- Home » Expat News » Survey suggests death of the American Dream
Survey suggests death of the American Dream
| Published: | 12 Sep at 6 PM |
Want to get involved?
Become a Featured Expat and take our interview.
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
Safety and the excessive cost of living and healthcare are wrecking potential expats’ American dream.
Once the dream destination for untold numbers of aspiring expats, the USA is now lagging behind 46 other world countries as shown in the recent Expat Insider survey. Respondents to the survey have to be expats living and working overseas as part of a corporate reassignment, so don’t include retirees or entrepreneurs looking to start new businesses. Of the 187 countries surveyed, 68 are chosen by their placings in a number of categories and, although the USA was included in the 68, it ranked behind many Asian, South American and European countries.
According to the survey’s results, the USA is no longer living up to its former reputation as one of the most popular expat destinations in the world. Reasons are many, with the exorbitant cost of healthcare one of the most important. America scored poorly in another crucial sub-category, that of quality of life, with respondents criticising everything from lack of decent public transportation to schooling and childcare. Its ease of settling in category scraped a score of 33, with family life coming in at 40 and personal finance and living costs at 46. Just under half of respondents said they earned $100,000 or more annually, but expat parents were unhappy about the lack of safety and security for their children.
Although the present political situation in the USA wasn’t mentioned as it’s not used as a category, it’s obvious its influence is being felt by expat professionals living and working across the country. Safety and security are top requirements for expats on reassignment, especially if their families are included. America’s political instability shows in protests, demonstrations and school shootings as well as in a higher number of drug-related crimes and, in a number of regions, increasingly unstable weather events such as typhoons are adding to the general awareness of a lack of protection.
Once the dream destination for untold numbers of aspiring expats, the USA is now lagging behind 46 other world countries as shown in the recent Expat Insider survey. Respondents to the survey have to be expats living and working overseas as part of a corporate reassignment, so don’t include retirees or entrepreneurs looking to start new businesses. Of the 187 countries surveyed, 68 are chosen by their placings in a number of categories and, although the USA was included in the 68, it ranked behind many Asian, South American and European countries.
According to the survey’s results, the USA is no longer living up to its former reputation as one of the most popular expat destinations in the world. Reasons are many, with the exorbitant cost of healthcare one of the most important. America scored poorly in another crucial sub-category, that of quality of life, with respondents criticising everything from lack of decent public transportation to schooling and childcare. Its ease of settling in category scraped a score of 33, with family life coming in at 40 and personal finance and living costs at 46. Just under half of respondents said they earned $100,000 or more annually, but expat parents were unhappy about the lack of safety and security for their children.
Although the present political situation in the USA wasn’t mentioned as it’s not used as a category, it’s obvious its influence is being felt by expat professionals living and working across the country. Safety and security are top requirements for expats on reassignment, especially if their families are included. America’s political instability shows in protests, demonstrations and school shootings as well as in a higher number of drug-related crimes and, in a number of regions, increasingly unstable weather events such as typhoons are adding to the general awareness of a lack of protection.
Comments » No published comments just yet for this article...
Feel free to have your say on this item. Go on... be the first!
