This post is aimed at Americans who have been thinking of jumping over the pond and seeing if grass is greener on the other side. Resurgence in these types of discussion tend to happen like clockwork around elections, so I figured I would write this once and for all.
What is even Europe?If you take anything away from this wall of text, let it be this: there is no such thing as the European experience. Depending on
how you count, there are about 30 countries in “Europe”, and the definition is quite malleable. You can stretch it even further and include old soviet states like Ukraine, or even the westernized city of St Petersburg in modern day Russia.
You know how US states have their regional variations of food, pastimes, accents, stores, and so on? While going to vacation in Hawaii or Maine or Kansas sometimes feels like you stepped into a different country, the truth is that those differences are pretty benign. There is still a distinct Americanness to all 50 states and
even the territories. That is not the case in Europe. The EU is a supra-national union, which means it’s a union that sits above the states, and has limited influence. Almost nobody considers themselves European. That’s not a thing. Even neighboring countries with deep economic ties don’t mingle that much. If a Frenchman and a German want to communicate, statistically they will switch to English because they simply aren’t that likely to know each other’s language.
Europeans just have their shit together when it comes to $topic, while the US does notThis is something you often hear from the American left. A topic will be discussed, and the most prominent european policy will be used as a rhetorical question as to why it can’t be done here. Odds are, if Sweden is mentioned, you’re about to hear about the generous 16 month maternity leave policy. If France is mentioned, it’s going to be the lengthy summer vacation. If the UK is mentioned, the NHS is about to make a guest appearance (but no mention of the terrible teeth Brits are known for having). This will then be contrasted to the worst possible state of the US problem. Whether it’s the total lack of paid vacation, student loans, or the odds of dying by gun violence, it almost never represents the median experience of Americans, and certainly not the experience of Americans who know what they’re doing. But boy they sure make it sound like it does.
If you paid attention to the previous section, you should already be skeptical, because, and I cannot say this enough: there is no European standard. Whether it’s healthcare, vacation policy, abortion, immigration, criminal justice, minimum wage, individual freedoms, you name it. All of this is a matter for individual states and they often have different priorities and very different ways of doing things.
So don’t compare “America” to “Europe”. Compare “Boston” to “Berlin”. Specifics matter. A lot.
Nutjobs and deplorablesThey are everywhere, because idiocy knows no borders. While I personally believe the average “American” is significantly less informed than the average “European”, the fact is that there are shitty people everywhere. With a pool of hundreds of millions, you're bound to encounter quite a few of them. Far right parties are a thing in all western democracies and a substantial share of the population votes for them. The market for essential oils is huge in France. People are destroying 5G cell phone towers in the UK. Germany has actual neonazis rallies. Hungary and Poland insist on electing dangerous authoritarian leaders who shit on minorities and gays all day long. There is even a canton in Switzerland where women couldn’t vote until 1990 (not a typo). Anti-vaxxers are a thing there too.
The one redeeming factor here is that Europe is generally less polarized and extremes aren’t as likely to be handed a megaphone to spread their drivel. But make no mistake, the crazies are out there.
While Europeans outnumber Americans, what they lack is a common identity and language that utterly dominates the internet. This means that batshit insane shit that happens next door gets fewer eyeballs than batshit insane shit that happens stateside because there is no reddit/buzzfeed amplification machine at work. In recent years the political situation in the US has shone a very bright light on the country’s problems. As a result, there’s a smugness among some Europeans that has developed that can be summed up as “phew, at least we’re not as screwed as they are”.
Building wealth and redistributionIf you are even slightly capable, you will almost certainly make, and keep, more money in the US. European wages are low. Laughably low by American standards. You know how everything seems more efficient and less wasteful in Europe? It’s because there is very little fat to trim. I could bring up statistics and try to paint a picture of the median worker and blablabla but it won’t drive the point home. Instead, I encourage you to research what you could expect to make in your own field, in the country of your choice. You can try to make the numbers look better by arguing for various perks. Health care is cheap! More vacation! But chances are, unless you’re already quite underpaid, you’re going to be disappointed. A nurse in San Francisco makes $110,000. A nurse in London makes £30,000.
Ignoring the “lesser” member states for a second, it is true that European countries are generally more fiscally progressive and offer more generous benefits than US states. Does the increased equality justify taking a paycut to fund other people’s shortcomings? You decide.
You will not find a great DIY-your-retirement system and the accommodating tax code that comes with American-style 401(k)s and its ilk. The UK has ISAs, Switzerland has pillars, but guess what, there’s a reason nearly all FIRE bloggers are in the US.
There is also this weird perception that the poor are helped and live generally dignified lives. To this I say: bwahahaha! The poor live in shit neighborhoods, have shit neighbors, and generally hobble through life just the same, rather shittily.
I studied in $european_city for a semester and loved it!You had a long vacation as an attractive and outgoing upper middle class youngin in a dense city filled with other attractive and outgoing youngins. Of course you had a blast. How could you not?
Why do you hate Europe so much?I don’t. In fact I’d love nothing more than deeper understanding and closer integration between my two homes. But man I’m tired of hearing the same tired clichés.
Go out, get a job or a retiree visa, and venture out across the pond. Change is good. Maybe you’ll love it there, maybe you won’t. You won’t know until you try.
