My daughter couldn't walk 2 blocks to school alone in LA. In Australia, she takes the train by herself.

I spent a fortune raising my daughter in LA but still worried constantly about her safety. We moved to Sydney in 2020, where she walks to school and takes public transportation alone. I miss family in the US, but I love the independence and peace of mind we've gained in Australia. In 2018, living in Los Angeles, I spent nearly a year hustling to get my daughter into day care. I waited, I begged, I paid a small fortune, and finally grabbed a spot. It was a lovely center with actual grass. I felt like I'd won the parenting lottery, even if it cost more than a university education. As she grew up, and unable to afford private school, we moved to a nice neighborhood. Turns out the local public school didn't have enough space for all the students in the catchment area, so I found myself waking up at 4 a.m. to try to get a spot. Even the local commute was fraught. Parents drove their kids to school, just two blocks away.

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