The bigger number is the important part. I could spend 3 years unemployed in my Canadian city then work for a year in SF and my savings account would be bigger

The bigger number is the important part. I could spend 3 years unemployed in my Canadian city then work for a year in SF and my savings account would be bigger than if I spent 4 years working locally. That's a huge QoL difference. I'm not sure if Europeans plan on staying in SF for long