| TLDR; visit this link: https://immigration-portal.ec.europa.eu/index_en American living in France for 5 years. Previously worked in NYC startups earning a similar salary to you. Made lots of mistakes that, if I had known better, I could've saved myself some time and money. That being said, I am doing far better financially even if I make less on paper and I just bought my first place (unthinkable in NYC). I work as a software contractor technically, though I work full time for an American company. Your first question is what your longterm goal? Permanent relocation or experiment for a few years? In other words, where are you planning to retire? You want to make your social security payments to the correct country. Your tax paperwork will stress you out for the first few years if you don't figure that out. In either case, I'd suggest you try to keep your American job and go fully remote. You don't need a work visa if you don't work for a European company. But if you move permanently, you should do the paperwork to replace your American employment contract with a European contracting company like I did. It's more paperwork but earning an American salary in Europe gives you a significant purchasing power advantage even if you pay more in taxes. The real killer is the paperwork. European bureaucracy sucks. If you don't keep your American job, you should apply for jobs before moving ideally. Most EU countries have reasonably low bars for skilled worker visas. Spain and France I know are very simple. The Netherlands are a bit more confusing. Regardless, you roughly need an offer of 50 000 € and a college degree to get one. EDIT: saw discussion about housing shortages. France has tons of housing (https://pap.fr). I had a two-bedroom apartment with a balcony in Paris proper for 1 900 €. |