Note that USA citizens living abroad, no matter for how long, are required to pay USA income tax. The only way out of this parasitic arrangement is to give up your citizenship. The USA charges hefty fees for citizenship renouncement. They know you're doing it for money and want to squeeze something out of you before you get away for good.
Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA
171–180 of 239 posts
Re: Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA
#172If 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 for the insight. Could you share more about how you went about getting a freelance visa as a programmer. Most of the bullet points for Documents Required in you link actually say "not required for freelance" but then I see: "Proof of a secure livelihood must also include sufficient health insurance." Did you have to show a current consulting contract? Do you have to show that you are currently contracting for…
I don't want to go into how I got the visa, but I will say that most people get friends with German companies (even single person companies) to write contracts for them :) The contract simply has to state the project, date of future employment, and how much you will be paid upon completion.
The contract can be for future dates. Does not need to be a project that is currently paying you.
I had one German company and one US company. I think it's safer to have at least one German company.
Sure thing, contact me if you need advice. I haven't been through the process in a couple of years but expats talk about it a lot.
Re: Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA
#173You are already making a mistake that Europe is a single country, so I'm getting that you never visited it.
Europe is a continent with many countries speaking different languages, with different cultures.
You should be more specific where you want to go.
Re: Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA
#174> what's it like out there comparing to America It's totally different country by country. I never been to the US, but I imagine it's much more homogeneous than the EU. For example you can go to Berlin, Barcelona, Milano, Stockholm or Budapest and you can have radically different experiences. It differs radically financially, demographically and attitude wise. I'd suggest to start with a Euro-trip and visit as many c…
> I never been to the US, but I imagine it's much more homogeneous than the EU I'd argue they are mostly the same. IMO, The US is pretty similar in structure to the EU where the US as a whole is comprised of many states, each with their own laws. Yes there are federal laws but for the most part, each state can do whatever they want. Each state / region has vastly different cultures and standards of living.
Ireland is richer than the US. Bulgaria is poorer than China. That's the gap.
Re: Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA
#175If 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…
Wouldn't it be smarter to just make use of his U.S. citizenship, contract for a Silicon Valley startup, make like $100k, and just travel in and out of the Eurozone whenever necessary to still be considered a tourist? Seems like he'd probably net around $2k a month after taxes doing that.
Re: Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA
#176Off topic but: is anyone freelancing from Japan? I may be doing this soon and have so many questions for someone who is currently doing this!
Re: Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA
#177Note that USA citizens living abroad, no matter for how long, are required to pay USA income tax. The only way out of this parasitic arrangement is to give up your citizenship. The USA charges hefty fees for citizenship renouncement. They know you're doing it for money and want to squeeze something out of you before you get away for good.
This is misleading. Income of up to $101,300 is excluded. Also, tax credits are given if the amount you pay in the country you live in is higher than what you would have been paid in the US.
Given that a salary of $101k in Europe is unlikely, and that taxes are almost always higher in Europe than the US, you do not need to worry about paying income tax to the US.
You do, however, need to file a tax return.
I don't support these policies, but I wanted to clarify things for people who could get scared away by your comment. It really isn't that bad.
When U.S. Citizens Living Abroad Owe U.S. Tax: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-us-citizens-livi...
Re: Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I never been to the US, but I imagine it's much more homogeneous than the EU I'd argue they are mostly the same. IMO, The US is pretty similar in structure to the EU where the US as a whole is comprised of many states, each with their own laws. Yes there are federal laws but for the most part, each state can do whatever they want. Each state / region has vastly different cultures and standards of living.
Ireland is richer than the US. Bulgaria is poorer than China. That's the gap.
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Re: Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA
#179Note that USA citizens living abroad, no matter for how long, are required to pay USA income tax. The only way out of this parasitic arrangement is to give up your citizenship. The USA charges hefty fees for citizenship renouncement. They know you're doing it for money and want to squeeze something out of you before you get away for good.
The US has tax agreements with lots of countries that prevent you from being taxed twice on the same income (and for other countries there are still solutions). Plus, you'd only be paying federal-level taxes, since you'd not be a resident of any state. Not sure about social security.
Still, it is of course painful. As someone in the reverse situation (foreigner in the US), I had to pay income tax to Norway for the first three years after moving, with US taxes paid being deducted from what I owed. On the other hand, I did not need to pay the Norwegian equivalent of social security; income tax only.
(Of course, the Norwegian tax system is also 100% digital, with very simple forms that are already filled out for you based on what your employer etc. have already reported to the authorities; the US stuff was just a small additional form. So in reality the painful part was and is the US tax return, which is ridiculously antiquated and complicated and involve lots of paperwork, especially when you have foreign bank accounts.)
Re: Ask HN: Thinking of moving to Europe from USA
#180If 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…
This is a great summary, nice one!
mbrain, move to Europe, you will love the lifestyle.
Good luck!