What about health insurance and medical care? If you are young you have little worries (you do not think about health, I sure did not) and even can start paying into some National system(?) but for an old coot like me...I need Medicare or cheap accessible care like Mexico. And with COVID you can get sick no matter how old you are! I am from Hungary originally and let me tell you, EU is disintegrating, living there has advantages but many Hungarians I know moved back(retired there) and they end up in the US after a short time. Budapest is the most vibrant and beautiful city in the world, I was born and raised there! BUT, Europe as a whole is under invasion from Africa and Asia. Crime is rising and EU leadership is ridiculously weak and incompetent. If you do not like Trump, you'd prefer a Socialist Multiculti "paradise", just wait until you have a daughter who has a chance encounter with a rapefugee.
https://www.roughguides.com/article/the-10-best-beaches-in-croatia/ http://theamerikanka.com/cost-living-croatia-expat-digital-nomad-retired/#.X0pR_aLPzIU " Monthly total At the bare bare minimum to scrape by, you probably want to make at least 650 euros per month in order to have a social life, a decent apartment and get by without any debts or loans. But 750-800 euros a month would allow you to live more comfortably. " Try to live in America comfortably on 1K....
From the link above posted: "Healthcare As an expat, you can’t get the free public healthcare that the locals receive. Healthcare for unemployed foreigners could cost up to 60 euros, but you should be able to book a private doctor visit for only 20-30 euros. General physicians can even be as low as 15 euros. Additional insurance will be around 7 euros. Antibiotics at the pharmacy should between 5-10 euros. " Now look up Covid spread in Croatia and in the US, and you will laugh (or cry). OK, I will do that for you, the US is 12 times more infected.
You would have to pay a year of back pay into the Croatian national health care plan that would set you back about $1,000 and then pay about that much a year going forward. If you've never experienced health care outside the U.S. you're in for a pleasant surprise at its its affordability and availability in the rest of the developed world. The cost and availability of medical care would far down your list of both fiscal and practical concerns with such a move.
Now tell me how much would it cost to 5-days in ICU? The US infection rate and other national COVID stats are riddled with inaccuracies and propaganda! Most people are "infected" and show no symptoms so your statement about US "infection rate" is as useful as a tit on a board.
Of course, to live comfortably in Budapest, first, you'd need to buy a place but of course, you can rent but a $1000/month you would be a very tight budget, $2000 and you can have a car maybe and $3000 you are comfortable. If you live in a smaller town where there is no expat community you will be shunned and met with quiet hostility and envy. My friend made a mistake to move back to a small town near Budapest. She is a Swiss/Hungarian who lived in Geneva for 40 years. She regretted not buying an Apartment in Budapest. The other thing is the language barrier. I lived in Luxembourg for a short time and while everybody speaks English, not knowing French/German was a major problem, thus I came back to California before my contract expired.
It would cost about $300, the copay there for that would be about $60 a day. What is your point exactly? Are you actually interested bin health care costs in Croatia or are you just using the discussion to inject Trump talking points?
try to stay objective. USA is number 3 worldwide when it concerns rapes. 1 is South Africa; 2 is Sweden. https://www.wonderslist.com/10-countries-highest-rape-crime/ About crime: Murders in the US 3 times higher than in the EU. https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/European-Union/United-States/Crime