Fuck Cars
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Spain has the 2nd largest high speed rail network in the world, larger than France, Germany, or Japan, with 4 companies competing, so prices are often low. The rest of the train network is generally quite good. Mass transit in most cities is very good. Cycle lanes are slowly being created, but Spain, except for Castile/La Mancha, which are mostly plains, is quite hilly, so not the best for cycling.
Barcelona is kinda famous for their pedestrian transformation over the last decade or two and the hiking and trains were excellent.
https://learn.sharedusemobilitycenter.org/overview/barcelona-superblock-initiative-barcelona-2016/
I just think an American would find the salaries for the kinds of jobs that get you visas (healthcare, tech, finance) to be pretty underwhelming, especially if OP has student loans or other debt in dollars.
Glassdoor says €66k/year for a doctor in Barcelona vs $154k/year in NYC. I assure you that anyone who can get a work visa to Spain would come out financially ahead in the US by a long shot. It also becomes pretty hard to travel to the US, even if it's comfortable to live on the salary in situ. That's not to say it isn't totally doable. I do it.
Are public health are and vacation time nice? Yeah, but anyone with a visa-worthy job with an American passport isn't worried about the cost of employer based healthcare and pay substantially less taxes in the US. It's great to be rich in the US, but really sucks to to be poor. I just think the unique position of people who can get work visas raises serious questions about whether or not it's "worth" it.
If a doctor can pocket an extra $50k/year (after college, healthcare, taxes) from the higher paying American job at the expense of paying for some human rights out of pocket, it's hard to say that doctor shouldn't hustle in the US for a few years first before finding a way to retire in Spain in 10 years vs working in Spain for the next 30. Visas for owning property or starting a small business are far more flexible and less scary than something attached to a particular employer, city, etc (work visa).
source: I am expatriate American in Europe struggling with this question daily
As a DINK household where both are tech workers - you have hit the nail on the head. We both can get visas to jist about anywhere in the western world with little to no difficulty, so for us it comes down to quality of life and salary. Sadly European salaries are so far depressed from our "normal" ( I make no illusion, we are well paid) take-home salary, that considering relocating across the globe is not currently a worthwhile headache.
I'm hedging my bets against the 2nd American civil war and getting the 2nd passport, but I also live in a country with a king and that's pretty silly in 2024.