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Few Americans seem to get their information about socialized medicine in Europe from people who’ve actually lived in Europe. Instead, they get it from unreliable “news” sources, from equally unreliable politicians, or from someone else with a dog in this fight.

Well, I am an American currently living in Austria, and thanks to my husband’s employment here, I am covered by the Austrian healthcare system. So I’m here to explode a few myths, like how Europeans can’t choose their own doctors, or how they have to wait forever for care, or how universal coverage is bankrupting the countries that offer it.

I chose my doctor here because his office is literally next door to my apartment building. If I need to see him, I call for a same-day appointment — or I can just walk over there. If want to, I can go to any doctor in the country, but I’m very happy with this guy.

I do less waiting here than I do back in the States. There is no deductible for visits to the doctor, or to the ER, or to the hospital. Prescriptions cost a few Euros. And I have a chronic, somewhat debilitating neurological condition, so I am a heavy user of medical services.

No one here has to file bankruptcy over medical bills. No one dies or suffers because they can’t afford medical care.

And there is almost no poverty here. No one starves or freezes on the streets. Okay, fewer people here live in McMansions, but I’m okay with that. And businesses are not fleeing Europe because of the higher taxes, no matter what you may have heard. Innsbruck, where I live, is booming. There is no sign of a recession, no glut of homes on the market, few empty storefronts, and low unemployment.

I don’t worry over here about bridges collapsing or the electrical grid failing. The infrastructure is kept up-to-date, and kept functional.

There is almost no violent crime here. There is no area of Innsbruck in which I would be afraid to walk, even at night, even by myself.

We have been in the homes of people who have jobs equivalent to our own, and I can tell you, from personal observations, that the standard of living here is as high as that in the States.

Julian and I have been living here for four months. We have chosen not to have a car, and that has worked out well. I can get on the bus (or the tram or a train) and get anywhere I want to be. Public transit runs on time, and is cost-effective and efficient.

Oh, and by the way, we know all about those higher European taxes Americans all worry about. We have had many frank and prolonged conversations with people doing just what we do for a living. We know how much they pay in taxes, and we know how much we pay. When you do the math, and balance their higher taxes with the services they get (including virtually free higher education — imagine not having to save for your kids’ college!), well, I, for one, would make that trade any day.

Of course, I happen to believe that kids ought to be able to go to college if they have the ability and the desire, no matter what their parents’ means may be. And I think that it is wrong to allow people to starve in our streets while corporate executives squirrel away their money in tax havens.

I don’t understand why we, as the largest economy in the world, cannot take some lessons from what is working in the EU. The countries are not monolithic; some of them are doing a better job of making things work than others. But to decide that having governments take care of their citizens is evil is ridiculous. Many EU countries are doing far better than we are, both economically and socially.

Frankly, if I could move all those whom I love over here, I would stay here, in a heartbeat. I do love my own country; but my country has chosen to use its deficit spending on ruinous wars, rather than taking care of its citizens and its infrastructure. The priorities of my government are not the priorities I support.

But how much better it would be if my own country would learn from people like me, who have actually lived abroad, rather than from propaganda and the fears of those who have only listened to propaganda.

Now, how many people do you personally know who have lived both in the U.S. and the E.U.? And are you going to believe propaganda (heavily financed by the wealthy), or are you going to listen to someone who has been here, and had the chance to compare?

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