in comparison with Switzerland. Can someone list?
(I’m more interested to know about life of academic people in USA vs Switzerland)
And is it worth to move from Switzerland to USA for someone who has opportunity to live in one of these countries?

We could better answer your question if you mentioned where in the US you are considering.

It's a pretty big country , living in NY can be vastly different from small town midwest, the deep south, the pacific northwest, California... etc.

Consider California.

But where in USA, wouldn’t change the question much. USA is big but it’s one land so at least there is a chance for someone who lives in USA (anywhere in USA), could move to some better place there later.

PRO's

-Cheap.
-Hot women.
-Big food portions.

CON's

-Full of Americans.
-Accents.

This is just such an individualistic question that I think answering will lead to much nonsense. It may be easier if you start by telling us what are your interests and goals in life, what do you want to achieve, would this be a permanent move or a temporary move.

i would have to agree with this....i have lived all over the US and been to 48 out of 50 states so moving to basel was the next step in world exploration...if you have never lived in the US or visited then you would really need to explain why you want to go there, where you are thinking of....california is a great state but i prefer northern cali to southern....

the east coast is vastly different than the west and the south is well, the south!

tell more and you get more in response but yes, hot women hot men but those can be found anywhere no?

Ok.
-I ‘m student (undergraduate)
-I like to study also master and then phd in future
-I’m talking about permanent move
-I am not really interested in Swiss languages (but just if I have to)
-I’m little interested to live somewhere that everyone talks same language
-For sure I will get job in English companies wherever I live
-I like the nature here (but I think I can live in a desert in Texas )
-And I like to be in a place with lots of opportunities in science

We are English and moved to Indiana in 2003. We are a professional couple though not career acedemics.
Our experience was positive, great people, great quality of life (big house, big car etc) and a wonderful opportunity to travel.
We left for Switzerland after 5 years because we missed the culture and way of life in Europe.
It was a unmissable experience and one we would repeat but it wasn't a long term thing for us.
If you have any specific questions I would be happy to try and answer them,
Good luck.

Speakign as an American who has been educated there. Don't go. Yes, things are cheaper, and everyone speaks English. But, in CA you must own a car. Schools are expensive, and so is the cost of living. ( In Venice Beach my friends pay 1400chf for a tiny tiny 1 room studio.)

As far as undergrad degrees. From talking to many many people here, and attending undergrad myself there, the quality is just not there. (I actually remember class being cancelled during our party week at Purdue once.)

In my opinion, if you wanted to go to the states, finish your undergrad here and go for higher education there.

And another thing to think about. I don't know your age. This may not apply to you. You said undergrad so I'm assuming 18-22. You can't drink legally there. So many of my friends who were foreign HATED it. It really got to them that they now had to hide their drinking. You can't walk into a pub, or buy a bottle of wine.

Oh, and your young. Don't ever think that something is permanant though. Life changes directions all the time. I don't have all the answers, but I that one rings true.

Add to "Cons" List

-Once you have the "privilege" of possessing a green card, you will be required to file taxes in the United States for the rest of your life.

-Ridiculously small vacation time per year

Add to "Pros" List

-Relatively easy to fit into as a foreigner

Yea, I’m aware of the quality of undergrad in US. for sure I will try for a master or phd there. Without financial support or scholarship in US studying is almost impossible I guess.

I’ll ask someone to buy drinks for me..

Well, lots of people say “I wish I was 10 year younger then …”, so I guess it’s not bad to think a little bit more seriously for life now.

Northern or Southern? The middle is for getting gas.

There is this sense that what happens in California reverberates throughout the whole world. I took this for granted while living there. There is the opposite sense that what happens in Switzerland rarely get beyond the border (of the gemeinde). Living in California has a certain sense of relevance you rarely find here. If you've never been there, I recommend experiencing it sometime in this lifetime.

Do it! Live dangerously! I think you'll feel better about yourself. Worse thing is to live life thinking "If I would have...".

Oh come on, there are raisins in Fresno, or garlic in Gilroy.

I think J.L-P's point is that the North is pretty distinct from the South. They often whine about separating.

I did my undergrad in engineering in USA, high school in Singapore, and gonna be doing Master in Switzerland.

USA is a great country. but for me it is too big, too much freedom, have to drive everywhere (midwest), even the education is not that great of a deal.

And I really want to be able to travel around Europe. The contus gets pretty boring after a while.

too much freedom? like what exactly?

Took the words out of my mouth!

The US is not my favorite place to live - in fact, I'd rather have bamboo shoved under my fingernails than move back there - but too much freedom? That's definitely not one of my reasons!

I'm from California (opps, secret's out) and believe me, it's a big state with something like nearly every weather type short of tropical..! So to put it plainly, you can't compare apples (switzerland) with oranges (california).

Pro's
- Less stability in the work environment

Con's

- Less stability in the work environment



This is probably less of an issue in academia (if you can get tenure), same with the no vacation comment made earlier.