I know there have been a couple of threads on this recently but I believe my situation is a bit different, hence the new thread. I want to move to a Western European country and leave the US for good! I lived in London for a year and I loved it. I met people from all over Europe and I can honestly say, European girls are much better looking than American girls. I don't just want to move there for the girls; I also like the public transport system and I like how close different countries are. I'm 30, my background is in Finance/Economics and I think my best chances are either 1. Netherlands via the Dutch American Friendship Treaty (self-employment) or 2. Germany via post-graduate studies or self-employment.
1. DAFT will allow me to establish residency in Holland but I will not be allowed to enter the labor market or else my stay will be revoked - I have to remain self-employed for a few years. Most people who utilize this work in creative fields like the arts or tech. I'm thinking about getting some training in computer science, learning Java, Python, etc. and getting contract work to make this work.
2. Germany is also lenient with self-employment residency permits for Americans and I also have the option of pursuing a PhD in Economics there. The latter is a long, hard road and at my age, I'm not sure I can do it.
I was previously thinking about Sweden, Finland, or Norway (I was accepted to Master's programs there) but Northern Europe has become very anti-immigrant and I'm not so sure I'll be able to add value in the Scandis as most people are fluent in English (most tend to be multilingual).
At last, my question is, has anyone here accomplished this - moved to the EU permanently? How did you go about this? Did you utilize the schemes above or a similar one? At my age, I'm leaning towards getting training in programming as the PhD route will require a ~5 yr commitment. If anyone knows of any resources or people who accommodate people like me, please let me know.
1. DAFT will allow me to establish residency in Holland but I will not be allowed to enter the labor market or else my stay will be revoked - I have to remain self-employed for a few years. Most people who utilize this work in creative fields like the arts or tech. I'm thinking about getting some training in computer science, learning Java, Python, etc. and getting contract work to make this work.
2. Germany is also lenient with self-employment residency permits for Americans and I also have the option of pursuing a PhD in Economics there. The latter is a long, hard road and at my age, I'm not sure I can do it.
I was previously thinking about Sweden, Finland, or Norway (I was accepted to Master's programs there) but Northern Europe has become very anti-immigrant and I'm not so sure I'll be able to add value in the Scandis as most people are fluent in English (most tend to be multilingual).
At last, my question is, has anyone here accomplished this - moved to the EU permanently? How did you go about this? Did you utilize the schemes above or a similar one? At my age, I'm leaning towards getting training in programming as the PhD route will require a ~5 yr commitment. If anyone knows of any resources or people who accommodate people like me, please let me know.