I can address topics ranging from sports to economics, comparing both countries. And, speaking of economics, just to give you an idea, here is an image that will help to a better understanding of how things really are on the other side of the river.
You might find it striking, but nothing in the image is exaggerated, it is nothing more than the pure reality, having lived in both countries for years one realizes how big these differences are, just to give you another angle of the situation, let me ask you, how much do you earn a week? $400? Or is it $600? One thousand? More? Well, it takes $1,000 dollars to get you a phenomenal weekend vacation in let's say... Puerto Penasco in Mexico, a fancy hotel, lots of drinks, lots of food, lots of fun. Why? Because your $1,000 dollars turns into $18,000 pesos.
So: Why is there so much difference?
In order to answer that question, we would need to dedicate a brief explanation to different aspects that are guilty of making the differences between both countries even bigger.
Leaving a little aside the economic issues that the image already explained, why is the cultural difference also enormously abysmal?
In the US you don't litter, because if you do it, you'll be fined, you don't cross on a red light, because the camera will capture you and you'll get a ticket, now, in Mexico you can see all kinds of people littering, young and old, male and female, you can also see them crossing red lights, I mean, it's not like you're going to see them all doing it, there are very law respectful people in Mexico that are committed with the environment and with respecting the law, but you'll the other ones too, those who don't care at all, and no one can tell me I'm lying since I lived 27 years in Mexico, and now it has been 3 years in the United States.
So, why do people behave like that? (you might be wondering), well, that's because there's a much higher level of corruption in Mexico, again, I'm not making out all this, you can find every country's corruption perception index here. So you might have heard of "la mordida" (it literally means 'a bite'), but it is not an actual bite, it is only the term designated for the act of giving a bribe to an authority figure, a very common thing in Mexico, so yes, if a police officer sees you drinking from a beer can while you're driving he's surely going to pull you over, but then you offer "la mordida" and he will let you go (in most cases), while in the US the mere fact of proposing a bribe can and most likely will send you to jail, why? Because the law enforcement members in the US earn a pretty decent salary, they receive proper training, they DO earn that badge and they are encouraged to wear that uniform with pride, there's a feeling of belonging and respect, they feel proud of their organization and their country, so they won't accept a bribe as easy as in Mexico. I mean, one just have to watch Cops for a while to learn how the police officers are truly committed to perform their job the right way. I know, it is a tv show, but again, Mexico doesn't have that, in fact, police vehicles in Mexico are not recording everything that happens as in the US.
But please, do not misunderstand things, you can go to jail in Mexico if you're driving and drinking, there are checkpoints everywhere, even worse if you cause an accident while being intoxicated, I'm just saying that if a police officer pulls you over, well, his vehicle is not recording anything, so, offering a bribe has always been an option for Mexicans, an option commonly taken.
While the roads in the US have all kinds of things for the comfort of the drivers such as Rest Areas with vending machines, showers, toilets, and they're a great option to take a rest in order to avoid accidents, there are also lateral ramps each determined miles for vehicles that run out of brakes, signs that invite you to tune in to a certain radio frequency that informs you about road conditions, accidents, weather, etc. In Mexico most of the rest areas look like this, no kidding, of course, there's also truck stops with all kinds of services as we all have seen in the US, but I'm speaking of rest areas in the middle of nothing, the difference is huge.
Have you watched Bait Car? That tv program that shows how they've reduced the theft of vehicles in critical areas of the United States with the help of decoy cars, you know, they park a car and leave it with the keys on and just wait, then undercover officers keep watching it until someone decides to steal it, then they go and catch the bastard, well, while watching it, it amazed me how gang members are no longer that willing to steal a car, you can hear them saying "I don't know... it could be a bait car". Well, Mexico doesn't have anything like that.
Now: Sports. Oh my God, sports... yes it is true that Mexico has a strong soccer team that has beaten the US team several times, it also has boxers that have defeated American opponents several times, but... Just take a look to the Olympics charts, historically speaking, the US has won many more medals than Mexico, and this is because American athletes DO have the support they need to develop themselves, they are given opportunities, they have facilities to practice, sponsors, high-quality equipment, if someone stands out in any sport he or she will be supported until becoming a superstar and encouraged to reach his/her maximum performance. Either if we talk about Basketball, Football, Baseball, the story is the same, in Mexico a very good soccer player that stands out in high school can aspire to belong to the national team, then, if he's really really good at it, to go to Europe, but the support received and the obstacles won't be the same as in the case of an American, and that's for sure. The Mexican government is cutting off many funds that were previously destinated to sports and culture.
Something that happens pretty often is that Mexican students who are good at something end up being recruited by the United States. Some of the best academic students goes to Harvard, the best scientists are recruited by NASA, the best meteorologists, the best baseball players, the best performers in fields like science, math, literature, music, sports, medicine, you name it. Because in Mexico they're not being supported.
In the United States the government is in charge of its different institutions and it fund them so that they can work effectively, even the big multi-millionaires make donations (obviously for fiscal purposes), in Mexico, it is the population the one that has to give donations to the Red Cross or to the local Fire Departments so that they can survive, since politicians won't stop diverting public funds for their own benefit.
I've known a lot of patriot Americans, they feel proud of their nation, the phrase "thank you for your service" rings a bell? Well, I never heard it while living in Mexico, there, patriotism is intended to be an obligation, the typical Mexican child is told: "You have to respect the national anthem and the heroes of the nation, be a patriot!" But it is an order, they're not giving you reasons to feel that pride.
The movies production topic and the whole entertainment industry is something that I consider not comparable at all, Hollywood crushes without mercy to the Mexican cinema and that also has a lot to do with the lack of resources and support, in Mexico, in order to make a film they have to ask for a lot of sponsorships, not only to the public departments related to culture but to private companies as well, and it's very common to watch a Mexican movie in which at every opportunity they keep announcing the sponsors brands such as Cerveza Corona, among many, many others, it's like watching a 2-hour commercial.
The response times to an emergency is also a subject in which there is a wide difference. In the United States, if you dial 911, depending on the situation you can get help in what? Less than 10 minutes? 15 minutes? If there's a fire, your neighborhood will probably be invaded by patrols, firemen, and ambulances in probably less than that.
In Mexico, dialing 911 serves only to give notice of what's happening, not to solve the problem, by the time the first police unit arrives the problem will no longer be able to be solved (at least not immediately), and I've experienced it.
In the United States, not only gasoline is cheaper: it is of a higher quality! Yes, yes, I have compared them both, somehow gasoline in the US lasts longer in my vehicle than when I fill it up in Mexico, I just don't know why.
But well, gas stations in Mexico have employees that will fill your tank for you, you know that in the US you have to do it yourself.
Don't get mad at me, I'm just comparing both countries.
US citizens are used to high quality things, from entertainment, schools, public services, to almost everything!
The endless list of things in which the United States cruelly runs over Mexico could continue to grow and many would still escape our knowledge, but now I want to talk about things in which the US is not precisely the best country.
The Not So Bright Side.
On the other hand, there are things that happen in the US territory that aren't precisely good, or not good at all. Let's begin with some examples, you can't deny that the country has a huge amount of gang members, thugs, cholos, (although many of those cholos are Chicanos), there's also kidnappings (although the authorities DO investigates and find the criminals in most cases).
To start naming the things that are not so good in the United States let me share a video that went viral in 2012, on it we can appreciate the overprotection enjoyed by minors, they are untouchable, they can practically do whatever they want, they can insult, provoke, behave like homies on a basketball court, intimidating people and if you dare to put a finger on them you'll be prosecuted as if you were the criminal. Now, I don't expect you to watch the entire video since it lasts 10 minutes, so in short, it is about a group of minors who without an apparent reason began to ruthlessly insult an old woman on a bus.
Who the hell in his right mind has the heart so rotten to consider this funny? While the young fellas dropped all kinds of insults, the old lady did not flinch except to highlight that they were being disrespectful and then to mourn.
It is this same situation of "untouchable minors" which has caused bullying in schools to be worse in the United States than in Mexico, despite the fact that American schools have mechanisms that the Mexican schools do not have, such as Hall Passes to prevent students from missing classes, they also have psychologists who work at the school, there are school officers, school nurses, etc. Even so, the bullying experienced in American schools reaches such levels that some students have come to commit suicide in order to stop suffering the harassment they receive on a daily basis. But, what can you do to a child who won't stop calling another child a sissy? Put him in jail?
You can see spoiled children no matter if you live in Mexico or in the US, but the ones in the US are at another level; mom and dad earn a pretty decent amount of money and these kids gets everything they ask for, new iPhones, new tablets, new videogames, and then they grow anxious to party just the way Justin Bieber does (or whoever who's in at the moment).
Something to think about.
A huge amount of the American population has this habit of remodeling their places every now and then and they're like "let's buy new furniture and throw this old stuff away", well, good for them, good that they can afford to keep changing their cars, their electronics, etc. But I mean, do they have to throw stuff away? While there are so many people living in the streets, starving, freezing, trying to survive day after day, it is true that some families choose to do yard sales and they sell their belongings at low prices, then less wealthy people get a benefit from this by buying what other people have already used and no longer want, I think that's fine, but a mattress that goes to the trash, some blankets, all that could end up in the hands of a homeless and benefit him enormously.
Racism is a topic I'm not sure if want to aboard since it hurts, it's not pleasant at all to witness the racial hate that some citizens adopt towards all those who are different from them: Even if they are also citizens! Terms like "wetback", "chink" or "the N word" and many others to designate Latinos, Afro-Americans, Chinese, Taliban, Italians, everyone who's different from the one who pronounces the word, it make the coexistence in society a minefield in which you do not know where you are going to face a racist person who considers himself superior to you, although there is a little humor about it, like those t-shirts that say "Relax gringo, I'm here legally" the truth is that while some citizens are very welcoming others seem to look after confrontation with anyone that's different from them.
And there are already racists of all kinds, blacks who cannot tolerate whites, elite Chicanos who want "their places" without whites or blacks, a bit of everything (or a lot).
An example of this is this viral video from 2014 in which an African-American woman started insulting a Latino because "his accent was stupid", the woman did not keep her opinions to herself and began to insult him incessantly and then suddenly she physically attacked him, the Latino guy defended himself and thrown her an EPIC slap that caused a brawl in the New York subway.
The result: Police arrested 25 years old aggressor Jorge Peña but then after watching the video they determined that he had acted in self-defense and released him. Racism and more racism.
It is very good in certain cases that getting food is so cheap in the US. since a homeless person does not really need more than 4 or 6 dollars a day to eat, and in a country where people earn at least 80 dollars a day, a lot of them are able to spare some change to a homeless. But, for the same reason that you can get a hamburger for a dollar, a pack of donuts for 1.99, an extra-large soda for 1 dollar, the United States is one of the countries with the highest obesity rate in the world, curiously, Mexico is also fighting for the first place. How is this possible? Food over there is more expensive.
Do you want to know how much would a homeless need to eat every day if he lived in Mexico? Well, over there a food stand taco costs around $17 pesos ($0.94 dollars approx.), not bad huh? But a single taco won't make it, since they're not Taco Bell tacos, they're simpler, smaller, like this, so that homeless would probably need 5 of them just to stop his guts from roaring, so that's $85 pesos ($4.72 dollars) just to have breakfast, $5.50 including a soda, where is he going to get $5.50 in a country where people earns 14 dollars in average a day? They're less willing to spare a dime since it is harder to earn it there.
Last but not least: United States is the country with more shootings in schools, more than in any other country in the world.
I'm really sorry for making this post this long, it just happened, I clarify that this was not a comparative table with the intention of defining which country is better or in which we should all live, it was simply an exhibition of well-known truths.
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