I’m sure I’m not the only person considering leaving the US in the near future, but I’m struggling to make a short list of countries to explore.
I have friends that are starting the process for New Zealand, but their tech industry looks to be almost exclusively consulting driven. If like to end up at a place that’s more traditional. So where in the world should I look at?
Thank you!
Nobody knows you as well as you know yourself and after many years travelling and seeing what the world is actually like in practical day to day life this becomes even more true and you know even moreso what is important to you.
When I left Australia well over a decade ago I had no idea that I would value the things I learned to love only by having access to them on a regular basis and realising that they were readily available as options. If I'd gone only to where my idea of what I wanted would lead me to believe at the time, I'd have missed out immeasurably.
Figure out the logistics for a quick recon of practically every locale that isn't a hard no, and while figuring out those logistics expect to add liberally to the hard no list, and build from those experiences.
US is still one of the best places to earn a high income as a software dev. I work for non-tech as a full stack dev. Good salary but not FAANG levels. My income is higher than a surgeon in Poland.
If you want to move I would optimize for income. Just grind leetcode and try to get into the highest paying companies. If you earned $300k+ while living way below your means that money would go REALLY far in some of the European countries.
This is my goal anyway. As my net worth reaches somewhere around $3-4 million, I'm going to most likely move back to Poland and buy a house somewhere in the mountains and maybe do some remote dev work for a US based company. Plus, since I am basically more American than Polish and have a good understanding of culture I could do some consulting for Polish companies looking to sell their product in the US.
I guess it really isn't the answer you are looking for. Also, keep in mind most countries have policies and laws that are often not popular with the people.
I've been here for a decade. Best decision I've ever made.
How do? Get a job up here. At least that worked for me, but that was in the before pandemic times. And it also depends on how old you are and other such demographics.
That said every country has its plus and minuses.
Dollars stretch a lot in most places and depending on what you want to spend your time and money in, it would make a lot of difference. Personally, I have decided to do something like 4 months of travel and 8 months of recuperation. Luckily, my current job allows me to do it and while it is a bit of a burden on family, it is doable.
If you’re English only that really affects the proper response to this question.
You have 50 states you could explore first.