Indeed 6 weeks is luxury, I know. It is negotiated. With our taxes, it is better to get time off than money, or the gov's take it. And life is certainly what you make of it, but good and bad also depends on your expectations. It is also very easy to heard off in the wrong direction, just to find later in life that it was something else you really wanted. Personally I am happy with little, tend to work more than I should, but though I many times have felt life tough, nowadays I am rather happy with things. It is a learning curve.