I think the lifestyle part depends a lot on where in the US OP would end up. Places like Boston and NYC are not car-dependent at all and most people you will meet are a normal weight and have a decent diet. There is also a ton of cultural diversity within NYC and lots of amazing food (especially if you have disposable income). Boston has many students and postdocs coming from all over, so in an academic circle you will easily have a young diverse friend group. It's definitely a different lifestyle than living in some other parts of the US, which probably are more of a negative compared to EU - though if you're into nature there are some really beautiful sights in parts of the US that make for relatively cheap vacations. There's also something to be said for the US college experience, like I wouldn't want to live in a smaller college town as an adult but some of them are super fun while you're an undergrad.
You’re right. It is impossible to put US in a box and say this is how it is. It is the land of the extremes. I tried to portray a picture from my personal experience (and hoped that it would extrapolate to the average experience of a student). NYC and Boston (both places I love are more exceptions than the norm. American society for the large part is oriented towards car ownership. Sure, one can bubble themselves the confines of downtown Boston or Manhattan area, but, if you want the “true experience” of American life, with some trips to the beautiful nature the country has to offer, bbq parties at a colleague’s place in the suburbs etc - you’re going to need a car.
Yes, I will NOT generalize to say all Americans are obese. I merely went by the stats that says more and more are.
I’ve had the American college town experience (college town South Carolina) and I cherish those times. I rode through a scholarship and had a worry free time to actually learn, and have fun while at it. But, I know many of my peers who had to pay USD tuition from their home country cash, and it was incredibly hard for them. Again, it depends…
In general though, accessing nature from even those cities that are relatively well-situated to nice natural areas mostly requires either leaning on friends who do have cars or belonging to college outing clubs that organize trips.
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I think the lifestyle part depends a lot on where in the US OP would end up. Places like Boston and NYC are not car-dependent at all and most people you will meet are a normal weight and have a decent diet. There is also a ton of cultural diversity within NYC and lots of amazing food (especially if you have disposable income). Boston has many students and postdocs coming from all over, so in an academic circle you will easily have a young diverse friend group. It's definitely a different lifestyle than living in some other parts of the US, which probably are more of a negative compared to EU - though if you're into nature there are some really beautiful sights in parts of the US that make for relatively cheap vacations. There's also something to be said for the US college experience, like I wouldn't want to live in a smaller college town as an adult but some of them are super fun while you're an undergrad.
You’re right. It is impossible to put US in a box and say this is how it is. It is the land of the extremes. I tried to portray a picture from my personal experience (and hoped that it would extrapolate to the average experience of a student). NYC and Boston (both places I love are more exceptions than the norm. American society for the large part is oriented towards car ownership. Sure, one can bubble themselves the confines of downtown Boston or Manhattan area, but, if you want the “true experience” of American life, with some trips to the beautiful nature the country has to offer, bbq parties at a colleague’s place in the suburbs etc - you’re going to need a car.
Yes, I will NOT generalize to say all Americans are obese. I merely went by the stats that says more and more are.
I’ve had the American college town experience (college town South Carolina) and I cherish those times. I rode through a scholarship and had a worry free time to actually learn, and have fun while at it. But, I know many of my peers who had to pay USD tuition from their home country cash, and it was incredibly hard for them. Again, it depends…
In general though, accessing nature from even those cities that are relatively well-situated to nice natural areas mostly requires either leaning on friends who do have cars or belonging to college outing clubs that organize trips.