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by amadeuspagel 82 days ago
If I see "paid vacation" as an argument for why life in europe is better one more time, when an american doing the same job could take half the year off and still have more money left over, I'm gonna have an aneurysm.
2 comments

The median US worker gets 10 days PTO, and about half don't even use all of it. "Could take half the year off" is a high-earner scenario that exists on both sides of the Atlantic, but it's not the median experience in either place. The EU minimum is 20 days by law, for everyone, i.a., baristas, factory workers, nurses, not just people in high-paying jobs. But also, paid vacation is one stat out of like 40 on the site. There's life expectancy, safety, healthcare costs, democratic quality, CO2 emissions, renewable energy, education, press freedom... Reducing it to "just vacation days" is kinda proving the point that too many dismiss the data without actually looking at it. Also if reading a stat about paid vacation gives you an aneurysm, you might want to get that checked; though I hear that can be expensive in some places ;)
Well, you have to get hired the next year, which is not easy and not instant either. And after doing this a few times (leave after half year), no one will hire you.

Then there is this “little” problem of heath insurance. There are like other gothchas too.

If what you said would be feasible, lots of folks would do it. But the reality shows otherwise.