美網(wǎng)友：我真的很羨慕生活在歐洲的人。我覺得那里的生活比美國好太多了。這讓我很郁悶。那里的生活真的好嗎？

Bryan Caldwell
I’m a U.S. citizen living in the South of France. There are lots of little snags and problems for an American relocating here but, overall, it’s great. The pace of life is slower. I can live easily without a car (and all the related automobile expenses). Health care is excellent and very inexpensive (ridiculously inexpensive by U.S. standards). There’s much less crime than where I lived in the U.S., private gun ownership is almost unheard of. The food is excellent with much fresher food readily available. Distances are much shorter. In a very short time I can be in Monaco or Italy. A little longer and I can be in Spain, Portugal, England, Germany, or Switzerland. Public transportation is clean, efficient, reliable and cheap. People are generally kind and helpful. I still struggle with the language and the French are sticklers for paperwork and bureaucracy, but if you’re patient everything seems to work out. Everyone looks for different things in life, but I’m very happy with the life I’ve found here.

我是美國公民，住在法國南部。
對于一個移居到這里的美國人而言，雖然會遇到很多小麻煩，但總的來說，這里很棒。
這里的生活節(jié)奏比較慢，即使沒有車（以及所有與汽車相關(guān)的費用），我也能輕松生活。
醫(yī)療保健非常優(yōu)質(zhì)，而且價格低廉（以美國的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來看，簡直低得可笑）。
這里的犯罪率比我在美國居住的地方低得多，私人擁有槍支幾乎聞所未聞。
這里的食物很棒，而且隨時都能吃到更新鮮的食物。
路途也短得多。我可以在很短的時間內(nèi)到達摩納哥或意大利。再過一段時間，我就能到達西班牙、葡萄牙、英國、德國或瑞士。公共交通干凈、高效、可靠且價格低廉。人們普遍都很友善，樂于助人。
我的語言能力還有待提高，而且法國人對文書工作和官僚主義非常嚴(yán)格，但只要你耐心等待，一切似乎都會迎刃而解。每個人對生活的追求都不同，但我對在這里找到的生活非常滿意。


Robert Hill
Surely it depends on what you want out of life and what your priorities are?
I've been on Reddit a lot recently and I've read a good number of posts from Americans either living in already, or thinking about moving to, the UK or Ireland and they were all gushing about the place. And I had to laugh because those same sub-Reddits were filled with Brits and Irish people talking about how our respective countries have gone to the dogs.
Either the gushing Americans were super well-off and able to inoculate themselves against the travails of regular British and Irish people, they were living in a self-imposed fantasy land/bubble in which they closed their eyes to all our problems, or, in spite of all the problems, they still preferred living over this side of the water.
I mean, I'm sure any of the above three explanations can apply to Americans who move here and don't end up brow-beaten by the realities of life.
Ultimately, life here is quite good for most of the time, but there are serious issues that plague our societies and many of us still suffer under the worst ravages of capitalism just like they do down your ends.
Also, Europe is, relatively speaking, stagnating when it comes to technology and innovation. I know the bigwigs in Brussels and London want to change that by investing trillions into deadly weaponry, but you can fuck that for a banana butty. But, if you are someone who wants a dynamic business environment with lots of scope for entrepreneurship, you might find yourself a little underwhelmed by what is on offer in Europe relative to the States or parts of East Asia.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, you might indeed find your place in Europe, just like those Americans on Reddit did, but be prepared for a healthy dose of reality. Maybe your life will be better than it is in the States, but there's no guarantee of that.
In either case, I wish you luck.

這當(dāng)然取決于你想從生活中得到什么，以及你的優(yōu)先事項是什么。
我最近經(jīng)常上Reddit，看到很多美國人的帖子，他們要么已經(jīng)在英國或愛爾蘭生活，要么正在考慮搬到那里，他們都對那里贊不絕口。我不禁笑了，因為同樣的Reddit子版塊里，充斥著英國人和愛爾蘭人，他們在談?wù)撐覀兏髯缘膰沂侨绾嗡〉摹?br /> 要么這些熱情洋溢的美國人非常富裕，能夠免受普通英國人和愛爾蘭人所經(jīng)歷的苦難。要么他們生活在一個自我強加的幻想世界/泡沫中，對我們所有的問題視而不見。要么，盡管存在所有這些問題，他們?nèi)匀桓矚g住在海的那一邊。
我的意思是，我相信以上三種解釋中的任何一種都適用于那些搬到這里，最終沒有被現(xiàn)實生活嚇倒的美國人。
歸根結(jié)底，這里的生活大部分時間都相當(dāng)不錯，但也存在一些嚴(yán)重的問題困擾著我們的社會，我們中的許多人仍然在遭受資本主義最嚴(yán)重的摧殘，就像你們一樣。
此外，歐洲在技術(shù)和創(chuàng)新方面相對停滯不前。我知道布魯塞爾和倫敦的巨頭們想通過投資數(shù)萬億美元研發(fā)致命武器來改變這種狀況，但只要有一塊香蕉三明治，這些都無所謂。但是，如果你渴望一個充滿活力、擁有廣闊創(chuàng)業(yè)空間的商業(yè)環(huán)境，你可能會發(fā)現(xiàn)，與美國或東亞部分地區(qū)相比，歐洲的條件會略顯遜色。
總之，我想說的是，你或許真的能在歐洲找到自己的位置，就像Reddit上的那些美國人一樣，但要做好面對現(xiàn)實的準(zhǔn)備。也許你的生活會比在美國更好，但這并不能保證。
無論如何，我都祝你好運。

Dave
I am a US citizen living in Portugal. I have a smile on my face every day I wake up. Things are so much nicer here, like not worrying about getting shot every time you go out. I walk alone at 2 in the morning without a care in my mind. Going out to eat here is much healthier. Portugal people use about 10% of processed food compared to the US, which is about 75%. When we go out to eat, we usually spend about 20–40 euros for an appetizer, main, dessert, and a bottle of wine for the two of us. I pay 165 euros for my property tax on a 2+2 condo, and my condo fee is 30 euros. Our health insurance is just over 200 euros for both of us, and we get appointments within a day or two. So, yes, life is so much better than the knife and gun club dictatorship they now call the US.

我是一名居住在葡萄牙的美國公民。
每天醒來，我都面帶微笑。這里的生活好太多了，比如每次出門都不用擔(dān)心被槍殺。我凌晨兩點獨自散步，無憂無慮。
在這里外出就餐更健康。葡萄牙人食用的加工食品約為10%，而美國人約為75%。我們外出就餐時，通常會花大約20-40歐元，包括一份開胃菜、一份主菜、一份甜點和一瓶葡萄酒（兩人份）。
我租了一套2+2的公寓，房產(chǎn)稅是165歐元，公寓費是30歐元。我們兩人的健康保險略高于200歐元，而且我們一兩天內(nèi)就能預(yù)約。
所以，是的，這里的生活比現(xiàn)在被稱為美國實際是個刀槍俱樂部且具有獨裁統(tǒng)治的地方要好得多。


John Carlton
Well, I’m an American who lives in Europe full-time. Relax. Things are different, but I wouldn’t say life is “better” overall. Depends what kind of person you are, what stage of life you’re in, and what sorts of things you value.
As President Coolidge famously said, “The business of America is business.” This is sorta the root of everything. The USA is not like other countries: it’s more an idea than a place. People came from everywhere in order to achieve a better life. So the population is a “sifted sample”, in statistical terms. It’s not random. You’ve got the descendants of strivers. So it’s more competitive. And that changes everything. In the USA, there’s more winning and losing going on. There’s more creating. There are fewer rules. It’s easier to change things. Even systems and processes, in the USA, are designed to accommodate and facilitate change. Americans are mobile. In the perpetual tug-o’-war between liberty and equality, the USA is among the very few places on earth where “l(fā)iberty” (individual freedom) is prized slightly higher than equality. In the USA, it’s very clear, every single day, that the government derives its power from the people. The government serves the populace. In the USA, the ideal is that discomfort associated with change and growth is largely GOOD.
European countries are very different. People find themselves there — by and large — because they and their ancestors were born there. They come FROM there. They are OF that place. That place is THEIR place. The most ardent strivers mostly left, and the populace is decidedly less mobile. Life is less about competition and achievement and more about assuring a medium-to-high-quality existence for all. Systems and processes are designed to assure that change is controlled, monitored, and — mostly — prevented. There’s much more an attitude that the government holds power OVER the people. And they like it this way! Europeans like having a superordinate body whose job it is to make sure nobody gets out-of-line — too far ahead of anybody else. It gives them comfort to live in a more egalitarian, more mono-class society. There’s more of a focus on conformity to local norms. It’s less admired to “stick out”. In European countries, the discomfort associated with change and difference is largely considered to be BAD and to be avoided. The COMFORT that comes from conformity and similarity is highly prized.
OK, yes, I’m “painting with a broad brush” here. But I’ve lived in the USA, and I’ve lived now for extended periods of time in 4 different European countries. And I’ve found these sorts of broad differences to hold pretty much true.
So, yeah, one of these cultural models may suit YOU, individually, more or less than the other. And, of course, it’s actually a spectrum, with extremes and middles. But that doesn’t make one or the other good or bad, in any absolute sense. So choose!
When we find ourselves in the situation where our Reality does not match our Vision (ie. where you have described yourself being), we have 3 choices:
Change Reality: make a change in our real world that causes Reality to conform more to our Vision.
Change our Vision: learn and adopt a new perspective that allows us to be content and happy with the Reality we have.
Suffer: if we decide to live perpetually in a Reality that does not conform to our Vision, we have chosen to suffer.
The choice is yours!

嗯，我是一個長期生活在歐洲的美國人。別緊張。情況確實不同，但我不會說生活總體上“更好”。
這取決于你是什么樣的人，你處于人生的哪個階段，以及你重視什么樣的事物。
正如柯立芝總統(tǒng)的名言：“美國的正經(jīng)事就是做生意。”
這可以說是一切的根源。美國與其他國家不同：它與其說是一個地方，不如說是一種理念。
人們從四面八方涌來，為的是追求更好的生活。所以從統(tǒng)計學(xué)的角度來看，美國人口是一個“篩選樣本”。它不是隨機的。你擁有奮斗者的后代。所以競爭更激烈。這改變了一切。在美國，勝敗更多。創(chuàng)造更多。規(guī)則更少。改變更容易。在美國，即使是制度和流程，也是為了適應(yīng)和促進變革而設(shè)計的。美國人流動性很大。在自由與平等永無休止的拉鋸戰(zhàn)中，美國是地球上極少數(shù)將“自由”（個人自由）置于平等之上的國家之一。在美國，政府的權(quán)力源于人民，這一點顯而易見，日復(fù)一日。政府服務(wù)于民眾。在美國，理想是與變革和發(fā)展相關(guān)的，變革帶來的不適感在很大程度上是好事。
歐洲國家則截然不同。人們之所以會在那里——總體而言——是因為他們和他們的祖先在那里出生。他們來自那里。他們屬于那里。那里是他們的家園。最熱忱的奮斗者大多離開了，而民眾的流動性明顯較小。生活不再關(guān)乎競爭和成就，而更多地關(guān)乎確保所有人都過上中高品質(zhì)的生活。系統(tǒng)和流程的設(shè)計旨在確保變革得到控制、監(jiān)控，并且——大多數(shù)情況下——得到預(yù)防。人們更多地認(rèn)為政府掌握著凌駕于人民之上的權(quán)力。而且他們喜歡這種狀態(tài)！歐洲人喜歡有一個上級機構(gòu)，其職責(zé)是確保沒有人越界——超越其他人太多。這讓他們可以安心地生活在一個更加平等、階級更加單一的社會中。他們更注重遵守當(dāng)?shù)匾?guī)范。“與眾不同”則不太被受推崇。在歐洲國家，變革和差異帶來的不適感通常被認(rèn)為是不好的，應(yīng)該避免。而由一致性和相似性帶來的舒適感則備受推崇。
好吧，是的，我在這里“泛泛而談”。但我在美國生活過，現(xiàn)在又在四個不同的歐洲國家生活了很長時間。我發(fā)現(xiàn)這些廣泛的差異幾乎是真實存在的。
所以，是的，這些文化模式中的一種可能更適合你個人，也可能比另一種更不適合你。當(dāng)然，它實際上是一個光譜，有極端也有中間。但這并不能絕對地決定其中一種或另一種的好壞。所以，選擇吧！
當(dāng)我們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的現(xiàn)實與愿景不符時（即你所描述的自我現(xiàn)狀），我們有三個選擇：
1、改變現(xiàn)實：改變我們的現(xiàn)實世界，使現(xiàn)實更符合我們的愿景。
2、改變我們的愿景：學(xué)習(xí)并接受一種新的視角，讓我們對現(xiàn)有的現(xiàn)實感到滿足和快樂。
3、承受痛苦：如果我們決定永遠生活在與愿景不符的現(xiàn)實中，我們就必須選擇承受痛苦。
選擇權(quán)在你手中！


Pat Brown
It all depends on who you are, where you live, and what you want. I lived in Denmark for six months at age 23 and hated it. Hated the cold, the dark, the bland expensive food, the dreadful bland pastries. I found it was a very racist country at the time (in 1976) and I got along better with my Kenyan, Turkish, and British friends than with Danes.
Having said that, this was just MY perspective at that point in time in my life. I also disliked Paris when I traveled through there and quite liked it three years ago when I went to visit again. I don’t know what living there would be like but I loved the look of the city, the walking avenues, the cafes, the food, the wine, the bread, the cheese, the coffee…..
Every experience is different depending on so many circumstances. Are you married or single? Do you like the country or the city? Can you work or are you retiring? Does the place have your kind of food or weather?
For myself, at 65, I have found three places that might work for me outside of the state I live in in the US. Hawai’i because I love the weather and the laid back atmosphere, the culture, and the ability to have beach, mountains, and every sort of landscape within an island or just a hop over to the next one. If I moved, I would not buy a home, but likely just rent a room or part of a home. I don’t need much. I would have to see if actually living there would work or not.
Mexico is another choice. I have been there many times and I like the cities and towns. I would have to figure out exactly what would be best for me. I prefer a non tourist area. I like the warm weather spots, the friendly people, the fresh vegetables and fruit and I could do okay although I am not sure the culture really fits me although I enjoy aspects of it.
My top choice is India. I doubt this would have worked for me in my younger years but in retirement, it might be a good choice. I can find a place to rent very cheaply (I don’t need fancy amenities), food is cheap, and transport is cheap. I could live very well on social security alone. I love the culture - the clothes, the music, the movies, the way people do pretty much everything in groups, and the respect I get as a senior citizen (I like being called “Madam” and not “Honey.”) I have found one city which seems to fit my requirements for living there; Indore. It is warm enough, people speak Hindi which I am studying, they have pickle ball and table tennis - two sports I love, and a school for the Deaf I could work or volunteer at for something to do. If I move there, will I like it? I have no idea. Visiting and living somewhere are two different issues. Sometimes visiting is fine, but living is not so good, and sometimes visiting is too short a time, a living there changes everything.
You will simply have to test a place out and see how it goes.
Having said that, don’t believe the hype that living in Europe is so much better than living in the US. The US is a pretty fine place to live and Europe is not a paradise. Each has its positives and negatives, again, depending on circumstances. Don’t feel you are necessarily missing something, but there is nothing wrong either with checking it out.

這完全取決于你是誰，你住在哪里，以及你想要什么。
我23歲時在丹麥住了六個月，我討厭那里。討厭那里的寒冷、黑暗、乏味昂貴的食物，以及難吃又乏味的糕點。我發(fā)現(xiàn)當(dāng)時（1976年），丹麥?zhǔn)且粋€非常種族歧視的國家，我和肯尼亞、土耳其和英國朋友相處得比和丹麥朋友好。
話雖如此，這只是我當(dāng)時人生中的看法。我以前路過巴黎時也不喜歡那里，但三年前我再次去巴黎時卻很喜歡。我不知道在那里生活會是什么樣子，但我喜歡這座城市的風(fēng)貌、步行街、咖啡館、美食、美酒、面包、奶酪、咖啡……
每一次經(jīng)歷都會因各種因素而有所不同。
你是已婚還是單身？你喜歡這個國家還是這座城市？你能工作嗎？還是已經(jīng)退休了？那里有你喜歡的食物或氣候嗎？
就我本人而言，今年65歲，除了我在美國居住的州之外，我找到了三個可能適合我的地方。
夏威夷，因為我喜歡那里的氣候、悠閑的氛圍、文化，以及擁有沙灘、山脈和各種島嶼景觀，有需要的時候，可以輕松前往下一個島嶼。如果我搬家，我不會買房，很可能只是租一個房間或部分房屋。我不需要太多。我得看看在那里生活是否合適。
墨西哥是另一個選擇。我去過那里很多次，喜歡那里的城市和城鎮(zhèn)。我必須弄清楚什么最適合我。我更喜歡非旅游區(qū)。我喜歡那里溫暖的氣候、友好的人民、新鮮的蔬菜和水果，雖然我不確定那里的文化是否真的適合我，但我還是可以接受的，因為我喜歡那里的某些方面。
我的首選是印度。年輕的時候，我懷疑并不適合我。但退休后，這可能是一個不錯的選擇。我可以找到非常便宜的租房（我不需要豪華的設(shè)施），食物和交通都很便宜。僅靠社會保障金，我就能過得很好。我喜歡那里的文化——服飾、音樂、電影、人們幾乎做什么事都喜歡聚在一起，以及我作為老年人所受到的尊重（我喜歡被稱為“夫人”而不是“親愛的”）。我找到了一個似乎符合我居住要求的城市：印多爾。那里氣候溫暖，我正在學(xué)習(xí)的印地語，他們有匹克球和乒乓球——這兩項運動我都很喜歡，還有一所聾啞學(xué)校，我可以在那里工作或做志愿者。如果我搬到那里，我會喜歡嗎？我不知道。參觀和居住是兩碼事。有時候參觀還不錯，但居住并不那么好，有時候參觀的時間太短，在那里居住會改變一切看法。
你需要去一個地方體驗一下，看看情況如何。
話雖如此，也別輕信那些“在歐洲生活比在美國好太多”的宣傳。美國確實是一個相當(dāng)不錯的居住地，而歐洲也并非天堂。兩者各有優(yōu)缺點，同樣，要視具體情況而定。不必擔(dān)心自己錯過了什么，但去看看也無妨。

Colin Riegels
It sounds like you may have unrealistic ideals about what ‘life in Europe’ is like. Don’t get me wrong - I live in Europe and I am very fond of it. But Europe is not some kind of giant Disneyland. There are nice bits, but there are also plenty of not-so-nice bits (much like America - it’s a big place). The key - in either place - is to get your self in a situation that makes you happy and where you can enjoy the things in life that matter to you.

聽起來你可能對“歐洲生活”抱有不切實際的理想。別誤會——我就住在歐洲，而且我非常喜歡這里。但歐洲并非什么巨型迪士尼樂園。那里有美好的事物，但也有很多不那么美好的地方（就像美國一樣——它很大）。無論在哪里，關(guān)鍵在于讓自己處于一個讓你快樂的環(huán)境，讓你能夠享受生活中那些對你來說重要的事情。

Mark Giraud
It all depends on what you want in life. If you want to get a job, learn an industry and eventually compete in the industry to build generational wealth, you can’t beat the USA. I am not even sure if that can be done in Europe.
If you are less focused on financial achievement and just want good food and more recreation, Europe is better. Germany has the best healthcare in the world. It’s not free, but it’s cheaper than in the US. The free healthcare in other European countries has drawbacks. If you like going to the hospital for free France and Northern Italy are pretty good. You can definitely eat a more healthy diet more affordability in most European countries. You can really live cheap in a country like Albania. America has become very expensive.
It’s much easier in European countries to shut everyone and everything down. Public transportation can go on strike and the economy can just stop. The US government has a harder time shutting us down especially in Texas and Florida. The employee gets a better deal in Europe. The Employer gets a better deal in the US. The US will always have more businesses and therefore less unemployment.

這完全取決于你的人生目標(biāo)。如果你想找到一份工作，學(xué)習(xí)一個行業(yè)，并最終在該行業(yè)中競爭，積累世代財富，那么沒有地方可以打敗美國。我甚至懷疑在歐洲是否能夠做到這一點。
如果你不太注重財務(wù)成就，只想要美食和更多娛樂，歐洲更適合你。德國擁有世界上最好的醫(yī)療保健。它不是免費的，但比美國便宜。其他歐洲國家的免費醫(yī)療也有缺點。如果你喜歡免費去醫(yī)院，法國和意大利北部地區(qū)就很不錯。在大多數(shù)歐洲國家，你絕對可以吃得更健康、更實惠。在阿爾巴尼亞這樣的國家，你真的可以生活得很便宜。而美國的生活成本已經(jīng)變得非常高昂。
在歐洲國家，關(guān)閉所有設(shè)施要容易得多。公共交通可以罷工，經(jīng)濟也可以停滯。美國政府很難讓我們停擺，尤其是在德克薩斯州和佛羅里達州。在歐洲，員工的待遇更好。在美國，雇主的待遇更好。美國的企業(yè)數(shù)量將永遠更多，失業(yè)率也將更低。