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Can you cite some specifics? I’ve travelled to quite a few places in Europe and coming from the American Midwest, we are beating much of Europe in most/all QoL

Can you cite some specifics? I’ve travelled to quite a few places in Europe and coming from the American Midwest, we are beating much of Europe in most/all QoL metrics by a mile. Much larger and nicer homes, larger properties, mincer automobiles, more variety of all consumer goods, higher incomes, more wealth and social mobility to name a few and I live in “flyover” country.

hotpotamus 3y ago
Which QoL metrics?
Alcatros552 3y ago
Take life expectancy https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/world-life-expectancy-map https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/world-life-expectancy-ma... or take how we treat the elderly and you will know the difference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhlIiMgDxm4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhlIiMgDxm4
missedthecue 3y ago
Based on conversations I've had, it seems most Americans who think that way took a vacation to a ritzy area of Barcelona, Nice, or Florence, and and deduced that 100% of Europeans, must live like that.
- bequanna 3y ago
  That could be. Very interested to hear specific ways the Europeans are beating us and where exactly they are hiding all that prosperity!
boudin 3y ago
It's a matter of opinion and what people want, but from American i crossed path with who settled in western Europe: accessible health-care, better infrastructures, holidays and work-life balance are some of the things that are recurring.
deleted 3y ago
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woodruffw 3y ago
I meant by both proxy statistics (e.g. life expectancy) and self-reported statistics (e.g. QoL metrics). I've linked both of those in comments in an adjacent subthread. I, like many Americans, would take a strong safety net, sustainable urban development and a smaller home over the US's mess of a safety net, socially devastating suburban sprawl, and a 4000 sqft McMansion.
tomjakubowski 3y ago
Suicide rates are a good place to start. Overall the EU's suicide rate is 10.25/100k vs 14.04/100k in the US, and it looks like many places in the Midwest are doing worse than the US average. [1] US suicide rates https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/suicide.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/... [2] EU suicide rates https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/edn-20230908-3 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/e...

hotpotamus 3y ago

Which QoL metrics?

Alcatros552 3y ago

Take life expectancy https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/world-life-expectancy-map https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/world-life-expectancy-ma... or take how we treat the elderly and you will know the difference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhlIiMgDxm4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhlIiMgDxm4

missedthecue 3y ago

Based on conversations I've had, it seems most Americans who think that way took a vacation to a ritzy area of Barcelona, Nice, or Florence, and and deduced that 100% of Europeans, must live like that.

bequanna 3y ago
That could be. Very interested to hear specific ways the Europeans are beating us and where exactly they are hiding all that prosperity!

boudin 3y ago

It's a matter of opinion and what people want, but from American i crossed path with who settled in western Europe: accessible health-care, better infrastructures, holidays and work-life balance are some of the things that are recurring.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

woodruffw 3y ago

I meant by both proxy statistics (e.g. life expectancy) and self-reported statistics (e.g. QoL metrics). I've linked both of those in comments in an adjacent subthread. I, like many Americans, would take a strong safety net, sustainable urban development and a smaller home over the US's mess of a safety net, socially devastating suburban sprawl, and a 4000 sqft McMansion.

tomjakubowski 3y ago

Suicide rates are a good place to start. Overall the EU's suicide rate is 10.25/100k vs 14.04/100k in the US, and it looks like many places in the Midwest are doing worse than the US average. [1] US suicide rates https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/suicide.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/... [2] EU suicide rates https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/edn-20230908-3 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/e...