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Ask HN: Where should I consider moving?

• plurgturtle9876 4y ago
• themodelplumber 4y ago
  It'd probably help to narrow the terms a bit. What's consulting-driven mean in relation to what you're looking to do, and what does more traditional mean to you?
  • snoopy_telex 4y ago
    Full time employment on a steady project for the company that owns the project.
• etherael 4y ago
  Don't pick a country to work there. If at all possible get a location independent career or sufficient passive income that you don't even need to work except when you want to, and pick a country based on whatever you decide is most important, be that cost of living, lowest taxes, quality of life, cultural, social or political fit, whatever. Nobody knows you as well as you know yourself and after many years travelling and seeing what the world is actually like in practical day to day life this becomes even more true and you know even moreso what is important to you. When I left Australia well over a decade ago I had no idea that I would value the things I learned to love only by having access to them on a regular basis and realising that they were readily available as options. If I'd gone only to where my idea of what I wanted would lead me to believe at the time, I'd have missed out immeasurably. Figure out the logistics for a quick recon of practically every locale that isn't a hard no, and while figuring out those logistics expect to add liberally to the hard no list, and build from those experiences.
  • marto1 4y ago
    I'd also add another major factor is age. With age requirements tend to change quite a bit and as one gets older things like healthcare really begin to factor in.
    • etherael 4y ago
      Having had direct experience with Japan, South Korea and Thailand, it's also really difficult to overstate just how much more cost effective mundane medical treatments can be. Things that would bankrupt you in certain countries are minor inconveniences in others. I don't have experience with later life healthcare as of yet but for the normal stuff prior to that, I will say that the medical systems of Asia appear to be vastly superior to their first world Western counterparts. Definitely for those with particular medical requirements, these should be factored into your logistics planning for your destination. Information is typically abundant. It really drives home just how fundamentally broken certain healthcare structures actually are.
• wbsss4412 4y ago
  Do you know another language and/or are you willing to consider learning a new one? If you’re English only that really affects the proper response to this question.
  • snoopy_telex 4y ago
    I am English speaking only but would be open to learning new ones. It would be difficult though.
    • wbsss4412 4y ago
      Being open to learning other languages certainly allows for more options, it’s also not as difficult as you might think. The next question is, about the US makes you want to leave? Put another was, what is or isnt in the US, that you would hope to find differently somewhere else?
• kleer001 4y ago
  Canada. I've been here for a decade. Best decision I've ever made. How do? Get a job up here. At least that worked for me, but that was in the before pandemic times. And it also depends on how old you are and other such demographics. That said every country has its plus and minuses.
• asguy 4y ago
  What about focusing on fixing the country you’re in, rather than moving to somewhere else? You have 50 states you could explore first.
  • jleyank 4y ago
    I struggle to come up with something that can unite, say, California and Alabama other than a credible external threat. Their paths seems to be quite divergent at this point.
    • greenie_beans 4y ago
      that's incredibly dismissive of alabamians who fight for progressive issues in the state. it's also harmful to the folks who suffer under the political hegemony.
      • deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
      • hattmall 4y ago
        It's also ignoring the large number of Californians moving to Alabama. The fact is California is too big to generalize and that's true of most states. The schism between individuals views in Alabama internally is no less than the perceived difference between views of California and Alabama as states.
        • jleyank 4y ago
          No, but the pertinence of each “side” of views is way different. Whole lot of frustrated farmers in California who are dominated by the big cities. Probably a similar percentage of blue Alabama folks dominated by the Red sea. Generational change is required to alter the non-purple states and it’s not worth the effort for most people to try. Move to where the political climate is congruent with one’s philosophy is far easier.
          • 4y ago
• avgDev 4y ago
  So, I have a dual citizenship, US and Poland(EU). This allows me to basically work anywhere in the world. US is still one of the best places to earn a high income as a software dev. I work for non-tech as a full stack dev. Good salary but not FAANG levels. My income is higher than a surgeon in Poland. If you want to move I would optimize for income. Just grind leetcode and try to get into the highest paying companies. If you earned $300k+ while living way below your means that money would go REALLY far in some of the European countries. This is my goal anyway. As my net worth reaches somewhere around $3-4 million, I'm going to most likely move back to Poland and buy a house somewhere in the mountains and maybe do some remote dev work for a US based company. Plus, since I am basically more American than Polish and have a good understanding of culture I could do some consulting for Polish companies looking to sell their product in the US. I guess it really isn't the answer you are looking for. Also, keep in mind most countries have policies and laws that are often not popular with the people.
  • MuffinFlavored 4y ago
    > My income is higher than a surgeon in Poland. how does this work if you were to compare the two numbers more closely? like, adjust for cost of living, etc.
    • jleyank 4y ago
      Must balance cost of living and all of the non-voluntary deductions on a paystub including insurance. Parts of the us pay real well but require lots of money to have a reasonable existence. For example, us pays way more in social security tax than Canada, and they get noticeably more in benefits. So that and Medicare balance out the higher provincial tax in most of Canada. There are probably similar differences between the us and any European country. Quality of life (very) hard to put a price on, but that relevant as well.
    • avgDev 4y ago
      Fuel is more expensive in Poland. Healthcare is nationalized but people often need to pay for private doctors. I think medication is cheaper. The highest income tax in the US is 39%, in Poland 32%. Generally, US dollar is much stronger than Polish currency. This means the dollar will go much further in Poland and gives you move buying power globally. The life in Poland is much slower though, more family oriented. If it wasn't for the money I would much prefer to live in Poland but I think there is generally more opportunity in the US.
• hancholo 4y ago
  It's difficult to say right now considering a pending recession. Whenever that may happen. Soon?
• vaidhy 4y ago
  Few folks have mentioned it, but you should really plan considering your age and needs for next few years. You did not mention your family situation either. Are you planning it alone or with a partner and kids? Kids, as usual, complicate the matter even further :) Dollars stretch a lot in most places and depending on what you want to spend your time and money in, it would make a lot of difference. Personally, I have decided to do something like 4 months of travel and 8 months of recuperation. Luckily, my current job allows me to do it and while it is a bit of a burden on family, it is doable.
  • snoopy_telex 4y ago
    That's fair. It would be with my partner and no kids.
• TimButterfield 4y ago
  It may partly depend on what you want to do when you get there. Will you work in the country in which you live or continue to work for companies in the US? If it is the latter, living in Europe or the eastern edge of those time zone ranges might allow for work to overlap US business times. But, instead of free evenings, you have late mornings and early afternoons to do other things. A mail forwarding/scanning service will let you keep US ties for banking. Living in a generally lower cost area such as, for example, the republic of Georgia, lets you earn at a higher US rate while living at a lower cost. That difference may allow you to travel more and explore other areas.