[balabaster]

I went to Canada. I won't lie, the immigration path is a pain in the ass, but it's doable, even as a late 30 year old. Toronto is one of the top places in the world for income vs. cost of living for a career in the development industry. Coming from the UK to the U.S. is troublesome, their H1B Visa Lottery for skilled workers from anywhere but India seem to be futile. I've attempted twice now and I've written it off as a waste of time. Perhaps there's another path I'm unaware of.

The U.S. may be considered a racist hell hole, but just like everywhere else, it's really the few loudest ones that make a bad name for everyone else. On the whole, Americans are wonderful people living in a system that offers them a reasonably high standard of living for a reasonable work/life balance. They've got some issues, just like any country.

They've got a shit political system that just occasionally manages to be a beacon of light and hope to the rest of the world; a shit debacle of a medical industry that somehow has a couple of shining examples that manage to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best hospitals in the world; and an education system that fails about as many as it helps, yet still somehow manages to pull out a few of the best schools in the world. Quite how this is, I'm not sure.

Don't let stereotypes and bad press colour your perspective of a culture you don't know anything about. Visit, go attend some interviews, spend time to find places there you love. Spend time with people. Form your own opinions. You may be surprised.