I'm also using SFBA, NY, Boston, Seattle as exemplars of the US. I'd rather live in London than New Mexico, but there are parts of the UK worse than New Mexico, too. (amazingly. I didn't know this until living in the UK.)
US universities are stronger than German universities, at least in commercialization, graduate studies, etc. K-12 could go either way; Baltimore public schools are worse than what I assume are the worst German schools, but Palo Alto, Stuy, etc. might be better (at least I don't know of anything comparable in Germany).
Great films, worth watching.
You can see Wasp, which won an Oscar for best short film, here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aJjj8v3xVs
Trailer for Fish Tank, featuring Michael Fassbender: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg1yMOdjyp0
Oddly we also seem to be developing one of the better tech hubs outside of London in Newcastle, so the rise of technology could see things improve.
Given the European financial crisis, this seems misplaced. Not to say that there will not be a financial collapse, but only if there is one it will be world-wide and the US will not be the worst off of the Western nations.
The contenders are: China, India (a unified Europe -but age is a problem). Russia is borderline has tremendous resources, but lacks the population and suffers from a paternalistic state (very tsarist in modern clothes).
Plus, Germany depends on foreign demand. When the world economy tanks, German economy tanks because there isn't enough internal consumption to pick up the slack --just as in Japan.
Better education - Kind of, although most of the top universities are still in the US.
Better attitude - Nope, not in my opinion
More open-minded - Nope, not in my opinion
Less harassment for being weird/nonstandard - Nope, not in my opinion
Healthier food - Yes, I agree on that
Better transport - Yes
More cultural things to do/see - Always depends on the area and there's enough to see in the SF Bay Area
Better solutions to the growing underclass problem - I only partially agree here. There's a reason why the Euro is on the decline in the last couple of months. Europe has many problems still to solve. Of course, the US also has many problems, that's why I partially agree.
Germany. Better education, better attitude, more open-minded, less harassment for being weird/nonstandard, median level of critical thinking ability, healthier food, better transport, more cultural things to do/see, better solutions to the growing underclass problem you described elsewhere.
There are tons of hacker-mindset people here (it's something in the water, I swear), and while there are lots of annoying hoops to jump through in the entrepreneurial arena, the general quality of life is vastly improved over the US in almost every meaningful day-to-day way. Economically the differences have already been done to death.
The US is coasting, and I believe it will implode financially within our lifetimes.