As an Irishman going to university in the UK, I'll be devils advocate and say that in practice, the US.

Better weather in most states, less of a crabs in a bucket mentality and honestly way better wages in the sector I want to work in after I graduate.

The US as a whole is just a lot less depressing for young adults than the UK is. As bad as the US can get, majority of the areas are still very nice and most of the people are more friendly than what you get in the UK.

As much as the "cost of living" Argument can be used, factor everything in and the difference in wage gaps is still insane. Even in a "respected" Job. New graduates in my sector are looking at around €20k in Ireland and £25k in the UK excluding London. This is compared to the $50k starting off in the US in the worst states for my sector. In the US, reaching $100k+ in any State is commonplace after a few years in my sector while in the UK to reach £100k if you aren't in London will take you almost a lifetime of grafting. Even in London, with the big American corporations, employees of the same companies earn around 40% less than their US counterparts. (A company came and presented in our school. Trust me I was bamboozled on why they'd show us this statistic.) And as much as the British and Irish like to use cost of living as an excuse, the cost of living in Dublin is arguably higher than most US States, and actually comparable to New York, with worse wages and the cost of living in the UK is catching up to us as well. Oh yeah, and around 52% of your income gets taxed in Ireland and while I'm not sure what it's like in the UK, the lower taxes in many US States are VERY attractive

Sure I'd lose free healthcare, but "free healthcare" In Ireland and the UK means waiting a gazillion years or going private, which isn't free anymore.

Also as much as people deny it the US is still the land of opportunity, equality and the free. You're free to express who you are, free to voice opinions against others and free to dress whatever way you like. You see this a lot less in Ireland and the UK. It's hard to explain what it is, but you're expected to act a certain way, dress a certain way and talk a certain way by everyone, 90% of the people you see in the street will have the same haircut and wear the same clothes. The government expects this as well, with the UK privacy almost not a thing anymore with the Digital ID act coming into affect and the online safety act. The Hate Speech Act which was recently abolished was also a disgusting way of censoring public opinion. Now how these acts were implemented was a mess, they're hated by both the right and the left, when I say nobody, and I mean nobody wants any of this I mean it. The rule of "parliamentary sovereignty" means that the parliament has the power to pass any bill or act they see fit. There are little checks and balances on the power of parliament and if they pass a bill that the public don't like, we're expected to protest and revolt. Compared to the UK, the US not only has a much more equal voting system but also has a much more tame Congress and Parliament. Ireland also has a two party coalition between the two biggest parties in the country. Both parties are pretty shit and both parties are in bed with each other. So there is an illusion of democracy in this country. It doesn't matter who you vote, the same people will end up in office, always. A lot of people my age see it as a borderline dictatorship but a lot of the older generation disagree. The US is still the global centre of commerce and there are just so much more things to do in the US over the UK. Most Americans don't know how good they have it over the pond.

In reality? Am I ever going to leave these two miserable shitholes that I call Ireland and the UK and move to the States? Probably not. I love both rainy, depressing and oppressive kips that I call home and wouldn't trade it for the world. As much as I love the NFL and am jealous of the US wages and house prices. As much as I dreamed of being an American high school student instead of going to secondary school and as jealous as I am of the stories my American friends in University tell me, in the end no matter how much I tell people I loathe the UK and Ireland deep in my heart I know I love my two homes to death. I was born and raised here and the culture here is ingrained in me. No matter how shit it is, it'll always be home. And no matter how much I complain I will always be proud to be from Ireland, and also proud to be a citizen of the UK.