4 ms·

Stage of life makes all the difference here. Higher-tax, higher-services economies are a really good deal for people at the beginning or end of their earnings c

by GCA10 11y ago

Stage of life makes all the difference here. Higher-tax, higher-services economies are a really good deal for people at the beginning or end of their earnings curves (college/early 20s or 60s/70s.) As the author points out, you get a lot of government-funded services that make life better. Your tax burden is noticeable but not hellish. For peak earners in their 30s/40s, especially those without children, HT-HS economies are frustrating. I can't fault people like our Vox poster who live in the U.S. during their peak earnings years ... and then head to a European country for their retirement years. As long as the border guards don't stop you, and you aren't consumed with guilt, give it a shot!

dalke 11y ago
I am a US citizen who moved to Sweden. I am in my 40s and have no children. I am not frustrated by the move. I find it easier to work on my business (I am self-employed) when I don't have to also worry about things like insurance. In the US, my rates kept going up, and I didn't really know what covered. It's a specialized topic I don't care to know, and rigged against self-employed people. Now I don't have that worry. The essay talks about transportation. I live in a small city. The nearest big city is about 50 miles away. I can get to the big city center on the (subsidized) train for $12, in 38 minutes. That's faster than driving. Which means I don't need a car, so don't need a garage, so can live in the center of town. The essay talks about accessibility to nature. Last summer went hiking for several days. I didn't need to arrange travel to/from the end points because I knew there would be bus service. The summer before I went on a 10 day cycling trip. At every point, if there was a serious problem could take a train or bus to get back home on my own. Also, "no trespassing" doesn't really exist in Sweden, so I was free to pitch a tent anywhere. And the trails have some very nice lean-tos. I can also underscore how easy it is to do Swedish taxes. The national, state, and city taxes are all filled in for me, in a simple form, vs. the many pages of my US federal taxes which I still have to file every year even though I make less than the overseas exemption so don't actually pay any taxes to the US. Also, just because I've been healthy and making decent money doesn't mean that my friends are all healthy and making money. In the US some people don't have the money for medical treatments which here are part of the social system. Not only do I think it's wrong for basic health care to be based on income, but I don't like the popularity-based back-up solution of personal fund-raisers for treatment. Were my parent Swedish, I wouldn't have to worry so much if my retired parents could support themselves, especially as they need to get more at-home help. Sure, it's possible to game the system, and only move to Sweden for retirement. But should everyone do that, the system wouldn't work. I think Kant would have something to say about the morality of that proposal.

by GCA10 11y ago

dalke 11y ago

I am a US citizen who moved to Sweden. I am in my 40s and have no children. I am not frustrated by the move. I find it easier to work on my business (I am self-employed) when I don't have to also worry about things like insurance. In the US, my rates kept going up, and I didn't really know what covered. It's a specialized topic I don't care to know, and rigged against self-employed people. Now I don't have that worry. The essay talks about transportation. I live in a small city. The nearest big city is about 50 miles away. I can get to the big city center on the (subsidized) train for $12, in 38 minutes. That's faster than driving. Which means I don't need a car, so don't need a garage, so can live in the center of town. The essay talks about accessibility to nature. Last summer went hiking for several days. I didn't need to arrange travel to/from the end points because I knew there would be bus service. The summer before I went on a 10 day cycling trip. At every point, if there was a serious problem could take a train or bus to get back home on my own. Also, "no trespassing" doesn't really exist in Sweden, so I was free to pitch a tent anywhere. And the trails have some very nice lean-tos. I can also underscore how easy it is to do Swedish taxes. The national, state, and city taxes are all filled in for me, in a simple form, vs. the many pages of my US federal taxes which I still have to file every year even though I make less than the overseas exemption so don't actually pay any taxes to the US. Also, just because I've been healthy and making decent money doesn't mean that my friends are all healthy and making money. In the US some people don't have the money for medical treatments which here are part of the social system. Not only do I think it's wrong for basic health care to be based on income, but I don't like the popularity-based back-up solution of personal fund-raisers for treatment. Were my parent Swedish, I wouldn't have to worry so much if my retired parents could support themselves, especially as they need to get more at-home help. Sure, it's possible to game the system, and only move to Sweden for retirement. But should everyone do that, the system wouldn't work. I think Kant would have something to say about the morality of that proposal.