[luke5441]

Well, if he says that a solution for me would be to move to a country with better tax policy. If he says that it is some issue with western European work mentality, that won't help because my CV would show that I am western European.

[alephnerd]

> If he says that it is some issue with western European work mentality, that won't help because my CV would show that I am western European.

If you are actually talented, have a good work ethic, and the track record to show that then get a job that relocates you to London.

That is your only option if you want to stay in Western Europe as a SWE long term.

[noprocrasted]

> get a job that relocates you to London

This is terrible advice. Source: been there, done that (worked my ass off to waste half my TC on taxes and the other half on cost of living). I ended up moving to a low-tax Eastern European country so I can actually feel like I'm being fairly compensated for said talent and work ethic.

I don't actually see how your advice improves the situation - the net disposable income you'll end up with is about the same you'll have from being lazy in Western Europe - except at the very least, some Western European countries are actually nice to live in. If you're gonna be poor anyway, may as well be poor in a nicer place.