Do You Like It Better Here or There? - 2016-05-20
Having lived in both the U.S. and Spain for quite some time I receive the very popular question that anyone who has lived in another country knows and dreads: "Do you like it better here or there?". Given, you might get this question even if you have just visited another country or (if you live in the U.S.) simply having lived in another state. It really is an annoying question, so please stop asking it. Unless we went to a literal dump we are going to like different parts of each.
That aside, there is something I would like to say about when people ask this to me in Spain specifically. I have received that question in both the U.S. and in Spain, but it feels a little different when they ask in Spain. This is mostly because of the Spanish inferiority-complex. Most Spanish people feel (even if they do not tell you directly) that Spain is behind the rest of the world in just about every way possible, when that simply isn't true, every country has its pros and cons. So when they ask me "Do you like it better here or there?" I can always hear a tone of self-disappointment, which pisses me off. They don't know what I'm going to say! I might say that both the U.S. and Spain suck balls! But no, they assume that I'm going to say that the U.S. and just about every other country is better than them in just about everything except flamenco... Which doesn't make sense because some of the best flamenco dancers, singers, and guitarists are actually Japanese. Damn, if you're going to find something that your country is good at, at least make sure it's correct! Hey, Spain is 3rd in tourism world-wide! So every time a Spaniard asks me this question it makes me feel bad. Mostly since one of the only good things I can say about Minnesota (the state I lived in while I was in the U.S.) is that its nice and quiet even in the city (most likely because everyone has frozen to death or defected to Canada at the thought of a Trump presidency, that or their all drooling about a 'First Woman President'). How am I supposed to meet your expectation that Spain is so terrible when I don't have many bad things to say? Sure, things could be better (a lot better), but I hate this self-hatred bullshit.
Basically, stop asking these questions, and don't think your country is better or worse than others at almost everything just because your economy is shitty or doing well because you import Asians to do all the mentally challenging work (U.S. *nudge, nudge*).
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