I was offered a job that payed much better than my old one. So I'd say it's well worth it.
Downside is that it takes years to build up a new social circle when you're in late 30s (might vary with personality).
this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2025
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In Germany the trick is joining a Verein (club). Instant social circle.
A company was willing to sponsor my visa and pay for relocation costs. Was it worth it? In some other world it might have been, but the way it went for me - absolutely not.
If your entry point into a society is work, make really really sure you will like it. "Culture fit", despite all the criticisms of the concept, is more important than ever. And make sure the initial social circle you fall into is conductive to your mental wellbeing.
In some ways it's like being born. Your starting point matters. Anything you achieved previously doesn't matter since your entire support system will be gone.
Do you want to elaborate?
and they were never seen again
Well, not much else to say. Actually a lot more to say but to a therapist. I made some really bad choices in life, and suffered the consequences. A rags to riches to rags story.
Giving more specific details would go into doxxing territory.
Thanks for sharing what you have, though.
If I may, could I ask how you went about finding a sponsor?
Back in 2021 a lot of tech companies were offering visa+relocation packages. This specific company advertised on Glassdoor, however there are several similar job platforms. I think relocation offers are relatively uncommon these days.
Moved from the US to the Netherlands in 2023 and regret nothing. The opportunity came in the form of the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty. It makes it ridiculously easy for Americans to move to the Netherlands, if you are self employed. It worked for me to move, and when my business went sideways due to my main client screwing me over, I got a normal Dutch job as a highly-skilled migrant.
Downsides:
- Pay is decidedly lower compared to American salaries (but pretty good compared to Dutch standards)
- Spicy food is rare
- Korean food is also pretty rare
- Good Mexican food is borderline nonexistent. My coworkers saw nothing wrong with "cheese flavored yogurt" being applied to nacho chips instead of actual cheese. I once tried a local restaurant's nachos and got a plate of chips covered in a really sweet ketchup.
- While everybody speaks English pretty well, you WILL want to learn basic Dutch to better understand important legal or medical meetings. But you should be learning the native language anyway, no matter where you go.
Benefits:
- Everything I need is within walking or a short bicycle distance
- Nobody is going to shoot me here
- I can get medical treatment without going bankrupt
- Health insurance doesn't cost as much as rent
- My asthma inhaler doesn't cost 1/4th of my rent
- High fructose corn syrup is rarely found here (it gives me migraines)
- The cities are more attractive (more appealing architecture)
- The roads are damned near immaculate. I don't drive here because I don't need to, but on the rare occasion I'm in a car it's impossible to not notice how good the roads are. I have crossed the country from Schiphol to Nijmegen and didn't see a single pothole anywhere, in roughly two hours on the road. Seriously, they could spend 10 or 20% less on the roads and still have what would be the best roads anywhere in N.America by comparison.
- The work-life balance is insanely better (I get 35 paid days off a year, starting from the moment I started working). I can tell my boss I'm sick and that's that. If I move to a new home I get a free day off.
- Trains are much more enjoyable for traveling between cities than driving; I've been reading so much lately
- Dutch is a pretty accessible language if you're a native English speaker that already understands some basics of German
- Nearly everybody speaks English better than the people I grew up with in the mid-west
- A huge amount of Europe is only a single day's travel away
- Store workers here aren't obviously beaten and ground into a raw bundle of nerves and depression like in the US. Of course it's not a workers paradise by any means, but people generally seem more genuinely happy.
- So many restaurants have patios or tent covered tables to enjoy a drink or meal while staying outside to enjoy the weather when it is good
- Food from Suriname is really good, as are frikandelbroodje and kaassouffle
- Nijmegen's Vierdaagse can be a blast, the whole old/inner city becomes a giant festival
There's probably more benefits, but those are the highlights for me. All around though, the biggest advantage is that I can easily see a much better future for myself and my wife in the Netherlands than I can in the US.
Isn't there a housing problem atleast in Amsterdam?
There is, nationwide.
But also everywhere else in Europe, and everywhere in the US that I would be willing to live. What can you do eh?
Really in germany too?
The only places without a housing crisis at the moment are places where nobody wants to live.
This is an amazing rundown and I can appreciate how most of the downsides are food-based.
I can tell my boss I'm sick and that's that.
This is huge, it's exhausting to have to deal with the fallout of calling in sick that I sometimes work through it so I don't have to deal with the bs.
Edited formatting
I almost asked my boss like 20 years ago while I was vacationing near Amsterdam with my girlfriend-now-wife about moving to The Netherlands as we had an office there, but never did. Still wonder how different life would have turned out. It’s an amazing country.
I'm sorry but you lost me at the lack of food options
Good food does exist, it just takes some time and effort to find out where to go and where should be blacklisted. And there's like three good Mexican restaurants in the whole country.
Hey, I did that!
Engineer in my 30s. We packed up and left the US after I got a job in the EU (pre 2nd trump). It's been awesome!
Super hard some days, lots of learning, cultural norming, work, job problems, language learning, social circle building, but it's very fulfilling and I think it's a better lifestyle fit for us.
Highly recommend it if you can swing it. And if you do, jump all in.
Glad that's been working out for you!
What were some things you did that made the hard things less hard?
What went really well?
Who is "we" that moved with you?
Thinking about doing the same thing, working on getting my EU passport now.
No EU passport for me sadly, just a visa. If I could get one I super would want to.
We is my partner and I. Very much a team effort.
great question. I think giving yourself some grace has been a hard but helpful part. Like you will probably not have the bandwidth for keeping the house as clean, the working out, the self improvement, etc etc. Just even giving myself extra time to go to the store and extra space to make boring or meh meals has helped.
Beyond that, all the stuff you'd expect. Putting yourself out there. Listening. Money never hurts (and can help fix certain problems). Friends (from afar and close) are huge.
I began volunteering shortly after arriving and it helped make me a friend circle. I love hanging with them and already can't wait for Thanksgiving here!