My son works for an American company and the British staff earn a bit less than their American counterparts but have six weeks paid holiday per year.
I suppose that it depends on what your priorities are.

You'd really have to tot up the number of hours worked pa on both sides of the Pond to see what people actually earn.

Just to clarify -

>...people in his company here make roughly equivalent salaries of people at the same level in the US - ex. a position in the US that paid $100K may pay 50K pounds in London.<

That is what they would pay a British person who rose to that level in the company here in GB. If an American transferred at that level from the US, they would be paid more. My point was just to show that the spending power of someone doing a similar job in London to that of the US counterpart would be substantially less. But I think people born and bred in London are used to the wage scale and cost of living here. I think it would shock most Americans not from NYC or SF.

I also take exception to Jamila's original statements as to what young people typically start at in the US, but really the idea that $30K a year allows one to live "very comfortably" as a single person. Sure, in some places, but not in major cities. I live in Wash DC and my niece started at 35K with a Master's from Carnegie Mellon and she is just getting by because even studio apts in decent areas on the metro line and close-in are $1000+ a month. Now she doesn't have an engineering degree or anything, but still (she's in arts administration). For 1000+ a month, you can have a studio apt., she can't afford to have a one-bedroom on her own. Many young people starting out here must share living quarters with others, and certainly are not living very comfortably.

Sure, some people can start out at $50K, but you have to have a specialized degree or Master's in something (other than arts or something like that which isn't much in demand nor highly paid). I think the $30K is more likely at the Bachelor's level.

Well - here in NYC starter jobs are about $35 - and there's no way you can live on that without either help from parents - or sharing a tiny apartment with several others in far suburbs or quite marginal areas.

Anyone startng at significantly more generally has some sort of advanced degree - or very specific and rare skills.

The qustion is not what you start at - but where you will be in 3 years - if you succeed. (Depending on industry you may get modest increases - or you may be at $75/$80.)

There is a perception that London is expensive – it isn’t really. It’s just that you tourists never go out where we do, and don’t spend your money where we do. The actual cost of living for those of us who live here isn’t quite as steep as you might assume from a visit as a tourist (not that it’s cheap either – just not so expensive)

I also have to laugh when I see people saying that in moving from “Bear’s Bum Montana” to London they suffer a “loss of standard of living”. If you measure “standard of living” in terms of size of house, car, fridge etc I suppose it’s true, but if you measure it in terms of access to world class cultural amenities (dirt cheap too), fabulous parks, etc etc then some of us would see it as a step up. Each to their own of course.

David,

I understand and agree for the most part, adding, as I am sure you might have, that there are many people who consider living in any (congested, or otherwise) urban setting a definite step down despite the abundance of cultural, etc., opportunities.

And as you have rightly said, to each their own.

>>Bear’s Bum Montana<<

Right town, wrong vernacular! That would be Bear's Butt, Bear's A$$ or even Bear's Hiney but nevah evah Bear's Bum.

That’s me told.

even considering the cultural amenities, london generally has a very poor standard of living except for those who are very wealthy or on an expat agreement that provides the comforts of your home country.

most european cities offer a much better standard of living to those of average salaries as compared to london and still offer decent cultural scenes.

i know many people in modest careers who came here to work and have since returned home to earn a local wage in places like munich, amsterdam, brussels, berlin, frankfurt etc, etc. their standard of living improved dramitically as compared to their life in london.

I agree with all who have noted that such comparisons may be deceptive. I further agree that one makes one's own choices based on personal tastes and that such things are difficult to quantify.

My parents, who are hard core New Yorkers, cannot comprehend why I chose, at age fifty, to retire and move to rural Texas.

I get a constant lecture on the cultural benefits of New York City besides which, obviously, the Tyler Civic Ballet, the East Texas Opera and the local symphony orchestra are all but laughable.

On the other hand, I remind my father that the last time he went to a Broadway play was in the 1950's and that I can not go to the theatre just as well in Tyler Texas as I could not go to the theatre in New York.

And while I can hop a plane and be in London, Paris or even New York to enjoy their cultural benefits and fine restaurants, I live, day to day, in a place with clean air, clean water, no crime and almost no taxes.

I think I have the best of the bargain.

To be honest walkingaround, this merely proves that a native of any country can generally earn a better wage than an immigrant.

I’m not saying that london is cheap – it isn’t. It also isn’t quite as expensive for we natives as you might think if you were used to paying tourist prices – even we consider the West End a rip-off and avoid it.

We drink in local pubs, go to local cinemas, eat in local restaurants, attend local nightlife, shop in supermarkets, markets etc. It’s a lot cheaper than the well known places in the centre (which we go to as a treat – as you would do in your own towns).

But we also live much more cheaply in our own cities than tourists would. So I don't doubt locals live more cheaply than tourists, but if you make a cost comparison between two young people, with strong budget inclinations, in London and some other city, London is going to be much more expensive than the other city (unless it's Tokyo or Oslo or something) given persons who know all the budget tricks in each city.