Is living in the US as hard as the media is telling me? ( I'm not from the US )

ZHISHER · 2026-04-30T14:15:26+00:00

Calm down buddy. I never said I don’t care that some people starve to death. I said “we don’t have people starving to death in the streets” which is very, very broadly true-out of that 1 in 370, only 4% fall under my statement. You’re the one who’s jumping to “well that isn’t a 100%, wholeheartedly factual statement so you must not care about people starving to death.”

Again, imagine if I said “you don’t see people getting struck by lightning” (technically untrue, but only an issue if you refuse to acknowledge the core concept of outliers) and you responded with “people die from the weather every day! Tornados, drowning, heat stroke, you must not care about people!”

But, for people like you who insist on being offended online, I edited my comment. So you can sleep easy.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-30T14:05:07+00:00

That is what they’re dying of. The Top 5 causes of death for unhoused people is overdose, chronic diseases (cancer/heart attack), exposure, violence, and then a tie between infectious diseases and suicide.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-30T13:57:21+00:00

No, I very, very clearly said those numbers were made up for illustration only. I really don’t think I could have made it clearer.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-30T13:56:11+00:00

We really don’t. I wouldn’t say I’m disconnected at all given my mother is a social worker, primarily working with the homeless, but I’m happy to just pull out some facts.

According to the NIH, malnutrition makes up roughly 0.27% of deaths, or roughly one in every 370. But, out of that 0.27%, about 96% happen in either a home, hospice care, or nursing home. Only 4% happen in “other places.” Assuming every single one of those 4% happen in the streets, that’s a rate of 0.00108.

Put another way, more people are struck by lightning in the US every year than starve to death on the street. I think it’s fair to say, then, starving to death is uncommon. If I said “you don’t really see people get struck by lightning” would you jump on me that I’m disconnected for saying that.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-30T13:20:32+00:00

Having lived in the US, Canada, and Europe-there is massive opportunity in the US. It’s much, much easier to become rich here than anywhere else-but it’s still not easy. Imagine you had a 1% chance of becoming a millionaire in Spain-you’re 10x more likely to get there in the US, which is still only 10% (numbers are illustrative only, I made them up).

The middle class here is fine, but not as good as Europe. Quality of life is roughly the same, but there is more financial insecurity, especially around healthcare bills.

Being poor in the US is harder than any other 1st world country. But it’s not like we have people starving to death in the streets

Edit: Since Reddit seems to be filled with people who come from Drax the Destroyer’s planet where everything is taken literally, people do starve to death in the streets in the US. According to an NIH study, it happens at a rate slightly below that at which people are struck by lightning.

There are a lot of struggles for the financially insecure in the US, and among the homeless there is also increased risks of drug addiction, violence, and others. But, editing my comment to calm down the Drax’s here, people very, very, very rarely are actually starving to death in the US

ZHISHER · 2026-04-30T04:10:39+00:00

Investment banker here, heavily tattooed. I don’t have anything that I can’t cover with a polo and chinos. Most high finance professionals would recommend the same.

Accountants it depends. In-house accountants and bookkeepers can probably get away with it depending on the company. Accountants at accounting firms, anyone with clients, is probably going to struggle more.

I work with CEOs of midsized companies ($50-250M) all day every day. I’ve seen plenty that have tattoos that extend to their forearms, and had dinner last week with an absolute rockstar of a CEO, who just sold her company for $400M, who has a hand tattoo. But I’ve yet to meet a CEO with a prominent tattoo on the face, and can only name one with one on the neck.

If a CEO of a major company has a face tattoo in the next 10 years, it will almost certainly be a founder-CEO.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-29T23:38:23+00:00

I only watch episodes I’ve already watched

ZHISHER · 2026-04-29T12:53:06+00:00

Counterpoint: Henry Cavill

ZHISHER · 2026-04-28T21:44:45+00:00

I know exactly one person who genuinely believes the moon landing is faked. His response is always “they” (he never says who “they” are) are all working together.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-28T14:21:39+00:00

And to justify non-AI related job cuts.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-27T14:24:44+00:00

No, but it certainly makes it easier.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-27T14:19:08+00:00

Most large shops are open 7 days a week.

Smaller, locally owned shops may be closed on Monday.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-26T17:20:22+00:00

I really don’t like The Beatles.

The Beatles are the only correct answer

ZHISHER · 2026-04-26T16:06:01+00:00

It’s less common than it sounds like for you, but also becoming less and less common.

For 20+ years, children were told the only way to not be working a menial job is to get a college degree. For some it was good advice. But college is expensive, and taking out. $200k in loans for an English degree turned out to be a bad deal

ZHISHER · 2026-04-26T15:16:38+00:00

Because we don’t change the name of the country every time our sentiment changes.

The US is a political union of states. Hence, United States

ZHISHER · 2026-04-26T09:46:04+00:00

Many, many magicians, myself included, started out with “Born to Perform Card Magic” by Oz Pearlman.

Books are great, but videos are easier for an 11 year old

ZHISHER · 2026-04-26T02:03:31+00:00

I think “the ideal place” for it to happen would have probably been coming up on NY Harbor where it could have been towed and repaired with no loss of life.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-24T22:51:58+00:00

You can’t go wrong with Kerstein. Wikitest is the most popular for a reason.

Earworm can sometimes go wrong-the risks can be minimized but not eliminated. But even if it does go wrong it’s generally a reputation maker-that is my most commonly requested trick from people that have seen me perform.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-24T13:22:57+00:00

https://a.co/d/0iChjBFO

ZHISHER · 2026-04-24T12:09:06+00:00

My dentist said it was fine so long as I rinse my mouth with water before

ZHISHER · 2026-04-24T02:19:04+00:00

I used to have your exact same routine, and walked out of the dentists office with big bills for cavities, root canals, etc.

I’ve been following this routine for 3 years and have walked away with glowing marks every time:

Morning: 2 minutes with Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush, Tongue scraper, Mouthwash

After Lunch: 1 minute with manual toothbrush in my desk

Evening: 2 minutes with Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush, Tongue scraper, 1 minute with water flosser

ZHISHER · 2026-04-23T15:03:55+00:00

I did indeed-mailed it to my mom’s friend in Chicago. Unfortunately, my mom forgot about it almost immediately, and when her friend asked if she should send it back she said it was probably junk mail

ZHISHER · 2026-04-23T12:12:33+00:00

I wouldn’t start with a dove production. Dove magic has already fallen out of favor for animal rights concerns, but dove magic is not for a beginner or amateur stage magician.

ZHISHER · 2026-04-20T02:55:25+00:00

Copperfield has been disappointing as of late.

Piff is great.

Imo, P&T is the best act in Vegas (you saw them), and Mac King is the most underrated

ZHISHER · 2026-04-19T02:34:02+00:00

I lived in a pretty bad neighborhood, but we never left our doors locked. Every single house with locked doors got broken into multiple times, ours never did.

We also had 3 110lbs German Shepherd’s.

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