@praiseyahweh4ever I’m American and moved to the Netherlands 4 years ago. Best decision ever. The peace of mind I feel knowing I’ll have 6 months of fully paid maternity leave (by law), subsidized child care, and just a better life as a mom is amazing
Like, they’re poor poor. Poor in a first world country and a third world country isn’t the same… I’d look into education and safety in the DR if this is what you’re looking for good luck with everything nonetheless
@its_calvin My family owns the land in Santiago! I also have family from Puerto Plata, as that’s where most of us were born.
I’m a computer science major so I was planning on working for a some years and then retiring early. But I can also do remote work, work freelance in the DR, start my own company, or just work for a company in the DR.
The community also what I love about the DR. My dad says that lunch time is lunch time and people in his village will practically drag you inside and give you food because it’s lunch time. Nobody should go hungry. My grandfather often helps others in his barrio by giving his produce. He grows coconuts, avocados, has eggs, etc.
@praiseyahweh4ever I taught at Santo Domingo’s international school. I’m a teacher. We might go back next year for another year, but honestly I like coming back here (Quebec). When we have kids we’ll probably still do here and there until they’re in school, but I simply don’t trust the school system over there…
We’re thinking on buying something in Bonao so that when we’re over there we still have some place to be that’s ours…. It’s really a great advantage that you already own land.
I like the idea of being able to freelance remote for you. Look into DR’s laws, they’re fairly lax especially for US citizens.
@its_calvin I’m also eligible for Dominican citizenship! So if they aren’t too lax for non citizens I can always become one. I wouldn’t mind paying extra taxes for my home country
@praiseyahweh4ever Switzerland is also our goal! I love Switzerland and often daydream about living there lol. If not there we might also move to Germany, Japan or maybe Belgium. We're in Turkey and honestly hate it here because of our joke of an economy and terrible living standards in general. While we're most likely still going to be here when we start TTC, I hope we can move away asap so that the majority of our kid's upbringing will be spent in a better environment.
@praiseyahweh4ever I’m American, my husband is British. We made the easy choice to settle in the UK specifically because of quality of life improvements and safety for our future kids (healthcare, gun violence, etc.)
@praiseyahweh4ever Do it! Sweden is now more criminal and has many shootings in comparison to other countries in the EU but its teletubby land in comparison to the US.
I moved from Sweden to get away from all the shootings, bombings and sexual harassment. Live in Bavaria, Germany now and its the safest ever.
Plus if you need IVF it's 2,500€ instead of $25,000
Life quality is saying and we don't have to worry that our children will be shot at school. (Not in Sweden either)
Switzerland is also a very good choice. Beautiful and very safe for everyone. I love going there on weekends.
@praiseyahweh4ever I have strongly considered Iceland and New Zealand. Neither of us have any connections to any other countries, though, so it would be difficult. We're also quite family oriented, so it would be hard to move away.
@navysteel I’m also very family oriented (as per Hispanic customs), and I noticed that countries like Sweden and Switzerland have this more, independent, thing going on. Their family dynamics are considerably different to Hispanic cultures from what I read.
@praiseyahweh4ever I spent half of last year living in Italy, and before that have lived in the UK, Cuba, Spain, Morocco, and Burkina Faso. I had varied experiences but my health and mental health were all improved. My husband and I plan on moving permanently within the EU after we have our first - it’s important to me culturally for my grandparents to know our community in the US before we branch off. Our focus until then is saving money and strengthening all of our relationships.
I will say, I have an advanced degree and pathway to citizenship in a European country and my husband’s work is based in the EU and he is working on his citizenship in grandparent’s home country as well. It can be a headache but I have found it’s worth it. It’s easier to move to countries you have connection to.
@praiseyahweh4ever We are Canadian living in the US for the unique career opportunities we both can have here. My husband has significantly higher earning potential and I am personally fairly flexible work-wise, so we tend to go where he can find the best work. I have been totally fine with this as it has been just the two of us but once we have a kid or two, things are going to get harder.
Right now we are totally on the fence about if we will stay and how long we will stay in the US. We love our current city but it’s super expensive, childcare costs especially; the state of public education (and those infamous school shootings) make me very unhappy; and we have no family whatsoever to help or be involved in our future kids’ lives. Our friends and family are either also expats elsewhere or live in Canada.
I am not thrilled to be alone in taking on the majority of the childcare, even with hired help. Flying grandparents down multiple times a year or flying to visit them will be a pain when the kids are young- but it has to happen so that they know their family. I predict that either my husband has to earn astronomical sums of money to make this work long term or we will move back to Canada in a few years. I think both of us would be fine with that.
@praiseyahweh4ever Would definitely consider it but am afraid the professional barriers are too high. I still have more than $50k in student loans and the combo of needing to pay those, plus US taxes and UK taxes if we relocated means I'd need to make a high salary. The last time I checked I'd need to take 13 professional exams to be able to work in the UK. My husband would be eligible and able to work there because of his profession. Would also potentially be interested in Sweden but am not sure about a path to citizenship there. My great-grandparents immigrated from there so there is a family connection.
@erik1611 Some countries give citizenships to grandchildren and even great grandchildren of citizens if you’re able to prove it! I’m eligible for a few countries through that. Not sure if Sweden does that though
@praiseyahweh4ever I live in Europe and if you want more family-oriented life you should try to move here. I suggest Western Europe. It's safe, maternity leave is much longer, you have free education and free healthcare and you have more rights as a parent in general. However, you have to consider that making money and building career is harder than in the US. Also, moving from one country to another is challenging because every country has different language and different rules/laws.
good luck with everything nonetheless