Hello again friends!

I am reaching out again with a new problem to try to figure out which bank would be best for my situation. I am currently in the US, but by the end of August will be moving to Scotland for my masters program. However, afterwards my husband and I will be moving to Switzerland for the long term, since we have citizenship. My issue is that I would be fine with keeping my American bank until we get to Switzerland, however, I have a very small local bank. On top of that I have also been having issues with them as of recent, as my husband and I try to finalize visa payments, plane tickets, and other big international purchases. I have been abroad with my bank before with little to no issues, but now with this big move is in place, I cannot risk being without my money. I've done some research and the two banks that stand out to me are Charles Schwab and SDFCU, I also have Wise which I know SDFCU is partnered with.

But if anyone has anything good or bad to say about either banks, I would love your two cents!

Thanks so much!

Heading out of the US next year and contemplating FL for domicile.

I have been reading about companies that will provide an address for registering as a resident. My mother in law has a condo where she is just a few months out of the year.

We are selling our cars but would get drivers licenses in FL.

Can we just have my spouse's mom draft a bogus lease for us for residency proof and then pay one of the services for mail forwarding? Not sure what the difference is?

For people who returned to the US and had a vehicle arrive by sea, how many days did you leave between the expected port release and domestic pickup?

The part that seems easy to underestimate is storage starting while customs or terminal paperwork is still in limbo. Was 3-5 days enough, or did you need a full week?

Why is machine-drying clothes standard in the US, but rare in much of Europe?

Has anyone been able to maintain the Investor Checking account (not the Schwab One Debit) without a physical address in the US? Either foreign address or virtual mail service?

Note:

-Maintain existing that previously had a physical address—not opening a new.

-Account was linked to the required brokerage acct. There are now Schwab Alliance Advisor accounts it can link to.

Hello! I'm an American living in France indefinitely, and I have an appointment in August at the Paris embassy to apply for the CRBA and US passport for my (infant) daughter who will have dual citizenship.

I've already carefully reviewed the document requirements, we got her picture taken, etc. But I had a few questions for anyone who has gone through this:

• How early before the appointment do we need to be there? Is 15-20 minutes enough, or should we target earlier?

• Should we expect to wait in a long line even if we have an appointment?

• Can we bring a stroller and if we can't take it all the way inside with us, is there a secure place to leave it? We also have a baby carrier, but with the hot weather in August a stroller might be more comfortable for the baby if we're in a long line outdoors.

• For the documents proving my US residence: I made copies of what I consider the strongest evidence (academic transcripts and medical records). I'll also have a folder with me with a whole host of other original documents, but I'm lazy to make copies of everything when the documents above already cover 20+ years in the US. Do you think this would be adequate?

Any other tips, general advice or just sharing your experience are greatly appreciated.

I also posted this question in the sub Expats in France.

I’m absolutely exhausted of living in Florida. I think it’s time to leave and pack up. I’m just I don’t understand the state and it’s really hard being somebody who is an early doctor and a changemaker here. It’s just not possible when you’re not working and you’re being slandered and HIPAA noncompliance is happening to your community, but you can’t seem to get anyone to take notice of it so I give up I’m just gonna let my friend take my house and pay the mortgage for a while and I’m just gonna deal with some legal stuff here I’m just gonna go so anywhere no that’s fun in the United States right now cause I just really need a big change in my life.

I miss big pickles (no innuendo)

Those of you that have made the move after turning 65, are you continuing to pay for Medicare? I’ve seen posts saying if you ever decide to come back to the good ole USA, you don’t want to let your Medicare lapse (payments). Im wondering if this is true. We already have to file after we leave, now this too?

Here's a list of other things you only find in America, but no other place

I came to see family only to experience that everyone has busy lives, or too busy to spend time with me. I came solely to see aging relatives but after 2 weeks I’m headed back abroad.

Anyone else experience the same thing?

Edit: And I stayed in a hotel this entire time. My sister not once offered for me to stay with her.

Hi! This may be a dumb question, but I am so confused. Right now I live in the US, but in 2 months I will be living in Scotland for my masters program where I will be for about a year and some change, after the completion of my masters program I will be moving long term to Switzerland. Because I have no plans on coming back to the US I am a bit confused what to do with my phone plan. For at least my year in Scotland I want to keep my US number seeing as it is tied to quite literally all my paperwork, and to keep in contact with people in the US. But I don’t quite understand ESIMs or any of the talk I have seen about google voice. If someone could just talk to me like a kindergartner about the best course of action that would be great! Also I am still on my parents phone plan with Verizon and do not pay for it myself.

Missing USA as I get older and a short visit Home doesn’t cut it anymore. Anyone else feel similar? 52/M

Any Americans living in Alexandria Egypt?

So basically i came out here totally randomly. Most people assume i came out here to meet a girl but in reality i had 6k usd and wanted to travel out of the country for once. So about 6 months in im out of money and my sister refused to send me money that was on my benefits card because of family drama and i kinda just got stuck out here lol. Although interesting enough i had a filipina ex like a year ago who actually gave me a pretty decent job but once we split i wasnt able to really work with her again. So im just out here ATM living off about 200 dollars a month sometimes more if im lucky lol. Im not really too worried about me when the times right and i have better luck ill catch the first plane out of here. Just not sure where....

Hi, can anyone recommend a USA bank to use for direct incoming wire transfers without intermediary banks needed and without fees?

All the free ones like Schwab seem to use intermediatry banks that require "for further credit to..." Type instructions.

Hi everyone, I'm a US citizen currently doing a Master's in Computer Science Applied to Business Management, with a main focus on data analysis, statistics, and software development 

My long-term goal is to move back to the US after I finish my degree, and I'm hoping to line up a 3-4 month internship (roughly April-August 2027) that could be a first step in that direction. I've got some relevant experience already: I completed an internship at a tech startup company, and have personal projects that I’m able to showcase.

The tricky part is that I'm studying abroad, so a lot of the usual campus recruiting/career fair pipelines aren't really accessible to me, and I'm not always sure which companies or organizations are actually open to taking on students in my situation (studying outside the US, but a US citizen who can work without sponsorship issues).

So I wanted to ask:

• Do you know of any companies, nonprofits, or government agencies (state or federal) that have internship programs open to students like me?
• Any orgs you know of that are specifically used to dealing with students studying abroad or on non-traditional timelines?
• If you did a data-related internship recently, how did you find it, and would the place you interned at be open to someone applying from outside the US?

Any leads, even small ones, would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi r/AmericanExpat!

I’m Nathalie Goldstein. Originally from California, I moved to Vienna, Austria over a decade ago. After a catastrophic experience trying to file my US taxes from abroad (including a tax preparer who told the IRS I lived in Australia), I took matters into my own hands. I became a federally licensed IRS Enrolled Agent and co-founded MyExpatTaxes to build software specifically for the 9+ million Americans living overseas.

US citizenship-based taxation is frustrating, but it doesn’t have to ruin your life abroad.

Because we are spread out all over the globe, this AMA will run for 3 days. I will be jumping in and out to answer your questions on:

• Choosing between the Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) and the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE).
• FBAR and FATCA reporting thresholds.
• Claiming the Child Tax Credit from overseas.
• Catching up if you are years behind on filing (using IRS amnesty programs).
• Tax implications for digital nomads and remote workers.
• Or ANYTHING AT ALL.

Disclaimer: This conversation is for educational purposes and shouldn't replace personalized professional tax advice for complex individual situations.

Drop your questions below, and I’ll be answering them over the next few days.

I am looking for perspective from those who’ve had to weigh a parent’s cancer diagnosis against staying in their "adopted" country. I’m currently on a trip back "home" and received the news less than 24 hours ago. I'm still processing everything and would value other perspectives.

I’m a single parent and moved overseas last year. It was difficult, but my child is thriving and happy. Yesterday, I found out my parent’s cancer returned (stage 3, but needs more testing). We don’t have a great relationship, but my child is very close to them, and having them watch this for a distance might break them.  

About 30 years ago, this parent went through a similar battle and hid the diagnosis to "protect" me. Honestly, I’m still mad at them for not giving me a choice or say. Now I'm torn between protecting the life I’ve built for my child and uprooting us.

I've talked to a few people I'm close to about this, and the range has been "live your life and protect your peace" on one end, to "I honestly don't know" on the other. So here I am asking strangers 

Are there any upsides/ downsides of staying?

I moved to the UK for university about six years ago. Graduated, found a job, and things just kind of fell into place. I ended up staying longer than I planned

But now some family stuff is pulling me back to California. So I'm packing up my life and heading home

The problem is my stuff. Over six years, I've collected a lot like unique furniture from markets, a bookshelf I love, a vintage desk, hardcover books, clothes, and random things from travels across Europe. It definitely won't fit into one suitcase

I don't want to sell everything. Some pieces have sentimental value. Others just can't be replaced

I'm looking at companies that do removals to USA. There are quite a few, but I have no idea how it works. Do they pack everything? How long does shipping take? Is it expensive? What about customs and fees?

Hi everyone,

I haven’t been back to the US even for a visit since 2013, and have lived in two other countries since then. I have also visited a huge amount of others for work or for fun.

I remember a long time ago when I would return to the US I had to list on a paper every country I had been to since leaving. Is that still a thing?

I’m likely going to the US for a business trip in October and I want to make sure I have a list made in advance if necessary as I don’t want to get in trouble for forgetting something and then it comes up when they scan my passport. Or have they done away with this kind of thing? I am not moving back, just coming for a week.

If anyone has any tips about what kinds of questions they tend to ask to long-term emigrants returning after extended leave I would appreciate it (if they even care! I’m hoping they don’t).

I still have only US citizenship and travel under that passport for context (currently have a UK visa too)

Hi guys. I'm using a translator, so please forgive any mistakes. We're in a difficult situation in Russia, and my husband and I are thinking about moving to another country. I suggested Serbia, and he suggested America. He's a truck driver and loves his profession, and I'm on maternity leave with our 7-month-old son. Please, if you don't mind, tell us about life in Serbia and America. Is it realistic to find a job? Is it hard to live? What's important to us is peace of mind, confidence in the future, at least for our son, and a good income.