A Los Angeles based woman has gone viral after sharing her candid views on why she left the United States to live abroad. Shawna Lum, who moved to Barcelona, Spain, uploaded a video on Instagram while driving, explaining that the main reason for her decision was America’s disappointing social life.
A US woman went viral after saying she left America for Spain, calling social life in the US disappointing.(Instagram/shawnalumm)
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In the clip, she says: “The reason why I’ve moved abroad from Los Angeles to Barcelona, Spain, and why thousands of other Americans are doing it, social life. Yes, I just said social life. The social life disappoints in the US. And I think most Americans will get where I’m coming from because the US is a separated society. This society in the US is meant to separate you so that you are individual.”
“What’s the point of a big house if it’s empty?”
Lum elaborates that the American lifestyle leaves people isolated. “Look, we have our houses so spread out, yet we don’t, we’re by ourselves all the time. What’s the point of having a big house if it’s gonna be empty all the time? This is what I don’t get about the US society. This is not okay. That’s why people are drowning in depression because in the US hanging out at the last minute and spontaneous get-togethers are not a norm. You have to book your friends out two or three weeks in advance to even do something.”
By contrast, she said life in Europe felt far more connected. “In Europe, on the contrary, it is not like that. People are literally out on the street walking around every single day. You can meet up with whoever you want. You can always text your friends and be like, hey, let’s go grab a tea. Let’s drop in. Let’s connect. And you don’t ever feel lonely.”
“Extreme loneliness is killing us in the US”
The woman stressed that America’s lack of spontaneous community was causing harm. “So this extreme loneliness is honestly killing us in the US. And if you’ve not experienced this, like, good on you, but I’m sure most of us know what I’m talking about. And as somebody that’s lived in four different countries, Spain, France, India, I can tell you that this is the US’s worst problem.”
She added that healthcare, debt and diet only made things worse. “We haven’t even talked about healthcare, drowning in debt, crippling anxiety because of that debt, and people having to go on all sorts of medications because the food system is horrible in the US. I’m saying that as a human being, not a human doing, we need other people. We need community. And the US is, I’m sorry, not built for that.”
Take a look here at the clip:
Social media divided over her views
The video, captioned “Where are we moving abroad y’all?”, has already gained over six lakh views and ignited a lively debate. One user commented, “She is absolutely right, the loneliness in America is real and no one talks about it.” Another wrote, “This is exaggerated, plenty of Americans have strong social networks, it’s not all bad.”
Some echoed Lum’s experiences, with one saying, “I live in Germany now and I finally feel human again.” Another observed, “In the US, everything is scheduled, nothing is spontaneous. She nailed it.”