Your assertion that purchasing power is less than in Europe is absurd. I’ve seen how the average European and the average American lives. In the US, salaries are higher, costs are lower, and overall taxes are lower (albeit the IRS is considerably more complex to deal with︀ so compliance costs might be higher). That’s just the average. At higher ends of the︁ income range it does not scale linearly or in a correlated way across countries, e.g.︂ income $X in the US midwest vs. US northeast vs. London vs Cordoba vs Pattaya.︃ Your earning potential is likely to be higher in the US regardless.
The US has︄ culture like every other society on this Earth. It’s American culture, and you might not︅ prefer that, but it is a culture.
Social cohesion has been corroded over the past︆ decades, but such is also true in Europe. It’s just not as far down the︇ path. The reasons for this corrosion are, unsurprisingly, the exact same in both places.
The federal government is dysfunctional and difficult to deal with, but many of the state and︈ local governments are quite responsive. Infrastructure likewise varies based on location and can range from︉ poor to good.
You assume everyone prefers an urban lifestyle. What you call isolating and︊ monotonous suburban life, I call peaceful and relaxing. I can still drive a few miles︋ and access anything I want or easily catch a flight for something different.
Consumerism/consumption is︌ a choice. Diet is a choice. Fitness is a choice. It’s not an inevitability based︍ on where you live.
