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LOL I don't think he *has* any details other than a general feeling and a 'grass is always greener' type of lens. He is only 19 and has not had a great deal of world experience e.g. has not traveled much, has had one real job (which, to give him credit, he worked hard at even though is was a sucky food service industry job). He positioned it to me as just that an average guy just out of college, healthy, fit, reasonably intelligent and off to make his way in the world would find the US 'harder.'
Now, on the one hand, my sister in CA paid much, much less for a house than one would where *I* live, and has a greater access to cheap food, cheap merchandise and other goodies. And it could get even cheaper if one were to move to the place my dad used to live. We also pay MUCH higher taxes in Canada (they are about to 'harmonize' several sales taxes which will mean that many things currently only getting charged one kind of tax and not the other will jump to 13% sales tax!) and a lot more things are regulated by the government (for example, you can't buy 'better' health care unless you go to the US and pay yourself. Yes, everybody gets it for 'free' but everybody gets the same mediocre level of it too...)
OTOH my sister has had some medical issues which cost them and had to borrow from my mother once to pay for something. I am not sure how much that stacks up to, lifetime-wise, compared to our higher taxes and less plentiful cheap stuff. And little bro has said other things that suggest to me he believes our press is freer, our indie scene more vibrant and less constrained, and our government less militaristic and Big Brothery. So maybe this is what he means. I was just surprised by his perception that an average person trying to start their life would find America 'harder.' I don;t think I've ever heard that one before.
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