NGL, not asking for a friend. Given the current trends in US politics, it seems prudent to at least look into it.
Most of the online content on the topic seems to be by immigration attorneys hustling ultra rich people. I’m not ultra rich. I have a job in tech, could work remotely, also have enough assets to not desperately need money if the cost of living were low enough.
I am a native English speaker, fluent enough in Spanish to survive in a Spanish speaking country. I am old, male, cis, hetero, basically asexual at this point. I am outgoing, comfortable among strangers.
What’s good and bad about where you live? Would it be OK for a outsider, newcomer?
I’m in the UK, and I work with a LOT of Americans already, so know this first hand:
- You fuckers are always in for a culture shock when you realise that everywhere isn’t like London. You seem to either expect London or Harry Potter Land, but when you end up somewhere like Bristol, Leeds, or Birmingham the frame of reference just dies and you see the wheels turning in your head trying to make sense of it all.
- Weirdly, you seem to really like our supermarkets. They’re a lot smaller than yours, meal deals are a novelty that never gets old, and paying the price on the tag is the greatest thing ever.
- You love our bread, and our chocolate is like crack to you. You’d think that you’d moved to France or something…
- Butter on bread will fuck you up. You use Mayo all the time, but we use butter/spread, and it messes with your minds.
- You quickly learn that Europe is a continent, and that cultures across the continent are very different to one another. You also learn that no one knows US history that well, or that we had a war with you (since we have basically had a war with everyone at some point).
- The drinking culture is a really interesting one. Some love it, some hate it. It’s a staple of British life
- We get paid a lot less than you do, but your money will go much further because you’re not spending it on healthcare. You’ll also get taxed a lot, but ultimately you’ll earn enough to be comfortable, and a comfortable life in the UK is nice.
To answer your question, you’re more than welcome here, and it’s much easier to get a visa to the UK for you than for us to go to the US. Expect some people to give you shit for Trump, but give them shit back for Brexit and electing the Tories for 15 years.
I’m in France and my cousin married an American.
Cost of living is high and the language is bullshit, but the standards of living are some of the best in the world. Very old established democracy and rule of law, workers rights, social security, and whatever the complete opposite of political apathy is. Culture is rich with a disproportionate level of global relevance for the country’s size. The location is ideal in the middle of europe, with a good variety of landscapes and climate.
Internet is cheap and fast, but i don’t know anything about the state of tech jobs.
I don’t know much about the tax system either but my assumption is you might save money just on the healthcare alone.
Overall i wouldn’t recommend, you’d be better off in a country with a language closer to english, such as most countries north of France. They’ll have better english proficiency and you’ll learn the language easier.
France always comes up on lists of good places to live, and there are Francophiles here as everywhere. I admire the place, but I chose Spanish instead of French when it was time to start studying another language, so that die was cast a long time ago.
Yeah i don’t think it’s worth learning french for almost any reason, lots more people speak spanish
Too bad some of the people who need the protection the most (disabled Americans) are unwelcome. Sucks to be us I guess.
You would do good here in The Netherlands. Lots of tech jobs, over here you actually have rights as an employee. No max amount of sick days for example, as no one plans a certain amount of days to be sick. The “FrEeDoM” Americans claim to have is so twisted and extremity far away from actual freedom. Here in NL I do feel I have true freedom. As in: not having to be scared when going out on the streets at night, no matter where I go. There are no guns. No crimes against humanity. Of course we do have issues, every country does. But they are tiny compared to most countries. Although we did vote for right wing parties sadly, we’re not heading in the direction I want.
Oh and EVERYONE speaks English. From child to boomer. Officially it’s not a foreign language anymore due to the high level English most speak. They are even discussing it should be a 3rd national language.
The housing crisis is prevalent everywhere in Europe, though. But it’s not like droves of people have to sleep rough. Yes, rents keep going up, but they are still only a fraction of what you would pay in the US.
And you can actually still buy houses. Really cheap, even. Far off the highways, but some people opt in to exactly that.I have American friends who emigrated to the Netherlands and I go there a lot on business too. There are a few other things that are worth considering: Dutch people are generally friendly, but they also tend to take a strong line on assimilation. If you want to live there, learn Dutch and learn how Dutch culture works. Otherwise you won’t fit in. As with any society, there are unwritten rules and norms of behavior that might seem strange at first. For example, the Dutch value frankness more than diplomacy. That can make them seem blunt, even to Americans.
Dutch is not far from English, both are on the same branch of the Germanic languages, but it’s very idiomatic, so fluency can be hard to achieve. Also, the fact that everyone’s so good at English reduces the pressure to learn Dutch. Language learning’s quicker when it’s the only way you can communicate.
And the previous poster’s comment on the housing shortage is no exaggeration: it’s a crisis. Expect difficulty and predatory middlemen when seeking housing.
Also, the weather can be intense: freezing North Sea winds and sideways rain.
Whaaaaaat…?
We are very multicultural, if you don’t want to adjust, that’s fine. There are enough people around who are similar to you. Only if you want to fit in you need to adjust, but that’s in any culture. Over here there’s not that much pressure to do that. Unless you live in the countryside.
Dutch and English are not similar at all. They have completely different origins. Dutch has a germanic origin and English an anglosaxon heritage.
The weather is not intense at all. It’s just humid, so 25C feels like 35C and 5C feels like -5C. But not as humid as a rainforest. Near the coast there’s some wind, but in the cities and inland not too much. Winters have become mild, summers kinda hot but compared to other regions of the world our climate is very mild. Just expect a lot of rain, but compared to the UK even that aspect is really mild too. Just prepare for us to always complain about it. And about everything else too.
Yeah, Dutch people are generally pretty blunt. When you tell something we don’t like will will tell you, politely, where a British person would say “ah that’s interesting”. For autistic people (like me) our directness is really nice. No beating around the bush.
Do you think bike shops in there Nerherlands would be interested in hiring American bicycle mechanics?
Yeah, for sure. Mechanics are getting scarce, everyone is pushed to get “HiGhEr EdUcAtIoN” so everyone knows how to use a keyboard but never used a hammer and a screwdriver. A lot of uddy of mine is a carpenter, the money he makes is insane because there just aren’t that many skilled people put there anymore. Our bikes have a bit different design, people sit more up right as we use it as a form of transportation instead of for sports. But the mechanics work the same. Although electric bikes are taking over the market right now.
Housing is one of the biggest stuggles for my family. I have 3 kids and so few houses are built for that in the EU. It’s really frustrating every time I look for something.
I have 3 kittens. Much better options
A small side note on that 30% ruling, it’s only for highly skilled workers, so there are some requirements to meet.
Also, you’d best not boast about it to your Dutch coworkers if you want to make friends over here :)
I don’t know why anyone (who doesn’t have ancestry there) would want to move to Pakistan. Sure, it’s not completely undeveloped (otherwise I wouldn’t be sending this message lol), but it still has a VEEERRRRRYY long way to go compared to other industrialised countries.
- Electricity has become more reliable over the years, but you still have to deal with increasing bills, so that the government can pay off its IMF loans
- Piped gas still isn’t 24/7, it’s off from 10 pm to 6 am
- Tap water still isn’t drinkable
- Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad disproportionately receive the lion’s share of development while smaller cities are neglected
- Even Karachi can be said to not be as developed as Lahore or Islamabad. When I visited it, I found that it was greatly overpopulated and many apartment buildings were extremely worn-down. Chipping paint for instance. My father says that since Lahore and Islamabad are a comfortable driving distance away from each other, the population is more evenly distributed between the two cities. Hyderabad’s near Karachi, but remember, it’s not a big three city …
- Even the development in Lahore and Islamabad is not optimal. Mostly relying on private housing projects, not making an effort to make them integrate with the rest of the city
- Suboptimal public transport. In Lahore there is a public bus and metro system, but both don’t cover too much of the city. For intercity buses, people rely on private companies such as Daewoo Express. And again, the reliance on private housing projects hinders true city-wide planning
- Professionals (doctors, engineers, lawyers) receive very low salaries compared to what they could earn abroad. The devaluation of the rupee is related to it, but only partially. That’s why millions of us have moved abroad to literally every other country, and thus why remittances are a big portion of this country’s income
- Lahore is literally the smoggiest city in the world right now. Did I mention it’s one of the three most developed?
- Too much non-air pollution as well. There is a culture of littering, partially because people aren’t punished for it and thus have adopted a care-free attitude, and partially because there aren’t enough outdoor wastebins
I haven’t even gotten into the sociopolitical aspects … I’d be writing a whole book at that point
Canadian Here. prior to the election? we’d be welcoming. now? there seems to be a general sense of “we don’t what that idiocy here” the right-wing cons of Canada would likely embrace Americans but the general consensus with my friends and family is that Americans are now considered morons (left and right leaning).
But wouldn’t you want the ones who would uproot their lives because Trump was elected? It’s the ones who voted for him that you wouldn’t want. If anything, Canada could use all the non-maga you can get.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
You would think, but you also have to remember: Canadians are also stupid. They’re us, just a decade behind.
The Netherlands is generally quite friendly towards (English speaking) immigrants and expats. Almost everyone speaks English and no one really bats an eye at a non-Dutch resident in most of the major western cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, etc.)
Housing is terrible though, prices are high and it’ll be hard to find something nice. One advantage for you (or any US resident), is that you’re exempt from the inburgering exam. Which means that you won’t have to learn the language and won’t be tested on your integration in Dutch society.My partner is from abroad and they’ve experienced living here as quite pleasant. They weren’t exempt from the exam though (different non-EU nationality), which was a bit of a nuisance. But in general, reception was positive. They’ve been living here for over 16 years now.
But like most of Europe, we’ve got a far-right government right now, so there’s a lot of anti-immigration talk going round. Of course it’s only aimed at what they think are the “wrong” (Middle-Eastern and African) kind of people, so I doubt Americans would ever have to deal with it.How trans friendly is the Netherlands? I like bikes and tall people are hot, lol.
It’s generally LGBTQ friendly especially in Amsterdam but as the other comment said there’s also a far right movement going on so it’s not all roses and rainbows.
Im from Romania and if i saw someone move here from a richer country, i would be confused
People in Romania are homophobic, racist, xenophobic. A significant percentage of romanians decided to work in another country in the EU, giving money to their family who are living in the country(or just leaving with everyone to another country)
At least over 50% of people pirate software here, including people working for the gouverment, so you dont have to use a VPN
Its also technically illegal to be homophobic, but no one has ever been punished for that
I feel like romanians are casually all of the negative things you mentioned but at the same time they are very inclussive when someone tries their best to integrate. Also Romanians are mean to Romanians most of the time, but also would probably be super friendly to an American.
Pakistan also relies heavily on remittances from emigrants working abroad, although unlike Romania, it’s not to the extent of causing a population decrease yet. If it were to join an EU-style union (free movement and all) with relatively richer countries, then maybe that’ll change.
That bit about not needing a VPN – I consider it pretty much the only pro of living in such disadvantaged countries, to be honest.
Mexican here. Generally, most of the population won’t be very welcoming. Talking specifically about mexico city. You see, the amount of money you make in tech in the US will allow you to stay at the very best places in the city, which pushes native people out of those districts and makes them angry in the process. However, those districts are already popular for tourists/rich immigrants and that’s probably for a reason. I guess business there benefit from this wealth availability so they will treat you well. I’m not rich so idk. Also, it’s probably not hard to emigrate here bureaucracy wise.
Speaking Spanish, you will likely do very well in mexico. Good food, good nightlife, good safety and infrastructure (assuming you stay in the good zones), etc.
Personally, having traveled to other countries (talking about US and places in Europe specifically), I love the diversity of nationalities you can find. I think different backgrounds and experiences is very important to drive innovation. I’d love to see more of that in my home country so I’m for more people emigrating to mexico. Feel free to ask questions if you are curious.
Gentrification is a problem in the US too, probably most everywhere. Mexico City would be another great culture to be in, but I’m not really interested in living in some isolated communiy though. Is it possible for a foreigner to live a reasonable middle class existence there?
Well, yes of course. Some relatives have few foreigner coworkers and they seem to be happy. (tho I don’t know them personally). Also I’ve met some foreigners through university and they seem to adapt well. But I guess it heavily depends on what kind of lifestyle you want to have.
People are usually warm and we appreciate it if you show interest in our culture and adapting here. You should be more than fine if you are mindful to that and better still if you are naturally outgoing. Good luck and hope you find a cool place to go, or things get better if you end up not moving.
I’m an American living and working in Europe for years now. It’s pretty great, although language barriers can leave you feeling a little isolated sometimes. That said, the thought of going back to the US turns my stomach. European working culture is much more… Human. More understanding about things like sick days, better vacation packages and, better worker protections.
I wish the US could be better, but it no longer looks like that will happen in my lifetime so I’ll do my best to find happiness here instead.
About language barriers: have you ever considered actually learning your host countries language?
Of course. But learning a language as an adult is a huge challenge. I take lessons but it’s slow progress, people aren’t always understanding when you stumble or don’t know words and I’m juggling full time professional work on top of it so time and mental energy are limited.
Even after years of practice I will never not sound like a foreigner, which is distancing.
Any tips for someone who would want to emigrate, but doesn’t have any connections? I am an engineer and I have looked at immigration requirements for places like Canada and New Zeeland in the past and it seems like the only real shot I might have is if I work for an international company that has facilities in one of those countries.
Work is how I got in. The IT sector gives you a fair bit of mobility as a worker, an EU blue card can be obtained without a degree (but with relevant experience) if you have a company sponsor you over.
I am originally from the US but moved to AU and am now a citizen. I got lucky and got out just before Trump’s first presidency.
Life here is good. Like, better than most Americans can really understand. Healthcare is free, education is good and includes topics like critical thinking and understanding how to spot “fake news”.
There is only a small aisle of frozen food in the grocery store, not nearly as much pre-packaged food. There are affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, and outside most grocery stores is an independent baker, butcher, fishmonger, and fruit and veg stand.
Minimum wage is $24.10 an hour, and you cannot be fired for no reason if you are a full time employee.
If you compare things (and adjust for AUD to USD) like rent, gas, milk, bread, eggs… Things cost about the same here as in the US.
We pay around the same amount in taxes, and get so much more.
Things aren’t completely rosy, distressingly, Australia seems to want to emulate the US in certain ways which worries me.
There is also currently a bit of an economic downturn and while it’s nothing like what I left behind, it does mean things cost more and luxuries have to be budgeted for.
I think anyone who isn’t a dick would be welcome here. There are racist cunts here like everywhere, but generally Aussies are the kindest and most welcoming people.
Europe here. Plenty of expats here from the whole world. You will be welcomed, but getting a visa is a pain. Our politics are shit as well though.
Why would I want people from a less privileged country coming here and stealing our jobs, putting a burden on our healthcare system and making housing even more expensive?
Congratulations America, you’re now the english language Mexico… with worse Tacos.
Hey not cool don’t diss Mexico like that
This is what so many don’t understand. Other countries don’t want us. Why would they?
If you have some skill that they are short on. That is the main reason. In that way you aren’t just some filthy American, your a skilled worker.
And by the way? This is Trump’s point of view, and it’s hilarious to see it not called fascism just because it’s a person from another country.
Wait what? If an economy is to accept an immigrant, that immigrant should be either contributing to society, seeking asylum, or both.
Yeah. Trump has said that we’re taking in too many undesirables from other countries, and he’s bad for that.
That excludes most of us. For example I’m a pricing analyst. Doubt they’d even need me, let alone all the people working retail or customer service positions.
Yeah most of the auto mechanics probably voted for Trump, but a lot didn’t. We have a ton of people working in restaurants, driving for Lyft, etc.
Most people are fucked.
This mechanic voted for Harris.
This mechanic is also never worried about anything. Republican or Democrat, your car breaks down all the same, and I’ll be waiting with a bill that doesn’t give any sort of a shit about inflation as you’re all well-aware.
Austrian here, I work in software development, I have encountered people before who didn’t speak much German and whom I had to speak English with. I think you’d be fine around here, we’re a pretty generic Western culture I think.
New Zealander here. I work in IT. Americans seem to get on fine here in the IT sector. NZ is less right wing than the US but you wouldn’t earn as much and housing is expensive
