Anyone move to Europe from the States ever?

[soulcougher73]

The thing with Eu taxes isnt that they are high, its that they are EVERYWHERE. Get a job, get taxed. Ok, fair enough.
Get a car, parking taxes, road tax, car tax, insurance, countless fines, garage costs, gas costs. Actually earn enough to get a house?? House tax, condo tax, admin tax, water tax, roof tax, bills, tv tax.
We have travel taxes, document taxes, garbage tax, im surprised we dont have a tax for when you wipe your ass.

But yeah health cover is good.

We pretty much have all those taxes here as well. Maybe just under a different name though. We just dont usually get any services for our taxes though.

 

[DigDog]

Yeah but paying water to the water company is one thing, paying water tax to the government who accidentally send you a €75000 bill and you spend 2 years in court .. is another.

But, dont get me wrong, what really grates is the personality of people. They are boring. They are permanently terrorized of some impending unescapable tragedy. They only see risk and never opportunity, and worst of all, they dont believe in themselves.

 

[BudAshes]

My brother and a couple of my friends moved to Germany in the last decade. None of them have moved back. Free health care, almost free college, easy traveling and just a more chill life in general. Life is a lot more difficult in the US than it is in many of the European nations. I can't even remember the last time I had more than a week off of work, and my friends in Europe will take a month + off at a time without issue and not only is not a problem but it is actually encouraged.

 

[DigDog]

Well duh, you have horrid employment contracts, 28 days paid is the bare minimum here, but i would trade that for having a job where, you know, my boss understands how excel works. Or understands fractions. Or can count.

Your typical Uk contract says "8 hours, but we give you 1 hour for lunch" and then you get paid 35 hours. Which means that *I* give YOU one hour unpaid, not that you give me 1 hour.

If you go to a job interview in europe and you say "i live for my work, im the kind of guy who goes home and spends his evening researchibg opportunities for the next day" they will think you are a weirdo and dismiss you. What they want to hear is "i have a family and i love my wife". They expect you to stay 30-40 years in the same job, if not the same position, and be happy about it. People are positively proud of having worked as a postman for their whole life, and if you want something better for yourself they think it's "above your station". Nepotism is very much a thing, except we've imported the worst of the US culture, with the outsourced shark-teeth manager who uses words such as proactive and synergy.

And the worst thing of all .. we dont know how to party.

 

[BudAshes]

Well duh, you have horrid employment contracts, 28 days paid is the bare minimum here, but i would trade that for having a job where, you know, my boss understands how excel works. Or understands fractions. Or can count.

Your typical Uk contract says "8 hours, but we give you 1 hour for lunch" and then you get paid 35 hours. Which means that *I* give YOU one hour unpaid, not that you give me 1 hour.

If you go to a job interview in europe and you say "i live for my work, im the kind of guy who goes home and spends his evening researchibg opportunities for the next day" they will think you are a weirdo and dismiss you. What they want to hear is "i have a family and i love my wife". They expect you to stay 30-40 years in the same job, if not the same position, and be happy about it. People are positively proud of having worked as a postman for their whole life, and if you want something better for yourself they think it's "above your station". Nepotism is very much a thing, except we've imported the worst of the US culture, with the outsourced shark-teeth manager who uses words such as proactive and synergy.

And the worst thing of all .. we dont know how to party.

I haven't heard much of anything positive about living in the UK these days except for maybe Scotland.

 

[MrSquished]

Well duh, you have horrid employment contracts, 28 days paid is the bare minimum here, but i would trade that for having a job where, you know, my boss understands how excel works. Or understands fractions. Or can count.

Your typical Uk contract says "8 hours, but we give you 1 hour for lunch" and then you get paid 35 hours. Which means that *I* give YOU one hour unpaid, not that you give me 1 hour.

If you go to a job interview in europe and you say "i live for my work, im the kind of guy who goes home and spends his evening researchibg opportunities for the next day" they will think you are a weirdo and dismiss you. What they want to hear is "i have a family and i love my wife". They expect you to stay 30-40 years in the same job, if not the same position, and be happy about it. People are positively proud of having worked as a postman for their whole life, and if you want something better for yourself they think it's "above your station". Nepotism is very much a thing, except we've imported the worst of the US culture, with the outsourced shark-teeth manager who uses words such as proactive and synergy.

And the worst thing of all .. we dont know how to party.

You live in the UK?

 

[13Gigatons]

Some jobs in America will actually kill you. They basically work you to death. All so a few at the top can make more money then they can ever spend.

 

[MrSquished]

My brother and a couple of my friends moved to Germany in the last decade. None of them have moved back. Free health care, almost free college, easy traveling and just a more chill life in general. Life is a lot more difficult in the US than it is in many of the European nations. I can't even remember the last time I had more than a week off of work, and my friends in Europe will take a month + off at a time without issue and not only is not a problem but it is actually encouraged.

That's exactly what I'm talking about. More chill. Spend a respectable amount of time working but having time to enjoy life as well. Easy traveling to many cultures. No worries about healthcare. I think it would be refreshing to try that out for at least a few years and then possibly long-term.

 

[MrSquished]

Some jobs in America will actually kill you. They basically work you to death. All so a few at the top can make more money then they can ever spend.

There's a word for death by overworking in Japanese. I forget what it is but saw it on Bourdain the other night.

 

[DigDog]

You live in the UK?

I divide myself between stabbyland (uk), pizzaland (italy), and occasionally cravatland (croatia, i couldnt come up with a better name). The word you want is Karoshi, death by overwork.

Time for some more questions.
1. What job + salary do you have now in the US, and what do you imagine you will do + earn in europe?

 

[MrSquished]

I divide myself between stabbyland (uk), pizzaland (italy), and occasionally cravatland (croatia, i couldnt come up with a better name). The word you want is Karoshi, death by overwork.

Time for some more questions.
1. What job + salary do you have now in the US, and what do you imagine you will do + earn in europe?

I'm a real estate agent and real estate photorgapher here. I was figuring on dropping the agent part as that won't transfer to Europe, and being a full-time photographer there. I can make 80K+ here a year doing just photography full time as a freelancer. From reading I know to expect to make much less in Europe, sometimes up to to 50% less. So maybe a 1/3 less hopefully.

 

[DigDog]

You could probably get a real estate job on day 1, its one of those jobs that mostly just require experience, in nations where a license is required, your boss needs to have it and you can work under it.
As a photographer .. you would have a hard time paying for a rental bedroom.
This may vary between nations but photgraphy (i know more than one professional, published photographer) is not well paid, nor is there much demand.

 

[MrSquished]

You could probably get a real estate job on day 1, its one of those jobs that mostly just require experience, in nations where a license is required, your boss needs to have it and you can work under it.
As a photographer .. you would have a hard time paying for a rental bedroom.
This may vary between nations but photgraphy (i know more than one professional, published photographer) is not well paid, nor is there much demand.

What kind of photographer? Real estate photography is not glamorous but pretty steady work. I'll have to send some inquiries out on that I guess

 

[DigDog]

Well if you are ok to work as a real estate agent, you wouldnt have too much trouble with money.
Do you speak other languages?

 

[MrSquished]

Well if you are ok to work as a real estate agent, you wouldnt have too much trouble with money.
Do you speak other languages?

I speak a little Greek, that's it. Hey if Real Estate works that's great. I figured it would be impossible if I wasn't fluent in the native language and didn't at least know the areas well enough geographically.

 

[Thebobo]

I haven't moved to Europe yet. My mom was born in Lyon, France so it would be cool to check that out.

I've lived in South Korea, and Thailand.

I lived on Soy Sipsong off of Sukhumvit. You?

 

[nakedfrog]

Ok i get what you are saying but, the EU has a hidden side of defeatism that you might not be happy with. Its not immediately evident but year after year it gets under your skin .. i would myself move to the US in a heartbeat because there people actually DO SHIT instead of moaning how problems are unsolveable and it's basically the will of god.

Me: how are you doing
Eurofriend: i got this problem
Me: hey, there's this easy solut
Eu: ajjjjlmao solution
Me: but..
Eu: lol THATSJUSTTHEWAYTHINGSARE

And you gonna keep running into this on all sides, work, life, government ..

lol, I run into this often in the US, sooo...

 

[PlanetJosh]

I was in the U.S. Army in Germany if that counts as moving over there. Bavaria has such cool places to visit in off hours. I was in a nuclear missile unit as a surveyor for Lance short range missiles. Small land surveys to establish coordinates for missile placement, in mid '70s, all peacetime.

 

[Mai72]

I lived on Soy Sipsong off of Sukhumvit. You?

In Thailand? I was in Bangkok for 6 months. Ratchasima that is where i was. The only white guy around.

 

[Zstream]

All of these posts are sad indeed. Free healthcare? Free college? No one gets anything for free, especially in Europe.

You want to get promoted at work, and make a better living for yourself? Forget that. You’re stuck for the most part, and you’re expected to deal with it. Don’t look for promotions, or god forbid a raise worth your salt.

Your statements about Trump Republicans is sad, and what’s wrong with the US. Stop expecting things for free, and your attitude changes. I’d like to see half of your grow up poor, and better yourself. Maybe your one of those that grew up in the middle class and expect shit given to you?

Either way, if you want an apartment, or some condo, go live in the Midwest, up north, or even down south. Stop living in the shitty liberal tax to death coastal areas, and stop whining. There are plenty of places that don’t suck, start looking.

 

[MrSquished]

All of these posts are sad indeed. Free healthcare? Free college? No one gets anything for free, especially in Europe.

You want to get promoted at work, and make a better living for yourself? Forget that. You’re stuck for the most part, and you’re expected to deal with it. Don’t look for promotions, or god forbid a raise worth your salt.

Your statements about Trump Republicans is sad, and what’s wrong with the US. Stop expecting things for free, and your attitude changes. I’d like to see half of your grow up poor, and better yourself. Maybe your one of those that grew up in the middle class and expect shit given to you?

Either way, if you want an apartment, or some condo, go live in the Midwest, up north, or even down south. Stop living in the shitty liberal tax to death coastal areas, and stop whining. There are plenty of places that don’t suck, start looking.

Live in a Trump-happy red state? You have to be joking. That's horrible. The only recently red state I'd strongly consider living in is Colorado, and it's on the short list because of Denver and it's proximity to so much of America's grand natural beauty. But I don't think you are really getting the beats we are dropping. Living in flyover Trump country sounds like a nightmare. I've been around a decent bit of this country so I speak from some experience. I need to live near some big cities that are easy to get to with public transport. The cities in the areas you are talking about are little villages.

I love living right next to NYC, in a condo I own, for everything it has to offer, and part of what it has to offer is knowing that in 2016 80% of NYC voted for Clinton over the dbag Trump. That's a proud statistic that makes a great city even greater. That being said I've lived here 42 years and would love to see Europe with its so many distinct cultures all so close together, and appreciate some of their mindset as well that's been clearly discussed in this thread. What would be great living there is being able to be proud to work but at the same time get a respectable amount of time to enjoy life too. It's not my fault Republicans consistently vote against their own economic interests time and time again so they will never get an opportunity such as that. They will be overworked and underpaid for life. Why should I be forced to go down that route? I feel bad for them, but doesn't mean I want to live in ignorance myself.

 

[Zstream]

Live in a Trump-happy red state? You have to be joking. That's horrible. The only recently red state I'd strongly consider living in is Colorado, and it's on the short list because of Denver and it's proximity to so much of America's grand natural beauty. But I don't think you are really getting the beats we are dropping. Living in flyover Trump country sounds like a nightmare. I've been around a decent bit of this country so I speak from some experience. I need to live near some big cities that are easy to get to with public transport. The cities in the areas you are talking about are little villages.

I love living right next to NYC, in a condo I own, for everything it has to offer, and part of what it has to offer is knowing that in 2016 80% of NYC voted for Clinton over the dbag Trump. That's a proud statistic that makes a great city even greater. That being said I've lived here 42 years and would love to see Europe with its so many distinct cultures all so close together, and appreciate some of their mindset as well that's been clearly discussed in this thread. What would be great living there is being able to be proud to work but at the same time get a respectable amount of time to enjoy life too. It's not my fault Republicans consistently vote against their own economic interests time and time again so they will never get an opportunity such as that. They will be overworked and underpaid for life. Why should I be forced to go down that route? I feel bad for them, but doesn't mean I want to live in ignorance myself.

Lmao! Peace out! Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. You can live in your shit condo, and cry about the country. Europe won’t be gaining anything.

 

[GeekDrew]

Ok i get what you are saying but, the EU has a hidden side of defeatism that you might not be happy with. Its not immediately evident but year after year it gets under your skin .. i would myself move to the US in a heartbeat because there people actually DO SHIT instead of moaning how problems are unsolveable and it's basically the will of god.

Me: how are you doing
Eurofriend: i got this problem
Me: hey, there's this easy solut
Eu: ajjjjlmao solution
Me: but..
Eu: lol THATSJUSTTHEWAYTHINGSARE

I have no idea who you have experience with in the US, but this nonsense is one of the reasons why I *HATE* the US and would rather move to some other country. I'm sure that it's everywhere - US, EU, etc - but seems to be the overwhelming majority of people here (US, Ohio).

Get a car, parking taxes, road tax, car tax, insurance, countless fines, garage costs, gas costs. Actually earn enough to get a house?? House tax, condo tax, admin tax, water tax, roof tax, bills, tv tax.
We have travel taxes, document taxes, garbage tax, im surprised we dont have a tax for when you wipe your ass.

Off of the top of my head, I've indirectly paid all of those taxes you've mentioned in the US within the last month, except for roof and tv taxes. I'd gladly pay more taxes for better government services.

i would trade that for having a job where, you know, my boss understands how excel works. Or understands fractions. Or can count.

You dramatically overestimate the average manager in the USA if you expect them to understand Excel or fractions.

 

[repoman0]

Lmao! Peace out! Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. You can live in your shit condo, and cry about the country. Europe won’t be gaining anything.

People like this are exactly why living in a red state would be an absolute nightmare. So glad I never meet anyone remotely resembling this clown. The guy wants to experience other cultures for himself and all you can come up with is basically the internet equivalent of yelling “AMERICA FUCK YEAH”

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Some jobs in America will actually kill you. They basically work you to death. All so a few at the top can make more money then they can ever spend.

The sad thing is that people put up with that and don’t extricate themselves from that situation. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people here speak about working insane hours and being absolute martyrs about their jobs, and then you actually find out what they do - more often than not, they’re corporate paper pushers.

How can anyone seriously look themselves in the mirror every day and say that life as a corporate accountant, IT person, project manager, etc. is a dream come true, is their passion, and is something they really want to give 20+ extra hours of THEIR OWN time to every week? And then say stupid things like “I haven’t taken a day off in X years!” on top of it? It completely and totally baffles me. I can understand it if you own your own business, are trying to cure cancer, or are paid hourly and want to make a ton of extra money. Otherwise, these people are fools. I’m sure I offended half of ATOT by saying that, but they’ll get over it and can mull it over during one of their late night martyr sessions while I’m putting in my 40 hours and take every single minute of vacation time granted to me and travel the world.

These attitudes show just how screwed up our priorities are in the US, where you’re expected to put your job ahead of almost everything else. I once even had a manager tell me it was my responsibility to work extra hours to cover the time spent in meetings during the day. That’s also when I sat his ass down and told him “NO” and that his job as a manager was to remove roadblocks to our productivity and not to invite us to meetings unless we were actually needed and NOT just to cover for his lack of knowledge.

I’ll leave you with this thought: “It’s not that I’m lazy Bob, it’s just that I don’t care.” If you’re not familiar with that statement, google it and understand where it is from and the context. 🙂