221–230 of 239 posts
If you ask on HN, and given you're American, you could start by writing more correctly. Reading your "ask" is a bit annoying, it contains so many grammar mistakes. It shows that you did this quickly and without regard to your audience.
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Typically these are measured in absolute numbers. I'm not sure why you'd want to measure as relative ratios.
The ratio of savings:spending lets me know when I can retire early. Using exaggerated figures, if I earn 100k in the US, save 10k a year but I spend 90k, then it's going to take me longer to retire than if I earn 35k in Europe, spend 30k and save 5k. Because in the US, it'll take 9 years to save enough to live off one year, while in Europe it'll take six years to do the same. Of course you can move to a cheaper count…
Many do that within the US with cost of living games. Work in SF for 5 years saving 200k a year. Move to Flordia and be set living in 40k a year for life. (Or some variation thereof)
I recommend Prague or Bratislava. You can save a lot and get a job in one of the US corps. People are down to earth. They really like americans and will speak english all the time when you are around.
I would also add Wroclaw, Cracow or Warsaw then.
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I strongly recommend learning German if living in Berlin, but I also know a bunch of Americans living there who get by fine on ten words of German for the grocery store, and the rest all happens in English.
Are you a native German speaker or did you also learn? Any recommendations? I have heard the Goethe Institute is great but its very expensive.
But if you're in Germany I recommend immersion -- try hard to make friends who don't speak English or at least won't automatically switch into English all the time. That and the Volkshochschule.
Out of country yeah, I think Goethe Institute is the way to go if it's available where you are. Just based on reputation, but it's also a path into the German university system if you're interested in that.
* If seeking a job, you will have a hard time being hired without much more experience.
* You cannot "just move" to any European country without getting a job there, unless you have a bunch of money in the bank or proven income (usually a minimum of 50k a year), and only some countries allow you to come for "non-lucrative" purposes. Easiest is Spain.
* Getting a freelancer visa is generally difficult unless, again, you can prove a track record. It's much easier to start as a normal employee and apply to be a freelancer after a few years in the system.
* My #1 suggestion to anyone looking to move to Europe for work: Come here on vacation, apply for jobs in person, land a contract, move here. Getting a job in person is so much easier. In Germany you need to make at least 38k to qualify for the skilled worker visa. You can make as little as ~36k if your job is in a STEM field. You will not get hired without solid experience if you're applying from America, I can tell you that with near certainty.
I have a hand full of articles on my blog you may find useful. However, they are mostly geared towards people who are highly skilled. IMO you need to focus on honing your skillset before you try to move abroad, because any European country is only going to take you if you're an asset to the system or rich enough, basically.
http://notanomadblog.com/categories/work-abroad/
I'm a developer from the US living in Berlin. I've been in Germany for about 3.5 years now. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to answer them!
As a last statement: I love living in Europe and may never move back to the US.
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…
Thanks a lot! I didn't know about this visa. FYI, You may have just changed my life.
It is much easier to obtain the freelancer visa after you've worked for a german company for some time. I know people who have been rejected from the freelancer visa for not having sufficient money in the bank.
You can also just ask friends/family to loan you the money so you can take a screenshot of it to show to the person at the foreigners authority ;)
Edit: Also, if you're really interested in moving to Berlin/Germany, I have a bunch of content about this on my blog (incl. the entire process end-to-end) you might find useful: http://notanomadblog.com/categories/work-abroad/
I spent a few years living and working in Europe with EU companies or US subsidies there. The one main gotcha that no one thinks about is the tax and retirement savings side of things, both of which you should probably do. As a US citizen you're obligated to file (and possibly pay) taxes no matter where in the world you work and reside, no exceptions. It's the price of having US citizenship and access to the US embas…
Do you really need to declare that you paid taxes in Germany? Isn't there some sort of agreement?
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No way if by America you mean the US.
I'm referring to the US, though to be honest including Canada wouldn't change much. (Mexico is a whole different story) I know it's not a common opinion, which is why I made clear that it's just my experience. I've been to 19 US states and 15 European countries and I found Arizona to be more different from Pennsylvania than Romania was compared to let's say Spain or Germany.
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Do you really need to declare that you paid taxes in Germany? Isn't there some sort of agreement?
There's ~90k cap. If your foreign-earned income is less than that, you state the tax paid in Germany and don't need to pay for US taxes. If you make more than ~90k, you have to pay taxes for the amount over ~90k.
It looks super complex :(
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There's ~90k cap. If your foreign-earned income is less than that, you state the tax paid in Germany and don't need to pay for US taxes. If you make more than ~90k, you have to pay taxes for the amount over ~90k.
Thanks, yeah, I´m trying to understand that.. Since I need to do it for my wife... It looks super complex :(