Should have been more clear: I worked in the US tech space since ~ 2013 (CyberSecurity) but do so as a remote employee, working from Germany. Hence I got the so

Should have been more clear: I worked in the US tech space since ~ 2013 (CyberSecurity) but do so as a remote employee, working from Germany. Hence I got the sometimes surreal experience of working for a VC-backed crazy-growth US corporation while still hanging out with my German friends on weekends who work consulting gigs or at a parts supplier for the automotive industry. Salary-wise the difference was between 2x and 5x, depending on whether you count stock-based compensation. After a while I found it hard to talk to my German friends about my job since it was happening at such a different pace from their regular jobs yet none of them seemed even remotely interested in landing such a job themselves. I agree with you, I wouldn't move to the US for my job (and neither would any of my former colleagues), but we all appreciated the fact that when it comes to business, it's better to work for a US company which understands that sometimes you have to spend money in order to make money, which is not always the case in Germany.