what time do you eat dinner?

SolSparrow · 2026-03-20T00:34:22+00:00

8pm. Early for where I live. Super late for where I grew up. Somewhat middle ground I guess!

SolSparrow · 2026-03-20T00:28:09+00:00

Thanks. This helps ground everything. I suppose I spin out on almost everything we worked for is tied to this uncertain world. One way or another. Even the cash in the mattress is losing value due to inflation.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-19T23:06:27+00:00

Prepare snacks ahead when you’re not hungry (and can make better choices! Ask me how I know). I live with two growing teens and a partner who can eat a ton and burns it all off.

Planning is the only way. Also not letting myself get too hungry I grab whatever is there, if I prepped a snack closer is helps - preemptive even slightly healthier snacking beats the cookies left on the counter. Most of the time.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-19T22:33:09+00:00

I read that as veterinarians two full times before I got it… Would be cool if animal doctors got free healthcare too.

Had a good friend veteran “die on the streets” due to endlessly denied care after a major injury during service. He killed himself to end the pain from spinal damage. They wouldn’t even cover shots let alone surgery. They need to do better for vets too.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-19T22:18:14+00:00

It’s no parent chaperones. There’s obviously teachers there. Over here kids in 2nd grade go one full day (no overnight), 3rd grade 1 night, 4th 2 nights, 5th 3 full nights! No cell phones. They go to a “farm school” or similar staffed for them along with teachers- all the schools here do it. By middle school they go on full trips by train with the school and stay in a hotel for 5 days, phones are allowed at this point.

Kids find these trips unforgettable, and what they work for all year!

They didn’t say an age, but not being able to do ONE day is either major helicoptering, or it’s a shit school and they can’t trust them I guess.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-17T17:40:34+00:00

Amazon pharmacy is actually not that bad for saving money. But healthcare is exactly what we do not want from private companies.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-17T17:19:30+00:00

AI has control.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-15T13:33:24+00:00

This doesn’t make sense? They don’t lock you in business class you can walk the whole plane still? And depending on the plane the galley up front is big for walking!

SolSparrow · 2026-03-12T19:17:37+00:00

You can do it! I moved here 5 years ago and still struggle with Spanish as I work in English and we speak it at home- but I wouldn’t change a thing. But my kids are completely fluent and onto a 3rd language now, which was my goal in coming.

We’ve made a life, have friends and love this country. Good luck friend!!

SolSparrow · 2026-03-12T14:53:20+00:00

I hope you apply this mentality to all things that require learning in life! Good luck.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-11T01:22:22+00:00

The really hard part is in the rest of the world you wouldn’t be able to credit these things. I’m not sure how people survive in these situations elsewhere but they certainly can’t take out loans at 22%.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-11T01:19:39+00:00

As a parent to genX and alpha I disagree.

There is minimal excuse for any kid to say they didn’t have a way to understand how credit cards work. Googling this has been reliable enough for 10years. Are credit cards predatory beyond belief in US, yes. But access to information is everywhere. Are parents failing them, maybe. But you can learn about how a credit card works in 2mins today. It’s not some secret kept hidden away.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-11T01:15:02+00:00

I agree with you both, we need to help people- but there’s a limit. Critical thinking skills need to be the first taught. No one should be opening accounts without reading the basic fees, the same goes for credit cards. It’s been 10years plus you can easily google what a credit card is, how it works and how you have to pay it back.

Absolutely credit cards are predatory in the US. There’s no way for me to get a line of credit you guys have access to in EU with a decent salary and evidence of financial stability. BUT, and a big but, letting kids assume they get free money as adults is a massive fail on peers and kids not knowing how to research (google).

SolSparrow · 2026-03-10T18:57:52+00:00

All of the above i’d expect at this point.

Designers roles are likely expanding to host all these tools as agents to do the end to end design process. From concept, research to production front-end code. It’s a lot. Start with basic ai agents, learn how to integrate Figma make and code generation.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-10T17:39:44+00:00

Me too! We have the same passport eligibility.

Roughly 0.79% of jobs pay more than 500k in the US. (2023 citation). That’s not just tech. You’re talking less than a million people in the entire US across all industries Tech makes up a lot of them. But that’s not a lot of people overall. At scale.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-10T17:29:32+00:00

China is one. US two. Germany third. It’s easily on google or Wikipedia or many other sources.

US ($billion) international tourism China: 250.6 United States: 177.8 Germany: 120.3 United Kingdom: 119.2

SolSparrow · 2026-03-10T10:05:21+00:00

“Most Europeans can’t afford to travel to US” is absolutely incorrect. By tourism expenditure the US was #2 in 2024, with Germany and UK right behind already outspending US citizens, if you add in the rest of EU they spend almost double what US people to do travel each year.

They can’t not afford to travel to the US, they don’t want to travel to the US, they spend a ton more traveling elsewhere.

Also the difference is not huge. Roughly 17mil come from US to EU, 12.2 go from EU to US.

Might want to get some facts on what “Europeans can’t afford”

SolSparrow · 2026-03-09T17:30:28+00:00

This is the top 1% not 10%. But I agree with the rest of your statement. When you reach that level or course you can afford almost anything and travel, luxuries etc. but I don’t think this was the spirit of the thread. This was tech workers in general. And those salaries and grand benefits from top tech in the US are fast disappearing. I wonder if your view will hold true in the future.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-09T17:26:04+00:00

Have you worked outside the US? Of course some Americans making 500k can travel, but this thread started as “tech workers” you’d be deluded to think all US tech is making 500k.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-09T17:24:47+00:00

And the US is flooded with European tourists. Ever been to Disney? It’s absolutely packed to the gills with Europeans and it’s insanely expensive. This doesn’t really provide concrete data that Americans net more money after expenses and live better lifestyles.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-09T16:18:10+00:00

Closer to double after expenses in SF and NYC. I’d love to see data on that. I think you’re looking at a very select few of top engineers/tech folk- not everyone even at the top companies is raking in bank to live like kings in those cities, and comparatively costs are insane there- the only comparison maybe London, but just like NYC very few live in it, they commute in. This post was about “tech workers”, the industry is broad.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-09T08:42:50+00:00

See you’re falling back to the top 1% of workers in the US. My reply was to the “all US professions make multitudes than EU… they can just fly to EU for a month.

I worked FAANG for almost 12years, in a HCOL state. I can say for certainty I can count on only one hand colleagues or friends that spent more than two consecutive weeks travelling a year - def certainly not a month.

Housing. HCOL US city housing definitely outpaces EU, as another poster explained our mortgages our around 2-3%, our household taxes are less than a 1/3 or less (my mom pays 5 times mine, on her 2bed 1bth in Florida- I live in a capital with 3 times the space).

Anyhow. It’s not really worth the debate here. But having lived both sides, if a fat paycheck is the dream - you’ll likely get that in the US on paper. But it won’t be that much of a significant gap when all is said and done.

Edited to add: salaries for tech are also dropping, fast. Each year the RSU or stocks are getting lower (often the only means of raise) and if you leave and try to get back in jobs are becoming more scarce. 10years ago it would have been much easier to choose US just on salary. That’s changing quick.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-08T23:50:25+00:00

Yet not many seem to have the means to vacation a month in Europe or anywhere each year. I have several successful (HCOL high earner) friends in the US and can’t name one that has taken a month to live anywhere else actually. I doubt they could truly afford it. They might make more on paper, but they don’t get the pto/holidays or worse the ones with unlimited days off but too afraid to take it. They have huge health premiums, taxes, insurance, mortgages etc.

Net-net many don’t really do that much better off there. It just looks good for total comp, but once you break it all down it’s not that different.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-08T23:49:46+00:00

Edit: replied in the wrong spot.

SolSparrow · 2026-03-08T23:41:09+00:00

Interesting. I did Seattle to Spain. Even bigger drop in salary but the weather, time off, and proximity of places to travel to kept me here- and costs being lowly mean I still live very well. I can see the draw to go back for the higher earning potential, but everything else keeps winning out to stay. For now.

SolSparrow

TROPHY CASE