Most active commenters
  • boffinAudio(3)

←back to thread

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

181 points feraligators | 12 comments | 25 Jan 22 15:44 UTC | HN request time: 0.839s | 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?

Show context
boffinAudio ◴[25 Jan 22 15:54 UTC] No.30073204[source]▶
I've done it, and it was one of the best decisions of my life.

WHERE: I'm Australian, moved to LA when I was 18 and lived there for 15 years. Then, I moved from Los Angeles to Germany (Duesseldorf), and then to Vienna, Austria.

WHAT SACRIFICE: No more In 'n Out Burger, no more decent Mexican/TexMex food, no more LA food trucks. These are literally the only things I miss about the USA. Literally every other aspect of life has improved massively by leaving the USA - healthcare, food, social life. For the first 4 years I walked to work, ffs. Now I ride a bicycle in combination with the best public transportation options in the world (Austria, Vienna).

GAINED: I've completely lost the brain-dead nationalist mentality that had infected me in my earlier life, I've gained Immense amounts of respect for humanity, I've learned German, I've experienced professional software and hardware development away from Silicon Valley standard practices, and I get to see the USA from outside the decadent, rose-colored bubble from which it is usually experienced. I honestly wish I'd left sooner - every time I go back I'm reminded just how much of a shithole the USA really is ..

Plus, living and loving in Europe is just great. There is no greater joy than a trip through the Balkans for a week adventure, or maybe a jaunt to Spain or southern France. Just being able to travel an hour in any direction and being immersed in absolutely foreign culture is a joy like no other. Definitely a great way to ground oneself.

EDIT: The weather was pretty good in LA. But, still: Americans.

replies(17): >>30073369 #>>30073389 #>>30073431 #>>30073510 #>>30073522 #>>30073528 #>>30073595 #>>30073647 #>>30073734 #>>30073867 #>>30074068 #>>30074160 #>>30074195 #>>30074985 #>>30075141 #>>30083372 #>>30105824 #
AdrianB1 ◴[25 Jan 22 16:05 UTC] No.30073389[source]▶
Just curious: how long since you moved out of USA? How long it took to learn German well enough (in your personal opinion) to integrate well?
replies(4): >>30073495 #>>30073496 #>>30073561 #>>30073567 #
1. boffinAudio ◴[25 Jan 22 16:11 UTC] No.30073496[source]▶
20 years - I left just after 9/11, during which period I witnessed the USA collectively shitting itself, and during which I decided to play no part in the USA's continued economic survival. Far better to have moved to Germany and get things happening in a country not inclined to blood-lust because it was finally attacked the way it had been attacking countries, with impunity, for decades prior. The German culture's proclivity for peace-making, and especially on the subject of forgiveness, far outweighs any of the gung-ho American enthusiasms that might be fashionable ..

Honestly, it took me 5 years to feel comfortable speaking fluent German - mostly because Germans just refuse to correct German-speaking expats, instead choosing to switch to their English ..

replies(6): >>30073622 #>>30073635 #>>30073636 #>>30073861 #>>30073919 #>>30073945 #
2. Oddskar ◴[25 Jan 22 16:18 UTC] No.30073622[source]▶
I’ve found Germans to be very humble and accommodating to people that try to speak the language. I would know; I’m still terrible at it. But might be different depending on city etc.
3. slingnow ◴[25 Jan 22 16:19 UTC] No.30073635[source]▶
> The German culture's proclivity for peace-making ...

Oh boy, this gave me a good chuckle. Thanks for that.

replies(1): >>30073712 #
4. tacostakohashi ◴[25 Jan 22 16:19 UTC] No.30073636[source]▶
> The German culture's proclivity for peace-making

I had hitherto been unaware of this proclivity, thanks for educating us all.

replies(2): >>30073775 #>>30074089 #
5. ◴[25 Jan 22 16:24 UTC] No.30073712[source]▶
6. boffinAudio ◴[25 Jan 22 16:28 UTC] No.30073775[source]▶
You might want to pay a visit and get to know some modern Germans.
7. scythe ◴[25 Jan 22 16:33 UTC] No.30073861[source]▶
>German culture's proclivity for peace-making

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitali_Klitschko#Political_car...

>UDAR is supported by the German government and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation[93][94] and received support in particular from Angela Merkel and also politicians from the conservative European People's Party. According to information gained by the German magazine Der Spiegel, the target was to "set up Klitschko purposefully as a new strong man in Kyiv—in order to counter this way the Kremlin's growing influence".

>Klitschko was one of the dominant figures of the Euromaidan protests.

Germany hasn't exactly kept their hands clean over the last few years. But I'm glad you enjoy the propaganda.

8. throwaway1777 ◴[25 Jan 22 16:37 UTC] No.30073919[source]▶
Wow talk about rose colored glasses… history is longer than your lifetime my friend.
replies(1): >>30074127 #
9. Joeri ◴[25 Jan 22 16:39 UTC] No.30073945[source]▶
I think the germans’ peaceful ways are more about compensating for what came before than about innate qualities of them as a people. The U.S. response to 9/11 was indeed abysmal, with no self-examination at all, and I know several people who since then refuse to travel to the U.S. because they basically consider the whole country to have gone mad. There is this very odd thing where if you talk to Americans they are mostly sane and reasonable people, and then you see their political system and it is like an episode of game of thrones.
10. kuschku ◴[25 Jan 22 16:47 UTC] No.30074089[source]▶
It’s actually become somewhat of an issue nowadays. Germany has such low acceptance of any military action that even in a situation like right now, where Ukraine is at risk of being invaded, the vast majority is against any action.

Germany is still doing cleanup of WW2 damages today, everyone has experienced at least one evacuation due to old leftover bombs being found. It’s hard to support war when its damages are still deep in the collective consciousness

replies(1): >>30076026 #
11. bcrosby95 ◴[25 Jan 22 16:50 UTC] No.30074127[source]▶
Germans teach and learn from their history. The USA is busy trying to bury their history and pretend it never happened.
12. nickpp ◴[25 Jan 22 18:42 UTC] No.30076026{3}[source]▶
Germany is refusing to help protect Ukraine because its industry is completely dependent on Russian energy, not because of some lingering WWII guilt.