YouTuber Oliver-ssem, who boasts 2.25 million subscribers, is giving up life as an immigrant in the United States and returning to Korea because of practical problems.
On the 26th, Oliver-ssem uploaded a video to his personal YouTube channel titled "8th year of U.S. immigration with a Korean wife… now I'm really giving up."
In the video, Oliver-ssem revealed life in Texas with his wife. In particular, he said that after eight years as an expatriate, he plans to liquidate his U.S. immigration status and return to Korea, his wife's hometown.
The first issue that led Oliver-ssem to liquidate his U.S. life was taxes. Living on an 8,000-pyeong rural property in Texas, he said that starting in 2026 he will have to pay 8,000 dollars in property taxes for dwellings (about 1,156만원). Moreover, he said this is expected to increase by 15% each year for the next five years.
Furthermore, the home insurance alone amounted to 4,402 dollars (about 636만원). Simply because they own a dwelling, they had to pay 12,000 dollars in taxes and insurance. In addition, Texas is vulnerable to natural disasters such as wildfires, and the country's top one and two large insurers were avoiding underwriting there. As a result, the Oliver family had no choice but to take out expensive insurance.
The second reason was education. In particular, Oliver-ssem pointed out that public education in the United States is deteriorating rapidly. He said the Trump administration has begun procedures to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education for the first time in 46 years and that the Texas State Governments are also actively embracing this. In fact, he said public schools have fewer students and thus smaller budgets, and teachers have had to increase days off because payroll has become difficult to meet, which added to the shock.
The third reason was natural disasters caused by climate change. The Oliver family said deadly heat over 40 degrees is at disaster levels, and yet because of insufficient power infrastructure they pointed out that in 2026 power supply will be short by 6.2%. With blackouts expected as soon as next summer, they said they no longer felt they could withstand 40-degree heat.
The fourth problem was the medical system: notorious U.S. medical insurance costs approached 2,600 dollars, about 400만원. Oliver's wife said, "I wish paying such expensive money would get us good service. But the service is not good at all."
He said, "The reason this hit us directly was that Grandpa Brad was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He had shown symptoms several times before and went to the hospital. He wanted to get tests. But you could only get them through a primary care physician and the doctor avoided ordering the tests," and added, "No matter how much you want a thorough test, you couldn't get one, and in the end it was only discovered when it was terminal. Seeing this situation made my heart hurt and feel like it was being torn apart. Emotion came first, and there was a rational fear that this could be my future."
He continued, "We are raising two children, and if you only get diagnosed when it's terminal even when you are sick, what will happen to the children?" and explained, "Even if we pay 4 million won a month for medical insurance, I don't know why we should be treated like this," adding to the shock.
In the end, Oliver-ssem said, "I think we have to end this immigrant life." Even so, wearing a short-sleeve T-shirt and a ballcap, he said, "It's 27 degrees in Texas even in December," highlighting the seriousness of climate change.
They plan to return to Korea to settle with the wife's family. However, it is expected that they will spend ample time with Grandpa Brad, who is fighting terminal pancreatic cancer. That even popular YouTuber Oliver-ssem, who boasts some 2.25 million subscribers, has to give up life as an immigrant in the United States even in his hometown added to the shock. <
[Photo] YouTube source.
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