5 ms·

In Europe (and I think most of the world) you are taxed from the location you are "living". Often this can be bypassed for a while (6-12 months). While you may

In Europe (and I think most of the world) you are taxed from the location you are "living". Often this can be bypassed for a while (6-12 months). While you may have 50% income tax in Netherlands. The cost of living may balance that out. For example by not needing a car, ever.

TrueGeek 4y ago
Sadly in the US were taxed no matter where we live. We have agreements with a lot (most?) countries though so we get "credit" for taxes paid to the country we are living in. The cost of living definitely balances things out. I just wish The Netherlands would change their stance on dual citizenship.
- rizach8 4y ago
  The hardest part in Europe is that after a certain income bracket, your finances barely change.
- markus92 4y ago
  Marry a Dutch citizen and you can keep your other citizenship ;)
  - TrueGeek 4y ago
    My wife is super not a fan of that plan. The alternative is to do a work visa and then resident visa until we're 65 and then we can "opt" for citizenship which does allow for dual citizenship. It's a much longer route though. UK is just easier for multiple reasons but comes with it's own bag of worms.
    - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
      France allows dual citizenship and you can apply after five years of residence. The fee is €55 (not a typo).
shankr 4y ago
> For example by not needing a car, ever. Ah yes no cars were ever seen on Dutch street. > The cost of living may balance that out They don't. Compare local purchasing power of any big European city with any American city. 9 out of 10 times, people in American cities would have higher purchasing power. Even Alabama and Mississippi have higher tech average wages than countries like Germany and Netherlands. If you move out of central/western Europe, things only get worse. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/us-states-top-tech-salaries-2021/ https://www.visualcapitalist.com/us-states-top-tech-salaries... Alabama ~$86,720/year Mississippi ~$71,720/year Germany ~46K Euros/year (googled) Netherlands ~59K Euros/year (googled) This doesn't even talk about how much higher taxes in these countries are. You will be paying almost ~40% (tax and social security) for these salaries in Germany and Netherlands.
- lm28469 4y ago
  > They don't. Compare local purchasing power of any big European city with any American city. 9 out of 10 times, people in American cities would have higher purchasing power. Doubt, especially once you factor things like paid vacations, paid parental leave, healthcare, etc. The big difference is when you are an healthy young techbro, after that it equalize quite rapidly on average. Of course there are outliers but for the average software developer I'd say you're much better of in a European capital than in Alabama Lifestyles are also completely different and can't be priced in
  - shankr 4y ago
    You can compare cost of living on numbeo. We are talking about tech workers here. Most of the tech employers offer quite generous benefit in USA including healthcare, generous parental leaves and vacations. Also 401K is so common among tech workers in US. Those kind of retirement scheme aren't very common in Europe. You are almost always dependent on the public pension which is generally quite low. Almost everyone I have heard from who moved to US confirmed their bank balance got fatter. This is also true about people moving to Switzerland. Even with high costs in Switzerland, you make extra money and pay less taxes.
    - 4y ago

TrueGeek 4y ago

Sadly in the US were taxed no matter where we live. We have agreements with a lot (most?) countries though so we get "credit" for taxes paid to the country we are living in. The cost of living definitely balances things out. I just wish The Netherlands would change their stance on dual citizenship.

rizach8 4y ago
The hardest part in Europe is that after a certain income bracket, your finances barely change.
markus92 4y ago
Marry a Dutch citizen and you can keep your other citizenship ;)
- TrueGeek 4y ago
  My wife is super not a fan of that plan. The alternative is to do a work visa and then resident visa until we're 65 and then we can "opt" for citizenship which does allow for dual citizenship. It's a much longer route though. UK is just easier for multiple reasons but comes with it's own bag of worms.
  - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
    France allows dual citizenship and you can apply after five years of residence. The fee is €55 (not a typo).

shankr 4y ago

> For example by not needing a car, ever. Ah yes no cars were ever seen on Dutch street. > The cost of living may balance that out They don't. Compare local purchasing power of any big European city with any American city. 9 out of 10 times, people in American cities would have higher purchasing power. Even Alabama and Mississippi have higher tech average wages than countries like Germany and Netherlands. If you move out of central/western Europe, things only get worse. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/us-states-top-tech-salaries-2021/ https://www.visualcapitalist.com/us-states-top-tech-salaries... Alabama ~$86,720/year Mississippi ~$71,720/year Germany ~46K Euros/year (googled) Netherlands ~59K Euros/year (googled) This doesn't even talk about how much higher taxes in these countries are. You will be paying almost ~40% (tax and social security) for these salaries in Germany and Netherlands.

lm28469 4y ago
> They don't. Compare local purchasing power of any big European city with any American city. 9 out of 10 times, people in American cities would have higher purchasing power. Doubt, especially once you factor things like paid vacations, paid parental leave, healthcare, etc. The big difference is when you are an healthy young techbro, after that it equalize quite rapidly on average. Of course there are outliers but for the average software developer I'd say you're much better of in a European capital than in Alabama Lifestyles are also completely different and can't be priced in
- shankr 4y ago
  You can compare cost of living on numbeo. We are talking about tech workers here. Most of the tech employers offer quite generous benefit in USA including healthcare, generous parental leaves and vacations. Also 401K is so common among tech workers in US. Those kind of retirement scheme aren't very common in Europe. You are almost always dependent on the public pension which is generally quite low. Almost everyone I have heard from who moved to US confirmed their bank balance got fatter. This is also true about people moving to Switzerland. Even with high costs in Switzerland, you make extra money and pay less taxes.
  - 4y ago