Reply to UK, Italy, France quality decline, now poorer than all 50 states

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not everything is about money.  These countries have fewer social problems and live longer in better health.[/quote]

This. Quality of life in the US sucks for that majority of us at this point. [/quote]

I actually don't think it does! I think we just have a morale problem. We somehow think that everyone else has it better, but they don't. I think we need a big campaign to bring happiness back to the US and that starts with less complaining and more looking internally at all the great things you do have. Of course, Americans also fritter away too much money on consumer items, the latest car, etc and then complain about spending 10k a year on health care. I know I complained about my unpaid maternity leave,[b] but I make 3x what my counterpart in Europe does (165k vs 50k). Even with 12 weeks unpaid, I still made more that year.[/b]

Yes, some things do need fixed in America, but the average person has so many great things going on in their lives. We just can't see it because we're blinded by nonstop complaining on tiktok and reddit (I'm convinced some of these are foreign bots).[/quote]

But do you pay a lot of tax on what you made and what do you get for those taxes? And those premiums, which I'm know are huge? I just feel like I'm spending all my money and not getting much for it. Wars. 
[img]https://i.imgur.com/J65JHz9.jpeg[/img][/quote]

Have you ever lived in Europe? Do you have European friends?

I have more money and investments that provide me freedom 
A larger, nicer home with less mortgage debt
More space 
A safer, new vehicle 
More disposable income

Go do some research on effective tax rates and various metrics so you can see how much less you pay in taxes when considering things like state taxes, VAT etc. [/quote]

NP but I have lived in Europe, and it was a better and more fulfilling lifestyle in every possible way.

We made half the salary there than we do now in the US. We lived in an ~1500 sqft apartment in a major city, versus our very nice 3000+ sqft house in the US suburbs. We had one older vehicle there, two larger, newer vehicles here. (We rarely had to use our car there, we are slaves to our vehicles here.) We have lots of space here, sure. But we had lots of things to do there, people to see, places to go, all within a very close proximity (i.e. walking/biking distance).

I would go back in a heartbeat were it not for family obligations that pulled me back to the US. Our lifestyle is great by American standards; but American standards are sorely lacking, IMO.[/quote]

I'd love the European lifestyle with a comfortable flat in a central urban location and offices and amenities all within easy reach either on foot or short public transportation ride away. I'd love to live in central Munich or Copenhagen. But that's not how most Europeans live. The average European lives in a small, often tiny, apartment in an outer (cheaper) suburb or a modest townhouse, long commutes to work on public transportation, which can and often does break down or has delays, cars are very popular in Europe for same reasons as in the US. Let's not confuse the European UMC lifestyle with the everyday, predominately working class, lifestyle. It's not bad, I'm not implying it at all, there are absolutely virtues to the typical European social contract, but it's a lot more nuanced than a brief experience of living the affluent urban lifestyle in Paris may tell you. [/quote]

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