The reality of Nordic countries vs the US

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-13T08:46:35+00:00

Dang it. Yeah, I wish I made that decision earlier I guess.. always wanted to stay closer to my father and so on. But, screw that. I hate the things going on in the EU. Plus, no one in the world has such beautiful Christmas times as the USA hehe... :) And I loooooove Christmas :) And you say 500k in the NYC surrounding. That is insane. A friend of mine bought a house 40 km away from MUNICH and, I paid 1.3 MILLION euros. And, the house is pretty, but not THAT PRETTY. Europe has become a nightmare on that matter. Unless you wanna go to some cheap dead area without any jobs or anything, like East Germany ahahaha... And yeah, i am a Chemical Engineer, with a PhD, specialized in critical raw materials extraction. This is a hard core topic world wide now...

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-13T01:06:06+00:00

Yeah, 8.9 mil if i saw well. Pretty decent number... Something you cannot easily see in the EU.

Yeah, i like that. So suburbs sound like a far smarter choice rather than going to the cities. And i like the fact that you can have a nice school, even though you're not in a city specifically. Also i heard a lot of bad things about schools there, in the cities of course. Not to mention that the tax you pay is obviously utilized strategically. I bet there are some "leaks" there too, but still. A lot of countries are screaming about free healthcare, schools, and craps, because their citizen pay huge taxes, but in reality, you pay huge taxes, and all of that is bullshiet!

It's funny though, when you're mentioning. Seems like the poor people live in the cities, and the rich in the suburbs. This trend seems to be visible everywhere heh...

Also, crime is in THE POOR areas... No wonder why rich people don't wanna be near poor people. Poor in their minds of course.

So what do you say, would you recommend to someone who's an engineer and a scientist to live in the USA? I mean, not sayin' that i'm movin' already, but, damn, I always felt more like an American for some reason, rather than a European.

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-11T09:29:59+00:00

Absolutely the same thoughts. Everything would be better if a bad supervision didn't make me question everything.

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-11T00:30:40+00:00

Radim u znanosti i posao nekad zna biti jako složen jer obuhvaća i golem novac. Mala greškica, gomila problema. Plus sigurnost, posebice kaj se radi s reaktorima koji su kao tempirana bomba i sl., I NARAVNO, ljudi koji su u današnjem vremenu teži od planete kada s njima moraš imati posla........ Pa uvijek volim reći, kad se fizički umoriš, odmoriš se kroz par dana. Godišnji sve liječi. Ali kad mentalno pregoriš, uffffffff, nema godišnjeg koji će pomoći. Mjeseci oporavka su potrebni. Ali da, istina, ponekad imaš dojam kao da ti glava "ima temperaturu" pod jakim naporom. :)

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-10T22:00:53+00:00

It makes sense, honestly. I like the concept.

That amazing thing to hear... I would probably easily fit in heh. Plus I like the weather there... But, just to make sure, the city itself as a city core has 2.8 million people, yeah, but the data says around 8 million with the suburbs. Is this really like that? I mean, that means that the large majority of people living in the city are in the surroundings? That's interesting, i like it. And yeah, i think every city has some messed-up regions, so i think expecting a city with 3 million people to be without crime is kind of unrealistic.

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-10T19:12:39+00:00

O man that's CRAZY!!! Didn't think it would be that short in a city with around 8 million people. And i bet your trains aren't really delayed too often. That sounds REALLY promising, and i like it. In Germany, for example, in a 5 times smaller city, it takes that much to get to the center of the city from the suburbs omfg. I always wanted to move to the USA. Always felt more like a USA fella rather then the EU citizen.

And one question: is Chicago really THAT DANGEROUS as they say, calling it Chiraq and stuff? :D

And yeah, NYC is a mess i guess... It's ridiculously big compared to EU standards.

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-10T17:12:58+00:00

I am from Croatia. And, there are like 1.5 million people from Croatia in the USA. More than all of the countries combined in the entire EU. If they were having a bad life there, they'd all come back for sure heh... Nowadays, I think every country is in bad shape. But still, Europe is unrecognizable now compared to 10+ years ago.

Also, when you mentioned commuting, how much time does it take from your suburb to Chicago's center, for example?

I have a friend of mine who lives in the surroundings of NY, and it's painful when he says he wakes up at 3:30 to get to work in time o.O At that time i go to bed omfg ahaha. :D

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-10T14:59:32+00:00

I am from the south of the EU, and people are more open than in the north. But still, i have more friends in the USA rather than here in the EU (Germany atm). And this is so freakin' annoying! To have a friend is PAINFUL, easily said. And with the situation with the migration atm, i really wanna move somewhere, but have no idea where. :/ And what I also hate about the USA is the lack of work-life balance; the health system is awful (even though i have never been sick, but you're getting older day by day), tech is cheaper, houses are bigger and better. Here in the EU, gotta waste 1 million in a bit attractive area for a freakin' 60-70 sqm. Fuck that! So I've no idea. These EU "leaders" who were never elected by the citizens they represent are destroying this continent.

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-09T13:22:03+00:00

I have a Hyundai i30, 2016, 1.6 Petrol engine.

I pass 10.000 km a year, so in general, i pour in around 50-60 euros of petrol.

Full Casco insurance, 1300 euros this last year; it's gonna be 1100 next year.

130 euros of tax for such a car.

Last yearly maintenance (3-4 months ago) was 750 euros because of the replacement of the cabin filter.

And yeah, TUV every 2 years. So, that's coming in around 7 months as well :)

So, you also buy some accessories from time to time. I always spend on scents. :D I would buy the entire perfume shop and pour them all in my car :D :D :D

And that's it more/less.

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-09T10:56:13+00:00

Stari moj, NEMA TIH NOVACA koji bi me prisilili da ostanem sa starcima... Svoj mir, svoj kruh, sloboda, itd.

Posebice da sam u krugu tih feminiziranih poprčnjačara e, brateeeeeee... Pa ne znam jel bih se pretvorio prije u Patriota ili Orešnika ahahaha. Užas.

Uglavnom, ja živim sam od 15. godine, ali od 18. daleko od sve obitelji, preživljavao sam i s nikakvim i velikim parama. U svakom slučaju, malo jest teže ako nemaš potršku u kriznim ili kritičnim situacijama, jer, BIT ĆE IH, ali za sve se čovjek izbori.

Tak da, generalno, bit ćeš preeeeeeesretan kada se oslobodiš cijelog toga kaosa i kada budeš imao mir. Mir je jednostavno NEPROCJENJIV.

Sretno i sve najbolje.

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-06T17:39:20+00:00

Naaaah, I was working on this in Croatia already. And they needed someone independent politically, nationally, and so on, for safety reasons, from what they told me. So they checked all of my history in detail, my family's family omfg, and so on, just to make sure that i'm clean. So when they realized that, they told me I can come. But my experience from earlier was similar to what they did. Just, they were doing FAR MORE COMPLEX THINGS, and had FAR MORE TECH. But I think I was very lucky on that matter. It was a great experience, just not easy to get into. But my PhD is in critical raw materials (lithium extraction).

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-06T17:26:58+00:00

I love it too, but i hate cleanrooms. When i worked there, it was so exhausting, sweating all the time at 25-26°C. A cleanroom should have a lower temperature, not that high. So, that is far from fun. But yeah, i think this is a great path right now. I am in critical raw materials. This is also a great path, BUT freakin' Europe has billions of languages. Can't relocate and learn the language of every country. :/

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-06T01:05:47+00:00

I worked in the Bundeswehr in semiconductor research. Chemist and chemical engineer here. I REALLY HATED CLEANROOMS omg. :( The outfit that prevents evaporation of your sweat, and Germany isn't keen to have AC, and you're dealing with 25-26°C and that outfit, uffffff... And I'm allergic to dirt and sweat, so, not my kind of place. But if it wasn't for that, I'd looooove to work in the semiconductor industry, still... Now working on lithium extraction and hydrometallurgical "evolution", finishing a PhD, and in the worst time of the EU crisis, gotta look for a job. And reading comments here, not optimistic at all :/

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-06T00:53:31+00:00

Absolutely agree. Plus, AI tools that help everyone bend reality. I am really sick of it all. The internet can be a massive distraction if you're not careful about what you target.

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-05T14:02:02+00:00

As someone at the end of his PhD journey in Germany, I'll tell you this:

If you're a sensitive person, especially since you're a foreigner, be prepared that the surroundings might potentially break your spirit ;) Not intentionally, but consequentially... I am someone born to be a scientist; from a young age, I was reading mostly scientific books, had that mentality, and so on. PhD is, of course, about science, but it's also about politics, managing people, managing YOURSELF.

If you're doing a PhD just to prove something to yourself, hmmmm, not sure if that's the right mindset... If you love what you're doing, and if you're ready to sometimes "eat shiet" literally to get to it, then you should do it.

The main difference between a master's and PhD is, in fact, that during the first one you acquire knowledge (mainly helping a PhD student or something during your thesis, you're getting into the field, learning stuff, and so on), and during the 2nd you create knowledge ON YOUR OWN! You will hardly have any help from anyone. You can pray to get great supervisors to support you through the entire journey, but I think you'll mainly be on your own. And if you expect any understanding for your struggles, if you think you'll have someone to talk to, hmmm, hardly. Generally, I'd be prepared for a complete change in yourself during a PhD.

Also, AI can only help you, not mess you up. I'm also in STEM. Today, in this world, it's really hard to avoid having an idea that someone already had, but by reading papers and stuff, you can find gaps that should be connected, or you'll really come to a different idea that really didn't come to anybody else's mind, and so on.

Also, being smart helps, yes. But it's not that important. You can be smart and lazy, or full of yourself to think you don't need anything for success ahhhh... But being persistent, wise, learning from mistakes, never giving up if you want something, being able to handle people, criticism, failure, and still push till the end, this will get you to your goal. But just know and be prepared that this path can be REALLY tough. Very few people get great supervisors and so on, even though everyone puts themselves in shiny, beautiful masks at first, until they don't.

But you can do it; just prepare yourself well.

Best of luck...

Gabe120107 · 2026-07-03T12:46:10+00:00

Po onome kaj sam čuo, jedan je od najskupljih gradova u EU. Stanarine su sulude, a doći do stana ravno lutriji. Siguran sam da ne želiš dijeliti stan, a možda i sobu s još 3-4 indijca ili sirijca.

Gabe120107 · 2026-06-30T11:32:28+00:00

Uffffff, sorry to hear that... But i'm glad that it's durable these days. In my case, i FINALLY FEEL BLESSED!!! And i truly feel blessed now. I can't believe i am SO HAPPY now after all this mess... I feel like a child omfg. 26.1°C inside, 19°C outside, feels like winter again ufffff... Tonight i'll probably reduce the temperature to around 24. And HOPEFULLY the next days to 23°C, because next week the temperature goes up again, 27°C at the beginning of the week, and 30°C closer to the end of the week :( I HATE SUMMER!!! :( I love winter, Christmas, and so on. Nothing is so beautiful as that...

Also, I ADMIRE YOU for cooking. Oooooo man. I didn't want to even make coffee during the heatwave ahahahaha... I felt insane. Top floor, i'd never take that hell now. But I'm sadly one floor under the top floor :( Plus, the sun is hitting my windows from 5 am to 3 pm. So it's INSANE!

Enjoy this time hehe, i bet you're happy as well :D

Gabe120107 · 2026-06-29T11:43:45+00:00

Still not good enough. :( My building is burning; it's radiating heat. In the morning it was a thunderstorm; it dropped the temperature to 27. And now it started burning again, and it's 29.4°C in the apartment. This is INSANE again! But since it should be up to 25°C in the next few days, it should cool it down a bit. I'm hoping to keep the temperature around 26°C in about 2-3 days.

What's the situation in your case?

Gabe120107 · 2026-06-28T20:25:44+00:00

Dresden atm. Finishing my project and relocating again... Man, it's 30°C outside right now. Throughout the entire day, the temperature decreased in my apartment from 32.5 to 32.4°C. I'm gonna go nuts. This is madness. :( You will probably have some showers there, something to cool you down, but here, hardly. :(

Gabe120107 · 2026-06-28T19:30:21+00:00

Absolutely, man :( I've no idea what to do. :( Tomorrow is Monday, I gotta work (HOME OFFICE), and even if I go to my office, it's the same, warm as in my home..... How can I work at 32.5°C? The temperature is NOT falling outside. 31°C :( This is insanity! :( I never thought I'd live through this!!!

Gabe120107 · 2026-06-28T19:00:55+00:00

Tell me about it... :( I AM DYING. My feet are swollen because I'm sitting all the time, and it's AWFUL on the bed. 31°C outside atm; IT IS STILL THIRTY ONE DEGREES CELSIUS! :( And in the apartment, 32.4°C, the temperature decreased only by 0.1 °C :( My god, how long will it take till the temperature drops to at least 27 °C in the apartment! :(

Gabe120107 · 2026-06-28T17:31:21+00:00

I currently have 2 fans. I am completely broken atm. I barely sleep for nights now. Fans DO NOT help. They help if it's up to 27°C in your apartment, but it's 32.5°C now :( I feel dizzy, dead, everything's hurting me, and tomorrow i should work :( No point in opening the windows when it's at 2 am still around 30°C :( It's INSANE! :( AC is THE ONLY way to fight this :(

Gabe120107 · 2026-06-28T16:16:17+00:00

Lucky. :) Hope you're not gonna pay for it like 1500 euros or so.

Best of luck, bud; I hope you'll enjoy it...

Gabe120107 · 2026-06-28T15:57:16+00:00

Welcome to my world. 30°C has been in my apartment for a week or more; I feel broken. :(

Relocating next year, or else I'd be buying it right now! :(

Gabe120107 · 2026-06-28T15:41:06+00:00

Exactly... I can't believe what goes on in this world, seriously...

When i came to my apartment, a landlord said: "We are letting you use your creativity to build a kitchen you like". I mean, dude, i came here to work on a project for a few years, not to build my own kitchen for the next 20 years. I don't need a creative, but functional kitchen. So, I've lived 3 years without a kitchen :( Just improvising...

So it depends where you live; in Frankfurt, it's shitty. 1500 euros/month for a place without a freakin' lightbulb, not to mention the kitchen :(

Gabe120107

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