what are some good countries/places in Europe to live that speak english?
what are some good countries/places in Europe to live that speak english?
In answer to your question, CP, Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway
If you're thinking about it, read this first.
The Horror wrote:
In answer to your question, CP, Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway
thank you
If you really want to live in Europe, you better be prepared for sticker shock. Denmark and Norway are expensive, so you better plan on earning about 50% more than you can earn in the USA in order to maintain a similar lifestyle. You will need more money because taxes will take more of your Gross wages and your rent and food costs will be higher.
I should have mentioned that taxes are always complicated. Always.
I am not a tax attorney, so seek professional advice, and the below is just my experience:
In my experience, however, you always need to file your taxes in the US, even if you work abroad - most countries have double-taxation laws which means you don't have to pay in both countries. But you do have to declare what you earn abroad, if only to bump you up a tax bracket for what you do earn (if anything) in the US.
You may think this is complicated, and it is. I currently have a US based tax advisor and and french based tax advisor, even though my wife is fluent in French (most folk think she's native), and I pass (they think i have a nice accent is all). It's worth the extra cash to pay somebody to help you each year.
Why?
Let me give you two examples:
* Tax avoidance (i am not saying tax evasion - two different things). In *every* country, there are tons of rules and things that you can use to your benefit. Think of all the deductions you can have in the US system. Well - all those things are different. Everybody looks for those things they can do to reduce their taxes, legally. You as a newcomer in a country have no clue what is legal, not legal, accepted practice, etc. Can you charge for miles on your car if you own your own business? What if you work from home, can you take part of your home as a work place? Your tax advisor will help you understand not just what you have to pay, but how you can best do things to reduce your tax liability, in a legal and accepted way.
* Wealth Tax - here in france, there's such thing as a wealth tax (ISF - impots sur la fortune). if your total worth (considers property in the world + bank accounts, anything) is greater than a certain sum, you get hit with a graduated tax. I have no idea what kinds of laws like this exist in other countries, and would never have thought such a thing even existed. I'm sure every country has some "surprise" that all the locals avoid like the plague. Many famous French people hate this law and try to move
My point is, you really need to have help with taxes.
And you may say "Oh, i'm just going for six months, no problem". OK, sure. I went to china for six months and that was over 14 years ago. A lot changes in 14 years. I now have two kids, a house, etc. And even if you go for six months, you will have tax repercussions - you will be earning money in another country - where do you pay taxes? do you declare it on your US taxes... and so on.
All the above being said, it's worth it; I am really glad I have made the choices I have. It's hard work sometimes, but great fun. Boy do I have great memories of the mid-late 90s in China. It really was the wild west.
Have fun, be respectful.
I packed up and moved to France about a year ago. I did not speak a word of french when I arrived but luckily I had a good job lined up and a girlfriend that came with me. I'll quickly run through some of the pros and cons...
Pros:
Getting out of the comfort zone, you really feel like you're living each day.
Ideal environment to learn a new language
Great food and wine
Easy to travel to many varied cultures within a short distance
8 weeks (!) vacation a year
36 hour work week
Surrounded by more like minded people (i am a fairly liberal guy and lived in a red state)
Great, cheap, fast health care, public transport; biking and pedestrian culture
egalitarian culture (i.e. money is less important in day to day life)
Cons:
Very, very frustrating with the language barrier at first. I am now what I'd call 'semi-fluent' but I worked my ass off over the last year learning french.
Difficult to make friends at first (due to language/cultural barriers). Even if you can speak 'semi-fluently', it's difficult to joke around and make friends immediately.
Living standards are lower than the US; i used to live in a big loft, now I live in a 700ft2 apartment and I had to buy my own closets, fridge, stove, countertops, shelves, etc. I don't have a washer and dryer at home. I don't have a car as gas is about 8 dollars a gallon here.
High taxes. This is the trade off for good health care and public transport. To be honest, i think it's a good tradeoff but for some it might be a turnoff.
anyway, these are my experiences. all in all though, i wouldn't take this experience back for the world. i say do it, you'll never regret it. the worst thing that happens is you pack up and come home.
most of the world is an arm pit compared to usa...what we need is to get rid of obama and his dem cronies..thx
and take all his voters back to africa too
It will be too late to run when the tea partiers/ Palinistas come to power
Great post "ex pat here". People need to understand that they can lose the right to travel if they become felons by skirting the tax laws. Complicated is a mild word for these tax laws. For instance, the USA may give you a huge exclusion from foreign earned income if you live outside the US for 12 full months or more. At the same time, you would lose the exclusion if you spend too many days in the US on vacation, or for any other reason. Other than that, you will have to take into account the tax treaty between the US and your foreign country, in order to get a tax credit from country to country (don't forget that all worldwide income is considered to be taxable to a US taxpayer). Good luck.