Working in Europe or The USA: Which is Better?

Name: Working in Europe or The USA: Which is Better?
Uploaded: 2026-09-12T11:04:18+00:00
Duration: 11 min 52 s
Channel: Wolters World

00:08Hey there fellow travelers, or should I say fellow worker abroaders? Mark here with Walter's World,

00:14and today what I'll talk about are some of the differences that Americans notice

00:17when they come to work in Europe. Because a lot of people, their dream is,

00:20I'm going to move to Europe, I'm going to work there, and everything's going to be great,

00:23and it can be. I've actually lived in Europe for like 12 years, 13 years, and worked in a lot

00:27of

00:27different places. I worked in Lithuania, I worked in Portugal, I worked in Austria, I've gone all over,

00:32worked with the locals, been part of the team, had to pay the taxes and all those things. And

00:37I kind of want to go through some of the differences that American workers really kind of notice

00:41when they come to work in Europe. And sometimes you'll see the jokes that, oh, they get all the

00:44vacation time, haha. Yeah, that's true. But there's also some more serious things as well, okay? And

00:49I want to start with the one that people talk about the most. You have so much more time off

00:54when you

00:54work in Europe than when you work in the US. And I'm not just talking the vacation time they give

00:59you, I'm talking about just normal holidays they give you off, which is really nice. Because you can

01:03have a much better work life balance when you're in Europe than in the US, okay? Because you just

01:08have more time to be you, you have more time to be with your family, you have more time to

01:12exist on

01:13your own without just having work be everything. And that's one of those nice things to it. So I think

01:17that's probably the biggest thing that people notice is just that amount of free time you do have.

01:22Because another thing that Americans notice when they come to Europe is work stops when work stops.

01:27If work is nine to five, you work nine to five, you can be mid-sentence, it's five o'clock,

01:31we're out,

01:31and no one holds it against you. There's no like, oh, we need to stay in for the team. No,

01:36we're pulling

01:36all nighter tonight, we need you to work an extra 10 hours this weekend. No, that stuff doesn't happen

01:40here. Like, I mean, it can happen, but it doesn't really happen. It's much more, oh, work's over, we

01:45didn't get it done, we didn't get it. Moving on till Monday, I got stuff to do this weekend, bye.

01:50And that's it.

01:51There's the boundaries that are here. Like work is not everything you you don't get defined by it,

01:57which is really kind of cool. So you're not staying late, you're not working the weekends,

02:00you're only there when the hours you're supposed to work, which is really nice. And I will say,

02:04another thing you notice is work is a bit slower. Because you don't have that going over time,

02:09doing all this stuff, things do take more time. And that's where a lot of Americans sometimes get

02:14frustrated with their European colleagues, because like, oh, can we just knock this project out and move on?

02:18Oh, why are you taking so long? Why? You have a lunch break? You have a coffee break? Can we

02:23just,

02:23can we just move through? And so they get that front US get that frustrated with the kind of the

02:28slow

02:28work kind of stuff, or at least, I would say the not hurry up and rush kind of thing. It's

02:32like, hey,

02:32we're gonna get it done. When we get it done, don't worry about it. And that's the thing is people,

02:36they're not worrying about it. It's not like work is everything. And I think that's a big thing to

02:40mention is you are not defined by your work in Europe. In the US, it's like, I live to work.

02:45And here in

02:46Europe, it's more like I work to pay for the fantastic food. I mean, it's just part of life,

02:49but that's like, that's not my life. Like, I honestly can say, like, when I did my PhD and

02:53masters and stuff I did in Europe, when I look back on it, I don't think of it like I

02:57did my PhD in

02:58Portugal. It was, oh, I lived in Lisbon. Like it was a life and you had that separation and you're

03:03not

03:04defined by it. And that's one of those things that's really nice is that you can be you. Like,

03:08that's one of the things I really loved about working here. But one of the things that you'll notice that

03:12you

03:12might not like, uh, when you do work in Europe is, uh, you're not really truly friends with your

03:17co-workers. Now you can be friendly with your co-workers and you'll probably more likely to go get

03:21drinks on a Friday after work with people, but making that close friendship bond, it's not as

03:26much there here in Europe because a lot of people, they live and work in the city they grew up

03:31in. So

03:32they have friends since they were little kids. They're still friends with their buddy from

03:35kindergarten, first grade, when they're 50 years old, 60 years old, you know, 30 years old, 20 years old,

03:41whatever. And therefore you as a foreigner coming in, it's hard to get into a friendship circle

03:46because they already have their friends. And that's why sometimes expats end up leaving

03:51destinations that are super cool because they're lonely. You live in a city with millions of people

03:56and you don't have friends and it is really tough. That's why I'm saying sometimes it's easier if

04:01you're going to be an expat in a place to be an expat in a Paris, a London, a Milan,

04:05a Berlin,

04:06where a lot of people have come and moved to, but not just international expats coming there,

04:11but also people from all over Italy moved to Milan, people from all over Germany moved to Berlin.

04:16So they're looking for friends as well. So it's a little bit easier to make friends. But that is one

04:20of those things is you might have it that you're not really super friends with your, with your, uh,

04:26colleagues. And some of them you'll still call,

04:28Hale Voltos, after you've been working with them for 30 years, you're still, Hale Voltos,

04:32not even on a first name sometimes. So do be aware of that. Now, it's not always the case. You

04:36can

04:36make friends, but I think it is one of those things that's important to mention because finding that

04:41good friend base when you first move abroad is really important. So you have that social connection.

04:46Now, another thing that, uh, I will definitely tell you is true is if you come and work in Europe,

04:50you do not make anywhere near the same amount of money as you do in the US. Like that's why

04:54a lot

04:55of Europeans like going to the US because they make a lot of money. They can get more stuff.

04:58And so you do have that. And so when you think about it, maybe that's something when you're

05:02thinking about your retirement, you're thinking about, Hey, what am I going to do in the future?

05:05You had to think about those things. That's why when I have students like,

05:08Oh Mark, I want to go work in Europe. Like, all right, well, do you have college loans?

05:11Because you're still going to pay them off and you might make as much money to pay it off as

05:14fast as you do in the US. But then they're like, yeah, but in Europe, we don't pay for our

05:18education.

05:19So it's doesn't matter. Like, yeah, that's why there's a little bit of difference, but

05:22the pay gap is a real thing. Like between the US and the EU, I mean, I, I won't lie

05:26to you.

05:27Like some places you do get paid better, Switzerland, Germany, um, you know, England,

05:30you get paid really well. Like those are like, okay, comparable, you know, you're doing okay,

05:34but go work in Portugal, go work in Eastern Europe. Like the money is a, you know, literally

05:38like a fraction of what you make in the US. So that's one thing I think is important to mention.

05:43However, you do get more with your money when you live in Europe, when you work in Europe,

05:49because you do have more benefits. Maybe you get paid a 13th month out of the year,

05:53or sometimes a 14th month out of the year. So those there,

05:56maybe you get credits for childcare, or you get credits for, you know,

06:00transportation allowances. So there's a little bit more like freebies in Europe that they give

06:04with you versus just, oh, look, a pizza party. Thanks, boss, that you get in the US.

06:09And kind of looking at things in general. I know when I worked in Europe, I made less money

06:12than I did when I worked in the US. But I will say life in Europe is cheaper. I mean,

06:18living,

06:18existing, loving life is just cheaper in Europe than it is in the US. I mean, that's why I tell

06:23people all

06:23the time, if you're going to go on vacation, if you once you get to Europe, it is cheaper to

06:27enjoy

06:28Europe than it is to enjoy, you know, the US. I mean, I'm here in Torino, which is a relatively

06:32expensive city in Italy. And it's still cheaper than going to Orlando for me, accommodation,

06:37going out to eat, it's better than than there, right. So you think about that, it's like,

06:42yeah, I don't make as much, but I don't need as much money as well, because you are more in

06:46the

06:46city and more things are going on, right. And that's why it's important to mention,

06:50your transportation to work is a lot different. It's not a car based society in Europe, you are

06:56switching to public transportation. Now, if you worked in the big city in the US, probably you

06:59might already use the L in Chicago or the the the trains, you know, in New York. But public

07:05transportation isn't a thing in the US. And when you come to Europe, it becomes integrated into your

07:09thing. So you're learning when I need to take the bus, when does that metro go by? I remember when

07:13I

07:13lived in Berlin, I knew exactly where my S bonds were going. And I'm like, I gotta get up that

07:17escalator.

07:18Like, it's definitely different than Oh, I got to sit in the traffic jam to get to work. Now,

07:22don't get me wrong, you can get a car and believe me, you drive in Europe, you're going to be

07:25in a

07:25traffic jam every day because there's not a lot of space. But also just to get into work is a

07:29different experience. And you'll notice there's a reason why in the US, our cars have nice cup

07:34holders and really good stereo systems, because we sit in our cars all the time, we're drinking on our

07:38way. Whereas in here in Europe, it's a shorter commute, but also with the crazy drivers and so many more

07:43packed things, you don't have time to change the channel, you only have time to focus on what you're driving.

07:47Now, another money thing you'll notice is a bit different is taxes. Yeah, you're going to pay

07:52a lot more taxes when you are here in Europe than you are in the US. In general, I'm just

07:57going to

07:57say that if you're making decent money, a lot more comes out, especially if you're going like to

08:00Sweden or, you know, Norway, Finland, like taxes do get a bit higher. So that's one of those things,

08:06you'll notice that in your check that a lot more is missing when you're working in Europe,

08:10but you do get more stuff with it. So that's one of those things like,

08:12Oh, I do have relatively cheap healthcare or free public healthcare. Yeah, maybe the NHS isn't the

08:17greatest, but it's included with living here. So I guess that's okay. But I will say like for the

08:23things you're not gonna like the biggest one that Americans like have a tough time adjusting to is

08:28European bureaucracy. Like I know we've got the DMV in the US. That's our one example of like annoying

08:33bureaucracy. But oh my gosh, try to get internet at your house. Try if you're in France, try to schedule

08:40a

08:40pickup of that Amazon package with a delivery driver. It's insane, right? The levels of

08:45bureaucracy, the level of things you have to go through, the hoops you jump through, the forms

08:48you sign, the stamps you need. Oh, you know, and a lot of it's these catch 22s like, oh, hey,

08:53I need

08:53to get an apartment. But important to get in. But in order to get an apartment, I need a bank

08:57account.

08:58But in order to get a bank account, I need an apartment where I have an address. Oh, the

09:02bureaucracies here are such next level that for Americans, they get very frustrated with it.

09:07Now another thing I think is important to mention about your workplace actually here in Europe is

09:11don't expect everyone to fall in line with the boss. Like the boss isn't necessarily God. Now,

09:15some parts of Europe, the boss is kind of like a godlike figure. But in general, you have a lot

09:20more discussion, a lot more consensus at work than in the US where it's kind of like, well,

09:25the boss says this, so why are we even debating it? Here, you do have that open debate. And for

09:29some

09:29Americans are like, oh my gosh, he's talking back to the boss. What are you doing? You're gonna get fired.

09:33No, you have much more discussion that's here. And I think one of the reasons why you have that is

09:37another difference is you don't worry about getting fired in Europe like you do in the US. Like,

09:42I think I do a great job where I teach and I, but every year, I'm still worried that I'm

09:45not

09:46gonna get asked to come back the next year. I mean, it's very much a worrisome thing. Like,

09:49you have the at-will work environment at the US that you never know, right? Whereas in Europe,

09:54you have a lot more protections. Like, you're not worried that you're gonna get fired because your boss

09:57had a bad day, because your union is there for you. Or there's protections by law that if you do

10:02get

10:02fired, they have to pay you for a year or two or something like that. Like, those kind of things

10:06make a difference. Mothers, they're not worried about having kids because they have protection

10:10for maternity leave, and they get paid maternity leave, paid paternity leave. I mean, those kind of

10:15things make a difference. You do feel more comfortable, like you can share your true feelings

10:19about a project that, hey, what do we need to do? And so you have a different mentality. And also,

10:24I think

10:24another difference is the mentality of the workforce. It's not as much like grind and the hustle and I

10:31need my side hustle kind of stuff like you have in the US. It's much more of that laid-back

10:35attitude,

10:35that laissez-faire attitude when it comes to work. And then I want to mention one thing that I did

10:39notice when I worked in Europe is, um, you're not going to have as much diversity in your workforce

10:43here in Europe as you do in the US. Uh, just because Europe in general, like you're in Italy,

10:48it's full of Italians. There's a lot more Italians, a lot less diversity in the workers than you have in

10:53the US. There's a melting pot of places. Now, if you go to like bigger cities, yeah, if you're in

10:57Milan or

10:57Paris or London, you're gonna have more of that. Like the UK is much more diversity, France is much

11:01more diversity, but that's one of those things when you work, you'll notice that there's not a lot of

11:05diversity sometimes in your workplace when you're here in Europe. So if you've been an expat working

11:11in Europe, tell us where have you worked, what was your experience, and what are some of the

11:14differences that you had? And don't worry, I'm going to do a video on this about what Europeans find

11:18strange about working in the US. Like, boss, why do I have to be here two hours early and stay

11:23two hours late?

11:25Yeah, we're going to talk about that as well. Anyway, I wish you all the best. I'll say bye

11:28from here in Torino. And also, I love working abroad. I mean, literally, it was like 10, 15 years,

11:32okay? So I would definitely do it again, because I loved working in Europe, and I wish you all the

11:36best.

11:37Au revoir, or tschüss, or au revoir, or au revoir, or ciao, or whatever. Whichever bye you want in Europe,

11:46go ahead and say it. Bye. It's been a long day.

Working in Europe or The USA: Which is Better?

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