I was able to stay legally in NYC and decided for Argentina because I think that life quality is better here because health and education are not expensive. I also find food better.
I wouldn't live in NYC if I was living in the States either. Just like we can't just point to Buenos Aires (or even just CABA) as life in Argentina, neither can we point to life in NYC as life in the US.
I would live in the suburbs of a city in the States, or perhaps father out in the country (but not too far). It would be nice to know that the utilities worked properly and a variety of goods are nearby without paying a fortune. Most places I've been in the US have that available, not just within big cities or even big towns, though you may have to drive a bit for it if you're out far enough.
That adds quite a bit to quality of life in my opinion. There are other, material, things that add to quality of life as well like having a car in such a situation.
Things are fairly similar here, but there is a lack of available options and often quality. There are reasons for that and most of us on this board understand why, at least in broad strokes.
People need to learn to balance material things with quality of life. People tend to either go to, or at least see, extremes.
On one end too much worrying about "quality of life" and ignoring material things to the point where labor is sort of frowned upon, as if one only works, as little as possible, "to live". In order to do that, one must accept a lower level of life. It is a simple matter of economics and human behavior. It takes effort and cooperation and a sacrificing of work to create tools and baubles. People don't like to sacrifice their work for others (either real labor or currency) and so those who work less or provide less value for their work, tend to have less (all other things being equal).
But someone has to do it. The less productive a society is, for whatever reason, the less that society has in material things as as a whole. To me, that's OK if the society as a whole doesn't complain about their not having material things, that if they are happy with what they have they should enjoy it. Often in a less productive society, I seem to see people, even those who claim they're happy, pointing at people who have more with envy. Sometimes their envy may be reasonable given that some of those people were pretty much born to their wealth. But not all of them, at least not in a supposedly free society.
On the other end, you have people who put the quality of life in terms on the back burner and are only placated by things that belong to them. They are usually driven to work hard. It doesn't mean they're successful. They may be throwing their life away in a desperate attempt to make enough money to get the things they want, they are haggard and stressed and can't (or won't) stop to smell the roses. They may have a lot of things, but they probably don't enjoy them. Maybe they have gone overboard and have more things than they really need.
I work hard, but I figured out a way to work comfortably without any kind of a commute that doesn't involve a shuffle down the hall, that also allows me to leave my work when there's not an emergency and do things with the family and my friends when I want or need to. We live comfortably, we have everything we need. Including love and warmth and participating in each other's lives.
But it does, at this point, require me to continue working at a fairly heavy pace. Though not forever.
With enough hard work, persistence and perseverance, one can accomplish what is important to oneself. Living a modern, comfortable life can be expensive. Accept less when it's what you have, but strive for more as you go along, at a reasonable pace. Work smart. Be patient. Take the future one step at a time and prepare yourself properly. And I'm not talking about schooling, though that can be important depending on what you want to do. Prepare yourself by accepting that you may have to do things you don't care for (and I'm not talking about things that are against your principles) while getting some experience in life and figure out what you're good at and go for it. Always be ready to change directions. Accept new opportunities that interest you, even when it may mean a reduction in pay, if it feels right.
You can learn the ability to get stuff with less effort over time and have a good
comfortable quality of life because you're not killing yourself. It may take decades at whatever point of life you're in to get it going right, so get started now. You and your loved ones can have things that make it all easier and enjoyable without dying trying to get it.
There's nothing at all wrong with anyone settling for a simple, relatively non-materialistic life. But people who settle for that shouldn't feel like they're stuck there, or that they have been held there by anyone. Don't settle for what you don't want, but when you get it, accept it until you're not happy any more. Don't be a victim. Life isn't fair, don't sit down and not do anything but complain about how much everyone else has because you've had a hard time of it or have been unsuccessful or have failed at something. Get up and keep going if you're not happy or stay at your level of material possession and quality of life and be happy for yourself and everyone else who is happy.
So in my opinion, I like living in a modern world and having material things, with options as far as the eye can see. I don't get much of the options part here, more options and quality of material things at better cost would improve my life and the lives of my family, no doubt about it, but that's not where my requirements are to be happy.
I already have all the love and companionship I need
