“Americans, What Do Europeans Have Every Day That You See As A Luxury?” (30 Opinions)

Some of the main things that tend to come up whenever someone compares and contrasts life in the United States and life in the European Union include the healthcare system, as well as paid time off. These are extremely important factors to consider before you plan to settle down somewhere. 

The US is the only economically advanced country on Earth that does not have statutory paid leave, while the global average, according to Business Insider, stands at 18.2 days. Meanwhile, around half of Americans simply aren’t taking time off, which can lead to additional stress and burnout.

CNBC reports that the average American employee gets 11 vacation days each year. Meanwhile, people living and working in the European Union get at least 20 paid days off each year, mandated by law. That’s before public holidays are accounted for.

A recent Morning Consult survey shows that many Americans aren’t certain that they’d actually like longer vacations. However, what they do want are longer lunch breaks and shorter workweeks.

Where healthcare is concerned, the United States has a very bureaucratically overloaded and wasteful system. It needs to be overhauled to make it more effective. The Peter G. Peterson Foundation reveals that the US spends more on healthcare per person than any other wealthy country in the world.

This number stood around $12,555 per American in 2022. That’s nearly twice as much as the average in developed nations ($6,414 per person). The issue is that even though the US spends so much money, the utilization rate isn’t much different from elsewhere. It means that you get less for each dollar than you would abroad.

Hospitals in the United Sates are consolidated, meaning there’s less competition. There’s also massive administrative waste due and inefficiency. The US spends roughly $900 per person per year on administrative costs alone. That’s four times the average admin cost in other developed nations. 

Overall, despite these costs, the American healthcare system does not perform better than in other developed nations. In fact, it performs worse in areas like life expectancy and unmanaged diabetes.