I would choose to live in lots of countries other than the US and yes I always had the choice.
My Brother is a Green Card Holder, my Parents went there to live in 1980 and opened their own business. As a self employed shooter, I could of done the same.
The problem was I loved visiting it, but would of gone mad living there. Too many superficial people, too many people worried about how much you earn/own, too much BS in loads of places the winters suck. As you point out some of the charges for things Europeans take for granted are very expensive in the US.
San Diego was nice, San Francisco was great, Nappa Valley not. But if you keep driving East there's a beautiful place to live. If you want to be a hermit. And that's the problem. In the US the places with models are the last places I would want to live. Catch 22.
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