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Sure, I get that salaries are higher in the US. Overall quality of life though? I'd take europe, personally.

My salary is 50% lower than my SF-based colleagues but my quality of life is amazing. Large house, green open spaces, my taxes pay for high-quality healthcare and a _relatively_ equal society.

I'm far richer here, in many ways, than I would be if my bank account were a bit larger.

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Large houses with open green spaces seem much more attainable in the US then Western Europe. Additionally, if you're an American SWE you would have pretty great healthcare benefits anyway. In terms of average care outcomes, moving to Europe might be a step backwards in that regards.

They're probably less attainable specifically around San Fransisco and Silicon Valley than in most of Western Europe though, even on a SWE salary. It's definitely true in cheaper areas and states though.

This is how I feel as an American too. If i didn't have such strong ties here (family, friends, etc.), I'd move to Europe in a heartbeat and take the lower salary for QoL improvements.

Until when you retire you find out you paid to a system that was will reward you a small amount and you would pay taxes on that. Tell me about quality of life then! As an SWE, id take US any day.

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