I currently live in California, but it’s literally impossible to afford to buy a house.
Where are some good places to move to? I was thinking about Washington State, but I’m not sure I could handle the snow.
So many comments suggesting American cities… I would rather suggest humbling yourself to the point where you can beg for EU citizenship. There’s no point in the US anymore.
Do you know how hard it is to actually get citizenship outside of usa? If you don’t work in a field that a country wants the website essentially says lol no (Ireland/Canada). They’d also quarantine the shit out of pets and traumatizing fluffy isn’t really top of the list.
Living in Canada I can assure you they let in hundreds of thousands of uneducated low wage workers each year. You just have to live in Africa first.
I got German citizenship. Took starting over and doing a degree in the country for it to be possible. I also brought fluffy and we did a rabies antibody test and some other things so they didn’t need quarantine.
Edit: This is why I said you need to humble yourself. Maybe that was a poor choice of wording, but the US is a sinking ship and I’d sell all my belongings again if things start looking that dire here too.
Tennessee still has some affordable housing in rural areas. Very little snow as well.
Are you prepared for no-flouride water, septic tanks, an awful education system, a sub-tropical climate that seems to get less “sub” every year, more types of pollen than you’ve ever dreamed of, more guns than people, and rampant meth/opioid abuse?
What’s your issue with snow?
I’ve never lived in it, so I wouldn’t want to be a menace on the icy roads
Icy roads are generally ok if you have a front or 4 wheel drive and you know they’re icy so are on high alert and ready to deal with other motorists doing reckless shit which is 99% of the issues you’ll face (like driving their rear wheel drive car round a corner up a hill, then spinning out as they accelerated too hard and ending up sliding back down the road towards you, which happened to me but as I was driving reasonably I just pulled over to the side)
What you’ve gotta watch out for is wet leaves though… Sounds innocent enough but in the wrong conditions they’re as slippy as if not more than ice and because usually they’re fine your brain just dismisses them until the day you slide/spin on them
Can’t be any worse than most of the people who have lived in it their whole lives.
Seriously, I’d take someone new to driving in snowy/icy conditions over someone who has a bunch of misplaced confidence in their driving skills because they’ve “been driving in worse than this for decades!” in a heartbeat.
The newbie is much more likely to actually adapt to the conditions and drive more cautiously.
I have lived in a snow area for decades after moving from California.
Nobody knows how to drive in the snow here. They forget every year, so you will fit right in. Get a car with AWD, leave room to stop, accelerate slowly, no throttle when sliding to regain traction(don’t put your foot to the floor), and keep your tires where others have driven. Snow tires are amazing, but not necessary and are a hassle. Keep a small snow shovel in the trunk and non-folding traction mats if you can. You should also keep a charged jumper pack in your car because the cold don’t give a shit about you needing to start your car.
Get a car with AWD
Be prepared to pay 4x as much when you need a replacement tire (you have to replace all 4)
You’ll get used to them. Just remember to check if your tire profile is deep enough (4 mm), and slow down before curves + start accelerating halfway through them. And obviously keep more distance than usual.
Oh and always carry chains. Putting them on the tires isn’t too hard, but try it once before (when your hands aren’t cold and you aren’t stressed). Most of the time you won’t need them but when you do need them you really do.
I know this will be unpopular, but if you’re ok with heat and traveling out of state if you need an abortion, Texas may be an option. Yes, our governor is terrible, but day to day life is not the horror that you see on tv. Our big cities are blue and populationwise we’re not as red as you think (52-46% in 2020). Snow and ice are pretty minimal. The topography varies tremendously across the state - mountains, desert, coastal, etc. - and each big city has it’s own vibe, so there are lots of opportunities for weekend getaways. We have great food, good airports, and colleges and universities of every size and focus. Housing prices have increased since COVID but are still much lower that the east or west Coast. I’m in Dallas and i like it here. San Antonio is a very fun city and a little cheaper.
Nah, Texas is way worse than you say.
Just having a baby is dangerous. Pregnancy complications can quickly lead to a death of both. Doctors are leaving the state. A miscarriage could be prosecuted as murder.
Abbott is really pushing the school vouchers because private schools can set “standards” so specific as to keep certain people out of getting an education.
If you ever need unemployment, Medicaid, or social security, Texas does everything possible to refuse money from the federal government to fund these programs.
Non-cis people are losing rights. The DPS for driver licenses is a mess because not having a driver license makes people think they can’t vote
Voter rolls have been purged.
Many places receiving state money have closed their diversity programs. Abbott doesn’t understand that wheelchair ramps and wide doors are “inclusion.”
And if you think DE&I isn’t important, imagine trying to wash your hands at an automatic sink, only to find out the faucet sensor was only trained on a different skin color so it doesn’t see you.
What city are you in? Do you actually see those issues in your day to day life? I’m not discounting how terrible Abbott is at all! And yes, he’s definitely trying to make things worse, but we have plenty of people (44% in 2022) who disagree with him. I live in Dallas and work in public education with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. My husband works in Ft. Worth, where it’s considerably more conservative, and his company is very invested in DEI. Yes, there are difficult places and situations, but it’s really not the shitshow you see on tv. Gerrymandering has given us a government that’s not representative of our population. Extremes make the news.
I’m in Austin. Mexican. Family has been US citizens for 5 generations and live all across the state.
Most of my family is women. Many of my family are teachers.
My family has run into all these issues, except the faucet not recognizing their skin.
But we have been pulled over for driving through very white neighborhoods on either business or to see friends.
We have lighter skin, so rarely the target of hate from strangers. But we have been out with darker friends who do get the hate while standing next to us.
Sharing too much, but miscarriages have happened decades ago. On top of the unearned shame the mother feels, even back then there was worry about law enforcement questioning them.
Decades of being good citizens, serving the military, serving the community. And we are now wondering if we need to move to a new state.
I would recommend somewhere in Europe. You will have paid vacation and heathcare insurance and (almost) free school and … :)
I’ve looked into relocating there, but citizenship seems difficult?
I also think I read somewhere that there are stricter labor laws so I wouldn’t be able to freelance as heavily (~30 hours a week) alongside having full-time employment?
Why would you want to work 70 hours a week in Europe? Nobody really does that there
I’m trying to retire early, so I usually work my 40hr day job and then do another 20 or so contracting / consulting.
WE AREN’T INVITED
It’s so frustrating hearing Europeans tell Americans to move there. As if we could just up and run and get visas and jobs. Trust me, if it were easy, I would have done it. I’ve moved across the pale blue dot multiple times and never found an avenue into the EU.
Do you have any idea how difficult immigration is? Maybe you’ve been listening to the Islamaphobes too much… another great reason not to move to Europe btw, what if you’re the wrong color… they have a very different brand of bigotry out there
It depends on the person, but some countries like Austria have points-based systems that will work for some people. It’s how I’m getting a visa currently and I just needed a job offer.
Or you can go hard-mode and take the Svalbard route!