Between the 2016 Presidential Election and the chaos it has stirred up, all the shootings and terrorist attacks, and realization of how messed up our economy is in general, there have been a lot of jokes about packing up and moving to Canada -- but although our closest option, it’s not the only one.

After watching an episode of "Pawn Stars" (don’t judge me), I saw something slightly shocking. If you’ve ever watched that show, or any show on the History Channel for that matter, you know they do random trivia throughout the span of an episode. Anyhow, the question was about gas prices, and where it was the highest. The answer was Norway, coming in at $9.00 per gallon, but in the tidbit of information after that, it says that the country has free college and the higher price of gas helps to pay for it because the country receives more money from those who live there. I, being a college student, was of course super happy about the idea of free college and found myself in a little debate with my father, who didn’t quite agree. Now, it’s not that he wouldn’t love free college, but more so that because those gas prices are crazy high, and that it would make any type of travel (car, train, bus) more expensive, it’s just not worth it. In response, I had said I’d rather pay $9.00/gallon than have $20,000+ dollars of student debt for who knows how long after I graduate.

So, I decided to do some research on the country.

My father wasn’t wrong; the cost of living is quite higher in Norway than in the United States. As a matter of fact, based off of this neat table I found, most things are much more expensive, which seems like a con. I did more research anyway because I thought, “Well, sure, maybe things are pricier, but maybe the average Norwegian's salary is higher than the average American's, so it evens out.”

This time I wasn’t wrong; a lot of it does even out. Salaries are higher, as is the cost of living. But I read an article written by a woman who lived in Norway and there are downsides to it. Here’s the catch—although there is free college, the price of living is high. So, students still have to take out loans to survive, and it ends up being about the same debt as an American college student. Plus, if you are not born Norwegian, it seems to be extremely hard to get the financial support, so moving to Norway for free college is basically out of the question. However, the same woman wrote another article stating the good things. With all the reading I’ve done, I have still decided that if the choice was up to me, I would have loved growing up in Norway much more than in the United States.

Here’s why: the unemployment rate is much lower, there are more than 10,000 less deaths due to AIDS/HIV and the average life expectancy is higher, CO2 emissions are lower, there are less homicides (as well as crime in general), and there are less threatened species of animals and plants. Plus, it’s a gorgeous place and, although pretty much impossible to do, Bernie Sanders would love for the U.S. to have a Nordic-like way of living.

Now, the world isn’t comprised of just the United States and Norway, so what about other countries?

Sadly, I can’t write about the U.S. compared to all other countries in the world, so I’ll choose the one I want to visit the most -- one that has always resonated with me for some odd reasons since I first heard how great it was: New Zealand. Based on The Good Country rating, New Zealand comes in at No. 12 worldwide, so there are still 11 countries that are better and also worth taking a look at. But, nonetheless, the U.S. comes in at No. 20 which is by no means the lowest on the list, but it isn’t the highest, either.

For beginners, New Zealand is full of incredibly nice people and great coffee. That’s enough to make me want to move there already, but let’s look at some other statistics. Being in the same boat as Norway, you are less likely to be unemployed (although pay isn’t as good), you have a longer life expectancy and cheaper health care, there’s less death due to HIV, and there is less crime. And here’s another awesome fact: New Zealand is ranked fourth on the Global Peace Index! But it gets better — if you didn’t already know, New Zealand is beautiful. Even though it’s a tiny place, in comparison to the U.S., it has all sorts of things to see from beaches on the ocean to mountains with amazing views. So, between all of that crazy goodness, it’s no doubt it’s deemed one of the best countries to live in.

Yet, with all said and done, packing up and leaving the country to live somewhere new isn’t as easy as we wish it to be. Unless you have all means necessary to do so, you’re stuck here in the United States, dreaming just like the rest of us. It doesn't hurt to wish, though.