5 ms·

An insane amount of money, world hegemony, and a very high standard of living. I’m not sure the average European appreciates just how comfortable life in the US

An insane amount of money, world hegemony, and a very high standard of living. I’m not sure the average European appreciates just how comfortable life in the US is. And the average American doesn’t know that things they take fir granted are luxuries even to Western Europeans. Outside of a handful of small countries with specialized economies, European income per capita is at or below per capita income in even the poorest US state. Even the vast majority of poor people here have iPhones and cars and can afford to run their air conditioners at 68F all day.

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
Insane amount of money: Of the 10 countries with the highest median income, 7 of them are European. By some measures, the USA is-midpack, with Norway/Canada very similar to us, but missing most of the entrepeneurial/VC culture of the USA. World hegemony: mostly a function of the post-WWII situation, combined with our willingness to spend absolutely insane amounts on our military and use it to impose or at minimum encourage US interests globally. Very high standard of living: the US has one of the highest GINI coefficients world wide, so only a median comparison (which is quite hard to develop) really conveys the differences accurately. Large swaths of the USA (notably Appalachia and also the desert southwest) have a substantially lower median standard of living than most of Europe. Anyway, even if your claims about the USA were true, that by itself doesn't connect them to the VC risk/reward culture under discussion.
- mufti_menk 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - hyperman1 3y ago
    At least the Netherlands has higher population than Belgium, about 17 or 18 mio.
adwn 3y ago
> * And the average American doesn’t know that things they take fir granted are luxuries even to Western Europeans.* Such as? Name three examples, please. "smartphones and cars" doesn't cut it, those are pretty common even for low income citizens here in Germany at least, and we don't really need air conditioners on account of being located in higher latitudes – everyone has heating, though.
- sneak 3y ago
  High quality food delivery (at any time, but especially after 22:00). 24 hour pharmacies. 24 hour grocery stores. Air conditioning. Cheap gas. Road trips where you have a personal vehicle when you arrive. Hot water in 100% of all handwashing sinks. Urgent care centers. Whole Foods. You're 100% wrong about not needing air conditioning in Germany. Many of the last 45 days here have been above 24C. You're just used to being sweaty and uncomfortable. A doctor who worked at Charite in Berlin told me last month that the whole summer he worked there he struggled to not drip sweat directly into patients as he leaned over them to work.
  - allarm 3y ago
    > High quality food delivery… Funny thing is that you’ve described Moscow here. > You're 100% wrong about not needing air conditioning in Germany. I realize that for an average American Germany is just a point on the map, but here in the north we had only a couple of hot days this summer. Otherwise - a truly horrifying story.
    - Gunnerhead 3y ago
      > Funny thing is that you’ve described Moscow here. Please do tell more. I’m curious to learn.
      - allarm 3y ago
        [note: I'm writing this from the perspective of Moscow and Russia 10 years ago] Basically, Moscow has (had?) everything that op mentioned - cheap gas, cheap (and fast) Internet, relatively cheap and quality medicine, huge variety of food delivery (very fast and quite cheap), etc. On top of that Moscow has an incredible subway system, multiple car sharing options, it is clean and relatively safe. I've traveled a lot and lived in multiple countries during my life, and the services they had in Moscow were better than i.e. in Germany or Singapore. Having said that I don't miss Moscow a little bit. Everything comes with a cost and the price of living standards in Moscow is being paid by the rest of Russia.
theGnuMe 3y ago
I think you are mistaken. Watch this: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/growing-up-poor-in-america/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/growing-up-po...
jen20 3y ago
> Outside of a handful of small countries with specialized economies, European income per capita is at or below per capita income in even the poorest US state. And yet the quality of life doesn’t even begin to compare.
- aapl88889 3y ago
  My friend has a huge 4,000 sq foot brand new house in the South for 1/3 the average price in London. You cannot find that type of house even in the richest areas in Europe.
  - Epa095 3y ago
    I don't know how amazing your friends house is, but while a 371 square meters house IS large, it's not absurdly large. And of course you find houses like that, whatever it is, in Europe. But North America is fricking huge, and if you are willing to move out of the city it's hard to not grant you that at least: you have a loot of room.
  - jen20 3y ago
    Here’s [1] one of dozens of houses of that size currently listed in Bath. As a European who also lives in a 4000 sqft brand new house in the south of the US, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone though. I’d happily take a 2000sqft house that was built at least to the standard of the second of the three little pigs, something which seems to elude construction crews south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Regardless though, the size of your house says very little about the quality of your life. [1]: https://www.winkworth.co.uk/properties/sales/lansdown-road-bath-somerset-ba1/BAT220175 https://www.winkworth.co.uk/properties/sales/lansdown-road-b...
lewiscarson 3y ago
You cannot be serious, this has to be a troll. By pretty much every quality of life index most European countries (esp Western European) rank higher than US. Why do Americans group Europe into one chunk like this? And what exactly is the benefit of income per capita when the environment you have to spend it in isn’t as nice as 90% of European cities/towns?

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago

Insane amount of money: Of the 10 countries with the highest median income, 7 of them are European. By some measures, the USA is-midpack, with Norway/Canada very similar to us, but missing most of the entrepeneurial/VC culture of the USA. World hegemony: mostly a function of the post-WWII situation, combined with our willingness to spend absolutely insane amounts on our military and use it to impose or at minimum encourage US interests globally. Very high standard of living: the US has one of the highest GINI coefficients world wide, so only a median comparison (which is quite hard to develop) really conveys the differences accurately. Large swaths of the USA (notably Appalachia and also the desert southwest) have a substantially lower median standard of living than most of Europe. Anyway, even if your claims about the USA were true, that by itself doesn't connect them to the VC risk/reward culture under discussion.

mufti_menk 3y ago
[flagged]
- hyperman1 3y ago
  At least the Netherlands has higher population than Belgium, about 17 or 18 mio.

adwn 3y ago

> * And the average American doesn’t know that things they take fir granted are luxuries even to Western Europeans.* Such as? Name three examples, please. "smartphones and cars" doesn't cut it, those are pretty common even for low income citizens here in Germany at least, and we don't really need air conditioners on account of being located in higher latitudes – everyone has heating, though.

sneak 3y ago
High quality food delivery (at any time, but especially after 22:00). 24 hour pharmacies. 24 hour grocery stores. Air conditioning. Cheap gas. Road trips where you have a personal vehicle when you arrive. Hot water in 100% of all handwashing sinks. Urgent care centers. Whole Foods. You're 100% wrong about not needing air conditioning in Germany. Many of the last 45 days here have been above 24C. You're just used to being sweaty and uncomfortable. A doctor who worked at Charite in Berlin told me last month that the whole summer he worked there he struggled to not drip sweat directly into patients as he leaned over them to work.
- allarm 3y ago
  > High quality food delivery… Funny thing is that you’ve described Moscow here. > You're 100% wrong about not needing air conditioning in Germany. I realize that for an average American Germany is just a point on the map, but here in the north we had only a couple of hot days this summer. Otherwise - a truly horrifying story.
  - Gunnerhead 3y ago
    > Funny thing is that you’ve described Moscow here. Please do tell more. I’m curious to learn.
    - allarm 3y ago
      [note: I'm writing this from the perspective of Moscow and Russia 10 years ago] Basically, Moscow has (had?) everything that op mentioned - cheap gas, cheap (and fast) Internet, relatively cheap and quality medicine, huge variety of food delivery (very fast and quite cheap), etc. On top of that Moscow has an incredible subway system, multiple car sharing options, it is clean and relatively safe. I've traveled a lot and lived in multiple countries during my life, and the services they had in Moscow were better than i.e. in Germany or Singapore. Having said that I don't miss Moscow a little bit. Everything comes with a cost and the price of living standards in Moscow is being paid by the rest of Russia.

theGnuMe 3y ago

I think you are mistaken. Watch this: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/growing-up-poor-in-america/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/growing-up-po...

jen20 3y ago

> Outside of a handful of small countries with specialized economies, European income per capita is at or below per capita income in even the poorest US state. And yet the quality of life doesn’t even begin to compare.

aapl88889 3y ago
My friend has a huge 4,000 sq foot brand new house in the South for 1/3 the average price in London. You cannot find that type of house even in the richest areas in Europe.
- Epa095 3y ago
  I don't know how amazing your friends house is, but while a 371 square meters house IS large, it's not absurdly large. And of course you find houses like that, whatever it is, in Europe. But North America is fricking huge, and if you are willing to move out of the city it's hard to not grant you that at least: you have a loot of room.
- jen20 3y ago
  Here’s [1] one of dozens of houses of that size currently listed in Bath. As a European who also lives in a 4000 sqft brand new house in the south of the US, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone though. I’d happily take a 2000sqft house that was built at least to the standard of the second of the three little pigs, something which seems to elude construction crews south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Regardless though, the size of your house says very little about the quality of your life. [1]: https://www.winkworth.co.uk/properties/sales/lansdown-road-bath-somerset-ba1/BAT220175 https://www.winkworth.co.uk/properties/sales/lansdown-road-b...

lewiscarson 3y ago

You cannot be serious, this has to be a troll. By pretty much every quality of life index most European countries (esp Western European) rank higher than US. Why do Americans group Europe into one chunk like this? And what exactly is the benefit of income per capita when the environment you have to spend it in isn’t as nice as 90% of European cities/towns?