With huge respect, I’m an European SWE making a little more than 3k net (which means that what’s left after all taxes).
I own a nice house in a countryside village that I bought recently (so at the current market price), 10 min walking distance from the train station. I can afford premium quality food, I have enough money (and time !) to go on vacation 4 to 5 weeks per year (not just holidays but going abroad as a tourist). I own two cars. I’ll have a retirement.
Life hasn’t been cool on me on the last decade : I had to go under a 100+k surgery, I now take a treatment of about 150€/month. My grandmother had a stroke and is now living hospitalized under my dad’s roof. I did a burnout and stayed 1 year at home
to recover. And you know what ? Everything of this had barely any impact on our finances. Everything health related : 0 impact.
Now everything is fine, my health is better, I still have strong savings, still own my house, my grandmother is greatly taken care of…
I would never exchange that for the extra 4k I could lose at any moment without notice because life.
Interesting because income and location wise I am in the same boat but there is no way in hell I will ever own a house. So my assumption is you likely have a partner with equal income which triples your free spendable income.
To be fully transparent, I do have a partner but she doesn’t earn as much as me, she earns less than 2k€/month.
You are right to make the point that I couldn’t afford this lifestyle if I were alone without a family. Though I’d have very few interest in owning a 120m2 family house in this case, I’d probably live in a way cheaper apartment. I think being alone in the French countryside would be pretty boring, unless you are lucky enough to be near your friends and family.
Also, my point was absolutely not to compare European vs American lifestyle, saying which is better or going into the details, I just wanted to stress that comparing comfort of life by comparing revenue is not possible. It’s way more complex than "European earns less but don’t have to pay for healthcare".
I own a nice house in a countryside village that I bought recently (so at the current market price), 10 min walking distance from the train station. I can afford premium quality food, I have enough money (and time !) to go on vacation 4 to 5 weeks per year (not just holidays but going abroad as a tourist). I own two cars. I’ll have a retirement.
Life hasn’t been cool on me on the last decade : I had to go under a 100+k surgery, I now take a treatment of about 150€/month. My grandmother had a stroke and is now living hospitalized under my dad’s roof. I did a burnout and stayed 1 year at home to recover. And you know what ? Everything of this had barely any impact on our finances. Everything health related : 0 impact.
Now everything is fine, my health is better, I still have strong savings, still own my house, my grandmother is greatly taken care of…
I would never exchange that for the extra 4k I could lose at any moment without notice because life.