[pdimitar]

Hm. Mostly what I expected then. With one exception: I am in the EU so here $120K a year does not exist. Not even $100K is easily achievable although I've commanded the equivalent of ~$90K a year and will soon work for the same figure.

So I started wondering if I can pivot to the US market -- which was never a goal.

I appreciate your advice. Insecurity and the impostor syndrome can hit even super capable people (I've seen it). Your words help me reassert my self-confidence, and that's sometimes shaky. :)

[slumdev]

Retirement, healthcare, and taxes eat up a significant portion of a US earner's pay.

The amount of money that actually gets delivered to a worker's bank account could be a little as 2/3 of their stated salary.

And many things cost more here.

It'd be a good idea to work the numbers and figure out what your take-home pay would be and how your expenses would change. There are some expat websites devoted to this.