[big-green-man]

Have you considered something less drastic, like leaving SV? There's a big big continent you live on, a ton of which you already have a right to be in, a diversity of biomes and landscapes I'm sure one of which would soothe your soul to wake up to in the morning.

In my experience, the american rat race is largely a city phenomenon. Have you considered moving somewhere less densely populated? You could work from home, do no overtime, take half the pay you currently expect and have a higher quality of life, if you lived in a low tax state with lots of outdoors and less huge cities. For the price of a condo in SF you could have a small ranch in Colorado, for example. North Carolina is majestically beautiful. Maybe the problem isn't america, but that where you think you need to be to make it isn't where you need to be because that idea of "making it" isn't your idea of making it?

I've found, if you get away from the rat race and turn off the news, america is a very pleasant place.

[lokma]

That’s a good idea as well, I will look into this but it would be nice to not have things like healthcare tied to my job which only seems feasible by leaving the country. I’m not expecting moving to magically fix all my problems but the trade off seems more worth it to me now (lower salary for better balance in life)

[remram]

> not have things like healthcare tied to my job which only seems feasible by leaving the country

You probably won't get state-provided health insurance the moment you move in, without a job, anywhere. Though a lot of countries won't let you die, you will assume more cost than you think (or be deported back).

[toomuchtodo]

At least in Spain, private health insurance is ~$1k/year as an expat. This covers almost all of your medical costs without copays, deductibles, etc. I have personally received this quote as an early 40s male with no major medical issues.

[remram]

Oh word. Thanks for sharing that. The cost of procedures is also usually much lower, regardless of whether you have insurance.

[big-green-man]

Not just that, but you can get health insurance not tied to your job in the US. It costs some money, unfortunately it is tied to income, but if you're planning on lowering your income to improve your quality of life, it should help quite a bit on the healthcare cost side of things.

[mancerayder]

Unfortunately the plans are extremely low-quality in some states. In New York State, for example, the 'marketplace' plans are ALL HMO's with high deductibles, and the networks are small. The state has some of the best healthcare in the world, but good luck if all the care you want is out of network.

AND it costs up to 1K a month for a single and double for a family.