> less on social services

Less? By what metric? The tax burden is lower in the US than in Europe by a good amount. Does paying a lot more in taxes not count toward paying for social services?

You are right - it would be better to compare something like the yearly middle-class lifestyle spendings of a 100k€ and 200k$ family all things considered. I would think the difference is smaller than expected considering housing alone. However, a large drawback in Europe is that the upper-ceiling of earnings in Tech is much lower than in the US, there is not much air above 150k€ unless working in management at a large corp.

You pay more in taxes, but when you become more vulnerable (older, less healthy) you are safer.

The problem with money savings is that they might not keep their value. Last thing I want is to be old, ill, broke and living in a country with no free social services. That said, it all depends on the risks one wants to take... Life is dangerous. :)

Let’s see how “safer” Europeans are by the end of next winter