zlacker

Hmm, housing in Europe is more expensive than in the US, especially per square meter. Not needing to drive a car is a preference and Americans clearly don't have the same one, it's not an economic advantage for most, and cars in US are cheaper to own. From my vacation experience groceries etc in Europe are much more expensive.

I mean they have disposable income measures that account for all that as well as welfare programs. In the end disposable incomes in the US make half of the first world look like third world:

https://data.oecd.org/hha/household-disposable-income.htm (click table, and pick gross including transfers)

You can also see % of that spent on housing, US is lower than most EU countries