Was curious the pros and cons. I have been discussing this and it’s getting more and more serious. I do have some family there, but of course most of my family is in the US.
Curious how the way of life differs or really anything would be interesting to me. I’m not locked in on one location even though Spain is an option due to family. I have read that is not the easiest country to move to from the US, mainly due to paperwork, and it makes more sense to start somewhere else. Not sure if that is true, but regardless I am open minded. I prefer warm weather to cold, and like to be outdoors a lot, when I’m not making music (or even sometimes when I am).
But this forum has such a nice blend of US and Europeans that I had to ask and get some perspectives.
If you like a big house and enjoy driving cars everywhere, America is the best. If you can put up with public transportation and smaller housing (likely apartment or condo style) then the EU is better in most other important ways. Especially for family life and family benefits.
Of course depends a bit on what city you’re moving from and what city you’re moving to. Small European towns will be more of a culture shift.
(just my 2 cents, I’m a midwesterner who lived in the EU for 6 years)
Thats very helpful, thank you. This is what I am looking to learn more about. I don’t have a huge house and I personally don’t like to drive everywhere. I do like having a house with my own walls and a yard over a condo though (I have had both), but I think that’s manageable overseas.
I went the other way, UK -> USA a little under 3 years ago. Apart from healthcare, everything is less expensive here, and my salary was just shy of doubled as part of the move (my employer transferred myself and family over from our UK team and did greencard sponsorship).
I’ve been fortunate enough to do a fair amount of travel both in Europe and the US, but the US is an amazing country, there is a state that covers every climate you would want to visit, from the remoteness of Whittier, AK to the Nevada desert, the salt flats of Utah, and the Falls with the opportunity to pop across the border.
The EU is currently rolling out their equivalent of a US EsTA, the EITA visa waiver program, this limits a non-EU passport holder to 90 days in a 180 day period.
With you having family in Spain, is there a possibility of a path to dual-citizenship?
I wouldn’t be too worried about the big house/small apartment thing, or public transportation, for that matter - unless you want to live in the big cities. There are a lot of more affordable houses, if you are willing to live outside the major cities. This is from a Danish perspective. But you might find it a bit cold up here.
One of the obvious key issues will be your work (if you plan to work locally) - employment opportunities, required language skills, and wages differ quite a bit across EU countries, as do school systems, childcare, social security, healthcare/insurance systems, etc.
If I was going to live anywhere in the EU, it’d probably be Prague. It’s got about the best balance of culture, cost of living and decent transport in the EU. plus it’s bang in the middle and only a few hours from Berlin.
From the perspective of a dry old Englishman, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Dutch, as they have kind of a similar sense of humour as us. Also, they invented Gabber.
I’m a Brit and moved to the USA for about 10 years before moving back to Switzerland for the last half decade. All have pros and cons. Personally, I didn’t like the culture in the USA at all. Too intense. Even the relaxing is done intensely. The work environment is just soul destroying. Sure, you can have a bigger house and more space, but material things like this don’t motivate me. Sure, a drive in Starbucks might seem more convenient, but when you take a step back and look at what it really is, you realise it’s a false economy.
Sometimes we forget indeed that the EU is just a bunch of 27 random countries, all with their own laws, language and culture. The native English speaking countries have a tendency to leave the party though
Anywho, I’ve met a lot of Americans that were “doing Europe” for a few weeks for holidays.
I’d say that would be a good way to create a sense of the differences here.
I moved to EU/France about 8 years ago after being offered a transfer from a local agency to work at a head office
So far it’s been pretty great. I don’t mind smaller apartment and I gave up driving completely (apart from the occasional rent whenever I have visitors around). People talk about France having a great work life balance and at first I sort of dismissed it but now I truly get it. My work doesn’t feel like work anymore, now it’s just a small part of my life. I still feel like I’m on a vacation here
Not sure about Spain but if you can get a sponsor like I do it would be a lot easier. Also tried applying for work in Spain but seems like the salary there can be on the lower side when comparing to France
If you want to come in France, my wife is teacher FLE (Français Langue étrangère, aka french for foreign adult people) and she teach online with Zoom. If you are interested feel free to pm me.
I always felt that work in the USA was the main thing in life and defined you as a person. Whilst it can be an important facet it is far from the top of my list of priorities.
Keep in mind that english can vary greatly across the EU, both fluency and willingness to speak, which in the long run can be an obstacle to you integrating and having good social relationships.
Also crucial what you do for a living and how dependant on employment you will be.
If you can work remotely I’d say maybe try an island in the Mediterranean. Healthcare will be limited compared to living in a city but quality of life way better otherwise.
I moved to Helsinki five years and a half years ago, after spending six years traveling most of the time, mostly in Europe or the UK, from New York Very few regrets — my quality of life is so much better in Finland, it’s difficult to compare, and even as someone who owns her own non-Finnish business and is thus outside of a bunch of the safety nets, there’s still a big chunk of existential risk that’s constant in the US that I just don’t have to think about any more — and better yet, I get to live with the benefits of the people around me not having to live with it either, and in a society that actually funds culture! Now, it’s not all perfect, of course — Finnish culture funding is terrible by Nordic standards, as is the weather (I’m writing this from Athens right now), and there’s a lot that I miss about living in a world cultural capital. I’ve got permanent residency here, and I won’t move without an EU passport, but I am thinking about where I might go to next. However, it’ll still be in the EU.
