[thejdude]

Well, a 50k salary will net you <30k€ in Germany (but more if you have kids). You probably should also save a bit for retirement, since you won't get much from the state (today's retired receive much more than they paid into the fund, but current generations will receive much less). Oh, and we have a 19% sales tax over here (7% on groceries, and food is actually very good and cheap in Germany, at least in stores).

I'm surprised by the (low) 50-90k salaries you mention. I've always read much higher numbers. Probably due to the bias on blogs/news sites to West Coast companies.