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Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

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231–240 of 264 posts

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#231

Very weird story. I can't figure out why these people want to leave, so I'm just inserting random Trump policy here , but all of the Netherlands doesn't allow illegal immigrants to stay indefinitely, allows people to pay for citizenship, and in the case of the Irish passport, they're being offered a visa based on who their parents were. Is it tariffs? Taxes are higher there. Is it the social services, health care, fo…

> The Netherlands I assume is like the rest of Europe and is fanatically anti-Palestinian

The Netherlands is one of five countries to withdraw from the Eurovision over Israel being allowed to participate in 2026 (the others are Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and Iceland), fwiw.

> and anti-Russian to the point of demanding invasion

... Eh? Russia is currently invading Europe. You may be a bit confused about that one.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's foolish. If Russia wins in Ukraine, they would have the two strongest armies in Europe. European states simply don't have enough ordinances and gear to survive a long war.

The idea that Russia would “have the two strongest armies in Europe” if it won in Ukraine doesn’t make sense. A defeated country’s army doesn’t magically become part of the victor’s forces. Ukrainian soldiers wouldn’t serve Russia, many would withdraw, go underground, or continue resisting. Even in a hypothetical total Russian victory, Moscow wouldn’t “gain” a second army. It would inherit a hostile, traumatized popu…

> Ukrainian soldiers wouldn’t serve Russia

Nobody's going to ask them. Since 2022, Russia has forcibly conscripted 300 000 men from the occupied parts of Ukraine. https://www.euronews.com/2025/11/07/moscow-inches-closer-to-...

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#233
post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who would tell you they have them if you are in a country where it is illegal? For instance the fgc-9[] commonly seized in parts of Europe was invented by a German in Germany (ethnic Kurd though). No one knew who he was until he was arrested and for the most part until he was dead. His european friends would be saying the same thing as you, "don't know anyone with guns..." Lots of guns in Europe by people who aren't…

At least in Germany they are legal in general, only highly regulated. Most guns are owned by relatively few people. Nobody from the common crowd here thinks about owning fire arms, virtually nobody does. Maybe that's a cultural gap hard to imagine from an US perspective. The question remains, against what and who are you even defending? Maybe it's different in Europe because it's densely populated, but people general…

It's still within living memory of some Germans of their own government systematically mass murdering them after blocking their escape.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#234
post #52

Australian here, grew up in the great south-west, and then I lived in the USA for 15 years, decided it was bunk, switched to Europe and have now been in middle-Europe (Austria) for 18 years, with a year in the UK and a year in Japan, for context. My quality of life has increased dramatically with every move. Europe as a place to live is just so much better than Aus->USA ever was .. better health care, better food, be…

What's the reason you rank Australia below the US? As a San Franciscan, I recently visited Sydney and Melbourne for the first time and thought they were incredible. Food-wise, I don't think I had a single bad meal in Melbourne, and I wasn't even trying particularly hard to find the good stuff. I think I'd love the opportunity to live there someday. Europe is wonderful, but to quote Joni Mitchell, "it's too old and co…

From my personal point of view, and based on my personal history as a victim of Australia's heinously racist White Stolen Generation (and who was eventually returned to my birth mother because of her strong will), Australia is a totalitarian-authoritarian fascist hell hole that got away with genocide, and will bend over backwards to function as a lackey for the US' military-industrial complex. There's not a single racist war that Australians won't follow the USA into fighting. See also: Pine Gap.

My personal reason for leaving Australia is that I don't want to participate in a racist society. Read its constitution, its an utter embarrassment.

Tourists don't often get through this bubble, seeing only the shiny bits, but for those WSG's of us who grew up in the countryside, also with Aboriginal friends and family members, the dark underbelly of Australian society rubs us a bit raw - or at least it does in my case. Casual racism in Australia is like none other in the world, and I find it detestable, personally, so I have no desire to participate in its economy. I left as soon as I could, to follow my own American dream - which reality quickly revealed was little more than a Disney fantasy.

Europe has its own problems - sure, the Ukraine war is a catastrophe of uniquely European origins - but I'd much rather live in a country that isn't involving itself in the worlds wars at the moment. Austria has been an absolutely great place to raise kids with a cosmopolitan, international attitude that will stand the test of time - of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but in my personal case, its just been a better place to live, period. Only issue I have is the weather can be hard for someone who grew up on the beaches and in the outback, but the spring and summer always makes up for it.

The thing that truly disturbed me about life in the US was its nationalist groupthink, which seeks to justify the atrocities the American people enact on those cultures its ruling classes have deemed inferior. Same is the case with Australia. I guess I freely admit, that as a foreign ex-pat living in a non-native bubble, its a lot easier to avoid the groupthink by just moving to Europe - where of course it also exists in spades - but I'd rather live the life of a refugee or interlocutor than participate in the Wests' heinously racist wars.

My kids have been raised multi-lingual, speak German/English very fluently, and are also learning Russian and Ukrainian in school to prepare themselves for a future where Austria is, once again, a safe place for citizens of both countries to co-mingle, as they once did. That is a forward-focused quality of life issue that simply doesn't exist in either the USA or Australia: the kids in this part of the world actually want to learn each others languages. Just like it was the norm in Aboriginal cultures, incidentally. (You were considered defective if you only spoke one language...)

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The new limit before being taxed is around 60K (€59.357), any amount on top of that is taxed (1.44%), so it is not like you are getting robbed blind. It is only fair that those that have a lot of money contribute so that others can participate in society with equal opportunity. Also, not all assets are taxed.

It's actually more like 2.2% for shares (5.88% assumed return taxed at 36% = 2.2%. If you have an ultra-low risk investment strategy focused on value preservation and inflation beating (where your expected returns are in the low single digits e.g. 2 - 3%), that does start to look like being robbed blind. > It is only fair that those that have a lot of money contribute Really? 60k is "a lot of money"? Yes, it's a lot…

Getting a mortgage in the Netherlands doesn't require a down-payment. And yes, we should be taxing wealth. Again, the taxation only applies on any amount above 60K, so if you have 61K you pay 1.44% over €1000 (approx. €14).

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#236
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> lists all of the reasons why countries with taxes are nice to live in > concludes by: "it would be perfect if not for taxes" People wouldn't be as friendly and well educated if they went bankrupt when losing their jobs, getting a cancer, had to take $100k loans for uni, &c. the towns wouldn't be nice and clean if people didn't pay taxes for regular cleaning, ... There are very very few countries with low taxes and…

I guess my complaint was more about the type of taxes rather than the concept of taxes in general. Income tax I can accept: it's the price of entry to live in the place and enjoy its benefits. Even then there's plenty of room for debate between the extremes of "ultra-low / no tax" and "very high", but let's set that aside for now. But having a wealth tax with a very low threshold is something else entirely. It means…

> There are also practical problems with taxing wealth. [...] With a wealth tax, you might not have the money. For example, if you own an investment apartment or some other illiquid asset you can't just sell a piece of it every year to pay the tax.

This is a strawman trotted out against wealth taxes.

Stated another way: no, people shouldn't be able to put their wealth into an arbitrary form to make it untaxable.

After that, it's standard planning. Owe an unexpected amount of tax on a high performing asset you don't want to liquidate? Take a loan with it/gains as collateral. (The same as people do now!)

The bigger issue is valuation of illiquid assets. I.e. how to properly tax someone benefiting from opaque trusts or with shares of non-public assets (which they might be inclined to hide the profitability of).

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#237
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> lists all of the reasons why countries with taxes are nice to live in > concludes by: "it would be perfect if not for taxes" People wouldn't be as friendly and well educated if they went bankrupt when losing their jobs, getting a cancer, had to take $100k loans for uni, &c. the towns wouldn't be nice and clean if people didn't pay taxes for regular cleaning, ... There are very very few countries with low taxes and…

Sorry but as a southern Neighbor you are painting a picture of Europe 20 years ago. Taxes these days keep up the ponzi scheme of european pensions and an influx of low skilled migrants that are not incentivized to work. There is a a lot of budget between ur citizens not going bankrupt when they get sick and taking 50% of their salary.

> influx of low skilled migrants that are not incentivized to work

Aka a low wage labor pool to plug the youth demographic gap.

If European countries had sustainable fertility rate, then they could be choosy about immigration.

At 1.3-1.5, well, people have to come from somewhere...

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#238
post #53

Ah, yes. Of course, in the wake of the fall of the United States, everywhere else on earth will immediately flourish. Just my 2 cents, but before you leave, you might want to talk to some immigrants about what brought them to the United States in the first place.

> some immigrants about what brought them to the United States in the first place. What brought them to the US is that if they have a kid, now their kid is a citizen. Green card etc waived - you wouldn't deport a family would you? Now they nominally have zero income so they qualify for full on super duper welfare - food, house, medical care. Of course find a job, too - but has to be under the table because no green c…

You missed the part where those workers power large sectors of the US economy.

You think produce gets picked, meat processed, and/or construction completed without immigrant labor?

If the plan is to clamp down on illegal immigration, then immigration reform to loosen the legal pathways for low wage labor needs to be passed at the same time.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> someone from government will use violence against me if they both discover it and have the ability to do something about it This is a statement so far removed from reality that it makes anything else you say immediately suspect. You appear to view "government" as an entity whose primary purpose is to bring violence against anyone who cannot resist that violence with lethal force. There is no possible justification…

See: I.C.E.

ICE exists in a very specific context in one country.

This discussion is, very specifically, about leaving that country for other countries.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#240
post #44

I love the Netherlands and have spent a few months trying it out as a place to live. It's among my favourite places: moderate weather, friendly people, a high level of personal freedom, very high rate of English speakers, clean and modern environment, good international restaurants, lively town centres even in smaller towns, most towns have rivers / canals which make them very pleasant to walk around. I could list ma…

As a US Expat who just purchased a home in Amsterdam it's a hell of a lot better than paying $1.5 mil for a shack in Sunnyvale. We bought the apartment we were living in from our landlord (funny enough because they're going to start charging him extra tax for N+2 rental properties). It's worth it. For one, they ruled that the wealth tax is against the EU human rights agenda. So they're scrambling to come up with a so…

Aren't you immigrants? I thought expats were temporarily immigrants, but you don't sound as planning to go back to the USA.
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