Has anyone Moved?

Hi,
I'm inferring that you mean more than just traveling to Europe for an extended period of time. Someone, I'm sure, will chime in with Schengen rules about how long you can stay as a tourist. To qualify as something other than a traveler, I think you need to be either an employee or a student. So, you will need to find a company that will hire you, or apply to a foreign university. Finding an answer to that will start your research.

Good luck!

I should have asked, what is your skill set?

look at the Roninrome.com website and send him a personal message. He lived in Italy for a long time.

If you don't need to work, and have a certain amount of money, and your own health insurance you can do it. InternationalLiving.com is a great resource. They have country specific guides that walk you through step by step how to do it.

I have. However, I did so by transferring within my company so the company arranged the move, visas, housing, etc. That definitely is the easiest way. It generally requires that you have specialized knowledge that is not available locally. In my case, I worked in software development and went over to support a project using software developed by my company.

I've known 3 separate people who lived in Europe for a time. One friend went as a college student to London. Another friend worked as an power systems engineer for the US Department of Energy in Germany. And my nephew who is a computer programmer lived in Germany and Norway, sent there by the company he worked for.

There was a thread awhile back started by someone who, if I remember correctly, had enough money for to quit working and had school-age kids. Aside from the technical side, there was a lot of discussion about the social aspects. Your friends that moved with the military moved not only with a job and an employer who handled almost everything but also with a framework of colleagues and friends.

Do you already have a job offer and residency permits/work authorization lined up?

Do you know where you will live? Are there kids involved?

I am from the U.S., but have lived and worked overseas for 15 years, in France, Austria and Ghana, so ask away?

Nicole, perhaps you'd be best off contacting the British Embassy in D.C. or the nearest British Consulate. Are you thinking of emigrating or just living in the UK for a few years?

Ok, I guess I should have explained a little more. We MAY be able to transfer with my husband's current company. He is a Mechanical Engineer (Getting MBA now, in order to be more marketable in Europe), but he may also apply for a few companies that he does not currently work for. The main countries we are looking at would be Germany or the Netherlands. This is just in the conception phase. I am a Registered nurse, so I would either teach online in the US, or try to work PRN on a military base (online is most likely) I can't really work overseas, I have researched that much :)

I was wondering about taxes, do we pay US taxes on the money we make overseas as well as the country taxes we are located in?
Kids aren't a factor, but Dogs are!

petrelocation.com is the pet transport of choice here with my veterinarian who is experienced working with clients who move pets overseas.

There are some other pet transport services out there, but they can be very expensive and the pet owner ends up doing all the preparatory work.

petrelocation.com works in harmony with you and your pets, your veterinarian, and the boarding facility you may use for your dogs. I know that pet boarding facilities here are very familiar with petrelocation.com and work closely with the vet to help facilitate the move.

Sandra, i had seen that you can take your pets on the Queen Mary, over the ocean. This may be the best option, they have kennels and I don't know if the pups will fly that well. I will look into Petrelocation, thank you for your help!

So you may be able to with your husband's job, however, if you think you may be looking for a job, try DOD schools as they may hire nurses for schools. I know that in my profession this opportunity exists, and folks do relocate with DOD. Germany, Italy, and Japan were some locations that I have had colleagues relocate to. I believe you are paid in US dollars, and do not pay taxes on it (as was shared with me). You do not have to be in the military to do this kind of contractual work with DOD.
Good luck with it. This is my retirement plan if the US still has bases overseas in 15 years (in Germany most specifically).

And I will look into the Queen Mary for me and my cat. Thanks.

Maryam,
I would be looking for more of a part time job so that my husband and I could travel as much as possible. I am pursing my Doctorate in Nursing, so I don't know what options would be open to me, but thinking that I can find some part time work, for travel money. Or, maybe I will just come back to the states 6 weeks a year and work on contract. I love that NURSING has so many options, now just to convince the hubby :)

Regarding taxes, consult a qualified tax accountant. Expats I know are taxed as local residents and do not pay US taxes, but they are limited on the number of days can come back to the US for visits without triggering a "taxable" event. The devil is in the details.

Regarding taxes ...

You pay taxes in your country of residence. Additionally, U.S. citizens are required to file (regardless of residence); however, once you have been overseas 330 days, the first approx 97k of income can be deducted.
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Foreign-Earned-Income-Exclusion---Physical-Presence-Test

This is one area where it is really best to hire an accountant. I'd check to see if your husband's company helps with this. My company arranged this for expats.

Well assuming that you intend to work in Europe, the first thing you need to investigate is your work permit status. If you are thinking about the EU or EEA, then you need to understand that US citizens are more or less at the end of the queue when it comes to obtaining permits. To employ anyone other that an EU or EEA citizen an employer must prove that there is no EU or EEA citizen available to take up the position or that you have special skills or knowledge that is not available within the EU or EEA.

Large US multinationals with a large base in Europe do get some 'free' passes, but the tend to use them up on senior staff and management, so hoping to get one of those permits could be a long shot, if you have not already established a good career within the company.

Aside from the typical work permit, you might try to investigate some specialised permits that are available in the training and education side, assuming you would qualify, as these permits are not so restrictive.

Another think to look into is having your qualifications recognised in Europe. There are various state agencies that are responsible for this kind of activity, so you will need to check it out country by country.

And of course after that language is going to be an issue. It is one thing being a tourist or underrating a short business trip, but it is a very different thing altogether to live and work here day in and day out. A good understanding of the local language will enable you to feel at home and integrate much faster.

It isn't where you have been looking, but you may be able to lead your husband with your nursing qualification. The UK has a General Election, and Labour have promised if they are elected they will pour - again - money into the NHS for, amongst other things, nurses.

Nurses are always in demand here, regardless of the Election; could you pull him across?

Do either of you have any recent UK, or for that matter, EU or EEU heritage?

Nigel,
Thank you for the Info! I work for HCA hospitals in the US and they have hospitals in London as well. But it is my understanding that they do not pay very well (nursing pays well in the states). My hubby will have to get job first, I don't think I will make enough for both of us!

If you would look to working as a nurse at one of the US-run military health clinics in Germany, here's your options: The Kaiserslautern-Ramstein area, Wiesbaden, Stuttgart, Ansbach, Spangdahlem, Baumholter, Hohenfels, Geilenkirchen, Grafenwöhr and Vilseck. If you're looking for a location where hubby might also be able to get a job with a multi-national, Wiesbaden is right by Frankfurt and Darmstadt, Kaiserslautern is within a long commute from the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan area (including Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Speyer, Worms, and Heidelberg), Stuttgart of course is it's own metropolitan region, Grafenwöhr, Vilseck and Ansbach are about an hour's drive from downtown Nürnberg, and Geilenkirchen is commutable from Maastricht, Aachen and Köln. Hohenfels, Spangdahlem and Baumholter aren't really near any large cities.

There's one small US base in the Netherlands, but it doesn't have a clinic.

If you would consider Belgium, the US operates a clinic near NATO HQ outside of Brussels, and one in Mons.

Nicole:
Take a look at USA JOBS and set up some searches to send you opportunities for medical professionals overseas. U.S. embassies and Consulates, as well as Military bases, seem to post medical positions fairly often. It's an arduous process to apply for USG jobs, but worth it for stability, pay, benefits, transfers overseas.

Also, this blog has a number of great posts about moving overseas. In this case, the couple qualified for Italian residence base on heritage, but there is also good info on the process of moving and moving pets that is worth studying since they did it all themselves.

You'll want to talk to an accountant about tax issues, but basically the first $97K is excludable from US. taxes when earned overseas. What you have to pay locally is determined by the tax laws of the country you are in. The Tax Man taketh no matter where you are, if you are in a traditional employer-employee situation. Investment earnings in U.S. accounts, Social Security, Federal pensions, etc., are all taxed no matter where you live.

Nicole, you might want to read IRS Pub 54 in its entirety. The excludable income amount stated above ($97k) is for individuals; the amount for married couples is more. And this is all for the 2013 tax year. Anyway, lots of details and examples in Pub 54. Here's the link: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p54/

Good luck!

Just for the record, some states continue to tax you if you live overseas. Make sure that yours is not one of them. There are ways of getting out of it but it's difficult...you basically have to convince them that you are NEVER coming back again by liquidating all of your assets and cutting professional ties. I know because my state, California, is like that - they'll chase you around the world to get their $$$!

Things certainly may have changed since I was a Dept of Army civilian in Germany in the early 80's, but as US Govt employees we paid US income taxes. If our home of record was in a state with state income taxes, we also paid those.

Mine wasn't, so I didn't. I had a friend who lived and worked as a DAC in Germany for over 20 years. She never paid any home state taxes, but they kept track and went after her when she finally returned. It wasn't pretty, but I think she got the huge bill reduced because she was gone so long.

You definitely need to check on the state and federal tax implications of living and working wherever you go.