Best decision I ever made. I feel more “free” outside of the US in the sense that I don’t feel like I am constantly being pushed (programmed?) into a “system”. Work / life balance is how it should be. I don’t feel like another cog in the machine with the illusion that I am special because I live in the “greatest nation on earth”. There is no such thing. Every nation has its strengths and weaknesses, and the one I’m currently in is at least honest about its defects, for the most part. Educated people in general understand that the news isn’t to be trusted and critical thinking is way more apparent. People tend to think for themselves instead of engage in groupthink or cancel culture (a completely American phenomenon that outsiders can’t wrap their heads around. A friend recently told me, “who has time to think of what others who have no business with my life are doing wrong? Where do you find the time? I have 3 children to take care of and even after them I have about 600 other priorities before policing somebody’s moral compass.”)

I also shop less and feel less pressured to look a certain way. I have embraced who I am as a whole being and what makes me truly happy without the distractions of Hollywood / media and marketing/ brainwashing tools to keep me complacent. I have found my overall depression and anxiety to decrease tremendously and I am much more honest, conscientious, mature, and aware of my place on the global scale instead of my ego-centric constant climb to the “top” of some man-made concept of what it means to be “successful”. Now I just approach everything with the question “will this make me (or my family) happy?” Instead of going against my gut to be performative for a boss / spouse / friend, as many relationships felt in the US. I feel more real. Grounded.

Don’t even get me started on my relationship with social media and how I finally feel like a freed bird that’s been caged for 15 years behind a screen. It feels nice to be in a self driven society instead of a depressed collective shell of a once aspirational “American dream”. South America has its issues too of course but at least the people are not masquerading like the politicians have our best interests at heart. People have a much more clear definition of politics and what a politicians role in society should be. The rest is supplemented with a self driven attitude of helping thy neighbor instead of senseless competition and gross individualism to the point of isolation. I’ve lived in 5 countries throughout my 40 some years on this wild planet I’ve never met more miserable and lonely people in than I have in the states. A sense of community doesn’t seem to be a priority and as a result, we get SJWs and “Karen”s.

The sense of impeding doom I had while I lived there has virtually vanished. (The universal health care is also a nice touch.)

Important to also note that the “singularity” hasn’t quite reached us as it still feels like the 1990s here before everyone got hooked up to their phone.

Service workers can be themselves without pretending to love their jobs while donning a fake smile like literally every customer service employee in the US. And they don’t rely on tips to get by. Everything feels like it’s still got some integrity to it.

Also, getting away from toxic masculinity, processed food disguised as healthy, gym rats, entitled hipsters, power hungry coworkers, angry/spoiled brads & chads, aggressively rich wasps and their quest to keep the wage gap as wide as possible, and a celebrity obsessed culture that reports on every time a kardashian takes a shit was the most sacred gift from the universe.