[CalRobert]

Very true - the other side to this is it's a _LOT_ harder to get to 200k+ in Europe than in California.

Anyway, I like the EU, but it still is a harder place to build wealth on the whole. Where I am you pay tax on _unrealized_ gains in ETF's (called deemed disposal), CGT is high (33%), and you get much less advantage saving for retirement than in the US.

On the other hand, if I lose my job, unemployment benefits more than cover our monthly expenses if we pare back a bit. Our overhead is low.

If it tells you anything I went back to California to start a company. Then, after someone drove a car in to my wife and the cop lied about her statement and she was lucky not to get a huge bill (it was the first few months of Obamacare before the horrific deductibles came in), AND she took her 1 week of vacation and that was it for the year, we decided to hell with that and moved back to the EU.

[lotsofpulp]

The maximum out of pocket expense for 2021 is $17k or so for a family, and even in CA, maximum premiums should be ~$25k per year for a family of 4, maybe closer to $30k if parents are age 55+.

At a million dollars of salary, that is not going to make a difference to anyone, especially because most of the $30k premiums will be paid by employer, so you are left spending $20k out of pocket maximum including your portion of the premiums.

I would just add $15k for a single person / $30k for a family to tax expenses to compare relative taxes for an employer person in US vs EU.

[CalRobert]

I never argued anything different, though million dollar pay is very, very rare.

[lotsofpulp]

I was trying to give an idea of what horrific deductible would be. Probably less than $5k per year, and out of pocket maximum less than $10k even for a family. Healthcare expenses are not material to employees of tech companies…as long as they remain employees.