I'm Dutch, an additional 5k per month would not buy me the feeling of safety I enjoy in the Netherlands. It's not just medical bills. It's also the crime and rape rates. You don't cover death and trauma with insurance.
Oh, yeah, can't help you there. I was thinking you were commenting as a person in a blue state worried about a red state political policy. There's blue vs red and then there's Europe vs US. A whole different order of magnitude. I mean all the same economic freedom vs policy concerns trade-offs still apply; but I'm well aware that there is a massive rift in risk comprehension going in both directions. The US is huge and the stuff you see on the news isn't happening where people with nice salaries live (I mean, statistically never, the news is not statistically accurate).
But I encountered a funny additional problem with that recently when talking to a European transplant which is: you need a car in the US. The US is huge and cheap and safe but you need a car. If you don't have a car you have to live within a subway system. Then it's not cheap/safe (pick one).
The lack of thoughtful urban planning is only a small factor. Yes, you have 30% more traffic related deaths, but check all other quality of living related indices and you can only conclude the US is a not even competing.
As a result, check your position in the happiness index and wonder if you, as a country, maybe fail your citizens. The only index where the US is leading is GDP, and that’s not a big factor in anyone’s life.
You can’t put a price on feeling safe. There are lots of tiktok and yt videos of expats living here who explain just that.
Woah now, its been awhile since I looked but I think we also tend to be in the top 5 countries of number of people incarcerated per capita. If that doesn't spell happiness, I don't know what does.
I'm a citizen in the US, and conversely I wouldn't move to the Netherlands for any amount of money. Everyone values different things differently I suppose.
But I encountered a funny additional problem with that recently when talking to a European transplant which is: you need a car in the US. The US is huge and cheap and safe but you need a car. If you don't have a car you have to live within a subway system. Then it's not cheap/safe (pick one).