Americans working in Europe

Posted by: Aric on 27 January 2008

Hi All:

My question may seem rather silly, but I'm interested in whatever information forum memebers can offer about the current state of affairs of Americans working/living in Europe.

There is a probable opportunity for me to take a new job here in the States; however, it would require 6-12 months of immediate training in Europe (The Netherlands, Germany, and the UK). The new job would be a great opportunity, represent a challenging advancement early in my career, and would be an exciting departure from what I'm currently doing.

Furthermore, I've always wanted to "see" Europe, and "seeing" while working seems the perfect position at this time - e.g., the dollar getting killed vs. the euro.

Having said that, my parents visited Ireland last year and reported as a stereotype, they were soundly ignored/rejected on their journey thru the homeland. Obviously I would like to strike it off on the weekends (praise God for a resonable public transportation system!) and visit as much as possible.

My question/concern is how problematic/dangerous would it be, as an American, for me to be living and visiting in Europe right now? We in the USA know how disliked we are on the national stage, and certainly I can withstand a few glib remarks; however, if my personal safety were to be jeopardized, then that's entirely a different matter.

I would be over there with another 3-4 individuals, and FWIW, I'm 27.

Thanks for any proffered information.

Aric
Posted on: 17 February 2008 by Exiled Highlander
Aric

Think about things like tax equalization also....it's possible you will have to pay Euro taxes depending on the length of time you spend there.

Hopefully your company has a good ex-pat department and will keep you right...

Cheers

Jim
Posted on: 18 February 2008 by JohanR
quote:
I had a Greek professor in college who said the last "true" European country (in West Europe) is Spain.


Maybe he was refering to the Franco era when they where ruled by a crazy despot, just like most European countries where before we got democracy?

JohanR
Posted on: 18 February 2008 by Martin M
Aric,

I've done a very similar things in the past as have friends of mine, and (for me) the novelty wore off rather rapidly.

My first advice would be to review the job opportunity on its own merits. Is it a good job, good pay, not crazy hours etc. Only if it passes the same criteria that you apply to a job 2 miles away would I consider it.

My only other observation is that flying around and being in foreign countries seems pretty cool until you realise the offices look pretty much the same as your local ones and being able to look at tourist attractions at the weekends is not much of a recompense for being away from your family.

Consider how quickly you could get home if you really had to. And consider the stain it will put on your family. Also, strange as it may seem, being away from home can result in lots of hard work as you won't have much else to do of an evening.

As to being an American in Europe, I don;t think anyone will care about this or hassle you. Much like being an Englishman in the US. Lovely accent was the only comments I gathered.
Posted on: 18 February 2008 by Aric
Jim,

Good point, I will certainly have to ask about that.

Martin,

From a former Marylander (Calvert County), thanks for the input. I would still accept the job whether it was here or in New Mexico or California. So it passes on the those things you mentioned. The key for me will be in how often they'll pay for trips back to the States.

Aric
Posted on: 18 February 2008 by Exiled Highlander
Aric

I can agree with Martin to an extent but not 100%. I think he makes goods points regarding ease of return and family pressures etc, but I can't agree with treating the opportunity in the same way as if the job was based two miles from your home.

It's probably just a personality difference but as a UK ex-pat who has lived and worked in the US for the last 10 years as well as a six month spell living in India (you can probably guess what line of business I am in...) I treated the whole thing as adventure and an opportunity not to be missed as well providing me the chance to build up a set of skills in international business that I simply would not have gotten had I stayed in Aberdeen, Scotland back in 1997. So on the positive side having that international experience on your C.V. is not a bad thing!

Just another perspective.

Cheers

Jim