My German AirBnB host was a city employee who was able to take a two week vacation abroad. This was a job that required no experience.

Meanwhile, I went to college to better my life and ended up a slave

Germans with a more cynical outlook might tell you that the German bureaucracy is gobbling up staggering amounts of taxpayer money for doing barely any job at all, and basically leech off value creating jobs to fund their generous benefits. That is, if you want your job to be actually impactful in some way, you'll end up a "slave" funding some civil servant's lengthy yearly vacation as well.

I'm not quite there yet though.

Worker conditions are certainly better, but life is expensive and bureaucracy is annoying here too.

Certainly not exclusively American but inequality here is bad and getting worse. To an extent it’s “just life” but it’s depressing when we make a lot of money and somehow can’t save much of it. Makes one appreciate how hard people who earn absolute shit wages have things. Six figures in student loans if that helps show what’s different.

> it’s depressing when we make a lot of money and somehow can’t save much of it.

I obviously don't know your situation nor how you handle your finances. If you have the time to spare though, The Millionaire Next Door is a interesting read on exactly this topic (how some people with high incomes don't seem to be able to save a lot of money, while some others actually manage the inverse). Not saying that it'll fix your situation, but it might provide an interesting perspective. Best of luck to you in any case, I'm sure you'll get through it.

Appreciate the kind advice! Overall we are very fortunate and have a net income in the black, which is sadly rare for millennials. I’m only focusing on the negative in these posts.

Glad to hear that. Cheers!