I'm pretty sure that IBM Germany wouldn't pay you more either. Guess how shocking I found salaries during my first time in the US ;-) Also, even though taxes in

I'm pretty sure that IBM Germany wouldn't pay you more either. Guess how shocking I found salaries during my first time in the US ;-) Also, even though taxes in CA are "high", taxes in Germany will prob. be a lot higher. I recently spoke to a Norwegian who just moved here. He couldn't believe that he has to pay more here than back home. >50% including social benefits etc. is standard for a single. However, you have to take into account, that, as far as I can tell, this already includes quite a decent federal retirement package. Additional private retirement plans are getting standard here now, but up until quite recently, lots of people would be happy with their federal ones. My parents for instance never bought a private plan. Depending on what you prefer, there can be more bang for the buck, or quality of life. For instance in my hometown Munich, rent might be higher than in any other German city but even for European standarts its a joke. You can easily live in the center for way under 1000 Euro per month if you're not to picky. You can prob. reach everything incl. work, city parks and even mountains without a car. In theory bike + train can get you anywhere. The crime rate is a LOT lower. The best beer in town costs about 50 cents per bottle. There are almost know bums on the streets. And so on... As far as I can tell if you try to save money, the US is the better place to be a high demanded employee. If you want to enjoy life, maybe central Europe is better for you. Oh, and last but not least, don't expect to find a start up community, larger than a few dozen entrepreneurs.