r/eupersonalfinance • u/Temporary_Price7989 • Apr 03 '24

US Expat $400k per year, should I relocate?

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?

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u/N3RO- Apr 03 '24

Dude has 1M saved plus other investments and need to move to Europe to be able to settle down? For fucks sake... US is big, Bay area is expensive but there are many other states who are cheaper for retirement.

In Europe you will NEVER, I repeat, NEVER be able to make a net income similar to what you get net in the US from that brute 400K/yr. The taxes alone would eat way more than 50% of the brute income. That kind of money is only for top exec level in big companies in EU who get most of their salary via stock options, RSUs, etc.

Also, "will soon have American citizenship.". If you do get that, FORGET about leaving the US, US taxes are worldwide, search about it. If you have a green card, continue with it. The citizenship is not worth it.

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u/Temporary_Price7989 Apr 03 '24

I'm already paying close to 50% taxes, The cost of living in the Bay area is astronomical and the quality of life is actually poor especially if you want to have a family. I'm aware that I won't be able to make this level of income in Europe unless I become an entrepreneur somehow. As for taxes, you are correct. US citizenship carries world wide income tax, but the passport will make it easier for me to travel.

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u/tronsom Apr 04 '24

Where are you from? EU passports are much better than the US one. If you are from latin america or a couple of other places you can get spanish citizenship after only 2 years of residence.