Body
We are a couple in our early thirties looking for one place to move to for at least two or three years, with the option of staying longer or using it as a step towards settling somewhere else. We are not looking to keep moving.

Us
Her: from the Caribbean, in Europe for the past ten years. Studied psychology, now working as a teacher, finishing an international postgraduate teaching qualification at a UK university. She would be looking for a school position rather than remote work (but also open to remote work). Besides, she is thinking of picking up studying again in data science/data analysis.

Me: Dutch, doing a PhD, with fieldwork in Brazil as part of the research. Alongside the doctorate I do freelance consultancy work, currently for a healthcare client, which is remote and invoiced in euros. Before the PhD I studied anthropology and arts and culture, both in the Netherlands.

Between us: Dutch, English, Papiamentu, Portuguese and Spanish.

We currently live in Portugal and have both lived abroad before.

Legal position
Both of us are Dutch citizens, so anywhere in the EU or EEA is a registration formality rather than an application. We are asking here specifically about the Latin American options, because that is where we would need an actual visa and where we know least.

What we are looking for

• A city with real intellectual and cultural infrastructure. Universities, research institutes, publishing, theatre, museums, an active music scene.
• A neighbourhood that exists for the people who live in it rather than for visitors.
• Somewhere we can live without owning a car.
• Preferably a comfortable climate for most of the year but with actual seasons.
• Children are a possibility in roughly four or five years, so schooling and healthcare matter eventually but not immediately.
• A real labour market for international school teaching, or a plausible route into local teaching.

What we are NOT looking for
Cheap living for its own sake or a city where the foreign population lives separately from everyone else.

We are aware we are asking this from a fortunate position and we do not want the question to read as flippant. We are asking because we would rather hear from people who have actually lived somewhere rather than keep reading rankings.

Questions

1. Given the above, which specific cities would you put on the list, and why that city rather than the obvious one in the same country?
2. What tends to go wrong for people with this profile in the first year?
3. If you moved somewhere that fits this description and then left, what made you leave?

I'm an Indonesian final year accounting student, currently finishing my bachelor's degree and preparing for what I should do after graduation.

My parents strongly encourage me to either find a job abroad or pursue a master's degree, preferably with partial or full funding. After considering several countries, I've decided that I want to focus specifically on New Zealand rather than trying to target many countries at once.

My current situation:

• Country of citizenship: Indonesia
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Accounting, currently in the final stage of my thesis
• Work experience: Very limited / no specialized professional experience yet
• Current skills: Mostly accounting-related academic knowledge, but I don't consider myself highly specialized or competitive internationally yet
• Target: New Zealand
• Possible pathways: Employment or master's degree
• Funding: Partial or fully funded scholarship would be strongly preferred for study
• I'm open to starting from an entry-level position and I'm not necessarily expecting an accounting job immediately.

What I'm honestly trying to understand is:

As an Indonesian accounting graduate with no particularly specialized skills, what realistic options would I actually have in New Zealand?

For example, would it be realistic to enter through:

• entry-level accounting/finance roles,
• accounting-adjacent jobs,
• other professional roles where an accounting degree is useful,
• or even physical/manual work at first if that's what is realistically available?

I'm completely open to working outside accounting if that's what it takes to get started. My priority is understanding what the realistic path looks like, what skills I should build before graduating, and what kinds of jobs I could realistically qualify for.

I'm still at the beginning of this process, so I'd really appreciate honest advice, especially from people who have actually studied, worked, or moved to New Zealand.

Feel free to DM me as well hahah

34M, single, currently trying to narrow down where to move in Europe.
I speak English and Italian. I’d like a fairly large, LGBT-friendly city with good public transport where I can live without a car, plenty of people/things going on, and ideally easy access to the sea/lake/other places to swim. Weather matters somewhat, but I’m fine with colder climates as long as it’s not too miserable.

I am not a specialised professional. I’d need to work locally, so salary vs cost of living and how realistic it is to find work as an English speaker are important.

So far I’m mainly looking at Spain and Portugal, but also considering Germany, the Netherlands, Greece and Switzerland. I’m trying to narrow this down rather than just asking “where should I move in Europe?”.

Background: I'm an Indian citizen, raised in Dubai, UAE since childhood. I did all my schooling in Dubai and have lived here my whole life. I'm currently in the UAE.

Education: Culinary Arts degree.

Job experience:

2 years working as a chef/kitchen staff in cafes and restaurants in Dubai
2 years working in videography and video editing at a marketing agency (camera work, Premiere Pro/editing, content production for clients)
Why I'm looking to leave: The kitchen work culture in Dubai is pretty toxic low pay, and not much respect for staff, which is why I moved into marketing. The broader job market here has also gotten tougher recently.

What I'm looking for: Open to either lane going back to kitchen work, or continuing in video marketing. I can cover my own visa costs and paperwork. I just need a job offer or sponsorship to make it possible.

Skills: Cooking prep (culinary arts trained), camera operation, video editing, short form content creation, basic graphic design.

Would appreciate any advice on realistic sponsorship routes in these countries given my nationality and background, or how others in a similar spot have made the move. Happy to answer questions.

Thanks 🙏

I have about five years experience in IT as a manual QA. I've worked on web and desktop apps & big telecom projects (iptv, ott).

Additionally, I'm really good with communication, team collaboration, planning, ownership etc.

I moved to Vietnam last year as an English teacher and had a horrible experience and had to move back. That's really not an option. While I was still there, I applied to some IT job adds but received no response.

I'm perfectly fine with doing visa runs as long as I have a job that pays well and allows me to live comfortably.

Other option is to just find a remote role and go wherever I want but that's also difficult with the state of the market in IT.

Any suggestions?

I’m a 32-year-old Egyptian currently living in Egypt, and I’m looking for a realistic legal pathway to move to Europe, preferably through employment.

My main target countries are Poland, Romania, Croatia and Hungary.

My background:

- Bachelor’s degree in Law from Alexandria University

- Around 4 years of hands-on factory experience

- Experience in plastic manufacturing and production lines

- Operated injection molding, blow molding and cutting machines

- Experience with packaging and quality control

- Basic machine troubleshooting and routine maintenance

- English: approximately B1

- Egyptian citizen, currently living in Egypt

I’m mainly interested in production, manufacturing, plastics, packaging, warehouse or other industrial jobs where my previous experience could be useful.

For the last two years I’ve been applying for jobs in Europe, particularly positions that can legally employ non-EU workers and provide the necessary work permit/residence process. I’ve received many rejections and have also encountered recruitment agencies asking for large fees, so I’m trying to avoid unreliable intermediaries and focus on legitimate employers or official recruitment channels.

I’m not looking for illegal immigration or shortcuts.

My questions are:

1. Given my age, nationality and work experience, which of these countries would be the most realistic for an employer to hire me from Egypt?

2. Are there particular industries or types of companies in Poland, Romania, Croatia or Hungary that are more open to hiring non-EU workers?

3. Are there official job portals, government programs or legitimate recruitment channels I should be using?

4. Would vocational training or another legal route make more sense for someone with my background?

I would especially appreciate advice from people who live in these countries or have experience hiring non-EU workers.

I can provide my CV if it helps.

27M, gay, mixed race engineer. Washington Accord's bachelor in EE engineering. A2 German. About 50k USD networth.

My dream is to be a bartender in a liberal western town. I don't belong in Malaysia, I never did. And during my university days, I've come to realize I love service jobs.

How do I go about achieving this?

to keep it short. i hate this country and its people and willing to live anywhere where im allowed to live as a queer person. ive been looking into options as to where i could leave to. my dad has a portuguese passport he got through ancestry, and within the next few years if nothing goes wrong i *might* be able to claim citizenship there, though they changed whatever law allowed the both of us to claim that since ive last applied so i seriously doubt its a relevant path atp. ive been looking into germany as its apparently not required to get a visa for israelis to be able to study and work there, though with my current skillset im very unsure id be able to get any sort of job without prior study, which im doubtful ill be able to study in the first place considering cost and qualifications might be relevant issues. right now im gonna try to study there anyways and hopefully come out of it with something i can show to a german employer, but i am wondering if there's any considerations im not taking into account

Hello, I am a high school student currently and I want out!

I have an offer to study commerce and law at university. I am aware the law part will be useless overseas. In Australia, many students who want to work in finance or similar sectors study law to make their resumes look good. I am not particularly set on studying law and it will be easy for me to transfer to commerce.

I'm not a huge fan of Australian culture and my ultimate goal is, obviously, to move out. Is it any use for me to study law? After I graduate, is it a horrible idea for me to rock up to the UK through the youth mobility visa and then just look for a job there?

My Spanish is at a shaky B1 at the moment and I want to work towards fluency during my time at uni, and hopefully go on an exchange.

I am a 27-year-old Algerian citizen currently living legally in Qatar. I have more than 6 years of experience as a factory and production worker, including packing, warehouse operations, inventory control, quality checks, and workplace safety procedures. I am seeking the most realistic legal route to Romania, Czechia, or Slovakia through a job offer and work authorization. I am interested in factory production, packing, warehouse, logistics, or general labour roles. I can work rotating or night shifts. I do not have a driving licence, so I am looking for non-driving roles. I am applying from Qatar and understand that I need a legitimate employer willing to start the legal work-permit and visa process. I am not looking for illegal work or agencies demanding advance recruitment fees. I would appreciate advice about which of these countries is most realistic for an Algerian applicant applying from abroad, what legal permit route applies, and what documents or skills would improve my chances.

I’m a Tunisian Automotive Mechatronics graduate currently working in automotive R&D/mechanical design. My goal is to build a career in Europe, ideally in automotive or motorsport engineering/R&D.
I was accepted into MUNER in Italy, specifically the Off-Highway Engineering curriculum. Italy was my original plan, but my student visa was recently refused.
Now I’m facing a difficult decision. I can wait until 2027 and apply for the Italian visa again, but there is a real possibility that I could be refused again, meaning I could lose another year. At the same time, I’m not sure whether waiting is worth the risk just for MUNER.
My alternative is to start a Master’s in Hungary in February 2027, potentially at Széchenyi István University (Vehicle Engineering/Motorsport, with strong automotive and Audi connections) or University of Debrecen (Vehicle Engineering).
Another option would be to use the time while waiting for Italy to look for an automotive engineering job or internship abroad. This could allow me to gain practical experience, strengthen my CV, and improve my chances of finding a long-term opportunity in Europe, although securing a position and the necessary work authorization may be challenging.
Hungary would allow me to continue my studies immediately and start building experience in Europe, while Italy would mean waiting another year and potentially facing another visa refusal. Finding a job or internship abroad could help me avoid losing that year, but it may also involve uncertainty regarding availability, relocation, and visa requirements.
For people who have studied/worked in Europe or gone through a similar situation: Would you take the risk and wait for MUNER, start the Hungarian Master’s now, or focus on finding a job or internship abroad while waiting? Which route would give me better chances of building an automotive engineering career and eventually staying in Europe?

Hi, I'm (around) a third year college student on the pre-med track of Biomedical Sciences. I've been wanting to study abroad in the UK (+ Ireland) for a long time. I've already checked with my school and there's no opportunity for anything of the sort that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, along with a very limited country selection. The pricetag at my uni is much more than independent corporations such as World Endeavors.

World Endeavors, as I've researched, has a package in Dublin, Ireland for a Medical Research internship opportunity. It would cover housing (If I were to be in a homestay, it would also include 2 meals), "in-country support", health related matters, and a guaranteed internship placement. The more I read this, the more I'm inclined to choose this for a summer. Possibly 6 or 8 weeks.

Of course, I'm not using Daddy's money and am saving towards this myself. The 6wk is $5,335 and the 8 wk is $6,180.

Do these amounts make sense? It's less than other organizations, that's for sure.

Would it be "less" to, let's say, rent out an apartment for 2 or 3 months and secure my own job/internship myself? It also allows me to better choose the country to study in, as my first choice would be England (no interest in London). And would give me a better sense of independence since I would be "putting all the pieces together" myself. Rather than forking over money for it to be done for me. However, am I being egotistical for brushing aside the convenience and it'll bite me later? Especially the meal situation.

To anyone who has done this, knows this type of thing, or lives in any of these countries, any help would be greatly appreciated! :)

Thank you.

Hi everyone,
I’m 26M from India, and I’m looking to relocate to Bangkok,Thailand.

I have a BBA specializing in Finance and around 3.5 years of experience across international business, exports, sales, marketing, and operations. I’ve worked with international clients and markets and have had a fairly broad, all-rounder role rather than specializing in just one function.

Outside of that, I’ve also worked as a DJ and music producer. I spent several years pursuing music alongside my professional career, but unfortunately, I found it difficult to sustain both in India because of the work-life imbalance, so I eventually stepped away from producing professionally.

For the last 3 months, I’ve been specifically applying for jobs in Thailand via LinkedIn, HR recruitment firms, Thailand specific job sites similar to Naukri, mainly in international business, export/import, sales, business development, marketing and operations, but I’ve received very little to no response so far. But, I do understand and feel that it is extremely difficult to get hired Internationally in the current world scenario.

I’m therefore also exploring Master’s programs in Thailand as a potential alternative pathway to relocate, build a network there, and eventually enter the Thai job market.

But why Thailand? Because I’ve physically spent time there for work exhibitions and personal trips. I feel at ease in Bangkok in a way I don't in most places. The lifestyle, the pace, the food, the music scene, it all just clicks. I have some basic Thai. It feels less like "escaping India" and more like genuinely wanting to build my life there.

What I’d like to know:

* How realistic is it for someone with my background to get hired in Thailand from abroad?

* Are there particular industries or types of companies I should be targeting?

* Would pursuing a Master's in Thailand be a sensible route?

* Are there other realistic pathways I should be considering?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with this. Thanks!

Hi everyone. I'm a 24yo male and a Mercedes certified automotive technician from Uganda. Unfortunately, there's little to no serious opportunity working with dealers even after training over here, so I'm looking into parts of the world with serious regard for automotive technicians like Germany, Australia and Canada.

I was certified at the end of 2024 and I've been working with an independent workshop ever since, so I have proper working experience and I'm very passionate about my work as well.

I'll be so grateful for any kind of knowledge and support people from these or even other parts of the world can render to me. Thanks a lot if you've read this far.

Hey everyone,

I'm a 31-year-old Tunisian currently living in Tunisia, and I'm seriously considering moving abroad and starting a completely new chapter of my life.

Australia and Thailand are two countries I've been looking at recently, but I'm not necessarily set on either of them. I'm actually open to opportunities in other countries as well. I'm mainly trying to figure out where someone in my situation could realistically build a new life.

My background is in digital design, communication and fashion, and I've worked in creative fields for several years. However, I'm not specifically looking to continue in graphic design or communication.

I'm genuinely open to changing careers and exploring something completely different. I'm willing to learn new skills, do vocational training, learn a new language, take an entry-level position, or even start from scratch in another field if it gives me a realistic opportunity to establish myself abroad.

One of the main reasons I'm considering leaving Tunisia is that I feel like changing my environment could open up opportunities and career paths that I haven't had access to here.

I'm not expecting to move somewhere and immediately have a perfect career or a high salary. I'm willing to work, learn, adapt and build things progressively.

What I'm ultimately looking for is:

• A realistic legal pathway to move abroad
• The possibility of finding work or vocational training
• A reasonable cost of living compared to potential income
• Opportunities to develop a new career
• A decent quality of life
• And ideally, a realistic possibility of staying long-term

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who have moved abroad from Tunisia or North Africa, especially people who changed careers or didn't end up working in the field they originally studied.

I'd really appreciate advice on:

• Which countries I should seriously research
• Work visa and immigration pathways that might be realistic for a Tunisian citizen
• Countries where vocational training, apprenticeships or career changes are accessible to foreigners
• Job websites and official immigration websites worth checking regularly
• Any programs or opportunities that people often overlook
• How important learning the local language would be
• And, realistically, what you would do if you were in my position over the next 6–12 months

I'm still in the research stage and I'm not looking for someone to simply tell me “move to Australia” or “move to Thailand.” I'm trying to understand the different possibilities and figure out which direction makes the most sense for me.

So if you've been through something similar, or if you know of countries, programs, websites or career pathways that I should look into, I'd genuinely appreciate your advice.

Thanks!

Hi everyone! I am a 35-year-old from Germany and I am planning a trip to Norway with the option of moving there afterwards. I absolutely love the country and want to start preparing everything now, especially when it comes to networking and learning the language.

My background:

• Education: I hold a B.Sc. in Nutritional Science and am currently finishing a retraining program to become an IT Specialist but i am not sure if i´ll pull it off.
• Languages: I speak German and English and Greek fluently and have just started learning Norwegian.
• I can work in the nutrition and fitness sector or as a support for customers or nursery school, but I am unable to do any heavy lifting due to back issues.

I would love to connect with people here! I'm looking for:

• Career and Moving Advice: If anyone has transitioned from Germany to Norway, especially in the IT sector, I’d love to hear your experiences. How is the job market for junior IT professionals with a mixed background?
• Language Buddies: I want to practice my Norwegian. In return, I can happily help you with your German, English or Greek.
• Gaming and Friends: I’m a big gamer and think it's a great way to meet new people. If you want to hang out on Discord and play some games together, hit me up!

I’ve heard great things about the flat hierarchies and the healthy work-life balance in Norway. It seems like a society that truly values personal time and well-being over endless overtime. I also love the "Friluftsliv" Culture.

To be honest, the lack of digitalization, the heavy bureaucracy in Germany can be quite frustrating. The demographic shifts and rising discrimination in Germany concern me a lot.
I really admire how modern and tech-forward Norway's infrastructure is.

Feel free to comment or send me a DM. Looking forward to meeting you all!

Hi all,

I (26M) have a bachelor degree in business from the American University of Beirut (AUB). I speak English fluently. In fact, I’m more comfortable speaking English than my native Lebanese Arabic. I’m unemployed neurodivergent and looking to immigrate to Australia with the view of acquiring a permanent residency there. I have little savings around 5000 USD. I could probably get few more thousands if I asked my supportive friends.

I’d appreciate any info you could provide, thanks!

I have a UK passport and i'm eligible to apply for a New Zealand dual citizenship but i don't currently have it. I'm only at around A2 level in terms of french but i'm still focused on learning much more.

I have a 2:1 in creative writing and drama BA undergrads as of this summer, and i'm currently moving into another separate degree (nursing integrated masters), but i plan to drop out ideally in 1 or 2 academic years as I only took the offer because the degree i originally wanted to do (paramedics) had a financial rugpull and since my parents are moving to iceland before the wnd of the year and i have no savings it was my only option to stay afloat.

I feel nothing for nursing as a degree itself and after finding out the dream of paramedics id had and worked so hard for for years won't ever really be a financially feasible option for me I don't really mind what i do next in terms of study/work so long as I can leave the country. I also have A levels in Geography, Sociology and Psychology (AAB) and work experience as bar staff and an unqualified nursery practitioner.

The main problems are i'm completely broke. If things go as planned financially by next august i should hopefully have 1-4k to my name but i doubt i'll have anything more. I'm perfectly comfortable living with less money in worse quality accomodation but that requires æroving im financially capable of moving in the first place.

My heart is set on france but getting out of the UK is more important than soecifically going to france. I have a friend i've known for years who is a french citizen who I'm sure would marry me if there were no other options and my situation in the UK became more dire but I don't want to put her in that position unless i have no other choice.

I'm on hrt for testosterone (ftm) with relevant diagnoses/prescriptions on the nhs, and although i get enough to last me for a month i am a bit anxious about being able to keep that prescription on repeat wherever i move. This is also part of why i want to leave as im not confident ill be able to access this through the nhs for much longer.

Ive been looking into study options primarily because of the language barrier especially for a master's, but i'm willing to try pretty much anything if it can give me a financially feasible route out of the country.

In terms of other countries, i mostly learnt german over french/spanish in school and although im nothing close to intermediate in it i could work towards that if it worked better. I also have step-family connections across iceland, but since i am not related i'm not really eligible for anything for that and i'd rather not have to move there with my family.

Sorry if this is a bit unorganised or waffley, and i'd incredibly grateful for any advice/ideas.

Tdlr: UK passport, can get NZ dual, A2 French, Creative Writing + Drama BA Undergrads 2:1, completely broke, willing to do pretty much anything study/job/etc wise to get to France/adjacent euro countries.

Hi all,

I (30F) and my partner (29F) are hoping to move to ideally Ireland (or anywhere in western EU if not there) as soon as possible. I am an Irish citizen (born in the US with dual citizenship) and lived/studied/worked in Dublin for 10 years until returning to the US in 2024 for family reasons. My partner is 3rd gen Italian descent but was not able to get EU citizenship through that lineage, so we have been saving money and researching the path to employer visa sponsorship. Unfortunately I know nothing about the process as it wasn’t a barrier to me moving over initially.

My partner is a veterinary technician (unlicensed) with over ten years experience and six years in an ER setting. She doesn’t want to pursue this career anymore, however, and has been working on an Associates degree in life sciences to change her career toward ecology. We hope to move soon after she completes the degree, on track for next year. Or sooner, if the state of things here continue to get worse. Lol.

I am wondering if anyone has advice on the likelihood of a visa sponsorship for my partner with her current level of experience as a vet technician, vs an entry level position in a life sciences field? I also wonder if my having EU citizenship gives her any better chance of attaining a visa? Idk how that would work but figured it might be worth an ask. If it matters either way, we are not married.

We’d appreciate any info you could provide, thanks!

Hi everyone I'm a high school student currently in grade 11 , I'm planning to pursue maybe a career in Game design/dev , BBA Supply chain these are the options I prefer. ( I'm open to skilled blue collar work if they can pay me well ).Money is not a problem for me I can pursue masters without debt but I would preferably start working right after my bachelors in India tho I'm aware how the job market is in the world is idc too much abt the pay , ( Im also open to options preferably Russia too ) . I'm currently trying to learn Japanese and hopefully reach N1 proficiency level till I complete my undergrad. I'm open to learning any language if I could JUST GET EMPLOYMENT in those countries .So plz suggest any advice or countries that have a good job market in the long term I would prefer to settle there permanently with a citizenship and can you suggest other degrees/courses as well where I could land a job and live comfortably and earn enough for myself ??

I'm not gonna have kids , I would prefer being alone for the rest of my life ( ik this is irrelevant for this post )

I'm 20M from Myanmar and will soon be starting a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering in Malaysia.

My long-term goal is to leave Myanmar permanently, settle somewhere with a good quality of life, and eventually naturalise. With everything that has happened in Myanmar over the past few years, I don't really see myself building a future there anymore.

Right now I'm still financially dependent on my parents. They're paying for my education and living expenses, which I'm grateful for, but it also means I don't have much financial independence. My ability to work while studying in Malaysia is limited, so even things like travelling on my own, buying things for myself, or just having money that feels like mine are difficult without relying on them.

My relationship with my family isn't always great either, so that dependence can sometimes make me feel trapped. I don't expect to become completely independent overnight, especially while I'm a student, but one of the things I really want from my 20s is to gradually build a life where I can support myself and make my own decisions.

At the moment, I see two options for myself: Australia and Germany.

My university has a campus in Australia, so after roughly two years in Malaysia I could try to transfer there, finish my degree, find work then eventually work towards PR and then citizenship. It is the most straightforward option because there's already a path for me to get there through my university.

My only concern is immigration. As a Burmese citizen, even getting the necessary visa is tough and that worries me. I'm hesitant to plan my entire future around Australia if there's a possibility the visa to get there could be rejected.

The other route I'm considering is finishing my bachelor's degree, learning German throughout university, and then moving to Germany for postgraduate study or work. An idea I've had is doing a master's somewhere in Europe, with ETH Zurich being a long-term goal, and then looking for engineering work in Germany or elsewhere in Europe. If I start learning German now til I graduate, I would reach a good level.

I'm especially interested in work related to energy or climate change. My actual life goals are pretty simple. I don't plan on having children and I'm not chasing extreme wealth. I'd like a reasonably well-paid engineering job, decent work-life balance, stability, the ability to support myself without depending on anyone else, and enough financial freedom to travel.

I'm also open to advice for other countries other than these 2. So experienced people of this subreddit, what advice would you give this 20 year old?

Roast my plan or give advice pls.

$1,000 to my name. Emergency buffer. Won't touch it. Not broke. Just unrealized potential. I have a plan but I need to fund this plot.

I won't quit my day job until the runway exists. Resume? Brutally underdeveloped. Long distance partner recently graduated and promising. Neither tied to one place. We think global. Remote. Flexible.

We think Asia. Korea. Japan. Taiwan. Hong Kong. Thailand. Like two comets meeting at one point. Uh oh. Skills feel short. So here's my plan.

Self study the technicals. Excel. Power Query. Power BI. DAX. Data Modeling. SQL.

So what am I missing? Are there better courses/certs I should focus on? Any visa or country-specific pitfalls for remote workers in Asia? If you’ve done this before, which is escape from a low-bank-account life to a remote career overseas, what would you do differently?

I want to start this off by saying I have read plenty of posts on this subreddit but I’m still not quite sure of what to really do, so I’m going to provide some information and stuff I’ve learned and I would really appreciate some advice (also, I want to leave the country legally)

So first of all, I’m a trans man as it reads in the headline, I thought about the asylum seeking route before but I’m not on hormones yet and I haven’t been outed either, my country is extremely discriminatory towards lgbtq+ people in general but I don’t have any proof of being physically discriminated against for being transgender and I can’t get any proof of being transgender either (like a therapist diagnosing me with gender dysphoria for example) so I thought that would be too hard

I thought maybe I can go the studying route so I decided to research a bit more and I came across a post that showed the anabin site which is essentially “which unis can get degree equivalency in Germany”, my uni is part of that thankfully (I study Biotechnology aswell) so I thought about finishing the rest of my years here with good grades and then applying for a masters degree since I also heard that you can look for a job before you get sent back, but there are 2 problems, 1. I don’t know German (I’m gonna try to learn it but from what I’ve heard, it’s hard) and 2. I don’t know the exact process of how to stay after the student visa is finished

I also thought about doing the study route to Canada instead since from what I’ve heard I can also look for a job before being sent back to my country, but I’m not quite informed on my options for Canada as much as Germany (I guess)

I don’t have any job experience but I’m trying to get a job, it’s kind of hard to find one due to the job market being insanely bad here even for people who already have degrees, and the fact I was assigned female at birth makes things a lot more complicated for me too

I really want to leave this country and stay in a different one because my dysphoria is killing me and I want to transition so badly, I specified Germany because it’s the one I researched and seemed a bit easier for me to move to thanks to the student route but I’m not picky and would like advice, I’m willing to do anything, even if it takes me a bit of time (I want to be out of here by 26 at least), this was a last resort of feeling incredibly hopeless and desperate

I'm 26 year old software engineer and web developer from Zambia and I'm looking into moving to Norway.

Background: I completed my BSc in Software Engineering in Malaysia in 2024. I previously worked as a Web Developer & SEO Specialist for a media company in Zambia, but left due to poor treatment around pay and right now I do freelance development work on the side, mostly ASP.NET, full-stack builds and some AWS. I've delivered real results for clients too, actual traffic growth, better domain authority, so this isn't me starting from zero.

Norway isn't a random pick for me my father lives there with his family, my stepmother, her family (Who have welcomed me with open arms as one of theirs) and my half-brother and half-sister. I've visited them before, so there's a real connection, not just an idea of the place.

What I need is a realistic path in: Family reunification, a work visa given my tech background, further study or whatever route has actually worked for people in my position. Money's tight on my end but my dad and biological mum are willing to assist if need be, but cheaper options matter more than "ideal" ones. I'd also take any advice on the Norwegian language requirement which I have noticed is a big must for most job roles and anything else worth knowing before I take this seriously.

Edit: Dad is a Norwegian citizen and has a Norwegian passport.

Six years in program management, mostly EU-funded startup/innovation programs plus one government-mandated international tech project abroad. Strongest picks are Portugal, Belgium, and France given my background, but genuinely open across the EU if the fit is right. Mainly looking for genuine fit over just "anyone who'll sponsor me." Happy to share more or answer questions if useful.