American mom living in Germany shares reasons she will never return to US

An American woman who moved to Germany with her son two years ago has detailed all of the reasons she has no intention of ever returning to the US.

In a TikTok video posted last month, Aly, who goes by @usa.mom.in.germany responded to a video, posted by @v.brtinney, which asked Americans living abroad to explain why they would never go back. In the clip, Aly shared a list of 12 different reasons why she would not return, with the TikToker detailing in her response how living in Europe has been more beneficial for her and her family.

"Because I don’t have to worry about affording my health insurance,” she began in the video. "Because my kids can go outside and play without me having to worry because the crime rates are so much lower. Public transportation. 30-plus vacation days a year. So much paid parental leave. Because my son is now bilingual and working on becoming trilingual. Because I’ll save $100,000 in my son’s paid university tuition. Because I no longer have to worry about my own student loans. Because even though I live in the most religious state, I’m not shamed for being atheist.”

“Because I can actually afford daycare,” Aly added. “Because my kids don’t have to worry about being unalived at school. And because my taxes actually go towards helping other families.”

Aly’s video has since been viewed more than 1.7m views, with many the viewers applauding her for making the move to Europe, and for recognising why the US may not be as great as it is often claimed.

“Maturing for Europeans is realising we don’t want to live in the US anymore,” one person wrote.

Another said: “So my ancestors left Europe for a better life and now I’m trying to go back for the same reason.”

“I remember the time before TikTok when I wanted to move to the US... silly me. Thank u Americans for warning me,” someone else wrote.

Aly frequentlys uses her platform to discuss the benefits of living in Germany, especially when it comes to healthcare. In a TikTok video posted on 24 December, she said that there are many myths about universal healthcare, such as that wait times are so long that “people die waiting to see a doctor.”

“In Germany, wait times are actually shorter than they are in the US,” she said. As noted by World Population Review, 13 per cent of people in Germany spend more than a day waiting for a doctor. However, in the US, this number of people is up to 28 per cent.

According to Aly, another myth about universal healthcare is that the “government decides what doctor you get to see and you never get a second opinion”.

“In Germany, you can choose your doctors and specialists at will,” she explained. “As well as the hospital. And you are entitled to a second opinion.”

Speaking to The Independent, Aly said ultimately she wants it to be clear that the purpose of her TikTok account is “to slam, drag, or put down the USA”.

“My videos are meant to combat US propaganda that sells the USA as the best country in the world and, through this rhetoric, discourages a realistic view of other countries who often have social systems that function better for their people,” she said.

She added: “Along those same lines, I would certainly consider moving back to the USA if it were to adopt many of the policies and changes in the social system and structure that Germany has enacted, but in don’t imagine that will happen in my lifetime.”