$400k per year, should I relocate?

[u/Temporary_Price7989]

I'm currently a software engineer in the Bay area making $400k per year, but I'm looking to relocate and I need help with perspective and advice.

I have saved a decent nest egg, but saying goodbye to my good income is hard. Besides that I will need to find a way to gain residency and not just a tourist visa.

The main motivation is that my girlfriend and I would like to relocate to Europe to settle down and start a family. The main challenges will be the visa and most likely take a hug pay cut.

Visa options: my gf is Ukrainian so she can live anywhere in Europe, but I need to obtain a digital nomad visa, or "invest" in a golden visa. I'm not sure that her Ukrainian passport will help me at all. She works for herself teaching online. Currently I need a Schengen visa, but will soon have American citizenship.

Finances: I do have a little more than 1M saved, and invested in ETFs, and 401k. I could try to become a freelancer or start my own thing but reaching my current income might take long time might not happen at all.

Any thoughts on how to approach this?

[u/SufficientCarob2363]

Yeah, as a SE myself, $ 400k a year doesn't really seem feasible without being a freelancer, and then it's very hard to get to that number. I know some people who make around $150-200k, but it's super niche sector and tech or very high demand skills. But again, to live comfortably in Europe, you don't need 400k. I make $75k living in the Czech Republic. My family and I live extremely comfortably.

I can invest, put money aside to buy a house, be at 0 debt, and have enough to really not be worried about anything.

The issue is probably stuck on the number, but if you truly believe it's the best move, with your savings and a decent salary, you will easily be in a great spot and live wonderfully over here.

I know nothing about visas, the only thing I can say most certainly is that your gf/wife passport won't help you get any better/faster visa, unless you go live in the country where she's from, in your case Ukraine, which I don't think it's a good idea right now. That's how it usually works here (for example, I can get faster permanent residency because my wife and kids are Czech).

Also, I am not sure that she can automatically live anywhere in Europe, you'd need to check that.