Germany, specifically south Germany (Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) Pros: - Safe - Clean - Lots of hiking possibilities (although wild camping is not allowe

Germany, specifically south Germany (Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) Pros: - Safe - Clean - Lots of hiking possibilities (although wild camping is not allowed). - Weather is decent. More sunlight than further north and not as wet as further west. And quite warm/hot in the summers, but with a couple of wet weeks as respite. - Food is decent. You won't find the variety that you can expect in London or NYC, but all the local and German-wide food is broadly accessible to the typical Euro/American palate. Also some big traditional companies have a Mensa which serves home cooked style meals for lunch. - Local education system is quite good. - Multiple high quality unis which are very accessible to anyone. You can literally just visit a lecture. Don't even need to be a student. - A non-Anglonized culture that is just different from what you are used to in terms of mentality and attitude. Cons: - Job market is more traditional. Fewer startups and fewer companies working with cutting-edge technology. - Corporate culture is less egalitarian than in international tech companies. Tech workers are valued less. There are also various glass ceilings. - Society is more insular. Its quite hard to break into established professional or social circle. - Taxes are absurdly high and you get very little in return if you are a normal working adult. - Healthcare is also expensive and dysfunctional (I am comparing here to other EU countries). Also lots of quack medicine everywhere. - The decentralized nature of Germany is really annoying. You come across a cool job but it is located in some 40k pop city, 1.5 hrs away from the nearest "big" city. This forces you to relocate every time for a new job and living in those tiny cities is not enjoyable if you expect any level of social life. - Munich has a housing crisis. It usually takes months to find any kind of accommodation. At the same time it is one of the only decent cities for tech job opportunities. - There are lots of foreigners in Germany, but it is not an immigrant culture. It is kind of annoying to witness and experience the divide between the various demographics. - Despite a facade of progressiveness the level of discrimination against women and foreigners is much higher and more blatant than you would be used to if you come from the US/UK. At the same time there is a very annoying affirmative action that promotes women in tech that is very much in your face. - Since firing people is harder there is barely any job market for juniors because it is considered too high risk to hire them even though there is a 6-month probation.