Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by secondaryacct 1552 days ago
I'm european but I moved to Hong Kong to dev software. I d like to come back, but when I joined a startup in Paris, for 3 years the other devs talked day and night about class warfare, the state was taking 2 months of my salary end of year (now they take each month directly from your salary), 20% tax on everything I bought, a few hundreds in local taxes, criminality was unlivable, the boss stopped sleeping at some point out of financial stress because the gov made a mistake and took 2 years of corporate tax at once, unemployment was reaching 10% and muslims were killing you in the weekend if you went to a concert.

So I scrapped together some savings, learned English and bailed and Im happier for it. Maybe our roads and hospitals were beautiful, but it wasnt worth the constant frustration. All I can do now is vote and wait they wake up.
2 comments
ChuckNorris89 1552 days ago
Are you french by any chance? Most ambitious french devs I've met have either moved to Switzerland, UK or the US, citing the lack of VC money and a stingy and overly bureaucratic government taxing the living daylights out of you.

Also a french dev I knew, moved with his family to Warsaw, Poland citing a higher safety than in Paris.

Then again, I also have a friend who moved to Toulouse, France to work in the aerospace and defense sector (Airbus) and he's very happy with his life there.

link
secondaryacct 1551 days ago
Yup am French.
link
rahen 1552 days ago
Sounds like a heap of clichés, for making a living in France too.

Besides, I'm not sure who you would vote for, no candidate here has a real pro market, small government stance.

link
secondaryacct 1551 days ago
Yeah, I m sad you dismiss them as clichés but I've met people who cant believe what it is to work in Paris for some of us, so well... I left and now I dont have to bother people with my complaints as much : if you can live well in France, happy for you!

Pro-market small gov, indeed, never found my candidate. I vote Macron, since I often agree with his stance, but the problem has never been the politicians, it's the people: they cant see it the way I do, so they wont vote for that imaginary candidate if he appears. So I left and I'm happy, that s all that matters: that s what borders are for.

link