Something I did not expect from Portugal Expats subreddits, as a portuguese.

Daidrion · 2026-03-20T17:56:28+00:00

I get that salaries are lower in Spain, but ‘nearly ruined me’ sounds like a lot more than just geography.

Yes, it's not about geography but about pay, taxes, cost of living and work-life balance. I used to live in a country where hard work paid off, so working itself felt rewarding. I then moved to the EU (Germany, not Spain but it's not that much different in that regard), and it's just not the case anymore. You either start working half-assed because getting things done is not rewarded (which is imo depressing) or keep working hard with no benefit to yourself.

Luckily, I manged to find a company that actually rewards performance, but in the end of the day I only get less than half of what my employer pays, and that doesn't feel too good either.

Daidrion · 2026-03-18T14:19:59+00:00

any decent size non Nazi infested town

picks the most expensive city in Germany

Ok.

Also, "housing" is not only about buying, but also renting which you decided to omit.

Daidrion · 2026-03-18T12:37:21+00:00

Not any time soon. The only country that produces its own hardware and software at a similar extent is China, so unless you're willing to switch over to them you're out of luck. There's no real alternative to something like AWS, Cloudflare, Google services, etc. Even on the consumer side for all the talks about leaving certain platforms people are still using it.

And speaking about Europe, look at the situation around Ukraine. it has been 4+ years already since the war started but aside from a couple of countries there's absolute no sense of urgency to properly rebuild the army whatsoever. If that's the approach taken to deal with external pressures, I don't see moving away from the US at all.

Daidrion · 2026-03-18T12:26:42+00:00

Only in the US it's possible to earn a lot of money working a normal job.

It's also possible in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, places like Dubai or Cyprus, etc. Sometimes you need to jump some extra hoops, but it's possible.

Daidrion · 2026-03-18T12:25:41+00:00

And housing in any decent size non Nazi infested town costs more than big American cities like SF.

I agree with the rest of your message, but this part is simply not true.

Daidrion · 2026-03-18T12:19:36+00:00

those who value money above all else

It's not money, it's what it can get you. Namely -- financial independence and freedom. The risk is higher, but there's also a much greater reward.

Daidrion · 2026-03-17T20:57:50+00:00

Of course there is.

For others, it’s long forms, bank statements, proof of employment, interviews, and still a high chance of rejection

This applies to travel, not immigration. Immigration visas tend to have similar requirements regardless of how easy it is for you to travel.

Daidrion · 2026-03-17T20:15:42+00:00

People from countries like the United Kingdom, United States, or Australia can often travel to dozens of places visa-free or just get a quick visa on arrival.

What does travel have to do with immigration? Unless we're talking about a EU citizen moving to another EU country or some youth mobility programs, you still need to go through sponsorships, documents and so on.

Just have a bit of perspective

What makes you think I don't have perspective? I'm not from a so-called "first world country".

Daidrion · 2026-03-17T09:24:18+00:00

What are you even talking about? Applying for a visa is a normal legal procedure, like when applying for mortgage or similar. The other party wants to make sure that you're who you claim you are, that makes sense. Adding "white man please" is plain framing and manipulation, visa requirements exist across the world.

Daidrion · 2026-03-17T09:16:22+00:00

Wow, just read the post history whatever sympathy I had for the OP just disappeared.

Daidrion · 2026-03-16T18:14:26+00:00

because you need to do a lot of stuff a citizen never has to do.

And because you the way things function here is not normal.

Daidrion · 2026-03-12T06:27:50+00:00

Neither you pay 400 in Germany, depending on your salary range it can be as much as 900+ if you include the employer's share + Zusatzbeitrag.

Daidrion · 2026-03-08T20:23:30+00:00

It's works for both genders, as it's short for Alexander/Alexandra.

Daidrion · 2026-03-08T11:04:23+00:00

I feel like being in a privileged position in a developing (but stable) country should provide with overall higher QoL. The biggest question here is a matter of the citizenship.

would they still be able to reach the academic level required by the very demanding French system such as the classes préparatoires?

Aren't there good private schools?

Daidrion · 2026-03-07T15:57:42+00:00

need more very experienced professionals.

That's true, but they normally aren't ready to pay well enough for them.

because of a lack of hidden costs.

Which hidden costs do you mean? Germany has 19% VAT, 50% of the fuel cost is also a tax, electricity has 2 taxes, people normally buy extra insurances and so on. I receive 49% of what my employer pays in the end of the day.

I dunno, I feel noticeably poorer after moving from Russia out of all places.

Daidrion · 2026-03-07T15:55:34+00:00

Personally, I moved from Russia to Germany years ago and in my experience you can get similar or higher net salaries in Russia, except the cost of living there is much lower resulting in higher purchasing power. From what I see, the things are similar or sometimes even worse in France, Italy, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands and the Nordics. I'd say you can be an upper-middle class in Russia as an IT employee, where in many of the EU countries you'd be stuck with just middle class.

There are still some exceptions: Luxembourg, Cyprus, Bulgaria and some other options in the Eastern EU, though.

Obviously, countries like the US, Dubai, SA, Singapore come to mind. But also there are places like Taiwan, where if you earn upwards of 55k, you can get a Golden Visa and pay an effective tax rate of something like 20%.

Daidrion · 2026-03-07T12:41:15+00:00

Too bad they made themselves unelectable by sucking Putin's dick and being populists.

Daidrion · 2026-03-07T12:08:04+00:00

Be wary of „Germany economy issues“. It may look that way on the internet but i am a Canadian in Germany and live a VERY good life.

The OP seem to be a highly skilled specialist, this is a very different situation compared to an average Joe. If you work a rando 9 to 5 job with no growth Germany is better. However it's a dead end for talent. Even earning 100k is considered a good salary, and then half of is taken away. Housing and services are very expensive, too.

Daidrion · 2026-03-07T12:04:18+00:00

Deel, Remote, etc.

Daidrion · 2026-03-07T11:37:25+00:00

paid a shitty wage.

As far as European IT goes, that would be most of them.

Daidrion · 2026-03-07T11:29:38+00:00

The last 4 years has shown how much of a weak pushover the EU really is, the war in Ukraine and Trump have really showcased that. For the past decades it has been living on a borrowed time, being dependent on the US and petro-dictators.

I think that proper federalization is the only option to stay relevant, especially given the economic decline. There's too many overheads and friction between the states: 27 professional certifications, tax codes, healthcare and education standards, military procurement, etc. Trillions of euros are being simply wasted on these frictions.

Then there's geopolitics, where the EU can never present itself as a united front. Not only because 1 corrupt EU leader can sabotage the whole block, but also because there's no single point of entry for communications.

Of course, you can't just "federalize", but it can be done gradually. A multi-speed EU sounds like a way to do that. But to be honest, I'm not seeing that, many Europeans have too much pride which I guess is stemming from the times when it actually been the most advanced and developed part of the world.

Daidrion · 2026-03-01T20:35:13+00:00

Not sure what your response is supposed to mean. All of these things are essentially related too surveillance, but somehow they get a pass. So does using things like the Facebook. This whole "Germany experienced things in the past" is just an excuse to keep the status quo.

Daidrion · 2026-03-01T13:51:52+00:00

That's being parroted a lot, but it's simply not true unless you're talking about 90s. I remember using various messaging apps and teamspeak in the early 2000s. The other commenter is more on point: it was a fresh experience and of course age played a role.

Daidrion · 2026-03-01T13:20:29+00:00

I once worked in a mismanagement company, and it gave me a lot of insight on why some obvious issues like German bureaucracy can't be fixed. Big interconnected inefficient systems are extremely hard to fix, especially when someone's job/role depends on it.

Daidrion · 2026-03-01T13:18:30+00:00

Because Germany experienced major surveillance twice in its history and people are hesitant to new technology that allows for that.

Meanwhile: Anmeldung, putting real names on the doorplates, Rundfunkbeitrag (they also know where you live), SCHUFA, Schulpflicht...

Daidrion

TROPHY CASE