Hi everyone, So here is my [M 26] situation.
I’m from Paris and I’ve be willing to relocate to another European country. They are many reasons, but the main one is that I can’t stand the atmosphere here in France.
I’ve travelled all around Europe to choose a new country, and there are four destinations I seriously consider, but I would need help from locals or expats to give me pro/cons for all of these countries.
So could some of you give me exemple of both positive and negative experience in these countries ? I’m only taking about events/social habits that are frequents. Not about extremely rare experience that happens with a likelyhood of 1 over 2 billions.
Thanks !
You must log in or register to comment.
Finnish and Estonian are not indo-european languages, so you’ll have a much harder time learning them. And the Slavic ones are nowhere near as close to French as English is either.
Good luck to you though!
Czechia👌
As a fellow frenchman, if you’re from southern France go to Lithuania. If you’re from the North go to Finland (don’t know about Czech republic tho)
Thus said : go to Spain ! you mad or what ? 😅
when is see these posts how people traveled and traveled to find their home. i always ask myself how our world be if anyone would act like you. yes our planet would burn. get yourself together you traveled whole u europe and now you are asking reddit. cant take this seriously 😂
What I liked about Latvia was that there are a lot of social events with a focus on music, like church choirs, a small ‘medieval’ festival with kokle music and the National Opera. The people were also quite friendly and helpful, at least in the Riga, Jurmala and Sigulda area where I stayed.
Netherlands is the way to go if you can handle the rain (i know it’s not on the list but it ticks all your boxes)
Finland or Estonia. Latvia if it’s emergency. Finland will be #1 of the listed alternatives.
(No, I’m not from Finland)
You just described every European country…
Plus will you be willing to learn and become fluent in local language? Without it you will always be 2nd class resident
I can use English first. I work in the tech sector (Data Analyst). I will then learn the local language, for sure.
Cyprus has low taxes and it is a bit warmer than the countries you mentioned.
Actually I hate hit weather ahah. But thank you anyway !
Poland is pretty great. A lot of big, old and beautiful cities. Cheap good food in local restaurants and wonderful nature. Forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, sea and even a small desert.
I’m no citizen of these countries, but based on my studies traveling abroad I will advise you to that Czech Republic is the best of all these countries.
Nightlife, women and lot’s of things to do.
And avoid Finland, because it’s so dull and boring there.
Estonia - good and easy bureaucracy. Good public transport. Salary is good enough for us despite the rising costs in Tallinn. But if you have a remote job, you can live in any cheaper area or out of town to save living cost, but in winter it may get very difficult since the snow will hamper your commute. Flights from here are mostly expensive, so best bet would be to get them from Riga. There’s a good expat community here, active and very into integration. Most youngens speak english.
Negative - You will still need to learn the language at least until B1. Costs are rising here and it is getting harder to Save after mandatory costs. Rents are rising because of newcomers and landlords being assholes. Oh yeah, landlords Will try to take advantage of you - have an estonian friend to help with translation.
Actually, all postive aspects you mentionned are parts of the reasons why I’d like to move to Estonia.
About negative apsect, I work in the tech sector, so I guess I’ll mainly use English at work.
However, for other aspects, it seems normal to me to learn the local language. I am the foreigner, it is my duty to learn the language of the country. (I know Estonian is very difficult, however, but I’ll try my best).About having local friends : this is my biggest fear.
So far, I have only one French friend here and another friend of mine from Brazil used to live in Tallinn aswell. Otherwise, I don’t know any local, which sacres me a lot.On the other hand, in Czechia, I have local friends in Prague and Brno, which would make me feel safer.
This is why I’m hesitating.About having local friends : this is my biggest fear.
Most struggle with finding local friends, but if you can’t make one, will expats not fill the same need? No worries, there are locals are friends of expats and immigrants, who you will interact with anyway once you start interacting with other expats. Tallinn might be harder because everyone is working and they have their own close friends developed after years of living here. But cities like Tartu and Parnu will be different because of younger crowd who are students. That’s how I made friends there who eventually moved to tallinn as i did.
I have read most of your comments and it would seem that Estonia is probably perfect for you. There are literally no downsides except : cold weather, and angry Russia next door.
You are judgmental, not open minded enough and money driven. Probably right leaning.
Go to Poland like ppl said, or maybe Czech republic you’ll find plenty of ppl like you.
Well, maybe I sound “cold” in the way I write (and that’s possible, this is litteraly my second thread on Reddit, so I’m not very familiar with social rules here), but I don’t know what makes you believe that I’m not open minded. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t consider travelling, migrating to another country, and trying to assimilate to another country.
I literally have friends from every continents, due to my implication in an international organisation. Just to give you few examples, I have friends from Israel, Nepal, Nigeria, Brazil or Indonesia (and I’m talking about locals, not about migrants from these countries).
The thing is that I have travelled a lot, and despite the fact that I (of course) respect every culture, I have to make a final decision. There are some countries that are either too much polluted, too much individualists, too much centralized, too much authoritarian for me.
Once again, I respect every culture, but it’s just normal that I want to live in a country that would match with my personal values.
The thing is that there are a few countries that I like for many factors, and I have to make a final decision, which is a difficult choice. This is the reason why I am asking : because I need an external opinion.
Also, yes, money is an important factor, I can’t deny it. Not the most important, for sure, but it still is important, but I think I shouldn’t feel ashamed for feeling that way.
I know it’s not in the list of countries you mentioned, but have you considered Romania? As a French speaker, it will be much easier to learn the language, and the country is similar to the countries you mentioned in your list.
How is romania similar to finland?
I only have heard good opinions about Romania, and I have a personal good opinion about Romanians. However, considering that they’re not part of the Shengen area, I was scared that it would be a nightmare to get a visa.
That’s what I’m affraid of.Romania is part of the EU so staying there should not be a problem. Also, Romanian being a Latin language, will be much easier to learn for a French speaker.
Romanians come across as very friendly and down to earth and their country has changed for the better in last ten years or so. Nature wise, a very beautiful country. Affordable. That being said if you’re going to earn local wage, then salaries are low compared to Finland or Western Europe.
If you want peace and calmness the the Baltic countries and Finland are your best bet. If you want better weather and “lively” people and culture, then Romania would be more suitable.
Have you considered Reunion Island? Still part of France but tropical and amazingly beautiful but expensive.