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I wonder if the EU will begin trying to recruit American software engineers. I’d love to move to France.

captain_coffee 9mo ago
I doubt Americans will even pick up the phone or respond to LinkedIn messages / emails when they will se the budgets for the software Engineering roles in the EU. I am saying that as an European, just to be clear.
- toomuchtodo 9mo ago
  Not everyone is optimizing for total comp. Some are optimizing for better lives. It's not a wild concept considering how many people get pulled into startups, 90% of which fail, under the guide of "mission" and lower market comp. Do you pick a mostly assured better quality of life? Or an equity payout lottery ticket/fairy tale? Certainly, there is a minority of folks making wild comp at FAANG, but that is a privileged minority of total tech and IT workers.
  - baal80spam 9mo ago
    > Some are optimizing for better lives Of course. I just hope these people know that for example healthcare in Europe is by no means free.
    - toomuchtodo 9mo ago
      My health insurance for a family of four in Spain is $2k/year. In the US, it was exceeding $25k/year with premiums, copays, deductibles, etc. While not free, it is accessible. There was a time in my life we had to decide in the middle of the night if we could afford to take one of our children to the ER in the US when they were a newborn. I will never have that feeling in Europe, and that is priceless. Tax me more, I will happily contribute to a functioning governance system. I like taxes, with them I contribute to civilization. As an American, I am all in on Europe. It's not perfect, but the bar is in hell. We Asked 300 People About Health Care Costs. The Numbers Are Shocking. - https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/opinion/health-insurance-obamacare-subsidies-america.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/opinion/health-insurance-... | https://archive.today/MnYz9 https://archive.today/MnYz9 - January 22nd, 2026
      - znkynz 9mo ago
        That article is just mindblowing. My countries Health Service is far from perfect, but that is insanity.
        toomuchtodo 9mo ago
        This is a component of what those who can qualify for some sort of visa are fleeing. The economics are undeniable.
      - tick_tock_tick 9mo ago
        I mean the issue here is your arguing on hackernews. The vast majority of people on this site in the USA just don't have these issues. Health care is taken care by the employeer and they are paid more.
      - durkie 9mo ago
        i have questions about this! is there a way to get in touch with you?
    - ceejayoz 9mo ago
      It's not free, but it's much cheaper. (And yes, that includes taxation.) https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/health-spending.html https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/health-spending.html https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OECD_health_expenditure_per_capita_by_country.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OECD_health_expendit... As a bonus, all that spend doesn't make us better in outcomes. https://ourworldindata.org/us-life-expectancy-low#life-expectancy-vs-health-expenditure-over-time-1970-2014ref https://ourworldindata.org/us-life-expectancy-low#life-expec...
    - jansper39 9mo ago
      Nobody in Europe thinks that healthcare just exists for free, but that it should be available to who need it for free and are happy to pay for that via tax.
  - tick_tock_tick 9mo ago
    I think you're not quite understanding just how bad EU pay is for software. Frankly with the $$ you basically always going to come out ahead with the more comp especially since USA software companies normally offer great healthcare and comparable vacation.
- idontwantthis 9mo ago
  With a baby on the way, I'd seriously consider it for their lifetime benefits. Where does one begin looking?
  - jeppester 9mo ago
    I don't know about France, but here in Denmark you'd generally find tech jobs on LinkedIn. If you have a decent amount of experience I don't think you'd be looking for very long. But as stated by other commenters, the salaries and lower and the taxes higher. What you get back is great worker protection, child care, free education and generally a feeling of safety for yourself and family. We also have a democracy that offers more than two choices!
- swiftcoder 9mo ago
  I know several folks who've migrated from US -> EU tech roles in the last few years. Yes, you earn less and pay (somewhat) more taxes. But if you have a few kids the difference in cost of education pretty much wipes out the difference, and some folks really value the stress reduction of a robust social safety net (layoff protections, healthcare coverage while unemployed, etc)
dlahoda 9mo ago
Will not. You should love to move youself to pay 30% more taxes and work for 30% less salary (not sure what percentage to apply first).
- captain_coffee 9mo ago
  more like 50+ % less salary, just saying
- swiftcoder 9mo ago
  > pay 30% more taxes This is scaremongering - taxes are in no way 30% higher in EU. Someone pulling mid-6-figures in the Valley is already paying a ~35% effective tax rate (state + medicare + federal). That same person taking a low-6-figures job in Spain would pay ~40% effective tax rate - and Beckam's Law would likely cut that to 24% for the first 6 years in any case
  - dlahoda 9mo ago
    first, one have to prove he is 24 not 40. taxes can tell 24 and tell you do 40 becauses they decided so. add social security percentage. while one still need real insurance and pension saving on top. yes, one 6 figure person have to pay two times. once for self and other one unemployed local drunk. and on top, when one buys anything, all things are taxed 2x compared to usa(but i guess trump tries fo equalize that). on top. there are prices for locals and foreigners. one will pay 2x for coffee, rent, parking, all. and yeah, one is foreigner? does not know hidden language of locals? wait in all queues 2x longer. so social security medcine is something one never sees.
    - swiftcoder 9mo ago
      > there are prices for locals and foreigners. one will pay 2x for coffee, rent, parking, all... does not know hidden language of locals? wait in all queues 2x longer. so social security medcine is something one never sees. Mate, I made this exact move ~5 years ago, it's really not that hard to learn a foreign language and navigate a bit of bureaucracy (although I will admit, Spain may be better than most in this regard)
nehal3m 9mo ago
Why wait? If you can get a work visa you might as well, independent of this push. English proficiency in France isn't amazing though (speaking as a Dutchman that visits France most summers), so learning French would be a big help.
- idontwantthis 9mo ago
  Do you have a suggestion of where to begin looking? Doesn't have to be France either.
  - nehal3m 9mo ago
    I'm not sure, it depends on what kind of work you're looking for. For the Netherlands, I'd start here. https://www.tech-careers.nl/job-seeker-visa-for-tech-roles-in-the-netherlands/ https://www.tech-careers.nl/job-seeker-visa-for-tech-roles-i...
well_ackshually 9mo ago
[dead]
the_sleaze_ 9mo ago
They've been incentivizing it for years. Talent passport, EU Blue card and the Tech Visa. As I have heard they'll pay you to move there. Expect 50% salary and taxes that will make your eyes water. French bureaucracy is kafkaesque even in 2026. Other than that I agree I'd love to move there.
- eloisant 9mo ago
  Taxes are not really an issue because of the services you get out of it: free healthcare, free education for your kids, etc. But yes, salary before taxes is much lower than in the US. If your goal is to make as much money as possible, either stay in US or move to a different European country (Northern Europe or Switzerland).
  - nxm 9mo ago
    As a software engineer in the US you're not really worrying about access to health care, and have access to public schools as well.
    - belter 9mo ago
      "Health Insurance Is Now More Expensive Than the Mortgage for These Americans" - https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/aca-health-insurance-cost-subsidies-expire-37a595a9 https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/aca-health-insurance-c...
    - Insanity 9mo ago
      What if you get laid off?
    - traceroute66 9mo ago
      > As a software engineer in the US you're not really worrying about access to health care You're "not really worrying" ... whilst you are in a job. There fixed that for you. As I am sure you are acutely aware US is the home of lay-offs and is generally easy to fire people. If you loose your job in the US it becomes panic stations because you loose that precious employer-paid healthcare overnight. Meanwhile in Europe ? Take your time job hunting a new job, healthcare is still free.
ivolimmen 9mo ago
In the Netherlands we return 30% of your taxes in the first 10. So we welcome you as well. We may pay less compared to the USA but we have health care, better work life balance and we all talk English.
- captain_coffee 9mo ago
  the first 10 what? Years? It's actually not like that: https://www.government.nl/topics/income-tax/shortening-30-percent-ruling https://www.government.nl/topics/income-tax/shortening-30-pe... From 1 January 2024, expats who meet the conditions receive the following tax benefits: - 30% tax free for the first 20 months; - 20% tax free for the next 20 months; - 10% tax free for the last 20 months. So that's a tapered reduction over the first 5 years and the amount of money that you gain after tax is between negligeable and insultingly small. Basically in its current form "The Dutch 30% ruling" is not really worth it, if you want to move to The Netherlands do it for other reasons, and the advertisment of this mechanism feels borderline disingenious in its current form.
  - mk89 9mo ago
    I think it was like that some years ago. Now, as you said, it's really useless. 20 months are just the time to find an apartment, furnish it and get used to the place. Afterwards you have to pay some of the highest taxes in the world....
- toephu2 9mo ago
  Isn't the primary tongue of locals in the Netherlands Dutch? Yes you know English, but don't the locals speak Dutch or German to each other?
  - ifwinterco 9mo ago
    Dutch people still speak Dutch to each other so if you were going to live there permanently and wanted to properly participate in society you would need to learn Dutch. However the average level of English ability in NL is extremely good, you won't meet many people who don't have really good English especially for younger generations. Definitely not the case in e.g. France or Italy

I doubt Americans will even pick up the phone or respond to LinkedIn messages / emails when they will se the budgets for the software Engineering roles in the EU. I am saying that as an European, just to be clear.

toomuchtodo 9mo ago
Not everyone is optimizing for total comp. Some are optimizing for better lives. It's not a wild concept considering how many people get pulled into startups, 90% of which fail, under the guide of "mission" and lower market comp. Do you pick a mostly assured better quality of life? Or an equity payout lottery ticket/fairy tale? Certainly, there is a minority of folks making wild comp at FAANG, but that is a privileged minority of total tech and IT workers.
- baal80spam 9mo ago
  > Some are optimizing for better lives Of course. I just hope these people know that for example healthcare in Europe is by no means free.
  - toomuchtodo 9mo ago
    My health insurance for a family of four in Spain is $2k/year. In the US, it was exceeding $25k/year with premiums, copays, deductibles, etc. While not free, it is accessible. There was a time in my life we had to decide in the middle of the night if we could afford to take one of our children to the ER in the US when they were a newborn. I will never have that feeling in Europe, and that is priceless. Tax me more, I will happily contribute to a functioning governance system. I like taxes, with them I contribute to civilization. As an American, I am all in on Europe. It's not perfect, but the bar is in hell. We Asked 300 People About Health Care Costs. The Numbers Are Shocking. - https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/opinion/health-insurance-obamacare-subsidies-america.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/opinion/health-insurance-... | https://archive.today/MnYz9 https://archive.today/MnYz9 - January 22nd, 2026
    - znkynz 9mo ago
      That article is just mindblowing. My countries Health Service is far from perfect, but that is insanity.
      - toomuchtodo 9mo ago
        This is a component of what those who can qualify for some sort of visa are fleeing. The economics are undeniable.
    - tick_tock_tick 9mo ago
      I mean the issue here is your arguing on hackernews. The vast majority of people on this site in the USA just don't have these issues. Health care is taken care by the employeer and they are paid more.
    - durkie 9mo ago
      i have questions about this! is there a way to get in touch with you?
  - ceejayoz 9mo ago
    It's not free, but it's much cheaper. (And yes, that includes taxation.) https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/health-spending.html https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/health-spending.html https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OECD_health_expenditure_per_capita_by_country.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OECD_health_expendit... As a bonus, all that spend doesn't make us better in outcomes. https://ourworldindata.org/us-life-expectancy-low#life-expectancy-vs-health-expenditure-over-time-1970-2014ref https://ourworldindata.org/us-life-expectancy-low#life-expec...
  - jansper39 9mo ago
    Nobody in Europe thinks that healthcare just exists for free, but that it should be available to who need it for free and are happy to pay for that via tax.
- tick_tock_tick 9mo ago
  I think you're not quite understanding just how bad EU pay is for software. Frankly with the $$ you basically always going to come out ahead with the more comp especially since USA software companies normally offer great healthcare and comparable vacation.
idontwantthis 9mo ago
With a baby on the way, I'd seriously consider it for their lifetime benefits. Where does one begin looking?
- jeppester 9mo ago
  I don't know about France, but here in Denmark you'd generally find tech jobs on LinkedIn. If you have a decent amount of experience I don't think you'd be looking for very long. But as stated by other commenters, the salaries and lower and the taxes higher. What you get back is great worker protection, child care, free education and generally a feeling of safety for yourself and family. We also have a democracy that offers more than two choices!
swiftcoder 9mo ago
I know several folks who've migrated from US -> EU tech roles in the last few years. Yes, you earn less and pay (somewhat) more taxes. But if you have a few kids the difference in cost of education pretty much wipes out the difference, and some folks really value the stress reduction of a robust social safety net (layoff protections, healthcare coverage while unemployed, etc)

dlahoda 9mo ago

Will not. You should love to move youself to pay 30% more taxes and work for 30% less salary (not sure what percentage to apply first).

captain_coffee 9mo ago
more like 50+ % less salary, just saying
swiftcoder 9mo ago
> pay 30% more taxes This is scaremongering - taxes are in no way 30% higher in EU. Someone pulling mid-6-figures in the Valley is already paying a ~35% effective tax rate (state + medicare + federal). That same person taking a low-6-figures job in Spain would pay ~40% effective tax rate - and Beckam's Law would likely cut that to 24% for the first 6 years in any case
- dlahoda 9mo ago
  first, one have to prove he is 24 not 40. taxes can tell 24 and tell you do 40 becauses they decided so. add social security percentage. while one still need real insurance and pension saving on top. yes, one 6 figure person have to pay two times. once for self and other one unemployed local drunk. and on top, when one buys anything, all things are taxed 2x compared to usa(but i guess trump tries fo equalize that). on top. there are prices for locals and foreigners. one will pay 2x for coffee, rent, parking, all. and yeah, one is foreigner? does not know hidden language of locals? wait in all queues 2x longer. so social security medcine is something one never sees.
  - swiftcoder 9mo ago
    > there are prices for locals and foreigners. one will pay 2x for coffee, rent, parking, all... does not know hidden language of locals? wait in all queues 2x longer. so social security medcine is something one never sees. Mate, I made this exact move ~5 years ago, it's really not that hard to learn a foreign language and navigate a bit of bureaucracy (although I will admit, Spain may be better than most in this regard)

nehal3m 9mo ago

Why wait? If you can get a work visa you might as well, independent of this push. English proficiency in France isn't amazing though (speaking as a Dutchman that visits France most summers), so learning French would be a big help.

idontwantthis 9mo ago
Do you have a suggestion of where to begin looking? Doesn't have to be France either.
- nehal3m 9mo ago
  I'm not sure, it depends on what kind of work you're looking for. For the Netherlands, I'd start here. https://www.tech-careers.nl/job-seeker-visa-for-tech-roles-in-the-netherlands/ https://www.tech-careers.nl/job-seeker-visa-for-tech-roles-i...

well_ackshually 9mo ago

[dead]

the_sleaze_ 9mo ago

They've been incentivizing it for years. Talent passport, EU Blue card and the Tech Visa. As I have heard they'll pay you to move there. Expect 50% salary and taxes that will make your eyes water. French bureaucracy is kafkaesque even in 2026. Other than that I agree I'd love to move there.

eloisant 9mo ago
Taxes are not really an issue because of the services you get out of it: free healthcare, free education for your kids, etc. But yes, salary before taxes is much lower than in the US. If your goal is to make as much money as possible, either stay in US or move to a different European country (Northern Europe or Switzerland).
- nxm 9mo ago
  As a software engineer in the US you're not really worrying about access to health care, and have access to public schools as well.
  - belter 9mo ago
    "Health Insurance Is Now More Expensive Than the Mortgage for These Americans" - https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/aca-health-insurance-cost-subsidies-expire-37a595a9 https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/aca-health-insurance-c...
  - Insanity 9mo ago
    What if you get laid off?
  - traceroute66 9mo ago
    > As a software engineer in the US you're not really worrying about access to health care You're "not really worrying" ... whilst you are in a job. There fixed that for you. As I am sure you are acutely aware US is the home of lay-offs and is generally easy to fire people. If you loose your job in the US it becomes panic stations because you loose that precious employer-paid healthcare overnight. Meanwhile in Europe ? Take your time job hunting a new job, healthcare is still free.

ivolimmen 9mo ago

In the Netherlands we return 30% of your taxes in the first 10. So we welcome you as well. We may pay less compared to the USA but we have health care, better work life balance and we all talk English.

captain_coffee 9mo ago
the first 10 what? Years? It's actually not like that: https://www.government.nl/topics/income-tax/shortening-30-percent-ruling https://www.government.nl/topics/income-tax/shortening-30-pe... From 1 January 2024, expats who meet the conditions receive the following tax benefits: - 30% tax free for the first 20 months; - 20% tax free for the next 20 months; - 10% tax free for the last 20 months. So that's a tapered reduction over the first 5 years and the amount of money that you gain after tax is between negligeable and insultingly small. Basically in its current form "The Dutch 30% ruling" is not really worth it, if you want to move to The Netherlands do it for other reasons, and the advertisment of this mechanism feels borderline disingenious in its current form.
- mk89 9mo ago
  I think it was like that some years ago. Now, as you said, it's really useless. 20 months are just the time to find an apartment, furnish it and get used to the place. Afterwards you have to pay some of the highest taxes in the world....
toephu2 9mo ago
Isn't the primary tongue of locals in the Netherlands Dutch? Yes you know English, but don't the locals speak Dutch or German to each other?
- ifwinterco 9mo ago
  Dutch people still speak Dutch to each other so if you were going to live there permanently and wanted to properly participate in society you would need to learn Dutch. However the average level of English ability in NL is extremely good, you won't meet many people who don't have really good English especially for younger generations. Definitely not the case in e.g. France or Italy