In addition, we have longer work weeks and less paid time off than most developed countries.
"The Best Countries to Raise a Family in 2020," a recent study from family and travel researchers Asher and Lyric, looks at six categories in the world's 35 wealthiest OECD countries: safety, happiness, cost, time, education, and health.
Of those 35 countries, the United States ranks 34th.
Mexico is last.
They are the only countries to receive an "F."
The top five, earning "A+" ratings, are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Luxembourg due to low homicide rates; robust human rights standards; strong income equality; generous family leave policies for both parents; dependable government-subsidized child care and healthcare; above-average reading, science, and math scores; and a reasonable cost of living compared to average household income.
The Guardian recently spotlighted four American women who chose to start their families overseas.
Marketing professional Sarah Samoranos, 31, moved to France to pursue her Master's degree in marketing. There she met her husband.
About her childbirth experience, she explained:
"When it came time to deliver my twins, we ended up having to go to the emergency room because something just felt off. I still had this really American fear of costs and was mentally doing the tally. Even as I'm in labor, the entire time, I'm thinking, 'OK, they've given me this medicine, add it to the bill. I had an emergency C-section, add it to the bill. I needed a bag of blood, add it to the bill.'
"I also had a private room, with three square meals, a lactation consultant to teach me how to breastfeed, and someone who came in to teach us how to do the first bath"and in my head all of that was going onto the tally. When the nurses started giving diapers and formula, because my milk hadn't come in, I told my husband, 'no no no. Go around the corner and buy diapers and formula, I'm not paying for this.'
"When it was time to leave the hospital, I told my husband, 'You go into the office and look at the bill.' In my head, I was expecting to pay thousands of euros and was bracing for the impact. And then he walked in, and 30 seconds later he walked out, and I asked him, 'OK, how much was it?" he said, 'Darling, this is France. Get in the taxi.'"
NGO director and writer Antonia Murphy, 45, and her husband moved from San Francisco to New Zealand because of its social safety net, public school system, and subsidized childcare.
She stated:
"In New Zealand, not only do you get 18 paid weeks of child leave, but childcare is subsidized and income tested, so when I had two little kids in daycare and I was an aspiring writer who still hadn't published anything, my bill was less than $100 per week. And when your children are between the ages of three and five, you get 20 hours free, because research has shown that high quality childcare between the ages of 3-5 leads to one of the best outcomes. It just makes sense."
She added:
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