u/dkease16

I’m no economist by any stretch of the imagination, so I’d be grateful if you could explain this to me in plain language.

For some time now, I’ve been seeing in the news how European countries have been stuck in a state of complete economic stagnation for years; countries such as the UK, France, Spain and Italy are failing to grow, create more jobs and pay competitive wages to their workers, with Germany now joining them in this situation, as well as Japan in Asia and New Zealand in Oceania. If we compare this with the United States, it is quite the opposite: they continue to grow economically, their jobs pay very good and competitive wages, and their citizens have not seen their standard of living reduced despite the many crises and conflicts we are currently experiencing, unlike in Europe. The exceptions to the rule here are probably countries such as Poland, the Nordic nations, Switzerland and microstates like Luxembourg or Monaco; the rest of the major economies are facing a host of problems, as I mentioned some time ago.

So why does this phenomenon occur? Does it have anything to do with regulations and taxes, as many liberal economists point out regarding Europe? What is the secret of the United States?

Well, I’m currently 25, but I plan to emigrate in three years’ time, when I’m 28, after finishing my studies in Chile. My short-term goal is to do a master’s degree, then a PhD, and see if I can settle in those countries depending on how the situation develops in the future.

I’m considering these four countries because of the opportunities they might offer in my field, and I’d like to ask if you could advise me on choosing the best option based on various opinions, as well as how much money you think I should have saved. Here’s a list comparing the pros and cons of each country in my opinion:

1. France: Good quality of life, access to museums and culture, good social services, good climate, reasonably decent salaries / very few universities well-ranked in global rankings, a lot of red tape, a language that is moderately difficult to learn.

2. Italy: Good climate, good quality of life, access to museums and culture in general, quite a few well-ranked universities / low salaries and few job opportunities.

3.- Germany: Good universities, high salaries, good quality of services, possibility of being paid to do a PhD/bad weather and a difficult language to learn.

4.- Sweden: High salaries, possibility of being paid to do a PhD (the best-paid option), possibility of working in English as well as Swedish/awful weather for most of the year.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and any other advice