Probably not. It seems to have come as a surprise. They are not loitering - either the wave conditions did not allow for installation or they are in port for resupply.

That's a really neat project! Thanks for sharing.

>And with German lane discipline

The number of big trucks hanging out in the left lane in the US drives me mad...

Depends on the state. Many like NY have "No trucks in left lane" laws.

>You have to constantly be 110% aware of every vehicle within 1/4 mile of you,

Not such a terrible thing honestly...

Personally, I find the lack of predictability on US interstates is much riskier. I'm pretty sure the accident statistics back this up too.

The qualifications to drive in some states are barely more than ability to breathe.

>US companies must pay out vacation time when employment terminates

Doesn't that depend on the state?

It does, but I've never seen any company that doesn't pay for accrued time.

That's a choice the company makes in most states, though, meaning they can just as easily choose not to as choose unlimited vacation.

As I understand it, the company merely needs to be consistent. Either they pay everybody for their accrued time, or they pay nobody.

It does; didn't realize that but it makes sense

>Wages in America must be truly incredible for this to seem normal

They indeed are for a very small subset of people, who are overrepresented on this website.

I really don't think you can generalize that wages o/a are incredible in the US.

The wages in the US are incredible while still being much less than 500k

>but we promise

of course, who's to say that next quarter priorities of management or shareholders shift & those "promises" evaporate?

Of course you'd want to put those terms in the employment contract, not just a verbal promise. Surely you wouldn't get exactly the same protection as in another country with a completely different legal system, but at least you could get part of it.

And yeah, they could terminate the contract, but they would still be bound by its terms that say how they can do that, with how much notice, for what reasons, and how much they will owe you.

Contract law is strong. If a company deliberately gave the employee lots of rights in an employment contract (in return for less pay), a court would hold the company to that later whilst it was solvent, even if company management later changes it's approach.

Personal experience - emigrating to the Netherlands after higher education is a well-defined and relatively easy process. After graduating you're able to apply for a "search year" residence permit which entitles you to residence and full access to the Dutch job market. (https://ind.nl/en/residence-permits/work/residence-permit-fo...)

Normally then you're able to get a "highly skilled migrant" permit (with less restrictive criteria than had you not studied in NL) which is renewable, then eventually after passing some language and integration tests and sufficient time you're eligible for long-term permanent residence (or even citizenship).

It's a refreshingly sane approach compared to the US.

Same with Germany with the new Opportunity card program