I wrote an article earlier about how Southeast Asia is the place to be as a digital nomad. It’s safe, it’s cheap, and the economies are booming. All of the top 5 fastest growing economies are in Asia. That being said, I’ve come to the conclusion that it might be better for many, including myself, to get in where they fit in in Europe. Life is long and the world is unforgiving. Moving to Southeast Asia might be a worthwhile risk for many entrepreneurs, but risk averse people might prefer living in the European Union, particularly its Western Region.
You don’t need to be super rich in Europe
I only really discovered recently. I was chatting with a friend, and he pointed out how cheap the apartments were in the country in which he lived. I was surprised, because I live in a “3rd world” country and he was quoting prices similar to where I live, at the low end. Think $400/month. I thought hard to myself. My mental roadblock for going to Europe has always been cost of living. I always thought of Europe as being more expensive than where I live, but talking to my friend made me realize that might not be the case. I did a bit of poking around and realized that my hunch was correct. I can live comfortably soon, without moving to Southeast Asia.
The main problem with North America is that you need to be wealthy to feel “comfortable”. This might not be true in the rural areas, but people in the major cities are spending big money. You don’t need to spend very big money to live in a North American City, but it’s usually quite a bit by global standards. Six figures is a lot in most of the world, but it’s seemingly a normal amount to spend in many US and Canadian cities. This isn’t the case in a lot of Europe. Salaries are more evenly distributed, so living costs are lower. Rents in places like Belgium and Germany can get surprisingly cheap. I’ve seen apartments in Germany going for under $400USD per month. You can theoretically live on less than $20,000/year in Europe if you pick the right cities.
The EU allows for access to free and good healthcare
There are obviously some exceptions to this, but as a general rule, European healthcare is good and cheap. This is especially true in Western Europe, where the countries tend to be wealthier. People live long lives, because they have access to good doctors. It’s that simple. Heaven knows they aren’t smoking fewer cigarettes.
EU Countries (Mostly) Take Care of Their Citizens
One of the biggest articles I wrote was about how no one cares in a lot of Western countries, with a focus on the US and Canada. I don’t know much about Europe. I haven’t been there as an adult. The continent is made up of roughly 40 countries, give or take. It’s impossible to generalize their attitudes towards mental health. That being said, if you’re in western Europe, you can generally count on your government to do its best to protect you in ways that North Americans don’t have the privilege of experiencing. Think free college, or grants and tax credits for professional artists. European countries are generally good for things like that.
Europe Can Be Easier to Move to Than You Think
Europe is hard to travel through. If you’re a tourist, you can normally only stay in the Shengen Area for 3 months at a time. That being said, I promise that if you look through the VISA regulations carefully and are a person of reasonable (think upper middle class) means, you should be able to figure out a reason and plan for moving to Europe. If you don’t have much, you should probably plan on working or studying your way onto the continent. It’ll be surprisingly hard to move if you’re American and poor. Many countries in Europe, such as Germany and the Netherlands (as of 2024), don’t recognize American high school diplomas. They don’t view them as a sufficient amount of education to match their own. That being said, just investigate. There’s almost certainly a way.
Life Can Get Real in Poor Countries
If you can move to a rich country, you should. I moved during the Covid pandemic from Canada and was looking to experience the outdoors while my home country was on lockdown. This was generally a good decision. It seems as if pretty much everyone in Canada is struggling nowadays. I have a few clever friends who were able to make good lives for themselves. But a lot of people I know are struggling. I could be wealthier if I had stayed, but it would have been quite difficult working my butt off in the cold. There was also a non-zero chance that I would have gotten distracted by random stuff and blown my money or failed to invest it. But now that I have a decent shot at getting my hands on some money, I would rather guarantee my income, or at least lock in some societal protections for my family. Provided I can save, I would rather live in a first world country, just not North America. That region offers a raw deal in many ways.
I used to be really into the concept of location arbitrage. I gave it a shot, and realized that arbitrage is pretty much cheating the system. Any job that can be made into a remote job will eventually pay less money than it did before. Online business is competitive and saturated. This means everyone is pretty much back to square one. The pandemic boom is over. Crypto, while still interesting, hasn’t saved anyone in a long time. I now have to set realistic income targets. Those designed for a writer living overseas. I can live a great life, but it’s taken and will take a bit more work to reach the same overall income as I could have had in a first world country. That’s OK, but I personally think this is why living in a region like EU is best for people who are thinking long term. Don’t ruin the entirety of your future for some dream of living on the beach.
