by wkat4242 | 2025-08-31 10:12:14+00:00
But what's so bad about the future? I don't really understand. Spain has been very socialist ever since the fall of fascism in the 70s. Now that was bad. Things have only improved a lot since.

We in Spain live totally fine too :) I have more than enough money to buy what I need. We always go for lunch in a restaurant when I'm at the office, it's not like we don't have two pennies to rub together. All the restaurants have cheap lunch menus. Everyone goes for lunch there in Spain, so much so that we don't even have a real canteen in the office.

And no I'm absolutely not young lol, I'm 50+. I've also lived in many countries (4 in total) including ones with much higher wages. And much more capitalist ones like Australia. But Spain is by far my favourite. I think the country is doing great and the system works really well. I would definitely not want to live in the US. Even if I could make 3 or 4 times as much money there. Which, realistically, is probably how much more I'd make in silicon valley (including stock bonus, which tbh I don't want, I prefer real money)

In fact, a FAANG offered me a job there just before the pandemic. But looking into the cost of living around their fancy office I'd still have had to live tens of miles away from the office in some dopey town (San Francisco wasn't possible either financially) and they wanted in-office presence every day. Here I just take a 15 minute subway ride. I'm supposed to be at the office regularly but I don't actually bother to go there often (another thing about Spain, rules generally aren't enforced very much). Anyway, I declined due to quality of life. I love living in a big city that is also quite compact. And have no worries. I'm not very ambitious, I just want to enjoy my life and work is but a means to that.

Money really isn't everything. Especially as you get older, having good and free (well, tax-paid) healthcare is a huge plus. Same with all the other benefits like job security, state pensions. In the US I'd have to cover all that myself, be dependent on my employer for healthcare plans and have a lot less rights as an employee. Another thing that's important because an employer can easily consider you 'too old' and it's very hard to find something else at my age.

One of my friends has been on a (genuine and pretty bad) long-term sick leave of over a year and has had no worries due to the illness benefit. This kind of worry-free life matters a lot. It's bad enough when you get a serious illness, having to worry about being able to live is not something you'd wish on top of that. I don't mind a large portion of my taxes going to such things, because it means it's there for me too if I ever need it.

The one exception is the housing market which is a bit crazy here (but nowhere as crazy as in the US). But the problem is not the socialism, it's that it's too much of a free market. They are bringing in more restrictions like a rent price limitation and longer mandatory contract terms. And banning AirBnBs all over the city so we don't have to compete with tourists paying 100-200 euro a night anymore. They never should have allowed those in the first place, but anyway...

But the idea that the American model is the only one that could work is just not true. If your goal is to get lucky and become a millionaire/billionaire and be one of that sweet 0.001%, then yeah, sure. For the rest of us it works way better like this.

Also, America is tearing itself apart right now. Here things are mellow, as LGBTIQ+ we are respected and welcomed, rather than be considered a 'political ideology'.