A Few Reasons Why Europe Is Better Than the US

Sorry, it’s true

Instead of an ordinary, boring map of Europe, I’m borrowing this much more fun map from jakubmarian.com. I live in the teally-blue country in the middle. únor means “at sinking” — the month when the ice breaks and sinks into the water. Spring comes earlier in Europe than in the US.

I was born and raised in the United States. I am an American. I will never not be an American. I left the US in 2012 to forge a new future for myself. As time passes, I find myself less and less connected to the land of my birth. Distance is part of that, definitely, but the US has sure helped dissuade me from my once positive attitude toward the country.

The last thing my spouse and I did before we went to the airport on September 20, 2012, was go to city hall and vote. It was our last day in the US and the first day for early voting, and we felt very fortunate to be able to vote. We have since lived in the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic (and voted by mail every US election since 2012 because we are US citizens and voting is our right and responsibility).

Travel broadens your mind and changes you. Living abroad really changes your perspective — for us, the changes have been for the better.

What I’m writing here isn’t an anti-American screed or political diatribe. From my new perspective of living in Europe for now 12 years (2012–2018 in the UK, 2018 to present in the Czech Republic), I’m seeing more clearly that the US is more than a bit lacking. The thing I’ve learned through living abroad is perspective, which helps me to see what is better or worse…