[underbrush]

> People are very skeptical of those that go solo and try to setup their own business in Europe, especially if it doesn't involve some 'well known' field like a trade or retail establishment.

In my experience that is a very European viewpoint. Some Europeans think that Americans are more free because society doesn't care what they do. In reality, as you probably can tell by US politics, that often isn't really the case. To the extent that Americans are more free it is more because they themselves don't care about what others think. Europeans that think American society is more supportive are mostly just saying that they themselves need more support.

This might seem like a weird distinction but it takes it from being a "hard problem" that is forced on you, to a "soft problem" that you can potentially change yourself.