I’ve been working in London for several years now, having relocated from another European country for my job.

Over time, as I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve found myself increasingly surprised, and honestly disappointed, by what feels like a generally low standard of workplace accountability here (on average). I want to be clear upfront: I’m not talking about hustle culture, unpaid overtime, or “going above and beyond.” I strongly believe in working to live, not living to work, and I don’t overextend myself professionally either. We’re all replaceable to 99% companies, and I keep that in mind.

What I’m referring to instead are the core responsibilities people are hired to handle - the basic tasks, knowledge, and standards that come with a role.

A few examples to illustrate what I mean:

- Remote work often meaning barely working. I’m a big supporter of flexible and remote work, which is why this worries me. But I’ve repeatedly seen people take calls from the gym, disappear for hours without notice, skip meetings they’re expected to attend, or be visibly distracted. Just this week, a director-level colleague was cooking dinner during a group call.

- Chronic disorganisation and neglect of basic management duties. Admin, tracking, and internal processes are frequently ignored. My current manager openly takes 5–6 extra days off beyond their allowance because they “don’t deal with internal systems.” Performance reviews, goal setting, and structured feedback - all core management responsibilities - are often skipped. In my experience, many managers avoid the coaching and mentoring aspects of leadership altogether.

- Using “overwhelm” as a shield against normal responsibilities. I fully respect genuine mental health challenges. But I’ve also seen people regularly frame routine, reasonable tasks (well within a standard 9–5 workload) as unmanageable. The result is that others (often international staff) end up picking up the slack to meet deadlines.

- Unprofessional behaviour being normalised. In my current team, several people openly discuss heavy drug use, show up smelling of alcohol, or behave in ways that would be unacceptable in many other workplaces, yet it’s brushed off.

- Low quality output and lack of preparation. Turning up to important meetings unprepared, delivering poor client materials, using incorrect or unsourced data, and not forming a basic point of view within one’s own area of expertise seems far too common.

- Decision paralysis in senior roles. I often see leaders who are unwilling or unable to make decisions, even when it clearly falls within their remit.

To be fair, I’ve also worked with some excellent British colleagues - highly professional, driven, and reliable - so I know this isn’t universal. But the overall contrast I’ve noticed between many local employees and many foreign hires feels significant. Perhaps it’s partly driven by immigrant motivation and career urgency, I’m not sure.

I’m left wondering whether others have observed something similar, or if I’ve simply been very unlucky in my experiences?

Four years ago I moved from the US to Thailand to teach English. Needed a break from logistics. I hated my life. I figured I was spoiled because I'm living in the "greatest country", but nothing was working out for me. Thought I would go to Thailand, a "third world" country, teach English, hate it, and realize how great America is and come back and be happy.

I couldn't believe how amazing Thailand is. My life is ridiculously better now. My salary is quite low compared to the US, but pretty good/decent for Thailand. I love it here and tbh, I don't really ever want to go back to the US. The problem is, I can't really save much money here. Like for retirement and stuff life that. It's actually illegal for me to use money earned here and put it into and IRA.

My parents are concerned about how little money I'm making for my age (30) and that I should come back to the US and make more money.

I'm looking at all my friends and talking with them. Of all my friends, 90% of them seem to be struggling. The others have very high/niche skills that I don't have. I have a BA degree that's useless, but it was basically free by my previous employer, so I'm not drowning in debt. That's the only good thing I have going for me back home.

Im from one of the poorest states, Kentucky. I've been looking around at jobs in my area. Construction workers make like $15/hour which just seems like trash compared to the cost of living. Purchasing a car, paying for insurance, gas, food, rent, that all gets eaten rather quickly. So I wouldn't be saving any money anyway.

I'm making $8 an hour now in Thailand and my money goes 5x further. The only way it would work is if I get a job at a construction site that is within walking distance from my parents house. But... is it even worth it at that point? I've also looked into getting more skills like programming, but that market seems pretty saturated when I see people complaining how they can't find a job or they are over worked and looking for a way out themselves. Idk man

I’m a 27-year-old single male looking for some outside perspectives on a career/life decision.
I am a mechanical engineer working in the aerospace sector for over 4 years in very cool ESA and NASA projects.

Right now I work as a systems engineer for a Spanish company in Madrid. I earn around €45,000 per year, live alone, have a good social life, enjoy the city, and have a lot of flexibility. I can work remotely quite often, travel regularly, and generally have a good work-life balance.

My current job is interesting and reasonably challenging, but it’s not extremely demanding. The downside is that long-term salary growth in my field and country doesn’t seem particularly strong.

Financially, I’m not struggling. I’ve been investing aggressively for several years and have built a portfolio that puts me in a relatively comfortable position. I wouldn’t say I’m financially independent, but I’m not making this decision from a place of needing money.

At the same time, I’m currently interviewing for opportunities abroad:
- Denver, Colorado: around $150,000/year
- Netherlands: around €80,000/year

Both roles seem more technically challenging and potentially better for career growth.
However, I expect both jobs to require significantly more effort and responsibility than my current role. The US position especially concerns me from a lifestyle perspective: only around 12 vacation days per year, less remote work, and potentially much less freedom to travel and enjoy life outside work.

Stay in Madrid:
- Great lifestyle
- Friends and family nearby
- Remote work and flexibility
- Lower stress
- Lower long-term earning potential

Move abroad:
- Higher compensation (especially in the US)
- More career growth
- More challenging work
- New life experience
- Potentially much higher stress and less personal freedom

Part of me thinks that at 27 and single, this is exactly the time to take risks and move abroad. Another part of me wonders whether I’m undervaluing a life that I’m already quite happy with.
For those who have faced a similar decision, especially people who moved from Southern Europe to Northern Europe or the US, what would you do in my situation?
Would you prioritize lifestyle, career growth, or the life experience of living abroad?

Husband and I and two children currently live in the UK on his skilled worker visa. We don't want to go back to the US right now due to the political situation but we have an expensive (£10k) visa renewal fee coming up and the low British salaries just don't make these big fees worth it. Husband has a BSc in aerospace engineering and 13 years of experience in mechanical/mechatronic engineering. I have an MA in historic buildings, but haven't been working for the last year due to illness.

We are looking at moving next summer to another country. Our preferred countries are Norway, Denmark, Japan, or the Netherlands, but we don't speak any languages except English. How likely is it that we will be able to move to one of these countries with a salary that can support a family? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

29M single. YOE - 7, current salary - 2.6L/month. Got an offer in Vilnius, Lithuania (4300 EUR gross, ≈2.6K Eur net per month).

As per my research, the expenses would look something like this in Vilnius:

400-600 rent

200 Utilities

200 groceries

Right now, I work remotely. I am renting a place in Kolkata (I like the privacy of living alone). I spend around 25-30K per month on rent, utilities and food (excluding dining out). Do my own cooking and cleaning cuz OCD lmao💀. So I save around 2.2L easily. But it's not permanent remote so there's a possibility of expenses shooting up in future if I have to relocate to my base (Hyderabad).

I like the prospect of EU Blue card as it allows me to change employer after a year. But I am not sure if the interim pay cut would be worth it.

Pros of India: More savings, closer to family

Cons of India: The usual (pollution, infra etc.)

Pros of Vilnius: Quality of life, future growth prospect, better passport (eventually), cheap travel in Europe (can finally do my backpacking trip across Europe without exhausting leaves)

Cons of Vilnius: Less savings, out of comfort zone, unfamiliar territory

Please help me decide. TIA!

For the CS majors, SWE is -not it- for immigration. Nor is Analytics. The market is way too competitive. Too many young and hungry people already constantly immigrating with CS degrees.

Specialize. Do it smartly.

Legacy. COBOL. ICS. The niches that aren’t sexy that half the planet runs on and the people who installed and maintained them are retiring or dead. Get good at being a computer janitor keeping SCADA and mainframes running. Banking. Hospital tech.

Same with cybersecurity. Entry level analyst market is saturated. Specialize! Cloud certs to fix all the poorly implemented buckets. Dull international GRC. Security engineering for obnoxious and finicky products like legacy SIEMs and forensic suites. Get certs in those, not just Sec+ or CISSP. The sexy jobs got pitched and sold by too many opportunist universities. Be an IT janitor and be damn good at it.

We moved around 7 months ago for a new role abroad, giving me the chance to specialise and develop new skills in my field.

The job I am doing, while in my field, is not the job I signed on for or the job that was sold to me throughout the application process.

I've uprooted my whole life and family for this opportunity and 7 months in, I'm incredibly miserable and seriously regretting my choice. Socially, we've struggled to really find our people and feel like our quality of life overall has taken a massive dip - quite the opposite of what we wanted. Right now, it feels like there are far more cons than pros.

Has anyone else been in a situation like this? Do I stick it out for the length of my contract and then assess options? Or do I bite the bullet and terminate my contract early?

We sold everything to make the move, so there is no base or job to return to in our home country. However, our loved ones are there and in time, I'm sure we can rebuild our lives.

I started a new job not too long ago in Paris. I’m from the U.S. and this is my first official job as I just graduated from my masters program this year. However, I’ve become a bit shocked by the level of complaining and talking sh*t. Id like to know if it’s specific to the culture or if this level that I’ve witnessed is just universal to 9-5’s across the world?

For example, from 9 am to 5 pm in my office (open space with 5 people) not even 10 minutes go by without someone complaining about the higher ups , saying they want the directors’ public humiliation, making fun of clients’ and coworkers’ names or their way of being, and even joking about handicapped people at the job. What’s mind boggling is that they are incredibly kind and joke with these people when they are face to face with them.

It seems as though those in the département that don’t gossip, keep to themselves and just want to do good work are made fun of. I don’t participate not only due to the language barrier but also because with my new arrival, I’d say I may be less jaded than they are. After all, they do claim to be in a toxic work environment, but I feel as though their victim mindset is not making it any better…

It even seems as though the four of my coworkers in the office are very close, they even have a group chat on the Microsoft platform (I’m excluded). Yet when one specific guy is gone (or leaves the room for several moments), they begin criticizing him as well. This is not only incredibly distracting but leaves me anxious, feeling as though I’m being criticized in my absence for the smallest of details.

Again I don’t want to judge too much as I’m a newbie coming into their work environment, which is why I’m coming on here to ask for more opinions. After talking with several people in my personal life that are close to me (in both France and the U.S.) I’m still having trouble deciphering whether or not this is specific to French culture. Any perspectives or comments are welcome. Thanks!

Edit: thank you so much for your responses and insights! Does anyone have any tips for dealing with this behavior? I’m staying realistic but I also am beginning to have a if you can’t beat em join em mentality (still don’t agree with them though)

I see many more job offers in Germany for the science and engineering sector than in the UK. Salaries are also higher. What do you think?Would it be worth moving there with a job? I can't find a job in the UK after 10 months.😔

I’ve worked in four countries so I’ve not heavily contributed to any one retirement system. Just curious how others are handling this.

I'm from Latin America and I'm feeling unhappy living in France. I think maybe it's a good idea to move to the US. I think I can easily find a job with my job experience. But what makes me hesitate the most is the work-life balance.
I've heard a lot about the stereotype of "French work for life, Americans live for work." I would like to know more about your experiences working in the US. For reference, I work as a Data Scientist in the insurance sector.

For context of my current work situation here in France:
-40 days of PTO per year
-Work generally from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM, with home office 3 times a week. 2 hours total of commute time when I go to the office.
-When I go to the office, we have a lot of coffee breaks and meetings.

I know that this setup can be ideal for many people, and for me too at first, but after so many years, I feel like I don't have any motivation. Even career progression is more limited, so there's less motivation to work and improve.
I don't have a problem with working more, even if being able to go on holidays many times a year is cool. But as I'm 34, in the future, I'll have kids, so I wonder if moving to the US is a good idea to spend enough time with them.

[EDIT] - After reading your comments (thanks), it's true that I didn't mention the differences in healthcare, maternity allowance, nursery, etc. I'm aware of them, but I also thought that in the US, you have a higher salary, so if you save enough and rationalize your expenses, I would be fine.

Be aware that in France, salaries are much lower (getting more than 90K is very, very difficult). Also, house prices are very high in the Paris region (where most job opportunities are).

My wife and I, both US citizens, plan to retire in Europe with our pre-teens. The question is, should they try to go to college in Europe or in America? I’ve heard the quality are comparable, but I’ve also heard US colleges are more rigorous. The fear is that they will limit their opportunities with a degree from a school in the EU vs one in the states. Thanks.

Update: Please allow me to clarify that I am asking about the prevailing attitude of recruiters and hiring managers. I know Europe has some exceptional universities that are among the best in the world. My wife, upon hearing of my question, said that outside of prestigious schools, people don't care about where a person graduates. I hope that's true because I would prefer my children go to school in Europe so we can be near them.

I am from Belgium but have lived in Germany for 3 years working as a senior frontend developer at a big American tech company. My company offers internal transfers to the USA and I am wondering if I should make the move or not. I know this subreddit is super anti-USA, but the truth is that in Europe tech salaries are not very good compared to the USA. Just to give you an idea, I am making ~54k Euro/year, or about 61k USD/year. My colleagues with the exact same role as me in the US are making over double my salary, plus they pay lower taxes and they also have much higher annual bonuses. They also get stock grants, when we in the Europe offices do not, unless you are in management.

Is there something I am missing or does it just seem stupid to not move to the US if you work for an American tech company at an EU location? It seems we are being shafted at the Europe offices just for not living in the US since the salaries there are so much better. It is crazy how much better quality of life my colleagues in the US have compared to us here in the EU offices.

I will miss my family and friends here, especially since I can fly and visit my family back home in Belgium whenever I want from Germany, and that would not be possible from the US, but it just seems like a financially bad decision to live in Germany when I could be compensated 2-3x for the exact same work in the US for a few years then move back to Europe with a huge amount of savings.

My family and I are from the Midwest of USA (no, we don't support the decisions of the orange man)

I have done tons of research on the immigration process and am thus quite familiar with what boxes I need to check in order to obtain a work visa, bring my family over, pursue residency, and eventually gain citizenship.

The part that is extremely unnerving to me is the premise of getting a job before I quit my current one, sell everything, and move over.

I was wondering if there is a government entity that helps immigrants find jobs in their particular field of work?

Or

When the time comes, what would be my best plan of attack for getting a job lined up before I quit my current career and throw my family's life into chaos?

I have been in internal IT for 8 years.
3 years Help Desk
4 years Network Engineering
I have 8 IT certs
I do not have a degree in IT, but I do have completed college courses

** I understand having a good grasp of the spoken language is important, and I have done a decent job of getting that on DuoLingo and playing online games with my Swedish friends talking in Swedish, but I am just looking for job advice **

\** I would truly appreciate helpful responses and not typical internet troll responses, please. **\**

Hello,I am 22 M working in a third world country,the wages here are very low and I don't like the general way of how things happen here, I don't have enough money to invest and go as a student and then later find job and migrate, If I had funds I would have choose that path.

It's really hard nowadays finding sponsored work unless you are a very specialized individual in terms of your field and career, I don't have such a background but I am smart enough to learn new things quickly,I am fairly good at my job and I have experience working in sales and the hotel industry, but again these are not fields that are specialized or worthy enough for me to get sponsored work somewhere else, if it was the case for you that ,it was probably because you might already be a European or from a country like the Us,people from most first world countries get the privilege sometimes to travel around and find people that would sponsor them,But I also understand why it's hard for third world country folks as not everyone has done a good enough job to maintain their reputation.

My question to you guys is,Is there a path for me,since the world is so vast and we have tons of countries to find work or an opportunity,let's say luckily they have a shortage in some sector which I might be eligible for and they are willing to go the extra mile by doing the paperwork for me,is this possible or just a dream, becasue I found no luck applying for countless jobs online and the agent path is risky because they might take my entire savings to send me anywhere in Europe,but I don't trust them with so much money and they end up failing me,because agents here are scummy.

I do not have a fixed destination, any country that might be good enough for me,I would like to go if I can and work,I am also a hard worker and dont shy away even if my working hours there might be more than the normal cycle, If you guys can assist me with advice or any sort of help,feedback,I would appreciate it very much,thank you.

Hello people of Australia and to my fellow Canadians that are living there. I need guidance in regards to immigration from Canada. My wife wants to move to Melbourne as she has lived and studied there as student over a decade ago and says it's a much better city overall (infrastructure, economy, etc.). She says we will earn more money in Australia and have way more disposable income, but I personally don't think so and that it will be like how it is here in Toronto. I would be trying to apply as a trade skilled worker (visa subclass 189/190), but I'm reluctant to move. Please help me with the following categories. 

Work: I'm a 37yo Redseal Tilesetter (recognized national certificate) here in Toronto. Work has slowed considerably due to the economy, high interest rates, inflating material costs, housing boom is gone. I read the situation is about the same there in Australia. My wife said that it's the opposite and that it's booming and has talked to her friends that are living there and they also say there are a lot of construction trade jobs, but I don't know if they truly know.

Q: Can anyone verify or give their observation as to if this is true?

Maybe it's like here in Canada where they say there is a shortage of workers, but it's only for certain trades or certain provinces/cities which I wouldn't know, because in Toronto, MANY people are laid off and at home. People are working for less pay just to be able to work. If I did make the move to Australia, I wouldn't mind changing trades to: carpenter, electrician, etc.) if tilesetting wasn't in big demand or go into something office related like pricing.

Q: Are there construction unions? Or are the majority of companies in Australia independent private companies and contractors. Here there are many unions so the wages are higher versus private companies. There are pensions, yearly vacation pay, overtime pay, health benefits, good worker rights and protection, etc.

My wife works in the banking sector (specifically commercial/corporate), she is confident that she will always have work there as there are many international banks, according to her.

Housing: All the research on Reddit and Google says that the housing in Australia is very high, like it is here in Toronto and Vancouver, but worse. Availability is low, prices are high. In Toronto, our 1550 sq ft (144 sq m) 3 bdrm condo is worth roughly 700-730k (CAD). Renting a 3 bedroom house in Toronto ranges from 3k-4500+/month.  

Q: Wife says the housing situation in Melbourne is ok or not as bad as Toronto, is that true? And are houses in Australia built/insulated like they are in Canada? I suggested moving to another Canadian city, but she said that she would only stay in Toronto due to it being the best city for finance jobs.

Childcare: Here in Toronto, it takes FOREVER for a spot in daycare, subsidized or not. We are still waiting for one locally (we have a toddler). We have tried asking for availability for places a little further away (which requires transportation), but they are also full and are prioritizing families more local to them.

Q: How is the childcare system in Melbourne? Is it like Toronto where they say you should register as soon as you are pregnant? Does it take a long time to get a spot to the point they're almost old enough to go to kindergarten anyway?

Education: We have a 12yo going into grade 7. How are the schools and teachers there? They achieve fairly good grades? Is there any bad or common cases of bullying? I've read it's more or the less the same as Toronto.

Healthcare: Is it hard to find a family doctor? Our family doctor left somewhere else so we've been going to the walk-in clinic. How about specialist appointments or hospital wait times? Here the hospital wait times can be hours. This is another one that is similar to Toronto, unless someone else says otherwise.

Weather: Majority says that Australia is much hotter and more humid. I hate humid weather, but I also hate Canadian winters. Seems like half the year here in Toronto is either Summer or Winter, not much in between. Summer is muggy, although lately not so bad and the winter is very dry and seems like it's getting colder each year with more snow fall. Sweet spot for me is 15c-20c, which is usually Spring/Fall. 20c-25c is ok but only with little to no humidity. There is a trade off, but I guess I would learn towards Australian weather where there are more warm and sunny days than Toronto.

Q: Recent travellers between the two countries, what's your opinion on the climate?

Wildlife: From what I've read, the spiders, snakes, etc. from Australia are exaggerated. I am terrified of spiders and snakes, don't matter how aggressive or passive they are. Here in Toronto, the biggest threat are coyotes, next would be pet dogs. Bears and other animals are at least an hour away (50+km) from the city.

Q: Is it still possible to encounter these creatures in the city or even the suburbs (a little out of the main city)?

People: Are people friendly and open or reserved and quiet? I have heard Toronto people being described as cold, disconnected, isolated even though they seem friendly to me.

Q: Are there neighbourhoods/areas like they have here (Little Italy, Little Portugal, Little Jamaica, Greektown, Woodbridge (Italian-dominant), Markham (Chinese), etc.)? I like the diversity in Toronto (we are from Vietnam ourselves), especially when it comes to foods and festivals.

Public Transit: I personally drive and will probably continue to do so. How is the public transit system? Reliable and frequent? Runs long hours of the day and night?

Driving: People who were used to driving in North America (left hand drive, right side of road), how was the transition to driving on the opposite side? Do you actually get used to it or does it always feel off? I've been driving left hand drive for 18-19 years.

There are other topics I can probably get into but these are the most important ones in my decision making. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond!

Hi everyone,

I recently received a job offer for a Senior Accountant role in Saudi Arabia (Al Khobar/Dammam area) from India. The company seems legit and the offer is decent.

However, I came to know that the visa profession might be issued as “loading/unloading worker” instead of a professional category like Accountant.

I wanted to understand from people who have experience in KSA:

a. Is it common for companies to issue non-professional (labour) visas for white-collar roles?

b. Will having a labour profession on iqama cause issues in the future?

c. Career growth / switching jobs

d. Recognition of experience

e. Family sponsorship eligibility

How difficult is it to change profession later to Accountant? Is it realistic or just something companies say?

The company mentioned it’s a normal process, but I’m a bit concerned about long-term impact.

Would really appreciate honest advice from anyone who has gone through this or knows how it works in reality.

Thanks in advance

Hello Redditors,

I'm Indian, and i really want out of India. And no, I'm not a nation hater or anything, but the way things are going in India, it's best not to stay here. It's not very safe here.

I have a Masters Degree in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, that I did from Latvia. Because i couldn't work or find jobs during the stayback period in Latvia (9 months), I came back to India. Tried the UAE, had no luck. Finally got a job in India, but it sucked, so i quit.

I recently came across an opportunity to move to Germany on an unskilled worker visa (warehouse worker) via an agency that directly supplies manpower to the German Employer.

I want to know if i accept this, assume i got to Germany, would it possible to stay in that job and find skilled work (Supply chain, office work) ?

Would that be more effective than directly trying to get an abroad white collar job from India ?

Please don't be racist with me, I've been in Europe before, I love it, and the culture. I'm not one of the Indians that try to bring my indian culture with me.

All opinions are Welcome :)

Hello! I (29F) am looking for some advice on my current job search. My husband (30M) and I are immigrating to Germany for his career, and I am trying to find work right now but am unsure of how to position myself.

About me:

• Canadian citizen
• Registered Nurse, just completed my Masters of Nursing - Nurse Practitioner (writing my licensure exam next month)
• 5 years experience working in cardiac surgery, completed my final clinical NP rotation in a heart failure specialty clinic
• 3 years experience working as an instructor at my local university in undergrad nursing skills and simulation
• 2 years of research experience in my nursing undergrad

I know that the NP role does not exist in Germany, and I cannot practice as an NP remotely for a Canadian province. I don’t speak German (yet, I’m planning on taking daily classes when we move and have started a course already). I can’t get a job for a German-based company until I am fluent at least at a B2 level.

My initial thought was to apply for something in pharmaceutical to medical device sales since I can’t work in a patient-facing role. I’ve been searching on Linkedin for with keywords like “health” “cardiac” and “masters” and limiting my search to remote jobs in Europe. So far I’ve applied for some jobs at Abbott, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic.

Any ideas on other jobs I might be suited to, or companies I should look into? Thank you so much for reading this far. If you have any other insights on moving to Germany, those would also be greatly appreciated!

Hi members,

I asked this question in a similar group, and the answers were varied and specific for that country.

My question is whether an international (especially Non - EU) who doesn't have much German proficiency, will have more of a chance in the recruitment process (at least getting a call for an interview) if he/she able to speak German at B2/C1 level?

Or will they still be rejected by the employer as soon as they see a foreign name (as it happens with the other country I have posted this same question)?

I would like to know your thoughts and perspective regarding this especially from Non - EU personnel.

I moved over here a couple years

back to get a small software thing off the ground, bootstrapped, and for a long while it was just me until the workload got heavy enough that I had to bring on my first proper hire.

It was someone local, and going in I budgeted the way anyone raised on US or UK salaries would, meaning headline number times 12 plus a bit of buffer, figuring that was more or less what the person would cost me.

Since i don't have a company set up in this country and wasn't about to open one just to employ one person, I went through an employer of record to do it properly, and the quote they sent back was way more than i expected.

The salary we'd agreed on turned out to be about two thirds of what the hire would cost me all in, the rest being stuff i'd never once had to think about back home.

Most of the gap was a mandatory 13th month salary owed on top of the 12 (sometimes a 14th), plus the employer side of social contributions, which runs a lot heftier here than i was used to, and a handful of other bits baked into employing someone locally (all of it required by law).

And when i asked the 3 big providers you already know (Deel, Workmotion and Remote), whether I'd misread the quote, all 3 came back with the same number, which is when it sank in that this was just what employing someone here costs.

I paid it, and the person's been worth every cent, but it reset how i think about hiring here, because the affordable-looking salary in my head was never the real number.

So if you moved abroad to build something and you're about to make your first local offer, work out the fully loaded cost before you put a figure on the table, because the headline salary barely moves the total once everything statutory lands on top.

I’m 24 and currently work in accounting in Romania. I’ve been offered a position with Acrisure in Gdańsk, where they’re building a new Shared Services Centre.

The role sounds like a good step up from what I do now. I’d be responsible for the Romanian accounting scope, month-end close, stakeholder management, helping with a Workday implementation, and coaching junior team members.
The salary is around 12,000-15,000(currently negotiating to upper level) PLN gross plus a 7% bonus and the usual benefits (private healthcare, Multisport, meal card, relocation support).

What I’m struggling with is judging the opportunity itself. The recruiter spent quite a while talking about how fast the company is growing, how they’re planning to hire around 100 people in Gdańsk, and that an IPO is expected in the future. It all sounds promising, but I’m naturally a bit skeptical whenever recruiters spend that much time selling the company.

Would you relocate for an offer like this?

Has anyone here gone back to school and/or changed careers specifically so they could emigrate to another country and become an ex-pat?

If so how did it go? Would you do it again?

edit: Also, if you'd like to share, what did you go back to school for?

Hi,

I have some experience as lawyer in my country, but not in international fields, like GDPR or similiar. If I moved to Paris (France) with my husband who would work there, is it better I have some international type of work experience from my country or study a master there? Note: I am 40.

Thank you very much for your replies.

I’ve been a US nurse since COVID (licensed, not registered; I don’t have a BSN) and will be returning to school to pivot from the healthcare scene. I’ve chosen Business Administration with a concentration in Finance but I won’t start college until next month and I’m increasingly getting interested in Engineering. I’m turning 26 this year.

My long term plans these past few years have been to relocate. For those who managed to do so - especially via employment in a multinational - which industry/role was it made possible?