4 ms·

Sure. That's very different from coasting at a FAANG though. And living in the Balkans is nothing like living in Bay Area, LA, NYC etc. I don't think it's compa

Sure. That's very different from coasting at a FAANG though. And living in the Balkans is nothing like living in Bay Area, LA, NYC etc. I don't think it's comparable. But of course - do what is best for you. If this is your situation and you like living in the Balkans, go for it. I love the place myself. Overall though, I don't think this is the safe, easy, simple route. That's moving to the US and grinding some leetcode, not learning the basics of Balkan business culture and EU business regulations. I wouldn't recommend that to anyone who doesn't know very well what it takes - usually by going to a business school or having few years of business experience in EU - elsewhere doesn't count, it's much easier elsewhere. (I have experience exactly with what you suggest, to be clear. I had to stop doing that and go back to a much simpler and less risky principal engineering / SW engineering management job, as the stress and unclear/anti-business regulations were killing me.)

bdangubic 2y ago
I don't disagree with a single thing you wrote... I am still though sticking with my original comment that it is a big misconception that you are better off financially in US vs. EU (I won't mention non-financial things as that would be unfair and not-even-remotely-fair contest between EU and US) working in the US than EU. I think we focus on gross pay (in US people even talk salary BEFORE taxes which is absolute insanity, like "I make $300k - no you don't you make about 1/2 that depending on where you live, in EU when someone tells you then make $200k they mean that is how much money is deposited into their bank that year...) and not in terms of "real earnings" - very few people that make US > EU claims actually do some math...
- thrw42A8N 2y ago
  Sorry but I have never heard about people's net pay. It's always gross. Everyone has their own combination of tax deductions and benefits, it makes zero sense to talk about net pay - everyone is gonna have something different. And from employer's side, I can't simply tell you what your wage will be in net - that's usually different month by month, depending on your family and housing situation, health/fitness benefits, education status etc. That's why business is so hard here - I had to maintain an army of accountants to do a small simple business...
  - bdangubic 2y ago
    my sister lives in Europe and so does most of my family. they do not EVEN KNOW what their pre-tax pay is!!! when she interviews and does salary negotiations the number she gets is the number that will deposited into her bank account that will be at her disposal. several years ago my sister needed a visa to go to UK and they actually asked for this - part of the paperwork was asking for her pre-tax earnings. it took her about a week to figure out where she could get this from...
    - thrw42A8N 2y ago
      I don't believe that. It's EU regulation to provide this information. It's featured prominently in all job related communication everywhere in EU. Your sister simply doesn't care and might be leaving a lot of money on the table. This is not representative of EU people.
  - bdangubic 2y ago
    only america has "04/15" - in every other normal place you talk about actual REAL money, not fictitious money you ain't ever going to see... there are no "deductions" to speak of or anything like that. benefits are federal, HI is taken care of etc etc... only america is all weird about all this (but it is ingenious as you discuss your salary as if you make twice what you do - makes every feel good about - "hey I make $300k" and you actually make $150-$180 depending on state/locality you are at...).
    - xvector 2y ago
      Americans have far higher net worths and disposable income after taxes and social transfers including healthcare according to the EU's own OECD statistics. I know for a fact pre-tax pay is the main number employers discuss. Your sister is doing something wrong. You would not make 3/5ths of 800k in the EU. If you are lucky - 30-50% of that, pre-tax. You clearly haven't looked at living in the EU too seriously, evaluated the job market, run the numbers, etc. I have because I was evaluating this for my LDR. I make 1.2 here in the US (unusual circumstances; nominally 600); I'd make a maximum of 250-300 in the EU for a top offer for the same position. I get taxed at 55% effective here in commie California but it wouldn't be much less in the EU, while my pay would crater. My fixed costs wouldn't be much different either. Food might be nicer though, and I'd be closer to my LDR. But the EU's long term economic prospects are terrible in the tech space. Insane regulatory overhead means that my company rarely even bothers with deploying new features there.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

bdangubic 2y ago

I don't disagree with a single thing you wrote... I am still though sticking with my original comment that it is a big misconception that you are better off financially in US vs. EU (I won't mention non-financial things as that would be unfair and not-even-remotely-fair contest between EU and US) working in the US than EU. I think we focus on gross pay (in US people even talk salary BEFORE taxes which is absolute insanity, like "I make $300k - no you don't you make about 1/2 that depending on where you live, in EU when someone tells you then make $200k they mean that is how much money is deposited into their bank that year...) and not in terms of "real earnings" - very few people that make US > EU claims actually do some math...

thrw42A8N 2y ago
Sorry but I have never heard about people's net pay. It's always gross. Everyone has their own combination of tax deductions and benefits, it makes zero sense to talk about net pay - everyone is gonna have something different. And from employer's side, I can't simply tell you what your wage will be in net - that's usually different month by month, depending on your family and housing situation, health/fitness benefits, education status etc. That's why business is so hard here - I had to maintain an army of accountants to do a small simple business...
- bdangubic 2y ago
  my sister lives in Europe and so does most of my family. they do not EVEN KNOW what their pre-tax pay is!!! when she interviews and does salary negotiations the number she gets is the number that will deposited into her bank account that will be at her disposal. several years ago my sister needed a visa to go to UK and they actually asked for this - part of the paperwork was asking for her pre-tax earnings. it took her about a week to figure out where she could get this from...
  - thrw42A8N 2y ago
    I don't believe that. It's EU regulation to provide this information. It's featured prominently in all job related communication everywhere in EU. Your sister simply doesn't care and might be leaving a lot of money on the table. This is not representative of EU people.
- bdangubic 2y ago
  only america has "04/15" - in every other normal place you talk about actual REAL money, not fictitious money you ain't ever going to see... there are no "deductions" to speak of or anything like that. benefits are federal, HI is taken care of etc etc... only america is all weird about all this (but it is ingenious as you discuss your salary as if you make twice what you do - makes every feel good about - "hey I make $300k" and you actually make $150-$180 depending on state/locality you are at...).
  - xvector 2y ago
    Americans have far higher net worths and disposable income after taxes and social transfers including healthcare according to the EU's own OECD statistics. I know for a fact pre-tax pay is the main number employers discuss. Your sister is doing something wrong. You would not make 3/5ths of 800k in the EU. If you are lucky - 30-50% of that, pre-tax. You clearly haven't looked at living in the EU too seriously, evaluated the job market, run the numbers, etc. I have because I was evaluating this for my LDR. I make 1.2 here in the US (unusual circumstances; nominally 600); I'd make a maximum of 250-300 in the EU for a top offer for the same position. I get taxed at 55% effective here in commie California but it wouldn't be much less in the EU, while my pay would crater. My fixed costs wouldn't be much different either. Food might be nicer though, and I'd be closer to my LDR. But the EU's long term economic prospects are terrible in the tech space. Insane regulatory overhead means that my company rarely even bothers with deploying new features there.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]