Should I relocate to Berlin?

Sep 13, 2021 35 Comments

Originally from Europe, but currently living in Canada for 8 years and having a mid-life crisis. Thinking of moving back to Europe as I haven't adapted to the North American life style. I feel very isolated here in Toronto, far from everything, while I see my friends back home constantly travelling all over Europe (even during COVID).

What keeps me here is a long-term loving girlfriend, English language, a great salary (working for a SF company) and a great market for software engineers (every time I switched jobs I had no problem finding something).

Got an offer from Snowflake in Berlin: EUR 120k base / 15% yearly bonus / $400k RSU.
Should I take it?

What scares me is starting from scratch all over again: selling my house here and finding a rental in Berlin without knowing German or anyone there. I visited Berlin before and really like the public transit and cleanliness of the city though.

#berlin #relocation #germany

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TOP 35 Comments
  • Splunk
    LpXY83

    Go to company page Splunk

    LpXY83
    European girls are πŸ”₯ hot. Dated a Belarusian girl before. She was the best kisser ever. Sigh...
    Sep 13, 2021 2
    • New
      uberalles

      New

      uberalles
      Yeah, not only physical, European girls listen more, talk less :-D
      Sep 13, 2021
    • Splunk
      LpXY83

      Go to company page Splunk

      LpXY83
      She was wonderful. Gah...old wounds πŸ˜–πŸ˜£πŸ˜’
      Sep 13, 2021
  • Cisco
    BrBa4

    Go to company page Cisco

    BrBa4
    Cleanliness of the city πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ I think you have no idea what you're getting into, this is nothing like munich. Worse if things are serious with your gf, berlin is not a place to find love.
    Sep 14, 2021 2
    • Heh, probably not as clean as Munich, but I assume better than Toronto. There are literally trails of litter all over this city. Even going to some trail, park, ravine nearby you'll find plastic bottles, coffee cups, plastic bags, aluminium cans, etc thrown in the grass. Canadians may be polite, but they are trashy as fuck.

      Why are you saying is not a place to find love? I would have assumed, given it's cosmopolitan nature, to be relatively easy to find someone.
      Sep 14, 2021
    • Cisco
      BrBa4

      Go to company page Cisco

      BrBa4
      There are trails of dog (and possibly also human) shit, broken bottles, etc. everywhere. It's not easy to find a partner at all, people have a hard time just making friends. This is based on people I've known and also the countless reddit and facebook posts of people complaining about this or asking how to cope.
      Sep 15, 2021
  • Goldman Sachs / Eng
    nenek94n3x

    Go to company page Goldman Sachs Eng

    nenek94n3x
    If you like paying taxes, then you should relocate
    Sep 13, 2021 0
  • New
    uberalles

    New

    uberalles
    240-250k euro sounds great salary for Germany to me. I think this is director salary for peer Germans in non US high paying company for software engineer.
    Sep 13, 2021 2
    • Uber
      changework

      Go to company page Uber

      changework
      Keep in mind progressive taxes, which will go upto overall 55-60%, so extra income won’t necessarily give a lot of money in hand in the end but you might be expected to work a lot more for it.
      Sep 13, 2021
    • Amazon / Eng
      TT warrior

      Go to company page Amazon Eng

      TT warrior
      Income tax only goes up to 42-45%. Still high though.
      Oct 2, 2021
  • Square
    OkQX22

    Go to company page Square

    OkQX22
    I still cannot forget 2 mothers with kids near Berlin zoo entrance - smoking.
    I don't want to travel again to Germany or Switzerland because of how many smokers they have everywhere - even on hiking trail. Crazy to live there unless you don't care of your own health much.
    Sep 14, 2021 1