[olegious]

I made about 2x less in Europe than the US in a similar sized startup, this is in product management.

But there were other perks- 35 days minimum vacation (I was required to take those days by law), a very clear work life balance, more relaxed work environment and a better quality of life overall.

I did end up moving back to the US to make 3x more (money is important to me right now), but am planning to return after my wife and I have kids- the quality of life differences are just too great.

[pepe56]

I think this is a very good summary. The number on your paycheck is not representative of how good your quality of life is. You can almost never compare salaries 1:1 even in different cities of the same country. It was mentioned on this thread as well, but €60k in rural Germany, €80k in Berlin and €120k in Munich are quite similar in terms of what you get, cost of property/land and stuff. All 3 are basically very much upper middle class in those regions.