&gt;  I think a lot of your criticism of other places has to do with things that don&#x27;t affect you on a day to day basis;<p>When Obama was running for president in 2008, his stump speech included this line (paraphrased): &quot;If a child can&#x27;t read, that matters to me, even if it&#x27;s not my child. If a senior citizen can&#x27;t afford his prescription drugs, that makes my life poorer, even if he&#x27;s not my grandparent.&quot;<p>I would be be living in a city (SF, Portland, Seattle, SD, Austin, Boston, NYC, Chicago, take your pick) with massive social, racial, and economic disparities that make Vancouver look like one of those Nordic wundercountries. I would be living in a city, and a state, and a country, with levels of political dysfunction and gridlock only seen in countries like Korea or Chile. That dysfunction is holding the country back in overall quality-of-life. The rich have magnificent lives, but for the poor, it&#x27;s hell to live in America. That makes my life poorer, even if I&#x27;m making $100K and drive a Tesla P90D with Ludicrous Mode. (That is if I live in a state that hasn&#x27;t <i>banned</i> Tesla sales!)