I work for a FANG that has tech offices in Ireland (Dublin), UK (London), Germany (Berlin) where i have opportunities to relocate. Has anyone tried living and travelling in europe for a couple of years and is it worth the life experience? TC: 300K in bay area and about 1/2 in europe. From India and no hope for permanent residency in the US. Family with 2 kids, and these countries allow spouse to work. Given my role, i could potentially come back to US after a few years on eb1c (provided the rules havent changed) motivation: we don’t see ourselves living in the US long term (5+ years) would go back to our home country and it’s already been a decade of living here. So, wondering if living in a new country in Europe gives us new life experiences and travel opportunities and is it beneficial to the kids for their learning.
Consider Canada maybe
Your RSU grant and bonus % will stay the same, but base pay and future refreshers will be lower. However, FANG employees are very well paid in Europe and though your tc will be lower (than in the States), your quality of life will be at least the same, but most likely better. Yes, you will earn less money, but goods are cheaper as well, and easier to travel to Europe (if you are into it). Do you want to have an experience of living in Europe? Do you want your kids to learn other languages (if moving to Germany)? Do you want to travel around Europe every other month? Do you want to have 1 month vacation and much better wlb, while still being a highly paid FANG employee?
Also, I think it’s worth adding, do you want to live in a world where homelessness and drug addiction are almost non existent?
Yup welcome to Europe
Be honest with yourself, after a decade of living anywhere especially with a family, the inertia to move is way too much. You are not moving!
Yeah, the inertia is hard to fight off. I feel confident we can if we believe that the pros of moving outweigh the cons. Given that we likely have to make this move back to India in a few years due to family reasons, this might be a start in the eastern direction.
Not true, I moved to Seattle with family and 2 kids a few years ago and I’m considering relocating to Europe as well due to similar reasons as in the original post
Why not just say Amazon instead of "a FANG"?
Have the option to do this through Amazon or take a new job with Google in Dublin. Haven’t made a decision yet.
Blind has made me realize that Indians really hate their country... or what is the reason for not wanting to return to India?
These posts awe usually from people who have lived in the US for more than a decade and have gotten used to the good western life. They have had kids and want their children to experience the kind of things that they themselves never had access to. India is doing great in terms of jobs and can in some cases also match your US TC but commuting, population, pollution, corruption and safety for women etc.make it somewhat unattractive compared to Western nations. In a nutshell easier for people to return after staying here for just a couple of years vs a decade.
We’ll written. Once you settle down in a place and have family and friend it’s never easy to uproot and start in a new place all over again.
Thanks for providing this insight without thinking I'm a bigot! Aside from enjoying the good life here, why don't they invest and look to fix their own country so that future generations can benefit? This is interesting because Indians seem to always be competing with other Indians when they come to US but forget where they come from!
Hmm, not sure if I agree. Yes, we are competitive but you can’t generalize a whole community. For example we know that in a few years before our kids grow up to be early school going age we will be back in India. Not for progression, but for family reasons.
Absolutely makes sense! I'm not saying there is any problem for people wanting to enjoy a better life but my biggest advocacy is for all of us(individuals) to try and fix what is broken or atleast make it a little better than it was before.... in this case India as a country. I'm from US but sad to see what has been happening to people (muslims, women, etc) in India
Do it
I made the move from the US to the UK due to similar considerations (long wait time for permanent residency). So far I’m loving it. London is an amazing city to live in. A lot of great companies here in London and if you like living in big cities you won’t be disappointed. Rents are moderate (I’ve lived in San Francisco and NYC) before this. You can get a nice 2 bed room apartment for £1700 in the city. Make sure you work out your expenses and your salary before you move. There’s a salary calculator that’s available online. You don’t get any tax cuts like in the USA so keep in mind. Everything is pretty much after tax. PR is straight forward here 5 years on Tier 2 General you get a PR and a year after that you can apply for a citizenship.
Great to hear you are having a good experience. Not sure if you have kids, how is London for families?
Unfortunately I don’t have many insights on raising a family here.
If someone is living in Switzerland and learn german then he can apply for citizenship in 5 years, can he apply citizenship of any other couny as well in Europe like Germany ?
No, you have to live in the country you are applying for its citizenship for. Integration goes beyond speaking the language. By that logic you could learn French in the states and apply for citizenship in France without living there.
What would be your reason to relocate yourself and your whole family to Europe? Esp. with at 300k salary. It’s not clear from your post.
he said no hope for residency in usa
Yeah but then he concluded with he’ll return back to the US after Europe. I find it hard to understand what his objective is. He can apply to eb1c from where he is now without relocating to Europe first.