131–140 of 166 posts
I guess France, Belgium and the Netherlands are out of the question? Since you included "cheaply".
Probably going to migrate south to the Algarve in Portugal for the winter -- northern european rain, wind, cold are not my cup of tea...
Dubai. - Zero taxes. You nearly double your income! - Low cost of living for a city of its caliber. Rent: - Easy to get a freelancer visa. You get freelancer visa by setting up a company in a free zone, and issuing a work visa to yourself. This can cost about $5-$7k yearly. Unlike most countries, there are no nonsensical visa rules, or caps (ahem, H1-Bs) -- you're pretty much guaranteed to get one if you apply, no qu…
Personal Preference: Vienna, Austria I'm from there, but part of the reason why I keep coming back is cause its affordable to rent, even in the hip districts (600-700 EUR for 1br) + a great city to live + good bunch of startups + cheap for flying in/out. Prague is similar. Also heard great things about Sofia, but haven't lived there (yet). And Berlin is of course a good option as well.
But, in general, you don't live cheaply there especially compared to other cities of the area like Bratislava or Budapest. Prices in Restaurants, Coffee shops, etc are the same as in most other capitals of western Europe. Source: I grew up in Vienna and lived there until 3 month ago. I am now living in Chania, Greece and it's quite cheap to live, has a beautiful old town, nice beaches and fantastic mountains around.…
Check out Vilnius (I'm obviously biased, but bear with me), Lithuania: Cheap: * Cheap rent. 500eu should get you a decent flat in the city centre without much research * Cheap cabs. Cabs that take you around will rarely cost more than 3-4eu * Cheap transportation options with Ryanair and Wizzair * Cheap internet and communications Not many other places will offer this great quality of life for ~1500eu/month. Obviousl…
How easy is it to get a VISA? I'm Nicaraguan.
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In the EU you pay income tax in the member state where you have earned your income. Some countries of the world (notably the United States of America) require its citizens and permanent residents to pay income tax on foreign earned income as well (in some cases). No EU member states have such requirement.
This is not entirely true. There are laws in many EU countries to prevent tax evasion which make you pay tax income on the country you have citizenship in, specially if you claim to be working from a known tax haven. Yes there is a list for that.
So I know people that spend less than 50% in a different country, and making revenue and paying taxes within their country, legally.
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what are the VISA requirements like for someone from a western country (say, the US or Canada)? If I wanted to live in Germany for a full year, is there a way to do so working independently (i.e. without a German corporation sponsoring a work VISA)? thanks.
Same as in rest of Germany/Europe: Its nearly impossible for free lancers or small business if you are from outside Europe. There is an equivalent to green card in Germany, but thats only for wage slaves. Most Americans I know came as GI's and married a woman to become resident. oh well Its also common to Africans to buy a marriages. We have lots of unemployed people who sell this service.
If you don't care much about a startup and tech scene (there is little) you can spend a nice time in the Canary Islands, Spain. It's not the cheapest place in Europe, you'll find cheaper locations in Eastern Europe admittedly. Still, you can find a nice 1BR appartment for €400-500/mo in Las Palmas City near the beach or share an appartment for somewhere around €200/mo for a room. The weather is really really nice thr…
What do you think about raising kids there?
Child care or kindergarten is pretty affordable, around €300/mo. If you're a legal citizen (e.g. European or w/ work permit) public schools are free, you just pay for the food, which is around €50/mo, buy materials and uniform.
If you want to pay special attention to their education regarding foreign languages and having higher chances to move elsewhere after school or at some point during school age, there are British, American, German and French schools. All of them are private or semi-private and cost up to €500/mo.
If you're considering moving here in the mid/long term, the biggest issue is work. The job market here very bad at the moment, with really high rates of unemployment.
You shouldn't care about this if you're able to work/freelance remotely. In this case, working for UK/Germany/Northern Europe/USA clients will leave margins better than any job you'll find locally and you'll be able to make a good living.
I run a company employing 8 people in total (incl. founders) and we have clients from Spain, Germany, USA. We've been doing this for 8 years.
If you or your partner are looking for a job in the local market, the biggest areas are tourism (many million visitors / year) but you can also make a good living teaching English lessons if you're native and stuff like that.
If you don't care much about a startup and tech scene (there is little) you can spend a nice time in the Canary Islands, Spain. It's not the cheapest place in Europe, you'll find cheaper locations in Eastern Europe admittedly. Still, you can find a nice 1BR appartment for €400-500/mo in Las Palmas City near the beach or share an appartment for somewhere around €200/mo for a room. The weather is really really nice thr…
What do you think about raising kids there?
Oh, my kid speaks Russian and Spanish natively and they teach German and English in school. Will best me by 1 language when out of high school.
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What do you think about raising kids there?
I have a 5 y.o. and wouldn't move from Tenerife (South). Private college costs ~400EUR/mo, health insurance is cheap and crime is super-low. Oh, my kid speaks Russian and Spanish natively and they teach German and English in school. Will best me by 1 language when out of high school.
Berlin, definitely. It is the best mix of everything you need.