Major draw of N. American expats by region of Europe

[irish_bob]

Originally Posted by dunno what to put here

There are many differences - Brits tend to be less religious and maybe more liberal, and the stance on abortion is pretty drastic, but there are many similarities too, and our two countries look like the same place.

Ireland is extremely rural by comparison with the inherently urban uk , rural countries tend to be more conservative

[irish_bob]

Originally Posted by Mac15

I disagree maybe its because i'm from NI. But certainly here we are basically the same as England. Same shops, same laws, same education system etc.

well your from the uk so your not even talking about Ireland , Ireland is the republic of Ireland , northern Ireland merely has a large minority who are irish

[irish_bob]

Originally Posted by drro

Except that the Irish corporate tax rate is 12.5% and 24% or something like that in the UK. So American companies seem to prefer Ireland for that reason. For example Dell, Intel or Google.

the effective corporation tax in france is lower than in Ireland in reality , what the tax rate is officially is often very different from the reality

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

I've leaving out eastern Europe because basically its kind of the "frontier" of Europe, even if not literally.

It's interesting that you left out Eastern Europe, since most of the people I knew who ended up as American ex-pats in Europe often ended up in places like Prague teaching English.

[Mac15]

Originally Posted by iNviNciBL3

Since when?

Since forever

[TheCityTheBridge]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

This maybe a generalization, but I am curious to see if you're experiences match what I can tell so far, based on the people I have known over the years.

Amongst North Americans (Americans + Canadians) if I were to boil down the major draw/pull of those particularly in their 20s/30s to different regions of Europe, I would categorize it as this:

UK/Britain: Major pull/draw of N. Americans are UNIVERSITIES and to some extent London for the sake of London. (UK have the universities compared to the rest of Europe that are more internationally known, as well as London having a bit of the draw that NYC has in North America. (ultimate culture and excitement)

versus:

Germany and lesser extent Scandinavia: Biggest draw here is business/industry/companies. Britain doesn't have quite the edge in the business and international corporation arena the way Germany and lesser extent Scandinavia does (smaller populations, but particularly Sweden?) But they are the leaders in Europe in business/industry.

versus:

Spain, Italy, and a lesser extent France and Switzerland: Here the biggest draw is the simple enjoyment of visiting living here, the romantic charm, scenery, here the draw is less about business or education. Although those in the arts careers: (performance, visual, maybe culinary) may move to these countries for opportunities.

I've leaving out eastern Europe because basically its kind of the "frontier" of Europe, even if not literally.

This is NOT a competition, or suggesting any clichés or stereotypes, this is more about does this match up with what you have seen as far as Americans moving to Europe.

Painting with a broad brush, of course, but I think there are going to be massive differences amongst N. Americans of different ages. College, grad school, or just after will be concerned more with the experience of living abroad. I suspect that most would choose a country based on the language they would like to learn (probably mainly Spanish and French), that some would choose based on a particular university program, that some would choose a place that feels a little more adventurous (Russia, Greece, Portugal, Prague, Budapest) and that some would choose UK/Ireland simply for the language.

I think a mid-career adult would probably fall into one of two camps: 1) works for a company with a satellite/headquarter office overseas, and 2) works remotely and wants to try a new place. Person 1) is going where the other office is. If there are multiple choices, that person will probably choose based on the work itself, but may be influenced by their cultural interests. Person 2) probably is looking for a lifestyle change and maybe some adventure. I would bet that Central Europe and the Mediterranean countries are favorites.

Finally, there are the retirees and soon-to-be-retirees. I suspect that these people are primarily looking at cost of living and lifestyle (and maybe sometimes an ancestral home region). I suspect that Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the French countryside are big winners amongst this group.

[Mac15]

Originally Posted by irish_bob

well your from the uk so your not even talking about Ireland , Ireland is the republic of Ireland , northern Ireland merely has a large minority who are irish

Well its on ireland