Julian Walker The United States of America: the “Land of Opportunity”, where the British are welcomed with open arms. While big portions of food, great TV dramas and friendly locals asking us to repeat words in our “cute” accent might sound enticing, it’s not enough to persuade us to move across the Atlantic. So what exactly makes the “American Dream” such an attractive proposition to overseas property buyers?
Better Life Index
There’s more to determining a countries success than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures and economic data. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Better Life Index compares well-being across countries, by ranking topics such as housing, health and environment. The US performs extremely well in terms of material living conditions and quality of life when compared to most other countries in the index. They rank at the top in housing, income and wealth, and rank above average in health status, jobs and earnings, education, personal security and environmental quality.
Natural wonder
The US’s diverse landscape, combined with its commitment to protecting its environment are two of the main reasons that it is home to the most (12) UNESCO natural World Heritage Sites, along with China and Australia. Buy a home here and your opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors is seemingly endless: scratch your head as you marvel at the scale of the Grand Canyon, crane your neck to peer at the top of the tallest tree in the world and drop your jaw as you take in 10 million years of glacial erosion in Yosemite.
Economy
At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite let’s take a look at the numbers. Anyone moving to the US will be able to benefit from a thriving economy that remains the largest in the world in terms of nominal GDP – the total value of everything produced by all the people and companies in the country – and it’s set to increase further by the end of the year. If that’s not impressive enough for you, the $19.42 trillion US economy accounts for 25% of the Gross World Product. Its status as an economic superpower means the nation is highly advanced in terms of technology and infrastructure. It’s no wonder housing, employment and health are in such good shape.
Property market
Where do we start when it comes to waxing lyrical about the health of the US property market? How about the growing economy, falling unemployment rates and rising consumer confidence, all of which are encouraging people to buy and sell homes, and apply for mortgages. Add an increase in residential construction activity and steady house price rises in all 20 major US cities to the mix and we think you’ll agree the US property market offers both short and long term investment potential.
Safety
You can have a healthy bank balance and a great lifestyle, but if you don’t feel safe in your new home it all seems rather worthless. Personal security is a core element for the well-being of individuals. According to the OECD, 74% of people in the US say they feel safe walking alone at night, more than the OECD average of 68%. If you thought little old England was safer than its big cousin across the Atlantic, think again. The Economist’s Intelligence Unit released a ranking of the safest major cities in the world; ranked 10th New York comes in 8 places above London.
