Price of Copenhagen...how do they afford it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I can tell you that my German friends take 6 weeks vacation all over the world.
And college including medical school, law etc are free, plus you get a stipend. That’s over 500k right there

Please. German kids are tracked from a very young age. There is way less freedom about which vocation you choose and what you study.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, you have to consider lifestyle and culture which PP have mentioned. You cannot compare their lives to ours. We live in completely different worlds and cultures.

The kind of lifestyle we "need" and enjoy and want here in the US is really different from almost the rest of the world. You can be very happy on little if that's all you've ever known. But also, quality is important. Remember, quality is $$ here but quality is not as $$ in other parts of the world because they just don't have 100 options for one thing. Culturally, we consume, other people simply live

I always say - it's absolutely not just taxes. You think it's taxes that differentiate us from Europe but it's not. We pay "less" but get less in return. You have to look at apples to apples and if you do that, they actually get better ROI than we do on taxes. But more than that, it's lifestyle and culture for sure.

This is debatable. The tax burden can be huge in European countries. Salaries are very limited. It’s shocking really.

Someone living in a MCOL city sending their kid to state colleges and with employer provided health insurance is absolutely ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, you have to consider lifestyle and culture which PP have mentioned. You cannot compare their lives to ours. We live in completely different worlds and cultures.

The kind of lifestyle we "need" and enjoy and want here in the US is really different from almost the rest of the world. You can be very happy on little if that's all you've ever known. But also, quality is important. Remember, quality is $$ here but quality is not as $$ in other parts of the world because they just don't have 100 options for one thing. Culturally, we consume, other people simply live

I always say - it's absolutely not just taxes. You think it's taxes that differentiate us from Europe but it's not. We pay "less" but get less in return. You have to look at apples to apples and if you do that, they actually get better ROI than we do on taxes. But more than that, it's lifestyle and culture for sure.

This is debatable. The tax burden can be huge in European countries. Salaries are very limited. It’s shocking really.

Someone living in a MCOL city sending their kid to state colleges and with employer provided health insurance is absolutely ahead.

But are they happier? You really can’t wrap your head around other people having a different world view?

People in many countries live longer and happier lives and yet have lower incomes. That must make your head explode.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I can tell you that my German friends take 6 weeks vacation all over the world.
And college including medical school, law etc are free, plus you get a stipend. That’s over 500k right there

Please. German kids are tracked from a very young age. There is way less freedom about which vocation you choose and what you study.

That's actually a good thing too. The majority of people need help to focus on a career track.

[Anonymous]

Americans have awful work life balance, and worse life expectancy than most European countries. Life is way better in Europe. Also much more community oriented, not like the every man for themselves thing we have here.

[Anonymous]

People take public transportation and rarely use vehicles. People own fewer sets of clothing people buy black clothing to hide stains.
People live in smaller units. There is less mobility people will live in the same apartments for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, you have to consider lifestyle and culture which PP have mentioned. You cannot compare their lives to ours. We live in completely different worlds and cultures.

The kind of lifestyle we "need" and enjoy and want here in the US is really different from almost the rest of the world. You can be very happy on little if that's all you've ever known. But also, quality is important. Remember, quality is $$ here but quality is not as $$ in other parts of the world because they just don't have 100 options for one thing. Culturally, we consume, other people simply live

I always say - it's absolutely not just taxes. You think it's taxes that differentiate us from Europe but it's not. We pay "less" but get less in return. You have to look at apples to apples and if you do that, they actually get better ROI than we do on taxes. But more than that, it's lifestyle and culture for sure.

This is debatable. The tax burden can be huge in European countries. Salaries are very limited. It’s shocking really.

Someone living in a MCOL city sending their kid to state colleges and with employer provided health insurance is absolutely ahead.

This might be true with the caveat that they themselves had to start off without a debt burden for college or medical expenses. And that they won't have to pay caregivers for aging parents or children.

There are so many caveats to American wealth.

[Anonymous]

Strivers come to the US and become American citizens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at the size of their homes, their furniture choices, their kitchens. Look at their cars (or lack of cars). You have your answer.

It costs a lot of money to have a gourmet kitchen, a 3k foot house, two new cars, landscaping, travel soccer fees, competitive dance fees, and flights to Europe and the Caribbean. It costs less money to have a 1k foot apartment or row home, two bikes, no yard, and a tiny induction stove.

Plus, how much cooking do they do anyways? Nordic countries eat such shitt food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the size of their homes, their furniture choices, their kitchens. Look at their cars (or lack of cars). You have your answer.

It costs a lot of money to have a gourmet kitchen, a 3k foot house, two new cars, landscaping, travel soccer fees, competitive dance fees, and flights to Europe and the Caribbean. It costs less money to have a 1k foot apartment or row home, two bikes, no yard, and a tiny induction stove.

Plus, how much cooking do they do anyways? Nordic countries eat such shitt food.

Maybe people should try eating some of that shitt food here given Denmark’s adult obesity rate is 18% versus 42% in the US. Or maybe that’s due to all that bike rising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US is a great place to be rich, and a terrible place to be poor.
Europe is a great place to be poor, and a terrible place to be rich.

The poorest US state (Mississippi) is about to surpass the richest EU country (Germany) in GDP per capita. All other US states are ahead of every European country. Just Mississippi needs to catch up!

https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/01/03/the-poorest-us-state-rivals-germany-gdp-per-capita-in-the-us-and-europe

Then why is wealth inequality and standard of living for most Americans so low while Denmark, Sweden etc have barely any poverty or wealthy inequality

lol. Stockholm has more billionaires per capito than Silicon Valley. The most in the world! Also worse murder rate per capita than Paris and London. Denmark and Sweden have very little in common these days. For us, they are opposites, eg Swedes love cars, Danish barely have them as sì highly taxed!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US is a great place to be rich, and a terrible place to be poor.
Europe is a great place to be poor, and a terrible place to be rich.

The poorest US state (Mississippi) is about to surpass the richest EU country (Germany) in GDP per capita. All other US states are ahead of every European country. Just Mississippi needs to catch up!

https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/01/03/the-poorest-us-state-rivals-germany-gdp-per-capita-in-the-us-and-europe

Then why is wealth inequality and standard of living for most Americans so low while Denmark, Sweden etc have barely any poverty or wealthy inequality

PP explained it.

Because the US sucks up the production of workers and gives it to the wealthy.

In Europe, GDP benefits everyone. In USA, GDP primarily benefits billionaires.

"A great place to be rich" is not a great place.

Maybe? Do you know not wealthy European families? They don’t appear better off to me. I will give them the fact they aren’t fat and are more attractive.

That's the point, isn't it?
How do you determine "better off"?
Paying less for corn syrup and soybean oil to make you fat and sick?
Having a larger car that you can sit in for hours every day on the beltway?
Having a bigger house for "privacy" because your country only builds walls out of paper mache?

They work similar hours and can’t outsource

Have a crazy high amount of mortgage debt that requires both parents to work

Fewer clothes and household goods

More dependent on public transport and only one car that’s older and less safe

Limited choice for higher education as it’s free but access is decided by the government and is limited

More difficult daily life where it’s more challenging to hire help, stores are often closed and life is more inefficient (going to the grocery store every day for example instead of having a larger home and fridge - that’s a PIA)

Can’t hire babysitters as it’s not common due to less disposable income

Being expected to stay home for *years* after having a child because you’re a woman and expected to be excited about the minimum wage the government pays you become a second class citizen at work. But when your time is up expected to return to work with a vengeance to pay that high mortgage.

This is a thread about Denmark/Scandinavia, not the UK or Poland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US is a great place to be rich, and a terrible place to be poor.
Europe is a great place to be poor, and a terrible place to be rich.

The poorest US state (Mississippi) is about to surpass the richest EU country (Germany) in GDP per capita. All other US states are ahead of every European country. Just Mississippi needs to catch up!

https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/01/03/the-poorest-us-state-rivals-germany-gdp-per-capita-in-the-us-and-europe

Famously there are no rich people in Europe.

Sweden has more billionaires per capita than the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US is a great place to be rich, and a terrible place to be poor.
Europe is a great place to be poor, and a terrible place to be rich.

The poorest US state (Mississippi) is about to surpass the richest EU country (Germany) in GDP per capita. All other US states are ahead of every European country. Just Mississippi needs to catch up!

https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/01/03/the-poorest-us-state-rivals-germany-gdp-per-capita-in-the-us-and-europe

Then why is wealth inequality and standard of living for most Americans so low while Denmark, Sweden etc have barely any poverty or wealthy inequality

The standard of living is not low for most Americans. You just may not agree on the measures... bigger homes, cars, air conditioning, more clothes, etc. And frankly, the poor in the US receive high quality health care (72 million on Medicaid). It is people ineligible for Medicaid (illegals), people who need home nursing care and people who chose high deductible insurance plans who may struggle to get care. But people in Europe with any money usually choose to buy private health insurance because the waiting lists, three to five year lag for new medical procedures and drugs, etc. are not acceptable to them.

I would agree that the US has more "dysfunction" that impacts the lifestyles of the poor, but I don't ascribe those to a lack of resources provided by the government. We have literally poured money into poor communities with little to no improvement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Americans have awful work life balance, and worse life expectancy than most European countries. Life is way better in Europe. Also much more community oriented, not like the every man for themselves thing we have here.

Life expectancy varies by race; we are multi-racial
Life expectancy statistics are profoundly affected by crime, drug use and suicide - signs of despair in the United States as manufacturing jobs and two parent families declined here.
Life expectancy does not equal quality of health care