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181 points feraligators | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.001s | source

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?

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boffinAudio ◴[] 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.

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AdrianB1 ◴[] 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?
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inglor_cz ◴[] No.30073567[source]
Not the OP, but Europeans are fairly tribal and "becoming" an Austrian or Czech isn't the same as becoming an American. An expat who speaks the language and gained citizenship will be known as "someone who has the Austrian/Czech/German" passport. Only the kids who speak without accent will probably be fully embraced as natives.

In my case, I am a native Czech who speaks flawless Czech, but some people actually refuse to acknowledge me as a Czech on account of my Bulgarian surname. (Funnily some of them cannot even write properly, but hey, they are Nováks or Kučeras and I am not.) Not a majority, but this kind of tribalism is more widespread here than in countries that were founded on mass immigration.

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1. AdrianB1 ◴[] No.30073984[source]
It depends from country to country; in Romania, for example, where we used to have many communities of Hungarian, Bulgarians, Czech, Polish, Turks and Tatars, if you are reasonably white (or Mongolian looking) and speak a decent Romanian you are considered to be integrated. If you look very different (Black or Chinese) you are accepted, but not considered a local even if you were born and raised in Romania and speak the language natively - this is because non-White people are a tiny, tiny minority (a few in a million).
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2. inglor_cz ◴[] No.30075103[source]
Yes, more multicultural countries work like that. The ancient Austria-Hungary definitely did.