When I think of my european colleagues I'm always struck by a little jealousy. They enjoy an unbelievable quality life. They seem to be on vacation all the time and their cities are incredibly pleasant. The US has so far to go. There is no meaningful comparison that can be made by using currency.
amount of vacation guaranteed by law is minimum 20/year, most have 25. in US this is considered as a special perk from what I heard. how about maternity leave, social support during unemployment, sickness and so on? Normal americans travel very little before retirement, they just don't have vacation for 2 or 3-week holidays every year, plus more for family visits, christmas etc. I travel consistently +-7 weeks per year, since I take my vacation when public holidays happen. Having 100% perm job. How common is this in US?
In France, you can have up to 10 weeks of paid vacation (that's a bit extreme, but they are western europe commies after all).
Not sure about pleasantness of the cities, each is different, but one feels generally safer here.
