Im very happy but be aware that the first five years is just a mix of adventure, frustration and depression. Someone told me years ago to make a rule to NOT move back during those years. Fight it out.
They were right but the danger of doing that is never wanting to move back anymore. And constantly feeling conflicted between the two countries. Your home country WILL change significantly while youre gone and things will become foreign to you - yes even in the US.
While I appreciate your appreciation of your American home compared to Romania, the point is that Eastern Europe is behind for a reason and some countries have and will catch up. There’s absolutely no reasons for the US to look as shitty as it does. It wasn’t behind the iron curtain in 1985. there was no reason for that level of decay.
It could also be you’ve never been to the rust belt which looks FAR worse than Romania right now. I rode Amtrak through the skids of Indiana and Pennsylvania and it was brutal.
You said not to plug germany, but as a Canadian who lives in Germany, Jace you thought about a different area of Germany? I lived in three different states here and were all VERY different. I was absolutely miserable and depressed in the first one (NRW). I fell in love with my area now. Germany is REALLY really different geographically.