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

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

#341

Post by pintxo »

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…

Salary is very much Berlin specific, for a lot of jobs you will be able to earn around 30% more in places like Munich, Frankfurt or Hamburg. Berlin and the rest of eastern Germany is historically on a lower salary level. Which was fine while real-estate was also significant cheaper in Berlin, that's pretty much gone.

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

#342

Post by steelstraw »

boffinAudio wrote: post #114
teakettle42 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vienna is one of the nicest and wealthiest cities in Europe. LA is a car-centric sprawling cesspool. Even for the US, it’s uniquely terrible. If you’d moved to some of the less desirable locations in Europe, you’d probably find them to be a shithole, too. Your lack of perspective (“how much of a shithole the USA really is”) is something I’d only expect from someone half your age on their first backpacking tour of Eur…

The Ruhrgebiet is a shithole. But then again, so is Florida. As is North Dakota and most of Utah. Arizona is pretty nice, but I probably think that only because of my Australian skin. The USA is a huge shithole, and if you don't understand why anyone would think that, I have a bridge to sell you .. under which live 12 families, kids and all, who couldn't pay their medical bills after Mom/Grandpa died of cancer. It is…

That's just, like, your opinion, man.

Florida had the highest net migration in the US both domestically and internationally. Here's the census data for 2021:

The largest net domestic migration gains were in Florida (220,890), Texas (170,307) and Arizona (93,026).

Florida (38,590), Texas (27,185) and New York (18,307) had the largest population gains from net international migration.

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2021-pop...

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

#343

Post by wheels »

m_fayer wrote: post #38
thenoblesunfish wrote: post #20

I'm sure others will cover the shorter-term aspects. I'll add that, particularly if you're not young or have a family, it wouldn't hurt to consider the fact that you will probably have a great time for the first N years, but there might be a slump when you realize that you will probably never really integrate and will have a smaller social circle because of it, in a place where people seem to have smaller casual grou…

I'm in Berlin and feel fully integrated here. Whether or not that's possible really depends on location, there's many in Europe where it absolutely is.

Notable in Berlin is that most folks come from somewhere else (mostly other places in Germany), so meeting friends as a newcomer is normalized. That wasn't nearly as easy in the other two German cities I've lived in.

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

#344

Post by Oddskar »

shankr wrote: post #243
Oddskar wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not true at all. I know plenty of people that live in nice houses and apartments in major European cities.

And I know lot of people still living with their parents - especially in Southern European countries.

Right. Which speaks to that "European city" is perhaps a bit of an overly broad concept for it to be useful.

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

#345

Post by severino »

rwev wrote: post #37
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…

Hearing that you only lived in LA makes your take on the US very partial and flawed. LA has a reputation even within the US of being what you describe as a "shithole." I lived in Germany for years, the former east, and it would be unfair to call Germany a "shithole" based on my own experience in the former Soviet bloc, which has struggled both pre and post reunification due to Communist rule.

> I lived in Germany for years, the former east, and it would be unfair to call Germany a "shithole" based on my own experience in the former Soviet bloc, which has struggled both pre and post reunification due to Communist rule.

Come on, dude. Germany was "communist" for less than 40 years. You have been "free" and cool for 33 and counting. The wall existed for only 28. Are you going to keep blaming "communists" for the next 400 years? :D

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

#346

Post by mkdirp »

nafizh wrote: post #305
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…

Lets not forget the fact that OP is white. I am not a race baiter, and hate identity politics. But as a non-white person, I would rather live in US than Europe. Forget about the social media takes, and lets talk about ground reality. US (and probably Canada), with all its fault, is one of the few countries on earth, where immigration and immigrants are normal and expected. I can also practice my religion with freedom…

> I can also practice my religion with freedom, unlike most of Europe (UK is one exception with caveats of course)

This has to be satire. In fact, this whole comment has to be satire.

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

#347

Post by BrandoElFollito »

CitrusFruits wrote: post #184
BrandoElFollito wrote: post #115

How come nobody mentions France in the comments? :) I am French but have been working 12 years for a very large US company , spent a lot of time in the US, go friends there - an witnessed/helped several Americans moving to France. Salary and healthcare were already covered. The fact that over a 3 days drive across Europe you visit 4 or 5 countries with vastly different cultures is a big plus. And by vastly I mean rea…

What do you mean by "Children will be drinking tap water starting at kindergarten and and stay like this their whole life."? Is there some sort of subtext here? In general I think it's great if you can safely drink tap water, saves the hassle and waste of getting bottled water all the time.

Sorry - I mean that we are not used to drink anything else with meals. This starts early and when you go to a canteen in a company there will be tap water by default. Maybe 1/10 people would take something else than water.

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

#348

Post by BrandoElFollito »

dkjaudyeqooe wrote: post #290
CitrusFruits wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by "Children will be drinking tap water starting at kindergarten and and stay like this their whole life."? Is there some sort of subtext here? In general I think it's great if you can safely drink tap water, saves the hassle and waste of getting bottled water all the time.

I think it's meant in contrast to kids drinking sodas from an early age.

Yes, exactly - sorry for not having been clear.

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

#349

Post by BrandoElFollito »

oaiey wrote: post #282
BrandoElFollito wrote: post #115

How come nobody mentions France in the comments? :) I am French but have been working 12 years for a very large US company , spent a lot of time in the US, go friends there - an witnessed/helped several Americans moving to France. Salary and healthcare were already covered. The fact that over a 3 days drive across Europe you visit 4 or 5 countries with vastly different cultures is a big plus. And by vastly I mean rea…

This less politics and religion in workplace statement is due to the general disinterest in both, not because we stop discussing controversial topics.

Well, it maybe depends where. I noticed that people are more sensitive to topics such as religion since about 2010.

Generally speaking, as a kid, I had a way, way more liberal education than today.

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

#350

Post by BrandoElFollito »

eternalban wrote: post #311
BrandoElFollito wrote: post #115

How come nobody mentions France in the comments? :) I am French but have been working 12 years for a very large US company , spent a lot of time in the US, go friends there - an witnessed/helped several Americans moving to France. Salary and healthcare were already covered. The fact that over a 3 days drive across Europe you visit 4 or 5 countries with vastly different cultures is a big plus. And by vastly I mean rea…

That's funny about the tap water. Remember my first visit to France as a kid (~late 70s) and the whole family wondering at the stuff floating in Paris tap water. We did not touch it, and drank bottled water. Btw, this was in a very nice rented flat near Etoile on Ave. Victor Hugo.

This is not normal. I was a kid at the same time and lived in Versailles. We only drank tap water and it was encouraged (the price of bottled water is about 300x the tap water one).

There must have been something seriously wrong with that water - water in France is classified as food and follows very strict regulations.

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