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 believe US election results will have consequences for USD...

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.

Can you elaborate? In what way? The Federal Reserve sets the monetary policy not the President.

Fiscal policy is much more likely to raise velocity of money than "excess reserves" are.

Yes, you're okay and safe with €60-80k in Berlin.