Which one was that?

Don't know why either.

I dislike opera intensely but I love classical music and for many years before my hearing loss became acute I was a season subscriber to Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Unfortunately, can no longer enjoy music so those years are just a lovely memory.

You have to be careful or your kids could turn out like this.......

http://www.scaryideas.com/Videos/teapartay/

Meaning one of his particular choices in music along with Jazz being the top's I hate it

OMG that must be tough! I don't know what I'd do if I could no longer listen to music in general and opera in particular...

I have bad ears that can make me almost deaf for a time...its also given me hearing loss...

I'm like that right now...I lip read a lot and find myself talking too much...its made me a bad listerner...

That's so sad......

Yeah, sorry to hear that Rete.

No I'm not. I was stating exactly what she has written in various posts.

It seemed like you were assuming that as a single mum she does not have enough money to do this.

When I listen to Opera, I get this awful ringing noise in my ears. It sounds a bit like an old moggie being run over by a steam engine. Funny, it only happens with Opera. Oh, Hi Elvira, didn't see you there.

If a sound is to loud mine is like a bug is in my ear making some really nasty noise....I was a roadie for my brother in laws band for years...I put it down to standing to near the speakers in pubs and clubs....

Tbag was a roadie too.
(btw, the ringing only happens with opera)

Very difficult question for me to answer. I was bored in the UK and didn't expect to have a family - fertility issues - and so decided to move to the US. As fate would have it my wife actually was pregnant when we came over on a house buying trip, although she didn't know it at the time... anyway, we probably wouldn't have come had we had a family whilst living in England.

That said, I agree with two things that have been said. Firstly, it's really what you make of it. Secondly, having $$$ makes a huge difference. Being stretched financially in the US isn't much fun. I'm not a materialistic person, but even so it's pretty obvious that my enjoyment of the US has been underpinned by the fact that I've been pretty well off financially. This allowed me to live in a suburb with excellent schools (99th percentile on test scores) and not to have to worry too much about college fees. Sooo, I have in fact been very happy with the education my children have received, particularly at college level. When I visit their campuses, I'm always amazed at how good the facilities are compared to UK universities. The US clearly has major problems in primary and secondary education, but in terms of tertiary education, as most international studies indicate, it really is strong - if you can afford it. A big "if" of course.

Aside from that, I agree with a lot of the observations already made. Vacation time is a major downer - I now won't even consider jobs that start with two weeks vacation - and the inability to travel easily to other countries like one can in Europe. Culturally, I'm very happy here. I go to just as much/many concerts/opera/theatre etc as I did in the UK, if not more so. My friends here are just as interesting at the ones in the UK... And I live in what I think is a great city - San Francisco. But... I still can't see myself living here for the rest of my life. There is just too much about American society that hurts my sensibilities.

I think the people who complain about the "system" in America, are the same people who are going to go back to England and complain about the "system" there. In England, you have the high taxes, poor NHS system with long waiting times, ect. In America you have the keeping up with Jones's attitude, the consumerism, the over zealous social competition. But if you are smart enough to figure out that these things are happening, you should be smart enough to avoid them. Nobody is making you go out and buy the latest car/cellphone, ect. In America, people are constantly finding new ways out of the rat-race, by creating online business, investing in real estate, ect. America rewards the entreprenuerial spirit. As my dead uncle used to say, "Learn about the system, and then use it".