Just got an email from Chase saying that they will close all credit cards for anyone living in EU. Anyone else got it? Are there other US credit cards that reliably work in Europe?

Before I moved to EU last year I contacted Chase and they said it won’t be a problem and my account will remain open. I even got a replacement card shipped from them a few months ago.

I’ve lived abroad since 2013.

40+ countries, homes in Portugal, Mexico, South Korea and now Colombia.

here are my hot takes I’ve gathered over the years:

1. you stop being a tourist around day 10. month-long stays > two-week trips

2. moving abroad with someone you barely know is the fastest way to find out if it’ll work. (it did)

3. korean convenience stores > half the restaurants in the US

4. teaching english in korea is the most underrated career launchpad out there

5. working from a café in a new country is the best job perk that doesn’t come with a job

6. you don't really know a country until something goes wrong there.

7. 1am tacos in mexico city > any tasting menu

8. the best way to learn a city is to walk it without a destination

9. “no dar papaya” is the best safety advice i’ve heard in 13 years

10. family “workations” at $7k/month are a rich-people product. most families need the $2k version

11. speaking the language changes the price of everything

12. kids changed how i travel more than any visa rule

13. a $695 credit card for lounge access is a bad deal

14. for remote work, time zone matters more than cost of living

15. the expat bubble is comfortable and boring

16. you can leave the US, the IRS comes with you

17. the best gift you can give a kid is a second language they didn’t have to study

18. the longer you live abroad, the more “where are you from?” turns into a long story

19. you can run a business on 2 to 6 hours a day

that's all.

I'm curious to know what you liked the most or what surprised you the most about living in Mexico.

Hey !! I am part of an improv troop. Come watch our show this Saturday in Paris . It is followed by drinks so a great way to meet other expats

DM for link

I’m collecting real experiences from people who moved out of Switzerland and had to deal with their 2nd pillar: what you could withdraw, how much tax you paid, whether you got some back through a tax treaty, and what you wish you had known earlier.

Disclosure: I’m in Basel and looking into building a free guide/tool for this, so no selling here, just trying to understand the real problems.

If you’ve been through it, which country did you move to and what surprised you?

I've been trying for weeks to connect to the Social Security website using ID.me, with no success. The ID.me people tell me that my ID.me account is fine. SSA tells me either that its ID.me or "3rd party SSA sites". I've tried clearing my cache, using other devices, every browser I can think of in regular and incognito mode, and still no success. I also tried a VPN to place me in the US. I applied for survivor benefits for my minor children in June, and apparently they inputed my bank routing number incorrectly. My consulate does not have SSA support, so my only option is to go back to the US to go in person, if I can't correct this online. I really rather not do that as its costly and would require time off work and hire a baby sitter to pick my kids up from school. Has anyone found a work around? Any suggestions as to what could be wrong?

for a teaching job in korea or china you need an FBI Identity History Summary, and a few details keep coming up wrong in older posts.

US embassies don't take fingerprints. in korea, district police stations can do FD-258 cards free (US embassy seoul says to call first; not every station has the kit). elsewhere you need a local station or a private place that still does ink cards.

only the US Department of State Office of Authentications can apostille an FBI check. a state-level apostille on a notarized copy gets rejected by EPIK and similar programs.

china joined the hague apostille convention on nov 7 2023, so the state dept apostille is enough. no chinese consulate legalization anymore, even though a lot of agency pages still describe the old two-step.

korea EPIK wants the check dated within 6 months of your contract start, so don't order it while you're still browsing listings.

I'm a non-EU language teacher with a bachelor's and intend to change professions (thinking of electrical) for this sole purpose. Is it the best path after IT? I don't mind taking long.

My dad has remarried and now spends 5 months of the year in NZ. He’s about to head out for his 3rd winter.

What to people do about phone services? When he’s in NZ he gets an NZ eSIM, but for work it’s really important that he keeps access to his UK number while he’s abroad. He still needs to take and receive a lot of calls, and not all of those can be via WhatsApp.

Last year I VOIPed his number but the set up was a faff and the usability was pretty clunky. I’m hoping to improve on it this year.

Any suggestions? What do others use?

He used as iPhone, UK provider is giffgaff.

I’ll try to make this brief because the last few months of my life have been crazy. 3 months ago I moved to Montreal from Manchester in the UK on an iec working holiday visa. I’ve naturally, like many other people, been feeling very alone in this new place. Though I do have cousins living there and a couple of acquaintances/friends, I’ve been struggling. I don’t have proper work yet which has been a big stressor , but even more than that I’m struggling to find meaning in my life when I’m away from friends and family. Before I left for Canada, I met someone who I fell in love with in the UK and he came to visit me in New York last week. We spent an amazing few days together and he is now my boyfriend. On the last day of the trip, I learnt a good friend of mine had passed from an accidental overdose. Our group of friends have had substance abuse issues for a while and have been completely rocked by this tragic loss. As I’m writing this, I’m back in the UK. I made the choice to return to be close to friends. I didn’t buy a return plain ticket. I’m On a train to Manchester, contemplating everything I’ve missed, the loss of my friend, the gaining of a new significant other that I love, the loneliness I’ve dealt with over the last 3 months, what I want my life to be at 27, the rift between where I am and where I thought I’d be at this time. I’ve never felt so much at once. And everything just tells me that I need to come home permanently. I know it’s only been 3 months. But I really feel like I made a big mistake in moving away. Has anyone dealt with something similar?

Does anyone else feel caught between two worlds as an immigrant?
I moved from a developing country to Scandinavia after years of hard work, with no help but my own. I’m grateful to be here and to give my child a better start in life.
But I still support my family back home financially. The requests keep coming, often for legitimate reasons, sick parents, debt, tragedies, ranking up to 2 minimun salaries of support monthly, and when I try to set boundaries, I end up feeling selfish and privileged because I’m the one living abroad.
Meanwhile, here, I sometimes feel poor and behind when my peers casually ask why I don’t buy an apartment, get a car, or go out for lunch more often. They mean no harm; they just don’t see my financial reality.
It’s such a weird feeling to be considered rich and selfish back home, but poor and behind where I live now. I’m trying to support my family while building a future for my own, and sometimes it feels like I’m not doing enough for anyone is just bizarre.
Does anyone else relate to this? How do you deal with it?

Hi hi, I'm an American in London (mid 20s no children) working in finance, and I’m considering an offer for a trading job in Singapore. Still pretty junior, but I'd be on an Employment Pass. Would love to hear from anyone who's done London to Singapore, or any Americans who have made the move

Current setup: £80-100k comp, sharing a spacious 2-bed with a friend. I’m pretty comfortable, but not a glamorous lifestyle

What I'm trying to work out:
What SGD base would give me an equivalent lifestyle? Is S$175k about right, or do I need more?
I’m aware rent will probably be about 2-3x what I pay now and that there no employer pension match
For finance, how does comp (bonus structure, base vs. total) typically look versus London/US?

Context:

I’m an aussie who moved to England & am coming up to my 2 years ending. I’ve accepted now that I won’t be extending as I’m ready for my next chapter but going home, I am having a dilemma as to what to choose

Option A.

Travel SEA for 6 weeks on the way home. Sell my things in UK or ship home to Aus and take the rest to Asia. This has been a big goal of mine to backpack for like 10 years and I’m now 27. It would be an amazing way to close this chapter out in England. I can save just enough to complete it but when I go home to Aus, I will have no money, no car, no job and living back at mums for longer in a suburb I hate, a house I dislike and I’ll feel like I’ve gone backwards and probably get mad depressed. But like life is short and I just wanna travel.

Option b.

I skip SEA and go home with a decent amount of money and I could live at mums for 1-2 months while I find a place to live where I want, get a car, job etc and live a life I’ll enjoy in Aus sooner but I’ll go straight from work to work etc. then when will I do my backpacking goal? When I have rent to pay, bills, responsibilities? But this option will mentally help me

Really conflicted. I am leaning towards travel but getting back to Aus feeling trapped and in the same position I was when I left is a feeling I can’t shake

Any advice? I don’t want to cut down my trip, it’s already cut down from what I would want to do and I can’t cut it more without missing things so it’s either I do it or I don’t

Not visas or tax, just the small daily stuff like which card to use where? Whether to keep your old bank account open?? How to pay someone back without asking for a twenty-digit account number? Which app everyone locally actually uses, which is never the one the guides recommend?? That kind of thing.

(I'm with Ziina team, flagging that upfront, not here to pitch)

Hi everyone,

I recently graduated, and currently working as a junior software engineer in Europe.

I unexpectedly have the chance to get a US Green Card, but I only have a few days to decide whether to pursue it.

I moved to eastern europe for work about 4 months ago, and honestly, I'm still questioning whether it was the right decision. My life is mostly work and home, I don't really feel like I belong, and I often wish I'd stayed in my home country, closer to family and friends.

Now I'm considering moving to the US, where I know virtually nobody. I understand the higher salaries and career opportunities in tech, but I'm still a junior developer, and leaving my current job to potentially spend months job hunting in a difficult market feels risky, not to mention the financial cost of relocating.

My experience abroad has also made me realize how much I value family, friendships, and stability. I'm starting to question whether earning more money or having a better career would necessarily make me happier, especially if it means being even farther away from the people I care about.

At the same time, giving up such a rare opportunity sounds unwise. But right now, it feels like a high-risk move with uncertain rewards and it makes me anxious. Many say that you can come back, but life is short and unnecessary suffering might not be meanigful.

Would you pursue the Green Card in my situation? Has anyone faced a similar decision, particularly early in their career? Did moving to the US actually improve your quality of life, or did you find that career opportunities and higher earnings weren't worth the personal sacrifices?

I have only a few days to decide, so I'd really appreciate your experiences and advice.

Thanks!

Hello all!

I am thinking of applying for a 2-year masters programme abroad. The programme and city sound amazing and I am not so worried about the abroad part as much as I am about how things would go back home. I don't know if this is a weird worry, but I do worry about things changing, like friend groups etc., and then not being able to find my place here again. I've never lived abroad before, so maybe thats why wonder about these kind of things. Anyone have experiences or thoughts about changes that come with studying and being away from home?

I've been living in Usa from 2016 and now that I'm finally happy here I have an opportunity to move back to Spain (my home country) I passed a civil servant exam (during the years that I wanted to move back ) as an A2 in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (i could move to embassies in the future except US because of my dual citizenship). Although this sounds like a great opportunity in paper I finally found a small city in the mountains that I love, both my american husband and I have remote jobs, can travel anytime...Im close to 40, no desire of kids, and a bit scared of the healthcare in the US if I end up staying. However, I'm very happy to have built a flexible independent life here far from Spain (i have family traumas). I'm just scared of the rigid funcionario schedule, my husband would be working at different times, my family pressuring to visit them all the time...What do I do? Also my partner is four years younger, he is ready for another aventure but Im tired of moving (lived in 7 places within the US and abroad in the last 10 years).

Title: Where can I get thyroid medication containing T3 in Southeast Asia?
I currently take levothyroxine (T4) and liothyronine (T3) for hypothyroidism.

I’m planning extended travel throughout Southeast Asia and want to know where I can reliably obtain thyroid medication containing T3, including liothyronine, natural desiccated thyroid (NDT), or compounded T4/T3.

Has anyone personally purchased these medications in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bali/Indonesia, the Philippines, or elsewhere in Southeast Asia?

I’m specifically looking for pharmacy names, medication brands, prices, and whether regular refills are possible.

I’m researching options to discuss with my doctor before future trips, not looking to change medication while traveling.
Thanks!

I'm very curious why you like coming to Mexico City instead of other popular destinations like Cancun, Tulum, Baja California, PV, Oaxaca...

I am in the final hiring stages for three jobs, and am trying to figure out which city I prefer to relocate to.

For context this is a temporary move for ~1.5 years (I am from and expecting to return back to Australia), so we really want to make it the most enjoyable. We are early 30’s so education, healthcare, housing costs aren’t a major consideration.

Some key issues are below:

- Salary: Dublin and Brussels are the same, and Poland is a fair bit lower. However, we are not moving anywhere to save money. All roles are similar.

- Housing: Dublin is obviously an issue with costs, but the higher salary should cover it.

- Language: Dublin obviously helps with being English, but the other cities are still large cities so I don’t see it being a huge issue.

- Safety: I obviously have read issues with Brussels and that Warsaw is very safe. But I don’t see this as a major concern, we would probably be living in a decent neighbourhood which are normally ok. For reference, I have spent a fair bit of time in Marseilles and Naples (as well as much ‘unsafer’ areas around the world) and never had a concern.

- Location: Dublin is very isolated and Warsaw seems great as very central to everywhere. Brussels great to get to a handful of cities nearby by train.

- Social: Seems they all have their benefits with a lot of expats living there. We do like going to bars and the occasional music gig.

- Culture: Warsaw and Brussels probably have an edge here as most different to Australia.

- Architecture: Brussels ahead due to their buildings. We do really love the idea of living in a nice looking city.

- Cycling / Public Transport: Warsaw wins here I think

- Food / Drink: I would think Warsaw / Brussels have the edge here

- Weather: Warsaw has warmer / drier weather but is obviously freezing / dark in winter. Dublin / Brussels rains a lot

So year really struggling. Keen to hear other peoples experiences especially if living in multiple cities.

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are both British, currently living in London, and we’re exploring options to relocate to California together. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s navigated a similar situation.

Our situation:

My partner is a Product Designer who has secured a role at a major technology company in California. His O-1 visa has been approved, and he’s preparing to relocate.

I’m 30 and currently work in theatrical film marketing at a major Hollywood studio’s London office. I have experience working on major international film releases, collaborating with US teams, and managing marketing campaigns for globally recognised franchises.

We initially thought an internal transfer might be the most straightforward route, given that my employer has a significant presence in Los Angeles.

However, HR has explained that US visa sponsorship is generally reserved for roles where the required skills are difficult to source locally. An L-1 transfer would also require support from both the UK and US businesses, with no guarantee of approval.

I’m not currently in a managerial position, although I understand that L-1B transfers can apply to employees with specialised knowledge. Ideally, I’d like to continue working in theatrical marketing at a similar level rather than taking a significant step backwards professionally.

The options we’re considering:

L-1B: An internal transfer through my current employer, although securing business support is proving difficult.
O-1: Exploring whether my experience working on major film campaigns could qualify me, potentially with additional industry recognition and supporting evidence.
H-1B: Applying to US employers willing to sponsor, although the lottery and sponsorship requirements present challenges.
F-1: Pursuing postgraduate education in California, although the cost and restrictions on employment make this less appealing.
O-3: If we were to marry, I could potentially accompany my partner as a dependent, but wouldn’t have permission to work.

I’ve also been applying for relevant marketing roles at entertainment and technology companies in California, but identifying employers open to sponsorship has been difficult.

A few questions:

Has anyone successfully secured an L-1B transfer despite initial reluctance from their employer? What helped make the business case?

Has anyone in film marketing, entertainment marketing or a similar field successfully obtained an O-1 visa? What evidence was most important?

Are there particular employers or sectors in California more open to sponsoring experienced international marketing professionals?

Has anyone been in a relationship where one partner held an O-1 and the other needed an independent route to employment?

Are there any alternative visa pathways we should be considering?

We’re open to temporary long-distance arrangements if necessary, but our preference is to relocate together while both continuing our careers.

We’re also seeking professional immigration advice, but I’d be particularly interested in hearing firsthand experiences and practical suggestions.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hey. I’m not sure whether I’m looking for advice or whether I just have no one to talk to and need to get some things off my chest.

I recently turned 42. I’m a man from Ukraine who fled the war right when it started. At the time, I lost pretty much everything I’d saved, except for a small apartment in Kharkiv and a car. When the war began, I had a job and $18,000 in savings. Back then, we all thought it wouldn’t last long… Then came a lot of depression and some really dark times.

Now I’m trying to find a new home. Somewhere I can finally settle down and build a life. I don’t have a family. It’s just me.

My financial situation scares the hell out of me. I feel like I have nothing. I managed to sell my car back then, but the apartment is still there, partially destroyed, in Kharkiv, a city near the front lines.

Over the past few years, I’ve managed to save up $200,000, which is just sitting in a regular bank account, not even a savings account.

I doubt I’ll ever get much of a state pension, assuming the system even survives, and whatever I do get will probably be next to nothing. So now I’m trying to figure out how to invest my money, hoping to at least make my savings grow over time.

I guess my two biggest fears are not having a permanent home anywhere in the world and having practically nothing saved for retirement. And in this crazy world we live in, even making it to retirement feels like something you can’t take for granted anymore…

Right now, I’m trying to learn about investing, stocks, and all of that. I’m also considering moving to Georgia, where taxes are low and the cost of living and real estate are relatively affordable.

I’m currently living in Poland, working legally and paying taxes here, and honestly, the tax burden is pretty painful.

Is there anyone else here in a similar situation? Has anyone managed to rebuild their life after losing almost everything? Or maybe you’re still trying to figure things out, just like me?

How did you get through it? How are you dealing with it now?

I’d really like to hear your stories. Let’s talk…

I am from The Netherlands and have been living in Australia on and off for almost six years. I am still on a student visa in Australia as it feels near impossible to get a permanent visa.

I am visiting my home after almost 3 years as in my gut I felt like I would absolutely hate being back here, but now that I am here I do not feel that at all. Actually the opposite. To give context my life in Australia has been far from easy as I am basically a struggling student, paying heaps of money for school, being restricted on working hours and not having a lot of time left for friends. All while not even being certain I can stay. If I do it would be investing another 100K and 4 years of my life into uni. I love the Aussie lifestyle, being in the sun, on nice beaches, having a good life/work balance etc.

Here I would be able to just live my life, get benefits such as healthcare instead of paying for it, work and not having to study. But I would have to start from 0 again. I have only really come to the realisation now, so I really need to think about it. I guess I was just wondering if anyone was in the same boat and what they decided to do??