is it poorer? richer? better? worse? Is European internet cheaper? are EU food prices outrageous? Is European healthcare better? Is Europe safer?

  • OhmsLawn@lemmy.world
    4·
    3 months ago

    I’m from California, been on various trips around Spain, and France, with under a week spent in both Italy and Switzerland.

    I love everywhere I’ve been. I’d be happy to live somewhere in western Europe.

    I don’t know if European healthcare is better, but it’s far more civilized in its availability. I haven’t seen much difference between EU and USA for equivalent-quality grocery prices, with the exception of Zurich. I’ve found Europe to be generally safe. There seems to be more “sneaky” crime, whereas the States has more confrontational crime.

    Freeway etiquette is far better in France and Spain than California. Trains, of course, are better too.

    One major difference is labor laws. The EU has far more protection, but far less mobility. I remember telling a German friend that I had gotten a new job operating a fairly large power system, after working in a tangentially related field, without any additional study or licenses, and his response was “Only in America!” I hadn’t even considered that this move would be far more difficult in other countries.

    • kersploosh@sh.itjust.works
      3·
      3 months ago

      Your last paragraph is a good one. I fell in love with Sweden when I was there. Then I talked to some teenagers and they said they really wanted to live in America. It caught me off guard. I didn’t understand why they would want to leave a place that seemed so safe, secure, and comfortable. They said they wanted more flexibility and opportunity. Sure, they could get a stable living-wage job and keep it for their whole career, but in America they thought they would have more chances to try new things and reinvent themselves.

      Whether our perceptions of each other’s countries are correct or not, for all of us the grass certainly looked greener on the other side of the fence.

    • Blaze (he/him)@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      One major difference is labor laws. The EU has far more protection, but far less mobility. I remember telling a German friend that I had gotten a new job operating a fairly large power system, after working in a tangentially related field, without any additional study or licenses, and his response was “Only in America!” I hadn’t even considered that this move would be far more difficult in other countries.

      Also very German to rely a lot of degrees and certifications. Other countries like the UK (European still even after Brexit) would care more about experience than degrees.