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You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

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Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#51

Post by jacquesm »

pmoriarty wrote: post #38

I love to travel, meet other people, experience different cultures, and widen my horizons. For those reasons alone, I'd definitely advocate at least doing a lot of traveling to lots of different countries, and (if possible) trying to live in those countries you like best. That said, I've found that living in other countries does have its down sides. The one that's bothered me most is being treated like a second-class…

Some countries are worse in this respect than others. I've lived in lots of different places, I've never really felt much of an outsider because (1) I try hard to learn as much of the local language that I can, (2) I try to connect to the locals rather than to my fellow country men and (3) I try really hard to be nice to people and help where I can. Having some skills will make this much quicker. Even so, there are definitely many levels of inclusion and you'll likely never be seen as a local but that's pretty much expected since after all you're not.

In order of feeling accepted:

- Canada

- United States

- Poland

- Romania

Those are the countries where I've spent more than just a few months cumulatively, though I never actually had a permanent residence in the United States (I did have an American "Inc" and spent lots of time there). Even to this day I have more friends abroad than in the country I was born in (and where I live).

And moving back here was a mixed bag, for one the Canadian paperwork took forever (we really felt that Canadian government was taking advantage of us and stringing us along), for another there was serious concern about the quality of the education in the place where we lived.

As long as you think of yourself as an 'expat' rather than as an 'immigrant' you're on the wrong track.

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#52

Post by ilovecars2 »

throwaway84742 wrote: post #40

People tend to be irrational about things and this is a good illustration. As broken and expensive as US healthcare is, you’re making 3x the money here, and out of pocket maximums do kick in eventually. And the US is not the top country by far, even among developed ones, in number of mass murder victims per 100000 population. You’re vastly more likely to drown in your backyard pool than be a victim of a mass shooting…

Sure, he is making 3x now, but there are a lot of people in the U.S who do not have healthcare or fall into real debt financing it.

On a side note, the NHS crisis worries me a lot, but I’m thinking it must be better than no public health care at all, right?

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#53

Post by samjc »

SirLJ wrote: post #15

The only problem with the US is that you have to report to IRS even if you live and work in some other place...

The good news here, is that many countries have double taxation treaties. So that you don't get taxed by 2 countries for the same income. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_treaty

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#54

Post by roywiggins »

innocentoldguy wrote: post #32
SirLJ wrote: post #15

The only problem with the US is that you have to report to IRS even if you live and work in some other place...

I'm currently in the process of moving out of the U.S. to Japan. I'm considering ditching my U.S. citizenship for this reason.

Do you have Japanese citizenship? Ending up stateless doesn't seem worth it.

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#55

Post by sashavingardt2 »

Sir_Substance wrote: post #11

I move from Australia to Iceland. Icelanders always go "what the hell man? why would you do that?" when they find out. It's complicated. Broadly speaking, it's an even split between: 1. Icelands software industry being considerably more vibrant than Australias, which is really sad for Aus. 2. Australias government increasingly intervening directly in it's citizens lives whether they like it or not. The Icelandic gove…

Dude, I moved to Reykjavik just over a year ago from NYC!

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#56

Post by infinity0 »

innocentoldguy wrote: post #32
SirLJ wrote: post #15

The only problem with the US is that you have to report to IRS even if you live and work in some other place...

I'm currently in the process of moving out of the U.S. to Japan. I'm considering ditching my U.S. citizenship for this reason.

Note that on certain US visa applications, they ask you whether you've ever renounced US citizenship for the purposes of avoiding tax.

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#57

Post by fwdpropaganda »

dapreja wrote: post #14
mavdi wrote: post #3

I moved from London to Lisbon and then to Brazil. I get the same kinda "wtf" reaction from Brazilians. The bottom line is, with all that's wrong in Brazil and given my circumstances and my remote well paid job, I'm a lot happier living here than anywhere else in the world. I truly love this place. I don't think one needs to try to make a place work for them. Sure you can try and adapt. But ultimately most people read…

Well paid US job? Could you please provide ball park estimate and what exactly do you do. Also how do you deal with currency exchange and are yoy a native brazzilian speaker? I've been contemplating moving to south america as well.

It's called portuguese.

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#58

Post by sashavingardt2 »

Sir_Substance wrote: post #11

I move from Australia to Iceland. Icelanders always go "what the hell man? why would you do that?" when they find out. It's complicated. Broadly speaking, it's an even split between: 1. Icelands software industry being considerably more vibrant than Australias, which is really sad for Aus. 2. Australias government increasingly intervening directly in it's citizens lives whether they like it or not. The Icelandic gove…

Wanna do lunch next week?

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#59

Post by fwdpropaganda »

jotm wrote: post #21
mavdi wrote: post #3

I moved from London to Lisbon and then to Brazil. I get the same kinda "wtf" reaction from Brazilians. The bottom line is, with all that's wrong in Brazil and given my circumstances and my remote well paid job, I'm a lot happier living here than anywhere else in the world. I truly love this place. I don't think one needs to try to make a place work for them. Sure you can try and adapt. But ultimately most people read…

I'm guessing not many of them tried to live in London? It's a dream until reality smashes your head open :D

I never understood why it's a dream, but you're right that for many people that I've met living in London is like the goal of their life. I moved here for the money, but the quality of life is terrible.

Re: You have options – Why we left the U.S. and moved back to Europe

#60

Post by [deleted] »

pmoriarty wrote: post #38

I love to travel, meet other people, experience different cultures, and widen my horizons. For those reasons alone, I'd definitely advocate at least doing a lot of traveling to lots of different countries, and (if possible) trying to live in those countries you like best. That said, I've found that living in other countries does have its down sides. The one that's bothered me most is being treated like a second-class…

[deleted]
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