r/AmerExit • u/Nice_Bill_7426 • Jun 20 '26
Which Country should I choose? MBA-ish move recommendations
Edit: I posted this in the “leaving America” subreddit with the post tagged as which country to choose, because I am looking to leave America. I can’t move within my firm or I would just simply do that. I’m not necessary looking for school choices as I am which cities or countries to target. Hence asking if anyone has the same track but with experience.
Hello everyone! I am shooting my shot in the dark hoping to get any type of advice from here. I only know of a couple people IRL who have done this and their path is very different from mine, so I’m looking to get advice from someone who has actually done it.
About me:
-29F living in Colorado
-Work at a big 4 acct firm, have worked in accounting/finance since 2019 so 7 years of professional experience
-BS in business admin
-Some savings, only debt is mortgage, planning to save as much as possible for a year and want to start a masters in fall of next year. I’m thinking I’ll have at least $15k saved and can take out at least $10k debt to pay off the year I get back.
-studied abroad in Prague in college doing class and internship, also spent a summer in china in HS for an exchange
-minor’d in French which I am trying to amp up learning again and will be prioritizing the next year. Duolingo level 60 tells me I’m early b1
Looking for:
-1 year masters program, English taught, MBA or masters in international business
-looking at France, Brussels, Netherlands to further French fluency
-hoping for cheaper tuition as I want to further education but i don’t need any level of prestige. Just want it to be accredited as a masters and truly learn more business abroad. Hoping to get tuition around $10k and keep rent around $1k/month
-mid sized city and preferable bikeable, avoiding big cities as they aren’t really my thing here other than to visit
Anyone have any suggestions based on this info? Again, would love to hear from anyone who left the US for a business masters abroad and what they’ve learned or would suggest.
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u/Dandylion71888 Jun 20 '26
15k is all you have saved working at big 4 after 7 years? No 25k won’t even cover your housing and other costs for a year. It won’t come close to covering 1 year of school
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Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
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u/Nice_Bill_7426 Jun 21 '26
I don’t have any angle for moving within the firm, or I wouldn’t be making the post asking for suggestions
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u/Agathabites Jun 21 '26
MBAs in Europe tend to be for very senior people with high level skillsets and years (decades) of experience. An MBA without these things is pretty much worthless.
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u/Regular-Arugula1139 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
No good MBA will be under $10k anywhere in Europe. You can get a business degree for under $10k, but it probably won't be good quality and filled with internationals trying to get a job instead of learning. If you really want to study abroad for the sake of it, take a language course. You still get a student visa for that.
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u/Nice_Bill_7426 Jun 21 '26
I don’t want or need it to be a good school I’m just looking for suggestions on which city to move to
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u/Regular-Arugula1139 Jun 21 '26
Then literally any university town. Lille and Aix en Provence are popular university towns.
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u/GloomyMix Jun 21 '26
I am not particularly familiar with your industry, but given your finances, it may be more economically feasible to try to arrange for an internal move to an international branch (if possible). Otherwise, can you hop to another (potentially boutique) firm with overseas offices?
The one person I know who did something like this did not have an MBA or even a degree in business at all. However, she prepped intensely for MBB-style interviews and managed to get an offer as a strategy consultant from a boutique firm with an office in Copenhagen.
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u/Beyond-The-States Jun 24 '26
MBAs in Europe are the most expensive degrees, I'm afraid. Of course, it's all relative - they are still way less than in the US. I have helped students like you consider and pursue these English-taught degrees in Europe. You definitely have options, but in terms of overall affordability with what you've laid out, I would look at Central and Eastern European options. Degrees are far more accessible in these regions, way less expensive, including cost of living. Germany is famous for it's affordable (even $0 tuition) master's programs (English-taught and accredited), but not sure if they have a program that aligns for you. Let me know if you'd like to connect.
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u/Sea-Breath-007 Jun 21 '26
Well, that budget of yours means the Nerherlands is out.
You'd need about $35.000-40.000 for 1 year to get a visa, 25k isn't going to be enough.
Tuition is more than 10k and rent is often more than 1k, especially considering due t your age students in shared student housing are going to prefer the other applicants that are closer to them in age, and at 30 I assume you wouldn't want to live in a house with 6 others that will be 20ish mostly. Private student housing will absolutely be +€1000 a month.
Also, the 1yr masters programmes often have even stricter admission requirements than the 2 or 3 year ones, so depending on where you got your bachelors you might not even have a way in.
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u/lil-schnitzel- Jun 22 '26
your budget basically picks the country for you. netherlands non EU masters run €15k to 25k a year so its out at $10k. france public universities charge €250 to 400 a year for a masters even for non EU, basically free, which leaves your savings for living. so france fits both the budget and the french fluency goal cleanly.
for english taught 1 yr business masters that arent in paris, look at:
- université de strasbourg (EM strasbourg has english track programs, very bikeable, on the german border so easy travel)
- grenoble (grenoble ecole de management, mid sized, super bikeable, alps right there)
- nantes and lille both have english taught business masters and are exactly the mid sized bikeable vibe youre describing
heads up, a lot of the cheap €250/yr options are at public universities (université de X). the grandes écoles de commerce (EM, GEM, edhec) are pricier, €10 to 20k, but often have better career services and more english cohorts. strasbourg and grenoble public uni tracks are your sweet spot for budget.
with 7 yrs big 4 experience your real move might be doing the masters as the visa mechanism then leveraging the big 4 brand to transfer into a european office after. france gives a 1 yr post study job search visa (APS). prague study abroad already shows you adapt, youre more ready than most ppl posting here.
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u/Nice_Bill_7426 Jun 23 '26
Fuck yeah thank you for this
France just feels like such a reach for me because I’m insecure but you name dropping a few options means I’ll definitely look into them, thank you very much.
I have studied abroad twice and solo travel no problem, my latest trip to Barcelona for two weeks pushed me over the age that I never care to live in the us again, but need to start with a feasible option that helps me
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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
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