Well our economy is improving thanks to our President :) I live in the state of Massachusetts which is very liberal and very anti-gun so we don't really have too much violence. I quite like the United States because we have very hot regions and very cold regions so everyone can move around to the climate they prefer without having to leave the country.
Most violence in America is concentrated in a few areas -- mainly the inner cities of Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit, St. Louis, Baltimore, Washington D. C, Los Angeles, Oakland, etc. America is pretty segregated by class. Crime tends to happen in low class neighborhoods like everywhere else in the world.
People can often avoid crime by simply knowing which areas to avoid. The vast majority of the American landscape is safe. Outside of certain cities you don't have to worry about much violence.
Naturally the smaller the community the more people are going to be curious about other peoples' lives. In cities or large towns you can make yourself quite isolated and no one will care. This will be harder to do in small close-nit towns.
Yes we have cold environments in the winter. Anywhere above the 37th parallel will usually get snowfall in the winter.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.