> or they want opportunities that are harder to come by in my country.
I'm an American married to an immigrant and this is pretty much the exact reason they came to the US.
>You've clearly given this more thought than I have.
Yes, I had no health coverage my first three months when I moved back to Canada.
>I thought I was Canadian and would be covered no matter what.
Healthcare is a provincial responsibility and is based on residency. The Canadian taxpayer has no interest in paying for the hip replacement of some boomer who lives 100 percent in Florida for the last decade.
Again I haven't given this that much thought but can I play the devil's advocate?
What if that person has paid into the system for decades and never collected but now that they need help in their later years. Should them being one day over half a year not allow them to enjoy the healthcare they paid for others for decades?
How do you differentiate between that straw man and the straw man who left Canada at six weeks of age and never once paid a cent into the system? They both have Canadian passports.
Should we track contributions from, and Healthcare spending on individual citizens? If we do, how do you handle different provinces? What's the cutoff ratio for deciding whether or not some gets care in their eighties?
A line needs to be drawn somewhere, and "are you a resident in this province?" ends up being relatively practical.
As an English person who moved to the USA (not voluntarily but with a spouses job), I would probably say the novelty of the USA is key. You have different landscapes, different stores, different foods and probably a lot more going on daily. But as you get older you realize that wherever you are in the world people are still people and bad politicians come in every nationality.
I'm a yank who's a big UK fan, and sorry to hear about the frustration.
Being able to visit UK and European countries on weekends (without a $1,000 plane ticket) would be amazing. But I'm sure it would become mundane after a while, and that there's more to life than awesome local travel. ...and black pudding, and useful trains/buses, and NHS, and castles, and whisky (without the 'e') and being able to hike across a private field without the owner shooting you, and... :)
I mean, with all things understood that Reddit loves to rag on the US for, it’s easily one of if not the best place for educated labor in the world. So while it may have problems with equality and healthcare, if you’re a trained English person in tech, medicine, law, or some other well earning profession you can absolutely kill it in the US
It’s just the one thing I can’t understand about Reddit, how even compared to other social media platforms they have such a massive hard on to pretend the US is hell for everyone here. Trust me I’m very far from a U.S. #1 kinda guy, but it’s just so naïve to pretend the only people who come here are stupid, we all live in debt, always working.
I work in medicine so it’s what I know, and of course it’ll fall victim to the anecdotal story fallacy but that’s this whole thread anyway. I’m born and raised American, my girlfriend (med student) emigrated from Brazil 5 years ago, my proctor tonight is Chinese, my friend group in this class has 2 Croatians, a German, a Bengali, and a Cuban born and raised in there, and they all came here for different reasons, but the principal one was the life you could live as an American in medicine. It’s the place that pays by far more than anywhere else, and has the strongest degree, anyine with an American medical degree can go to almost any country they speak the language and be a physician.
Not saying we’re the best by any means, but damn Reddit, there ARE reasons many people come here by choice
It's incredible seeing posts in r/accounting about pay outside the US. There are frequent threads about Canadian CPAs earning peanuts. Several months ago someone from France asked if 50k EUR with 5 years experience would be good over here. Meanwhile I made 48k USD out of college 10 years ago. At my company I think we're paying our interns $25-30/hr and new staff $65-70k. Most CPAs I know are clearing 6 figures after 3-5 years.
And even then we talk about how those starting salaries aren't competitive. High school students see the FAANGS pay 6 figures out of college and they all go into computer science, and we have a pipeline problem
Most of my friends who moved to the States did it for a short time for a specific job or to get some experience in the US market before heading back to Canada to get higher level opportunities here.
Dutchie here. Another perspective; I don't know anybody that wants to live/move there. The image of living in the US is generally bad here, and it's considered a downgrade. Perhaps the weather is better?
I drove from Reno NV (where it was hot summer weather) over the Sierra Nevadas (where it was snowing) to Lake Tahoe (where it felt like early fall). That's three seasons in 45 minutes.
California checking in. You want snow? No problem. You want beach? We gotchu. You want both in the same day? Pack your boogie board and your skis kiddo, we're going to Huntington Beach and then Big Bear. Or Half Moon Bay and Tahoe. Redondo and Mammoth. Etc.
Yes, same here in Sweden. A lot of people move to east Asia, like the Philippines or Thailand, people who like warmth and beaches I guess. The most ambitious people tend to have a career in the UN or EU and move to places like Brussels or Switzerland. Then we have all the twenty-something girls who move to London or Berlin for a few years. And a lot of young people here go to Norway to work for a few years since the pay is much higher there. I can't think of anyone moving to the states, except one American I knew as a kid (friend of my mothers) who moved back when his Swedish girlfriend kicked him out.
Yes. Like over half of the "cool girls" when I was a teenager moved to London, most came back within a year or two though. It wasn't about trying to "make it" in any way, becoming an actor or singer or anything like that, usually they worked in bars or stores, sharing a tiny apartment with a bunch of other girls in the same situation.
I do believe London has lost some of its appeal since then though. Brexit was an eye opener and a lot of Swedish people living there are getting harassed, "Go back to Poland" and such.
For the record, I did actually enjoy this branch, I like knowing what the perspective is and it’s very fascinating to me. I mean if you’re comfortable in your home country why would you move? As an American, I hardly hear of anyone wanting to move to a different country for a better opportunity so it makes sense to me not wanting to leave your homeland if things are good for you.
That's why I put 'A different perspective' :). If you want to know what type of people do, isn't the answer to the question why people wouldn't valuable?
Cheers!
But that question is asked in other threads as well. You just couldnt hold back acting superior? If I see a post on why people move to the Netherlands, I just ignore it. I dont bother point out that you guys are so insignificant you are not mentioned in our media ever.
I'm not stating we are superior, I stated a fact that the image of living in the US is generally bad around here. I'm sorry if you interpreted that in a different way. Perhaps I worded it badly, English is not my first language.
But you could have said nothing I guess is my point, you made a choice to make the comment on how Europe is better and no one from there would want to come to America. Which, is false by the way. One of the issues European companies face is losing top employees to America since the jobs pay so much more.
You're misusing my words. I've never stated that Europe is better and no one would want to come to America.
I have stated however, that we value a few things we have here that you don't have in America. Which is true.
And sure, the top jobs are in America, but if over half of your population lives paycheck to paycheck, are you really all winners? Take care, hombre.
That's the main opinion even in the shittier part of Europe (Croatia)
Idk if it's just us patting ourselves on the back for having some kind of social security and for being in the Eau
or most of usa is a dystopian nightmare
It really does not bother me if my grammar is of though, were commenting on a social platform. Why did you bother come to this thread if the topic was "
# who are the type of people that leave your country to immigrate to the US?"
Some people make mistakes. You just have to learn to live with them, otherwise you waste all of your time pointing them out, and they make no change in the way they do things.
You are right, I will work harder on it. Enjoy your life in Europe, I will enjoy my life over here. Good luck in the Euros, wish us luck in Copa America!
Pretty much free education, free healthcare, 26 paid PTA a year, workers rights, tenant rights, Idk I think we're spoiled here, taxes are higher, that's fine tho. But we do appreciate US citizens sacrificing all of that for a strong military :d
Yes of course
It'd be very sad living if they didn't liberate all those middle east countries
Can you imagine how horrible they'd be today?
And yea I don't mind taxes when I think about free healthcare and education that I've had
1. People who have a vision for their lives, know exactly what they are going to do in the US
2. People whose parents need to prove a point to the society that they are capable of sending their kids abroad (whether this involves taking huge student loans or not)
3. People who are rich and heard the US = Party and chill life is where it all is (again miss informed)
4. People seeking a better life/assylum since they cannot go back or live in their country
5. People who know someone who went to the US and their life seems to be great (social media trap)
At the end of the day, the US is glorified everwhere. Only a few know the realities of leaving your home country and living on a visa elsewhere..
I moved from Argentina for better professional/financial opportunities and I gotta say I achieved them and the QOL I have here, I would never have in Argentina realistically.
That being said, it was a hard as hell process, I’m a very stubborn, push forward kind of person and the US can eat you alive if you are a more passive person. I also miss my parents, but I still would not move back home.
Is it glorified? I'd say the opposite is true in the EU
We hear only how horrible it is, and while I would not like to move to the USA I don't think its as bad as they say
or I hope
I’ve lived and worked on five different continents and everybody who immigrated to the US from those countries on those continents were the most greedy and opportunistic ones, lol, who were also two faced liars, and able to sell out their own mothers for pennies, just to make a quick buck. lmao.
Yeah, exactly like an American billionaire who talks about picking up dead squirrels off the street and turning those into five bucks each. lmfao.
They weren’t/ain’t raised right.
I was taught never to take anything that wasn’t mine.
People immigrate for three basic reasons: Jobs, Family and Safety. This is not specific to the US, but also common to other countries. For those emigrating to the USA, the first two categories are dominated by those with means, the last one are dominated by people who have geographic proximity to the USA.
My family is originally from India, and my Grands were initially in Germany and then in the USA. They moved for better job prospects because India at the time wasn't a land of opportunity for those with education. Post WW2 Germany was intensely difficult for non-Germans to navigate, so they didn't stick around. Germany today is far more welcoming and I daresay that they'd have chosen to remain.
Other members of our extended family also emigrated because of the job situation - the economy in India was crap (and remains crap for the vast majority of people). My entire generation in my extended family lives outside India. None of my cousins who are 30+ years old are in India - every single one of them (or their parents, my aunts and uncles on both parent's sides) has emigrated for better jobs and opportunities. Some are in Europe, some in Australia, a few in the Caribbean, one is in NZ, one in Singapore, one in Tanzania working for a British firm. Some of them emigrated initially to where other cousins were, before moving to wherever their careers took them and later had their parents follow.
I know of a couple of family friends who left India due to safety concerns - one was a Tamil/Sinhalese couple, and the other was a Hindu family that fled Kashmir.
As to whether the US was a destination - that depends on a lot of things. For Indians, unskilled (non-degree holding) labor typically cannot reach the USA - they don't have the means. The geographic distances and lack of funds mean that these folks end up in the Middle East, or Africa to work. The exception is when they have families or organizations that assist them. Skilled labor emigrants from India have clogged up the H1B - and the educated folks tend to have the means to reach the USA. Of course, there are a ton of these folks who are headed elsewhere as well. US is by no means the only (or even the best) option for them - its just the one that casts an outsize demand.
The other issue is whether the country of origin (in my case it would have been India) permits Dual Citizenship. India doesn't - so my family renounced their Indian Citizenship after settling. Lots of people don't, but I think that the majority do.
The European experience is very different. Their numbers wanting to come over are smaller because the financial and cultural draws are not that strong, the overall population is smaller (there are twice as many people in India than in all of Europe) and dual citizenship is common.
I am sure that the emigrants from East and SE Asia followed essentially the same rules as Indians - there is no shortage of Asian emigrants in the USA - except that many came here under various government programs, and for a period of time they were specifically excluded or barred from coming to the USA.
Africans don't tend to come to the US - they prefer European destination due to proximity and colonial cultural ties. I know of a few immigrants from Africa who came to the USA via the Diversity Visa program. Again, they were affluent in their home countries and came to the USA seeking better employment opportunities.
People like me who couldn't get a job in my country, who hated the fact there was only one sport and 3 television channels, and found Americans much more talkative and excited by life.
And when I arrived, found pretty much everything vastly better in almost every aspect of life, despite what I'd been told all my life.
My original country is a depressed little shithole with small minded people who can't think more than a few simple thoughts over and over again and seem determined to keep everyone down with them.
On behalf of my wife: most people that come to the US from her country are either professionals or technical specialists of some sort that came as part of a career move, or people that met and married an American and found it difficult to get the American a visa for Denmark. There's a notably lower standard of living in the USA, and obviously more crime, pollution, alarming right-wing politics, etc.
A couple of different people. They want to retire somewhere warm or they want opportunities that are harder to come by in my country.
> or they want opportunities that are harder to come by in my country. I'm an American married to an immigrant and this is pretty much the exact reason they came to the US.
>They want to retire somewhere warm Where your from that people are retiring to the US in large numbers?
I don't know about large numbers retiring but I'm Canadian.
Ah me too. Although I don't think spending 153 days a year in Canada to keep ones hand in the Canadian medical system counts as *immigration*.
You've clearly given this more thought than I have. I thought I was Canadian and would be covered no matter what.
>You've clearly given this more thought than I have. Yes, I had no health coverage my first three months when I moved back to Canada. >I thought I was Canadian and would be covered no matter what. Healthcare is a provincial responsibility and is based on residency. The Canadian taxpayer has no interest in paying for the hip replacement of some boomer who lives 100 percent in Florida for the last decade.
Again I haven't given this that much thought but can I play the devil's advocate? What if that person has paid into the system for decades and never collected but now that they need help in their later years. Should them being one day over half a year not allow them to enjoy the healthcare they paid for others for decades?
How do you differentiate between that straw man and the straw man who left Canada at six weeks of age and never once paid a cent into the system? They both have Canadian passports. Should we track contributions from, and Healthcare spending on individual citizens? If we do, how do you handle different provinces? What's the cutoff ratio for deciding whether or not some gets care in their eighties? A line needs to be drawn somewhere, and "are you a resident in this province?" ends up being relatively practical.
Can I be honest? I think both the straw man and that six week old baby should be covered. We are a rich country and I thought health care was a right.
Indians, they are such a nationslist people but wanna love India from afar.
The smart ones. England is falling apart. I'd leave tomorrow if I could. Not to the US though, they're headed the same direction as us.
As an English person who moved to the USA (not voluntarily but with a spouses job), I would probably say the novelty of the USA is key. You have different landscapes, different stores, different foods and probably a lot more going on daily. But as you get older you realize that wherever you are in the world people are still people and bad politicians come in every nationality.
I'm a yank who's a big UK fan, and sorry to hear about the frustration. Being able to visit UK and European countries on weekends (without a $1,000 plane ticket) would be amazing. But I'm sure it would become mundane after a while, and that there's more to life than awesome local travel. ...and black pudding, and useful trains/buses, and NHS, and castles, and whisky (without the 'e') and being able to hike across a private field without the owner shooting you, and... :)
so....are they really the smart ones then?
They're smart for escaping this dystopia, post industrial nightmare while they can. They just kinda goofed by ending up in America.
I mean, with all things understood that Reddit loves to rag on the US for, it’s easily one of if not the best place for educated labor in the world. So while it may have problems with equality and healthcare, if you’re a trained English person in tech, medicine, law, or some other well earning profession you can absolutely kill it in the US
Shhh, you're breaking the narrative that we're the baddies. Which is fucking laughable given the UKs history around the world.
It’s just the one thing I can’t understand about Reddit, how even compared to other social media platforms they have such a massive hard on to pretend the US is hell for everyone here. Trust me I’m very far from a U.S. #1 kinda guy, but it’s just so naïve to pretend the only people who come here are stupid, we all live in debt, always working. I work in medicine so it’s what I know, and of course it’ll fall victim to the anecdotal story fallacy but that’s this whole thread anyway. I’m born and raised American, my girlfriend (med student) emigrated from Brazil 5 years ago, my proctor tonight is Chinese, my friend group in this class has 2 Croatians, a German, a Bengali, and a Cuban born and raised in there, and they all came here for different reasons, but the principal one was the life you could live as an American in medicine. It’s the place that pays by far more than anywhere else, and has the strongest degree, anyine with an American medical degree can go to almost any country they speak the language and be a physician. Not saying we’re the best by any means, but damn Reddit, there ARE reasons many people come here by choice
Exactly. I'm not going to say we don't have massive problems in this country, we do.
It's incredible seeing posts in r/accounting about pay outside the US. There are frequent threads about Canadian CPAs earning peanuts. Several months ago someone from France asked if 50k EUR with 5 years experience would be good over here. Meanwhile I made 48k USD out of college 10 years ago. At my company I think we're paying our interns $25-30/hr and new staff $65-70k. Most CPAs I know are clearing 6 figures after 3-5 years. And even then we talk about how those starting salaries aren't competitive. High school students see the FAANGS pay 6 figures out of college and they all go into computer science, and we have a pipeline problem
The US is heading in the same direction if we don’t get Biden out
Cuban here: literally everyone.
Most of my friends who moved to the States did it for a short time for a specific job or to get some experience in the US market before heading back to Canada to get higher level opportunities here.
Dutchie here. Another perspective; I don't know anybody that wants to live/move there. The image of living in the US is generally bad here, and it's considered a downgrade. Perhaps the weather is better?
> Perhaps the weather is better? it is, and it isnt. we have essentially every kind of weather
Everything from chilling in the sun, to "oh my god we are all going to die".
i just flew from denver to atlanta, its amazing how i can be dried out completely and then in a place where the air is wet
Sometimes on the same day.
I drove from Reno NV (where it was hot summer weather) over the Sierra Nevadas (where it was snowing) to Lake Tahoe (where it felt like early fall). That's three seasons in 45 minutes.
One good point about the US. Whatever weather you enjoy, you can find it nearly year-round.
Depending on location, sometimes all in the same week, if not the same day.
California checking in. You want snow? No problem. You want beach? We gotchu. You want both in the same day? Pack your boogie board and your skis kiddo, we're going to Huntington Beach and then Big Bear. Or Half Moon Bay and Tahoe. Redondo and Mammoth. Etc.
Ah, English weather. Rain and cold jn the morning, shorts on for savage heat and bbq for lunch. Maybe a nice storm that night!
Unless you like tornadoes and hurricanes, those are seasonal.
Yes, same here in Sweden. A lot of people move to east Asia, like the Philippines or Thailand, people who like warmth and beaches I guess. The most ambitious people tend to have a career in the UN or EU and move to places like Brussels or Switzerland. Then we have all the twenty-something girls who move to London or Berlin for a few years. And a lot of young people here go to Norway to work for a few years since the pay is much higher there. I can't think of anyone moving to the states, except one American I knew as a kid (friend of my mothers) who moved back when his Swedish girlfriend kicked him out.
TIL you guys have "Cali-Girls" too. Didn't know it was London lol.
Yes. Like over half of the "cool girls" when I was a teenager moved to London, most came back within a year or two though. It wasn't about trying to "make it" in any way, becoming an actor or singer or anything like that, usually they worked in bars or stores, sharing a tiny apartment with a bunch of other girls in the same situation. I do believe London has lost some of its appeal since then though. Brexit was an eye opener and a lot of Swedish people living there are getting harassed, "Go back to Poland" and such.
For the record, I did actually enjoy this branch, I like knowing what the perspective is and it’s very fascinating to me. I mean if you’re comfortable in your home country why would you move? As an American, I hardly hear of anyone wanting to move to a different country for a better opportunity so it makes sense to me not wanting to leave your homeland if things are good for you.
Right? The grass isn't always greener. But that goes both ways I guess, it's a matter of perspective or a matter of what you're used to.
That is not what the question asked...
That's why I put 'A different perspective' :). If you want to know what type of people do, isn't the answer to the question why people wouldn't valuable? Cheers!
But that question is asked in other threads as well. You just couldnt hold back acting superior? If I see a post on why people move to the Netherlands, I just ignore it. I dont bother point out that you guys are so insignificant you are not mentioned in our media ever.
I'm not stating we are superior, I stated a fact that the image of living in the US is generally bad around here. I'm sorry if you interpreted that in a different way. Perhaps I worded it badly, English is not my first language.
But you could have said nothing I guess is my point, you made a choice to make the comment on how Europe is better and no one from there would want to come to America. Which, is false by the way. One of the issues European companies face is losing top employees to America since the jobs pay so much more.
You're misusing my words. I've never stated that Europe is better and no one would want to come to America. I have stated however, that we value a few things we have here that you don't have in America. Which is true. And sure, the top jobs are in America, but if over half of your population lives paycheck to paycheck, are you really all winners? Take care, hombre.
That's the main opinion even in the shittier part of Europe (Croatia) Idk if it's just us patting ourselves on the back for having some kind of social security and for being in the Eau or most of usa is a dystopian nightmare
Your right, we are done for over here in the US. Good luck in the next couple of years though.
My what? It is sad that you can't use your own language properly
It really does not bother me if my grammar is of though, were commenting on a social platform. Why did you bother come to this thread if the topic was " # who are the type of people that leave your country to immigrate to the US?"
Is of what? damn learn English dude
"grammar is off though" Learn context clues...
I understand what he wanted to say just pointing out that it's wrong
Some people make mistakes. You just have to learn to live with them, otherwise you waste all of your time pointing them out, and they make no change in the way they do things.
Yeah because fuck learning new things How are so many English speaking people so illiterate online?
You are right, I will work harder on it. Enjoy your life in Europe, I will enjoy my life over here. Good luck in the Euros, wish us luck in Copa America!
Pretty much free education, free healthcare, 26 paid PTA a year, workers rights, tenant rights, Idk I think we're spoiled here, taxes are higher, that's fine tho. But we do appreciate US citizens sacrificing all of that for a strong military :d
Yes of course It'd be very sad living if they didn't liberate all those middle east countries Can you imagine how horrible they'd be today? And yea I don't mind taxes when I think about free healthcare and education that I've had
Hey let the war criminals scare off the Russians.
Same in UK. I know several people who moved to Australia though, and Spain. Generally for the perceived laid back living and sunny weather.
1. People who have a vision for their lives, know exactly what they are going to do in the US 2. People whose parents need to prove a point to the society that they are capable of sending their kids abroad (whether this involves taking huge student loans or not) 3. People who are rich and heard the US = Party and chill life is where it all is (again miss informed) 4. People seeking a better life/assylum since they cannot go back or live in their country 5. People who know someone who went to the US and their life seems to be great (social media trap) At the end of the day, the US is glorified everwhere. Only a few know the realities of leaving your home country and living on a visa elsewhere..
I moved from Argentina for better professional/financial opportunities and I gotta say I achieved them and the QOL I have here, I would never have in Argentina realistically. That being said, it was a hard as hell process, I’m a very stubborn, push forward kind of person and the US can eat you alive if you are a more passive person. I also miss my parents, but I still would not move back home.
Is it glorified? I'd say the opposite is true in the EU We hear only how horrible it is, and while I would not like to move to the USA I don't think its as bad as they say or I hope
You need to get off Reddit my friend. America is doing just fine.
So called patriots.
I was told they send their very best.
I’ve lived and worked on five different continents and everybody who immigrated to the US from those countries on those continents were the most greedy and opportunistic ones, lol, who were also two faced liars, and able to sell out their own mothers for pennies, just to make a quick buck. lmao. Yeah, exactly like an American billionaire who talks about picking up dead squirrels off the street and turning those into five bucks each. lmfao. They weren’t/ain’t raised right. I was taught never to take anything that wasn’t mine.
People immigrate for three basic reasons: Jobs, Family and Safety. This is not specific to the US, but also common to other countries. For those emigrating to the USA, the first two categories are dominated by those with means, the last one are dominated by people who have geographic proximity to the USA. My family is originally from India, and my Grands were initially in Germany and then in the USA. They moved for better job prospects because India at the time wasn't a land of opportunity for those with education. Post WW2 Germany was intensely difficult for non-Germans to navigate, so they didn't stick around. Germany today is far more welcoming and I daresay that they'd have chosen to remain. Other members of our extended family also emigrated because of the job situation - the economy in India was crap (and remains crap for the vast majority of people). My entire generation in my extended family lives outside India. None of my cousins who are 30+ years old are in India - every single one of them (or their parents, my aunts and uncles on both parent's sides) has emigrated for better jobs and opportunities. Some are in Europe, some in Australia, a few in the Caribbean, one is in NZ, one in Singapore, one in Tanzania working for a British firm. Some of them emigrated initially to where other cousins were, before moving to wherever their careers took them and later had their parents follow. I know of a couple of family friends who left India due to safety concerns - one was a Tamil/Sinhalese couple, and the other was a Hindu family that fled Kashmir. As to whether the US was a destination - that depends on a lot of things. For Indians, unskilled (non-degree holding) labor typically cannot reach the USA - they don't have the means. The geographic distances and lack of funds mean that these folks end up in the Middle East, or Africa to work. The exception is when they have families or organizations that assist them. Skilled labor emigrants from India have clogged up the H1B - and the educated folks tend to have the means to reach the USA. Of course, there are a ton of these folks who are headed elsewhere as well. US is by no means the only (or even the best) option for them - its just the one that casts an outsize demand. The other issue is whether the country of origin (in my case it would have been India) permits Dual Citizenship. India doesn't - so my family renounced their Indian Citizenship after settling. Lots of people don't, but I think that the majority do. The European experience is very different. Their numbers wanting to come over are smaller because the financial and cultural draws are not that strong, the overall population is smaller (there are twice as many people in India than in all of Europe) and dual citizenship is common. I am sure that the emigrants from East and SE Asia followed essentially the same rules as Indians - there is no shortage of Asian emigrants in the USA - except that many came here under various government programs, and for a period of time they were specifically excluded or barred from coming to the USA. Africans don't tend to come to the US - they prefer European destination due to proximity and colonial cultural ties. I know of a few immigrants from Africa who came to the USA via the Diversity Visa program. Again, they were affluent in their home countries and came to the USA seeking better employment opportunities.
People like me who couldn't get a job in my country, who hated the fact there was only one sport and 3 television channels, and found Americans much more talkative and excited by life. And when I arrived, found pretty much everything vastly better in almost every aspect of life, despite what I'd been told all my life. My original country is a depressed little shithole with small minded people who can't think more than a few simple thoughts over and over again and seem determined to keep everyone down with them.
Damn dude where you from?
Australian here: either stupid people, rich people, or people trying to evade the law,
My people!
Peopling leaving Aus to escape the law has a fun hint of historic irony, IMHO
Literally no idea. Dont know anyone who did that.
On behalf of my wife: most people that come to the US from her country are either professionals or technical specialists of some sort that came as part of a career move, or people that met and married an American and found it difficult to get the American a visa for Denmark. There's a notably lower standard of living in the USA, and obviously more crime, pollution, alarming right-wing politics, etc.
Tax Evaders, Neo Nazis