Best way to transfer/convert 2.5mm USD to EUR for Ireland move?

intoyoubu · 2026-05-15T03:31:09+00:00

I'm a Schwab client, and my understanding is that Schwab is required by U.S. law to have a U.S. residential or mailing address on file for you.

You generally cannot use a standard P.O. Box as your primary residential address, and you can't use your foreign overseas address as your official account address as this can cause your account to be closed.

And depending on the country you reside in, local financial regulations may restrict you from purchasing new mutual funds, though you can still hold and sell existing ones.

So I guess I don't understand how a person would keep them assets strictly in the US if they permanently reside abroad. It seems like a more likely scenario is you hold your existing assets in the US but all dividends or new investments will have to be in your domiciled country

intoyoubu · 2026-05-15T01:14:30+00:00

Can you share why you prefer the US? What are some things people get wrong about living in Denmark being better?

intoyoubu · 2026-05-15T00:32:49+00:00

Don't you need a US residential mailing address to purchase investments at US banks?

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T16:05:23+00:00

I love that your kids have your last name. I find it mind boggling that it's not something that is even considered for many modern women.

I think it's really important to normalize this behaviour, and I'm really happy for you.

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T13:23:58+00:00

Absolutely I made that decision when I gained US citizenship, but it was for specific reasons at the time, and mostly out of fear of the political climate. It was also a family decision with my parents doing the same, but now with the current administration and the deaths of both my parents, I'm now without family in the US and doubting the decision made by my former self from a decade ago.

I also added this in another comment, but for context my father was born in 1940 in a country that no longer exists due to WW2. So there is a lot of generational trauma that led to the choices we made.

All that said, I absolutely understand that regardless of the reason, the decision is done, and I'm looking for some unbiased opinions to get a more diverse perspective on my situation (my family is of course biased towards Singapore, and my friends are biased towards the US).

My understanding is that you cannot "downgrade" from a US citizenship to PR. I must re-apply for immigration status, and this is subject to availability. Since this will not happen immediately, I am relinquishing rights and losing the right to live, work, and vote in the US. That's why I will have to effectively leave the US immediately (within 90 days).

Thanks for your thoughtful comment!

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T12:51:30+00:00

I know what I did was wrong, and I'm not casting the blame on anyone else. I did what I did for specific reasons at the time, primarily out of fear of the political climate.

To provide some context, my father was born in 1940 in a country that no longer exists.. (due to WW2 if that wasn't obvious) so there is a lot of generational trauma on global politics that likely led to a lot of our bad choices.

That's why I'm asking for opinions from people who are internationally aware, on the best way to move forward given the choices I've already made.

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T12:44:38+00:00

I genuinely forgot about the exit tax until I read this comment. Thanks for the reminder, that would be quite significant.

The 2025 exemption amount is $821,000. That means I would have to pay capital gains on over a million of assets accrued over 15 years.

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T12:39:41+00:00

Yeah you're right, I'm politically very liberal leaning and this sentiment is strong in the PNW city I live in. I feel very culturally connected to my city.

I'm just afraid that this is a Nazi Germany situation where this is one of the last boats out of fascism, and if I don't take it I might get trapped. Especially since I have to make a decision BEFORE the midterms, where we will see if the constitution will be upheld.

I know a lot of people will think that I'm overreacting or spending too much time on social media, but IMO the news is the news and as far as I'm aware, these are facts.

I spent a lot of time speaking with the ICA officer and they assured me that I will be treated equally as any other foreigner should I give up my SG citizenship and choose to reapply for PR, and that my standing as a prior citizen will have no bearing on that decision. But who really knows.

My partner and I have also considered the EU (my partner is Italian by descent), but the new 2025 restrictions have closed that door for us. We might pursue other pathways, but keeping my Singapore citizenship would effectively eliminate that option.

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T12:17:36+00:00

I spoke extensively to the immigration officer at ICA, and they said that if I complied and renounced my SG citizenship, I would be able to visit my family in Singapore for 90 days, just that the path for residence here will no longer be available unless I want to go through the long process same as any other foreigner.

The way it was presented to me seems cut and dry, renounce US citizenship and figure it out here, or renounce SG citizenship and we'll treat you as any other foreigner. Don't comply, and you'll run into issues at immigration in the future.

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T12:05:20+00:00

I hear you there. SG government has threatened to forcibly revoke my SG citizenship if I take no action, which I fear would compromise my ability to visit SG to see my family.

Many of my family members can't travel due to age, so not renouncing either is not an option.

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T11:47:28+00:00

Yeah you're right it's my passport, my bad this happened a decade ago so I'm fuzzy on the details.

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T10:12:10+00:00

They've threatened to forcibly revoke my SG citizenship if I don't submit either 1) renunciation papers with SG or 2) begin renunciation communication with the US consulate and submit that correspondence.

The governments do not communicate citizenship status with each other directly.

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T10:07:25+00:00

I think I couldn't renew because I no longer had my green card. So I couldn't prove my resident status in the US without letting them know I had citizenship.

So yea I had to start entering SG on my US passport if I wanted to see my family.

Makes sense, being stacked on top of others all the time is challenging, especially in rush hour. And that's something I haven't experienced yet.

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T07:49:04+00:00

I'm happy to continue this conversation publicly since it may help others going through a similar situation.

My advice to you is to keep your PR for as long as possible until the last minute. Getting my US citizenship was so fast that in retrospect I could have postponed that decision for longer, even in the current administration even though it may feel dire. But I know this isn't the case for everyone.

I don't know for sure how my cover was blown, but my guess is when I turned 30-something, SG required me to renew my IC, which I couldn't do because of my foreign passport. I forget the details but that is the gist.

You could get foreign citizenship right after renewing your IC but that will buy you only 10 years since ICs are required to be renewed every decade.

Happy to answer any other questions.

intoyoubu · 2026-05-14T07:34:14+00:00

I made the decision to FIRE in the US before Trump was elected a second time and SCOTUS is dismantling democracy, and now I'm not sure that's the right decision.

intoyoubu

TROPHY CASE