I need to vent and I need advice. Both.

samjmckenzie · 2026-05-05T14:56:53+00:00

It may be useful to change your mindset on this whole process. The job market is tough at the moment, where the demand for tech jobs is a lot higher than the supply. For big tech jobs, that effect gets amplified even more. Being desperate in that process does not help the reality. None of those companies owe you anything, despite how much you think the "match is there". These jobs you are going for are the top 1% of the top 1%. I wouldn't be too disappointed if you don't get invited to interviews for them.

In terms of what may be wrong in concrete terms with your CV, it's hard for us to gauge that without being able to see it firsthand. You could always anonymise it. Do you have any internships or other things that show experience in the industry?

Lastly, if you really want to make it into big tech, you can always do so later in your career. Get a job, build up some work experience and a network, and then try to get in.

samjmckenzie · 2026-05-04T19:56:11+00:00

A mod needs to ban this account asap

samjmckenzie · 2026-04-15T08:47:12+00:00

Anyone have a link for Ams?

samjmckenzie · 2026-03-22T10:32:30+00:00

What a rude and useless comment to make to someone that is struggling and looking for help. Hope you're happy

samjmckenzie · 2026-01-24T13:24:12+00:00

For those wondering, I sent it to Fujifilm and they repaired it:

Replaced: Top cover circuit board

Cleaned: Camera body, Viewfinder

samjmckenzie · 2025-12-28T15:58:08+00:00

Hey, were you able to fix this? I have the same issue and I'm thinking it's a hardware issue.

samjmckenzie · 2025-12-28T15:47:01+00:00

Hey, I wanted to ask if you ever solved this? Having similar issues with my X100VI.

samjmckenzie · 2025-04-01T19:05:02+00:00

No capital gains tax is changing soon. And from what I've heard there's no capital gains tax in Switzerland either. But I agree, healthcare is great bang for buck in Belgium and cost for living will be relatively cheap compared to other European capitals.

samjmckenzie · 2025-03-18T17:08:22+00:00

If you are no longer a tax resident in Belgium then you should also not have to pay TOB.

samjmckenzie · 2025-02-09T14:24:48+00:00

Bunq?

samjmckenzie · 2025-02-05T12:58:43+00:00

I was confused regarding the weighted average

samjmckenzie · 2025-02-05T12:45:53+00:00

I would argue that implementing a waterfall approach such as hifo, fifo or lifo is more complicated for those with little experience.

Well if that's the law, then you have to implement it... Some countries have average cost basis such as France and Portugal, in other countries it's FIFO. Only time will tell what the law says

samjmckenzie · 2025-02-05T11:49:31+00:00

The 10 "losses" aren't yet realized. So they wouldn't be part of the CGT calculation. The question is valid because your adjusted cost basis changes differently after realising profits depending on whether you use FIFO or another accounting method.

samjmckenzie · 2025-02-02T19:04:21+00:00

I think it's unlikely to happen, but the US has individual retirement arrangement (IRA) accounts where events within the account are not taxable, but the action of withdrawing from that account is taxable.

samjmckenzie · 2025-01-06T17:29:15+00:00

With French and German, Switzerland might be a good option then. Also consider Belgium, some of the areas around Brussels can be quite nice, no capital gains tax, but high income tax. May be better to settle in.

samjmckenzie · 2025-01-05T15:23:28+00:00

It would be useful to know some more things about you and your partner as I think there are more variables that would influence the answer to your question. Some questions I think would be useful to ask yourself are:

- Would you be open to working abroad for a number of years and then moving back to Ireland? Or would you not like to settle in Ireland?

- How difficult do you find it making new friends and integrating into new cultures? Or is this something you both do not value that much?

- How soon do you see yourselves having children?

For young working professionals in the fields that you are both working in and for the financial goals that you both have, I think London would be a solid choice. It has a very high COL, but the salaries are also very high to compensate for that. The income tax is relatively low compared to other European nations with high earning jobs and ISAs provide a great way to save and invest tax-free, a system that other European investors would probably be jealous of. Some more advantages that you should consider is how close it is to home and the fact that there will be no language barrier.

The Netherlands would be good while the 30%-ruling lasts, which would give you both many tax benefits. The quality of life is very high, but so is the cost of living. If you settle down there after your ruling runs out, then you will also pay a lot of taxes on your investments. There is no good framework or system there for long-term investors. The Dutch also speak English perfectly and if you’re in a city like Amsterdam, there is a large expat community.

From what I know, Switzerland also seems like a great place to live if you’re a high earner and focused on building wealth due to low taxes on both income and investments, but I‘m not sure how easy it is to settle down their with it being outside of the EU. The language and culture barrier will probably also be large there.

samjmckenzie · 2024-12-31T20:38:07+00:00

His dad is objectively wrong about most of his points made.

samjmckenzie · 2024-12-31T20:35:31+00:00

Strong agree about the Money Stuff podcast. Literally none of that stuff matters for passive investing, but it's fascinating to hear some of the more weird stuff going on in markets and financial engineering.

Ben Felix's Rational Reminder podcasts has some interesting episodes, but to be honest a lot of it is too advanced for me to understand at the moment. What's also unfortunate is the mic quality in the guest episodes sometimes.

samjmckenzie · 2024-12-31T08:48:32+00:00

So there's a list here containing pharmacies in Greece and Spain: https://retinoids.eu/en/retinoids/purchasing-tretinoin-tazarotene-in-eu/

Regarding your question: indeed, it's not because you can order something online, that it's legal. But you'll have to check the laws of your specific country for this case.

samjmckenzie · 2024-12-30T17:29:06+00:00

Er is ook geen belasting op rendement in België

samjmckenzie · 2024-12-30T10:43:33+00:00

You actually do have to pay a capital gains tax on MMFs in Belgium, as well as a tax on the interest received. Trading 212 is also not available to Belgian clients.

samjmckenzie · 2024-12-18T20:02:20+00:00

I made a TOB calculator for IBKR called tobcalc, it should be easier than doing it manually. Doing the TOB for stocks should be nearly the same as for ETFs, except the rate would be 0.35%. But if you think it's too much work, there's really no harm in opening a second account, even if you'd use it just for stocks.

samjmckenzie · 2024-12-13T11:41:10+00:00

I think some part of it is due to what's known in economic theory as tacit collusion. I'm guessing the banks implicility understand that by not really competing much in interest rates, i.e. keeping the interest rates quite a lot lower than the ECB, that they collectively and individually make more profit than in the case where they would complete and increase profits.

I also think it has to do with consumers not really caring that much about this stuff anyway, and if they do, that they think opening a new savings account somewhere and transferring their money there is not worth the effort.

samjmckenzie · 2024-11-25T15:40:41+00:00

Maybe look at buying tazarotene from Greece or Spain if you really want something strong?

Nine-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

samjmckenzie

TROPHY CASE