[Cryptonic]

Just about one aspect of your post: You must see the income in relation to living cost and benefits in high paying areas in the US.

As SDE employee in Germany you might earn 60k-120k. Where the end of the range is more often found in larger companies with about 10y+ of experience.

But you have health care that never puts you in a position where you have to decide between ruin or death of a family member, what can be done will be done even e.g. if you need brain cancer be burned out with a particle accelerator (no joke). You will never be in a position where you instantly are ruined when you loose your job (1y at 70% income and at least social care later). You are forced to have an extend of retirement solution/insurance, which costs, but at least you cannot mess it up or loose in when you are insolvent.

So this stuff I call the true freedom, not gun ownership or freedom of speech that goes to far. Being free of crushing fear about your family health and future risks, this is freedom in Germany and other European countries. - This freedom also reduces violence and crime you are confronted with a lot, because the motivation or psychic conditions for it are much less common.

So for me Germany is the perfect place for raising a family imo. But maybe yes there might be a reduced chance to become really rich here as a SDE