China shouldn't be included in that list.
It being a police state is a joke. LOL
Ever been to Shanghai? Ever been to rural China? I bet you weren't. Let me tell you something.
Unless you LOOK for trouble, you won't find any.
Unless you LOOK for organized crime, you won't find any.
Pick pocketing is what you can expect. Your purse stolen if you keep your backpack open. THAT'S IT.
And Russia?
Russia is an oligarchy. A fascist state ruled by the industry just as the US is. Alright, they don't have Hollywood and football to sell you a dream of it being otherwise, but a police state? LOL
When you mind your own business and you RUN your own business, unless you try to piss in the oligarchs coffee cup.......NOTHING will happen.
Try the same in the US and see what will happen.
I can buy my way out, can you? I doubt it.
Take those pink shades off your nose and realize the world you are living in.
NYC? Never liked it, overcrowded, smell of farts, piss and shit everywhere. People who think they "made it", because they live in a 500sq apartment paying 2k a month. LOL
I have my soft spot for CA, having lived in Laguna Beach and not being much inside of the LA-monster, but NYC? It's a shithole where dreams are made of the smell of piss and junkie-needles. No thanks. lol
But yeah, Brooklyn has its own vibe. At least it used to. Other than that, no, thanks.
Chicago over NYC any day of the week.