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

181 points feraligators | 10 comments | 25 Jan 22 15:44 UTC | HN request time: 0.002s | 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
thenoblesunfish ◴[25 Jan 22 16:06 UTC] No.30073405[source]▶
I'm sure others will cover the shorter-term aspects. I'll add that, particularly if you're not young or have a family, it wouldn't hurt to consider the fact that you will probably have a great time for the first N years, but there might be a slump when you realize that you will probably never really integrate and will have a smaller social circle because of it, in a place where people seem to have smaller casual groups of friends, in general. I live in Switzerland, which is particularly harsh on this front - I do not hope to really integrate and accept that as a cost of the other benefits of being here - maybe my grandchildren will. I think it's fair to say that in America, you're American a lot faster.
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m_fayer ◴[25 Jan 22 16:13 UTC] No.30073529[source]▶
I'm in Berlin and feel fully integrated here. Whether or not that's possible really depends on location, there's many in Europe where it absolutely is.
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1. allendoerfer ◴[25 Jan 22 16:24 UTC] No.30073724[source]▶
The downside is, Berlin is not really integrated into Germany.
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2. lm28469 ◴[25 Jan 22 16:31 UTC] No.30073833[source]▶
Pretty much that, you can be integrated in Berlin without speaking German nor interacting with german people
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3. busterarm ◴[25 Jan 22 16:52 UTC] No.30074161[source]▶
You can but most people will give you shit for not speaking German. Some of them are extremely rude about it too. Even/especially if you're quite obviously a tourist.

And where the hell are the non-smokers hiding?

That said...NY's Central Park doesn't have shit on Tiergarten. Literally one of the most beautiful places I've been on the planet.

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4. CogitoCogito ◴[25 Jan 22 16:55 UTC] No.30074219[source]▶
> The downside is, Berlin is not really integrated into Germany.

I'd kind of consider that a selling point. Berlin is cool and is different from the rest of the country. But I guess whatever floats your boat.

5. vanilla-almond ◴[25 Jan 22 16:56 UTC] No.30074244[source]▶
A similar thing is said about other European capitals: Paris, London, Amsterdam, Edinburgh etc. The inhabitants of these countries will say their capitals are not really like the rest of their country (or an accurate reflection of the country).

It's why so many people flock to large cities - you feel less like an 'outsider' because the population of these cities is so varied.

6. raverbashing ◴[25 Jan 22 16:57 UTC] No.30074255[source]▶
Not that it's a bad thing ;) (for the most part)
7. m_fayer ◴[25 Jan 22 17:52 UTC] No.30075200{3}[source]▶
Check out Tempelhofer feld, not exactly beautiful but utterly unique.
8. m_fayer ◴[25 Jan 22 17:54 UTC] No.30075244[source]▶
Well I come from NYC, so this is not exactly new to me. I suppose I'm the kind of person that belongs in a big city that's not really part of it's host nation.

Also, it is really not true that you can truly integrate, even in Berlin, without speaking German.

9. shankr ◴[25 Jan 22 18:06 UTC] No.30075435{3}[source]▶
> That said...NY's Central Park doesn't have shit on Tiergarten

Someone said it too! I have had few arguments with people, mostly New Yorkers, over this.

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10. busterarm ◴[25 Jan 22 18:29 UTC] No.30075839{4}[source]▶
Well, I'm a New Yorker and they're dead wrong.