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

    181 points feraligators | 13 comments | 25 Jan 22 15:44 UTC | HN request time: 0.245s | source | bottom

    I've long considered leaving this country for a multitude of reasons.

    I'd be curious to hear some first hand experiences of those who've made the move to Europe and what you think of the process and considerations one should make.

    A few questions to start the conversation:

    - Where do you live?

    - What's the biggest sacrifice you had to make (i.e. pay, housing, friends, etc.)

    - What have you gained?

    1. killdisk ◴[25 Jan 22 15:58 UTC] No.30073267[source]▶
    I can't answer all these questions, but I'm doing this right now. Moving from Denver, CO -> Berlin, Germany. I start in May. I'm taking about a 50% pay cut on paper (for a Senior Software Engineer position), although what's interesting is Berlin has a lower cost of living, and in particular rental prices are actually reasonable. My plan is for this to be a ~5 year thing, just because it would be hard to leave my family. I already know I'm going to miss gaming with friends online due to the time difference.
    replies(3): >>30073586 #>>30073931 #>>30083617 #
    2. holdenbruce ◴[25 Jan 22 16:16 UTC] No.30073586[source]▶
    doing a similar thing this summer, moving from nyc to berlin
    replies(1): >>30073753 #
    3. shankr ◴[25 Jan 22 16:26 UTC] No.30073753[source]▶
    Good luck with apartment search!
    replies(1): >>30080108 #
    4. karaterobot ◴[25 Jan 22 16:38 UTC] No.30073931[source]▶
    > I'm taking about a 50% pay cut on paper (for a Senior Software Engineer position)

    A friend of mine moved from Seattle to Munich for work as an SSE, and his experience with respect to the pay cut matches yours. He was expecting that, but did not factor in the increase in taxes on top of that. He said he was broke and living off savings for the first time in his adult life, while working 40 hours a week for a major software company.

    replies(1): >>30074047 #
    5. Hamuko ◴[25 Jan 22 16:45 UTC] No.30074047[source]▶
    How can you be broke as a senior software engineer? Even if the wages are lower than in the US, they're probably still in the better half of the wage pyramid.

    (I'm a senior software engineer in Europe, doing alright)

    Did he have massive student debt or something?

    replies(2): >>30074698 #>>30075175 #
    6. Nextgrid ◴[25 Jan 22 17:25 UTC] No.30074698{3}[source]▶
    > How can you be broke as a senior software engineer?

    Housing and taxes are both expensive.

    replies(1): >>30074776 #
    7. Hamuko ◴[25 Jan 22 17:29 UTC] No.30074776{4}[source]▶
    They're not that expensive, and if a senior software engineer can't put a roof on top of themselves while paying taxes, how can anyone expect a school teacher or a nurse to do so?
    replies(1): >>30075821 #
    8. karaterobot ◴[25 Jan 22 17:51 UTC] No.30075175{3}[source]▶
    He didn't mention debt. I kinda wanted to be vague, since I'm just recapitulating a breakfast conversation I had nine months ago, and don't know a ton of details. I believe that he had to continue paying U.S. taxes in addition to the higher German taxes.
    replies(1): >>30121983 #
    9. Nextgrid ◴[25 Jan 22 18:27 UTC] No.30075821{5}[source]▶
    Those are not mutually exclusive. Both software engineers and school teachers can be in the shit. I'd argue that the tax impact is even worse for software engineers (as the top end of their salary is mostly consumed by the higher tax brackets) and their net situation ends up not much above that of a school teacher.
    10. bogomipz ◴[26 Jan 22 00:27 UTC] No.30080108{3}[source]▶
    I'm guessing this is still as insane as ever? Or has Covid actually changed that?
    replies(1): >>30082755 #
    11. shankr ◴[26 Jan 22 07:21 UTC] No.30082755{4}[source]▶
    Yeah same as before. But if you throw money at it, might get resolved.
    12. shetill ◴[26 Jan 22 09:57 UTC] No.30083617[source]▶
    Senior Software Engineer in UK here, I can barely save anything after rent and bills. Honestly I don't even know why I don't just go US, have nothing here, no house, no friends, no family.
    13. larkost ◴[28 Jan 22 23:33 UTC] No.30121983{4}[source]▶
    If your taxes wind up higher, then you have to file your U.S. taxes, but they wind up being minimal to 0, as the U.S. counts the taxes you pay there in lieu of paying to the U.S.. Mostly your extra expense should be in fees paid to one of the tax accountants who actually know their way around these tax laws/treaties.