Which is a better place to live: Switzerland or the USA?
This is one of those questions with many different possible answers. Personally, I don't like broad brush comparisons and have always resisted them. As a Swiss living abroad (Auslandschweizer) for more than forty years I have gained some insights and experiences that shape my opinion on this topic. Growing up in Zurich, I could hardly wait to leave the city which in the '60s I found a confining and stifling place. Did it mean the quality of life was bad? No, not at all, but for me the desire to discover the world outside was the goal and the desired destination was the USA.For many different reasons, I ended up living for twelve years in Japan instead and found that country at first challenging, frustrating, confusing but ultimately fascinating and perfectly enjoyable for me personally. This was due to the two rules I live by: The first is NOT to compare or judge countries and cultures but try to understand, accept and embrace their differences. After all why choose to live abroad if you expect the experience to be the same as living in your native place? The second rule was never to expect the local people to change their behavior and customs to conform to my expectations or to please me but to realize it was up to me to accept them on their terms while living amongst them.In the intervening years, having lived four years in Canada, five in the UK and the last twenty years in the USA, these personal rules have served me very well and allowed me to enjoy a very exciting and varied life and to become much more of a global citizen and a more tolerant person who believes in "vive la difference!"
My English speaking toddler will start preschool in Italy. Will going to a school that only speaks Italian help or hurt her in the long run?
I completely concur with him,PLEASE, LISTEN TO THE ADVICE GIVEN BY Michael Van In!!I have 3 young nephews & nieces (so far) who are bilingual in English and Spanish and also study french at school. They consistenly hold the best positions in their respective classes and in IQ tests. Many members in my family speak fluently more than 3 languages and personally it has helped me to work in three different continents, so it is not good only because of the added knowledge but it directly translates into added opportunities and wealth.Please, as Van In says, make sure she doesn’t forget Italian and learns Spanish (which are cousin languages). Those two would make French or Portuguese like a walk in the park. But more importantly, they would make her brain plastic to any other learning attempt, be it another language or not.