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Ask HN: Europe to East Coast, does it make sense to move at 50?

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Re: Ask HN: Europe to East Coast, does it make sense to move at 50?

#141

Post by seibelj »

bshepard wrote: post #134
seibelj wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find lectures about American society from Europeans, as the parent comment did, exceedingly ironic and misinformed considering the same issues plague both sides. Even more so as American armed forces and weapons (and our tax dollars and political system) are what protect all of you from annihilation. The grass is always greener but I prefer it here.

The parent comment, me, was an American. Yes, the US state offers "protection" to Europeans, gangsters do that too.

Yes - and as an American I support withdrawing all aid so the Europeans can defend themselves and pay for all of its costs.

Re: Ask HN: Europe to East Coast, does it make sense to move at 50?

#142

Post by seibelj »

sofixa wrote: post #126
seibelj wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s just so strange that the USA has to provide all the weapons, negotiations, saber shaking, etc. to protect Ukraine when Germany and France are so capable!

Why do you think that all is coming from the US? https://www.statista.com/chart/27278/military-aid-to-ukraine... 25% comes from the US, but if you order by GDP(second graph), US is fourth. So overall a very big contribution, but far from "all". And about "negotiations" specifically, you're simply wrong - the ones keeping an open line with Putin (for zero gain so far) are Macron and Scholz (both say it's with Zelensky…

I would fully support withdrawing 100% of our aid and support and letting the EU defend itself. Very tired of giving my taxes to you guys.

Re: Ask HN: Europe to East Coast, does it make sense to move at 50?

#143

Post by jules »

hans1729 wrote: post #53
baisq wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not a problem if you have money.

If you don't want kids. If you do, it's always a factor. Do you want your kids to grow up in a stable culture, or in a declining one? Surrounded by polarization, extremes of all kinds, instability? I consider moving to the US for a couple of years for the money, but the second that kids are on the horizon, I would book a plane ticket to Europe.

I get that you may want to move here if you want to have kids, but isn't Europe declining at least as fast as the US?

Re: Ask HN: Europe to East Coast, does it make sense to move at 50?

#145

Post by kazinator »

seibelj wrote: post #141
bshepard wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The parent comment, me, was an American. Yes, the US state offers "protection" to Europeans, gangsters do that too.

Yes - and as an American I support withdrawing all aid so the Europeans can defend themselves and pay for all of its costs.

That's a pretty coarse-grained granularity.

How about: "As a Californian, I support withdrawing all aid, so the east coast can defend itself."

Re: Ask HN: Europe to East Coast, does it make sense to move at 50?

#146

Post by bjornsing »

okamiueru wrote: post #61
bjornsing wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting work? A love for liberty? Less crab mentality? Sorry, as a somewhat disgruntled European I couldn’t resist.

What does "love for liberty" mean to you?

I guess it could be summarized as the feelings expressed by Thomas Jefferson et al in the US Declaration of Independence.

Few people understand and value those feelings today, but I’m one of those few. I’m not naive enough to think that the US is full of people like me, but there are more of us over there, and it’s not socially acceptable to piss on us endlessly (as it is in Sweden I’d say).

Re: Ask HN: Europe to East Coast, does it make sense to move at 50?

#147

Post by ryantgtg »

seibelj wrote: post #142
sofixa wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think that all is coming from the US? https://www.statista.com/chart/27278/military-aid-to-ukraine... 25% comes from the US, but if you order by GDP(second graph), US is fourth. So overall a very big contribution, but far from "all". And about "negotiations" specifically, you're simply wrong - the ones keeping an open line with Putin (for zero gain so far) are Macron and Scholz (both say it's with Zelensky…

I would fully support withdrawing 100% of our aid and support and letting the EU defend itself. Very tired of giving my taxes to you guys.

Aren’t we mostly giving that money to US defense contractors?

Raytheon Technologies, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing are getting the bulk of that $40 billion.

Re: Ask HN: Europe to East Coast, does it make sense to move at 50?

#148

Post by morelisp »

wreath wrote: post #129
bshepard wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of alcohol and drug use in Berlin, but there are not vast open air drug markets like Kensington in Philadelphia or Skid Row in San Francisco. The issue is, indeed, "over the top."

Check Moritzplatz and Schonleinstrasse and come back here..

We could quibble about "vast", but the difference between Berlin's drug markets and the US's isn't really the intensity, but safety. (Don't totally misunderstand - they're still some of the least safe places in Berlin, but nothing like Kensington - which in turn also not as bad as pearl-clutchers would have you believe.)

Re: Ask HN: Europe to East Coast, does it make sense to move at 50?

#149

Post by a-dub »

bshepard wrote: post #7

Hello there, I live in Berlin now and used to live in the United States. My family is there, and I go back to the east coast of the US often. The degenerating and dystopian quality of the United States is difficult to overstate, but almost impossible to capture verbally. Whatever one cause attributes to the systematic breakdown of the US, it is difficult to deny the realities of the decline -- massive alcohol and nar…

> Stay here, make this moderately good place even better.

or better yet, come to the us and bring your good influence to help get this troubled place back on track. the political situation in the united states is indeed complex and troubled, but the influence and impact of the united states on western nations is undeniable. if it does implode in some horrific way, it's hard to imagine a scenario where it doesn't drag the rest of the west down with it.

Re: Ask HN: Europe to East Coast, does it make sense to move at 50?

#150

Post by TheMog »

A couple of comments as a European who lives and works in the US:

- I'm surprised that you find salaries lower in the US than in Europe. That said, if you compared freelance/consulting rates to salaries, that's Apples and Oranges. If you compare salaried positions, even on the East Coast, the salaries should be noticeably higher than in Germany. The extremely high compensation that people in some posts are talking about are generally found in a few, extremely high cost of living areas on the West Coast.

- I would expect AWS focused cloud migration consulting to be in demand in the US more or less the same way it is in Europe. That said, you'll be in competition with the usual consulting/outsourcing suspects and with no network, that might be a bit of an issue.

- The big financial hit for freelancers over here tends to be health insurance, and that's going to be rather expensive at your age (I'm a few years older than you). If your wife's job does offer health insurance for both of you, that's a major bonus. In fact that's pretty much what keeps me from freelancing with 30+ years experience (I used to freelance in Europe).

- Yes, there are differences in the quality of life over here. Not all of it is applicable to freelancers for whom paid vacation time isn't a thing, but it's a different mentality when it comes to work here for a lot of people.

To put not too fine a point to it, yes, your age can be an issue. Despite age discrimination being illegal, it's still rampant in this industry. OTOH I don't have that many problems finding work, and I work with a few people who are older than me and also don't have those issues. A lot of it depends on the company you're working for or with - some of them are looking for cheap young cannon fodder, others are willing to pay for experience and deal with grumpy old people :).

The other question you need to answer for yourself is the motivation for moving over here, even temporarily. If you're looking to make untold riches quickly, it's probably not that great an idea. While you should be able to at least match your German income over here, it might take a few years to get back to that level.

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