Being an immigrant, I have been asked countless times how I like the US. This question always makes me uneasy, because I do not know how to answer it. Or more precisely, I do not know what that question means.
If it means "my personal life experiences since I got off the boat" - the answer is that these have been mostly positive, albeit in a prozac-like manner. I live a quite comfortable life style, I am able to purse my intellectual interests, the people with whom I interact on a daily basis are generally nice. There are not many downs, but there are not many ups either - a lunch, a small talk, a reception every now and then. Few people wanting to interact with strangers, even fewer showing genuine passion about anything - except perhaps hatred spewed on the internet. I doubt, however, that most authors of these hate postings act out similar emotions in their face-to-face interaction - they probably fit well into the soporific mode of social interaction.
By a comparison, social life in the European countries with which I am familiar is much more lively. Europeans also seem to be more respectful toward strangers and other people in general. US-ers tend to be superficially polite, but show very little interest in others, and do not care if their behavior offends other people. They also tend to be more noisy, flashy and self-righteous than Europeans. But these are relatively minor concerns, hardly a reason for changing one's country of residence.
However, if "liking the US" means my attitude toward something else than my personal life experiences on this side of the pond - I am really at loss. Philosophically, I am a nominalist, and concepts (even abstract ones) must have empirical references to mean anything to me. And the empirical reference I associate with the concept "US" (I deliberately do not use the term "America" because this is a geographical concept that also includes Canada and Mexico) evoke quite mixed reactions.
For example, I fully agree with Doug description of the US public culture as idiotic, yet I find the US style of communication, especially writing, far superior to the obtuse bullshit, and dense, incomprehensible prose commonly found in Europe. Of course, that obtuse way of communication has been emulated here as well, but it is not widely spread, let alone a norm.
I profoundly dislike the prevailing US life styles - the dependence on the cars, suburban sprawl and hideously ugly architecture, the lack of public services (especially transportation) and public spaces, decaying cities, full of trash, loud and obnoxious people, noise from any imaginable source, and parking lots and garages. I know that there is considerable variation in the US in this respect, the Baltimore/Washington area is very much different from Philly or New York, but I live in Baltimore, not in New York City, and going to New York City costs me six (sic!) times more as traveling the same distance in Europe (cf. $300 vs. 50 Euro for the ICE/Acela class service).
I profoundly dislike US politics, especially the infantile, self-righteous speeches that freely mix the words "god" and "America in one sentence, and the monumental idiocy of the political opinions by the majority of politicians, pundits, and common folks alike. It is not that these opinions are conservative - I can appreciate a good argument that I ideologically disagree with - but that they are dollops of canned speech, fast food for thought spewed without any thought and intended to evoke an emotional reaction rather than a thoughtful response. This is, btw, true of both, right and left.
However, I very much appreciate the openness of the US court system that gives me a chance to challenge almost any public official - provided I have enough money or find a pro-bono lawyer. I also appreciate the openness of the public decision-making process, the public hearing to which most such decisions are subjected, and the impact that organized citizen groups can have on such decisions.
With the exception of Scandinavia, the US is probably one of least sexist countries. It does not mean that it is free of sexism, but that US sexism is much less conspicuous and obnoxious than its European, especially Eastern European counterpart. By that I do not mean the "locker-room" talk - after all most men are pigs in any country - but the expression and sanctioning of sexism in public life and culture. For example, job ads seeking "an attractive female secretary under 25 years of age" are quite common in Eastern Europe, but unheard of here.
US educational system sucks big time, because of its local control that allows wacky religious groups to dictate the curriculum, and because of its excessive reliance on standardized testing that effectively kill any creativity. Europeans, with their centralized school curricula, do not depend on standardized testing as much, not to mention adequate public finding. At the same time, however, the US higher education system is probably one of the most open among the developed countries. Virtually everyone in every age group can pursue a degree - an option that is not available in Europe to those who pass a certain age.
To summarize - for an outside observer such is myself, the US appears as neither the greatest nor the worst country to live. It is mixture of a few really good traits, a few really, really bad ones, and a heavy dollop of prozac-like dullness.
Wojtek