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Need advice for moving from US to Europe?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by ChristianHipstr, Jun 23, 2013.

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  1. ChristianHipstr

    ChristianHipstr
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    As of now I'm 16. I speak a decent amount of French and will be taking German in college. I want to move from USA to Europe after I graduate college, hopefully becoming either a medical professional or English teacher for my profession. I plan on living in either France, Belgium, or Germany... possibly UK. I'm just wondering though, i don't have any immediate living relatives that had citizenship in Europe, so I'm ruled out on that, but what do I need to do before I move? I have plenty of time, at least 6 years, but I've never even been outside of Texas and have no idea what steps will have to be taken for this. Anyone who has been through this have any advice that will help? What are the career opportunities that are most available to immigrants in Europe?

    Also, since I get the feeling people will ask me why I would want to move there if I've never even been out of USA, much less my state. I'll just say I don't like living in America, much less the bible belt. I would like to be living in the place where my heritage began, and I'm a HUGE history geek, which Europe had a lot of. Also, those German and French guys and gals, woo :eusa_danc

    Edit: Also just noticed this is my first triple digit post! Woot!
     
    #1 ChristianHipstr, Jun 23, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2013
  2. Beware Of You

    Beware Of You
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    Well since you have never left the US its probably safer going for somewhere like Britain or Ireland so you wouldn't have a language barrier to deal with, I know you have probably done french but doing it in a classroom is nothing compared to living with the language.

    It depends on your skills, there are rumours of Britain rolling out a Canadian style points system for Non-EU citizens so by the time you may come over here you would have to have enough points to get the right visa's (the US is only visa free for tourism) .

    Western Europe if very very liberal compared to the Bible Belt, UK and Ireland are both moving towards atheism now, same with Holland and parts of France (the younger generation definitely ).

    Culturally Europe is somewhat different to the US, we are not as right wing, and out loud patriotism is also very rare. In the UK you only see Union Flags for things like Queenies fake Birthday or Remembrance day, sadly the flags are commonly used by hate parties.
     
    #2 Beware Of You, Jun 23, 2013
  3. SchwulIstCool

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    I'm glad we share a mutual appreciation of German guys. :wink: You'll do fine :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

    Erm , well obviously graduate opportunities are not in abundance here for our own graduates, at least not here in the UK, but I should imagine the best option would to be sponsored by a multinational country to work in that country. However, I'm not clued up on the procedure to get to stay here (which I have heard is as hard as it is for me to stay in the US).

    Mais bon courage, j'espère t'acceuillir quand tu arriveras ici à l'avenir :slight_smile:
     
    #3 SchwulIstCool, Jun 23, 2013
  4. Candace

    Candace
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    (since you speak French)

    Je voudrais d'habiter en France aussi dans l'avenir. Cependant, y'a un problème avec le niveau du chomage en France, Italie, Portugal, et Espagne, pour exemple. Si tu veux utiliser l'allemand et le français, alors tu pourras habiter à Strasbourg, lequel est sur la frontière des deux pays (la France et l'Allemagne). Bonne chance avec ce que tu fais :slight_smile:
     
    #4 Candace, Jun 23, 2013
  5. ChristianHipstr

    ChristianHipstr
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    @Beware Of You

    I understand it's liberal, and that is much of my motive to move there. I'm more than likely Athiest, but I personally don't like extremes and being closed-minded, so I go with Agnostic.
    I am very non- nationalistic. In any war, I'd fight for the country that had its moral values in the correct place, be that country my own or not. How does this "point system" your talking of work? I'll definitely look into it.
    I also want to add that while a majority of my learning was indeed in a classroom, my grandmother was french and would teach me, sadly she passed when I was 7, so even most of what I did learn I forgot. It did indeed benefit me with having somewhat of an authentic accent though :slight_smile: As for the bilingual virtue of this, I've heard that living in it actually helps more than anything and is the best (and hardest..) way of learning a language. When I start a family, I'd also like my children to grow up speaking at least 2 languages, as a native tongue, and i can only provide English.

    @SchwulIstCool

    I'm a huge football fan, and Bastian Schweinsteiger is my favourite by far. :wink:

    I certainly hope it won't be that hard for me to move there as it is for immigrants here! My uncle married a Hispanic woman from Mexico, and she faced so many problems with staying here...

    Merci mon ami, j'espère que je ne vais à l'avenir aussi.

    @ElPanaChevere

    I was well aware of the economy in the EU, and was one of the reason I was taking Germany into a preference as I know it's one of the more dominant economies.

    Ahh, Strasbourg! It is one of many on the list of areas in which I'd like to live in.
     
    #5 ChristianHipstr, Jun 23, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2013
  6. justinf

    justinf
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    I agree with this. Europe and the US, though both western, are worlds apart when it comes to culture. Pretty much everything is different; the way people act, people's views on a lot of things, the food (even bread and water will taste completely different), the way of life, the educational system and the education itself.. you name it and it will be different.
    So you have to be prepared to enter a completely different culture. If you have the chance to study abroad for a while, or even go on a holiday and travel a bit through the countries you're interested in, that will help you a great deal in getting at least an idea of what life looks like in those places.

    Career opportunities in my country -- I don't know about other countries -- are the same for immigrants as for native people as far as I know. The only reason they might reject you is if you don't know the language of the country you're in in case you need it for that particular job.

    If you wanna be a medical professional I don't think you'll have a problem; the medical world communicates in English. If you wanna be an English teacher, it would depend on what kind of teacher you'd like to be; at university, all English teachers must speak English (in fact most are from the UK or the US), in High School I don't know if they would allow teachers who can't speak another language than English.
    (^ obviously this is what I know from my country. I don't know what it's like in other countries. Plus if you choose the UK, this will not be of importance)
     
    #6 justinf, Jun 23, 2013
  7. Candace

    Candace
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    Je sais seulement qu'y a une université à Strasbourg laquelle est associée avec la mines aux États-Unis (Georgia State). L'Université de Strasbourg.
     
    #7 Candace, Jun 23, 2013
  8. SchwulIstCool

    SchwulIstCool
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    Hehehe well it's simple for members of the EU to emigrate to the UK (as the right wing loves to bang on about... :rolleyes: ), but I don't know. Either that OR you could a year abroad here during your university degree and see what it's like before coming here permanently? I don't know whether you'll be allowed to work though, I know you can't in the US, but it could be brilliant work experience?

    And Schweinsteiger ist eine ganz gute Wahl :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     
    #8 SchwulIstCool, Jun 23, 2013
  9. ChristianHipstr

    ChristianHipstr
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    @justinf

    I'm well aware of the cultural differences. Due to my parents being absent a majority of my life, I spent most of my developing years with my great grandparents and grandparents, most of whom are immigrants from either Germany or France (one from Russia, but died before i was born).. I'm ecstatic to here about the equal job opportunities! Especially the university English professor! I'm definitely studying abroad in college, although I don't get many chances to travel due to family issues.


    I wanted to add. Another reason I wanted to move is because of the equality that Western Europe has compared to the Bible Belt... I'm sure I will one day find myself in a gay relationship, and would much rather have it in an accepting area.

    @ElPanaChevere

    I have amazing opportunities at Baylor University, and will more than likely be attending that college. Though I am open for other options, the financial aid that would be provided there due to connections I have it hard to pass up.

    @SchwulIstCool

    I've heard of certain jobs being available for students abroad that are in cooperation with whatever university to help the students financially, but I haven't looked to far into it.
    I do know there are jobs here that are available. My sister lives in Alaska, and a friend of hers from Moscow is studying abroad there at her universtiy. My sister's workplace had a program for part time immigrants in abroad programs.

    Haha, danke :wink:
     
    #9 ChristianHipstr, Jun 23, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2013
  10. anthonythegamer

    anthonythegamer Guest

    New York City and Boston has a ton of history about how our country began. Plus, the people are fairly liberal.
     
    #10 anthonythegamer, Jun 23, 2013
  11. Amerigo

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    there are no jobs in here
     
    #11 Amerigo, Jun 23, 2013
  12. ChristianHipstr

    ChristianHipstr
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    @anthonythegamer

    Ehhh... I don't like the "big city" scene so much. Like ElPanaChevere mentioned, Strasbourg is somewhere I'd be more likely to live. Even if I lived in France, I wouldn't live in Paris, but either around it or in a smaller city.

    @Moskva

    Never really have planned on moving to Russia... Too conservative in their beliefs... and especially after the recent gay hate crimes..
     
    #12 ChristianHipstr, Jun 23, 2013
  13. Candace

    Candace
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    that makes two of us! :lol:
     
    #13 Candace, Jun 23, 2013
  14. starfish

    starfish
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    I am of the opinion that it is a healthy thing to spend some time away from where you grew up.

    I grew up in North Texas and moved to Austin about 5 years ago. Best move I ever made. I am getting ready to move again. This time I think I'm going to head up to the Pacific Northwest.

    I understand where you are coming from. I just tired of all of the closed mindedness around here. That and the damn summers.
     
    #14 starfish, Jun 23, 2013
  15. SchwulIstCool

    SchwulIstCool
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    Well, in the UK we have lots of beautiful countryside, but unfortunately it's not somewhere with a lot of opportunity. All the towns with opportunities are expanding into cities anyway, so we may not be your best bet if you don't like the thought of London or Manchester or Birmingham. (Although you might like Edinburgh?) :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     
    #15 SchwulIstCool, Jun 23, 2013
  16. ChristianHipstr

    ChristianHipstr
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    @starfish

    Right? I can't stand the environment, both social and natural, anymore. I would just move North, as I said before, the history and linguistic aspect of Western Europe is very appealing to me and a very big reason for my decision.

    @SchwulIstCool

    I never looked too far into the UK honestly, at least not as much as I have for Germany, France, and Belgium. Although living where English is dominant would be easy, I want to better my language skills and become fluent in both a different language and culture.
     
    #16 ChristianHipstr, Jun 23, 2013
  17. SchwulIstCool

    SchwulIstCool
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    It's a good job then. :wink: Just don't try and look for jobs in Spain, the locals will look at you disparagingly, with youth unemployment at like 52%. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: (although you did say you were looking at Germany, which is the awesome one :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:). I always see Germany as warm and cuddly, I don't know why. It's like the opposite of the stereotype.
     
    #17 SchwulIstCool, Jun 23, 2013
  18. ChristianHipstr

    ChristianHipstr
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    Same here! Most people are always saying "German sounds so aggresive and ugly" or "Germans are cold and straightforward"... Not to mention how bad of a name they got from Hitler... I don't see it that way either, I grew up thinking of Germany and Germans being like my Nana, strong, independent, yet soft, sensitive, and warm-hearted. One thing that was fitting for the stereo-type on my Nana was her eyes. Cold, steel grey eyes. But her expressions and her face was so different.. I miss her :frowning2:

    I also find German to be a beautiful language. Probably even more so that French. I think a woman speaking French is beautiful, but not a man. But a man speaking German! Yes, just yes. German women that speak softly are amazing as well lol.
     
    #18 ChristianHipstr, Jun 23, 2013
  19. anthonythegamer

    anthonythegamer Guest

    Belgium has a lot of French-speakers, but it's also a melting pot of Dutch, French, and German speakers so if you are learning German, Belgium is a great place to use your German. It's also one of the most liberal countries, next to Spain and Sweden.

    Even though most of Belgium is urban, there are places where it's more quiet. Ganshoren, in the Brussels region, is a nice place. It's more like a town rather than a city. Most of the people there are bilingual in French and Dutch

    Liege is an amazing place to live in. People of German and French descent live there. However, there's more German people in the Eastern areas. It's a blend of suburban and city life.
     
    #19 anthonythegamer, Jun 23, 2013
  20. ChristianHipstr

    ChristianHipstr
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    @anthonythegamer

    I've heard most of this before in a video we watched in my French class. Belgium is definitely in a close tie with Germany for 1st on my list. Although, the Dutch aspect of it would get somewhat annoying, I'd be able to use both German and French. Not to mention, I live in Texas, so where I could drive from Houston to Dallas, I could go from France, through Belgium, and into Germany lol.
     
    #20 ChristianHipstr, Jun 23, 2013
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