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Always interesting to read about why Americans move to Europe. I noticed nobody said anything about healthcare. Instead, it seemed to be more about culture and

Always interesting to read about why Americans move to Europe. I noticed nobody said anything about healthcare. Instead, it seemed to be more about culture and walkability.

chitowneats 4y ago
Do Americans on visa get to benefit from universal healthcare? Surely not. They pay for it though. Edit: I was wrong. Thanks for correcting me.
- crazygringo 4y ago
  I went to the medical center and then a hospital multiple times while on a month long trip in Spain and Portugal -- came down with a weird bronchitis thing affecting my breathing. It was 100% free. So I definitely got free health care on a tourist visa as an American.
  - Symbiote 4y ago
    Officially, they will only treat life-treatening problems for free, for tourists. In reality, if the person doesn't seem to be trying to take advantage of the system, I'd not be surprised that hospital staff don't bother sorting out billing the patient.
- shawabawa3 4y ago
  In most EU countries if you get a job you will have access to universal healthcare immediately If not, private healthcare is peanuts compared to the us (think $200/month no deductible no limit)
  - coldtea 4y ago
    Even $200 is too much in most European countries for private health insurance. $50 is more like it.
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  Officially you don't have that universal healthcare as a non-resident. Reality is hit or miss. As most EU medical systems are not really geared toward private billing, if you go to a government-run medical centre for something small, it's going to be more effort for them to figure out how to bill you, so they don't. Sometimes tourist-heavy places will definitely be set up to get you to pay, other times they just see treating actually minorly-ill tourists for low/no-cost as a cost of being a tourist-dependent area. Sometimes the anecdotes about only having to pay 20 EUR at the hospital were really the salaried clinic doctor squeezing some EUR out of you that really should have been paid to the state. Other times, if you go to a private-clinic doctor solo, they'll likely make you pre-pay. But if it's your local family's doctor, they may see you for free on a goodwill-basis, or fraudulently bill your local family member's plan and/or write any prescription in their name.
- bennysonething 4y ago
  I'm not sure why there is an assumption that the health care is good in Portugal. Purely annecdotal, the only Portuguese person I know moved to UK to work as a cleaner. She couldn't find work in Portugal that would pay enough to allow her to survive. Also she moved her dad over too because he need health care and needed to be near family. I've never looked into, I just assumed that the economy and it's health care aren't great.
pydry 4y ago
This might be more a reflection of the NY Times advertiser driven editorial choices than why they did it.
jhbadger 4y ago
Lack of universal healthcare in the US isn't that big a deal to the upper-class/upper-middle class people we are talking about becoming expats because the professional jobs they tend to hold generally have very good health plans. Obviously it's a big deal for working class people as their jobs generally come with limited or no health care plans, but they don't seem to be moving to Europe.
- eliaspro 4y ago
  I wonder how much further the situation in the US has to deteriorate until we stop referring to those moving to Europe as Expats and call them Refugees? This term seems to be reserved (with an often racist/classist connotation) for people from the global south.
  - trh0awayman 4y ago
    I've found that it's the other way around, Europeans want to call Americans refugees because they themselves use it as an insult. If I started introducing myself as a refugee/migrant worker at my tech job, people would think I'm making some kind of sick joke.
  - jhbadger 4y ago
    It's been used whenever there were people moving out of real need rather than convenience or adventure. There was no question that Jews fleeing Europe in the 1930s/1940s were refugees even if they were white and upper class.
  - yurishimo 4y ago
    Or immigrants! I moved to NL (but took a local job at a local salary) and I don't plan to go back to the US. Obviously life happens and I can't predict the future, but I would not be surprised if I am applying for citizenship after my children become adults.
    - Symbiote 4y ago
      Check whether it might make sense to apply before. I don't know the situation in the Netherlands, but it might simplify your children acquiring Dutch citizenship.

Always interesting to read about why Americans move to Europe. I noticed nobody said anything about healthcare. Instead, it seemed to be more about culture and walkability.

chitowneats 4y ago

Do Americans on visa get to benefit from universal healthcare? Surely not. They pay for it though. Edit: I was wrong. Thanks for correcting me.

crazygringo 4y ago
I went to the medical center and then a hospital multiple times while on a month long trip in Spain and Portugal -- came down with a weird bronchitis thing affecting my breathing. It was 100% free. So I definitely got free health care on a tourist visa as an American.
- Symbiote 4y ago
  Officially, they will only treat life-treatening problems for free, for tourists. In reality, if the person doesn't seem to be trying to take advantage of the system, I'd not be surprised that hospital staff don't bother sorting out billing the patient.
shawabawa3 4y ago
In most EU countries if you get a job you will have access to universal healthcare immediately If not, private healthcare is peanuts compared to the us (think $200/month no deductible no limit)
- coldtea 4y ago
  Even $200 is too much in most European countries for private health insurance. $50 is more like it.
Scoundreller 4y ago
Officially you don't have that universal healthcare as a non-resident. Reality is hit or miss. As most EU medical systems are not really geared toward private billing, if you go to a government-run medical centre for something small, it's going to be more effort for them to figure out how to bill you, so they don't. Sometimes tourist-heavy places will definitely be set up to get you to pay, other times they just see treating actually minorly-ill tourists for low/no-cost as a cost of being a tourist-dependent area. Sometimes the anecdotes about only having to pay 20 EUR at the hospital were really the salaried clinic doctor squeezing some EUR out of you that really should have been paid to the state. Other times, if you go to a private-clinic doctor solo, they'll likely make you pre-pay. But if it's your local family's doctor, they may see you for free on a goodwill-basis, or fraudulently bill your local family member's plan and/or write any prescription in their name.
bennysonething 4y ago
I'm not sure why there is an assumption that the health care is good in Portugal. Purely annecdotal, the only Portuguese person I know moved to UK to work as a cleaner. She couldn't find work in Portugal that would pay enough to allow her to survive. Also she moved her dad over too because he need health care and needed to be near family. I've never looked into, I just assumed that the economy and it's health care aren't great.

pydry 4y ago

This might be more a reflection of the NY Times advertiser driven editorial choices than why they did it.

jhbadger 4y ago

Lack of universal healthcare in the US isn't that big a deal to the upper-class/upper-middle class people we are talking about becoming expats because the professional jobs they tend to hold generally have very good health plans. Obviously it's a big deal for working class people as their jobs generally come with limited or no health care plans, but they don't seem to be moving to Europe.

eliaspro 4y ago
I wonder how much further the situation in the US has to deteriorate until we stop referring to those moving to Europe as Expats and call them Refugees? This term seems to be reserved (with an often racist/classist connotation) for people from the global south.
- trh0awayman 4y ago
  I've found that it's the other way around, Europeans want to call Americans refugees because they themselves use it as an insult. If I started introducing myself as a refugee/migrant worker at my tech job, people would think I'm making some kind of sick joke.
- jhbadger 4y ago
  It's been used whenever there were people moving out of real need rather than convenience or adventure. There was no question that Jews fleeing Europe in the 1930s/1940s were refugees even if they were white and upper class.
- yurishimo 4y ago
  Or immigrants! I moved to NL (but took a local job at a local salary) and I don't plan to go back to the US. Obviously life happens and I can't predict the future, but I would not be surprised if I am applying for citizenship after my children become adults.
  - Symbiote 4y ago
    Check whether it might make sense to apply before. I don't know the situation in the Netherlands, but it might simplify your children acquiring Dutch citizenship.