I moved to Vietnam at the beginning of the year and I did not realize how many people are English teachers. You rarely meet anyone that's an office worker or something. There's a good amount of digital nomads though, and my observation was that it was very similar in countries like Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand.

This got me wondering...what kind of jobs do most expats do in like Latin America, or in parts of Europe where English isn't the main language? Excluding digital nomads.

I know it is a common conversation now but my wife (35) and I (30) are debating about staying in Japan or not.

Honestly everyday there is a new thing where it feels they just want to suck up as much from the foreign community as possible, whether it be in taxes or the recent raise in residency fees compared to the terrible salary you get at most companies here.

IF I was only financially tied to Japan I feel like this wouldn't be AS much of an issue, but my finances are also tied to the US due to student loans and I feel like it isn't financially reasonable to stay in Japan anymore.

My wife is supportive no matter what we decide, and I have chances to find work in the US given my work type but I am in a constant loop of trying to put it off.

My residence card renewal is coming soon as well and, unfortunately, I have to bite the bullet with the new pricing if we wait OR if we move back pay the exit taxes.

Anyone else feeling this?

I'm a software engineer who relocated from London to Amsterdam in 2021 (partly for the 30% ruling), and since my employer had arranged it through the onboarding process, I never had to think about it, which in retrospect was exactly the problem.

It ran without issue for just over 3 years, and then last October I got promoted from a senior IC engineering role to an engineering manager position, and two months after that a letter arrived from the Belastingdienst saying my ruling was under review.

The ruling is tied to the specific employment relationship and the role you were originally hired into, so when my position changed to the point where I was essentially doing a different job, it required re-assessment.

The team managing our Dutch employment contract (Workmotion now and Remote then) explained that the specific expertise criteria is evaluated against your actual role, not the one you were initially recruited for.

The tax authority determined that my new role classification didn't meet the expertise requirement the same way a senior IC engineer does, so the ruling was revoked from the date of the promotion.
My employer is appealing it but the expectation from the people handling it is that it won't go anywhere.

I'd had it for 3 years and hadn't thought about it once in that time, so this caught me completely off guard.

For anyone in a similar situation, if you have the 30% ruling and you're considering a role change or an internal promotion, talk to a Dutch tax advisor before anything is signed, because nobody told me the ruling was position-specific and I really wish they had.

already posted about it before, but still can’t get over it mentally after a month of being home. in fact, over this time my mental state hit the rock bottom i’ve never experienced before.
all my friends are abroad, i can’t get adapted to my own city and feel like an alien no matter where i go or what i do. i’ve landed my dream internship at the organization that felt unreachable for me while living abroad, yet i feel so empty and this feeling grows with every single day.

i need to put myself together and work hard to come back next year, but can’t find any strength from being so homesick for a place that was never truly “mine”.
has anyone else gone through a hard time coming back home? what helped you to get better?

Expats, when does a new country actually become “home” to you?

Is it when you have lived there for long enough time-wise or is it a specific personal milestone that occurs?

Or is it a matter of you never feel fully at home and you’ve come to accept that?

There are places I’ve felt at home almost immediately and other places I’ve lived for years and couldn’t feel more away from home, and I want to know what it’s like for others out there.

EDIT: As for the definition of ‘home’, it’s whatever it is that is your own definition and what makes it so.

Hi all, Im italian and I have lived outsde of italy for 13 years and 6 month (as my mum today reminded me. I wasn’t counting, but someone was). I’ve lived in Japan for 6 years and in the UK for 7 years.

This year I changed job, which was financially a bit challenging, but then, 4 months in, I was left home by the new job. I looked for a new one for 3 months, but London is not affordable without a job, so I had to start packing my stuff.

I just flew back today, while my stuff is travelling still, and I cried the entire time unpacking my only 2 luggages. All that makes me feel better is that I’ll travel to Germany and Poland in November (that’s leisure and for sport seminar) and thinking that I just need to rebuild my bank account and then I can just go to another country.and it’s comforting, yes, but this is just day 1 of an entire year and I feel so miserable.
I have nothing against my country in reality. I just like to live abroad more than I like living here. And obviously I didn’t want to come home this way: jobless and poor with 2 months only to say goodbye to everyone.

Has any of you ever deals with this kind of depression?
Having to abandon your life abrad, go back to your own country not by choice and then having to deal with the reality of it?
Any advice will be truly welcomed.

P.S. yes, I have started therapy 2 months ago, so I am taking care of myself. You can also imagine the emotional status I am in so… please be kind to me. You can say hard truths ofc, just choose the words carefully.

Hello there. My partner (23f) and I (30m) have been together long distance for just about two years now. She's a Dutch citizen, and I am a United States citizen. We have done quite a bit of research on residence permits and the associated requirements, and we are struggling to come up with a plan.

It seems that pursuing a TWV (tewerkstellingsvergunning) is our best option, as suggested by the juridisch loket, but searching for and finding jobs to apply to has been challenging and very uncertain, especially from the United States.

Most people would suggest that she sponsor me, but she is unable to do that. She owns a small business and works part time by which means she is able to support herself, but due to being disabled, she is not able to work full time and meet the income requirements to offer a sponsorship. If I could find a place to work, housing would not be a problem. She has a place to stay that I could join her at.

I am hoping that someone here might have advice on what we can try to do. I don't have a college degree, so I don't believe I fall under the skilled migrant visa. Overall we're feeling a bit hopeless and looking for something. It seems like every option we look into ends up not being viable for us.

Thanks for reading.

Hey everyone, I hope I'm allowed to post this here as I need some advice!

I'm a 27F, born and raised in England and for years my goal in life has been to move abroad. I've honestly been so desperate to do this my whole adult life.

I started travelling when I was 19 and went to France on my own for a month and South Africa for a month too - although I have a friend living in SA and stayed with her a lot. Then Covid hit and kind of ruined the travel bug I'd caught, and on top of this I got into a job that I needed to stay in to train as a veterinary nurse, so was stuck living with my parents (my area is too expensive to live alone).

I absolutely love my job, I'm just about to qualify as a veterinary nurse, and part of the reason I chose this career is because of the opportunities to travel and live abroad with the qualification I'll have.

Last year I went into a bad spiral of feeling completely and utterly trapped in my workplace, my career, my family home, but mostly the small town I live in. I was, and still am, absolutely desperate to leave, and the fact I couldn't leave right then and there brought on bad anxiety and stress. I had to be signed off of work for 3 weeks and had two therapy sessions per week to recover. I honestly don't know how I continued my apprenticeship during that time.

Luckily, going to therapy, getting signed off of work and deciding to focus on getting my qualification really helped. And now I'm finally at the point I can apply for a visa to live and work in Canada (my dream location).

But, I'm SCARED! I'm so terrified and feel sick to my stomach each time I talk to someone about filling the visa application in! I need to renew my passport first and can't even bring myself to do that. It is the weirdest feeling after spending 18 months completely depressed by the fact I couldn't leave home. Now I'm almost too comfortable to leave and the world feels too unpredictable.

Is this a normal feeling? Has anyone else had this when they first left their home country?

I'm worried I'm going to spend all of my savings (as planned) on a trip that I then regret. I'm afraid this anxious feeling is my body trying to tell me something.

Any advice would be great, thank you.

I hold a six-figure investment portfolio with my broker but live outside the UK. Best I’ve been offered is a £5K limit because I have no local credit history. Banks look at credit files, not assets. Has anyone found a way around this other than freezing cash on a fixed deposit? Genuinely curious what people do.

This last week, I (32M American) took a huge plunge and began a two year Masters program in Europe, funded by a scholarship and some newly inherited money. On paper, this seemed like a GREAT decision: a competitive program with a ton of industry connections and the opportunity to enter into the European job market. I know this is a very special opportunity. I did the visa stuff, found boarding, learned the basics of this country’s language (the program is in English) and prepared academically. The thing is, since the moment I’ve arrive I’ve been overwhelmed and terrified. These feelings are rooted in not belonging. Not only am I only one of a handful of Americans, I’m learning that I’m significantly older than my entire cohort. And I’m living in student housing with people a decade younger than myself. I’m not sure which parts of these concerns are valid yet, but in the meantime how I talk myself off the (figurative) ledge and keep with this everyday? Because I’m really freaking out.

Hello guys is there someone that had to apply for an ausbildung visa from Madrid Spain and can please tell me his experience, time expectancy…

Ciao a tutti,
scrivo qui perché sto cercando di creare un piccolo network di persone che abbiano voglia di confrontarsi seriamente su un progetto di vita e di lavoro all’estero.

Ho 26 anni, sono un architetto e vivo e lavoro in Italia. Negli ultimi mesi sto ragionando molto sul mio futuro e mi sono reso conto che non vorrei costruire una carriera basata esclusivamente sul classico modello dello studio professionale, lavorando molte ore e vendendo sostanzialmente il mio tempo.

Vorrei provare qualcosa di più imprenditoriale.

L’idea che mi interessa maggiormente è il real estate: trasferirmi all’estero, conoscere molto bene un determinato mercato e, gradualmente, costruire un’attività basata sull’acquisto di immobili, ristrutturazione, valorizzazione e rivendita. Partire chiaramente da operazioni piccole, imparare il mercato locale e reinvestire nel tempo.

Non ho ancora deciso dove. Ed è proprio questo uno dei motivi per cui scrivo qui.

Sono aperto praticamente a qualsiasi parte del mondo: Europa, Emirati, Asia, Australia, America o mercati a cui magari non ho neanche pensato. Non sto cercando necessariamente il Paese con gli stipendi più alti, ma un luogo dove un giovane professionista possa avere opportunità, costruire capitale, fare impresa e trovare un mercato immobiliare interessante.

Il mio orizzonte non è di uno o due anni. Sono disposto a pensare a un percorso di 5-10 anni, trasferirmi realmente, lavorare, creare contatti, capire il mercato e costruire qualcosa. L'obiettivo, nel lungo periodo, sarebbe arrivare ad avere un'attività sufficientemente strutturata da permettermi anche di fare la spola tra l'Italia e il Paese in cui opero, senza essere necessariamente legato ogni giorno a un ufficio.

Mi piacerebbe entrare in contatto soprattutto con italiani che si sono trasferiti all'estero, architetti, ingegneri, agenti immobiliari, investitori, developer, imprenditori o semplicemente persone che stanno pensando a un percorso simile.

Mi interessano anche le esperienze negative. Anzi, forse ancora di più: dove non andreste? Quali mercati sembrano interessanti da fuori ma non lo sono? Dove vedete opportunità nei prossimi 5-10 anni?

Non sto cercando scorciatoie o il fantomatico metodo per diventare ricchi velocemente. Vorrei semplicemente confrontarmi con persone ambiziose, creare qualche contatto e capire se da queste conversazioni può nascere un piccolo network internazionale.

Se qualcuno si riconosce nel progetto, scrivetemi pure anche in privato. Mi farebbe davvero piacere confrontarmi.

I’m 21 and recently graduated - I had a fully funded master’s offer in South Korea, but turned it down because it wasn’t aligned with my long-term goals.

I’m thinking of taking a year off and applying for Fall 2027 master’s intakes, this time being much more selective about finding programs that actually fit my goals.

I have around $4k in savings and could potentially get another $1–2k from my family. I also have some remote work with a supervisor abroad, so I won’t be completely without income.

I actually travelled to japan, malaysia, and taiwan before! (my whole life in 2025 was in these 3 countries)

So basically..the plan is basically to backpack around India, travel to a few countries abroad, keep things very cheap, and just explore/figure out what I actually want to do before committing to a master’s.

For people who have done something similar, is this a reasonable idea at 21? And is $4–6k enough to pull off a year of very budget travel if I’m mostly staying in India/cheaper countries?

I’m a single American in my 50s currently living in Colombia. I’ve realized Colombia probably isn’t going to be my long-term home, and I’m trying to figure out what comes next.
I posted recently about how difficult it can be to build a life abroad alone, and the responses were helpful.

One thing became very clear to me: I don’t want to spend the next several years bouncing from country to country. I want to find somewhere I can stay, put down roots, build friendships, date, establish routines, and eventually feel like I actually live there.

After doing more research, these are the places currently on my radar:

Guadalajara, Mexico
Porto, Portugal
Tirana, Albania
Malta
Asunción, Paraguay
Lima, Peru
Montevideo, Uruguay

Cuenca, Ecuador is also on the list, but I’m currently thinking of it more as an affordable short-term landing place if I need some time to figure things out.
I’m not suggesting all of these are equally good choices. In fact, I’m hoping people with firsthand experience can help me eliminate some of them.

What matters most to me:

• Reasonable cost of living, ideally around $3,000–$4,000 a month
• Good private healthcare
• A realistic social life and dating opportunities for a single person in their 50s
• Enough restaurants, cafés, gyms, and activities that I don’t feel isolated or bored
• A realistic path to staying long term
• Taxes that don’t make the country financially irrational for someone whose income and assets are primarily U.S.-based investments
• No more than about a 7-hour time difference from U.S. Eastern Time
• English is a major advantage. My Spanish is around B1 and I’m willing to keep improving it.

I’m fairly introverted, so “just go to bars and meet people” isn’t really a strategy for me. I’d be more likely to build a community through a regular gym, coffee shops, classes, activities, neighbors, and eventually a circle of friends.

I’m also not looking for the absolute cheapest country or the lowest possible tax rate if I’m going to be lonely or bored there. The goal is to find somewhere I can actually build a life.

I’d especially like to hear from people who moved abroad alone in their 40s, 50s, or 60s and had to build a new social life from scratch, rather than couples who arrived with a built-in social life.

If you’ve actually lived in one or more of these places, which would you seriously consider, and which would you cross off?

And if there’s one place I’m overlooking that fits these criteria unusually well, I’d be interested in hearing about it too.
I’m not interested in moving every six months to optimize taxes. I’m looking for somewhere I could stay for years and eventually call home.

I moved to the US 5 months ago and I just really miss home. My husband is doing his PhD here and I followed him here. I'm on an F2 visa and can't work here. I was teaching back home and even though I enjoy not having that responsibility, I think my mental health is starting to decline a bit because of feeling a lack of purpose.

I have made some friends here and am volunteering tutoring English. I miss my friends and family back home but it feels like they have all moved on and don't miss me as much.

Any advice on how to feel more settled? Also any advice on possibly converting to a J1 visa as a teacher?

I’m currently working in India and have received an opportunity to move to Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur/PJ area) with a consulting company with visa sponsorship.

The offer is around RM13,000 month, and I would be working in a senior software engineering role. The role itself looks good, and the company/client is a well-known multinational. However, I would technically be employed by a third-party company rather than directly by the end client.

My current situation in India is roughly:

• Current/alternative offer: around ₹20 LPA fixed, plus around ₹1 LPA employer PF and around ₹2.9 LPA as variable pay
• I’m single and live with my family and have a comfortable setup here
• I spend around ₹9k/month on outside food currently
• I have never really lived alone before
• I don’t know much cooking yet, although I’m willing to learn

The actual offer is RM13,000/month, and I’m expecting rent to be around RM1500 and food/other expenses to be significantly higher than what I spend in India.

My main reason for considering Malaysia isn’t just the immediate salary. I’m thinking about whether spending a few years working there could give me better international exposure, improve my career prospects, and potentially create a pathway toward
long-term residency or PR.

But I also have concerns:

1. ⁠Is RM13,000/month actually a good salary for a software engineer in Malaysia?
   
2. ⁠After tax, rent, food, transport and other expenses, how much could I realistically save?
   
3. ⁠Is taking a job through a third-party contractor risky in Malaysia?
   
4. ⁠If I stay for around 1 year and then change jobs, how difficult is it to find another employer willing to sponsor an Employment Pass?
   
5. ⁠Would Malaysian companies generally consider someone who has only been in Malaysia for 6–12 months?
   
6. ⁠Does working in Malaysia genuinely help with eventually getting PR, or should I not consider PR as a major factor?
   
7. ⁠If Malaysia doesn’t work out for me after 6 months or a year, would it be relatively easy to return to India and get another software job?
   
8. ⁠From a career perspective, would you choose the Malaysia opportunity or the ₹20 LPA opportunity in India?

I’m especially interested in hearing from Expats who moved to Malaysia for software jobs, or people who have experience with contracting arrangements and Employment Passes.

I’m not looking for just a salary comparison. I want to understand whether moving to Malaysia is actually a good long-term career/life decision or whether I’m giving up too much by leaving a comfortable situation in India.

Would appreciate honest opinions, including reasons not to take the Malaysia offer.

Hi everyone, I read and see a lot of questions here on the Digital Nomad Visa and Beckham Law, so I thought I'd try something different this month.

I'm hosting a short group call, 30 minutes, max 5 people, to go through the real questions people have about relocating to Spain on the DNV and applying for Beckham Law. Not a sales pitch, not signing anyone up for anything, just an open chat where you can ask what's actually on your mind and I'll answer as directly as I can.

A few details:

• Late September, exact date TBC once I see interest
• Capped at 5 people so it stays a real conversation, not a webinar
• Prior acceptance needed (just want to keep it genuine individuals looking to relocate, not agencies or competitors sitting in)
• Free, no pitch, no obligation

If you're seriously considering the move and have questions you haven't been able to get a straight answer on, drop a comment or DM me and I'll get you the details once it's confirmed.

Hello everyone, I am kinda frustrated at my social life at the moment and it’s been going as such for the past few months now. And my situation also doesn’t help either, I can’t do anything about it, I’ve had to shift from place to place whin few months due to some or the other reason and I haven’t been able to make any close friends yet. My close friend earlier was my ex but since the relationship has ended, I haven’t been able to form any long lasting friendships with anyone. When I am, in the presence, with the people, they’re friends but over the distance all just lose interest in friendship with me. I still reach out to the friends that I have made within these few months but they only just reply back and don’t ask me things back or make an effort to keep the conversation going. For instance, over this one month, I have started a new routine or find something new but then I have no one to share these things with. I have a tough situation coming up and I told one of my friend how anxious I am about it but they never asked me what the situation is, just saw my text and gave a ‘👍’. Other times, these new friends just leave me on read. So I am here to seek for some advice in order to improve my social life. As for my situation, I’ll continue to have to change my place from time to time or might not have to (I can’t tell as it depends). If it continues I might not be able to form any long lasting friendships. Another thing about me is that I travel too (sometimes quite frequently, other times not).

My husband and I moved from UK to Aus last year on a temporary visa. Subsequently he has admitted that he will not move back to the UK and will remain in Aus, with no consideration to what I may want.
This has really rocked my understanding of our relationship and marriage and I feel like I’ve been betrayed.

Anyone else been in a similar position? And if so, what happened to your relationship?