Anecdotally my American bosses here in London are in the .1% category and they came here because their job sent them here! Sometimes your career takes random turns.

😂 I believe you. They are insane.

The UK is the least bad in Western Europe. gov.uk is a good example. You can file your taxes, look op your tax record, apply for a drivers license or passport. All can be done online.

France, Spain, Germany and Italy are all bad in their own way. France is extremely random. Things are clearly explained and why you show up they will tell you you’re missing XYZ. When you tell them it isn’t said anywhere, they’d shrug and say sorry that’s unfortunate.

German bureaucracy is bad shit crazy. Everything has to be done in paper. Some departments still use fax.

Italy and Spain there’s just this general sense of chaos and inefficiency.

That is true but what I said is also true. Ivy is need blind, basically free if you can’t afford it. Many mothers have 6-12 months of mat leave if you have a good job. Not all, but many do.

My point being, in the US things can get extremely bad as well as extremely good. In Europe everything is run of the mill. So don’t move from Europe to the US if you aren’t prepared for low lows but high highs.

That’s all good but know that you will never be able to change jobs in the UK. That’s basically what happened to me. I got to keep my NY salary, but then I also happened to have met someone in London. So I’ve been living here for a long time now but I’m essentially chained to my job because any local alternative means a 50%+ pay cut. I tried looking for a very long time. Nothing to complain about my current job but I think it’s only normal that people want a change of scenery every so often. My only options are to go back to the US, or stay in this one job.

Your questions are so prejudiced, so I would suggest you adjust your mindset before even considering moving.

You admitted that you have never lived in the US and the reality is all from the media. But you already assumed:

• “poor/expensive healthcare” if you live in a big city. It definitely isn’t poor. And if you have a good job it definitely isn’t expensive, giving you seem to live in Norway where taxes are eye watering. Also, different from Norway, there are a lot more people in the US, if you are unfortunate enough to have a rare illness chances are higher than someone in the US will have more expensive than a Norwegian doctor.
• “extremely high tuition”. It isn’t extremely high. The US college education system is messed up in its own way but to call everything extremely high is wrong. The sticker price isn’t at all real. On the top end, Ivy League colleges are all need blind. And there are many states state colleges that are fairly reasonable (eg university of California, CUNY, SUNY systems). Not to mention the earning potential is a lot higher in the US. The average graduate has more student debt in the UK than in the US, despite colleges being “cheaper” in the UK.
• “short maternity leave” just because the law doesn’t require maternity leave doesn’t mean mothers go back to work one week later. If you want Scandi style 1 or 2 years of leave, you won’t get it.
• what is low work life balance? To me living in a tiny country where you can never advance your career, being taxed to the tee, being prescribed one way of life, having to rely on the gov are all worse than working hard and making a shit ton of money and then spending it on things I want.

It seems from your question that you haven’t a European hoity-toity attitude about the US, even if you didn’t mean to come across as snobbish. If you want a European way of life, don’t go, because it isn’t and will never be Europe. But if you do want to go, you need to change your mindset and accept a different way of living. Higher risk, high reward.

I also moved from NYC to London. I would not move at all unless you get to keep your NYC salary. On the higher end of the salary scale, the UK is a poor rich country. Salaries are really low here. $200k is fairly common in NYC but it’s rare in London. 1% salary is 800k in the US, but £150k in London. Things are slightly cheaper but not that much cheaper, especially for a single person. Taxes are higher. The average person is struggling here. There is no point is taking a 50% pay cut when things are only 20% cheaper and you pay 10% more in taxes. The math doesn’t add up.

Also, if you do want to move despite the pay cut because you want to experience living in a different country, all good but make sure you have an exit plan. A European salary isn’t nearly enough for you to retire in the US.