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Exactly. I really do love switzerland, but a proper comparison would be to say, Marin County or Boulder or La Jolla. I think our pockets of "switzerland" stan

by rsync 11y ago

Exactly. I really do love switzerland, but a proper comparison would be to say, Marin County or Boulder or La Jolla. I think our pockets of "switzerland" stand up pretty well in comparison.

SomeCallMeTim 11y ago
I've lived in all three of those locations, and I have to agree that there is awesomeness in all three. There's also crap, though; all three are only awesome if you're toward the top of the earning spectrum. And even then the vacation allocations (and the guilt tripping related to using vacation) are pathetic, pretty universally in the US (with a few notable exceptions, but even those rarely give you a MONTH OFF every year and expect you to TAKE IT). Until we have free health care and more standard vacation time and less expected overtime, there will be no Switzerland in the US. Only privileged rich people living in enclaves have their own Switzerland experience. For all intents and purposes I'm one of those at this point, for what it's worth. I can take my extended vacations now (between contracts), and a few people I know will take an unpaid month away from work every few years. If I work overtime, it's for a high hourly rate for every hour I spend (depending on project type and client, between $150-$250/hour). But the majority of people, even here in Boulder, still have a max 2 weeks of vacation a year, unpaid mandatory overtime, and pretty pathetic salaries to boot (considering the cost of living). Hardly paradise. Certainly not Switzerland, for them.
alkonaut 11y ago
Few in the US who make a lot of money seem to spend it on working 80% rather than on buying a big house or a nicer car. The quality of life difference is cultural, not economical.
- plonh 11y ago
  Doctors and small practice lawyers work 80%... School employees get summers off...
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
joesmo 11y ago
The difference is in Switzerland you don't have to be mega rich to have a good life and because those places don't have different laws than the rest of the US, they only compare if you're rich enough for laws not to matter, at which point it's a moot point. Even the rich won't get paid leave or sane taxes or decent working hours, so to be comparable the level of richness has to put one beyond the necessity of work. In other words, our pockets of Switzerland are no such thing.
- adventured 11y ago
  Can you explain how you think you need to be mega rich in America to have a good life? Most of the US has a low cost of living compared to eg Switzerland. In most of eg Texas - most of the US actually - you can live well on $50,000 to $60,000 per year. You're aware I'm guessing of the economic metrics of the top 50% in the US? It seems obvious to me that in fact you do not have to be mega rich to live well. The top 80 million Americans in the labor force would likely qualify as having at least as good of a life as the median Swiss standard of living.
  - masklinn 11y ago
    > Most of the US has a low cost of living compared to eg Switzerland. In most of eg Texas - most of the US actually - you can live well on $50,000 to $60,000 per year. You won't get >4 weeks paid vacation in "most of eg Texas", or actually affordable healthcare, or paid maternity leave (let alone multiple month worth) and post-leave work-hour arrangements, or a "sacred lunchtime", or the ability to work flexible hours without being looked at like a loser (unless you're self-employed maybe), or 80% salary unemployment, or the ability to live without owning a car. A privileged few may get those. Not "most of eg Texas", not by a very, very long shot.
  - scarmig 11y ago
    I love how we went from "The USA has awesome parts too, like Marin!" to "well you've got to be rich to live in them" to "well you don't have to be rich to live in Waco!"
  - nick_dm 11y ago

by rsync 11y ago

Exactly. I really do love switzerland, but a proper comparison would be to say, Marin County or Boulder or La Jolla. I think our pockets of "switzerland" stand up pretty well in comparison.

SomeCallMeTim 11y ago

I've lived in all three of those locations, and I have to agree that there is awesomeness in all three. There's also crap, though; all three are only awesome if you're toward the top of the earning spectrum. And even then the vacation allocations (and the guilt tripping related to using vacation) are pathetic, pretty universally in the US (with a few notable exceptions, but even those rarely give you a MONTH OFF every year and expect you to TAKE IT). Until we have free health care and more standard vacation time and less expected overtime, there will be no Switzerland in the US. Only privileged rich people living in enclaves have their own Switzerland experience. For all intents and purposes I'm one of those at this point, for what it's worth. I can take my extended vacations now (between contracts), and a few people I know will take an unpaid month away from work every few years. If I work overtime, it's for a high hourly rate for every hour I spend (depending on project type and client, between $150-$250/hour). But the majority of people, even here in Boulder, still have a max 2 weeks of vacation a year, unpaid mandatory overtime, and pretty pathetic salaries to boot (considering the cost of living). Hardly paradise. Certainly not Switzerland, for them.

alkonaut 11y ago

Few in the US who make a lot of money seem to spend it on working 80% rather than on buying a big house or a nicer car. The quality of life difference is cultural, not economical.

plonh 11y ago
Doctors and small practice lawyers work 80%... School employees get summers off...
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

joesmo 11y ago

The difference is in Switzerland you don't have to be mega rich to have a good life and because those places don't have different laws than the rest of the US, they only compare if you're rich enough for laws not to matter, at which point it's a moot point. Even the rich won't get paid leave or sane taxes or decent working hours, so to be comparable the level of richness has to put one beyond the necessity of work. In other words, our pockets of Switzerland are no such thing.

adventured 11y ago
Can you explain how you think you need to be mega rich in America to have a good life? Most of the US has a low cost of living compared to eg Switzerland. In most of eg Texas - most of the US actually - you can live well on $50,000 to $60,000 per year. You're aware I'm guessing of the economic metrics of the top 50% in the US? It seems obvious to me that in fact you do not have to be mega rich to live well. The top 80 million Americans in the labor force would likely qualify as having at least as good of a life as the median Swiss standard of living.
- masklinn 11y ago
  > Most of the US has a low cost of living compared to eg Switzerland. In most of eg Texas - most of the US actually - you can live well on $50,000 to $60,000 per year. You won't get >4 weeks paid vacation in "most of eg Texas", or actually affordable healthcare, or paid maternity leave (let alone multiple month worth) and post-leave work-hour arrangements, or a "sacred lunchtime", or the ability to work flexible hours without being looked at like a loser (unless you're self-employed maybe), or 80% salary unemployment, or the ability to live without owning a car. A privileged few may get those. Not "most of eg Texas", not by a very, very long shot.
- scarmig 11y ago
  I love how we went from "The USA has awesome parts too, like Marin!" to "well you've got to be rich to live in them" to "well you don't have to be rich to live in Waco!"
- nick_dm 11y ago