I think a lot of us have a good feeling about early/first employer. But I am not sure we would feel the same if we started that job today. "It was better back in the days" mentality.
Lower your expenses.
Move cheaper.
Be more basic
Say you can live on 40% of your current salary.
Join a startup or smaller company for a smaller salary. Perhaps you can even work 3 days a week? Spend the other 2 in passion projects.
I recently started to make mods for various Unity games. It is a lot of fun, I do it in my pace and the way I want it.
My company profits millions a year and I can barely get a new keyboard as a top SW developer :)
While working for a small startup of 5, I had very nice equipment.
Minimum number of weeks in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland is 5 weeks. Many employers are offering 6-8 as a perk. Since salaries are gutted by tax, other ways to compensate are used.
A big issue is infrastructure, which leads to frustration.
In many places in Europe, dedicated bike roads are built. Red lights are also much less used and often replaced with roundabouts.
If streets are built for a co existence, there is not need to fight about space.
Having Wednesday off, I would find it harder to disconnect.