Hence I did say, "never been there." I'd love to visit, but living in a place where you can be locked up for life or shot for ownership of a certain green herbal substance is not my cuppa.

The conclusion that I'll draw is that I likely don't want to be stuck in the US for a good few years. Invest in the US, sure, but unless something changes radically between me and someone else (may happen, we'll see when I'm back in NYC a week from now), there's nothing for me in that country. Zero.

And all the "other fish in the sea" yammering won't serve to change my opinion, so don't bother trying.