Quality of life isn’t only controlled by what a particular person owns; it is heavily impacted by their environment, the local and regional infrastructure and markets, and the emotions, state, and trust of the people around them. That is why it costs less to enjoy life more, in Europe.

The overall quality of life in western EU is substantially higher than in the USA, and the eastern EU is catching up, quickly. I expect the east to catch up, even faster, now that Hungary voted to give themselves another chance at prosperity.

The USA had a massive head start, by having an intact industry after WWII, controlling the world’s reserve currency, and having a gigantic internal market. But that advantage has been steadily shrinking, since the advent of the EU. (That is why Trump and Putin — and their many online and offline minions — hate the EU with a passion: it is increasingly-successful competition because of its large size and population.) Even America’s slightly-higher birthrates will mean less, in a roboticized world.

As America turns its government into a violent mafia and terrorizes and discombobulates its trading partners, Europeans are rapidly increasing their internal trade within their continent, and with their partners across the world. Agriculture, energy, consumer goods, defense. The EU cannot go it alone. But the EU is definitely not alone. Europe is not alone. It is now the USA, not Britain, that is the real island.

We are catching up and increasingly surpassing, yes. Partly because Europe is improving. Partly because the USA is declining. A rising stock market can only mask the malaise for so long.

And I don’t know who needs to hear this, but the German stock market is also at a record high. For what that is worth. Which isn’t much, unless you own those stocks (which I do, of course).

What you can’t do in the EU (or even wider Europe) is have a good idea and a snazzy Powerpoint presentation, and then have it immediately rain millions or billions of dollars down on you. It is true. Becoming mega-rich in the USA is much faster and easier, I know. But there are over 340 million US residents who are not mega-rich, and they don’t not-matter. Many of them would live better in Copenhagen, Madrid, Verona, Dublin, Prague, Lisbon, or Bayreuth. Not because they would be richer there. They would be poorer. But they would live as if they were richer.

That is not nothing.

https://thinkeuropa.dk/en/notat/2025-10-the-european-union-is-becoming-the-worlds-quality-of-life-superpower