(Almost) all Europeans take a long vacation in the summer, even if it only to some other point in Europe, either on the train or on intra-European air travel which is cheaper than domestic air travel in the US and the US and infinitely more humane. Many Americans take no vacations at all. See also
Direct salary comparisons are difficult, and anecdotal statements have little meaning.
In the US, health care, child care, and college education have a greater out-of-pocket component than in Europe. In California the average for childcare is $23,863/year, for example, according to https://www.self.inc/info/childcare-costs-by-state/ , while in at least some European countries it's highly subsidized by the state through taxes.
The anecdata comes from friends of the tweet author in the US and Europe, but we don't know where those friends are from. Is it comparing the Bay Area, CA to Lisbon? Kalamazoo, MI to London? Massachusetts to Estonia?
Could it be the friends in Europe don't talk about their personal life in a work context, so the author doesn't know what they do on holiday?
Even if we accept everything on face value, the tradition in the US is two weeks of vacation and in Europe it's a month of vacation. If the European can only visit the US once every two years, that's still a longer time in the US since there's two fewer days of intercontinental travel. The trip would be less expensive as the two extra days of lodging in the US is less expensive than the extra round-trip cost.
In any case, given the number of Europeans I've seen in the US, including on vacation at a national park, the anecdote sounds suspect.
I call this absolute bullshit. I'm working in the tech sector in Germany and I'm _far_ from not being able to afford a vacation in the US. As a matter of fact for the last 15 years I've spend at least one three week vacation in the US per year - a couple of times even a second one for a week or two. I've also heard similar statements from a couple of colleagues.
Are we being paid (a lot) less than our colleagues in the US? Oh yes and personally I wouldn't mind getting a US software engineering salary. But a good job in the tech sector still puts you very far towards the top in the salary pyramid in Europe.
https://conversableeconomist.com/2023/10/27/comparing-eu-to-...