For me, the European attitude toward family, work-life balance, commitment to the physical and mental health of its populace, and commitment to building and maintaining a middle-class, among others, are why I immigrated from New York City to the Nordic region. If any of my fellow Americans want tips on how to get out here, hit me up. Contact info in my portfolio.
I know a number of developers in Berlin who speak little German. That said:
- If you go outside of Berlin, it will be harder
- Even in Berlin, sometimes your baker, cab driver, etc. might not have a good command of English
- dealing with authorities can be difficult (that one's even difficult if you know German because of the excessive legalese)
Also, in the end, personally I think that if you want to live somewhere you should learn the language because otherwise it's kind of a shame (unless you don't plan to stay long). But you don't have to know it necessarily before moving there, and plenty of people here just stick to their expat bubbles...
I know quite a few devs in Berlin and none of them speak German. Just be fluent in English. The demand for solid devs is so high in Europe that mediocre devs who barely speak English and nothing of the native language can still get gigs.
I'm currently in NYC and my salary, despite crazy costs, lets me save money. Also I can buy property in any borough on my own saved money. Is that possible with a single engineer's salary where you immigrated to?
Also, is age discrimination in tech a thing there?
>> is age discrimination in tech a thing there? <<
Not in my experience, as an older-than-average dev here in Finland. This country where I have landed values fairness and egalitarianism quite highly. If anything, age and experience is respected more highly. It may help that I have a solid conviction that age/sex/race/etc discrimination is abject bullshit, and any company that does it fails in both tech and life. This lets me be bold when pitching or interviewing!
>> I'm currently in NYC and my salary, despite crazy costs, lets me save money. Also I can buy property in any borough on my own saved money. Is that possible with a single engineer's salary where you immigrated to? <<
Definitely. It's even possible on a factory-worker's salary, or even a supermarket cashier's salary. The social stability and calm that enforces is priceless and hard to overstate. I am happy to pay higher taxes on a lower salary to do my part to maintain this society.
In NYC, despite my also earning quite a high salary, I had many friends who were struggling, and I always had the gnawing concern in the back of my mind that my savings could somehow be wiped out from some kind of shenanigans: a weird medical bill that my insurance would refuse to cover, or being sued out of existence by a wealthy person with an ax to grind, or getting hacked because my bank's cyber-security was nonsense.
Here, even if the worst possible thing happens and your account is zeroed out, you and your family will not be out on the street or couch-surfing. In fact, you will have help and your dignity will be respected.
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[ 2.4 ms ] story [ 26.4 ms ] thread- If you go outside of Berlin, it will be harder
- Even in Berlin, sometimes your baker, cab driver, etc. might not have a good command of English
- dealing with authorities can be difficult (that one's even difficult if you know German because of the excessive legalese)
Also, in the end, personally I think that if you want to live somewhere you should learn the language because otherwise it's kind of a shame (unless you don't plan to stay long). But you don't have to know it necessarily before moving there, and plenty of people here just stick to their expat bubbles...
I'm currently in NYC and my salary, despite crazy costs, lets me save money. Also I can buy property in any borough on my own saved money. Is that possible with a single engineer's salary where you immigrated to?
Also, is age discrimination in tech a thing there?
Not in my experience, as an older-than-average dev here in Finland. This country where I have landed values fairness and egalitarianism quite highly. If anything, age and experience is respected more highly. It may help that I have a solid conviction that age/sex/race/etc discrimination is abject bullshit, and any company that does it fails in both tech and life. This lets me be bold when pitching or interviewing!
>> I'm currently in NYC and my salary, despite crazy costs, lets me save money. Also I can buy property in any borough on my own saved money. Is that possible with a single engineer's salary where you immigrated to? <<
Definitely. It's even possible on a factory-worker's salary, or even a supermarket cashier's salary. The social stability and calm that enforces is priceless and hard to overstate. I am happy to pay higher taxes on a lower salary to do my part to maintain this society.
In NYC, despite my also earning quite a high salary, I had many friends who were struggling, and I always had the gnawing concern in the back of my mind that my savings could somehow be wiped out from some kind of shenanigans: a weird medical bill that my insurance would refuse to cover, or being sued out of existence by a wealthy person with an ax to grind, or getting hacked because my bank's cyber-security was nonsense.
Here, even if the worst possible thing happens and your account is zeroed out, you and your family will not be out on the street or couch-surfing. In fact, you will have help and your dignity will be respected.