As an immigrant to the US (and having lived in multiple countries before that), I definitely have a different view. It's quite interesting how often that is the case.
> We treat our society like a zero-sum game.
In my experience, Americans are some of the least zero-sum thinking people, perhaps driven by the natural geographic advantages of the country. In other parts of the world, a zero-sum attitude is the norm, not the exception. It's suffocating if you live in it. I regard this as one of America's greatest strengths.
As for some of the things you find dissatisfactory with the US:
> politics
I'm sure many people everywhere think their country has uniquely dysfunctional politics, just like how people in every city claim that their city has the worst drivers. Belgium went without a government for years. The Taiwanese parliament breaks out in fistfights every now and then.
> insane housing costs
I don't know how things are in Scandinavia, but Canada or any part of East Asia are absolutely much worse by this metric. Look up median multiples in different countries; you'll find that the US is very favorable, especially among developed countries.
A middle-class family being able to afford to own a house happens more in the US than virtually any other place.
> corrupt judges
I'm not really sure what you mean. Do you find the US judiciary to be more corrupt than in other countries?
> stances on drugs and abortion
What do you find terrible about these? Drug laws are relatively lax in general in the US, and especially in certain states. Many Asian countries punish drug users and traffickers very harshly.
On abortion, you might be surprised to find that most Western European countries are much more restrictive than the liberal American states.
> the rich get richer, leaving everyone else even further behind
The real median personal income[0] has been on a broadly upward trend. The great majority of Americans make more money than their parents; more than half of people born to parents in the bottom quintile of incomes end up in a higher quintile; and conversely, more than half of people born to parents in the top quintile end up in a lower quintile[1].
In Europe, some of the very richest have remained the very richest for literal centuries[2]. In the US, you'd be hard-pressed to find people on the Forbes 400 list whose grandparents were also on the same list.
> Life actually seemed way better for millions of working class folks during COVID, when the economy was tanking and government simply propped it up
Your argument is that life seems better when the government prints money and hands it out to people? Surely you understand that there's a very sharp limit to how far that can go.
> if you just want a peaceful, boring life, this is not the place to be
I don't know where in the US you are, but it's a huge country with very diverse lifestyles to be found. Where I live, in a midsize Southern city, my barber, who has no college education or inheritance, lives on a 10-acre property with his wife and children. Their house is very modest, but they are saving up to build a bigger one. This seems the definition of a "peaceful, boring life".
If you want this kind of life on a median or below income in some of the most desirable cities in the country, I grant you that's going to be very tough. But that is the case anywhere in the world. People constantly tread water just to get by in big, competitive cities.
> I also spent several weeks in a few other countries -- enough to get a very basic feel for their society and services
Being on vacation in a country is very different than living there.
Ultimately, different people value things differently, and you may very well find yourself happier in another country. I'm just pointing out that it's very easy to view other countries with rosy glasses, and that the view of the US as "a hellhole where either you're rich or you're worthless" is by many objective metrics untrue.
[0]: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N
[1]: https://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_a...
[2]: https://www.vox.com/2016/5/18/11691818/barone-mocetti-floren...