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Ask HN: Leaving Germany – where to find quality of life as experienced engineer?

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Re: Ask HN: Leaving Germany – where to find quality of life as experienced engineer?

#11

Post by giantg2 »

"politics, social life, social net"

I think it will be hard to recommend depending on your exact positions on these.

I think it will be difficult to recommend a place with low taxes and robust safety net. Generally the taxes are what Pay for a safety net.

On that note, the US could be an option (southern states) for you since the taxes tend to be lower than other developed nations. The safety net is fairly robust, but only applicable in many cases if you're destitute. The caveat is that politics suck here, but they suck basically everywhere.

Re: Ask HN: Leaving Germany – where to find quality of life as experienced engineer?

#13

Post by qorrect »

clintonwoo wrote: post #7
simonebrunozzi wrote: post #4

Sorry to hear that you need to leave your country. It's never easy. I left Italy in 2008, in search for opportunities (AWS), then left the US in 2020, back to Italy. What made you leave Berlin, if you don't mind sharing a bit more? Finding the right place is always a compromise. E.g. : 1) quality of schools for your son (eventually; he's still super young) 2) VISA, how easy it is to get a permanent resident, and/or c…

Just providing a cautious view: living on an island sounds like a fantasy but in practice it's very isolating, many supply chain issues and it can be hard/expensive to get a hold of items produced off the island

> but in practice it's very isolating

Well, maybe. There are some island towns with lots of community , even expat communities. I actually found it easier to make friends on these islands then in a big city.

But the supply chain issues are big, if you want electronics ( in my case for Panama ), you get on a plane and go to the US to buy them. Same with any major medical care.

Re: Ask HN: Leaving Germany – where to find quality of life as experienced engineer?

#14

Post by shswkna »

Namibia is worth a consideration, especially if you add the option of remote work.

Quality of life and safety is relatively high. Due to the low population density many issues that other countries have do no escalate in the same way. The country has a high level of development and is peaceful/stable.

The only challenge is getting a residence permit but if you understand the goals of Home affairs, it is possible. Ask if you want to know more.

Re: Ask HN: Leaving Germany – where to find quality of life as experienced engineer?

#15

Post by qorrect »

jaclaz wrote: post #6

You are more or less describing the Canary Islands. You can live there talking English only, and there will be probably opportunities of work for your wife (that should however learn to speak at least functional Spanish). Remote working for you, however, I don't think there is much occupation related to your field.

I loved the Canary Islands ( I was only there for 2 days though ). Seems like it's big enough to have both big cities and small towns. And the food was amazing.

Re: Ask HN: Leaving Germany – where to find quality of life as experienced engineer?

#17

Post by bartminton »

shswkna wrote: post #14

Namibia is worth a consideration, especially if you add the option of remote work. Quality of life and safety is relatively high. Due to the low population density many issues that other countries have do no escalate in the same way. The country has a high level of development and is peaceful/stable. The only challenge is getting a residence permit but if you understand the goals of Home affairs, it is possible. Ask…

Namibia is on our want-to-see-the-country-list. We both enjoyed a number of african countries quite a lot. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mosambique and Swasiland we traveled already. Of course travling through and living in a country are two completely different things. Nevertheless, we will have to re-evaluate our current list of possible countries and put Namibia on it. We left out Africa especially because of the political instability of many countries and the connected dangers for caucasean type like us. Thanks a lot for your recommendation.

Re: Ask HN: Leaving Germany – where to find quality of life as experienced engineer?

#18

Post by bartminton »

higeorge13 wrote: post #16

Malta might be an option due to climate, english and lots of foreigners living there, but i have no idea about taxes. Cyprus also.

European countries are actually a very good option. Moving there is no problem at all, since we simply can move anywhere in Europe. It would have to be somewhere in the south tho, since we're looking for a much more relaxed lifestyle. We've never been to Malta or Cyprus so far, but both get onto our list. Thank you!

Re: Ask HN: Leaving Germany – where to find quality of life as experienced engineer?

#19

Post by deanmoriarty »

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #4

Sorry to hear that you need to leave your country. It's never easy. I left Italy in 2008, in search for opportunities (AWS), then left the US in 2020, back to Italy. What made you leave Berlin, if you don't mind sharing a bit more? Finding the right place is always a compromise. E.g. : 1) quality of schools for your son (eventually; he's still super young) 2) VISA, how easy it is to get a permanent resident, and/or c…

What were your reasons for leaving the US, if it's something you'd be willing to share?

Re: Ask HN: Leaving Germany – where to find quality of life as experienced engineer?

#20

Post by lormayna »

What about Israel? The tech scene is amazing, the weather is great and the taxes are lower than in Germany (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Israel). Unless if you don't have Jewish roots, it can be hard to get a VISA.

For quality of life, I would like to suggest Italy, but the salary are terrible low and the taxes are high. Moreover, the probable new government, will make immigration way more complex.

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