<story><title>Tripolar Nature of Software Engineering Salaries in the Netherlands and Europe</title><url>https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/software-engineering-salaries-in-the-netherlands-and-europe/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>returningfory2</author><text>&amp;gt; Yes, healthcare and the cost of living are more expensive in the US&lt;p&gt;I feel Europeans looking in on the US from the outside consistently have a misleading view on healthcare. I&amp;#x27;m saying this as a European in the US working in big tech.&lt;p&gt;My plan&amp;#x27;s maximum out-of-pocket in a year is ~$3k, which I can pay pre-tax thanks to an HSA. It is less than 2% of my total comp in the worst case (in 2020 I spent less than $300 on healthcare). In return I get coverage that is generally better than the free public healthcare back in Europe.&lt;p&gt;I think CoL is similar, but not as clear cut. One thing CoL discussions often miss is that many expenses are independent of the local CoL; for example, a Macbook Pro costs the same in every US city. If your salary adjusts exactly for CoL, you&amp;#x27;re actually doing better because of this.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>dukeyukey</author><text>My worries about US healthcare don&amp;#x27;t revolve around the cost or the quality, but more about the instability. If I know roughly how much I&amp;#x27;ll need to pay I can plan for it, even if it&amp;#x27;s quite a bit. But if I get into a crash in another state and taken to an out-of-network hospital without even being conscious, that can fuck up your finances straight away.&lt;p&gt;What I&amp;#x27;d like to know is how much NHS-level healthcare would cost me in the US. Given a monthly payment, I want 100% of everything covered all the time. No out-of-pocket, no out-of-network, everything with no exceptions. I&amp;#x27;m happy with generics, a bit of a wait and a non-private room, but I want 0 unexpected bills.&lt;p&gt;Maybe companies like Kaiser do things like that?</text></comment>
<story><title>Tripolar Nature of Software Engineering Salaries in the Netherlands and Europe</title><url>https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/software-engineering-salaries-in-the-netherlands-and-europe/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>returningfory2</author><text>&amp;gt; Yes, healthcare and the cost of living are more expensive in the US&lt;p&gt;I feel Europeans looking in on the US from the outside consistently have a misleading view on healthcare. I&amp;#x27;m saying this as a European in the US working in big tech.&lt;p&gt;My plan&amp;#x27;s maximum out-of-pocket in a year is ~$3k, which I can pay pre-tax thanks to an HSA. It is less than 2% of my total comp in the worst case (in 2020 I spent less than $300 on healthcare). In return I get coverage that is generally better than the free public healthcare back in Europe.&lt;p&gt;I think CoL is similar, but not as clear cut. One thing CoL discussions often miss is that many expenses are independent of the local CoL; for example, a Macbook Pro costs the same in every US city. If your salary adjusts exactly for CoL, you&amp;#x27;re actually doing better because of this.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>deanc</author><text>I think the key difference here is that you are ultimately at the behest of your insurance company. I don’t like the idea of insurers making decisions over my health. I’d take the British NHS over US system any day as I know ultimately if I’m sick I can rely on it. You don’t have a plan B in US - or am I mistaken?</text></comment>