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Hi Everyone! Sorry if this is long- I feel like there's a lot of components to explain. I'm Australian, in my mid-30's, never lived abroad, though I've travelled a fair bit and always wanted to live somewhere else at least once in my life. There are a number of places I'd like to live in, but the UK is probably the easiest to get a visa and doesn't have language barriers. I was going to take a year off work to do it 5 years ago, but then covid hit and I didn't end up going. I had hit the ceiling age (31 years of age) and so gave up on that dream and saved up really hard instead to buy a small apartment so I could move out of home. However, last year they extended the YMV so that 35 year olds can now go (Anyone under 36, if I'm not wrong?) and I'm now at this age.

In theory, I'd really like the idea of living in the UK. I've always loved cities, so being able to access a big city like London with lots of things to do would be exciting. Being much closer to other countries and taking short weekend trips sounds fun. I have also dreamed about living somewhere else for a really long time, and have talked it through with so many friends that it would feel nice to try at least once.

However, at 35, I feel like I might be too old to this when everyone else coming over on a YMV is in their 20's? I'm also not so naive to just romanticise the move as all fun and travels - I know there would be a lot of struggle at first and that it's really expensive and I wonder if it's worth it when I only want to be there for 1 year (the time my job can be held for)? I've noticed so many people talk about the first year of moving as being very difficult and lonely, so I wonder if it's worth it to do the move if I'm going to potentially spend months struggling with house hunting & job hunting? I also worry that I'll end up struggling to stay afloat, unable to afford travel, which would defeat the purpose of going. Should I just save up for some long holidays or should I try to make moving work somehow?

I do struggle a lot with change in general (even when it's not to do with moving countries) and I know I live very much in my comfort zone which I'm scared to leave. Funnily enough, I'm comfortable doing solo travel and rarely experience homesickness - however, I feel like going on holidays is very different from living somewhere. Here are a number of specific worries I have about moving:

Money & Housing

• Having a morgage for a few years now has made me quite anxous about money. I only really have a modest sum of money now which I treat as my emergency funds and to offset my morgage. While I do have a few months of long service leave and annual leave I might be able to use (meaning I'd be paid for a few months overseas), I would probably need to use some of that money I have saved and so I worry about this being a bad idea, especially if it takes a long time to find a job - I wouldn't want to burn through all my existing funds.
• I would rent out my own apartment if I left, so that would be mostly covered. However, I don't know if it would be fully covered, so I worry about still having to make repayments.
• I've only moved a hand full of times in my life and I've become quite comfortable in my own place at the moment. The thought of renting it out just before the move, and moving back with my parents who live far away from my work (to save money) or subletting closer to the city makes me nervous.
• Cost of Living in terms of renting in the UK (especially London) seems really high. I've been looking into alternative housing such a housesitting and homesharing. However, I've never really done housesitting before and there's very little information about homesharing with someone elderly through an agency - I'd like to know more about it, but very few people have spoken about it?

Jobs

• I never really established a career for myself - I fell into a job at a place I loved and then stayed there for over a decade. So I have a lot of anxiety about job hunting. I was never very good at it and just remember being rejected due to being not very confident. I find it very daunting since I haven't done it in awhile, so I worry I won't find a decent job, especially as I'm not a high tier professional, just a regular office worker and the UK seems very very competitive.
• Concern about wages being low. It looks like the salary for my job over there is around £35,000 max and I'm not sure if that's going to be too low to live on/travel on given the high cost of rent?
• If I hated it and wanted to go home, I worry about what I'd do - my workplace would have someone cover my job while I was away, so I wouldn't have my normal job back for a year.

Safety

• I worry about riots and stabbings and all the other things reported in the news about the UK though I know that the media often does report on the more extreme events
• I developed a fear of flying some time ago. While it's never stopped me from travelling per say, I am very nervous for long haul plane rides
• Initially, when I wanted to go to the UK 5 years ago, I was going because a friend also wanted to do the YMV. However she changed her mind due to covid and now her life situation is different and she wouldn't be interested in doing it anymore, so I don't really have anyone wanting to come over with me. I also have only a few friends in the UK (no one in my inner circle) and it seems so far from everyone I know and love :(

I do have some safety nets- If I chose to try to go, I could try to use my long service leave and annual leave, which would be helpful while job searching and is a lot more of a buffer than other people have. I do feel like it would be a growing experience (since I have been feeling restless lately even though I love my workplace). And there's a big community of Australians in London, who even have social media groups. I know I'm not a tree and if I really hated it, I could go back to Oz and stick it out with my parents. Or possibly find temp work at home and then travel in smaller doses for a year before I return to my job.

But still, I have so many concerns that I feel paralysed and I wonder if it'd be a bad choice.... Has anyone else made the move at 35? Or made the move with a house/morgage/ tight budget? Has anyone ever homeshared for really cheap rent? And if I only had 1 year to live there, would it be worth all the effort and expenses (Would it just be a lot of trouble for little pay off or am I just overthinking things and should just take the plunge)?? I guess, given my circumstances, is it unrealistic to move for a year? Or should I give it a go since it's the last year I can try to do this? Any suggestions or personal experiences appreciated! Some people might be frustrated by all these concerns, especially if they've moved multiple times before and are not afraid of change, but hoping for some kind words of advice and reasoning since I'm personally not that brave and I think I've been going around in circles for a few weeks now and I feel anxious about my indecisiveness.

Hello, I am a young person trying to move abroad. However, I stopped my degree halfway and do not have enough qualifications. I was wondering if anyone knows how to move abroad on a whim, if possible?

As a Canadian working in the US, I'm upset to see the pointless tariffs being targeted to Canada. It's hurting Canadians for no good reason.

I'm already donating to my city's hospital and my university alma mater. Are there ways anyone else is contributing?

Investigating Argentina as a potential retirement destination. Currently planning an itinerary to check out cities and locations during the US spring. Everyone talks about Buenos Aries but I prefer the mountains/countryside over downtown/urban living.

Ideally I would like to find an upscale, active mountain town (similar to Boulder, CO?) with a good gym, yoga studio, safe roads for cycling, and European style markets (Carrefour, Lidl, etc.) with lots of fresh food options. Ultimately I would like to buy a place and be able to rent it out to like minded tourists when I am not there, easily accessible by air, bus, or car from a major metro.

Doing some reasearch online and here are some of the locations that I found that may be options:

• Mendoza, Mendosa Province
• Villa La Angostura, Neuquén Province
• Salta, Salta Province
• Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province
• Córdoba Province
• San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro Province

Interested to get opinions from expats or Argentinians familiar with the countryside outside Buenos Aries. And yes, I speak Spanish. Thank you in advance.

It's fine if you want some guideline for some obscure situation. But seriously, email the consulates first. I get that some consulates don't care but I've emailed a ton of consulates in the past 10 years. And they always get you on a path.

E.g I'm a Belgian citizen who moved to Canada and met my dubai-born Indian husband here. We wanted to know if we could get married in Dubai. So we emailed my Belgian consulate first. They said we couldn't. We then emailed the city of Brussels. Then the Belgian consulate in India. Etc. Etc. Our son is Belgian-canadian which we did by emailing the Belgian consulate. .

I am moving to CA with my family in March. My salary is $300k with additional health insurance full coverage on top. I will also have a company car. My retirement payments and contract will remain in Sweden as this will be a temporary 3 year position.

What lifestyle should we expect and aim for?

So I’m actually confused with the income requirements and was hoping that someone here could help.

It looks like I need an income of around $4000/month or $78,000 in the bank in order move there.

The reason I’m considering this is I’m a Veteran with a 60% disability. I can get Social Security income in a year or so. And at that point I would be making around $3500/month.

Thought I might be able to go there on a tourist visa, however it’s not clear if I can move some basic furniture there and rent a place.

I’m so sorry to ask this but do any of you know about how to do this or who I can to talk to other than the Mexican Consulate? Any links would be helpful as well.

I'm in my 20s and moved here from the States. In many ways, living in Europe is better but I can't understand why so many people come to Ireland long-term.

The price of everything is high but healthcare and public transport is undeveloped. Housing prices are also insane.

The only good thinf is the relatively relaxed rules for getting citizenship compared to other European countries.

Hello, I'm moving to Belgium in a couple months and bringing my pet rabbit via cargo. I already have a broker set up in Canada but they can't do the Belgian side.

Can anyone recommend a company that accepts pets coming in? I've already emailed a couple and am waiting for quotes. Any idea what the price is for a small pet? Thanks :)

My wife and I are planning on moving to Europe from the US at the end of this year. I am a dutch and US dual citizen and she is only a US citizen. Despite being a dutch national I have never resided in Europe.

It seems like EU countries all have different rules regarding immigrating with a non-EU spouse. We are looking for the easiest way to immigrate together.

We are considering Paris or Berlin. Unfortunately, it seems the Netherlands is off to table because my wife is only 19 and they require that a spouse be 21 or older.

Does anyone know what EU countries have the easiest process for immigrating with a US wife?

Hello, i have a question about citizenship. My mother(my father is born in sweden) is born in france, she is a fully swedish citizen now, everyone from her side is born in france except me who is born in Sweden.

A friend of my Said i could get a french citizenship due to ”rule of blood” stuff.

My question is, how does this work, can i get a citizenship in france, or how does this work

We're flying Canada to UK via Paris in 10 days, and we have all our documents, but one single comment online has spun us in circles a bit.

Do we need our Import Animal Health Certificate to be in French for when we arrive in France?
We can't find a French version anywhere, the official site just keeps downloading English.

If any knows if they needed one when they did the journey, or has a link to a French one, please let two panicking cat parents know.

Happy to answer any questions on our prep for this / let people know about the experience once this ordeal is over.

This is going to come out as desperate, but it’s gotten to that point.

My partner is Australian, moved to HK but moving back because he wasn’t able to land a job, thinking he will have more luck in Australia being a national, but becauseit’s been months and he’s done everything he can, applying jobs every single day, to the point that there would be no jobs to apply for at some stage! He’s done all of the tailoring CV, getting it reviewed by a professional.

I on the other hand am a junior doctor and we’re doing long distance for 9 months. I can see the agony in him, he’s barely secured 2 interviews through LinkedIn, one which progressed till stage 4 and then rejected, which has taken a huge toll on his mental health.

Now it feels like he’s given up, it’s been 7 months he’s been applying, he’s so depressed that he is considering joining the army, which for me means we are breaking up, because I can’t wait 6 years I already feel I’m old and want to start a family. He doesn’t want to go ahead with this as well and it is his last option but day by day it sounds like that’s what’s left.

We have a beautiful relationship, and I am absolutely terrified of losing him. I know this sounds so stupid, but if anybody has any kind of connection, or know someone who’s looking into hiring, or just have any advice, would you please get in touch, I’d be forever grateful.

He’s literally up for anything, hadn’t been nitpicking when applying. He’s worked as a project manager for several companies and market research analyst, client programme specialist, client satisfaction

I think he is so smart, and he would be a GREAT asset to a company, he’s the hardest working man I know and I have admired how he has been getting through this for the past 7 months.

I’ve totally asked him to just come live with me but he feels he’ll be a leech and won’t agree to it.

I can’t believe I am making a post like this but that’s how desperate this whole thing feels like. I’m ready for all the hate comments this is going to get but also hopeful there will be a kind soul who has probably at some point been through this.

I appreciate you reading this!

I am from California living in Spain, looking to find a career here so I can stay. The whole process just seems overwhelming and I’m wondering if anyone knows resources for expats trying to find work. I am looking specifically to hire a sort of career coach, mentor etc

Hi all, I'm hoping to get some advice. I'm a queer American and the state of my country is truly frightening to me. I do take some solace knowing that I am within a half day's drive of the Canadian border and I do live in a blue state. Everything I'm finding right now about leaving to Canada is about/for asylum seekers. I feel confident enough that my spouse and I don't need to flee just yet and I feel we are safe enough in NY for right now to not need to apply for asylum. Those resources should be used for people who are in more danger and coming from less tolerant areas. From what I've read, applying for asylum can take some time to be approved and I'd hate to pack up our animals and all our belongings and be left in limbo for an unknown amount of time. I've also read that sometimes while they process asylum they do send you back, and again, I'd hate to pack up our whole lives and sell the house just to be sent back and left homeless while we wait. So is there a "long way" that we can leave the US for Canada? I know we don't need a visa or anything to go visit, but is there something else we can apply for other than asylum? Will we need an immigration lawyer? Any help or advice or just pointing me in the right direction would be super appreciated.

Hi. I'll be moving to Spain on a non-lucrative visa, but while I've targeted the area - the eastern side of the Madrid community where the weather is dryer - I'm still trying to nail down where exactly to live.

I will be paying cash for a house so I need someplace affordable, but i'm looking for a place where artists/writers/etc. live.

I'd like to live in a town or village that has good public transportation as well. I speak a bit of Spanish but I'm taking lessons so by the time I move there I hope to be adequately fluent, and will continue to learn while I'm there. I think it's really important to learn the language of the country you're living in.

Researching online is pretty much impossible for my circumstances. All I can find is information for families who want to move or for old people like me, but old people who are wealthy.

Does anyone have any suggestions? For housing I'm looking to spend maybe €250,000. And if it makes any difference, I am a white woman.

I'm planning a trip for the fall to do research. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Edit: I tried to post in the Spain sub but it was removed and the moving to Spain sub has only a few members.

Hello everyone my name is Sebastian I'm a US and Russia citizen, i was born in Moscow. My Dad came to Russia in 1992 to help after the Soviet Union collapse.

I left Russia 3 years ago because of the war and not to be drafted to the army (I'm 20 years old right now). Now i live in Kazakhstan (Almaty) and studying in university (filmmaking).

I really want to move to Chicago i have family there which i don't really know so i need to fix that. I don't know wat to do. I understand that a lot of people don't want to move there but my situation is little bit different.

I would like to talk with someone with the same problem or to hear some recommendations

I’ve lived abroad for about 10 years and recently I’ve been considering on moving back to the US, especially with the global political climate at the moment and the rising security concerns worldwide.

I posted in the other sub and didn’t receive much info, so I’ll try my luck here instead

Does anyone have any experience with the spousal visa? How long does it generally take and is there a way to expedite the process (hiring attorney, life being danger, etc)

Do different countries consulates have faster processing times?

I'm a 34F with a PhD in STEM. I was in the US for 1 y of my PhD and I loved it so much. A lot of people warned me about the US academic culture and that it might be very competitive in a toxic way, but I didn't feel that. I know I was maybe lucky, but I loved my city, my university, my lab, labmates and my supervisor. I accomplished so much, I loved the atmosphere and I can easily say it was the best year of my life. I had an amazing roomate, too. I've got an offer for a postdoc right before going back to finish my degree in my country, Brazil. I was under a J1 visa and I have the 2y home residency requirement. So as I finished my degree, I landed a postdoc here in the meantime which pays my bills but I am mostly miserable, I feel underappreciated and mostly I feel like I'm losing precious time of my life in something that is not giving any professional growth (in my case, publications or relevant experience. I'm basically fixing things around my lab). I still have the offer to go back to the US, but I need some honest advice in face of the recent government policies. The funding is secured and I have a visa sponsor, but I need opinions on how is the climate in the country, specially for someone who aspires to have a scientific career (academia ou industry). If I would go back to the US, I would try to land a job after my postdoc, as the original plan. Please any advice would be welcome.

Hello everyone,

Lately, I’ve been seriously planning to move to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa (WHV) for at least a year.

To give you some background—so you can better understand my expectations—I’m a 23-year-old from Portugal with a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the country’s top university. Over the past year, I’ve been working as a mechanical engineer at a refinery, which is theoretically the top 99% of what I could get as a first job after my masters. Unfortunately, however, I feel completely stuck, as the refinery is in a remote area of Portugal, and I simply have no passion for what I do.

My ideal scenario would be:

• Given my CV, I’m planning to apply in bulk for jobs in the mining industry on the west coast of Australia, construction, or any high-paying job where my qualifications would give me an edge over the competition.
• Work non-stop for the first six months, taking as many hours as possible to save up as much money as I can.
• Spend the rest of the time traveling across Australia and eventually exploring both islands of New Zealand, which has always been a dream of mine.
• After that trip… honestly, I have no plans for my life.

I feel like it’s now or never if I want to try something like this, but I also feel scared that I could be renouncing a great career as a mechanical engineer ...

What do you think of my plan? Do you think it’s realistic to secure a job before even landing in Australia? Or will I likely have to look for opportunities once I arrive in Perth?

I was 12 when my mom, brother and I moved to the US from France to go live with my new step dad. My dad and rest of the family stayed in France and from there we traveled to visit them 2-3 times a year. Growing up, I always felt more French than American probably because I was basically a teenager when we came and spent so much time going back. I’ve grown to appreciate SoCal immensely but I’ve always said I’d move back to France.

My mom always said I was crazy. That we’re so lucky. That everyone “dreams of coming to the US” etc. And sure yes, it’s beautiful. There’s no denying. The ocean, beautiful weather year long, huge houses. It’s shiny.

But all I can think about are the politics, the poor education system, the cookie-cutter houses that burn down every year all whilst fire insurances abandon you, the horrible healthcare system and so much more. Not to mention, a 3 bedroom home with little-to-no yard runs 2-3 millions. France isn’t perfect by any means but at least quality of life is higher and much cheaper. We could have a huge home with acres of land for a fraction of the cost. I even told my mom we’d get a second home/studio for her on our land. That’s how much cheaper it is.

Anyways, I feel immense guilt (and fear) about leaving my mom and siblings. Part of me says “buy an expensive small home you don’t really like and stay close to your family because that’s what matters the most” And part of me says “pursue your dreams. Your ideal life. Do you really want to have kids in a country with politics like these ?” But is it my ideal life without my family? I told my mom she should come back but she said my siblings are here and she can’t leave them which I completely understand. We had a really tough tear-filled conversation and she says to not let her hold me back but she also said she won’t be there to know my kids and that’s the worst thing truly.

My husband was born and raised in SoCal but adores France and Europe and is very happy about moving there. Im torn. If my mom could come too, I’d be moving there tomorrow. But she can’t. And at best she’ll be able to visit maybe 3-6 months out of the year if life permits it and we have space for her.

Has anyone else ever dealt with this? It’s literally keeping me up at night.

So I’m in my forties. I have a family - fluent in Spanish and English. I worked in India and Latin America and in several state across the US. Spent a very short time in Europe. My wife and I are exploring living and working abroad with our family.

In the past I worked for US companies and when I lived and worked abroad for them it was as a US citizen.

In this case, we want to explore the possibility of becoming residents elsewhere.

Given our travel history - we are biasing toward Europe but open to other options. I’m from Latin America but I don’t really want to go back there.

I work and have worked for 2-3 multinational companies that are probably among the top 10-20 companies in the world based on brand recognition and my field is Progam and Product Management. Specifically in the field of analytics or marketing technology or strategy. that said. Ideally I want to work somewhere different. The opportunities for international transfer right now are low.

In the US I make around 200-250k usd base. I understand that other countries have other expectations and better social safety nets. But I’d like to have a good quality of life.

Can someone point me into the right direction on the things I need to learn and what countries will have opportunities for someone with an American passport?

I'm a 24yo male from Chile. I've decided to move abroad due to a lot of reasons, many of that related with my professional future objectives that in my current country I cannot reach and the current state of it when I have to live in a country with rising crime, gangs and violence and economical stagnation.

Due to personal reasons and the Covid pandemic, I decided to postpone studying in the university and I preferred to work, finally in 2024 I started to prepare my application to university on which recently I was notified that I was accepted in the best University here to study a degree.

The problem is what I mentioned before was the original plan, right now I don't know if continue with it because I don't know if I can live 4 more years here. Last year I was robbed two times with a gun, situation that provokes to me mental health problems like extreme paranoia and panic when I'm in the street. Also Chile is having a lot of problems that are making this country a shithole without any intention to solve it and unless you can pay for a privileged neighborhood, you are submitted to situations like I mentioned before.

I have to say this too, this is not a bad country and I know that I'm in a better position than the rest of the developed world, but it have its serious problems and realities that I don't want to live forever and in which I don't want to raise a family.

So, what can I do? In both cases my idea is move to France with the difference that if I move right now I would apply to a Working Holiday visa and then to a French University.

Hi everyone, I’ve been a refugee in the United States for six years and recently got my U.S. Refugee Travel Document. I’m planning to meet my family at the Khorgas International Center on the Kazakhstan–China border because they can’t get passports in China. However, I’m concerned about whether Kazakh and Chinese authorities share information—especially in that trade zone—and if there’s a risk China could discover my asylum status. Has anyone traveled to Khorgas or a similar cross-border area in a situation like mine? I’d love to hear any experiences or advice about potential safety issues, document checks, or data-sharing between the two countries. This is my first time trying to reconnect with my family in person, so I really want to be prepared and minimize any risks. Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer!

So my wife and I are moving to her home country (Singapore) for a while( possibly 2 years) till we are ready to make our move to Portugal. We have been trying to see if anyone has experience with being a US citizen and applying for the D8 from Singapore? We would love to know what you did and the best way to go about it. Any and all information on the subject would be appreciated

I have always wanted to live outside of the US, knowing it would be a challenge that would help me broaden my perspective. My company offered me relocation to Ireland, and I took it. I have a lot of family there, but nowhere near where I will be living.

When I tell people that I’m moving there next month, I keep getting asked “why?” Then “do you have family, are you moving with someone?” with a concerned look.

I don’t know anyone who has done this, so I’m curious, is there something I’m not seeing? Or are they reflecting their own fears?

I’ve moved to 3 new cities by myself in the US where I didn’t know anyone, so I expect to be lonely for the first year or so. I’m curious if anyone has done something similar, and can share their experience or advice :)

I’m trying desperately to find a way to get my 35kg Ridgeback to Norway from Australia. My wife has found a great job there but uprooting the family will be hard. No kids, but I run a local business and we have our dog who we are in love with. Flying him over will cost around $50,000AUD, traumatise him or even result in euthanasia during the flight- he has separation anxiety and doesn’t like strangers. Though he is not dangerous, he is big and will be scared.

Has anyone got any information on travelling by boat (where I can be with him) to Norway?

Hello all,

I’ve recently been accepted into a Masters program in the Netherlands for September 2025, and while I am overjoyed at an opportunity to live abroad I am a bit nervous at the potential money income

I am a recent college graduate in the USA, and I am lucky to have around 11k in savings, however, I know that even with working from now until september, I would be unlikely to get enough to outright pay for the tuition (around 30,000 total, (and that’s without cost of living) I applied for as many scholarships as my university has but unfortunately there are not a lot of options for graduate students, planning to apply for Fulbright next intake even though that’s a shot in the dark

I’m starting to have cold feet about the potential of taking out a loan, even though it’s to further my education, with the current climate of politics in the US I don’t feel confident to where the economy will be in a couple of years, and I don’t want to make a mistake

An alternative option I thought would be doing some work away or au pair work abroad to satisfy my want to travel, then work for a year or two before attempting a masters application again, however I worry about falling behind other applicants

There are work opportunities in the masters program, but I haven’t gotten a solid response from the program on pay/income/etc

Anyone have a similar experience that made them choose one way or the other? Genuially will be grateful for any advice, no matter how blunt or straightforward!

Thank you all!

I am a US citizen married to a German citizen. We currently live in the US. We work at the same company. My wife was approached by her supervisor about her interest in moving back to Germany to support the growth of the company there. My manager was supportive of me working remote from Germany as well.

We are primarily moving because our kids are entering school age and safety is a priority along with, what we think, is a better education system. I welcome others input and experience here. My wife only disks german to them and they very much understand. They also sirens about two months a year there with family. So I feel they would adjust well.

My wife would probably transfer to the German business unit and pay taxes etc through there. Ideally, I have thought that I would want to stay employed through the the US business unit. The reason being I want to keep our company 401(k) match. I am pretty possessive of our retirement funds and do not want to make a foolish financial choice.

Am I on the right track? What is navigating the tax treaty like? Did you get an international tax lawyer? What am I not thinking of? Did anyone else have to make this choice?

While our kids understand German, my German is poor. I keep trying to find information on whether or not I need to pass a language test in 3 years. I certainly do not want to get deported.

This is kind of all over the place but I would appreciate any insights or advice from others.

I have the opportunity to move to one of these places with my current company. I moved with them 2 years ago to Budapest from Chicago, and I like it, but it’s time to change.

Where would you choose?