Education and growing up
Community college and trade training involve different costs and schedules.
COUNTRY LIFE / USA
A life in the United States
From school lunches to trade training, household budgets and neighbors.
01 / QUESTION
What might a life in the United States look like?
Choose education, work and family routes across changing eras and local conditions.
United States / 1950–2025
Choices along the way
Compare shifts, commuting and qualification requirements when considering work. · Distance, practical support and shared childcare shape family decisions.
02 / START
Set your birth
Population statistics describe the era, not the outcome of one person’s life.
03 / GENERATIONS
A country across generations
Population statistics describe the era, not the outcome of one person’s life.
1965Sources and scope
Legislation enacted in 1965 created Medicare and Medicaid, with coverage subject to program eligibility.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Medicare and Medicaid legislation ↗
Sources describe the social setting for the relevant era; choices and the simulation shape each person’s work, family and outcome.
04 / EVERYDAY LIFE
Choices along the way
Work and careers
Compare shifts, commuting and qualification requirements when considering work.
Family and everyday life
Distance, practical support and shared childcare shape family decisions.
Life across generations
The 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1965 Medicare and Medicaid legislation, and 1990 ADA mark institutional changes.
05 / SOURCES
Sources and scope
Population statistics describe the era, not the outcome of one person’s life.
National School Lunch Program
Original source ↗Registered Apprenticeship Program
Original source ↗Digest 2024 Table 303.10: Postsecondary enrollment
Original source ↗Historical Families Tables
Original source ↗Historical Households Tables
Original source ↗Timeline of Events: 1971 to 1980
Original source ↗Great Recession of 2007–09
Original source ↗History of Medicare and Medicaid
Original source ↗Civil Rights Act (1964)
Original source ↗ADA 25th Anniversary
Original source ↗06 / LIFE ARCHIVE
Lives that began here
Only completed simulation records voluntarily made public by players appear here.
…
07 / NEXT COUNTRY
Choose a birthplace. Discover a different life.
JapanFranceGermanyVietnamThailandCanadaIndiaSouth KoreaPhilippinesSpainItalyChinaTaiwanHong Kong SAR China
Statistics for 172 places ↗