r/AmericanExpat

Hi everyone! While I have not moved abroad yet, it is something that I have been considering for a long time. I first briefly entertained the idea of living abroad when I was a teenager but I didn't quite have the words to describe what I was thinking. After a trip to Canada in 2016, I realized that I felt more at home there. I've always had a soft spot for Canada because it was the first place outside the US I visited (I'll never forget Niagara-on-the-Lake). I'm currently working on a master's degree in a field that's in demand in much of the Anglosphere and once I've gotten some experience and money saved up, I plan to move out of the US. Canada is my top destination (the Niagara Region or New Brunswick) because I want the ability to visit family without needing to wait in an airport and fly. I've got nothing against air travel and have done it before. The irony is that I know my parents are mostly supportive of my decision and I would want to visit them without having to deal with airfare and airports. If they weren't supportive I'd be more inclined to look further away than Ontario or New Brunswick (I live Maryland currently by the way).

While I'm not the black sheep of my family, I've heard from other Americans who live abroad that they feel like that. I've heard about American emigrants having the full support of their families, some whose families tolerated their decision, and others whose families became hostile and even broke off communication. I sometimes feel that even having the thought of emigrating from the US makes me the black sheep of Americans because I've noticed that even well meaning Americans haven't exactly broken free from American exceptionalist propaganda. I'm curious to know if leaving the US made you the black sheep of your family or friend group.

Would usually just go with whatever price USPS and FedEx offered me and accept that it's the only possible price. Decided to crunch the numbers for once, and the difference was huge for a small package - the prices started at about $33 compared to $50+ for the same delivery service. Got the one that cost less (Meest, if anyone wants to know) and received my package right on time, with no problems with customs clearance whatsoever. I was mainly looking for a company that made international delivery affordable for regular people. Most shipping quotes were much higher than I expected for a fairly small box. A bit ashamed of myself for not trying to figure out a cheaper way earlier, but what shipping services have you been using for ordering packages from the USA to your home country?

I’ve been reading there have been protests about how restaurants have had to change signs / menus to English, make less spicy food, etc.

I've been wanting for a few years to live abroad. America has always appealed to me, but I don't even know where to begin? Suggestions

We've been in the UK since last year and now our oldest is 4 and starting TK. I have a great job offer in Los Angeles where we lived for 14 years, house lined up, school placement - everything we need...and I'm so unbelievably torn about going. The UK doesn't feel right for us right now and we want to go back for the lifestyle. BUT...Everything in my mama heart is telling me not to put my kids in lives in jeopardy every day they go to school because of the possibility of school shootings. I know statistically they are rare, but that doesn't change my fear. And homeschooling is not an option bc we both need to work. The constant worry that it might be the last time I ever see her before school drop off is crippling. I know so many of you will ignore the fear bc of the statistics and a lot of people say they're more likely to be killed in the car...I know all of that. But what about the fear these kids have to go through knowing it could happen. Or if it does, and they're lucky enough to survive, the amount of fear and trauma they'd live in is insane. The fact that I even have to worry about this is mind boggling. I don't know if it gets easier or if I'm being irrational...I don't know how I wouldn't worry and also never be able to live with myself if anything ever happened. I don't know what to do.

For those of you with US/USD based incomes — passive or earned — how much are you using credit cards for regular expenses while living abroad?

I’m two months out from my move and thinking of a thousand tiny things. Should I transfer the whole of my monthly budget, and primarily live off my local (€) accounts? Or continue to use my Chase/Citi/etc cards and pay them off with dollars I “left behind”?

I had an interesting conversation with a friend involved in international real estate development who mentioned they’re seeing interest from some Americans (particularly Texans) in relocating to Russia under its “Shared Values” residency program.

As a Dallas Fort Worth real estate agent, it made me curious whether this is a real niche trend or mostly something that gets amplified online.

Has anyone here actually met people who are seriously considering it or preparing to move?

If so:

-What seems to be motivating them?

-Are they mostly from certain communities or backgrounds? I've heard there's a growing community of rural residents, homesteaders, off-grinders, and very conservative families looking into Russia's shared values visa program (Targets Westerners looking for a traditional/agrarian lifestyle). I even read about a family from Texas who sold their land last year to move to an exact village outside of Moscow

-Is this something you’ve seen firsthand, or just heard about online?

I’m genuinely curious and trying to understand whether there’s a real market behind this, not looking to start a political debate

I’m tired of the schizo American politics as well as the very real ones (referring to a specific ally that controls us and a specific island that most celebrities have gone to)

I’m also tired of the poisoning our food, our clothes, etc.

We’re awful in education, we get more and more immoral as time goes on, healthcare is AWFUL and is now getting even worse with RFK, specifically vaccinating, housing is awful, the economic equality sucks (if you’re poor it’s very difficult to get rich)
And as time goes on we get more and more freedoms taken away, right now mass surveillance, data centers, etc.

What place has none of this? Maybe a government you can trust? Good healthcare? Good education? Good cost of living/wages? Good food supply that doesn’t have bs put into it?

To summarize, America was once the place that bred innovation and had high opportunity but as time goes on that gets lessened and control increases more and more and? I don’t care about the getting rich aspect of America. I just want a place where me and my family can live very comfortably without having to work 80 hours a week. I don’t want to struggle and I don’t want to sacrifice my time with them especially while living in a country who absolutely HATES me and only cares about their own personal gain.

Any insight?

New expats don’t realize that the hidden risk of moving abroad isn’t the flight, the packing, or even the new country itself.

It’s assuming you can sort out important paperwork AFTER you arrive.

Needing a notarized form, an apostille, or a certified translation becomes much more stressful once you’re living in another country.

Whenever possible, think about your paperwork before you leave: • Banking documents• Power of attorney• Educational records• Immigration paperwork• Professional licenses• Vital records

A little preparation before your move can save a lot of time, money, and lower the stress of moving abroad.

If you’re already living abroad, what’s one document you wish you had prepared before moving?

I (28F)'m European, I lived most of my life until I was 25 in a state and then I moved to one of the northern European states. Now I've been living here for four years. My boyfriend (32M) is from the United States. We've been together for almost three years and we've been living together for two years. Everything is great and I'm really happy with him. He is in Europe for work and he wants to return to the United States in the next few years to stay there for a few decades. I have never considered the option of going to the United States and I am not very excited about it. I am very attached to my family and I go back to visit them practically every two months. The fact of moving to a country that doesn't excite me and that is so far from my family weighs on me but I really feel good with my boyfriend, he is a good person. I don't know what to do...

Moved to Berlin for work in 2023. I know I'm supposed to file US taxes every year but I have no idea where to start. I have a German bank account, some rental income, and a 401k still sitting in the US. I'm worried about penalties.

I looked at TurboTax but it does not handle foreign income well. I also don't have a ton of money to spend on a big accounting firm. Has anyone used a service that specializes in expat taxes without charging a fortune.

I’ve been living in Finland for 5 years and have reached a point where I’d want some professional financial advice. Could anyone recommend a financial planner or advisor that can assist an American, particularly with investing?

Bonus question, does anyone know if there’s a Finnish equivalent to a fiduciary?

Or at least, that’s what I’m being repeatedly told.

You may have seen the “news.” Things such as ice in your drinks, bottomless soda, air conditioning, lawns, and other such never before seen markers of human evolution.

Yes folks, apparently naive, wide eyed wanderers from “backwards” third-world Europe and other climes are in awe as they stumble around Buc-ee’s stunned, unable to grasp the splendor and magnitude there of.

First, I wanna start by saying that my subject of writing are really random, as you can probably see, sorry I guess.

I am telling you,america is a social experiment,that has probably failed, sorry,no hard feelings,great movie btw,,no hard feelings".

Anyway,i will attempt to keep it short, tell me later if I succeed.

The prices:INSANE,for everything,from food to healthcare,i see the prices to give birth and the things people are being charged for are ridiculous.Talking about food, the price is not only high but the quality is horrifying,tell me why your watermelon and bananas stretch and you can't even bite them, now I can stop wondering why when I see american tourists in Europe, they look so shocked and eat everything they see,or is that in the nature of an american,sorry that was rude...but true.

But what shocks me most is the fact that some Americans complain about the fact that they have a lot of state problems like, homelessness, drug presence, health problems.

I mean, look around you people,every single problem that you have has a cause, start from homelessness, why do you think that is present? It's because of the insane prices of living in America, and not only the fact that the prices are high,the quality of a lifestyle there is an actual joke. Health problems,your food portions are insane. The stuff that you find in your food is crazy,the amount of chemicals there ,you have a bigger sort of sweets than for milk or bread or anything vital for a human being. And from all of the stuff that you put in yourself and what you consume every single day, you get different type of diseases. In America, you can find any disease ,starting from every single type of cancer and diabetes a person can have. But there's also people that try to eat healthy food, but the quality of the food is so bad that they end up having health problems as well and when that check comes home from a visit to the hospital, I imagine what debt that person will have to pay. You cannot tell me that there's more people that have no debt than people that have huge amount of debt for for college, hospital and so on. But what is crazy,I mean yeah of course you have to pay for a surgery or anything like that,but for giving birth is actually out of my understanding.

I mean, if you really want to be a dick about it, sure pay for the service and for the night that you spent in the hospital but paying for absolutely everything that you could possibly think of and adding a huge tax on top is horrifying for every woman.

And one more thing is the education which is also a joke, people are so badly educated there, you could go in a store and ask someone what is the capital of Russia they would not know what Russia is, maybe only if they heard about the Russian and Ukraine war, you might get an answer, if you get lucky. And geography is not the only subject they suck at, but pretty much anything,you name it,and we're not talking about being Einstein at everything,they don't know basic stuff like how many word words have been there I mean come on America was a huge part from both.

But one thing that Americans are good at is politics I mean, come on let's give it a big round of applause, all jokes aside Americans have been a huge help in wars, if we exclude what's happening right now, aside from starting them,greenland they are coming with a huge supply of chocolate syrup and pancakes, be happy.

I could yap about this country so long that it would probably take me three days to finish talking, but let's be serious,they have to start fixing their shit, they're horrible healthcare, they're horrible lifestyle, they're horrible prices and so on. I mean, I would be sad if I knew that half of Europe is laughing at the memes of random American people answering to any type of common knowledge question.

From another perspective, every single country has their own way of living, and their own traditions, and we have to respect that I mean if they like to chug ice cream with chocolate syrup on top first thing in the morning is their decision.

PS: before posting this text, I was thinking of one good thing about America and I finally found it:movies. Everything aside,you guys are actually good at making movies,so there I have nothing bad to say. You have good directors, good sets,good ideas, and actors, so you pretty much creat good fucking movies.

PSS:You can't always serve water with Ice,what if I am sick at the moment you dumb fuck ,and no,i don't have to give you tips for your shitty service.

PSSS:Remove your shoes before entering a household, its about respect for the person that cleans it, clean is that a word that you have in your american dictionary.And also stop bringing drugs everywhere you go, we don't like to swing without pants in the middle of the road, thank you.

This is purely my opinion, as a European person, no hate.

Just a vent / looking for understanding

I’ve been living abroad for over a decade now. In my country of residence, I’m often missing family back “home” in US. While visiting family once a year, I pine over my family/pets/house in my residence country.

It’s always such an emotional experience as I always fly off crying from missing someone on either side. Right now spouse can’t immigrate so who knows long it’s going to go on like this.

It’s painful now in a way it wasn‘t when I was younger. Please chime in with any thoughts if you know that feel bro

https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/living-abroad/acs.html

In this video, Foreign Service Officer Rob Joswiak goes over what American Citizen Services (ACS) provides to U.S. Citizens abroad.