You should compare US wages to EU contractors income. The rights between the two are similar and the income is too (~ €150.000 per year). But everything is cheaper here so you quality of life will be much higher.
I've heard that before from contractor friends, especially in London. Another option is working for a US company from Europe which I've done twice now. Wages can be quite a bit higher than working for a local company. Often both the US company and the employee feels like they're getting a great deal as you meet in the middle on wages.
Also the rights point you bring up is pretty key, the amount of protections, safety net, and rights you get as an employee in Europe makes it so that needing to save copious amount of money in case things go sideways is not a thing.
