I love Europe!

Amazon hehe_haha
Oct 9 24 Comments

Came for a business trip to a couple locations in Europe and I absolutely love this place more than the States. I understand that living in Europe would entail lower savings, but are there any other concerns if I decide to move here? How easy is it to socialize and make friends if I move to, say, Germany? Which countries have the least restrictive issues with work visa and PR?

TC: 185k


Want to comment? LOG IN or SIGN UP
TOP 24 Comments
  • Amazon nyntjxi
    why don’t u tell us since u were just there
    Oct 9 2
    • Amazon hehe_haha
      I'm on a business trip on Schengen visa. How would I know? On another note, it seems like randomly blasting people on Blind without any genuine response has become a norm. Please don't comment just so people can laugh at your PJs.
      Oct 9
    • Amazon nyntjxi
      idk, tried socializing?
      Oct 9
  • I grew up in Europe and chased the American dream. Then I woke up and I'm over all salty. From when I was there the COL is less because property taxes are next to nothing. You also get more from your taxes because they don't have to keep a stupidly huge army. As for employment wise, it's tilted in your favor and that's why they pay less. The company pays more tax for you and you don't pay health insurance, you get more PTO, and they also can't just walk you out when they want to get rid of you. They have to provide notice and help you transition to something else.
    Oct 9 10
    • Amazon nyntjxi
      yes smart, US must be suckers
      Oct 9
    • Indeed we are.
      Oct 9
    • Amazon nyntjxi
      yes, just giving out free defense out of suckiness
      Oct 9
    • Axtria racers
      Also people in Europe are more civil and companies are family friendly. So there's lesser pressure to perform and survive the rat race.
      Oct 9
    • Microsoft bing0
      True on everything but you actually pay health insurance every month. Your company matches it too.
      Oct 21
  • Amazon bobcаt
    Nah. You’ll be fine bro. Your TC is pretty much at European levels right now.
    Oct 9 3
    • Chase BichPaquet
      Troll. Good luck getting $185k TC in Europe for an individual contributor role.
      Oct 9
    • Booking.com joint653
      Principals are individual contributors:)
      Oct 9
    • Google / Eng

      Google Eng

      185k in ZRH is not hard.
      Oct 9
  • New vyls08
    I'm German - as others said - have a look in Berlin, this is the most foreigner (read: non-German speaking) place to go. Alternatives are Amsterdam or Zuerich.

    I have hired a few non-EU citizens, so here it is: In any country the company needs to prove to the immigration that they couldn't find a EU-national to do the job. that is doable (just documentation) and you need to pay a lawyer a few EUR1000 to get this through. Any mid-to larger company can do that (smaller ones might be too afraid of an unknown legal process). The biggest barrier will be that you provide some uncertainty as they have a more complicated interviewing process (usually in Germany they just invite you on-site and pay your train ticket, which is required by law). Ont op - ethical hesitation to fire someone during notice period who had just moved from abroad here.
    So at the end you need to be much better than the alternatives to get considered.
    Having said this, larger companies do this on a regular basis and the market for good SWE is dried out.
    The visa (blue card) you get is much more flexible than an US H1B and gives you the possibility to stay a limited time to look for a new job in case you loose it.
    to calculate net payout use https://www.brutto-netto-rechner.info/ payments are always monthly.
    Oct 9 0
  • Roku cruella
    Falling in love in one biz trip.
    Ready to commit.
    ready to move in.
    Ready to move permanently.
    Making friends with in-laws.

    How long did it take before u said "love you " to ur SO?
    Oct 9 1
    • Amazon hehe_haha
      Haha. Good one :) The only reason I posted on Blind with all the practical questions is because I didn't want to go with the emotional route :)
      Oct 9
  • Booking.com joint653
    I'm not going to explain all the tax and social protection aspects. You can research it.
    Regarding lifestyle, even Europeans find it difficult to socialize in a different country in EU. London or Dublin would be grate places to get integrated relatively easy. Yes, language is the main barrier.
    On the continent, Netherlands offer a good mix of social life and openness of locals (nothing too exceptional but sooo much better than Germany). Germany itself is a great country overall, but you have to accept a lot of local nuances. Berlin would be by far the best city for an expact, probably in the whole Europe.

    Other countries apart from Scandinavian - language becomes all the more important. I doubt you will enjoy it for long without speaking Spanish, French, Portuguese or Italian.

    Residence permit is a must if you are outside EU (and soon UK will be there too). Rules are slightly different everywhere, but you get support from employer to deal with it. It is like h1b in states but without the lottery part.
    Oct 9 1
    • Amazon hehe_haha
      Gotcha, thanks for the detailed response there. I've heard about the language barriers often and seems like one would need to put efforts in learning. Co incidentally, I visited Berlin and found it a great city :)
      Oct 9
  • Google TghK47
    I worked in Germany for Intel and job levels in Europe were one level lower for roles with a much broader scope. We were often coming up with ideas that would become ideas from the "mother ship" and we would not get any credit for them. That was a few years ago and things could be different now and other companies may also treat "international" operations differently. Apart from that, Germans are a lot more formal and hierarchical. Regarding visas, Germany has a program similar to the green card, but much easier to get, if you have skills that they need.
    Oct 9 0


    Real time salary information from verified employees