NGL, not asking for a friend. Given the current trends in US politics, it seems prudent to at least look into it.
Most of the online content on the topic seems to be by immigration attorneys hustling ultra rich people. I’m not ultra rich. I have a job in tech, could work remotely, also have enough assets to not desperately need money if the cost of living were low enough.
I am a native English speaker, fluent enough in Spanish to survive in a Spanish speaking country. I am old, male, cis, hetero, basically asexual at this point. I am outgoing, comfortable among strangers.
What’s good and bad about where you live? Would it be OK for a outsider, newcomer?
Depends how they behave. If they behave like “Expats”, who don’t care about integrating into our society, don’t care about learning the local language even after years, they are not welcome.
If they integrate seamless (and this does not imply giving up their identity, just to make sure), and become a good member of this society, be welcome.
Summed it up pretty well.
We love our country, and welcome you to join it. But join us - don’t bring your country’s problems here.
When I here Expat I assume asshole xD
You would literally lose your job and social life in the US if you said this in America about immigrants lol
I am born, raised, and live in one of the most diverse cities on the planet. I could care less about you assimilating to my culture. And I definitely don’t care if you can’t speak the language.
That’s some Nazi crap to judge people like that.
That seems to be a hard thing for many Americans and Brits to do. I have a couple American friends living in Europe who’ve learned the language and immersed themselves in the culture, but they’re exceptional. One even learned both the national and regional language. Not too many Americans who can converse in Catalan.
It may be hard, but if you want to live in a foreign country, it is the minimum requirement I would expect. Forcing your host to permanently bend over backwards just to cater for your lack of effort is most impolite.
I simply don’t understand the distinction between seamless integration and losing your cultural identity.
They’re synonyms to me; the positive and negative sides of the same coin.
No, they are not. Seamless integrating yourself means to be able to communicate with your environment and to accept local laws and customs. I expect someone to immigrate from e.g. a Muslim country to accept that sharia is not our law, and that he has to accept that women are allowed to speak and gay people are not to beheaded.
On the other hand, I would not ask them to lose their cultural identity. There is no reason they cannot remain Muslim and observe their own religious customs or celebrate their holidays.
I think you misread my comment if you’re going to start out like that.
I’m going to assume the rest of your comment is similarly missing the point and not read it.
I hope you have a better day.
No, I did not misread your comment. Maybe you would have understood if you had read my reply.
The very first sentence of your comment indicated you misread mine. Why waste my time reading the rest?
Welcome to EU! Prepare for a cultural shift:
Considering that everyone on lemmy is 30+ communist tech worker, it’s probably a welcome change
Speaking more specifically about Poland, depending on how you measure, we might have the most rapidly secularizing society in the world Some Americans (catholic fundamentalists) seem to think that you can just barge in, snatch a tradwife and plot of land and live like it’s 50s, but these people are straight up delusional. Introducing ban on abortion, for example, erased full quarter of support for the party that did it (40% ish to 30% ish overnight) and caused largest protests since dissolution of Soviet Union. There are conservative women, but these tend to be 60+
In tech job market specifically, the bubble has ended (like everywhere else i guess), but if you’re a senior or able to keep your current job you’ll be fine (not sure how you’d get residence permit then). You’d need to lean Polish as a practical matter, because while lots of people do speak decent English, many don’t (esp. 50+ and in small towns) and many official matters can be done in Polish only. Like everywhere else, there’s division between more conservative rural areas and more liberal large cities; no one wants to live in the former, even locals, and so most of foreigners live in Warsaw (or Kraków, or Wrocław). It sounds like you’d blend in right away in one of these places. While property prices and rent went up since start of the plague, it’s not as crushingly bad as in, say, Berlin or Rotterdam. Random benefits include ability to pirate absolutely everything without VPN with no consequences and ability to use complaint as a conversation starter
I never thought about it before, but I agree - you can start a conversion by complaining.
Living in Poland all my life, I also would like to mention it feels really safe here (as a white male, so…).
Unless you’re into football, or low quality clubbing you’ll be hard to find violent crime. Domestic violence and related murders do happen, but you’ll be hard pressed to get yourself mugged or assaulted these days.
You can pay by card or via app (blik) nearly anywhere, small village shop, street produce vendor, food truck, anywhere. If they don’t want your card they are probably doing some tax fraud, or are bad at finding low card payment fees.
TL;DR: I’ve travelled a bit, and I really don’t think I’d rather live anywhere else.
I really enjoy visiting Poland. Polish people are often warm, talkative, creative and many have travelled outside Poland. I’ve had infrequent encounters with belligerent drunks, but it never got to the point of being threatening.
If I were to move there, though, I think it’d take a lot of effort to learn Polish.
That’s really funny - my very Catholic mom is going to Poland next year with some church group and the priest, lol…I apologize for her in advance!
I’ve always wanted to visit Poland and still hope I can, one day. But no weird Catholic shit!
I’m guessing she’s going to Częstochowa?
Is that the church in the salt mine? That’s the only place she’s mentioned so far, but I don’t recall the name or if she even said it, really. She may have just read about it and not known how it was pronounced.
That’s Wieliczka. There’s more to it than the church, it’s pretty cool, but you’re liable to be salty on you ur way back up.
Why would I want people from a less privileged country coming here and stealing our jobs, putting a burden on our healthcare system and making housing even more expensive?
Congratulations America, you’re now the english language Mexico… with worse Tacos.
Hey not cool don’t diss Mexico like that
This is what so many don’t understand. Other countries don’t want us. Why would they?
If you have some skill that they are short on. That is the main reason. In that way you aren’t just some filthy American, your a skilled worker.
That excludes most of us. For example I’m a pricing analyst. Doubt they’d even need me, let alone all the people working retail or customer service positions.
Yeah most of the auto mechanics probably voted for Trump, but a lot didn’t. We have a ton of people working in restaurants, driving for Lyft, etc.
Most people are fucked.
I’m an American living and working in Europe for years now. It’s pretty great, although language barriers can leave you feeling a little isolated sometimes. That said, the thought of going back to the US turns my stomach. European working culture is much more… Human. More understanding about things like sick days, better vacation packages and, better worker protections.
I wish the US could be better, but it no longer looks like that will happen in my lifetime so I’ll do my best to find happiness here instead.
Any tips for someone who would want to emigrate, but doesn’t have any connections? I am an engineer and I have looked at immigration requirements for places like Canada and New Zeeland in the past and it seems like the only real shot I might have is if I work for an international company that has facilities in one of those countries.
Work is how I got in. The IT sector gives you a fair bit of mobility as a worker, an EU blue card can be obtained without a degree (but with relevant experience) if you have a company sponsor you over.
Get a job that will help you immigrate. My company hired a third party to handle most of my paper work. I still had to get apostille for everything, but then they did most of the visa work. They also paid for relocation.
The language thing can be isolating but it also drives you to learn.
About language barriers: have you ever considered actually learning your host countries language?
Of course. But learning a language as an adult is a huge challenge. I take lessons but it’s slow progress, people aren’t always understanding when you stumble or don’t know words and I’m juggling full time professional work on top of it so time and mental energy are limited.
Even after years of practice I will never not sound like a foreigner, which is distancing.
There is no need to be perfect. But it at least shows effort. I have met people who lived here for 40 years and never bothered to learn even simple words or phrases. And that lack of effort, this absolute disinterest in ones host society is, in my opinion, highly impolite and antisocial.
In tech, is there really a need, though? All of this year’s new hires I’ve met communicate exclusively in English. No-one cares.
It might not be a job problem to just function, but not learning the local language makes you a bit anti-social in any other aspect.
I am originally from the US but moved to AU and am now a citizen. I got lucky and got out just before Trump’s first presidency.
Life here is good. Like, better than most Americans can really understand. Healthcare is free, education is good and includes topics like critical thinking and understanding how to spot “fake news”.
There is only a small aisle of frozen food in the grocery store, not nearly as much pre-packaged food. There are affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, and outside most grocery stores is an independent baker, butcher, fishmonger, and fruit and veg stand.
Minimum wage is $24.10 an hour, and you cannot be fired for no reason if you are a full time employee.
If you compare things (and adjust for AUD to USD) like rent, gas, milk, bread, eggs… Things cost about the same here as in the US.
We pay around the same amount in taxes, and get so much more.
Things aren’t completely rosy, distressingly, Australia seems to want to emulate the US in certain ways which worries me.
There is also currently a bit of an economic downturn and while it’s nothing like what I left behind, it does mean things cost more and luxuries have to be budgeted for.
I think anyone who isn’t a dick would be welcome here. There are racist cunts here like everywhere, but generally Aussies are the kindest and most welcoming people.
You would do good here in The Netherlands. Lots of tech jobs, over here you actually have rights as an employee. No max amount of sick days for example, as no one plans a certain amount of days to be sick. The “FrEeDoM” Americans claim to have is so twisted and extremity far away from actual freedom. Here in NL I do feel I have true freedom. As in: not having to be scared when going out on the streets at night, no matter where I go. There are no guns. No crimes against humanity. Of course we do have issues, every country does. But they are tiny compared to most countries. Although we did vote for right wing parties sadly, we’re not heading in the direction I want.
Oh and EVERYONE speaks English. From child to boomer. Officially it’s not a foreign language anymore due to the high level English most speak. They are even discussing it should be a 3rd national language.
Edit: there’s also a (very unfair to us natives) 30%!!! tax cut for expats to make NL more attractive. So you will make a lot of money yet pay less taxes while having loads of benifits as an employee.
Only issue right now is finding a house. Not enough houses so insane prices. A real housing crisis.
Do you think bike shops in there Nerherlands would be interested in hiring American bicycle mechanics?
Yeah, for sure. Mechanics are getting scarce, everyone is pushed to get “HiGhEr EdUcAtIoN” so everyone knows how to use a keyboard but never used a hammer and a screwdriver. A lot of uddy of mine is a carpenter, the money he makes is insane because there just aren’t that many skilled people put there anymore. Our bikes have a bit different design, people sit more up right as we use it as a form of transportation instead of for sports. But the mechanics work the same. Although electric bikes are taking over the market right now.
I have American friends who emigrated to the Netherlands and I go there a lot on business too. There are a few other things that are worth considering: Dutch people are generally friendly, but they also tend to take a strong line on assimilation. If you want to live there, learn Dutch and learn how Dutch culture works. Otherwise you won’t fit in. As with any society, there are unwritten rules and norms of behavior that might seem strange at first. For example, the Dutch value frankness more than diplomacy. That can make them seem blunt, even to Americans.
Dutch is not far from English, both are on the same branch of the Germanic languages, but it’s very idiomatic, so fluency can be hard to achieve. Also, the fact that everyone’s so good at English reduces the pressure to learn Dutch. Language learning’s quicker when it’s the only way you can communicate.
And the previous poster’s comment on the housing shortage is no exaggeration: it’s a crisis. Expect difficulty and predatory middlemen when seeking housing.
Also, the weather can be intense: freezing North Sea winds and sideways rain.
Whaaaaaat…?
We are very multicultural, if you don’t want to adjust, that’s fine. There are enough people around who are similar to you. Only if you want to fit in you need to adjust, but that’s in any culture. Over here there’s not that much pressure to do that. Unless you live in the countryside.
Dutch and English are not similar at all. They have completely different origins. Dutch has a germanic origin and English an anglosaxon heritage.
The weather is not intense at all. It’s just humid, so 25C feels like 35C and 5C feels like -5C. But not as humid as a rainforest. Near the coast there’s some wind, but in the cities and inland not too much. Winters have become mild, summers kinda hot but compared to other regions of the world our climate is very mild. Just expect a lot of rain, but compared to the UK even that aspect is really mild too. Just prepare for us to always complain about it. And about everything else too.
Yeah, Dutch people are generally pretty blunt. When you tell something we don’t like will will tell you, politely, where a British person would say “ah that’s interesting”. For autistic people (like me) our directness is really nice. No beating around the bush.
Some English world have a Germanic origin, like “fart”.
Yeah, and vice verse. Europe has a long history, would be weird if there were no words adopted from another language.
Housing is one of the biggest stuggles for my family. I have 3 kids and so few houses are built for that in the EU. It’s really frustrating every time I look for something.
I have 3 kittens. Much better options
The housing crisis is prevalent everywhere in Europe, though. But it’s not like droves of people have to sleep rough. Yes, rents keep going up, but they are still only a fraction of what you would pay in the US.
And you can actually still buy houses. Really cheap, even. Far off the highways, but some people opt in to exactly that.The Netherlands has a worse housing crisis then the rest of Europe. Houses are not cheaper then in the US. Far from it. Also, the US is really big, so you can’t say that actually. San Francisco and Detroit have completely different housing markets for example. Next to that, here in NL we don’t build huizes from wood, which makes them more expensive as well. And our government extremity limited construction due to EU emission regulations because they are too scared to limit the biggest polutors, the farmers, with their massive export production. Because farmers protest with tractors and tractors are scary. So we prefer farming exports over housing apparently. Because we don’t buy fruits and vegetables produced in The Netherlands, they are too expensive. We buy cheap tasteless junk from Spain and Egypt. So most agricultural production is for export. The profits of our farmers are more important to us then being able to pay our own bills and aging a roof over our heads.
In my country you’d be locked up at a random moment of your stay. Tortured in prison, used as a trading chip in a complex web of international intrigue and diplomacy. Accused of terrorism. Paraded for political manipulation of the masses. Then unceremoniously put in a plane to Canada so US authorities can go pick you up. But it would be very nice and welcoming up to that point.
man, france really changed its tone
Russia?
Lots of Americans here in London, UK. They’ve generally been transferred by their company though. I expect it’s v hard to get in when applying for a new job.
I never even considered the UK, in spite of having English friends here in the states, and US friends currently living there, and enjoying it. My limited knowledge is that visa issues are problematic, and the cost of living is rather high. Culturally it would be great.
The UK spent hundreds of years searching for and taking home all the culture they could due to specifically not having any culture whatsoever back home. They also used that culture like they used their spices, which is not at all. The English are a terrible example of humanity and should not be recognized as anything other than the barbarians they are.
The UK should absolutely give back cultural artifacts it took from around the world, but everything else you said is silly.
I think that was the point. To be silly.
There’s much more to culture than artifacts. Besides a few encounters in London, I’ve seldom encountered “terrible examples of humanity” here. Mostly, people are friendly, or at worst, indifferent.
Just like the “nice” Germans right around 1935 and 1940
Mexican here. Generally, most of the population won’t be very welcoming. Talking specifically about mexico city. You see, the amount of money you make in tech in the US will allow you to stay at the very best places in the city, which pushes native people out of those districts and makes them angry in the process. However, those districts are already popular for tourists/rich immigrants and that’s probably for a reason. I guess business there benefit from this wealth availability so they will treat you well. I’m not rich so idk. Also, it’s probably not hard to emigrate here bureaucracy wise.
Speaking Spanish, you will likely do very well in mexico. Good food, good nightlife, good safety and infrastructure (assuming you stay in the good zones), etc.
Personally, having traveled to other countries (talking about US and places in Europe specifically), I love the diversity of nationalities you can find. I think different backgrounds and experiences is very important to drive innovation. I’d love to see more of that in my home country so I’m for more people emigrating to mexico. Feel free to ask questions if you are curious.
Gentrification is a problem in the US too, probably most everywhere. Mexico City would be another great culture to be in, but I’m not really interested in living in some isolated communiy though. Is it possible for a foreigner to live a reasonable middle class existence there?
Well, yes of course. Some relatives have few foreigner coworkers and they seem to be happy. (tho I don’t know them personally). Also I’ve met some foreigners through university and they seem to adapt well. But I guess it heavily depends on what kind of lifestyle you want to have.
People are usually warm and we appreciate it if you show interest in our culture and adapting here. You should be more than fine if you are mindful to that and better still if you are naturally outgoing. Good luck and hope you find a cool place to go, or things get better if you end up not moving.
Heidelberg, Germany. This town is already more American than some towns in America.
Canadian Here. prior to the election? we’d be welcoming. now? there seems to be a general sense of “we don’t what that idiocy here” the right-wing cons of Canada would likely embrace Americans but the general consensus with my friends and family is that Americans are now considered morons (left and right leaning).
Americans are now considered morons (left and right leaning)
Why the left-leaning ones? Because we didn’t do enough to prevent this catastrophe?
But wouldn’t you want the ones who would uproot their lives because Trump was elected? It’s the ones who voted for him that you wouldn’t want. If anything, Canada could use all the non-maga you can get.
I’m roughly between b2 and c1 in German after living here for 2 years. I met another American who has lived here for 12 years and spoke lower than a1 german. I could only speak to him in English. Don’t be like that guy.
I’d say currently in Germany it’s all depending on which state you pick. Bayern z.B. is the most international place I’ve ever lived. The people here (speaking from my view point) are very loving and caring. I feel my day with small talk and jokes and have no problem making friends, which is the opposite of what I read from others on the internet.
So I guess it all depends on where you live, how hard you work to integrate yourself, and most importantly is TRY to learn the language for gods sake.
Either way best of luck to you and enjoy your journey!
Brazil is a Bad Idea®.
- There’s a reasonable chance that a Trump-like clown wins in 2026. Probably a Bolsonaro ally, or even a relative (there have been talks about his wife running for presidency).
- Repeat with me the Latin American mantra: Nothing Fucking Works®.
- Ask Haitians and Venezuelans how they’re treated.
Ireland is full of tech jobs that pay well and that’s the only way to live well here right now since basics are so expensive. Housing is a big issue, but that’s not just our problem. Come on over, you’d be welcomed.
I don’t know why but this is the first place I actually thought to move after Trump won again… I’ve never even been able to afford a house here…
I would love to take my family to some place that is more accepting of interracial relationships/children. because we all knew it was racist country but I didn’t realize how racist it was until trump won again…
I could see them trying to end interracial marriage just like they want to outlaw same sex…
Ireland has its share of racists unfortunately but also fairly open. It’s a changing country.
Yeah racists are everywhere unfortunately… I don’t get it… I know there is a huge drinking problem… But it’s Ireland you have to kinda expect that
I’m not sure but it might be less of a problem with younger generations. They seem to be all round healthier which is great
Yeah bloody racists. It’s bringing out the anti racists though which is also great to see.
Given that my country is Russia and you are probably trying to escape an authoritarian regime, you may consider another destination.
But still, I think Americans are generally welcome. People can make lighthearted jokes about it and be surprised, but you’ll be a welcome guest after all. Bonus points if you say American government, and particularly Department of State, is shit :D
Language barrier might be an issue - most Russians above ~35 have very poor English skills, and younger folks mostly have it on A2-B2 level.
Oh, and the country is sanctioned to hell, so sending money in and out is an additional hurdle. But if you retain your American credit card, you’ll be alright and at least able to make payments outside the country.
