GiantHockeyFan wrote:
I only have VERY limited experience in the USA (one day in Maine) but I was quite shocked at how miserable everyone I met was. We kept hearing in economics class how the USA is one of the richest (hence happiest) places on earth and I was blown away how bad it was. It's not like I felt unsafe or anything but it was very depressing and conditions were noticeably better on the Canadian side, both with people and infrastructure. Not exactly a full picture but it didn't motivate me to go back.
It reminds me of the horror stories I heard about Washington DC when I lived there. Until very recently, most of Washington was a slum. Even the park immediately in front of the White House, Lafeyette Park, had hypodermic needles and a homeless population. Even 15 years ago, most of the city was a giant open air drug market.
Today, Washington looks very different. It is gentrifying very fast, and the city itself is better off, IMO. But poorer residents and the drug crime have simply been pushed into some of the suburbs.