5 ms·

I think they meant once. Besides digital lollipops what else is going so great in EU? jobs? economic growth? housing? immigration?

by geodel 3y ago

davedx 3y ago
Quality of life, work-life balance, good schools, good transport, lots of consumer protections, human rights & rights for minorities, 70 years of peace. Economic growth isn't great but could be a lot worse if I look at the rest of the world. Energy transition for sure has some huge challenges but again, we're doing pretty great compared to other places in the world. Housing is an issue, but where isn't housing an issue?
- Muromec 3y ago
  >70 years of peace. Which 70 years?
  - Seanambers 3y ago
    The 70 years the US paid for of course :)
    - azmodeus 3y ago
      I think Europe paid for it with interest, see the huge US government debt financed by printing petrol dollars After the gold standard everyone except the US has been paying for it
VladTheImpalor 3y ago
Yes? Housing is infinitely better than the US, job security can be better, work life balance is better, cities are nicer to look at, architecture is better, people are more active, fitter, have lives beyond work. The bread is better, so is the cheese. There is real food available. Public transport is plentiful. Society feels a bit less polarised. The EU is infinitely better than living in the states. At least for this third world immigrant.
- fnordpiglet 3y ago
  Interesting. I thought housing in the EU has been a challenge for generations with home ownership a difficult to impossible goal for most people, with this being the case across the region. In the US the housing affordability issue is in a few highly desirable urban areas, but not being generally case across the country. I think the bread in the US, sans the supermarket stuff, is generally exceptional with bakeries throughout most cities that are top notch. Some of the best creameries in the world are in the US now. Beer is also generally more innovative and better. There is also a much broader food community in that I can eat food from every culture on earth with pretty high quality in every city. Europe tends to be much less diverse and less creative in its foods. However, yes, if you only eat fast food and shop at big box grocery stores (which also exist in Europe) staples are pretty low quality. The US has a very strong and thriving food movement, and isn’t a strict monoculture by geography. There are layers upon layers of cultures intertwined throughout the country. Generically “American culture” is essentially a marketing regime for large companies selling their stuff. But the reality of America is much more complex than that, and that’s accelerated since the 1950’s, and was completely broken down in the 1990’s. Most of the polarization stems from that destruction of the American monoculture belief system and a reaction against that. It’s the last gasp of people who see a way of thinking falling apart. But what comes out of that cultural change is excellent bread, cheese, beer, etc.
  - snowpid 3y ago
    " But the reality of America is much more complex than that, and that’s accelerated since the 1950’s, and was completely broken down in the 1990’s. " You complain a lack of seing the complexity of American food but instead you have a simple view of the European cultures. Have you been ever in any European country and when? I have the feeling you havent been.
    - AlchemistCamp 3y ago
      fnordpiglet posted virtually nothing about Europe. Where are you drawing your opinion of his/her view of European cultures from? This whole thread is just bizarre.
matwood 3y ago
As someone who recently bought a house in the EU, IMO the best place to make money is the US. But, the best place to spend it is the EU. Much like doing the location/CoL arbitrage in the US, it's even better if you can get higher end US salaries and do a quality of life arbitrage to the EU.
7moritz7 3y ago
The EU is on a roll politically, it's much more agile and expertise-focused than most governments. Also he ceiling is a lot higher than in the US given that half of the EU is underdeveloped. Look at Estonia's potential for example, Bolt is the fastest growing transportation company globally.
- Aloisius 3y ago
  There's a ceiling?
  - 7moritz7 3y ago
    There is, it's called workforce. Incase you need an example, TSMC recently pushed back its fab plans in the US by atleast a year because they couldn't find enough specialists.
    - Aloisius 3y ago
      Economic growth can come from productivity gains without any material change in workforce. TSMC's delays have to do with not offering enough pay not a lack of people capable of installing wafer fab tools or building electrical or mechanical systems for fabs.

I think they meant once. Besides digital lollipops what else is going so great in EU? jobs? economic growth? housing? immigration?

by geodel 3y ago

I think they meant once. Besides digital lollipops what else is going so great in EU? jobs? economic growth? housing? immigration?

davedx 3y ago

Quality of life, work-life balance, good schools, good transport, lots of consumer protections, human rights & rights for minorities, 70 years of peace. Economic growth isn't great but could be a lot worse if I look at the rest of the world. Energy transition for sure has some huge challenges but again, we're doing pretty great compared to other places in the world. Housing is an issue, but where isn't housing an issue?

Muromec 3y ago
>70 years of peace. Which 70 years?
- Seanambers 3y ago
  The 70 years the US paid for of course :)
  - azmodeus 3y ago
    I think Europe paid for it with interest, see the huge US government debt financed by printing petrol dollars After the gold standard everyone except the US has been paying for it

VladTheImpalor 3y ago

Yes? Housing is infinitely better than the US, job security can be better, work life balance is better, cities are nicer to look at, architecture is better, people are more active, fitter, have lives beyond work. The bread is better, so is the cheese. There is real food available. Public transport is plentiful. Society feels a bit less polarised. The EU is infinitely better than living in the states. At least for this third world immigrant.

fnordpiglet 3y ago
Interesting. I thought housing in the EU has been a challenge for generations with home ownership a difficult to impossible goal for most people, with this being the case across the region. In the US the housing affordability issue is in a few highly desirable urban areas, but not being generally case across the country. I think the bread in the US, sans the supermarket stuff, is generally exceptional with bakeries throughout most cities that are top notch. Some of the best creameries in the world are in the US now. Beer is also generally more innovative and better. There is also a much broader food community in that I can eat food from every culture on earth with pretty high quality in every city. Europe tends to be much less diverse and less creative in its foods. However, yes, if you only eat fast food and shop at big box grocery stores (which also exist in Europe) staples are pretty low quality. The US has a very strong and thriving food movement, and isn’t a strict monoculture by geography. There are layers upon layers of cultures intertwined throughout the country. Generically “American culture” is essentially a marketing regime for large companies selling their stuff. But the reality of America is much more complex than that, and that’s accelerated since the 1950’s, and was completely broken down in the 1990’s. Most of the polarization stems from that destruction of the American monoculture belief system and a reaction against that. It’s the last gasp of people who see a way of thinking falling apart. But what comes out of that cultural change is excellent bread, cheese, beer, etc.
- snowpid 3y ago
  " But the reality of America is much more complex than that, and that’s accelerated since the 1950’s, and was completely broken down in the 1990’s. " You complain a lack of seing the complexity of American food but instead you have a simple view of the European cultures. Have you been ever in any European country and when? I have the feeling you havent been.
  - AlchemistCamp 3y ago
    fnordpiglet posted virtually nothing about Europe. Where are you drawing your opinion of his/her view of European cultures from? This whole thread is just bizarre.

matwood 3y ago

As someone who recently bought a house in the EU, IMO the best place to make money is the US. But, the best place to spend it is the EU. Much like doing the location/CoL arbitrage in the US, it's even better if you can get higher end US salaries and do a quality of life arbitrage to the EU.

7moritz7 3y ago

The EU is on a roll politically, it's much more agile and expertise-focused than most governments. Also he ceiling is a lot higher than in the US given that half of the EU is underdeveloped. Look at Estonia's potential for example, Bolt is the fastest growing transportation company globally.

Aloisius 3y ago
There's a ceiling?
- 7moritz7 3y ago
  There is, it's called workforce. Incase you need an example, TSMC recently pushed back its fab plans in the US by atleast a year because they couldn't find enough specialists.
  - Aloisius 3y ago
    Economic growth can come from productivity gains without any material change in workforce. TSMC's delays have to do with not offering enough pay not a lack of people capable of installing wafer fab tools or building electrical or mechanical systems for fabs.