Do I Have a Low Opinion of Europe?

Short answer - NO

While looking over the responses in my reader survey, I saw this comment.

“Your content is US centric and you seem to have a very low opinion about everyone working in European countries. This is both annoying and grounded in the absolutely dumb belief that income=competence. Income != competence. The usa is a shit hole most of us don't want to live in even if the salary would be higher.”

This comment is so hilariously wrong but also on point that I need to address it.

First, every geography is different. I write primarily US-centric content because I’m based in the US. And many of my readers are in the US. That said, I travel the globe more than most and meet with a ton of non-US practitioners, government officials, and executives. I’ve written and podcasted extensively about the nuances between different geographies. My perspective is about as global as you will find with anyone in our field. When I think about the data field, it’s with the world in mind, not just the US.

The US is undeniably a great place to be if you want to make a lot of money. I wouldn’t trade it for anywhere else. But the quality of life here is…different…than other areas of the world. It’s not my favorite place for quality of life, and we have some major social issues in the US. There’s a reason I spend a LOT of time in Europe, traveling there every 2-3 weeks. I appreciate the quality of life there more than in the US. Things are slower, older, and more “cultured.”

Does income = competence? Absolutely not. I’ve praised European data practices and often comment that I think Europe often does data “better” than the US. There’s just a higher sense of craftsmanship and data competence in Europe. Perhaps it’s because businesses move slower there. Maybe there’s more time to think. I dunno. There seems to be much more thought and attention to quality, particularly in data modeling. I’ve said numerous times that European countries like Finland have among the world's highest concentrations of data talent. I even “godfathered” an awesome data conference there. Is it the Bay Area? No, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s uniquely it’s own place doing its own thing.

In the US, making money is all about moving fast and being as “productive” as possible to hit your quarterly number. We’re not a long-term-oriented business culture. This leads to shortcuts and errors that might not occur if more attention was paid to quality. However, the US seems to have succeeded despite these problems. Meanwhile the European economy isn’t doing so hot. As someone told me in Paris last year, “The US innovates and the EU regulates.” There’s talk in the EU about ways to get unstuck.

So who’s better? It doesn’t matter. Every geography is different, and that’s the point. The US has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. You can be as rich as you want or live in a cardboard box on a sidewalk. In the EU, there’s a social safety net that doesn’t exist in the US. You won’t go homeless, but you probably won’t make as much money as in the US. And Europe has free healthcare and free university, so there’s that. Every place has tradeoffs.

Scott Galloway says the US is a great place to make money, and Europe is where you should spend it. That’s my plan.

Anyway, keep the survey responses coming. I'm seeing lots of great feedback, and I’m excited to give you better content (non-US-centric, too).