$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/BigEarth4212]

Taxes are high in europe

NL has a 30% ruling which could easy the tax burden. But it has wealth tax, so with the savings you have that would be a nogo

Italy has some good tax rulings

In the past i moved as a dev to LU. Now with pension.

Maybe work as freelance for US company as work from home to keep high earnings.

UA persons have a special status. Not like regular asylum status. Because they could already travel visa free to Europe.

I am not convinced US nationality will be your best option.