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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

#71

Post by stevenwoo »

jacquesm wrote: post #4

Three of my friends moved in the other direction (all of them Americans by birth), one with his family in tow. Having options is good, and it is fairly easy for American entrepreneurs to move to Europe (Germany works if you have enough backing and a good plan) or back again if they decide that's what is best for them. Healthcare is definitely a factor and so is the climate but when you're young and working hard neith…

One of my college classmates moved about 15 years ago from working for NASA to Europe to work for ESA, I think the decision process is different for African Americans, one has to think about how one or one's child is more likely to be killed by a policeman than a terrorist in the United States (when the President cites terrorism as some existential threat to be addressed by national immigration policies versus no action on police), no matter what your status is, it was not that different for James Baldwin or Richard Wright than it is today.

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

#72

Post by kolinko »

jacquesm wrote: post #4

Three of my friends moved in the other direction (all of them Americans by birth), one with his family in tow. Having options is good, and it is fairly easy for American entrepreneurs to move to Europe (Germany works if you have enough backing and a good plan) or back again if they decide that's what is best for them. Healthcare is definitely a factor and so is the climate but when you're young and working hard neith…

I sadly have to agree with you. Regardless of how much we (Europeans) unify the law, the language barrier will still be there for a long time :(

Having said that, in many cases language is not that big of an issue - for example, if you're doing software as a service, or mobile apps, doing them in english, gives you access to the global market from the day one.

An interesting case is Fintech/Crypto - over there it makes a big difference where you begin, US and EU legal/financial systems being so different. In US, you have the advantage of the language uniformity, but in EU, arguably, the law is much more uniform between the countries - if you get a financial license to run in one of the countries, it allows you to operate in all of them. Also, the laws are uniform, although their execution isn't.

Where US really shines is anything physical (e.g. consumer electronics), and anything local (AirBnB, Meetup.com, and so on) - with these, people expect the service to be in their local language, but I feel it's less and less every year.

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

#73

Post by slig »

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 thinking of moving from Brazil to Portugal. Is there anything special you didn't like in Lisbon? Was is too similar to London and you were looking for something different? Thanks

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

#74

Post by rayiner »

luckydata wrote: post #44
nostrademons wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unsure what it's like in Europe, but when my Canadian cousin had a brain tumor, he went to the U.S. for treatment. Canada's health care system is on average better than the U.S, but when you have a brain tumor, you don't want an average doctor, you want the best. And by and large, these are still in the U.S. because they can make an order of magnitude more money than they could in a country with socialized medicine.

Are they actually better doctors or just doctors that make more money?

Quality migrates towards compensation. It’s like how the best programmers are in the US.

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

#75

Post by jacquesm »

stevenwoo wrote: post #71
jacquesm wrote: post #4

Three of my friends moved in the other direction (all of them Americans by birth), one with his family in tow. Having options is good, and it is fairly easy for American entrepreneurs to move to Europe (Germany works if you have enough backing and a good plan) or back again if they decide that's what is best for them. Healthcare is definitely a factor and so is the climate but when you're young and working hard neith…

One of my college classmates moved about 15 years ago from working for NASA to Europe to work for ESA, I think the decision process is different for African Americans, one has to think about how one or one's child is more likely to be killed by a policeman than a terrorist in the United States (when the President cites terrorism as some existential threat to be addressed by national immigration policies versus no act…

That's a good point, ethnicity likely is a huge factor in making decisions such as these. That said, racism is alive and well in Europe.

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

#76

Post by astebbin »

pranjalv123 wrote: post #47
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…

Out of pocket maximums kick in eventually, unless you accidentally go to an out-of network provider, unless you lose your job and therefore your insurance, unless your insurance decides that a drug you need isn't covered, etc., etc., etc.

COBRA is a good option to retain your insurance for many months after leaving an employer, during which time you can (for now) pick a new lower-priced provider from your state’s Obamacare exchange.

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

#77

Post by jacquesm »

rayiner wrote: post #74
luckydata wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they actually better doctors or just doctors that make more money?

Quality migrates towards compensation. It’s like how the best programmers are in the US.

And the best lawyers too ;)

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

#78

Post by ianai »

macroexpanse wrote: post #12
ukulele wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My family vacations there every year and my grandparents lived there for 30 years. I can assure you the crazy is real and not imagined.

You're not wrong about the crazy. The point is that it's not just Florida.

Let us not forget, it was Nevadans who "occupied" an animal refuge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Malheur_Nati...

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

#79

Post by Bombthecat »

ilovecars2 wrote: post #52
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?

You make three times.. until you don't.a big accident,six months out of job?

Never heard working out in America.

In Germany no problem...

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

#80

Post by refurb »

kosmet wrote: post #63
nostrademons wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Healthcare is one of those areas where your experience varies dramatically based on how rich you (or your employer) are. I had nothing but good experiences when I was on Google's health plan - basically walk in to any of a number of top-notch, very wealthy clinics, don't pay a cent, get great care. Ditto when I was on my mom's government-employee plan. I was hospitalized with an acute kidney infection when I was 15,…

How will your insurance change after you retire? Will a retired google engineer be able to afford a google-class health insurance? I am asking to learn, not to imply anything.

After 65 you go on Medicare which is a gov't program. Quality is quite good from what I've heard however some doctor's limit the number of Medicare patients as the reimbursement is quite low.
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