Looking for ExPat advice on moving to Europe from the US

Have you done a forum search yet?

Also, this is a travel forum not an expat forum. That is what you seek. Also look for vloggers on that topic.

If you work in Healthcare, prefer mild weather, and love the great outdoors, New Zealand may be another option:

"Hospitals and medical practices across New Zealand are looking for doctors, nurses, midwives, surgeons, technicians and nearly 20 other healthcare occupations."

"There are very high demands for workers across the health sector. The government recently introduced a fast-track to residency pathway for some specific occupations."

https://www.live-work.immigration.govt.nz/work-in-new-zealand/job-market-key-industries/healthcare

Didn't you post this earlier? That post is gone.

Dammit, Lane. Now I wish I was a healthcare professional so I could move to New Zealand!

My advice is to join some expat FB groups for the cities and countries you are interested in. You will find plenty of groups that will give you an idea of where you want to go.
Your questions are way too general for anyone to be very helpful.

Did you draw any conclusions from the same thread you started earlier or did people who responded basically waste their time?

My suggestion on which country to move to would be Germany.

You would be surprised as to how many non-German, ie international health care professionals work in Germany. I've seen this German TV when the news deals with health care, hospitals, labs, etc. Your children will most definitely benefit from the educational system without going into financial debt after completing higher education at the famous German universities, Heidelberg, Marburg, Goettingen , Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Bonn, Hamburg, etc.

Well this is a travel forum, but here is a few general observations:

• First of all you'll need to be able to speak the local language at C1 level to have a good chance be employed in healthcare. To obtain a level of C1 and take necessary exams takes about three years full time
• US qualifications are not recognised and local qualifications are needed in order for treatments to be recognised and paid for by the healthcare systems.
• You need to be sponsored by a work/resident's permit and the potential employer has to ensure you don't become a burden on the state and with four of you (2 kids) that is a big ask.
• Employers in mainland Europe (EEA) need to demonstrate that they are unable to find an employee in the EEA to take up the position and that you have the appropriate qualifications in order to obtain a permit.

The reality is you don't speak the language, you don't have the qualifications and you have the potential to become a burden on the state and that is not much to offer an employer.

The UK is in pretty dire straights and their healtcare system is short staffed, so may be concentrate your efforts there.

G3rryCee, maybe there's an opportunity for you too!

Explore Visa Options
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/explore-visa-options

Green List roles
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/preparing-a-visa-application/working-in-nz/qualifications-for-work/green-list-occupations

Obviously, we are wanting to travel to the suggested areas, first. We have been to Poland and the Czech Republic and we know how different each country can be, and we thought there would be helpful suggestions to narrow down the countries to visit. We enjoy and support Rick Steves travel and knew that this would be a group that has experienced many areas of Europe during every part of the year. Expat forums are mainly retirees who chose one location after visiting there several times and not many other countries. I was trying to think outside the box by posting here. Thank you.

It's not a bad idea to ask here, although people might be a bit reluctant to answer after your last thread was deleted.

Before you start considering what countries you might be interested in, decide what languages you are willing to learn. And use that to narrow down the list.

The US state department has four categories for languages depending on how easy they are to learn for (american) english speakers.

Category I: Languages closely related to English:
Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish

Category II: Languages that take a little longer to master than Category I languages:
German

Category III: Languages with significant linguistic and/or cultural differences from English:
Albanian, Armenian, Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Finnish, Georgian, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovak, Slovenian, Turkish, Ukrainian,

(There are no European languages in Category IV.) https://2009-2017.state.gov/m/fsi/sls/orgoverview/languages

Quite right that the acquired language level should be at least C-1 level to have a viable chance for employment, obviously C-2 is even better.

I would suggest not to focus merely on speaking...that's not good enough but give equal effort to writing and reading. If you choose Germany , Austria or France, you have to able to write good grammatically correct German and French. That stands to reason. I agree 3-4 years is minimum . If you're over there, then your language learning efforts have the added advantage of immersion..

That you're "eager to learn the native language" is commendable.....my compliments on this attitude. Language acquisition takes patience and discipline too. You cannot overlearn.

B2 is required for French citizenship or soon will be. It used to be B1.

I place myself at C1. My pronunciation and writing aren’t C2, the highest level. You can barely hear any variation between a native speaker and a C2. As a C1, I understand everything said to me in all situations, even local accents. I not only belong to a French bookclub, but also participate in many activities where I’m the only non-native speaker. Of all the English speakers I have met and the many pouring into my area right now, I know only a handful who can function well in French and move between the French and English -speaking communities. Most studied at the university or have been here many years.

I wonder if Jo has found the same in Germany?

I love Germany and spent 8 years there, but even though it seemed almost everyone spoke English I can't imagine not speaking German in a health care facility. I can speak German just well enough to get around and be polite, but nowhere close to being able to speak fluently regarding the myriad situations involved in health care.

My suggestion is an English speaking country, either the UK or The Land Down Under. If we had to move, and we're not, it would likely be England or Ireland.

Didn't you post this earlier? That post is gone.

Yes but I suspect due to the likely politically motivated use of the phrase "fleeing the US" people interpreted the OP as being refugees and their advice reflected that interpretation.

Now that the revised thread is not so hyperbolic the OP is starting to receive more appropriate advice.

Elizabeth, I can function well in both languages. Though my grammar isn't correct in German, I can make jokes, puns, and understand pretty much anything that is said, including the Frankfurt dialect, humorous situations, health issues, etc. My pronunciation seems to be suffering a bit though lately. Not sure why, but maybe I just don't speak it enough any more. Have never had a test, but guessing at least C-1, though the grammar is a stickler for me. Lack of language school when I first got here meant I would never learn the articles properly, because no one told me I should learn them. When I had enough money to take classes, it was too late, I had been speaking for years already, without thinking about it.

Some people have an ear for language and some countries are more forgiving if you make mistakes. Germany and France aren't forgiving like that.

"Roughly 20.2 million people in Germany in 2022 either moved to the country themselves or were born to two people who moved there."

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-immigrants-made-up-over-18-of-2022-population/a-65383249

The surge of recent refugees and immigrants attracted very few people with fluency in Germany. Many more knew a little English, however.

There is now such a dearth of capable skilled workers in Germany that the government wishes to remedy through adjustments to immigration policy. Source:

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-change-immigration-laws-in-attempt-to-attract-skilled-labor/a-65169420

Historically, German immigration policy demanded German language skills. But as one professor explains, in practice, that does not happen, as employers need workers so badly.

"...it's often the case that you don't need any German at all..."

English is widely spoken in Germany. Germans cannot get through college without good English skills. English has been a job requirement for many jobs for a very long time and is commonly, though not universally, used as a lingua franca in the business world:

"English appears to be becoming a more important language in the German job market — especially in big cities like Berlin. The German Startup Association found this year that the proportion of startups in the capital where the working language is English had risen from 42.3% to 55.8%."

My take is that you have huge employment potential, and while learning German is important for full participation in society, there are tons of people working with near-zero German skills already, and that fluent, educated English-speakers have a huge competitive advantage in the employee market place over folks that must be trained/educated AND taught the language skills they need in the workplace. Germans today are getting used to the idea that they now live in a multilingual society and that they will need to use their English more and more to communicate with the masses. Germany would be making a huge error in turning away skilled health professionals with your background. They are probably looking to recruit people justlike you with their policy adjustments. But who knows? Countries do make lots of mistakes.

Hi,

This pertains to language as regards to the wait staff in some restaurants in Berlin, not pertinent to your profession in the health field. I myself have come across and also have been told quite clearly by Germans that restaurants employ (in Berlin) persons able to speak English as part of the wait staff while their German is modest to almost none at all. Of course, these Germans are senior citizens (as I am) unable to speak English. Speak to Germans in big cities Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, etc. working in big firms with a good number of non-speakers of German. Well, you can guess what the lingua franca in the office is....English.