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Why I Turned Down An $85k/yr Job While Unemployed
It’s better to be jobless in Europe than employed in America.
I am an American living in France, and like so many others during the covid-19 era, my financial situation has become difficult. Right now I am partially employed, but for several months I had absolutely nothing. Very recently, I was offered a full-time financial analysis management job in Florida, one which I would have eagerly accepted under normal circumstances. However…
I turned it down.
What? How? Why? Are you Crazy?
This is what I imagined hearing from every single one of my American friends and family members, and what a big part of me was saying to myself. I’m an American from Detroit. The culture I grew up in is one where work is honorable — not to work is downright shameful.
I wanted to take the job, and at first I told myself that perhaps it was time to move back to the good old USA.
But the bottom line was that I couldn’t accept it, because I simply couldn’t afford to take the job.
What?
Yes, that’s right. After a quick and sober and rational few minutes of reflection, I realized that there was absolutely no way moving back could make sense — it was quite literally…
