everyone is different, but the physical toll that a SYD to LAX commute would take should not be downplayed.

 

You won’t find a study anywhere that would find a commute like that to be anything but detrimental to one’s health.

 

The same could be said for this entire career even if you live in base.

 

UPS guy here. When I lived abroad my federal withholdings, benefits, and retirement were all deducted as if I’d still lived in the states. UPS wouldn’t allow a foreign address for HR purposes so I kept a U.S. one though I was a full on resident where I lived.

Taxes are what ultimately got us to move back. The country I lived in would deduct what I paid to US from what my total obligation there was. So not double taxed but earning income in 1 country, as essentially an hourly employee, but residing in another meant zero tax sheltering/deductions. We also paid for (read: taxed) social benefits that we were largely exempted from as we made too high of an income.

Retirement accounts had to stay in the U.S. as that’s where the plan and banks were for it and this was allowed for by the other country’s tax law. That setup would end the day I retire at which point the accounts would have to be closed and reopened in that country under comparable programs. Prob there is: expatriate $$ tax, import $$ tax and exchange rate factors.

On exchange rates: we’d get paid into our U.S. bank accounts then have to transfer most of that $$ to our international accounts. We found a bank that operated in both countries and had a bridge account that facilitated transfer relatively easily but it was still a pain. Exchange rates can be your friend or worst enemy too. Big factor to consider imho. I used my U.S. credit cards for as much as I could and paid those from my U.S. bank acct - made life much easier.

Other arse pain were getting things like mortgages - you have no credit overseas so often requires much higher down payments, attestations from US translated and required to be notarized (not cheap like us), school curriculums, and health care factors. Drivers licensing can be a major pain in certain countries as well and since you have no drivers history over there, insurance is much higher.

Commute was relatively easy for me but that’s one advantage of ups. Really easy from Europe or Asia and we have a number of guys that do it from both but our network is totally different so a bit of apples to oranges

Def get tax advice from an agency that specializes in Crossborder taxes, there’s not that many and few will understand the idiosyncrasies of airline pilots. And know that you won’t have a complete picture of the financial aspects until you are living it. Lots of little nuances that come up out of nowhere. With SYD, maybe better to do an extended stay (6mos) to avoid all of the above for the most part.

Like someone posted above, I’d do it again in a second, if I could, the practicality just isn’t there. We are looking at doing 3 months per year in different places then maybe 6 mos in us and 6 mos abroad once kids are out of the house.

PM me if you have any other questions. Good luck!!

 

My biggest question is how to get a residence permit for Amsterdam without being a citizen, or is there a way around that?

 

Only way I know is what I did in Germany which is you marry a citizen. If you have a parent or grandparent from there, I believe you can get a passport then you can get residence after you move.

 

I don't know specifically about The Netherlands, but I think a "Digital Nomad" is the closest thing to search for. It's a thing where people who work remotely live in other countries (usually inexpensive ones) for long periods of time. Some countries have a specific visa for it, others it's more vague. But as we earn a fair amount of income, and can live anywhere.. that might be the option you're looking for. Usually countries are making sure you're not going to be drain on their resources.

Here's a guide to it: https://immigration-netherlands.com/...al-nomad-visa/
It's not an official site, but lots of info.

 

Hate to hijack, but is anyone currently living in England? My niece is considering a move there in January.

 

Those who know, know.

"If the young only knew. If the old only could."

 

This post reminds me of this.
https://youtube.com/shorts/l0pXBXkOQ...jJmIE322_kHDF4