For those who left the US, what did it take? Is there anyone else realistically planning on leaving?

[Deleted member 8118]

This is reactionary to the thread about many Europeans not knowing about US' terrible paid leave/sick labor policies.

What are your plans? What was the primary reason behind wanting to move?

I'm 25, no real debt besides college. I'm nearly done with my bachelor's degree and I'm thinking of leaving the US for my master's degree in hopes of making the move permanent.

I'm conversational in French and can speak some German, so that's going to dictate where I move, unless I find other countries that have a language I can grasp.

My degree is in design and computer science, so my ability to find work might not be as tough as other degrees.

That's a small part of the plan that I have so far, but I'm curious to see what others have planned and have done so far.

I know the grass isn't always greener, but man, it's hard being convinced that it isn't with all of the things going on.

 

[Bundy]

This is reactionary to the thread about many Europeans not knowing about US' terrible paid leave/sick labor policies.

What are your plans? What was the primary reason behind wanting to move?

I'm 25, no real debt besides college. I'm nearly done with my bachelor's degree and I'm thinking of leaving the US for my master's degree in hopes of making the move permanent.

I'm conversational in French and can speak some German, so that's going to dictate where I move, unless I find other countries that have a language I can grasp.

My degree is in design and computer science, so my ability to find work might not be as tough as other degrees.

That's a small part of the plan that I have so far, but I'm curious to see what others have planned and have done so far.

I know the grass isn't always greener, but man, it's hard being convinced that it isn't with all of the things going on.

Click to shrink...

Well my grandfather left the US and went to Germany. Simply better here (according to him). Work, the people, healthcare, food, lifestyle.
And you shouldn't have any issues finding a good job here if you have a degree is in design and computer science.
So good luck :)

 

[Deleted member 26398]

This is reactionary to the thread about many Europeans not knowing about US' terrible paid leave/sick labor policies.

What are your plans? What was the primary reason behind wanting to move?

I'm 25, no real debt besides college. I'm nearly done with my bachelor's degree and I'm thinking of leaving the US for my master's degree in hopes of making the move permanent.

I'm conversational in French and can speak some German, so that's going to dictate where I move, unless I find other countries that have a language I can grasp.

My degree is in design and computer science, so my ability to find work might not be as tough as other degrees.

That's a small part of the plan that I have so far, but I'm curious to see what others have planned and have done so far.

I know the grass isn't always greener, but man, it's hard being convinced that it isn't with all of the things going on.

Click to shrink...

I think for CS degrees, the salaries are much much less in other parts of the world. I think only Israel can compete with US in CS salaries.

 

[butzopower]

I think for CS degrees, the salaries are much much less in other parts of the world. I think only Israel can compete with US in CS salaries.

Click to shrink...

Ya I took like 40% pay cut when I moved to UK, but like it's still extremely livable. Everyone else in the US is so under paid and just swimming in debt that I think it's better to be paid less and have others survive a bit better.

 

[KillLaCam]

I kinda always wanted to move since I was a little kid , so I'd technically always been planning to do it. All I really did was go study abroad in Korea and got a couple of jobs in my free time. Then found out many ways that I could stay for as long as I wanted.
I think the hardest part is just getting to whatever country. Once you're there it's not difficult to get connections and figure things out.

I think I know much more about being an Adult in Korea than I do in the US lmao.

Edit: probably wouldn't recommend trying to go to Korea with an engineering degree , so many ppl have one. Feels like every other Korean guy I meet is some kinda engineer.

 

[TheHyde]

Don't know if this is any help, but especially for people who are still in school, one good option is to aim for a career in international NGOs. You will almost automatically get posted abroad at some point of time, and after having established a career you can pretty much choose were you want to live in between the postings (esp when so much stuff can be done remotely). Nationality does not really matter much. Money is decent as well.

I myself rarely even visit my home country anymore and live permanently in another country, and have lived in several others as well. I do have dual citizenship nowadays, but funnily not to the country I live now.

One thing to note, you sort of have to love the "mission lifestyle" to make this work - if you don't it's a hard pass.

 

[GoutPatrol]

I left at 23 and I really don't know if I will ever go back to the US permanently, but I'm teaching at an international school. There are alot of them all around there if you get into the gig - and some will pay alot better than others.

 

[DeusOcha]

Currently 27 and I left at 26. I left March 2020 and live in Japan now. For context my family and I had a summer vacation here in 2019 and prior exposure to Japan was living here on an American military base as a kid and taking 3 Japanese course during university.

It was during the aforementioned 2019 trip that got me thinking of actually working and living here as I noticed a number of foreigners working at some places around Tokyo. I've always had the thought of living in Japan ever since I was a kid (due to childhood in Japan) but I never knew how to begin.

So coming back from the 2019 trip I threw in an application to be an English teacher. I should note that at the time I worked IT helpdesk and my univeristy degree is Computer Science. Around August 2019 was the inperson interview and September 2019 I was confirmes to be hired. I was then requested to send documents to Japan, waited a through into the New Year, and come Februaruy all the immigration stuff was settled and all that was left was to board the plane and leave.

Overall all it took was motivation and drive to research, staying on top of paperwork, and dealing with the anxiety and stress of waiting.

With what has happened this year comparing to my life in Japan, yeah I've no plans on returning to the US anytime soon. As for pay I make the same amount as i did in the US; 15USD/hour equivalent but cost of living here is so much cheaper that im able to do much more.

 

[Dis]

My wife is a USA citizen, she lives in texas, we talked not soon after meeting in person 5 years ago about where we would want to live, it literally didn't even take convincing. She said she would happily move to my country because she would have easy access to healthcare, would have worker rights she has never had in the usa, would know she is entitled to stuff such as paid time off for being sick and also going away together for holidays etc each year and she wouldn't worry everytime she goes out that someone could be carrying a gun or a police officer may pull her over and start shit for no reason at all other than racism.

She said she would miss some stuff she likes but there is no way she would rather build a future in the usa with the systems it has over the choice to move to me.

 

[CherryWoodFuton]

Me and the wife will be moving to Portugal in 3 years and basically start a new life

Currently living in SF while not as bad as other parts of the US the CoL is just too much

 

[XaviConcept]

Left in July after 20 years in the US, now for the first time in my adult life, I live and work in Spain. To be honest at some point I never thought I would leave, seriously considering what retirement would look like. Now I dont know if I'll ever come back.

The main reasons:

• Quality of life, even in California with a good salary, was subpar. There are so many better ways to live in countries with worse economies. Since we moved to Barcelona, with the same salary, our quality of life has improved drastically on all fronts
• The breakout of the Corona Virus and seeing how people dealt with it really brought out my deep disconnect with American culture
• The extreme American Privilege, even seen in places like these where Americans think they have the God given right to live anywhere. No, you cant "just" move to Canada or Europe and thinking you can is part of the problem
• Opportunity. For a long time I would have sacrificed too much career wise if I wanted to leave the US. It took a lot for me to leave a dream job working on Star Wars with a good team
• General distaste with American lifestyle. I dont like the food, I dont like the extreme capitalism, I dont like the way cities and towns are laid out, I dont like the architecture, I dont like the NFL or baseball, I dont like the nationalism disguised as patriotism ... so many examples that after 20 years you get tired of never truly fitting in
• Having to pay $40 for bullshit groceries, yes, California, I know, but its crazy how different CA is from even the rest of the worlds expensive cities (you could live in PARIS for way less money than you need to live in Sacramento, and your life would be much improve
• The state and history of US politics. The normalization of school shootings, execution of black people, Latinos in cages ... Trump is and was obviously the beacon for all of this and it doesnt mean that other countries dont have similar challenges, but it really triggered a "get me the fuck out of here" response

So obviously Im venting a bit, and Ive been meaning to make a thread to explore some of these things in detail, but it really took that long for a lot of these reasons to build up because so many of them are easy to ignore and live with that before you know it you have gotten used to a way of existing that just doesn't make you happy

 

[dragonbane]

As a CS senior you can live like a king throughout Europe even in countries like Germany if you do it right. And this is despite it being much less than US salaries. Base salary isn't everything when everything else is also cheaper and QoL is higher.

 

[chanman]

I am looking to move to move but it is going to take a little extra time for me with a family and all.

 

[Ikuu]

Unless you have another passport it's not going to be easy to move.

 

[t26]

The thing about US is that every state is different in terms of employment, housing, health, transportation, education, and so on. For example, Californian does have sick leave and even paternal leave. It is not a lot, but much better than the rest of the country.

 

[Curufinwe]

I'm a NZ citizen so I'll be going home eventually. I got my American citizenship in 2016 only because I would lose my social security by moving to New Zealand if I didn't.

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Oh yeah, I'm out of here. It's my New Year's Resolution. The attempted coup sealed it.

 

[ruggiex]

For those who left, did you renounce your US citizenship to avoid having to pay US taxes too? Or is there other way to avoid having to pay dual taxes?

 

[Deleted member 8118]

Well my grandfather left the US and went to Germany. Simply better here (according to him). Work, the people, healthcare, food, lifestyle.
And you shouldn't have any issues finding a good job here if you have a degree is in design and computer science.
So good luck :)

Click to shrink...

I knew that my degree would be pretty good to have, especially at a master's level if I chose to move from the US, but it's nice to hear this from others. Thank you.

I think for CS degrees, the salaries are much much less in other parts of the world. I think only Israel can compete with US in CS salaries.

Click to shrink...

Ya I took like 40% pay cut when I moved to UK, but like it's still extremely livable. Everyone else in the US is so under paid and just swimming in debt that I think it's better to be paid less and have others survive a bit better.

Click to shrink...

I absolutely do not care about my salary in this sense. What I want is a somewhat comfortable life and a high quality of living for me and those around me.

Me and the wife will be moving to Portugal in 3 years and basically start a new life

Currently living in SF while not as bad as other parts of the US the CoL is just too much

Click to shrink...

I think I remember your name from the Bay Area thread. I go to school in San Francisco. My primary reason for attempting to move abroad is because living in San Francisco is, in many ways, more expensive than living abroad for me.

So obviously Im venting a bit, and Ive been meaning to make a thread to explore some of these things in detail, but it really took that long for a lot of these reasons to build up because so many of them are easy to ignore and live with that before you know it you have gotten used to a way of existing that just doesn't make you happy

Click to shrink...

I agree with everything that you said and I understand why you're venting. Even the little things like groceries being way too expensive is so damn true, especially in California. That said, I'd love to see a thread based on your experiences.

As a CS senior you can live like a king throughout Europe even in countries like Germany if you do it right. And this is despite it being much less than US salaries. Base salary isn't everything when everything else is also cheaper and QoL is higher.

Click to shrink...

My major is in design with a minor of computer science. Even with slight difference, I still expect to make at least enough to be able to afford my small apartment and other little things. As you mention, base salary isn't everything, and having stayed in Germany for a while while on a trip, I noticed that the cost of living outside of Berlin and Munich is not that bad.

 

[ccbfan]

Get some software dev experience and you can pretty much move anywhere you want.

Mostly countries are losing software dev talent to the US since US salaries so some much better and tech companies give amazing benefits compared to even the most socialist countries in Europe. So any opportunity for the opposite is welcome for them.

 

[Ryuelli]

I kinda always wanted to move since I was a little kid , so I'd technically always been planning to do it. All I really did was go study abroad in Korea and got a couple of jobs in my free time. Then found out many ways that I could stay for as long as I wanted.
I think the hardest part is just getting to whatever country. Once you're there it's not difficult to get connections and figure things out.

I think I know much more about being an Adult in Korea than I do in the US lmao.

Edit: probably wouldn't recommend trying to go to Korea with an engineering degree , so many ppl have one. Feels like every other Korean guy I meet is some kinda engineer.

Click to shrink...

I taught English in Korea for 4 years. The town I lived in only existed because there was a massive Samsung factory there. You ain't joking about every other person being an engineer (or something STEM related).

 

[Nesotenso]

Get some software dev experience and you can pretty much move anywhere you want.

Mostly countries are losing software dev talent to the US since US salaries so some much better and tech companies give amazing benefits compared to even the most socialist countries in Europe. So any opportunity for the opposite is welcome for them.

Click to shrink...

Salaries in engineering are just higher in the US. But the OP seems fine with lower pair.

 

[rokkerkory]

Totally thinking about bailing in a few years. Cost of living and general happiness are biggest factors.

 

[Skytylz]

For those who left, did you renounce your US citizenship to avoid having to pay US taxes too? Or is there other way to avoid having to pay dual taxes?

Click to shrink...

Not speaking from experience, but if you pay more in taxes in the country you live than you would in the US, you don't have to pay US taxes.

 

[Deleted member 39374]

Moving is not as easy as you think. If you thought US immigration process was hard, wait till you see the ones for the scandinavian countries Era idolizes 😂

I live in LA and its expensive but like I wouldnt want to be anywhere else. And Ive visited almost every continent. Goat-tier weather, forefront of tech and culture, among the best culinary scenes, lots of job oppurtunities, insane diversity (not like most of EU where everyones white), and left-leaning government

 

[Cilidra]

I moved to the US (from Canada) after university. I lived there for 6 years. I moved back to Canada afterward. While it was a nice life experience and met nice people, I found that quality of life and actually cost of living (factoring hidden cost like health care) was not as good as in Canada.

It's also been to comments I've heard from other people I meet that did the same.

My advice would be that if you get the opportunity to go work and live in another country, it's a really good experience. You learn first hands the pros and cons of the place you used to live and you can see if this is for you. Something prevents you from coming back. You don't lose your citizenship.
It made me appreciate Canada much more.

 

[JustJavi]

I lived in the States and didn't take me long to decide to leave. At 36, I've lived and worked in 5 different countries, I don't find hard to disconnect yourself from a place a move on.

Left in July after 20 years in the US, now for the first time in my adult life, I live and work in Spain. To be honest at some point I never thought I would leave, seriously considering what retirement would look like. Now I dont know if I'll ever come back.

The main reasons:

• Quality of life, even in California with a good salary, was subpar. There are so many better ways to live in countries with worse economies. Since we moved to Barcelona, with the same salary, our quality of life has improved drastically on all fronts
• The breakout of the Corona Virus and seeing how people dealt with it really brought out my deep disconnect with American culture
• The extreme American Privilege, even seen in places like these where Americans think they have the God given right to live anywhere. No, you cant "just" move to Canada or Europe and thinking you can is part of the problem
• Opportunity. For a long time I would have sacrificed too much career wise if I wanted to leave the US. It took a lot for me to leave a dream job working on Star Wars with a good team
• General distaste with American lifestyle. I dont like the food, I dont like the extreme capitalism, I dont like the way cities and towns are laid out, I dont like the architecture, I dont like the NFL or baseball, I dont like the nationalism disguised as patriotism ... so many examples that after 20 years you get tired of never truly fitting in
• Having to pay $40 for bullshit groceries, yes, California, I know, but its crazy how different CA is from even the rest of the worlds expensive cities (you could live in PARIS for way less money than you need to live in Sacramento, and your life would be much improve
• The state and history of US politics. The normalization of school shootings, execution of black people, Latinos in cages ... Trump is and was obviously the beacon for all of this and it doesnt mean that other countries dont have similar challenges, but it really triggered a "get me the fuck out of here" response

So obviously Im venting a bit, and Ive been meaning to make a thread to explore some of these things in detail, but it really took that long for a lot of these reasons to build up because so many of them are easy to ignore and live with that before you know it you have gotten used to a way of existing that just doesn't make you happy

Click to shrink...

Fellow spaniard here. I must have been living in Hermosa Beach, CA around the same time you were living in California.

 

[16bitnova]

I would love to. But wouldn't even know how to begin. I'm assuming first I would have to finish some sort of degree though.

 

[scurker]

My wife and I have been considering it, but don't really know what steps to take. It's a little more difficult process for us given that we have 2 kids. We'd love to move to Canada or Ireland, but would probably be open to any European country provided we'd be eligible. My current job was already 100% remote before the pandemic, so I'd like to try to continue doing that wherever we move, but I have no idea what that process looks like. I don't think we would be eligible for Ireland through my existing employer as they're US based so we're still in the early exploration of what options we have.

But we've pretty much resigned ourselves that the US no longer amicable for us. Our support system has collapsed, all of our friends have moved away to other states so there's little tying us down to where we are.

 

[Clefargle]

I left in 2015 to live in the Netherlands and I've been here since then going back every year or two to see family. It's been a whirlwind and not what I could label as "realistically planned" but I've been busy and enjoyed the ride even during COVID.

 

[Dogo Mojo]

I would move out of the US tomorrow if it was realistic for me and my family to do so. Florida will likely sink into the ocean before we can get out though.

 

[Cats_Schrodinger]

It's kind of funny. I desperately want to get to the US. Live in Hungary now. If I had the option for a job and a visa with dual intent I would move immediately. Literally overnight. I would definitely stay too.

I know things are not all nice there, but they aren't here either. Healthcare sucks hard, I finished my BSc in Physics but I have absolutely no intention to continue my studies here. Even the best of the best Hungarian universities suck absolute balls. No money, few opportunities. It's downright depressing.

I work in IT now with a small company. We see into the finances and holy shit. For a small IT company it's absolutely mad how much we pay, it's insane. I'm absolutely not the "taxes are robbery" type of voter, voted left all my life (not hard considering FIDESZ) but the situation is absolutely crazy. I get 66% of my salary and the healthcare is so bad I had to go private for some stuff. On top of that we have 27% VAT. Upon all that there are tons of stuff for just operating and doing business.

And yet we are still doing terribly when it comes to infrastructure or literally anything that all that money could go towards.

The point is that this is in no way normal. Even in the EU there are much better places, but I just want to get as far away as possible. I love the EU but I don't see it improving because of some backwards countries (like mine). I could also make a lot more money with the IT experience I have. And look, I know the US is absolutely fucking over poor people left and right, but right now I would have a much better life in the US than here. I hate US politics, but I see some hope there, whereas here I don't see any.

The most important factor though might sound ridiculous, but geography. The US is the most beautiful country in the world for me. The fact that I could see things like that in my country is something that I would kill for. I am at a point of my life where I don't want a calm suburban house and life, but rather I want to live in huge cities in the "center" of the world. Budapest is nice and all but I feel it lacks a lot that I want. I know big cities are dirty and not that nice at all but it's something that I tolerate very well in Budapest already.

All of the above would make me feel like that I endure problems for at least something. In Hungary I don't feel that. It's a backwards country with a shitty government and shitty people at the end of the world.

Also it's much more realistic that I can settle down in Colorado in my own house than in Budapest. Budapest is expensive AF when it comes to real estate and with wages like this it's basically impossible. Rural Hungary is cheap but I would never settle there (think Alabama but less nice).

I wish immigration to the US wasn't this batshit difficult. No wonder people get there illegally by overstaying their visas.

If I won't see opportunities for the US I will target Canada in the next 5 years, that's for sure. Although I do have a ton of loyalty for my current employer. In fact that is the best thing in Hungary for me right now they are the reason I'm still here. They are awesome people and I learn a lot from them. If I were at a large company I might have already jumped to literally anywhere else.

 

[Spinluck]

Get some software dev experience and you can pretty much move anywhere you want.

Mostly countries are losing software dev talent to the US since US salaries so some much better and tech companies give amazing benefits compared to even the most socialist countries in Europe. So any opportunity for the opposite is welcome for them.

Click to shrink...

what's the incentive outside of the novelty of living abroad if companies are giving better benefits here in the states?

 

[Deleted member 86105]

I live in New York, and I am planning a move to Canada in the next few years, mainly for the universal healthcare and so I won't have to stress about USA politics nearly as much. The immigration process is simple and streamlined if you are a skilled worker. And, driving there with my stuff is a breeze (we border Toronto and Montreal).

Luckily my job has offices in Canada and they are planning further expansions, so it's feasible to directly transfer there without any difficulty.

OP, if you don't have an existing job or career it might be difficult. You definitely don't want to leave the USA without having a job offer explicitly lined up.

 

[HomokHarcos]

My mom is Canadian, so I was able to get Canadian citizenship through her.

 

[ccbfan]

what's the incentive outside of the novelty of living abroad if companies are giving better benefits here in the states?

Click to shrink...

Money isn't everything. Plus you're still at the mercy of having a job no matter how in demand your abilities are. There's also the fact of raising kids where there's social safety nets where they don't need to be in tech/high demand field to not get fucked.

TBH though I know very little tech people that moved away from the US. I know a lot of foreigners though that are here for the salaries and benefits. The huge salary difference is usually enough to set your kids up well where they're part of the privileged class. You kind of have enough money to set up your own social safety nets.

 

[DeusOcha]

Unless you have another passport it's not going to be easy to move.

Click to shrink...

Moving is not as easy as you think. If you thought US immigration process was hard, wait till you see the ones for the scandinavian countries Era idolizes 😂

I live in LA and its expensive but like I wouldnt want to be anywhere else. And Ive visited almost every continent. Goat-tier weather, forefront of tech and culture, among the best culinary scenes, lots of job oppurtunities, insane diversity (not like most of EU where everyones white), and left-leaning government

Click to shrink...

Comments like this come off as disingenious, to me atleast. Of course immigration is hard, that's why folks like myself which the OP asks for are providing their anecdotes. Everyone knows immigration is a process, y'all dont need to discourage it though.

what's the incentive outside of the novelty of living abroad if companies are giving better benefits here in the states?

Click to shrink...

I imagine better quality of life and/or cost of living. Oh and not having a majority of living benefits tied directly to an employer. Not everything is about money.

 

[Curufinwe]

For those who left, did you renounce your US citizenship to avoid having to pay US taxes too? Or is there other way to avoid having to pay dual taxes?

Click to shrink...

Foreign earned income exclusion | Internal Revenue Service

You may qualify for the foreign earned income, foreign housing exclusions and the foreign housing deduction if you meet certain requirements. Learn more.

www.irs.gov

If you are a U.S. citizen or a resident alien of the United States and you live abroad, you are taxed on your worldwide income. However, you may qualify to exclude your foreign earnings from income up to an amount that is adjusted annually for inflation ($103,900 for 2018, $105,900 for 2019, and $107,600 for 2020). In addition, you can exclude or deduct certain foreign housing amounts.

 

[Deleted member 40853]

Why did you leave America?
Why did you let me down?
And now that things seem better off
Why do you come around?

Click to shrink...

America has a lot of problems, and my wife and I have have thought about what it would be like to live elsewhere before, but at the end of the day everyone and everything we know is here. There's really nowhere else to go - for good and for bad I'm an American. Of course everyone has a right to live wherever makes them happy, but I think it's a little reactionary to give up on America if it's largely because of Trump. If all the good people leave, America will just get shittier faster. We need good people to stay in America and have families and try to make a better future!

 

[coldzone24]

I left America last year to move to the Netherlands. I literally decided on a whim to apply to a few companies over there just to test the waters and before I knew it, I was fly over there for an in-person interview. My experience is definitely abnormal, but I found it quite easy and haven't had much trouble integrating either (minus the whole pandemic thing).

 

[The Albatross]

I believe in using my privileged to try to make America a better place for the people who aren't privileged enough to be able to leave.

 

[Spenny]

I'm gonna be moving in with my bf in Canada sometime this year and am gonna eventually become a citizen if all works out.

 

[DeusOcha]

America has a lot of problems, and my wife and I have have thought about what it would be like to live elsewhere before, but at the end of the day everyone and everything we know is here. There's really nowhere else to go - for good and for bad I'm an American. Of course everyone has a right to live wherever makes them happy, but I think it's a little reactionary to give up on America if it's largely because of Trump. If all the good people leave, America will just get shittier faster. We need good people to stay in America and have families and try to make a better future!

Click to shrink...

Considering how Trump is the sole reason why covid has claimed so many lives in the US atop of half the population still going "no masks, covid is lie" I dont see how wanting to get out is "a little reactionary".

Also if you're concernes about decent folk leaving then that speaks for itself on the state of the country now doesnt it?

 

[Huncho_Houdini]

If you're interested in going to Germany you can definitely do so through the Master's degree route, but you'll have to find an English speaking study program (of which many do exist) or you'll have to reach an advanced level of German.

You'll simply need to get accepted to a program and have proof of finances (enough to support you for the duration of your stay). Once you complete your degree program you can extend your residence permit for a job search and eventually have that transition to worker's permit/permanent residency card.


Germany was a pretty sweet place to live; I did an advanced degree there even though I ultimately returned to the USA - totally had the opportunity to stay though.

 

[Deleted member 39374]

Comments like this come off as disingenious, to me atleast. Of course immigration is hard, that's why folks like myself which the OP asks for are providing their anecdotes. Everyone knows immigration is a process, y'all dont need to discourage it

Click to shrink...

I don't think you know what disingenuous means tbh, it's a twitter word that gets misused a lot here.

If you dont agree with me you can just say that, because I'm not, as per the definition, acting like I know less than I do re: immigration. I actually wish I knew more!

Lots of frustrated (and understandably so) people after 2016 talked a big game about leaving the US, but like, you're not going to make anywhere near as much money and that's assuming they'll even let you in. It's fun to think about as a cathartic venting mechanism, but IRL living in the liberal coasts of the US is probably some of the safest and nicest and most privileged parts of the world to be in, so it can definitely be viewed as worth the higher living costs

 

[Cilla]

It's funny as I did the opposite and moved from Australia to the US last year. I think living overseas is worth the experience and I've lived in the UK before too but this move was permanent.

 

[Deleted member 39374]

I believe in using my privileged to try to make America a better place for the people who aren't privileged enough to be able to leave.

Click to shrink...

Yo, this too. Work and organize to improve your country instead of ragequitting it.

 

[CherryWoodFuton]

Yo, this too. Work and organize to improve your country instead of ragequitting it.

Click to shrink...

Fuck all that for me and my wife at least
If I had a chance at a better life I'm going to take it. I'm not ever going to be someone that organizes for political change so sorry if I'm being selfish

 

[Spinluck]

Money isn't everything. Plus you're still at the mercy of having a job no matter how in demand your abilities are. There's also the fact of raising kids where there's social safety nets where they don't need to be in tech/high demand field to not get fucked.

TBH though I know very little tech people that moved away from the US. I know a lot of foreigners though that are here for the salaries and benefits. The huge salary difference is usually enough to set your kids up well where they're part of the privileged class. You kind of have enough money to set up your own social safety nets.

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Amen to that first point. Yeah i was just wondering as someone looking to go overseas during my MS program. I've been eyeing France since i have relatives there but am not too familiar with the tech scene there.

Based on what I've seen from the US market, the perks are incredible. But a lot of these jobs still seem incredibly demanding.

I imagine better quality of life and/or cost of living. Oh and not having a majority of living benefits tied directly to an employer. Not everything is about money.

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Very true.

 

[Woylie]

Yo, this too. Work and organize to improve your country instead of ragequitting it.

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This is a really privileged perspective lol

There are marginalized people like trans folks who are legitimately fearful for their lives/safety if the pendulum swings back hard the other way in four years