Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA

Post by Bombthecat » Sun, Jan 01, 2017, 8:01 AM UTC

winteriscoming wrote: post #194

johnomarkid wrote: post #17

If you are a programmer/designer you can get a 3 year freelance visa in Berlin, Germany. I currently live in Berlin with that visa. Your standard of living in Europe will vary. Sure, some places offer free healthcare (not exactly free - see taxes), better public transportation, and decent quality food at lower tier supermarkets. That's all great. On the other hand, you'll likely take a huge hit in salary and pay high…

>> If you are a programmer/designer you can get a 3 year freelance visa in Berlin, Germany. I currently live in Berlin with that visa. For someone like me who doesn't understand German language, is it possible to go on with the daily life interacting with the locals in English?

Post by Bombthecat » Sun, Jan 01, 2017, 8:18 AM UTC

kbouck wrote: post #138

bane wrote: post #121

Europe is great. I have several friends who've made this move. I'd say that they have a higher and more relaxed quality of life at a much lower salary than I know of in the U.S. Salaries are lower, taxes are higher, but I think it balances out well. One thing I've noticed is that if you're willing to live a bit outside of a major city and along a commuter rail line (a commute not extraordinary by U.S. standards but s…

> pension If you move to Europe, build up a pension, and then move back to the U.S., you should be able extract the money from that pension (according to the conditions), regardless of where you reside in there future. > taxes You are obliged to report all of your foreign earnings to the IRS as well as all of your foreign bank account status each year. You are taxed on your income both in the local country and in the…

Post by poisonarena » Sun, Jan 01, 2017, 8:50 AM UTC

EduardoBautista wrote: post #162

poisonarena wrote: post #127

Sidenote, if you or your mom, happen to be jewish.. You can get a free ticket to Israel, give you citizenship, the government will help you with housing and actually give you money, and hebrew lessons.. They also have a booming tech industry.. I lived there for a couple of years and while not exactly in mainland Europe, it is very European. I currently live in Mexico City and thats also a great non-Euro option !

I currently live in Guadalajara as a freelancer and I am thinking of moving to Mexico City next year if I can convince myself to pay the higher rent. Loved being there and there are areas similar to Brooklyn to give you an idea of what life is like there.

Post by lomereiter » Sun, Jan 01, 2017, 9:17 AM UTC

chatmasta wrote: post #149

radicalbyte wrote: post #10

I moved from the UK to The Netherlands a decade ago. It was a fantastic decision. It's nice here, most people speak English (although I learnt the language) and there's a lot of demand for Developers. There are also crazy tax incentives which result in you paying basically 0 tax for the first 5 years. That covers the costs of learning the language (3k EUR and it takes 2 years).

Can you talk more about those tax incentives?

Post by afarrell » Sun, Jan 01, 2017, 10:17 AM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #193

afarrell wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can ether use the foreign earned income exclusion (which I think has risen to closer to 100k) or the foreign tax credit. You also want to take extensions so that you can qualify as a nonresident, or you will pay the ACA penalty for not having health insurance.

If you live outside of the US for 330 days a year, you're considered exempt from ACA coverage requirements.