- Are costs of living (including housing prices) comparable?
- Is retirement comparable?
In the US you need to try to save some of your money for retirement too; not sure if most European countries have a pension-based system or not, but that's another thing to account for.
> not sure if most European countries have a pension-based system or not, but that's another thing to account for.
Even if they do have generous plan on paper, can they actually pay that 50 years in future?
Most won't. I know people from southern EU who haven't received what they were promised for pension and live in poverty today. It's only worse for future pensioners while they tax 25-30% in social security with no cap from your salary for pension and healthcare (You still need private coverage on top).
They also cut pension for people who saved money on side and accrued a livable amount ignoring their past contribution.
As far as retirement goes, government-run pension systems are funded by taxation, so that's kind of a moot point if you're comparing pre-tax salaries. Also in most cases the government pension is not a living wage, so most people have private pension funds in addition to the mandatory public system.
- Are costs of living (including housing prices) comparable?
- Is retirement comparable?
In the US you need to try to save some of your money for retirement too; not sure if most European countries have a pension-based system or not, but that's another thing to account for.