The American Lifestyle is Unsustainable
Everyone is chronically in debt up to their eyeballs just to be able to live
Do you have to pay your bills with a credit card just to be able to stay afloat? You aren’t alone.
Since moving to Germany, and being debt free, I realize just how unsustainable our lifestyle was in the US.
Now, we can eat out weekly, and have coffee in nice cafes with out having to worry about money. We have a paid-off car, and are about to have a paid-off house. That would never have happened in the US.
We get locked into mortgages where we pay mostly interest, and it takes up the bulk of our earnings. Our paychecks never feel like they are enough. We struggle just to survive.
Mounting Cost of Living
Over the past few decades, the cost of living in the US is on the rise. Right now, inflation is out of control.
Wages have not increased to meet these rising costs.
According to The White House,
Over the last three decades, American families have experienced a rise in the costs of many necessities that has made it difficult for them to attain economic security. Researchers estimate, for example, that 80 percent of families saw the share of budgets dedicated to spending on needs such as housing and health care increase by more than 7 percentage points between 1984 and 2014, potentially crowding out spending on other categories like leisure, longer-term investments in education, and saving for retirement.[1] Further, a 2019 Pew survey found that 35 percent of middle-income families frequently worry about paying their bills; similarly, 37 percent worry about the cost of health care for themselves and their families.
Rising costs of living in the US is something that the government is quite well aware of. Yet, these issues still remain.
There were stimulus payments to citizens because of COVID-19 that amounted to a month’s worth of bills if you were lucky.
The Great Resignation is also a sign that something is badly wrong, and many employers are scrambling for workers. The problem in many of these cases is low wages for difficult jobs, like in the service industry.
And, things aren’t getting better. If anything, they are getting worse.
According to Time,
The April consumer price index, which measures changes in the cost of food, housing, gasoline, utilities, and other goods, rose by 8.3% over the past 12 months — below the surge recorded in March but still running near a 40-year-high. Prices were up 0.3% in April, less than the 0.2% estimate, according to the report.
This is an astronomical change that is leaving many US families scrambling to make ends meet. What are you really supposed to do when you can’t afford to buy food or gas?
Life Abroad is an Alternative
Living abroad is becoming a better and better option as things in the US are generally going downhill, and quality of life is declining.
According to Aetna,
The U.S. government doesn’t formally track how many Americans leave the U.S. but the most recent estimate puts the figure at nearly nine million. This figure represents a doubling of the 1999 figure, placed at 4.1 million. The number of expats has more than doubled in the last fifteen years — a number growing faster than the rate of the U.S. population itself.
You can see from the numbers that my family isn’t alone. There are many people that are leaving the US for a better life somewhere else.
Cost of living in many countries abroad is better than it is in the US. You can find a regular job and not need to have three different side hustles just to barely make ends meet.
According to Travel and Leisure,
A major factor, if not the most important one, when considering a move abroad is the cost of living. This umbrella term covers the price of housing, of course, but also health care, taxes, and tax incentives, as well as transportation, and prices for things like internet, groceries, shopping, dining, and even your daily cappuccino. If budget is a concern, look beyond the biggest city and capital of the country you are interested in and consider smaller cities and up-and-coming tech hubs where you can find lower prices and, potentially, a better quality of life, depending on your style.
This is exactly what we are doing. Instead of living in a big city here in Germany, we are moving to a small village so that we can live in a house that is paid off.
The house that we are buying costs about 1/5 the price of buying a house in the US. It will need some remodeling, but so did our house in Colorado. So really, that is no change in our situation.
What Are the Best Countries to Move to?
This may depend on what stage of life you are at and what your goals are with moving abroad. If you are retiring or able to work online, it will give you freedom to live wherever you choose quite easily.
If you are looking for in-person work, you will need to make more careful considerations based on your profession.
According to Travel and Leisure, the top 10 countries to move to are:
- Portugal
- Costa Rica
- South Korea
- Canada
- Austria
- Ghana
- Singapore
- Sweden
- New Zealand
- Spain
Although Germany isn’t on this list, I would highly recommend life here too, if you are willing to learn to speak the language.
Out of the countries on this list, several are English speaking. So, if you don’t want to learn a new language that may be a good choice for you.
Before you move, I highly recommend doing your research about the culture and the political and economic climate of the country that you are moving to. You will want to spend some time learning about the country to see if it is a good fit for you.
You can read more about our story, or watch our videos about the move to Germany to get a better idea about what is involved in a move abroad, and see if this might be something that is right for you.
According to Culture Trip,
The cost of higher education in Germany is significantly lower than in the USA, with most universities being tuition-free even for foreigners, and the standards are exceptionally high, making it a coveted choice for students. Moreover, Germany’s super-strong economy and low population level have created a perennial demand for skilled workers and a nominal unemployment level, which is the reason many American students choose to continue living and working in Germany after obtaining their degree, which Germany facilitates. Also, Germany’s top-class healthcare facilities are much more affordable than in the USA, and maternity and paternity leave structures are several times more attractive.
From everything we have seen so far, we couldn’t agree more. Germany is a great place for families to live. So, if you are looking to move somewhere new with your family, you may want to give Germany a try.
If you want to follow along with our story of the move to Germany, you can check out our YouTube Series too.
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