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I second this. But definitely try to get a remote SE job there. The pay is laughable compared to for example Berlin. Which is also a great city to work and live

I second this. But definitely try to get a remote SE job there. The pay is laughable compared to for example Berlin. Which is also a great city to work and live in.

p2detar 8y ago
Not sure if it is much of an English-speaking friendly place, though. After visiting Barcelona and Valencia, I definitely think that without learning Spanish one can hardly thrive in these cities.
- siquick 8y ago
  If you move to a city and don't attempt to learn the local language then yes you won't get the full experience. But you can definitely get away with minimal Spanish here, being seen to be making an effort is more important than fluency.
- collyw 8y ago
  I have been here for ten years and managed up until the last year with English speaking jobs.
- cleansy 8y ago
  I have a different experience. It's easy to live there without speaking spanish. However, you should not move there if you don't want to learn it at all. In fact don't move outside any non-english speaking countries if you don't want to learn the local language. ;)
bogdanu 8y ago
I saw some jobs in Berlin that payed around 70K Eur. Assuming it's before taxes, it means that after taxes it's around 3.8k/month; a bit low if you ask me. I know pay is not the only factor, but heck, I make half in my home country, but the living costs are far lower (and I don't even pay rent).
- oblio 8y ago
  Salaries all over Europe are like that. Except for London (maybe) or Switzerland. Don't compare them to Silicon Valley or the US in general, you'll be disappointed.
- itsthejb 8y ago
  Are you comparing that salary to US salaries? Because the still relatively low cost of living in Berlin makes that anything but low
  - codethief 8y ago
    Besides, the salary already includes social security and health insurance.
  - Insanity 8y ago
    And the social benefits should not be ignored either (health care, child support, ..) That actually seems like a rather good salary indeed, surely from a Belgian point of view.
- krautsourced 8y ago
  70k is anything but low in Berlin. It is actually really, really high. For reference see here (monthly before tax) https://www.morgenpost.de/bin/bmo-213539703.jpg https://www.morgenpost.de/bin/bmo-213539703.jpg With that amount of money one could afford a very sweet place to live easily, and still have plenty of spending money for intellectual pursuits or whatever. Speaking English is no issue here, at least in the "hip" parts of town. Would I say it's the best place to live? Probably not (Switzerland would probably rank higher), but one could do a lot worse. And with a decent IT job it's easy living. Dirt cheap compared to Silicon Valley prices.
  - Aeolun 8y ago
    You have to compare it with where you are coming from though. I might move from Tokyo to Berlin and due to a combination of cost of living and taxes have the same after tax income, even though absolutely €70000 is a fuckton more. That goes for anywhere in Europe though. I would recommend Tokyo as a great place to live overall, but intellectual and english, not so much :P

I second this. But definitely try to get a remote SE job there. The pay is laughable compared to for example Berlin. Which is also a great city to work and live in.

p2detar 8y ago

Not sure if it is much of an English-speaking friendly place, though. After visiting Barcelona and Valencia, I definitely think that without learning Spanish one can hardly thrive in these cities.

siquick 8y ago
If you move to a city and don't attempt to learn the local language then yes you won't get the full experience. But you can definitely get away with minimal Spanish here, being seen to be making an effort is more important than fluency.
collyw 8y ago
I have been here for ten years and managed up until the last year with English speaking jobs.
cleansy 8y ago
I have a different experience. It's easy to live there without speaking spanish. However, you should not move there if you don't want to learn it at all. In fact don't move outside any non-english speaking countries if you don't want to learn the local language. ;)

bogdanu 8y ago

I saw some jobs in Berlin that payed around 70K Eur. Assuming it's before taxes, it means that after taxes it's around 3.8k/month; a bit low if you ask me. I know pay is not the only factor, but heck, I make half in my home country, but the living costs are far lower (and I don't even pay rent).

oblio 8y ago
Salaries all over Europe are like that. Except for London (maybe) or Switzerland. Don't compare them to Silicon Valley or the US in general, you'll be disappointed.
itsthejb 8y ago
Are you comparing that salary to US salaries? Because the still relatively low cost of living in Berlin makes that anything but low
- codethief 8y ago
  Besides, the salary already includes social security and health insurance.
- Insanity 8y ago
  And the social benefits should not be ignored either (health care, child support, ..) That actually seems like a rather good salary indeed, surely from a Belgian point of view.
krautsourced 8y ago
70k is anything but low in Berlin. It is actually really, really high. For reference see here (monthly before tax) https://www.morgenpost.de/bin/bmo-213539703.jpg https://www.morgenpost.de/bin/bmo-213539703.jpg With that amount of money one could afford a very sweet place to live easily, and still have plenty of spending money for intellectual pursuits or whatever. Speaking English is no issue here, at least in the "hip" parts of town. Would I say it's the best place to live? Probably not (Switzerland would probably rank higher), but one could do a lot worse. And with a decent IT job it's easy living. Dirt cheap compared to Silicon Valley prices.
- Aeolun 8y ago
  You have to compare it with where you are coming from though. I might move from Tokyo to Berlin and due to a combination of cost of living and taxes have the same after tax income, even though absolutely €70000 is a fuckton more. That goes for anywhere in Europe though. I would recommend Tokyo as a great place to live overall, but intellectual and english, not so much :P