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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kirispupis, post: 8214268, member: 118780&quot;]Wow, this thread has gone everywhere. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>FWIW, I&#039;m currently a software engineer. Because my mother is Luxembourgish, I have citizenship there, so I looked into moving when &quot;he-who-shall-not-be-named&quot; was in power. The realism was the following.</p><ul> <li>Housing wasn&#039;t really the concern. Lately, my neighborhood near Seattle has inched above Manhattan in prices, so even though Luxembourg is pricy - it wasn&#039;t a far stretch from here.</li> <li>Salaries were a major problem. Tech workers in Europe simply make less - a lot less. One of my colleagues actually <i>lost</i> money while he lived in Stockholm. The cost of housing+living+child care exceeded his salary. He finally moved back when a good chunk of his savings were gone.</li> <li>Then of course expenses were high. Restaurants are more expensive, as are groceries.</li> </ul><p>So, we haven&#039;t moved - yet. FWIW, I&#039;ve had numerous discussions with friends who do live in Europe. Their reply to the above is that it&#039;s difficult to quantify in dollars some of the advantages:</p><ul> <li>Working hours are far less. The 60-70 hour work weeks common in the US are practically unheard of there.</li> <li>Medical expenses are handled</li> <li>There&#039;s far more at your fingertips such as parks, gorgeous towns, and culture</li> <li>While trying to stay clear of political discussions, there are certain cultural aspects of the US that are far rarer in Europe.</li> </ul><p>Personally, I have <i>some</i> idea of this since I did live for about a year in Europe (split between Riga, Latvia and Berlin), but as a student. At the time, a tiny apartment seemed normal to me. Had I not become spoiled by the large houses and yards in the US, I&#039;d probably be comfortably living in one.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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