Any City in Europe

[apekonge]

Originally Posted by IamReady2Move

I'm still sort of toying with the idea but....

If you had a budget of around $1,500 for a rent a month (about 1,385 euros, I believe), single and no children and no commute..... where would you live?

London? Paris? Barcelona? Rome? Berlin? Helsinki? Riga? I've traveled through the UK and Ireland, but it was years ago.

The issue of resident permits and taxes I think is a whole other situation. But imagine that's not such an issue, where would you live?

Spain is really bang for buck, but Germany is also relatively cheap. Why so low budget btw?

For me:
1. Barcelona 2. Berlin 3. Rome 4. Riga 5. Paris 6. Helsinki 7. London

Athens(Greece) is also a great city.

[forgotten username]

Originally Posted by improb

Depends on what you are looking for, all these cities have their own characteristics which sets them apart from each other. I have been only to Rome and Barcelona so i don't think i am entitled to talk about the other cities.
Anyway, i'd probably pick Barcelona over Rome for living, mostly because you wouldn't have to deal with Italian bureaucracy, it's cheaper for the most part and you can find countless low cost flights which would allow you to travel all over Europe for cheap

I don't know, my sister moved to Barcelona last year, works from home, and said it took several weeks to get the internet (she needs it for work because she is an illustrator) and it was generally a pain in the ass because of the bureaucracy and the fact that many people refused to speak in Spanish (she basically had to learn two languages because she was just getting started with Spanish).

At least you have many migrants in Barcelona so you can find people to help you.


I personally would not choose Paris or London because they're way too big for my tastes and too cloudy. And damn expensive.

Rome is great but also a bit chaotic. As someone who likes to commute by bike, I would also fear for my life.

[botticelli]

Originally Posted by apekonge

Spain is really bang for buck, but Germany is also relatively cheap. Why so low budget btw?

For me:
1. Barcelona 2. Berlin 3. Rome 4. Riga 5. Paris 6. Helsinki 7. London

Athens(Greece) is also a great city.

Athens is a great city? First time I hear that.

If you don't want to spend a lot of money on rent/food, then Portugal and Spain are great options. Lisbon is so cheap yet offers everything one wants from a city. Not a huge one, but definitely meet ones' need most of the time. You walk into a café downtown, had a coffee and some pastries and it cost like 2 euros. I agree Barcelona and Berlin are pretty affordable too, but I am not a fan of Berlin - too spreadout and not as pretty.

If you don't like big cities, then some smaller towns in south France or Italy. Good weather and not expensive.

If you have the money, London and Paris of course. Nothing really beats these two in Europe, but large global cities are not everyone's cup of tea.

I wont go anywhere north of London. The long night in the winter is horrible to deal with.

[irman]

Originally Posted by PerryMason614

How would they know you're telecommuting if you're just communicating with clients back in the USA and sending files back and forth? You're not collecting any money there.

First -- you can only stay a certain time in each country, on a regular visitors visa.
I know that for sure !
Second -- if you like to stay longer, you need a different kind of visa or residency permit.
To get that piece of paper or stamp in your passport, there are certain requirements,
which I, at the moment, do not know off.
Whatever they are, you, by all probability, need to show proof of
being able to support yourself by some means.
Which means, either have huge sums of money in your bank (proof required I assume),
or some other way of supporting yourself, which means work.
That will lead to the requirement of having a work permit,
which you do not get without a job.
Which means either working for somebody or some entity, or working on your own.

I can go on and on, without even checking official documents to prove that you,
by all probability again need more than you think,
to stay anywhere in Europe for an extended period.

For sure a visitors visa alone, will not suffice.


So, above I mentioned Amsterdam, and taking that city as an example,
they have a great Expat Center there which helps expats with registration and whatever else is required.
The OP is NOT really self employed, since he does work for some entities on the East Coast.
He is thus an employee of that, or those, companies, and they pay him for the work he does where ever he does it from.
To find out more, and I am sure the OP is capable enough to do that himself,
he should start checking out:
http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/expatce...he-expatcenter

You can try to do anything official on your own, but I would not advice it, since the bureaucracy is superlative in Europe !! I meant that in the negative way !! Having a legit organisation help you is the best thing.

Other resources may be:
http://www.worldwideworkathome.com/europe.html
or:
http://www.internations.org/amsterda...C_NL_Amsterdam
where the OP may be able to contact any American already there to ask for how it should be done.

I only mentioned Amsterdam because of *been there done that*.
I did work a long time in Germany also, before living and working in Amsterdam, but I was working for a large international company who took care of everything else.

Last but not least, the OP should also keep in mind that living in Europe does NOT relieve him or her from any legal proceedings *back home*. Taxes still need to be filed and there are numerous requirements to be be adhered to, in order to qualify for certain *perks*.

[Dennis Schroeder]

Keep in mind you can only stay in Schengen for 90 days out of 180 consecutive days on a regular tourist visa. The visa doesn't reset until after the 180 days, either. So if you stay 90 consecutive days, then you have to leave for 90 days before you can get another tourist visa.

You can stay in the UK for 180 days.

France, Sweden and Italy have one year, long term tourist visas.

Germany has a freelancer visa which would apply in your situation. Berlin is extremely cheap by global standards. I dare say it's even cheaper than being an expat in a 3rd world country. Foreigners usually get gouged in such places.

As an American, Germany, UK and the Netherlands are probably the easiest places to get set up in your position legally.

To answer your question, if I could live anywhere and none of the visa stuff mattered, I would live in the south of France.

Another place I like, but is much different, is the more affluent neighborhoods of Berlin. You could rent a very nice house for $1500 and then s-bahn and bike to more interesting areas as you desire.

I live in Berlin and my first apartment was $400 a month...in 2012. Then my business ramped up and now I rent a 2 story house with 3 bedrooms upstairs, gym and extra guest suite in the basement and it's only $1700 a month. It is a short train ride from my office. In NYC or London such a home would cost $4000-$8000 a month. Berlin of course is neither NYC nor London but it's quite good for a guy like me.

[apekonge]

Originally Posted by botticelli

Athens is a great city? First time I hear that.

.

It's just personal taste. It has all i need really. Beaches, restaurants, shopping, nightlife, universities etc. I like the food, weather, girls and the rent is low. The cost of living is roughly the same as in Spain. I have been to both Barcelona and Rome and i still prefer Athens.