Ask HN: I plan to relocate to Europe

[egesabanci]

I am a software engineer with about 5+ years of experience. I am about to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Mathematics. At the beginning of my career, I worked on AI for about 1 year, but after realizing that this field was not for me, I focused on backend development and system design. During the transition period of this career change, I worked on backend development in relatively smaller companies. Then the Fintech sector caught my interest. I have been in the Fintech sector for the last 3+ years. At that time, Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies were on the rise, and the Fintech companies I worked with were generally developing solutions centered on blockchain technologies.

I live in Turkey and here, especially in the last 3 years, the financial market regulations and national economic management are very strict. In the last month, interest rates have reached up to 45% as a result of the serious rise in inflation. As a result of all this, 2 days ago, my last company, which was on the regulatory side of the cryptocurrency markets, could not withstand the economic trend and financial regulations and went bankrupt.

I think Turkey needs another 1-2 years to sort out its financial problems, but these strict policies are putting tech and fintech companies in Turkey in great danger every day.

For these reasons, I am planning to relocate to Europe considering my industry experience. I am also aware that the labor market has been struggling for the last 1 year, especially for tech companies.

What would you do if you were in my shoes? What kind of problems can I face in continuing my career in another country? How should I go about finding a job?

Also, here is my Github account: github.com/egesabanci

[simonblack]

Let's see now. Some things are prerequisites for moving to a new country:

Are your qualifications, if necessary for your business, recognised in your intended country?

Are you sufficiently fluent in the language of your new country to be allowed a long-term or residency visa?

Are you sufficiently fluent in the language of your new country to be able to carry on a commercial business in your new country?

Are you sufficiently fluent in the language of your new country to understand all the laws and regulations that pertain to your business?

Do you have sufficient health insurance, or sufficient money to cover health expenses?

Are you criminal-conviction-free enough to allow them to let you into your intended country.

Do you have, or are able to obtain, a bank account in your intended country?

Some of these will require a permanent residential address. Do you have one of those yet? Can you prove what that residential address is?

And those are just the things off the top of my head. There will be other requirements.

[nicbou]

https://allaboutberlin.com/guides/moving-to-berlin

This guide is an overview for moving to Berlin (and the rest of Germany). It links to a trove of guides for each of your questions. I run this website for a living.

The instructions are very similar in other countries: get a job, get a visa, find a flat, come with enough money.

[ogou]

Turkey is a member of the EU and is considered part of Europe in certain contexts. But, I assume you meant another European country. The main thing to consider is how many others are making the same move you are. There is a lot of migration happening and highly trained people in Eastern Europe and the Middle East are seeking better opportunities. Also, specifically Turkish developers are moving in large numbers. The German company I work at listed positions for frontend and full-stack web developers recently and was flooded with applications from Ukrainian, Turkish, Indian, and even Iranian applicants. Most of them were not in the country already and wanted the job for visa reasons. So, keep in mind that you will have a lot of competition. Also, blockchain/crypto experience is not as highly valued as people think it is. Be specific about actual languages and platforms you worked on before emphasising the blockchain part.

[egesabanci]

I just stopped reading after seeing the first sentence but thanks anyway.

[ogou]

Yeah I was totally wrong about that. But, they are NATO and part of a whole range of economic partnerships. My main point is that lots of Turks are trying to move to Berlin and work in tech. OP will have a lot of competition.

[downrightmike]

If I were in a similar position, the easiest way to relocate would be create a local company, then setup a foreign branch in the country you want to relocate to and then just do business as normal. If you can do that, you just need to find clients to support you remotely so you can move.

[egesabanci]

That is one of the options. We already run a software studio with some of my software engineer friends but we need more clients. Thanks for the advice.