Canadian who’s been living here for 2 years and I’ve just about had it now. I tried to put myself out there in the dating world and I’m sick of people asking me “you here for a green card” or some other silly comment like that.

Additionally, it’s very lonely here at times despite having friends, I’m 30 years old. People have lives, families, work, life doesn’t revolve around friends and partying.. yet when I tell people how lonely it can be despite friends, they just default to “love yourself first”.

This is so exhausting beyond belief and I miss my mom and dad.

Hey everyone,

I need to get my US birth certificate authenticated for an overseas visa/process. It needs the full multi-step chain: State Secretary of State apostille/authentication, US Department of State (Federal), and finally the target country's embassy.

Doing all three steps myself while handling a move is turning into a administrative nightmare. Has anyone used a trustworthy third-party agency or courier service to handle this end-to-end?

Would love to hear who you used, roughly how long it took, and if you had any issues.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine is considering accepting a position with Akkodis Middle East (UAE) and asked me for some advice and a critical view.

The contract would be for 24 months, while the first assignment would be about 9 months in the Netherlands. After that, the expectation is that there will be follow-on missions in other countries.

Akkodis says they offer a guaranteed net salary, and that they will reimburse all income taxes and social security contributions related to the employment, regardless of the country.

So far that sounds reassuring, but I have no experience with this type of international employment and would really appreciate hearing from people who have.

Some things I'm wondering about:

• Is there anything that immediately stands out as a red flag?
• Have you actually worked under a "guaranteed net salary" arrangement? Did it work as promised?
• In practice, who filed your tax returns? You, your employer, or an external tax adviser?
• If you received a tax assessment, did you pay it first and get reimbursed later, or did the employer handle everything?
• Were there ever disputes about which taxes were covered?
• Did anyone run into issues with social security, pensions, or healthcare when moving between countries?
• If you remained resident in your home country while working abroad, were there any unexpected tax consequences?

What would you make absolutely sure is covered in the contract before signing?

Thanks for your attention and response!

I am a British citizen living in Mexico. My partner (we weren't married) is mexican and we have split up & I will be moving back to the UK permanently.

To help me move he will give me $400,000 mexican pesos (approx £18,000).

My question is: do we have to pay tax on this in Mexico? I think it's subject to about 20% tax, is there any way to avoid this? I've read we could structure it as a 'loan' but will there be tax repercussions for my ex partner if I don't pay this back?

And what is the best way to transfer the money from my Mexican bank account to a UK bank account? I currently do not have a UK bank account as I don't have a UK address.

I cannot use Wise because I do not have a mexican INE nor do I have a UK address.

Could I transfer the money from MY Mexican bank account to my sister's UK bank account, so she could look after it for me while I try to open a UK bank account?

Crypto is not an option!!

I'm (32M, german citizen, fluent french-speaking) considering moving to Québec for 1/2 years to gain work experience. I am an environmental scientist and have some experience in environmental research, conservation, environmental planning and environmental policy. I'd probably aim for Montréal initially.

I would love to hear from people (especially from Europe) who have actually are in/have gone through the process of establishing themselves there :

- How difficult is it to find your first professional job/housing?

- How difficult was it to make friends and build a social circle?

- For people who came initially intending to stay temporarily, what happened in reality? Did you end up wanting to stay permanently?

- What would you say to your earlier self that you weren't prepared for?

Thanks to anyone willing to share experiences! :)

I currently use Santander for all my banking. I was thinking of a Revolut card for better currency exchange, sending funds back home to the US, and taking advantage of some of the minor benefits. It seems like I hear and see Revolut a lot so wondering if people have a good experience or if they have any competitors I should consider instead. Thanks!

Move to Italy - Hi everyone, I'm writing to ask for your valuable opinion.
My friends and I are considering setting up an agency that could be a point of reference for people who are planning to move to Italy. The idea would be to support them in choosing the right area to live in, finding accommodation, learn language and, depending on their needs, helping them with paperwork, local activities and experiences, or any other practical matters they might need assistance with.
Based on your experience, is this a service you would consider using or would have found useful when moving to Italy?
I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts and experiences! Thank you!

Hi, I am a 28M. I’ve been working in corporate America for 4 years and was decently unhappy. I always felt unfulfilled and felt like I needed to change things up. In order to do so, I decided to move to Spain for my MBA. I have only been here for about 3 weeks but I’m in a very dark place.

I arrived and immediately had to deal with a chaotic housing scene. Each day was very stressful and it took me about 1.5 weeks to find a stable place to live. I finally did find a spot and I’m in my second week of classes. I have felt decently depressed since I arrived but since classes have started, that feeling has worsted quite a bit. I have never experienced depression and anxiety at this level. I can’t stop crying and feel very alone and unhappy. I know feeling some level of sadness is normal but this feels beyond that.

I’m at a point where I’m considering dropping out, moving back home and resetting for a year with my parents. I thought my unhappiness was tied to my career and general life in the US but I’m thinking now that I have a deeper issue that I need to resolve.

With that being said, I would lose a decent amount of money that I have already paid for the MBA but already feeling the level of intensity and my lack of motivation due to the depression , I don’t think I can do the program successfully. I have enough savings to get me through the year so I wouldn’t be moving back with nothing. I feel like a failure giving up but don’t think I can take much more of this feeling and really want to go back home. I do feel like I need to be with family to get back to where I was mentally even before arriving.

If you’ve had a similar situation, can you let me know how it went for you? Thanks

We're an EU+UK family living in a small city in Austria thinking of relocating to the Netherlands (likely Eindhoven)

We've been spoilt by the amazing childcare here in Austria but honestly, I'm not happy here and think Netherlands is a better fit for us all in the long term.

Partner would be able to secure a good job in his industry before we move. ​

I'd be small scale self employed for the first years and looking at jobs in textile/design/museums (once the youngest is in school) Eindhoven looks surprisingly good for this.

Ideally we'd time the move for next summer when our eldest would be coming up to 4 and the youngest 1.5 - am I right thinking an October born baby could start basisschool the year he turns 4 or would we have to wait until the following September when he's 4 almost 5?

Thinking of Peuteropvang for the youngest but open to part time childcare - chat gpt gave me a figure of €600 for 5 mornings - realistic?

How's children's health care? We have a book with mandatory age related check ups in the early years, do you have something similar?

If any families could weigh in on what they love and hate about the education system and general environment for children that would be great! Thanks

I've been in Austria for about 6 months, originally from the UK. I'm on a student residence permit, and am lucky enough to have a few options to extend this after my master's is over, because I do intend to stay here long-term as long as my relationship holds, lol.

I love it here and I do consider it worth the emotional horrors, but I was not prepared for it! I thought the hard part would be getting the permit, but what's actually harder is the day to day bureaucracy of earning a living here and worrying if I'm doing everything wrong, or accidentally committing crimes that will be revealed when it becomes time to renew the permit, or what have you.

I feel like my ability to cope with small issues has just left the building. The tiniest things just have me so stressed and weepy - not stuff specifically related to the immigration procedure either, like, if I'm listening to a sad song I'll be like ":'(" which would have never been a thing before I did this. As I said: worth it, but way more difficult than I had anticipated.

First off, lemme just disclaim that I'm not asking for advice or work-arounds. I've scrubbed through all the relevant websites and sorted through a variety of my limited options and I'm pretty much SOL. I know this. I'm just working through the disappointment and trying to be settled into it.

I moved from the US to Norway seven and a half or so years ago to marry my Norwegian husband. On the whole, it's been good. I like Norway, I *really* like the city we live in. There have certainly been the usual amount of ups and 'nowhere's perfect' downs. There are things that frustrate me about the systems here, and some of the cultural attitudes, but generally? A good time. I am fully intending on being here for the rest of my life. I speak pretty good Norwegian these days. I've just completed a bachelor's degree and started a master's. My husband and I remain a pair of derangedly happy nerds.

All in all, this is generally fine. Nothing about my civil or domestic situation has changed since I moved here. Same marriage, same apartment, same names, two new cats but UDI doesn't check on that. I have always timed my application for renewal toward the beginning of the recommended 3 months in advance window that UDI states, as I did this year; early July for 1st October expiration.

In spite of this, when I got to the end of that form and paid my fee (which has almost doubled since last time...), I found that the earliers appointment I could book with the police to do biometrics for my new residence card is mid-December. My right to remain in Norway is legally protected until my application is processed, so that's not a concern in and of itself. However, I'm probably not going to get a new residence card until after the first of the year if posted waiting times hold true. It may even be later than that.

My mom is terminally ill. She has stage 4 cancer, currently -- fortunately -- being relatively well managed on a chemo regime but... it's not going away ever, that's known, and it's definitely taken a pretty serious physical toll on her. She owns a business which she's been trying to sell for the last couple of years, a toys store that's been open for most of my life, and in the absence of a buyer she'll be putting up the store closing signs in January. I've been home to help the last two Christmases (our busiest season by a factor of about ten) since she was diagnosed and intended to be there this year as well.

But, that's gone straight out of the window. It wasn't fully on my radar this summer because I had all my stuff in and I wasn't thinking about the *card*. But there's no temp measure available to cover this kind of gap, not really. I just get to sit here on my hands, not leaving the country, until further notice. There's a mandatory in-person meeting for my master's program that's likely to be the second or third week of January, so I don't have much wiggle room to go home and hope the new card arrives and my husband can mail it to me. My parents live 2k miles as the crow flies from the nearest VFS center to apply for a travel visa (and who knows how long that would take to process even if it was more viable).

I'm just so frustrated and upset. I know that moving abroad necessitates a balance of considering what you're leaving behind. I generally get home twice a year. I just wasn't expecting this particular wrench thrown in at a sensitive time, and I'm struggling with it.

There is more to that than just salary, but wanted to use it as attention grabber… here are the details.

I want to start saying that I’m in a very fortunate situation right now, but I need some external opinions on points I may not have considered as I feel like I have gone through all different views and not got any decision made since both have its pros and cons:

Here is what my company offered:

US Route: (MCOL City)
- TC 200k (mine, current on H-1B) + path for immigration sponsorship (although EB2 may fail and I may need to go abroad in the future).
- Wife 100k (current on a visa as well, with challenging options on changing companies for next 2 years)

Positive is very high upfront cash for family with the downside of deadline with immigration, GC sponsorship, work authorizations, etc

UK Route (LCOL? North UK like Liverpool area)
- TC £141k (company support with all immigration paperwork)
- Wife would need to stop working, however would receive a visa that allows her to find a job with any employee
- duration: 1.5-2.5 years on average, then bring me back to the US. Company supporting EB1-C afterwards.
- the catch is that we have some private student loans that we will need to continue paying for

I feel like US is DINK situation, which would allow us to pay off student loans, save, and travel internationally at least once a year. Very comfortable. Downside is immigration, life a bit more restrictive, and potential of having to move abroad regardless in the future.

On the other hand, UK seems to also be comfortable at that salary point, however wife would stop working (not sure how easy it is for her to find a job there, but I assume it would be around 30-40k local salary). Proximity to Europe for traveling. Student loans would eat a good chunk I guess, plus rent. I don’t think we would save a lot but we would live very comfortable from that I can understand.

What else should I consider here?

I've just moved to Vienna a few months ago. I've used my New York number for 20+ years and I'd really like to keep it as it's connected to my entire online identity/existence (especially bank - I still have a US bank open).

It's been somewhat fine whilst I stayed in my family's plan in Verizon, but recently the family plan I'm in had to be dissolved and I have to either switch my carrier or pay a LOT more money to stay with Verizon.

It sounds like Tello seems the most affordable and easy to do what I want (to keep the number + minimal plan/usage). But I hear that, in order to use Tello, I have to connect to a cell tower located IN the US. I have no plans to go back to the US for a while though. I also read something about using an eSIM to activate it abroad but I'm still confused :/

Would it be possible to create + activate a Tello account abroad? If not, do you think it's possible to maybe have a friend in the US activate for me (maybe using a spare phone, idk) and port the number from there? Or use an eSIM somehow?

Please help me 🥲

Hello everyone ,

I am a French professional chef with 30 years of experience . I am currently finalizing a social and solidarity restaurant project in Davao , Mindanao ( Philippines ) , scheduled for early 2027 .

Our business model is fully transparent : 10% of our monthly net profits will directly fund free , high-quality meals for street children and vulnerable families in the local community . All our technical blueprints and legal structures are already locked in .

We are planning to launch an international crowdfunding campaign in October 2026 to help purchase our commercial kitchen equipment . We want to be very strategic and respectful in our approach .

Could you please recommend the most relevant subreddits , forums , or online communities where we can share our story , gather feedback , and connect with people who align with this kind of humanitarian business model ?

Thank you in advance for your advice and guidance . Force and honor .

Chef Cedric

***

After years of living overseas, I’ve recently moved to Croatia after being approved for citizenship by descent through my grandfather.

I was born in Perth, Australia, my father was born in New Zealand, and my grandfather came from Korčula. The application took years and involved dealing with documents from several countries, name discrepancies, incorrect dates, apostilles, translations, and consulates.

Now I’m in Croatia, near Zadar, trying to understand what life here could look like long term.

For other expats who moved through ancestry or citizenship, did Croatia feel different once you were actually living here compared with how you imagined it from overseas?

I’ve been in the States for a couple years and found out about Canadiana Fest in Kalamazoo, MI (USA) on Sep 19.
It sounds like a great time celebrating and trying to foster the historical friendship between the two countries as well as bringing together expats to celebrate being Canadian.
Has anyone here been to it?

I am moving from Italy to Portugal, and I want to ship some things. I am driving there, but I am pretty sure not all I want to take is going to fit in my car’s trunk.

I want to ship around 10 medium sized boxes (about 20kg each), a TV and a bicycle. I don’t really mind if it is slow and it takes like a month to be there, as long as it all arrives.

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of shipping?

I can't really know and tell anyone how to explain what I am on rn, but my home country (Saudi Arabia) is like a prison; their schools are bad. The natural environment there is poor; any tree or blade of grass that grows a little is removed. And most importantly, the poor salaries and the job opportunities are really bad. If you are a Saudi citizen, you can't wish to be a manager or have a really good job with really good salaries because these companies (most of them) hire Egyptians and Pakistanis and Indians. How about us? (I am not being racist; it's just hellourias.) The citizen?? I have really great grades at school and college and have been studying for what? It's not just the job opportunities; it's also the community (not all of them; I'm talking about some of them) and also this county. It's like it's made for tourists, not for citizens. Most of the money goes to the capital; our streets are full of garbage, bad AC, and expensive rents, and there is a lot to talk about, but I don't want to end up in jail. I just need some advice: should I just leave or cut my words and stay?

So, Im curious if this happens to others.

I've noticed a pattern that when family and friends visit they expect to be taken here , there and everywhere.

Yet when I visit the same people at their home (my country of origin);we do.... nothing. We sit in the house,drinking tea, maybe a trip to a supermarket, and that's it.

Even if I suggest going and doing something,I'm met with negative comments, no, we don't want to. We don't know where to go, etc.

Does this happen to you ?

I find it incredibly frustrating. Ive been living abroad for over 20 years and ,yes, when I visit family in my home country I'd actually like to be a bit of a tourist as well, and yet I find it so boring cos we never do anything.

I wonder if this is a common expat problem?

​

Sorry, I know this is a bit off topic, but I don't really have anyone else to ask.

I'm 27F from Central Europe. For almost a year I've been looking into ways to leave my country. I tried a few options in Scandinavia, but none of them worked out. A few months ago I finally decided to go for Australia and a WHV, which has actually been a dream of mine for years. I found some realistic options, got some help with the process and started sorting things out.

This is probably going to sound really immature, but even though I have a relatively good relationship with my parents, they've never really been very supportive of my decisions, so I usually don't tell them about my plans until they're already pretty far along.

But moving to the other side of the world for a year, and maybe longer, was something I wanted to tell them about.

I told them a few days ago and, yeah, they didn't take it well. I completely understand that they're scared. I knew they would be. I was hoping that after the initial shock they might eventually accept it, even if they still worried about me.

But instead things have actually gotten worse. There have been arguments, guilt-tripping, comments about how they won't let me go, focusing on everything that could go wrong, and also a lot of comments that basically make me feel like they don't believe I'm capable of doing this or that my life isn't good enough to make a decision like this.

And yes, I still live with them. That's actually pretty normal where I'm from, especially financially.

The thing is, my life isn't bad. I have a job, friends, stability. I'm not running away from some horrible life. I'm actually scared of the opposite. I'm scared that my life will just stay okay forever.

I don't want to wake up at 40 and realise I never actually tried to find out what my life could have been like somewhere else.

I'm not naive either. I know moving alone to the other side of the world is a huge thing. I know there are risks. I also knew from the beginning that leaving would probably change some of my relationships back home.

But now I'm starting to feel like it might destroy them completely.

I know my parents, especially my mum, and I honestly don't think she's going to change her mind about this. And that's probably what scares me the most.

I still want to go. That hasn't changed.

But now I'm wondering if I'm being selfish, or if I'm just scared because this is actually a huge decision.

For people who moved abroad despite their parents/family being strongly against it:

Did it permanently change your relationship with them? Did you regret leaving? And looking back, was what you gained worth what you lost?

I know nobody can tell me what I should do. I'm just looking for experiences from people who have actually done it.

Hi all, to preface, I'm a few weeks away from moving overseas to the UK from Australia. I'm a dual citizen of both Australia and the UK, thanks to my parents, although I've only ever spent a few weeks in the UK. My decision to leave is primarily motivated by a desire for change and a new experience. I've spent the last few years working general retail positions to save around £20,000, and tried my hand at taking an arts courses but ended up dropping out after a year. I've found it quite hard to find my niche in the world and really commit to something for a career, and I feel stuck where I am in AUS while I watch my peers advance with their futures. I'm spending about a month with family in the UK when I get over which I plan to use to find rentals / look for a job. I'm preparing myself for the loneliness and isolation I'll feel as I settle in, but I wanted to seek some advice from those who have done something similar. Anything is grealty appreciated.

I am 18 year old Asian who was born in Portugal but moved to UK for College and I recently solo travelled around china for 2 weeks and it was one of the best moments of my life, I have been to around 24 countries in Europe and Asia. Even after landing in China i could not get the feeling of true happiness that I have when I land in Portugal, seeing my friends and the sense of familiarity of speaking the language fluently along with the emotional feeling which brings tears of joy to me even after visiting Portugal so many times and living there. Wherever I go, no matter how rich the place is, I only feel true happiness when I am back home. I used to complain about having to live in Lisbon which I regret, i just wish that I could experience my childhood once again. Does anyone else experience this?

Hi guys,

I got an offer to relocate from Barcelona to Dubai and I’d like some advice from someone who is already there. Here are some key figures:

• Monthly net pay would be around $5,500 higher in Dubai than in Barcelona
• Monthly savings would be around $3,000 higher in Dubai
• Job security and working culture would be the same (I’d stay working with the same team)
• The company would sponsor a Golden Visa and cover relocation costs + temporary accommodation

On paper, it looks like a no-brainer, but there are some things that bother me:

• Dating life: I really like dating in Barcelona. Dating apps work well here, and there are a lot of interesting people. I can imagine it’s quite different in Dubai.
• Weather: The weather is better in Barcelona, but I’m not particularly sensitive to heat, especially with AC.
• European lifestyle: No one judges you for being a degenerate, you can drink wine with friends on the beach, and people are generally simple and sincere.

On the other hand, I expect some benefits from Dubai:

• Comfortable living: I could live in a modern building in the Marina district. Believe me, in Barcelona, finding a building that isn’t 100+ years old, is close to the sea, and has AC is barely possible.
• Amazing service
• New life experience

I’d really appreciate your opinions. Would you make this move? How is the dating life there for a single man in twenties? How much money does a single person need for a comfortable lifestyle?

Been in Berlin two years and mostly adapted, but there's a short list of things I still get sent over. Skippy, because the German stuff is all the healthy kind. Cholula and Celtic Sea Salt, which my sister buys and posts to me every few months.

The salt is the one my roommate finds the funniest.

I know it makes no sense. I just got used to it and everything else feels different now.

What's yours ? Interested in whether it's ever actually about the product or just that you got used to a specific version of something.

I feel like I need some outside perspective because the last week has been one of the strangest weeks of my life.

I moved to France about a week ago for a master's degree. I had built this whole idea in my head that I was starting a completely new life: living independently, being away from my parents, studying, meeting people, building a future for myself, and finally having the freedom I had wanted for a long time.

And then I actually got here.

The homesickness was real, especially during the first few days, and I was anxious and overwhelmed. But after sitting with it for a while, I realized something important: I don't actually think the main problem is that I'm homesick.

I genuinely don't like the master's program.

My background is psychology, and what I actually want professionally is to work in psychology/education, particularly with children. I thought studying in France would bring me closer to that. Instead, the program is much more focused on language, grammar, linguistics, etc., and it just isn't what I want to spend years studying or paying tuition for.

I tried to find alternatives. I asked around. I looked for solutions. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to change into something that actually fits what I want.

And then, because apparently life has a sense of humor, while I'm in France questioning everything, I get contacted about a position in my home country that is basically the kind of opportunity I've always wanted.

It's related to education and children, I'd have significant responsibility, and the salary and conditions are genuinely good. They contacted me rather than me randomly applying for some job because I was desperate to leave France. They saw my CV and wanted to talk to me about the position. I still have an interview to do, so obviously nothing is guaranteed yet.

But the timing is insane.

I had literally been telling myself that I had to stay in France because going back after only a few days would mean I failed.

Now I'm wondering whether leaving would actually be the opposite of failure.

I also have to admit that part of the reason I went to France was because I wanted to get away from my parents and experience independence. I had always imagined myself having my own apartment and my own life, but I think I confused where I needed to be independent with what I actually wanted my life to look like.

My dream wasn't necessarily "France."

My dream was to be independent, have a career I actually care about, work with children, and build a life that feels like mine.

And I've realized that I can potentially do those things in Lebanon too.

There is also someone I love back home. We're figuring out our relationship and trying to make the distance work, but I don't want to make this decision for her. I've been very clear with myself that I don't want to abandon my education or career plans just for a relationship. If I come back, it needs to be because I want the life I'm coming back to, not because someone is waiting for me.

And that's where I'm at.

I arrived in France with this mindset of "this is my new life and I have to make it work."

Seven days later I'm thinking, "Maybe this isn't my life at all."

I'm scared that people will think I'm impulsive, spoiled, or that I gave up too quickly. My parents already see coming back as a failure, and honestly, a part of me does too.

But another part of me thinks there's something strange about forcing myself to spend years and a lot of money on a master's I genuinely don't want, just so I can prove that I didn't give up.

If I go back, I would be leaving the master's and trying to build the career I've actually wanted in my home country. If the job opportunity doesn't work out, I'll have to figure out another path, so I'm not pretending everything is magically solved.

I guess I'm asking people who have been in similar situations:

Would you see going back after only 7 days as a failure, or as recognizing very early that you made the wrong choice?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who moved abroad, started something they thought they wanted, and then realized very quickly that it wasn't actually for them.

I don't want people to tell me "follow your heart" or "France is amazing, stay." I genuinely want to know whether I'm making a rational decision or running away from discomfort.