[myk9001]

And GP guesses your comment might be using humor as a coping mechanism.

I'm not American, the question was why Europe can't keep talent ("talent" doesn't really include me).

Well, the compensation is just depressing. And as that person from Ireland pointed out, all the talk about worker protections is barely more than fairy tales (maybe not in the Netherlands, idk).

Were we looking at 120 instead of 80, deciding between Europe's quality of life and pursuing career and money in the US would a real tough dilemma. With 80 just enough to pay rent and for groceries... Saving a thousand a month (a wild sum!) gets you to a 20% downpayment on a 500K home in just 8 years...

[Muromec]

I got it that you were talking about the real situation and you personally have to live with flatmates while making 80k p/a, but it turns out you don't even live in Germany. My feeling are hurt by this and the fact that your math is not mathing really (what 20% downpayment?).

[myk9001]

> My feeling are hurt by this

Well, my feelings are hurt by seeing so many talented engineers getting compensated so badly.

How come that for all the signing and dancing about worker rights protections when push comes to shove it's US companies EU offices that are ready to pay their employees fairly? What kind of hypocrisy from EU companies is that?

If you think EU companies just cannot afford to pay that much, just compare what Siemens pays to the same level SWE in EU and US. (Have no relation to Siemens whatsoever, just an example).

[myk9001]

I don't feel like discussing my personal situation on the Internet. And was careful not to imply otherwise.

That said, I was considering relocating to Germany and researching the country as best I could. I do prefer European lifestyle, but the salaries are just a non-starter.

You can easily check the numbers I give though. Any specific mistakes there?

Btw, why are you so defensive about the fact comp is so low in Europe?

> your math is not mathing really (what 20% downpayment?).

> what 20% downpayment?

20% downpayment is generally expected by German banks if you want to take out a mortgage. Don't take my word for it, check yourself.

500K Eur x 0.2 / (12 * 1K Eur) = 8.3 years.

You implied that saving 1K a month is some absurd goal. I'm trying to show that's tablestakes if you hope to ever own a home.