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Comment by dna_polymerase | Hacker News Reader

They might get higher numbers, but they are paid in Dollar which is less worth than Euro, also everything is more expensive there than it is here, especially rent and food.

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Uh, what? Have you been to the United States before? Everything, and I mean everything is incredibly cheap here. I'm just like an average dev in flyover country and I max out my retirement savings, bought a house, and can go buy a BMW and fill it up with <$2.00/gal gasoline, oh and that's just on my income. Doesn't include spouse. And after I fill up with gas I can go to an average grocery store that is far larger than just about anything I've seen in all my European travels and buy like 50 avocados for $0.89/ea, then go buy a bottle of Grey Goose for $30, pour it out, then buy another one and pretend I'm in Europe paying Europe prices for things.

"I can go to an average grocery store that is far larger than just about anything I've seen in all my European travels"

How is this relevant?

It's also not true. Carrefour and Auchan stores in France can be the same size as the big Walmart stores in the US.

I agree.

In addition, food quality is miles ahead

No it's not. Plus the selection in American grocery stores is far superior.

Right, which is why I said average. Average American grocery stores are nearby and sell a gigantic amount of food. And the quality is exactly the same or better.

Because it's ease of access to a large variety of inexpensive food.

Rent is far cheaper in the U.S. My last apartment was $450/month for 600 sq ft in a good neighborhood. I paid $650 for less than half of that in rural France.

Food is probably cheaper too, though not as dramatically.

I'm sure there are lots of perks to living in Europe, but rent is not among them.

> Rent Prices in Germany are 29.77% lower than in United States

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_resu...

Those figures don't normalize for apartment size. The "cost to buy" figures do, however, and they show the US costing less than half the price in Germany.

Where the hell are you living in this country?

Just curious, 'cause the rent in places like Waterloo, IA is about twice the number you quoted.

And there's not much going on in Waterloo, IA.

For 600 sq ft? That's not hard to find anywhere in the Midwest. Here are dozens of results for Waterloo, IA for below $600, many of which are much larger than 600 sq ft:

https://www.zillow.com/homes/21174_rid/42.570466,-92.248879,...

Strange, to me it's the converse experience, my appartement in downtown Montpellier, is cheaper and bigger than my girlfriend's appartement in south Scottsdale, AZ.

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