensive and unreliable.

Our politicians are actively working against the interest of the german people and funnel money into companies instead. Corruption and malice against migrants is everywhere. Active climate change denial is also apparently acceptable. If you aren’t a retired homeowner who loves their car you aren’t relevant to the political conversation.

Yes your doctor is “free”, but you barely get a sentence in before youre send home with some generic advice or stopgap medicine and good luck getting to see a specialist. I pay over 400€ a month in taxes for this, I should be able to at least get more than a couple of minutes when I have some issues. Also teeth are luxury bones which are barely covered and glasses aren’t medically necessary either so have fun paying for those.

You probably won’t be able to afford a house ever and you need to save money for retirement. For context: I’m in my early 30s, got a masters degree, working on a phd and get paid enough that I’m in the highest tax group. My father could support my mother and 3 children with that income while still living comfortably. I pay like half my net salary in rent for a 2 room apartment, and retirement savings and don’t want to even think about paying for childcare.

I’m pissed this is the best my country is capable off. Not to mention literal fucking nazis are on the rise again and are probably going to start winning elections soon.

I live in Japan (more than a decade now) and grew up in the US. Life here in Japan is getting harder as the currency weakens against others, inflation has been going crazy, and wages aren't keeping up. A lot of energy is imported as are a lot of materials. Gasoline is up over 20 yen per litre since the start of last month and that will translate into increased costs for anything requiring shipping. It also means, at least for those of us with family overseas, that seeing family members is much harder and more expensive than before. It's also hard to bring my wife because I never know what the ICE is going to do with a non-white woman who speaks almost no English and that's a risk I won't take.

We have a big overtourism issue which is leading to a lot of people thinking foreigners = trouble and giving racists an excuse. Japan just elected Japanese Thatcher which is a setback for the rights of women, LGTBQI+, and more (especially around the koseki system and marriage equality).

Tech jobs are in a bit of a crunch right now with the whole "AI" thing going on and some places wanting to go all in on that. I am starting to think I want to change jobs, but finding another remote software engineering job is going to be very challenging.

For everything else, though, rural Japan treats me quite well.

I live in japan and it's ok as long as you don't work for a Japanese company. I actually don't like all the attention the country is getting on social media.

Denmark is amazing. Especially in spring, when the beech trees sprout leaves in the most delicate green color.

Things just work here, food is good, the music scene is great, government is highly trustworthy, lots of jobs, lots of welfare. Yes, it could be better still, but I don't know many places where it works nearly as well as here.

Gen X Australia, My countries a shit show and getting worse

Strange weather this time of year. Frequent missile showers. Good thing there's bomb shelters.

UK.

We are a safe, stable and secure nation. Yes there are problems but compared to anywhere else? I think we're doing better than a lot of places.

I wouldn't live anywhere else, and yes we have the financial means to do so.

America is great if you are rich, but even our rich people are very unhappy that they aren't richer, which is annoying and basically what drives all our problems.

I am in the top 15% in my country, and I see it all around me among my peers. People with tons of money and success who are just deeply unhappy they they don't have more of it. And if you claim you are happy with what you have in life, people hate you for it.

My parents have like hundreds of thousands (probably in the 1 mil range) in assets dangling in front of me to keep me in line... (small bussiness)

I could either be a good obedient son to them, or be a wage slave to the oligarchy...

But they're threatening to disinherit me due to my depression... (nor sure if threats are real or not)

Feeling so werid right now, I kinda wanna kms lol... wtf

But then my older brother gets everything... so nah...

But no, we don't have much luxury stuff, parents are frugal and hoarders... they grew up in poverty.

(US, Immigrant parents from China)

Norway: Pretty chill, at least in my corner of the country; squeezed in between three mountains and a fjord.

My biggest concern these days is that I was supposed to go down to Saudi Arabia for some work stuff, but that's been put on hold due to... stuff you may have heard of..

The news cycle is kind of repetitive because of a douchebag who is related to royalty is on trial. Nobody cares, lock him up if he's found guilty, that's all. I guess it's a sign that there's not much newsworthy happening.

On a more personal level, I'm waiting for my meshtastic radios to arrive so I can put up some routers on nearby summits and see if I can reach the next tiny town over. No reason other than toying around with it, really.

With geology like this, I have no idea how they manage to supply gigabit internet to my house. But I guess once you're used to digging tunnels for basic infrastructure, running a fiber isn't that big of a deal. My basement homelab enjoys the results either way.

Day-to-day life isn't exciting. But it's safe and secure; the good kind of boring.

Estonia, been worse been better. Yeah food prices have increased over the last few years, price of tech has increased as much as in rest of the world and so has the price of many luxury goods, but those are luxury goods. Not that necessary and can be easily replaced or even avoided.

Our eastern neighbor is kinda pain in my assholes, but they have always been there.

But in overall, kinda good actually, though that mostly comes from personal life not from world wide issues. Making my own little bubble enjoyable for me. Not much else i can do.

Austria is an exceptional country to call home—from the perspective of a Portuguese traveler who's seen quite a bit of the world.

Its central location means you share borders with eight neighbouring countries, making it effortless to cross into new cultures within just a few hours.

Life in Tirol, in particular, is well balanced. Everything runs with remarkable cleanliness and organization. The tap water is excellent, and the food offers delightful variety—some local recipes are genuine surprises waiting to be discovered.

Then there are the mountains. Everyone here hikes, climbs, and of course, skis. The lakes and landscapes are nothing short of breathtaking.

Yes, taxes are substantial—but you can clearly see where that money goes. The infrastructure serves the people well: roads are impeccably maintained, public services function smoothly, and the country as a whole reflects this investment (with the usual exceptions, of course).

In smaller towns, community spirit remains alive. Neighbours help one another freely—whether lending a hand on a farm or painting someone's house. No money changes hands; a shared "Jause" and a glass of schnapps are good enough.

I'm genuinely glad I made the move here.

PS: The colourful dialects in the country are a challenge where the learning curve is as steep as the alps.

I'm a US citizen. Back in my country kind of sucks. We're lucky to be able to pull up stakes and go, though, so we did; we're in New Zealand right now.

It's late summer in Auckland, and the weather is fantastic. I didn't realize that I had been getting headaches back in the US due to clenching my jaw until I got here and they went away over the course of a month. The people here are invariably kind and friendly. Government services are actually funded. The infrastructure isn't falling apart. I have had a grand total of two, maybe three, bad meals in the three-ish months I've been here, and I made one of them; all the rest have been delicious.

There are certainly problems in New Zealand, I'm not oblivious to that. But they're different problems and on a radically different level.

Belgium isn't a country, it's an experiment. I love it. I wish we could just see our fellow countrymen as people who just want to have a stable and secure life but somehow we're on this journey to split the North from the South for the last 70 years.

Life is good but we all struggle under the continued issues that are challenging the EU and the rest of the world. Covid, Ukraine, Trump,... They are pulling us down.

Being a Belgian is a privilege and I feel like all Belgians should realize that more often.

In stead of the Netherlands, give Belgium a try. Visit Gent, Bruges, Leuven, Brussels...

Wonderful. Friendly people and a very decent government. Lots of freedom and lots of nature. Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world put together. We have a boat access cabin where we spend the summer. The winters are too long and the prices have gotten high lately, but the economy is strong and the people in good spirits generally. Since Trump got elected, Canadians have been more united than ever before.

I live in something like a Hobbiton. Life's good if you don't think about things too much. There's beer, cars and coal. It's important nothing ever changes, surely everything will continue to be great forever.

There are A LOT of bigots and low IQ individuals here.

I'll let you figure out which country.