66% of Americans say they want extended European-style vacation policies at work

Anecdote time, but I moved from a decent (non-FAANG) tech salary in the US to a (locally) good salary in Norway, and feel better off as a result. In outright terms my salary took a huge hit, but there are so many little things in the US that eat up your money you don't realize over time.

And the difference gets even more stark if you have children.

This is what I don't get about the US system. You can get paid a lot of money, but it is unthinkable for someone with a good job in America to not send their kids to college, which costs a heck of a lot of money. 2.5 kids is going to cost many years of earnings to put through college, and you don't even know what amount that is since the price is flying away.

In Norway you can have 10 kids and all they have to do is be diligent about doing their homework, and they will get into university.

We just saddle our children with private student loan debt.

Social mobility is also a lot higher in the Western EU. I moved with my wife to the Netherlands 3 years ago. I was working a FAANG job, I took a 30% pay cut (after factoring taxes, etc). But the flip side is that the relative salary of a global tech worker in the Netherlands is MUCH higher than the average. My wife and I now have 5 separate rental properties now and growing, something we could only dream of doing in the Bay Area unless one of us hit the startup lottery.

Of course I could have worked remotely for a similar pay cut and bought a bunch of rental properties in the Midwest or something, but instead we're living in a vibrant international city and have enough cash flow to pay our bills.