Definitely not the ceiling. I've been working here for five years and always earned more. Also if you're married they'll sum you and your partner's income and lower your taxes if your partner earns less. Good way to study or do non-paid work while the other earns for both of you.
Berlin is very liberal and open-minded, but learning Deutsch is a must...
Another thing that scares me away from west Europe in general - such low percentage of people owning houses/lands... Even in Berlin, most people with their families spend whole their life in apartments (not to mention a house with a backyard) that do not belong to them...
Compared to the Bay Area you'll pay 1/2-1/4th of the rent/mortgage and soon 1 EUR will be 2 USD, so I'd say it might not be so clear cut. Add in cheaper childcare and medical expenses. Also California taxes might actually be higher than German taxes (or at least in the same ballpark).
"Compared to the Bay Area you'll pay 1/2-1/4th of the rent/mortgage and soon 1 EUR will be 2 USD"
1 Euro is currently ~ $1.10 US. Are you being facetious?
I agree with you on everything else though. Everything in Berlin seems reasonably priced. And it seems like a good quality of life there for a city. People seem pretty relaxed.
I actually have some money in Germany that I was waiting to bring back until after the election, hoping for a Trump win and a collapse of the Dollar relative to the Euro, but some of the stuff I've read suggests that it might actual do better? I don't know...it's all a little confusing to me.
