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It only seems like that but people in the US have to pay for things that Europeans take for granted. You might earn more, but most people would end up with less

It only seems like that but people in the US have to pay for things that Europeans take for granted. You might earn more, but most people would end up with less disposable income.

wil421 4y ago
Paying $12k on the high end out of your non-taxed income for a family of 4 does not make up for a near 2x salary gap.
- germinalphrase 4y ago
  No, but medical bills in the US can essentially be unbounded if insurance denies your claim. You pay 12k in insurance. That doesn’t mean you don’t pay anything beyond that number. People literally sock away millions of dollars for elderly care with the expectation that they won’t leave a dime to their kids.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- phendrenad2 4y ago
  Where is that number coming from? I assure you it's much more complicated than something you can express with a single number.
refurb 4y ago
For some jobs sure, but tech job? The delta is >$100,000USD/yr, which after tax might be $70,000 which pays for all that stuff you get for free or subsidized in Europe, plus some left over.
- juve1996 4y ago
  Look at the cost of housing and rents in most US cities that you'd actually want to live in. The others? Forget about public transit. Need a car, and car insurance, and car maintenance. And the reality is most tech jobs don't really pay as much as you think. For the good remote jobs you'll be competing with people who are simply better than you ,so good luck.
  - RussianCow 4y ago
    Even taking all of those things into consideration, $200k in SF is better than $100k pretty much anywhere else. > And the reality is most tech jobs don't really pay as much as you think. For the good remote jobs you'll be competing with people who are simply better than you ,so good luck. I guess it depends on what "you think" tech jobs pay, but this has not been my experience. If you're even half-decent, there are countless remote software engineering opportunities that pay well above $100k, which is a great salary if you're not comparing it with the top end of the industry. Most companies right now are facing a labor shortage, so it's far easier to get a remote job as a SWE than ever before.
    - juve1996 4y ago
      > Even taking all of those things into consideration, $200k in SF is better than $100k pretty much anywhere else. I don't know if that's true. The cost of living, in say, Pittsburgh, is 50% that of San Francisco, so at best it's equivalent. And you can actually get a house and a yard there. > I guess it depends on what "you think" tech jobs pay, but this has not been my experience. If you're even half-decent, there are countless remote software engineering opportunities that pay well above $100k, which is a great salary if you're not comparing it with the top end of the industry. Most companies right now are facing a labor shortage, so it's far easier to get a remote job as a SWE than ever before. "You think" that there are a lot of "half-decent" engineers out there. There aren't. The types of engineers making big bucks are not easily replicable. If it was so easy to become a half decent engineer we wouldn't need the song and dance of tech interviews which are an absolute joke. Companies have made the hiring process HARDER not EASIER. This tells that the market is flooded with subpar candidates.
      - pb7 4y ago
        Cost of living in Pittsburgh may be 50% of San Francisco but that only matters if you’re spending every single cent you make. This is not the case on $200K. You are far better off in San Francisco. This is how “Californians” move to cheap cities and buy homes in cash over asking.
  - 4y ago
pb7 4y ago
United States has the highest median disposable income in the world.[0] The gap is astronomical if considering tech workers alone. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_capita_income https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_c...
Nextgrid 4y ago
It really depends on your country. In the UK, the "NHS" everyone seems to love here is completely useless unless you're on the brink of death. Any non-critical care is impossible to get so you end up going private anyway, essentially paying twice.

It only seems like that but people in the US have to pay for things that Europeans take for granted. You might earn more, but most people would end up with less disposable income.

wil421 4y ago

Paying $12k on the high end out of your non-taxed income for a family of 4 does not make up for a near 2x salary gap.

germinalphrase 4y ago
No, but medical bills in the US can essentially be unbounded if insurance denies your claim. You pay 12k in insurance. That doesn’t mean you don’t pay anything beyond that number. People literally sock away millions of dollars for elderly care with the expectation that they won’t leave a dime to their kids.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
phendrenad2 4y ago
Where is that number coming from? I assure you it's much more complicated than something you can express with a single number.

refurb 4y ago

For some jobs sure, but tech job? The delta is >$100,000USD/yr, which after tax might be $70,000 which pays for all that stuff you get for free or subsidized in Europe, plus some left over.

juve1996 4y ago
Look at the cost of housing and rents in most US cities that you'd actually want to live in. The others? Forget about public transit. Need a car, and car insurance, and car maintenance. And the reality is most tech jobs don't really pay as much as you think. For the good remote jobs you'll be competing with people who are simply better than you ,so good luck.
- RussianCow 4y ago
  Even taking all of those things into consideration, $200k in SF is better than $100k pretty much anywhere else. > And the reality is most tech jobs don't really pay as much as you think. For the good remote jobs you'll be competing with people who are simply better than you ,so good luck. I guess it depends on what "you think" tech jobs pay, but this has not been my experience. If you're even half-decent, there are countless remote software engineering opportunities that pay well above $100k, which is a great salary if you're not comparing it with the top end of the industry. Most companies right now are facing a labor shortage, so it's far easier to get a remote job as a SWE than ever before.
  - juve1996 4y ago
    > Even taking all of those things into consideration, $200k in SF is better than $100k pretty much anywhere else. I don't know if that's true. The cost of living, in say, Pittsburgh, is 50% that of San Francisco, so at best it's equivalent. And you can actually get a house and a yard there. > I guess it depends on what "you think" tech jobs pay, but this has not been my experience. If you're even half-decent, there are countless remote software engineering opportunities that pay well above $100k, which is a great salary if you're not comparing it with the top end of the industry. Most companies right now are facing a labor shortage, so it's far easier to get a remote job as a SWE than ever before. "You think" that there are a lot of "half-decent" engineers out there. There aren't. The types of engineers making big bucks are not easily replicable. If it was so easy to become a half decent engineer we wouldn't need the song and dance of tech interviews which are an absolute joke. Companies have made the hiring process HARDER not EASIER. This tells that the market is flooded with subpar candidates.
    - pb7 4y ago
      Cost of living in Pittsburgh may be 50% of San Francisco but that only matters if you’re spending every single cent you make. This is not the case on $200K. You are far better off in San Francisco. This is how “Californians” move to cheap cities and buy homes in cash over asking.
- 4y ago

pb7 4y ago

United States has the highest median disposable income in the world.[0] The gap is astronomical if considering tech workers alone. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_capita_income https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposable_household_and_per_c...

Nextgrid 4y ago

It really depends on your country. In the UK, the "NHS" everyone seems to love here is completely useless unless you're on the brink of death. Any non-critical care is impossible to get so you end up going private anyway, essentially paying twice.