Programmers routinely earn more than most doctors and healthcare professionals. Also, being "white-collar" is not about having the highest compensation.

Obviously, private practices, big law firms allow for extremely well paid Law and Medicine jobs. But so do big software corporations.

> the quality of life is just lower (less car ownership

I enjoy renting out a car for trips to unusual locations (places not well served by trains), but I argue that a society with less car ownership is actually a more pleasant one to live in

> much smaller homes without swimming pools

Fair, but is that really common for those who live/commute to work into New York every day?

> or air conditioning

You can just install it, it's much more common nowadays than 30 years ago (obviously, more common in the south, and more common when you actually own the property, instead of renting)

> kitchens without garbage disposal, American fridge-freezers or dishwashers,

indeed, never saw a garbage disposal unit. Besides some banana peels I barely produce any organic waste in my kitchen, though. I think I'd bin it in the same "nice marginal improvement" category as robo toilets in Japan.

> American fridge-freezers or dishwashers

You can just buy them. These kind of items are a small fraction of the cost of a home. If you can afford a home, you can also afford these.