Summary of the Analysis
This article directly exposes the long-held myth that “living costs in Europe are extremely low.” Many bloggers, in an attempt to create the illusion that life in Europe is particularly comfortable, deliberately avoid providing a comprehensive comparison of income and expenses. They use the argument “earn euros and spend euros” as a guise to make European prices appear cheaper by ignoring the impact of exchange rates. Additionally, they make arbitrary comparisons across different occupations, for example, comparing the monthly salary of a regular university professor in Europe (3,000 euros) with that of a sanitation worker in China (3,000 yuan), conveniently ignoring the significant differences in actual income between these professions as well as the high fixed expenses of ordinary Europeans. This misleads people who have never been to Europe into thinking that living there is inherently more affordable than in China.
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Simplified Explanation
1. The “earn euros and spend euros” argument is a clever trick to mislead people about the cost of living
When people calculate the cost of living in Europe, they often use a misleading comparison: they convert European prices into Chinese yuan. For instance, if a bottle of cola costs 2 euros (15 yuan), they might say, “That’s expensive!” But then they add, “They earn euros; their monthly salary is 3,000 euros, so the cola costs just 2 euros—what’s the difference from your 3,000 yuan monthly salary?” This seems logical, but it overlooks a key fact: only globally standardized products (like iPhones, international flights, luxury goods) truly offer a cost advantage when purchased with euros. For local services and necessities that account for over 70% of daily expenses, the value of labor is essentially the same in both places. For example, getting a haircut in Europe costs 20 euros, which requires working for 2 hours; in China, it costs 30 yuan for the same amount of work. There’s no real advantage to earning and spending euros in these contexts.
2. Arbitrarily comparing different occupations is a clear form of manipulation
The example of comparing a European university professor with a Chinese sanitation worker is deliberately misleading. The income levels of these two professions are not comparable on a straight numerical basis. A regular university professor in Europe earns around 3,000–4,000 euros per month, while a lecturer at a regular Chinese university earns 8,000–15,000 yuan per month—both are considered above-average in their respective countries. In contrast, the minimum legal salary for a sanitation worker in Europe is around 2,000 euros, while in China, it’s 3,000–4,000 yuan. Comparing these figures creates an illusion of higher income for European workers, which is completely misleading.
3. Those who promote this myth deliberately hide the realities of European incomes
Many people highlight European incomes by saying, “Ordinary people earn 3,000 euros per month,” without specifying whether this is before or after taxes. In Europe, taxes and social security deductions are quite high, leaving workers with significantly less take-home pay. For example, after deductions for healthcare, pension, and taxes, a person earning 3,000 euros might only have 2,000 euros left. By contrast, in China, after deductions, a person with a 10,000 yuan monthly salary would only have 6,000 yuan available for spending. This misrepresentation artificially inflates the perceived cost of living in Europe.
4. The real cost of living in Europe lies in hidden fixed expenses
Videos showing low prices in Europe often focus on discounted items (0.5 euros per liter of milk, 1 euro per bag of bread), but these account for less than 10% of total expenses. More substantial costs, such as rent (800–1,200 euros per month for a one-bedroom apartment in a non-capital city) and utilities (200–300 euros per month), account for over 60% of income. These fixed expenses leave Europeans with less disposable income than workers in China’s urban areas.
5. This myth exploits people’s lack of information
Many people believe the myth because their understanding of European life comes from travel or selective content from influencers. Travelers usually spend money in a foreign currency and are not aware of local rent and tax burdens. Bloggers who live in Europe, either as permanent residents or as content creators seeking to attract attention, only share information that benefits them, hiding all the factors that increase the cost of living, creating an illusion of higher earnings and lower expenses.