r/AmerExit

Really curious, as an American living abroad what snacks/foods do you miss the most that are not able to be found in your new home country?

Just wanted to share a bit of my story / give a little rant to how difficult bureaucracy can be at times.

I have always been unhappy living in America. For the lifestyle that I crave, America feels too much like living in a giant corporation that just sees its citizens as disposable worker ants. The work-life balance is awful, plus I am on the Autism spectrum and constantly suffer from burn out.

I met a group of Norwegian friends while gaming many years ago (10+ at this point) and started flying to Norway to vacation with them.

Here’s where I consider myself extremely lucky: one of those Norwegians and I feel in love, and I’m so grateful to be able to immigrate to Norway under a fiancé visa but even then, the paperwork and the planning and money involved is insanely stressful. I can’t imagine if I didn’t have him.

It ranges from having to plan a wedding to line up with when I suspect I’d get an answer for my visa, to needing to prove I’m not married from a country that has no database to prove that I’ve never been married before. (thanks America.)

Over a year of paperwork aside, this has been completely worth it. Life in Norway is much slower pace than America. I feel like I can finally breathe, the workers rights feel too good to be true at times, the language is pretty simple if you’re learning from English, and the Norwegians have been more than accepting of me given that I am really trying to adapt to their language and culture. I have noticed that they really do not like people who come in, and give no effort to learn Norwegian or adapt to Norwegian traditions and culture.
One of the things I was so unhappy with in America is how fast paced everything is, and how incredibly unsafe life is as well. Having to drive 80+ MPH to get anywhere and NEEDING to have a car to live is insane. I’ve grown to really love walkable infrastructure and have opted out of having my own car at all. (though my fiancé still has one for long trips)
I also have an autoimmune disorder that I cannot afford the medication for in America, I’ve recently been priced out of having health insurance at all. I’m going unmedicated with arthritis just suffering until I’m accepted in Europe.
I don’t deny that the pace of life in America isn’t good for some people, but for me, I need a lifestyle where I can slow down. I found that in Europe.

There’s obviously way more to my story but I just wanted to share a little snippet.

TLDR
America is fast paced, chaotic, no workers rights, and burnout.
Norway is calm, patient, lots of vacation time, unions, and I’m not terrified of the debt I’d get from breaking an arm or leg, or suffering from arthritis & my autoimmune disorder forever.

Hey all. I have regained my spanish citizenship. I’m a native spanish speaker and english speaker. Professionally I’ve been a designer and worked in creative ops. My family in spain have been struggling with jobs over there for a while, to the point where most of my family around my age moved from spain to other european countries to get jobs. I’m also a bird owner and have heard it’s a nightmare getting birds over to europe. Looking for country where i’d have the best hope of being able to not put my birds somewhere else for the 30 day quarantine (one of them is special needs and needs meds) and also a safe way of bringing them over so they’re with me on my lap. I’ve looked everywhere and read the requirements for bringing a bird in and there seems to be a way to bring a bird in without doing the 30 day quarantine in europe if i bring all the letters but not sure if anyone else has done this. Also unsure what country to aim for with job apps for a designer/artist/trans man with a tech background. Thank you!

20 year old black and trans student in computer science. I was in the early stages of planning on how to do my masters abroad for a student visa but I stopped to really think about why I wanted to move in the first place.

I was thinking that in some other country I could encounter less racism, no growing anti trans rhetoric, and no rampant individualism. Im not looking for a utopia, but a society where basic decency isnt met with weird looks would be nice. Unfortunately as I do more research into places around the globe, it seems like people at their core are the same everywhere.

Am I wrong and such a place exists? Id like to hear from firsthand accounts if so, If not I'll drop my plans right now and figure out how to survive here.

Edit: Thank you for the responses you've given me a lot to think about.

I’ve always wanted to live abroad, but I’m not sure where to start.

I’m interested in relocating somewhere in East Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, or Southeast Asia. Countries I’m considering: Kenya, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Peru, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Barbados, the Philippines, and Thailand.

I’ve been learning Spanish on and off for about 5 years and I’m at a B2 level. My partner is fluent in Spanish and English and is currently learning Chinese.

We’ve both taken DNA tests, and I made sure to get my whole family tested before they passed away. Unfortunately, my family doesn’t have any recent ties to Africa or the Caribbean. (Barbados and Jamaica showed up, but those connections are so distant that I wouldn’t qualify for citizenship by descent.) The DNA tests basically confirmed that my family has been in the U.S. for generations, so I’m planning on immigrating through work or another visa instead. My partner’s grandparents are Argentinian, but he isn’t interested in getting citizenship.

I say all that because I’m trying to do this right. I have no debt, good credit, and savings. I’m going to school for culinary arts (probably not the best field, but I enjoy it), I have some knowledge of IT, and I have a Level 5 TEFL certification to teach English as a foreign language. I’m currently unemployed, so I don’t plan on leaving without a good-paying job. I’m looking, but no luck so far. My partner has been reselling, and that’s what’s been keeping us afloat while I focus on school and language learning.

I know finding a job, earning a stable income, and learning to integrate into a new culture are going to be my biggest hurdles. So, I’d really like some advice.

What helped you successfully move abroad?

Hey everyone,

My name is Hannah Fritsch, I am a queer sociology student at the University of Hagen (Germany). I’m currently working on my Master’s thesis about how social inequalities affect trans* people from the United states who want to leave their country.

For my research I want to talk to trans* people from the US planning to relocate to another country, have already done so or want to leave the US but aren’t able to do so.

As it is really important to me to thoroughly understand and accurately portray your situation, the interview will take around 60 minutes. It will take place over Zoom.

Naturally, I will treat every shared information with strict confidentiality and anonymize it in accordance with the European General Data Protection Regulation. I will send you a consent form with further information before the interview.

If you are interested in participating in my study and/or have any questions, feel free to send me a DM or contact me by email at hannah.fritsch@studium.fernuni-hagen.de.

TL;DR: Wanted to move abroad since high school. Couldn't afford study abroad and didn't want to pursue a master's degree solely for immigration purposes. Spent 5 years applying to jobs overseas, networking, getting rejected, losing opportunities to layoffs, and dealing with visa barriers. Eventually joined a multinational tech company, made my international ambitions known from day one, and after a year secured an internal transfer to Spain. My immigration request was approved last week, and at mid 20 years old I'm moving to Spain in one week. Posting this because when I started researching this path, most people told me it was impossible for a young engineer without an advanced degree. It wasn't easy, but it was possible.
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I've wanted to live abroad since high school.

Growing up, I spent years reading stories online from people who had managed to build lives overseas. I wanted that for myself, but I couldn't afford study abroad programs and didn't have the resources to pursue a master's degree overseas. Instead, I settled for occasional trips to Europe whenever I could save enough money.

When I started researching how Americans move abroad, the overwhelming response was discouraging. Everywhere I looked, people said the same thing:

• Companies won't sponsor junior engineers.
• Fresh graduates have virtually no chance.
• Wait 10–15 years until you're senior.
• Get a master's or PhD abroad and use that as your immigration pathway.

I never felt that an advanced degree was the right path for me, and I wasn't willing to give up on the goal.

During my junior and senior years of college, I submitted thousands of applications to engineering jobs in countries like the UK, France, Australia, and New Zealand. Nothing. Every application seemed to die the moment I checked the box saying I would require visa sponsorship.

After graduation, I took an aerospace engineering job in the U.S. While working there, I spent years networking with employees at our international offices. I dedicated a few hours every week to cold outreach, virtual coffee chats, and building relationships with people around the world.

There were a lot of close calls.

I received an opportunity to relocate to New Zealand, only for it to disappear when the company announced layoffs a few weeks later. I was later offered the chance to move to Poland, but because of labor market testing requirements, my application was compared against local candidates and ultimately denied due to my limited experience. On top of that, much of my industry was tied to ITAR regulations, making international transfers extremely difficult.

Still, I kept applying.

Every week.

For years.

Eventually, I realized I had reached a dead end at that company and joined a large multinational tech company instead.

On my first day, I told my manager that moving abroad was one of my biggest life goals.

I worked hard, took on extra responsibility, and continued networking internally. A year later, two international teams expressed interest in bringing me over—but the compensation would have been extremely difficult to live on (around £30k in London and a similarly low package in Taiwan).

Then another setback hit: the manager who had been supporting my international ambitions left the organization.

I thought the dream was over.

Fortunately, his replacement became one of my biggest advocates. He supported an international transfer and ultimately gave me the opportunity to move to one of several countries where our team operates while keeping essentially the same role.

After that came six months of paperwork, document gathering, apostilles, immigration filings, and waiting. All that time worries they might change their mind or that I might get laid off.

Last week, my immigration application was approved and exactly one week from today, I'll be boarding a plane to Barcelona!

I'm incredibly excited to improve my Spanish, learn Catalan, experience life in a new country, and build a life outside the U.S.

I wanted to share this because when I first started researching this path, almost everything I found told me it wasn't realistic.

Maybe for many people it isn't.

But if you're a young professional reading this and dreaming about living abroad, don't automatically assume it's impossible.

It might take years.

You might get rejected hundreds of times.

Opportunities may fall apart at the last minute.

But sometimes persistence wins.

Five years ago I was a college student sending applications into the void.

Today I'm packing my bags for Barcelona.

Good luck to everyone else chasing the same dream.

Hi all - we’re moving from the PNW to Southern Ontario in the fall as permanent residents. We’ve done research on what we hope are all the big things but we’d love to hear from anyone who’s done a similar move about things you didn’t think about or wish you knew beforehand!

I’m 25 and currently live in the Midwest working in accounting but lately I have been thinking about applying for Canadian citizenship through my grandmother who was a Canadian citizen. I’m still undecided if I would want to move to Canada mainly due to being further away from family, but I think if it means having a more fulfilling future then it makes sense to do it while I’m still young. I’m curious for those that moved how has your life improved? Are there any improvements that you didn’t expect? Also which province did you move to? The provinces that interest me the most are BC, AB, ON, and NS.

Thank you!:)

I’m considering a variety of countries, some of which I’d be able to integrate into culturally easier than others. It’s important for me because I want to develop a sense of home that I never had. Build a community, start a family, all that good stuff. One country I’m considering is Mexico, but I stand out ethnically quite a lot compared to native citizens.

For example, Africans may blend in better in DR or Brazil, Asians in Lima Peru, Europeans more in Uruguay/South Brazil, etc. There’s pockets of ethnic groups everywhere, making cultural integration easier in some areas compared to others.

For those who stand out who’ve moved to Mexico, (White, Black, Asian), how did the process go long term? Do you feel you integrated? Part of the club, or always remaining as a foreigner?

My goal is to eventually move out of the US and have a location independent income so I can travel without being tied to a traditional job. Right now I'm looking into different options, and one idea I'm considering is starting a shopify store using zendrop. For those who have already made the move, what do you do for income like did you keep a remote job, freelance, build a business, invest, or take another route?

The title pretty much says it all. I'm a trans woman who just entered her 30s looking to immigrate to Portugal. Why Portugal? Because my parents are already there on a D7 visa. I've discussed this with them and they seem very optimistic but from what I've been reading this is going to be very difficult. I don't have a degree. I am a licensed massage therapist in my state but no other certification. I have seen that I can apparently get in as a student through their visa, but is this a realistically obtainable goal? I dont speak Portuguese, but I've always been quick to pick up a language and I can certainly learn it. I know I need to learn European Portuguese. I would love to go back to school and even more so in another country. I know my parents can support me financially as far as just getting by but ideally I would like to have my own money and also I have debt at the moment that I'd need to handle.

Tl;Dr: Can I realistically get in as a student under my parents D7? Is there any other better visa option? If I do, is it even possible for me to work?

I'd love advice from any other expats that made their way to Portugal, especially if you are like me and don't have much in the way of higher education.

Hi y'all-

I am a few weeks out from my move for the Netherlands.

I have been researching this for years and always dreamed about getting out of the country. I'm grateful that I have a remote job that I will be able to continue if I make the move. I don't have quite enough money to feel comfortable with moving without having housing secured. I have been working with a makelaar but she hasn't found an apartment for me yet and its getting close.

If I chose to go through with the move, my plan has been: find temporary housing for a few months in the Netherlands and see if I can secure a lease- if I can't, I would move to Albania and live there while saving more to try again in the Netherlands after a year.

Now, the thought of taking myself and my dog abroad and leaving my family behind is making me feel sick. I feel like I'm about to make a huge mistake.

I'm considering cancelling everything and staying another year in order to save more and apply for Mexican citizenship, though my right to citizenship comes from my great grandmother and therefore will take a lot of effort to obtain.

My fear with staying is that I've already waited so long to move, and as I get older so do my parents. I also don't know if I'll be able to keep this remote job forever, but right now it would be a perfect way to live somewhere.

Not sure exactly what I'm looking for by posting this. Just feeling really torn.

I'm a social worker in the US currently looking for jobs in British Columbia. BC is recruiting healthcare workers from the US. I got through the initial step of getting registered as a social worker, and I'm eligible for a work permit under CUSMA once I have a job offer.

The issue I'm running into is how to answer job application questions about my work authorization. I need a job offer to get a work permit, but I'm worried employers won't even look at my application without one.

I have contact info for recruiters at the health authorities and have contacted them directly, but haven't had much luck. They either don't respond or just tell me to apply on the website.

Has anyone dealt with this? If anyone has experience with Canada specifically that would be great, but similar experiences with other countries is helpful too.

hii everyone! I am shooting my shot in the dark hoping to get any type of advice from here. I'm finishing up a short study abroad program right now and it completely opened my eyes to what life could look like outside the US. I’m looking to get advice from anyone who has navigated a similar technical track or relocated care safely.

About me:
21F living in Texas
Graduating this August with a BBA in Management Information Systems (MIS).

Technical experience: Have 2+ years of hands-on experience working as a V1/V2 video production engineer and signal router for major commercial music venues (5k+ capacity). I also have a strong academic background in Azure SQL database design and e-commerce implementation.

Financials: Planning to completely liquidate my main asset (selling my car) right after graduation, which should give me a solid $10k–$14k chunk of liquid cash to immediately fund a fresh start.

Current status: Currently spending the month studying abroad in Glasgow, Scotland, and completely fell in love with it.

The urgency: My family back home is highly transphobic and Texas politics are getting increasingly hostile, so moving back to my old house isn't an option for my safety and sanity. I need a clean break and a total digital reset by the end of the year.

Medical context: I am already established on a starter HRT dose with an American provider. I'm fully aware of the multi-year public NHS waitlists at clinics like the Sandyford, so I will need to fund private care initially.

Looking for:

Advice on the best visa approach: Should I try to land an immediate corporate tech/AV job with a Skilled Worker visa, or apply for a 1-year postgraduate Master's program in Glasgow to utilize the 2-year Graduate Visa route?

Hormone continuity tips: If anyone has successfully transitioned their US care to a UK private specialist (like YourGP) and managed to get a "Shared Care" agreement with a regular local Glasgow GP for free prescriptions, I’d love to know how you navigated it.

Target cities: Deeply focusing on Glasgow/Scotland, but open to other highly progressive, trans-affirming hubs with strong electronic music/live production and enterprise tech scenes.

I have a construction company that is successful. It is in a red state, and my wife for many reasons is not comfortable living here anymore. She is not from the US and is a Professor whose topics of researsh are actively under attack by the government. She is also from a minority group thay is being targeted and green card holder.

We want to leave but her country is not an option for safety reasons. She is applying to universities and we will go where she gets a position.

I have been working all my life on my company and have an impressive portfolio, but I worry that none of it would translate in jobs abroad (different building regulations ect.)

I have considered keeping my company running and coming back and forth but I don't know if that is realistic. I cannot be unemployed as we want to start a family adter we settle somewhere else.

Would a portfolio be useful abroad? I do not have a university degree. My business is what speaks of my success. I am worried I won't be able to have a career, but want to support my wife who really wants to leave. I am also worried about dismantling my company which is having its most successful year at the moment and projecting to make a lot of money in coming five.

Any advice is welcome, thank you. ​​

Hello! I’ve been researching places to move for a couple of years now and the options are a bit overwhelming. I’m hoping someone here has been in a similar situation and has some advice.

About me:
36 year old field service engineer with over 10 years of experience in Biotech. I have an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and Microbiology. I have 1 professional publication from 2012. I also have a small side business that makes about 10k profit per year and has been slowly growing over the last 3 years. I have no debts and about $70k in savings (not including my 401k). I currently live in a HCOL area in Northeast US and work for a UK-based startup. There is a small possibility that my company would sponsor me to move to the EU to support our clients there. Since this is a startup, I am not particularly hopeful about that route, so I want to explore other options.

I am planning to get my Master’s in Systems Engineering and have money set aside for this (~$35k). Right now the plan is to do it through an online program like Penn State World Campus, but am also very open to doing this abroad as a way to get a visa in the country I study in.

I speak English (fluent), Russian (fluent), and Spanish (would need to brush up to become business proficient, but am passable for day-to-day interactions). I am also willing to spend time and money to learn a new language.

The places I’ve visited (through work) and enjoyed: Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, the UK

Places I am interested in, but have NOT visited (yet): Spain, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Scotland.

My main questions are:

1. Am I ready to start the process or should I work on increasing my savings first?
2. Should I get my Master’s in the US while working my current job or should I try to get into a program in a different country?
3. Which countries would have the easiest process for my current situation?
4. Which countries would consider my skills desirable?
5. How much of a pay cut should I expect going from a US salary to an EU salary?

Thank you all in advance!