I was offered a job that payed much better than my old. So I’d say it’s well worth it.

Downside is that it takes years to build up a new social circle when you’re in late 30s (might vary with personality).

A company was willing to sponsor my visa and pay for relocation costs. Was it worth it? In some other word it might have been, but the way it went for me - absolutely not.

If your entry point into a society is work, make really really sure you will like it. “Culture fit”, despite all the criticisms of the concept, is more important than ever. And make sure the initial social circle you fall into is conductive to your mental wellbeing.

In some ways it’s like being born. Your starting point matters. Anything you achieved previously doesn’t matter since your entire support system will be gone.

Moved from the US to the Netherlands, it’s been great.

Upsides:

Downsides: Decidedly less pay (compared to American amounts, but pretty good by Dutch standards)

Hey, I did that!

Engineer in my 30s. We packed up and left the US after I got a job in the EU (pre 2nd trump). It’s been awesome!

Super hard some days, lots of learning, cultural norming, work, job problems, language learning, social circle building, but it’s very fulfilling and I think it’s a better lifestyle fit for us.

Highly recommend it if you can swing it. And if you do, jump all in.

Moved from the US to the Netherlands in 2023 and regret nothing. The opportunity came in the form of the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty. It makes it ridiculously easy for Americans to move to the Netherlands, if you are self employed. It worked for me to move, and when my business went sideways due to my main client screwing me over, I got a normal Dutch job as a highly-skilled migrant. w Downsides:

• Pay is decidedly lower compared to American salaries (but pretty good compared to Dutch standards)
• Spicy food is rare
• Korean food is also pretty rare
• Good Mexican food is borderline nonexistent. My coworkers saw nothing wrong with “cheese flavored yogurt” being applied to nacho chips instead of actual cheese. I once tried a local restaurant’s nachos and got a plate of chips covered in a really sweet ketchup.
• While everybody speaks English pretty well, you WILL want to learn basic Dutch to better understand important legal or medical meetings. But you should be learning the native language anyway, no matter where you go.

Benefits:

• Everything I need is within walking or a short bicycle distance
• Nobody is going to shoot me here
• I can get medical treatment without going bankrupt
• Health insurance doesn’t cost as much as rent
• My asthma inhaler doesn’t cost 1/4th of my rent
• High fructose corn syrup is rarely found here (it gives me migraines)
• The cities are more attractive (more appealing architecture)
• The roads are damned near immaculate. I don’t drive here because I don’t need to, but on the rare occasion I’m in a car it’s impossible to not notice how good the roads are. I have crossed the country from Schiphol to Nijmegen and didn’t see a single pothole anywhere, in roughly two hours on the road. Seriously, they could spend 10 or 20% less on the roads and still have what would be the best roads anywhere in N.America by comparison.
• The work-life balance is insanely better (I get 35 paid days off a year, starting from the moment I started working). I can tell my boss I’m sick and that’s that. If I move to a new home I get a free day off.
• Trains are much more enjoyable for traveling between cities than driving; I’ve been reading so much lately
• Dutch is a pretty accessible language if you’re a native English speaker that already understands some basics of German
• Nearly everybody speaks English better than the people I grew up with in the mid-west
• A huge amount of Europe is only a single day’s travel away
• Store workers here aren’t obviously beaten and ground into a raw bundle of nerves and depression like in the US. Of course it’s not a workers paradise by any means, but people generally seem more genuinely happy.
• So many restaurants have patios or tent covered tables to enjoy a drink or meal while staying outside to enjoy the weather when it is good
• Food from Suriname is really good, as are frikandelbroodje and kaassouffle
• Nijmegen’s Vierdaagse can be a blast, the whole old/inner city becomes a giant festival

There’s probably more benefits, but those are the highlights for me. All around though, the biggest advantage is that I can easily see a much better future for myself and my wife in the Netherlands than I can in the US.

Moved from EU to US during Trump1/just before COVID. Loved the pay check, the weather and the nature, hated the work culture, the food culture, the lack of culture, the lack of a social net and of social cohesion, the ingrained racism.

Moved from US to Germany, liked it but didn’t love it. Loved to social net and the beer gardens, the parks and public transport, struggled making connections and learning the language.

Moved from Germany to France, loved it. Great food, great weather, good work life balance, great social net, amazing food and good culture, people are friendly and welcoming (not in Paris or overly touristy places). Only downside is being away from family and having to build my social circle again.

I’m receiving tech patent royalties and moved with wife to France. I have lived in Malaysia and Singapore and a little time in Spain before this.

Our life didn’t change much, but we have a new baby and the constant back and forth of us politics makes it no longer a good investment for me. Food is miles better, healthcare is great and affordable even not yet being covered by the national scheme. I’m clearing out my real estate and investments in the US and going to start again in France. Making friends, especially french friends, is slow, but to be fair we haven’t had time to invest in and participate in our hobbies. I’m sure when we do we will find our people (french lessons will help too).

Pros: far better and cheaper food, weather where we are in the south is great, cars expensive but affordable, much less driving but I still own a car, great schools and accessible healthcare. Cheaper rent, and cheaper house prices. I also personally agree with the very real concept of egality in France- everyone is treated the same.

Cons: things take longer here, some rules and rights aren’t quite as good as elsewhere in Europe because France is a bit conservative in some ways. Situations not within the normal permanent work contract in France and background in France can sometimes complicate things. Pay would be less if I had a local job, but I don’t think my life would be negatively impacted much.

I had a good job for a few years and I spoke the language. I wasn’t planning it the whole time, I just tend to save money, and when the pandemic hit, I realized that living near my family doesn’t guarantee that I get to see them, so why not live where I want?

I had done one year of study abroad and a second year of being a normal student at a German university about fifteen years ago, and I’d wanted to live in Germany since. During the pandemic, I joined a discord server with some Germans, began dating one, and had time working from home to do a four hour intensive German class every day before work online.

I was able to stay with the person I was dating for a few weeks while applying to all sorts of internships, master’s programs, and volunteer positions that would give me a visa, and I sent my cat to a different friend’s house until I got into a program and moved into my own apartment. At the time, everything seemed far, far more complicated than it needed to be, and I definitely do still consider immigration in Germany to be kafkaesque, but I now realize how lucky I was that everything fell into place.

It’s now been over four years and I’m married to a (different) German, but I don’t think I’ll really fully unclench until I’m a citizen. I’m from the US, and it’s starting to look fucking terrifying, so I’m very glad that I’m here and that I’m a little more settled. I’m still slogging at my degree (I opted to take a full year of just intense German classes when I started, so it’s not quite as long as it sounds- unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to work during that time and they’re expensive as fuck) and my husband’s an apprentice, so it’s financially a little tight. I liquidated my retirement account in my mid thirties, which felt bad, but I’d like to keep an emergency fund and we’ll be able to save a lot more in a few years and we’ll be entitled to small pensions.

I moved for work. I jokingly asked my boss one day if I could relocate and did not expect an easy yes. 2 years after asking, I was in another country. Was it worth it? Yes. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and not many people get the chance, so I took it. I didn’t even care what city I was going to end up in (we have multiple offices in across the country).

I did end up in a different city than what was initially planned, but for someone in my situation (wanting to get out of a 3rd world country), beggars can’t be choosers. I’ve since settled in with my wife. Assimilating wasn’t an issue because my home country is very exposed to western culture and we’re fluent in the language.

I would say it was worth it. I moved from the Netherlands to Germany for three years for a Master’s and then to Canada for a PhD and stayed there and got a job. It’s a great way to experience different cultures (though all Western of course).

For the move to Germany, it was really easy. It’s all EU so all I had to really do was register at the Kreisverwaltungsreferat. I had also applied for a grant to study abroad so that paid the tuition as well as the rent. Tuition in Germany is very low by the way. It was also a great way to build independence since I had to rely a lot on myself, having come all alone.

I did meet my lovely Canadian spouse there, so there was the opportunity to move to yet another country. Immigration is a massive pain, even when married to a Canadian, but it all worked out with student visa, permanent resident, and finally citizen. Took years!

The downside is of course being 6000km away from my family. Especially from my parents who are not getting any younger. So it’s hard to be there for them if something happens. But overall, I would say it was worth it. The experiences have been great and I get to spread ideas that work well from places I’ve been to my new home in Canada. The lack of proper licorice here is baffling though!