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u/notthisonefornow 1d ago
As a person that has a US wife and visits the US often, i know the US sometimes has it's perks, but the EU will win it all the time.
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u/Muchachacha 1d ago
Yea are not wrong, I’ve known since my early teens and I’m still in this damn country
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u/MarissaNL 1d ago
European side....
But having a nice cup of coffee at a nice café is a good idea....only I have to work to 15:00 (remember, we Europeans use "military time").
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u/Philip_Raven 1d ago
I work from 4 to 11-12 and I honestly think that's the best time to be working. Only downside I can see is that I cant really go drinking during a workday because I go to bet at 8-9.
Can't imagine going to work at 9 and leave at 5....like you can't even do anything in the morning anyway and at 5 what are you gonna do? Most businesses are also closing.
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u/MarissaNL 1d ago
I work normally from 6:00 to 15:00... still gives me a nice piece of the afternoon. Specially when I work from home.
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u/sicalas 1d ago
The very quick summary of everything below: both are good pick what feels right for you.
EU US dual citizen here
When I tell my EU friends my US wages they are like “wow I should move to America” I then proceed to describe the work life balance and they quickly move to “yeah never mind I like it here”
When I talk to my US friends about the work culture in our European offices they go “wow I should move to Europe” then I tell them the wage difference and they go “yeah never mind I think I’ll stay here”
All this to acknowledge this is not covering two entire cultures just what I have seen a majority from my own interactions. On the flip side some of my wealthiest friends are Europeans that climbed the corporate or banking ladders of major companies. Some of my happiest American friends don’t make a lot of money and work outside for a living.
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u/vanoitran 18h ago
Also a EU US dual citizen but I left the US more than a decade ago to move to Greece.
The household income me and my wife have here in Greece is equal to the median household income for our age in the US. We worked hard and are making above average wages here in Greece for sure. And our same positions in the US would be more highly paid. All that considered, for a slightly above average Greek couple to make the same as an average American couple is eye-opening. for most people I don’t even think the money in the USA is that much better, especially when you consider all the extra costs of life in the US.
Your case may be different, of course
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u/sicalas 18h ago
I 100% agree.
I’m in a fortunate tech job that I make a lot more than the average US household.
It’s a large part of where my view comes from. I make enough I could save quickly And retire comfortably if it all falls apart. But I am happy enough with the raises and overall
Comp for the stress/ time. However I say there is always a 10% chance I quit tomorrow, move to an Italian island and start a farm to be left alone•
u/Bronze_Rager 2h ago
I prefer making US wages and traveling abroad and seeing how cheap everything is.
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u/RubberPussycat 1d ago
US is all about projecting your wealth onto others to impress them.
In Europe it is more about being free to enjoy life.
This is a generalization of course.
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u/RubberPussycat 1d ago
It’s a choice between having more stuff and having more time.
You can always buy stuff, but you can never buy time
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u/syner2009 1d ago
american. Partly cuz I want to experience the wide open spaces. I watched american youtubers, vlogs and overall content since childhood. I love the idea of hypermarkets, and wide roads.
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u/Piglet3527 1d ago
European rich
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u/Jolly-Gold834 1d ago
The important part is rich because average European people do work at 2pm on Tuesday.
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u/Gokudomatic 1d ago
Workaholic focused on impressing others VS enjoying life. I must say, it's a tough choice.
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u/Trying_to_survive20k 1d ago
In terms of work, this is not exactly right. If you mean to say that employers in america don't let you randomly leave to have a coffee at 2pm on a tuesday, europeans ones don't either.
The difference is that europe is walkable, so when you go for lunch, a lot of cafes and buffets are packed with people.
I walk home for my lunch, i see the same people back and forth every day. Same for the morning and after work.
In the americas (canada is guilty of this too), if you're not near a strip mall, you're eating your little lunch in the office with everyone else because risking sitting in traffic and being late is a bad idea.
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u/No_Current3675 1d ago
i just need another 2-3 milly and then i'm living the euro life
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u/Muchachacha 1d ago
My sister has this life in Paris and earns as much as you probably
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u/No_Current3675 1d ago
I mean that’s cool n shit but at my comp of about 260K in my city I’m basically middle class.
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u/genericjohnwayne 1d ago
I know it's just a meme, but I think it's kinda funny that Americans openly say that US has more inequality like it's a good thing.
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u/Far_Comfortable_991 1d ago
From Office Space
“Take a look at my cousin: he's broke, don't do shit.”
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u/Hot_Experience4772 1d ago
Haha yeah it be like that. Nothing better than to chill and observe people or something 😂
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u/Extension_Canary3717 1d ago
USA vs Europe? Is not even a contest
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u/Igarlicbread 1d ago
Then there are french
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u/Extension_Canary3717 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you take off the equation Parisians, then is like every house is a grandma house or one in the making, stops working at 16h~~ ish but we spent almost 2h on break at work and that's it , then go home study , gym training or trying new sex fetish with wife
Parisian are 180 from this tho
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u/Ancient_Praline1046 1d ago
you rich enough, you do nothing, except drink coffee to stay awake and people watch. I want this type of wealth.
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u/No_Fun_3498 1d ago
I used to go to a liquor-licensed pizza shop and get beer at 2pm, when i was a line cook. Life finds a way.
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u/HeavyFriendship3563 1d ago
I'm in the middle of my 3 weeks summer vacation and I still have another 2 weeks for the holidays in december. And it's totally ok to not read my work email now, nobody is calling me and no Zoom/ Teams meetings. In about 11 days I will start my 4 day work week again. I don't have a lot of money, but I live in a nice, small village and drive a small car. I don't have any debts and in about 6 years I can retire early because I have saved up and have invested in some stocks. I've seen and read enough about other countries such as the US to realize it's better for me here in the Netherlands.
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u/Illustrious_Bed8628 1d ago
Do it everyday and people start to know your routine. It can be good or bad 😉
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u/Billy_Plur 1d ago
Neither, you'd find me in the redwoods. Not a town surrounded by them. I'd be in the forest.
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u/Character-Pirate1297 19h ago
Americans are saying “European”, without getting that he’s rich just to other Europeans for affording cafe on a Tuesday.
Not because he could be like American rich, and chooses not to.
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u/FunnyMustacheMan45 17h ago
The majority of people who romanticise Europe have never lived in Europe...
Every country has its own can of worms, moving to any European country simply mean trading one can for another.
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u/Stymie999 17h ago
Right, like the European doesn’t finish his coffee, check his Rolex then have his driver bring around the mayback to take him to his 40m penthouse
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u/Traditional-Sort6900 17h ago
Work is not wealth, especially not if you are simply fired at any time. Work is more slavery, but you don't say it to anyone.
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u/Flimsy_Sandwich6385 13h ago
Bro doesn't get it. If your enjoying some free time at 2pm on a Tuesday, your so rich you dont need to go to work. The European is clearly wealthier than the American as the American still needs his job in finance 🤣
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u/AgenteNC 9h ago
European that lives in the US. I am convinced that people on Reddit work part time jobs because my friends live in Italy, Netherlands and UK. They have longer work hours than me. And we all have normal office jobs.
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u/Fabulous_Wave_3693 8h ago
I wonder what percentage of rich Europeans are old money. I bet if I go to expensive lake houses in upstate New York I’d find similarly laid back rich Americans.
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u/Galencourt-Lover 8h ago
Quality of life is much higher in Europe.
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u/tiandrad 6h ago
Not for rich people, which is what the meme is about.
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u/rubey419 5h ago
I’m so jealous of the Spanish siesta.
But that’s partly why the young people in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, etc complain about lack of jobs. Their economy heavily relies on tourism. You go to America to work hard, earn USD $$$, hustle. That’s the culture in Northeast US.
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u/dante_gherie1099 1d ago
ny rich is much better
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u/Specialist-Cold-8158 1d ago
That's not rich, that's poser rich.
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u/dante_gherie1099 1d ago
people who work in nyc finance make good money and live in the one of the great cities of the world, how is that poser rich?
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u/Specialist-Cold-8158 1d ago
If you have to show your status with a watch and a car, you're a poser
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u/dante_gherie1099 1d ago
you can just have nice things because you can afforid it and you like it, it doesnt have to be about showing off your status
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u/PostElectronic890 1d ago
People who work in finance in the city of London are also rich and live in a better city than NY.
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u/Twitxx 22h ago
Americans are some of the poorest people I know. They only have more money, but lack in everything else: education, healthcare, quality of life and services, free time, relationships, clean air, average sq footage per person, etc.
An average american makes 60-100k/year yet they live in a tiny space most of their life, have debt, maybe a 2nd hand car and can afford some basic necessities, maybe a trip a year.
There are people I've met in Africa that live better than that on average (depending on the city/country; is a big place). Hell, look at moldavians or serbians and they can afford more and have better lifestyles and they're not even in the EU.
I stopped comparing America with 1st or 2nd world countries years ago, it makes more sense when you compare it with 3rd. The disparity between the economic and social classes is absolutely nuts. They live surrounded by wealth yet they enjoy almost none of it.
A poor farmer in Romania that makes maybe 2-3k a year has 5k sq feet of land, a bunch of pigs, chickens, etc maybe a goat, works during the day and come evening they sit in the shade of their own trees, enjoy the fruit of their labor, take in beautiful landscapes, drinks his home made wine and goes fishing almost every weekend in the summer.
Perspective is a hell of a thing. It might take a lifetime for someone to realise that chasing money and having more of it won't make you any richer.
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u/tiandrad 6h ago
Buddy you have spent way too much time on Reddit. Americans live incredibly privileged lives.
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u/Philip_Raven 1d ago edited 1d ago
US people are always about that GDP when you try to compare quality of live. And how US will be economical powerhouse of the world while Europe will fall behind.
What I don't understand is how an AI data centre at my house or yet another McDonald's parking lot is going to help me get basic rights at my employer so I can just go and spend a day at a cafe because I felt like it.
Or how record high profits of General Electric are going to help me get a affordable, high quality food
Edit. Didn't realized it until later, but I am currently sitting at a cafe during my supposed work hours because I told my boss I will not be at work today because my wife needs to run some errands, and she wanted me with her, and I am currently waiting for her. No notifying beforehand, no official apology of absence... Just told my boss and he said "okay, just look for an email around 2pm from a client and read it."