[the_fall]

I think the US is markedly better for people in certain professions who want to become rich. This is obviously not true for the general population, but the amount of cash that's chasing profits in tech means that a non-trivial percentage of SF Bay Area techies have a shot at financial independence (let's say, $10M in the bank). This is certainly not true for IT workers in most of the EU.

But if you already have enough to never need to work again, you should be fine in almost any liberal and politically stable country, and there's something to be said about moving to a lower CoL place where you can afford a nicer home, etc.

[bachmeier]

> a non-trivial percentage of SF Bay Area techies have a shot at financial independence (let's say, $10M in the bank)

You can become financially independent in most parts of the US. You definitely do not need $10M. $1.5M is enough. If you want a lavish lifestyle or you want to have complete control over where you live, of course that will require more, but financial independence means only that you have enough to cover the bills and live a modest but comfortable lifestyle.

[qwerpy]

Agree, many of my peers are on track to reach financial independence around 45. No compromises needed: Nice large home, good schools, safe neighborhood, plenty left over for luxuries and travel. I don’t know of anywhere else in the world where fairly normal but hard-working people can reliably do this (provided you got lucky enough to get hired at and survive a FAANG for ~10 years).

From here we can then move to a lower CoL place or stay put, whatever makes sense for our families.

[relaxing]

> Nice large home, good schools, safe neighborhood, plenty left over for luxuries and travel. I don’t know of anywhere else in the world where fairly normal but hard-working people can reliably do this

There’s no way you’re really this dumb.

[trimethylpurine]

CoL is very low in the US and QoL is very good. Just obviously not near the coast. For some reason many Americans forget that most of America is not in San Francisco.

[showerst]

I'd argue that QoL in middle America is not great compared to similarly priced places in the EU.

Americans have worse health outcomes (including lifespan), travel far less and have less time off, and retire later. That said, you do get much more space, nicer housing stock, (arguably) better access to education, and generally more 'stuff', so it's a tradeoff.

[mmooss]

> CoL is very low in the US and QoL is very good.

Compared to where? What is that based on? The strong public sentiment, determining elections, is that the US is unaffordable. People work multiple jobs and can't afford health care, housing, education, or even food.

[jfim]

It depends what you include in cost of living. Healthcare and education tend to be more expensive than other first world countries, and the taxes are high given the fact that healthcare and education aren't part of what one gets from paying taxes.

[laurencerowe]

Quality of life is very subjective though. Few American cities offer the kind of walkable lifestyles those of us who moved from Europe took for granted. San Francisco is one of the few places that can offer that, though even then I spent most of my career here driving out to Silicon Valley's suburban office parks. At least I could always walk to the supermarket, bars, restaurants, and cafes in my neighbourhood.

If you value a big house and are content to drive for all your errands most of the US is set up for that.

[drysine]

>financial independence (let's say, $10M in the bank)

In Russia $1M gives you financial independence for life

[throw-the-towel]

Until the next regime change or great war destroys your assets or makes them worthless. (Granted, that doesn't seem so impossible in the States any more, either.)

[maximinus_thrax]

Yes, but what kind of life is that?