Do you think foreigners' perception of America as the Land of Opportunity is true? And is the fulfillment of this dream worth it

I think it's true in many cases. The ones that flee true oppression are the ones that seem to appreciate what we have to offer the most. Socialist countries with total government rule like Cuba, Venezuela, etc. Come here with an attitude of gratitude, and thankfulness that they can exist in a place where they are free to make their own way. Also escapees from dictatorships, old Nazi Germany, North Korea, and again Cuba tend to also appreciate what our freedoms offer. I think those that flee big government are the common denominator that really seek and find their dreams here. That's why (small political comment here) I prefer that government be kept in check. I dont want a pencil pusher in DC telling me how much money I can make, I want my salary to be based on my qualifications and efforts.

I think you're right that there are many freedoms here we take for granted that others are willing to and indeed have put their lives on the line to be able to partake in. And i also agree, government control should be minimal so that individuals truly do enjoy those freedoms.

I see the American Dream as the opportunity to work hard and try and make their dreams come true. I'm working my way up the corporate ladder with no issues, I'm saving money, I'm starting to try my hand at investing in the stock market, and I'm pursuing my plan to retire with a cabin in the woods. All that takes hard work and it's not easy. The American Dream doesn't promise a free ride, you have to work for it, and even then you still may not succeed. If that happens, brush yourself off, make sure you learned the lesson, and start anew. The American Dream is about someone using their skill set, and having the potential to rise from the bottom all the way to the top.

Well, good for you! For someone so young it sounds like you've already been able to accomplish quite a bit and have a solid idea of where you want to go. Cheers to that and good luck. :) Do you think however everyone has an equal opportunity? Say if you were a refugee from a third world country or a black young woman, or from a family who lives below the poverty line or you had a handicap? (Now, i'm making assumptions of course, you could be any of those things) Would the same amount of hard work land you in an equal place at the top? And is racing to the top really the essence of the American Dream? I'm guessing it is since that seems to be the societal norm.

Or say you found a nice girl, got married decided to start a family. Would your idea of the American dream be the same or change?

Also I've seen immigrants (and even native citizens here) fully embracing and doing what you just described, but to the detriment of their own values and cultural traditions. For example I know a lovely family from Camaroon. We lived nextdoor for many years, our kids are all the same age. I slowly have seen the dynamics in that family (and others like them) change. Both parents started working, while going to college. All the kids were dropped at daycares, when they were home together the parents were just exhuasted, barely able to enjoy a meal together because everyone was on different shifts, the kids now glued to their tablets or TV. All so they could be like all the other Americans with a house, 2 cars, pool, etc. I've seen my own family members who once revered family life enjoying the quiet of the village back in Africa where grandparents lived with the kids and took care of the babies all in one home were much happier. When I went to my home country I couldn't help but notice the difference in the children, not a single one had a phone or perhaps even shoes but their smiles would light up the room. They would fashion a toy out of a stick and tossed out tire and they were happier than a kid here on Christmas morning. I think the difference for them was that even though they didn't have much they were in a sense oblivious that they were poor because they had such a close knit family and that's all they needed.

I have no idea why anyone would leave home and come to such an alien place. The main reason is money, because face it, the major mode of transport out for the truly poverty stricken or war refugees is called a casket (other than a very few refugees flown out to be settled here by whatever program)

Read some years ago about apartments in the Bronx full of cots renting for $35 per 8hr shift to Mexicans and whatnot. Lived 21 years round Arthur Ave were many live - it's a slum. Folks work hard, get ripped off sometimes, live in a crappy apartemnt for a crap ton of money, kids get picked on by Ricans in school, and when they grow up, do not feel like slaving 2 or 3 jobs for endless hours for nothing, so some join gangs n whatnot.
So why be here, to send a few dollars home? Home in a house on acres where it's warm, surrounded by family, community, culture. They could become rich in the US, but will still be aliens in a somewhat hostile land.

My ma came from Puerto Rico, where most of our relatives stayed (one uncle lived here for a while early on). They all thought we were rich gringos living the life. Meanwhile, they lived far better than us while we were isolated here unable to buy or rent in the neighborhood we did most of our growing up in when we started working. Yes, more money to be made here, but everything is more expensive.

I've met people from Gambia and Senegal, and had to bite my tongue so not to ask why are they here, did they not ever hear about racism here? How can this be better for them?
They're always smiling though, amongst the only immigrants who genuinely seem to like it here and appreciate it, whereas most others grumble badly about America to each others and those they perceive that can relate to them.

I don't understand it. My sister is law and her husband came here from Nigeria. They've been here about 20 years. Have raised their kids here worked their butts off to get good educations, (one is a head nurse at a hospital the other works for the government) they're still in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment in the bronx. Back in Nigeria they're millionaires, (each American dollar=20 Naira) actually own a huge mansion that no one lives in, are revered as elders in their village, could be living like king and queen. But, no better to live the American dream, up to their elbows in debt, not able to buy a house, working nights and odd shifts. I don't get it.

My bad, last I checked it was only 20 dollars.

well I don’t like america....

I take it you don't live here?. Can you elaborate? I'm an immigrant so I understand you may not be partial. I don't consider myself an extreme patriot. I certainly wouldn't lay down my life for some of the things America stands for.

But Y tho...

So don't live here.

In Dutch we have a saying: Dromen zijn bedrog, which literally means something like "Dreams are fake" or "Dreams are rip-offs" or "Dreams are swindlings" well, and so on....

Only a few came to the U.S. with a dream coming true. And the U.S. is not even unique in this perspective, but today the most prominent in upholding the illusion. In the middle ages, many people came to the city with a dream only to end up as beggars with nothing. "Work hard and get paid well" is one of the cores of the American Dream, and there isn't a bigger lie. I've seen some Americans who do more work a day than some rich people have ever done in their entire life and they can barely pay their rent and food, if they can even pay it.

The more a country or city or whatever appears appealing for the place of opportunity, the bigger the chance the shadow side, nobody wants you to see is there with people who tried and didn't make it, and mostly thanks to factors they couldn't even control. Nobody owes their success to themselves. It's always others who decide your success. If you work hard to be the best surgeon in the world, and no hospital even gives you an interview, then what is your hard work worth? This basically goes for all professions.

Sometimes you don't even have to set up the illusion deliberately but it will happen anyway. The EU for example. In many poor areas in Africa many people risk their lives with the dream of a better life in the EU only to find out the hard way that the EU won't offer it. Similar to people trying to get into the U.S. from through Mexico.

The American Dream sounds too good to be true, and if something sounds too good to be true... It probably is. But is it wise to keep the illusion up? I don't think so... I think the many people coming to the U.S. with a dream but only a few standing a chance will in the end only undermine the U.S., and maybe that is even what caused people to vote for Donald Trump and pleading for a wall. I don't think the wall will help. Stopping the false image called "The American Dream" and be honest about what kind of place the U.S.A. really is might be by far more fruitful... But I guess I hurt some people's pride now.. But pride will only work against you. Sorry, my words are hard, but I fear that is the only truth I can give you.

I would give my opinion in more detail, but I will get my butt kicked so imma just say this:

Let's just make sure we are all happy as we can be at the moment.

Well, i believe in free speech here. I certainly don't believe America is the end all be all as far as countries go.

To prosper and live happily

I'm with ya there

The "American Dream" seems to usually be defined exclusively in terms of material wealth, which is a little troubling, but is at the same time very, very American. So I will roll with that definition.

That said, I don't think of the American Dream as necessarily greedy or outrageous. To me, it implies only a modest, comfortable standard of living. Things like: Owning your own home. Two cars in the garage. A job that carries health benefits and a 401(k). Three decent meals a day. The financial means to raise kids and send them to college. A little left over at the end of the day for the occasional vacation: if not to Europe, then at least to Florida.

However, because of changing economic conditions, the American Dream is feeling out of reach for a lot of people these days. I think this harsh reality hits the young especially: Crushing student debt, a lack of decent jobs that match their degrees, and home prices that have risen far faster than pay rises have kept up.

All this in spite of low unemployment and an economy that, on paper, is doing very well right. Indeed, I don't deny this economy is working well for a lot of folks, but only if you're already on a certain "track" that many aren't.

This is why a lot of young people are gravitating toward left-wing candidates like Bernie Sanders. They're not doing it because they're brainwashed or they fell in love with Karl Marx at the university. Rather, they're motivated by hard-nosed, self-interested economic realities. Example: When Sanders promises to cancel all student debt (a policy I personally disagree with, and which is very, very likely never going to happen, even if he's elected), Sanders' young supporters hear a huge boon to their finances, and a head-start on the down-payment they hope to be able to one day afford.

Final thought for now: What we consider to be living modestly and comfortably here in America is actually extremely wealthy and decadent to the vast majority of humanity.

Through it all, we should try to count our blessings more often than we do.