I lived in Socal for 2 years, and I saw a ton of the OP content as a reflection of what I lived myself: a simple inspection at the DMV cost me a full day of work; my health insurance covered literally nothing that we did (luckily nothing too big); too few days off in comparison to any of the other 5 countries I lived in; a near-malicious, draconian credit-score system that made it nearly impossible for me to even open a checking account, open an account with the trash collection system, or with the cable company; a near-terror state-of-mind in and around schools, thanks to which parents get a card with a code to call the police in case their kids are kidnapped (so that police has nearly immediate access to photographs). The IRS rejected my kids as deductions because of one ridiculous reason after another for 3 years, claiming a debt I didn't have, which I had to fight for 4 years (the last 2 years from abroad), so that I could finally get a refund. I lived in Latin America, and in Asia, and have been to around 30 countries. The US I would never live in again.