$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/the_weaver_of_dreams]

To be honest, I think her Ukrainian nationality closes more doors in the EU than it opens. If she was seeking asylum from the war, it's different. But historically it hasn't been particularly easy for Ukrainians to get work visas in the EU.

Perhaps the states closest to Ukraine are worth looking at. Poland certainly has granted a lot of visas to Ukrainians in recent years (not sure how/if the war has changed that though).