Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe?

#291

Post by cassianoleal » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 5:36 PM UTC

busterarm wrote: post #189

jzellis wrote: post #15

I'm just outside London, moved here to marry my English wife from Vegas. I work part time doing basic IT for a US law firm due to health issues after heart surgery, and Yankee dollars are worth jack shit here - I'm not making serious tech industry money, but over here it's barely enough to survive on. Housing is always smaller than you'd get in (at least the western) US for the same price, and I'd bet that's true pre…

Indeed, peanut (or other nut) butter is nigh impossible to find across all of Europe.

I have no idea what you mean. I live in London where there's an abundance of different kinds of nut butter. I have been to many places in continental Europe, and even though the same abundance is not present everywhere, I never had an issue finding plenty.

Re: Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe?

#292

Post by shankr » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 5:36 PM UTC

WallWextra wrote: post #234

I recently moved from the US to Berlin. I plan to return to the US. Pros of Berlin: - Good transport - Bikeable - Safe - Cheaper than the big coastal cities in the US, with lower rent. - Good clubbing (not my thing) Cons of Berlin: - Healthcare is inconvenient. Doctor's offices won't pick up the phone, and won't leave you on hold. You just have to go in person. Providers all work in small doctor-owned practices, and…

> The salaries are shockingly low. Really ask yourself if all the comforts of Europe are worth cutting your salary in 2 or 3, and that's before...

Exactly! No amount of health-care and vacation can cover for that. And that's why as for a skilled immigrant, USA is top destination.

> Taxes. The top tax rate here is in the low-40s, comparable to the US, but unlike the US, the top tax bracket starts below $65k.

It's funny when I see Americans on reddit complaining about how they have to pay so much in taxes. When you show them exact numbers, then they start talking about how they don't get "worth" of their taxes.

Re: Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe?

#293

Post by foreigner » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 5:37 PM UTC

Be aware that as long as you're a US citizen you will still have to file a US tax return (in addition to local taxes) wherever you go! Most countries have reciprocal tax agreements with the US (you basically deduct taxes paid in one country from the other) so you don't have to actually pay twice, but you definitely do have to file twice! There are all sorts of peripheral headaches related to this, for example the UK tax year does not align with the US tax year.

Still totally worth it IMO. I moved to the UK for a few years, got cold and moved back to a warm part of the US, but missed it and moved back to the UK. I have no intention of moving back to the US again.

Re: Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe?

#294

Post by syki » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 5:38 PM UTC

MathCodeLove wrote: post #232

boffinAudio wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If Germany or Austria or the Netherlands were constantly being insulted on the world-stage This would be a fair argument if you, as an American, weren't ignoring the fact that the USA is the worlds #1 cause of terror, war and torment - in countless other sovereign nations, whose infrastructure was torn apart so that Americans could feel good about themselves and their country. Austrians, and Germans aren't dropping…

A lot of the world is also thrilled with the defense support provided to them by the US. We don't remain in countries like Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, etc by force. We do so because they couldn't defend themselves without us and they know it - so they request our presence. A lot of these allied nations are participating in those very wars you complain about, but naturally their involvement is usually much smaller…

Around the time of our invasion of Iraq the South Korean President of Korea criticized the Bush administration’s fixation with Iraq. A day or so later Rumsfeld announced that the U.S. would withdraw from South Korea in the coming years. Their stock market went into a downward spiral and they quickly recanted their criticisms. The U.S. has done a lot of good and a lot of bad. An Australian once said to me, “If someone is going to rule the world you could do a lot worse than having it be the U.S.”

One of the few things I liked about Trump was his statements that our allies need to spend more on defense. We should not shoulder the burden alone.

https://thediplomat.com/2015/06/evolution-of-the-u-s-rok-all...

Re: Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe?

#295

Post by rory » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 5:39 PM UTC

oaiey wrote: post #285

rory wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it might be a euphemism, but I'm not positive.

No. It is literal. Tap water is generally healthy in Europe.

Oh. I think it is in most of the US as well? Or at least, I haven't been anywhere in the US where it is unsafe. In some places it tastes kinda bad.

I have actually been to a couple of places in (Eastern) Europe where I was told not to drink the tap water.

Re: Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe?

#296

Post by VirusNewbie » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 5:41 PM UTC

boffinAudio wrote: post #4

I've done it, and it was one of the best decisions of my life. WHERE: I'm Australian, moved to LA when I was 18 and lived there for 15 years. Then, I moved from Los Angeles to Germany (Duesseldorf), and then to Vienna, Austria. WHAT SACRIFICE: No more In 'n Out Burger, no more decent Mexican/TexMex food, no more LA food trucks. These are literally the only things I miss about the USA. Literally every other aspect of…

What is your living situation like? Are you paid well? Do you own a car? Do you support a family? Can you afford childcare? Do you have a housekeeper? How large is your house?

I mean, that's great that you can walk to places and eat tasty food but I feel like you left out a large part of what it's like to live somewhere.

Re: Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe?

#297

Post by indigochill » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 5:41 PM UTC

shankr wrote: post #254

indigochill wrote: post #180

I'm an American who has now lived in Iceland just over seven years. Sacrifices: Iceland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe (last I checked, about on par with Monaco) and software engineer salaries in my experience generally -don't- reflect that. Iceland is also (surprise!) an island, so getting anything shipped here is both slow and expensive. Ideally, learn to live without stuff you could normally get…

What made you decide to move to Iceland? It's not a very common choice for most of the immigrants.

At the time I was working in customer support for the same Icelandic employer. I knew I wanted to get into engineering and volunteered to do some free "spec" work to demonstrate that I could perform at a professional level. That proposal got hung up in labor law stuff in the states (they told me legally they were required to pay me for work I did as an employee and they didn't have a budget for what I was proposing) but they said it wouldn't be an issue in Iceland so I requested a transfer to the home office and made the job change official a few months later.

Re: Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe?

#298

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 5:42 PM UTC

oaiey wrote: post #202

rootusrootus wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Really one of the few things you can say context-free is: you'll have more vacation in virtually any European country. In tech, at least, this probably is no longer true. In my experience most of the bigger companies have been moving to unlimited vacation. I'm pretty sure that someone in upper management did the math and concluded that employees granted unlimited vacation actually end up taking fewer days than if t…

I think the key is: paid vacation days.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe?

#299

Post by dkjaudyeqooe » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 5:42 PM UTC

syki wrote: post #277

vajrapani666 wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do love living in New Orleans, either this or Brooklyn are the only real cities for me here. I need to be able to walk to a grocery store. I'm privileged to have lived here for 6 years, and the only reason I recently got an old truck, was to evacuate in case of a hurricane, and we didn't even evacuate during ida. The sidewalks are torn to shit, the streets are full of holes. I'm quite certain that the streets are n…

I lived in Kreuzburg when it began gentrifying. I lived near the Kotti. I liked the area and have a love/hate relationship with Berlin. May Day in Kreuzburg was interesting. I got an appointment to see a dermatologist in Berlin in one day. I had no German health insurance or travel insurance. The whole thing, including medication, cost me around 30 euros. Their health system is much more sane than ours. In summer go…

Yeah the nude sunbathing grannies and grandpas in city public parks are certainly a trip, but the Germans are so much more practical and grown up about these things.

Re: Ask HN: Who has moved from the U.S. to Europe?

#300

Post by nafizh » Tue, Jan 25, 2022, 5:42 PM UTC

boffinAudio wrote: post #196

MathCodeLove wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think getting upset comes from the fact that in addition to some very valid criticism, there is a tremendous amount of invalid criticism thrown towards the US. If Germany or Austria or the Netherlands were constantly being insulted on the world-stage then they would likely grow sensitive to criticism as well, even when it is occasionally valid. Another reason could be the mindless, abject hatred you seem to have of…

> If Germany or Austria or the Netherlands were constantly being insulted on the world-stage This would be a fair argument if you, as an American, weren't ignoring the fact that the USA is the worlds #1 cause of terror, war and torment - in countless other sovereign nations, whose infrastructure was torn apart so that Americans could feel good about themselves and their country. Austrians, and Germans aren't dropping…

Last I saw, France, whose army is still inflicting serious violence in West Africa with its army (albeit with the permission of the governments there), is in Europe.