Amazing- If I could chime in, besides the points the others have already mentioned, all of which are great points, there is one other thing that comes to mind at this time. That is the cutting-edge nature of this society and how society is structured to support and sustain it. If you are young, ambitious, talented and can work hard, there is tremendous potential for you. The big difference I saw between Europe and the US is the competitive and aggressive nature of society - much more so in the US than in Europe. In Europe that is more true of the UK than the French and Germans but US competitiveness and economic effectiveness trumps even the British and I think the stats bear this out. The metropolitan areas of America - the so called blue-state America- are very very competitive. Especially the old-power establishment centers of the east coast and large parts of the west coast and cities in between like Chicago etc. Because hire and fire are part of life, unlike in many parts of Europe where labor laws are not so lenient, you have to be on your toes always, and that keeps you on top of things and makes you look at the world in a very realistic and pragmatic way. It also keeps you sharp and focussed. Not to say those things don't happen in Europe - of course they do, it's just that the Americans seem to have done a better job, at least so far, of innovating their way out of each economic down turn and seem to have a good technological pipeline to drive their economy in the short to medium term. Longer term, I think the bets are off, and India and China are going to be the global economic engines. So yes, I would agree, that maybe Nepal is the place to go back to, because we are next door to both places :) That's not to say life in Europe is not good - I actually like what I saw of it and have plenty of friends who would rather pay higher taxes and enjoy life as they know it rather than move anywhere for anything. I suppose it boils down to your priorities, how happy you are with your current life and where you can best achieve your goals. Just my thoughts. Good luck in making up your mind!