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

181 points feraligators | 1 comments | 25 Jan 22 15:44 UTC | HN request time: 0.229s | 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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arnath ◴[25 Jan 22 16:20 UTC] No.30073641[source]▶
Moved from Seattle to Munich, Germany a few years ago.

Biggest sacrifices: Pay is kind of a huge one. There are very few companies (even global ones) that pay the same in Europe as they do in the US. If I moved back to the US with my current company, I would get a ~70k/year increase in salary. Social situation is the other big one. It's hard to ever feel like you totally fit in as an expat.

Biggest gains: Quality of life is generally higher - food is better (quality, not taste, Munich's food scene kind of sucks), public transportation is better, healthcare is largely better (although again, a little weird in Germany). 6 weeks of vacation as a baseline in most places and unlimited sick leave. Generally more of an emphasis on work/life balance and taking time for yourself.

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oaiey ◴[25 Jan 22 16:59 UTC] No.30074290[source]▶
When you consider all the add ons like healthcare, living costs, exchange rate, etc, the salary differences are no longer that off. In a calculation i did once with some co worker it ended up with a. $10k difference. And considering that the US culture is consume driven, that money is gone in seconds for crap.
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1. thehappypm ◴[25 Jan 22 20:09 UTC] No.30077342[source]▶
Health care costs in the tech industry are not high. We might pay $100/month and have a $2000 deductible as an example plan. For someone making $100k that means 3% of their income is going to health care, maximum.

The problem with health care in the US is for middle / middle low earners.

If you’re very poor you qualify for Medicaid, but if you don’t, you might have a crappy expensive insurance plan that also has a high deductible, so you might pay a big chunk of your income to health care in a bad year. For techies, the cost is minimal. The system is extremely unequal.