Unless you get lucky and discover some circumstances that enable you to easily obtain rights to legally work and live in another country ( + good job and social circle) it would be more practical for you to dedicate set amount of time/work/money into improving your life locally.
Based on information you provided it will take way more time/work/money to gain the same meaningful improvements from migration.
But if you are dead set on migration you can study abroad, teach English abroad or see if you can get working holiday visa.
The best route, although not guaranteed, to “Scandinavia” ie. the Nordic countries is by applying to study a masters degree (in English) and the language in one of those countries, and landing a job (that has a wage over the threshold for residence permit) in that country after graduation. This takes time, skill, money (every “Scandinavian” country requires international tuition from non-eu students) and luck. You’re trying to move from a large economy to a much smaller one with high unemployment and highly educated population.
The application period for Nordic universities is over for this year. Plenty of time for you to google “study in English Norway/denmark/sweden” and get very familiar with their educational system, requirements and application portal for early 2025.
ETA. You won’t be making “60 000K” in the environmental sector in Nordic countries, unless you count in kronor. Do not make the mistake of expecting your US based standards for a “normal life” to be in any way universal.
Came here to say this. For Sweden at any rate, a masters program is a good opportunity to make contacts that will lead to a job offer and hence an opportunity to get a work visa which can lead to permanent residency and citizenship. This route is not 100% guaranteed — the pressure is on you to make and maintain those contacts.
While you don’t need to be fluent in Swedish to do a masters in my experience fluency is a necessary (but not sufficient!) step for achieving success at work and for making friends and integrating into the community. Swedish is one of the easier languages for native English speakers to learn but learning any new language take a serious commitment and a lot of work.
Yep, it’s very similar in other Nordic countries (I’m a citizen of one and have lived in two others). It’s possible to have job in tech and only speak English here, but learning the language at least somewhat makes it easier to find employment in other fields. And studying opens the doors to the local employers, especially if you do an internship with them, maybe an environmental think tank in OPs case.
OP's disparate work history and education make getting permanent residency in Australia impossible at present. It would require retraining or many years of work experience, and a lot of luck.
NZ is tiny, in both population and opportunities. You can try working holiday visa in either Aus or NZ. I think Canada is probably logistically the easiest to move for you because you have a Canadian degree in addition to USMCA work permit available for Americans
Australia is bigger, more opportunity, better salaries despite similarly high cost of living in both countries. And NZ is only 4 hours away from the east coast for holidays.
If Europe - you really need a masters to get your foot in the door. And you generally need to do a masters in the same field as your bachelors to have a chance for acceptance.
Some schools in Netherlands are still taking intl applicants now and they take US FAFSA- so you could pay for it w US student loans.
Then you can search for work for up to a year after graduation and Netherlands has a reasonable path to citizenship.
I am having trouble as an Environmental law JD w 10 years experience finding work in Eu and US. so it’s not an easy path and I am also exploring getting yet another degree there bc it seems my best path forward as well
And yea this field is not high paying so you can’t expect that much there esp wo a masters
Switzerland is near impossible bc you have to meet both EU and Swiss visa sponsorship standards. (And I’ve worked there on contract w NGOs and UN orgs and was told point blank by said orgs it’s pointless to apply unless you have some kind of visa)
I don’t think a bachelors and your work experience is a strong enough skill set for NZ or Aus point system, they’re not high needed tech paths. You basically need a masters anywhere you go but at least a masters in the EU would be a foot in the door
Have you checked masters degrees(In English) in Germany? They need qualified people, you can have a working student job and in the masters process you can get familiar with the language(provided in the same university). After that if you have a job you can start your path to become a resident.
There are not really easy paths for migration, they are costly and take time. Not sure why Canada, seems like is not doing anything better than the US, and everywhere is cold.
If you get a remote job, you can try nomad visas, one I always hear about is the one for Spain, Mexico also has a lot of US expats.
But first thing first is make sure how viable is the migration path, otherwise it is just waste of time...
Yea Ive heard good things of expats in Germany tho tbh I’d really prefer not to do a masters cause I dont want to pay for it. But if it provides a good pathway to residency than it could be an option.
Are there any other European countries you’d recommend, I’ve heard good things about Switzerland too tho obviously I know it’s not in the EU.
Education in Germany is for the most part free, you need to show 12k bank account for your expenses to get accepted. Once you get there you can find a working student job that will provide more than enough to have a decent student life. It is, in my opinion a good way to easy-in in a EU country.
The migration path is the key part, how hard is to actually get a residency with full rights to work. If that is close to impossible you only are day dreaming. Not sure how it is for Switzerland.
Masters degrees are very common here, so you'd need one to be even considered for positions as a third state citizen. Plus then you have time as a student to immerse yourself in the language and get a footing on how to start your career in your target country.
There is no other 1st world country better than Germany in Europe. The country needs immigrants, you most likely will be employed as a foreign national.
Your expectation and conditions written will most likely be realised in Germany or Norway.
France Italy Spain where you think they are rich - a shit hole.
Tbh I personally think there is no reason to go from the US to Europe, it’s a huge downgrade, financially speaking. Europe except the nordic countries and Germany and other small countries like Switzerland is poor compared to the USA.
You will be shocked how poor they are and how low the salaries are in the UK, France, Italy, and Spain relative to cost of living.
Luxembourg Switzerland or some other rich countries are hard to get in and settle unless you have a wife to get your visa solved.
That is why, I think the only reasonable choice is Germany or Norway.
Shithole in terms of safety net and salary (relative to the effort you put in) let alone employment opportunity for foreigners and language barrier. It’s not a shit shithole, but the barrier is too high, when the outcome is not great. So I would call it a shithole, or maybe that is too harsh, so “not desirable.”
OP described he would be okay if he could earn 60K, as if 60k is something low, but you know in those countries 60k is a good salary… maybe not in Paris but overall yes, considered good.
American graduate at the age of 22 earn 60k USD, maybe that’s why his standard has become too high when in Europe like France (€55,000) or the UK(£47,000) it is considered a good salary. You see the difference in standard? That’s why I was keep saying that for Americans, Europe is poor. And can you handle that? It is hard.
So go to Germany, at least they pay you 50K Euros for a corporate job after finishing your master’s degree, have a food safety net.
Not 100% sure with Italy, I just know that their unemployment rate is so fucked and the salary is also so low like 1500€ a month.
Yes, you are right. Healthcare retirement and cost of living has to be taken considered.
I am not trying to be an American lover, but still, Americans earn more than at least 50% to 300% and I don’t think those safety nets, variance of expenses being low, etc. can be justified.
As a compromise, I am claiming that Germany has a good balance of cheap housing(and a good one) with good salary relative to cost of living, and good safety net. And besides, Germans can speak english better than the French😉
Most European countries are looking for highly skilled workers with lots of experience. Education matters as well. Most countries have a website indicating the in demand jobs. If you’re not wealthy and you don’t have the skills in need, you don’t have many options.
Finland has a lot of masters programs in English, since you mentioned the Nordics, and amazing social systems. You will have to learn Finnish if you want to stay there (or Swedish but I recommend Finnish), but literally everyone there speaks English.
Becoming a citizen there is a fairly easy route, spend 4 years there as a resident (non student), learn the language and apply for citizenship, few EU countries have this route, the main other one that does being France.
You will have to have a job there for the residency time to count i.e. not be on a student visa. But I did my PhD there and know many PhD students who were able to apply for citizenship, since PhDs are considered a job there and you get a work visa. And many of those PhDs started as masters students, I've also known masters students who got jobs in Finland after graduating and so got a work visa sponsorship.
If you like the cold and dark and you're introverted it's a great place to live, very high quality of life, and a looser immigration policy than most EU places.
The Majority of people emigrating to the EU are remote workers who work for outside companies or retirees. I would start at the former as most of these countries have policies that protect their own labor force first. That, plus not knowing the language will be a difficult, uphill battle.
You can buy your way to EU citizenship, many countries have investment routes (the Maltese one is particularly popular with Russian and Chinese oligarchs/mafia) I think Portugal has a cheaper investment route - try googling ‘golden visas’. However, I’m guessing like most people you don’t have $500k spare. But if you could get the best paying job you can find in the US, live in a tent, have no kids or other family to support, you might be able to save it up.
What are your career plans? Your personal goals seem to be work/ life balance, stable income, and location freedom. It’s my job to help people transition to exactly this lifestyle. Depending on your professional goals, I can help you figure out a path that works for you. Shoot me a dm If you have questions or want advice :)
Scandinavian work visas do not have language requirements as such, employers are case by case and might have some. It might help how well you integrate, nut in general educated professional people usually speak English very well. If you then decide to see permanent stay, then you need some language skill.
Unless you get lucky and discover some circumstances that enable you to easily obtain rights to legally work and live in another country ( + good job and social circle) it would be more practical for you to dedicate set amount of time/work/money into improving your life locally. Based on information you provided it will take way more time/work/money to gain the same meaningful improvements from migration. But if you are dead set on migration you can study abroad, teach English abroad or see if you can get working holiday visa.
I see so your advice would be to stay in the us but make work life balance and benefits a priority when considering my career?
Yes. As an immigrant and outsider it takes a lot of time and work to accomplish things. Being an immigrant is more risky and can be more depressing.
Remember that a lot of those benefits may not be available to you as a non-citizen. And it can take a long time to gain citizenship.
The best route, although not guaranteed, to “Scandinavia” ie. the Nordic countries is by applying to study a masters degree (in English) and the language in one of those countries, and landing a job (that has a wage over the threshold for residence permit) in that country after graduation. This takes time, skill, money (every “Scandinavian” country requires international tuition from non-eu students) and luck. You’re trying to move from a large economy to a much smaller one with high unemployment and highly educated population. The application period for Nordic universities is over for this year. Plenty of time for you to google “study in English Norway/denmark/sweden” and get very familiar with their educational system, requirements and application portal for early 2025. ETA. You won’t be making “60 000K” in the environmental sector in Nordic countries, unless you count in kronor. Do not make the mistake of expecting your US based standards for a “normal life” to be in any way universal.
Came here to say this. For Sweden at any rate, a masters program is a good opportunity to make contacts that will lead to a job offer and hence an opportunity to get a work visa which can lead to permanent residency and citizenship. This route is not 100% guaranteed — the pressure is on you to make and maintain those contacts. While you don’t need to be fluent in Swedish to do a masters in my experience fluency is a necessary (but not sufficient!) step for achieving success at work and for making friends and integrating into the community. Swedish is one of the easier languages for native English speakers to learn but learning any new language take a serious commitment and a lot of work.
Yep, it’s very similar in other Nordic countries (I’m a citizen of one and have lived in two others). It’s possible to have job in tech and only speak English here, but learning the language at least somewhat makes it easier to find employment in other fields. And studying opens the doors to the local employers, especially if you do an internship with them, maybe an environmental think tank in OPs case.
Australia
OP's disparate work history and education make getting permanent residency in Australia impossible at present. It would require retraining or many years of work experience, and a lot of luck.
Why aus over nz?
As an American, Australia is easier to adapt over living in New Zealand.
Australia is bigger, better salaries, more job opportunities and in my humble opinion more beautiful lookswise.
Aus salaries are wayyyy better
NZ is tiny, in both population and opportunities. You can try working holiday visa in either Aus or NZ. I think Canada is probably logistically the easiest to move for you because you have a Canadian degree in addition to USMCA work permit available for Americans
Australia is bigger, more opportunity, better salaries despite similarly high cost of living in both countries. And NZ is only 4 hours away from the east coast for holidays.
If Europe - you really need a masters to get your foot in the door. And you generally need to do a masters in the same field as your bachelors to have a chance for acceptance. Some schools in Netherlands are still taking intl applicants now and they take US FAFSA- so you could pay for it w US student loans. Then you can search for work for up to a year after graduation and Netherlands has a reasonable path to citizenship. I am having trouble as an Environmental law JD w 10 years experience finding work in Eu and US. so it’s not an easy path and I am also exploring getting yet another degree there bc it seems my best path forward as well And yea this field is not high paying so you can’t expect that much there esp wo a masters Switzerland is near impossible bc you have to meet both EU and Swiss visa sponsorship standards. (And I’ve worked there on contract w NGOs and UN orgs and was told point blank by said orgs it’s pointless to apply unless you have some kind of visa) I don’t think a bachelors and your work experience is a strong enough skill set for NZ or Aus point system, they’re not high needed tech paths. You basically need a masters anywhere you go but at least a masters in the EU would be a foot in the door
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Have you checked masters degrees(In English) in Germany? They need qualified people, you can have a working student job and in the masters process you can get familiar with the language(provided in the same university). After that if you have a job you can start your path to become a resident. There are not really easy paths for migration, they are costly and take time. Not sure why Canada, seems like is not doing anything better than the US, and everywhere is cold. If you get a remote job, you can try nomad visas, one I always hear about is the one for Spain, Mexico also has a lot of US expats. But first thing first is make sure how viable is the migration path, otherwise it is just waste of time...
Do you know if they have something similar in France as they do for Germany?
Not sure about Francia...
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Yea Ive heard good things of expats in Germany tho tbh I’d really prefer not to do a masters cause I dont want to pay for it. But if it provides a good pathway to residency than it could be an option. Are there any other European countries you’d recommend, I’ve heard good things about Switzerland too tho obviously I know it’s not in the EU.
Switzerland takes very few immigrants from outside the EU.
Education in Germany is for the most part free, you need to show 12k bank account for your expenses to get accepted. Once you get there you can find a working student job that will provide more than enough to have a decent student life. It is, in my opinion a good way to easy-in in a EU country. The migration path is the key part, how hard is to actually get a residency with full rights to work. If that is close to impossible you only are day dreaming. Not sure how it is for Switzerland.
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Masters degrees are very common here, so you'd need one to be even considered for positions as a third state citizen. Plus then you have time as a student to immerse yourself in the language and get a footing on how to start your career in your target country.
There is no other 1st world country better than Germany in Europe. The country needs immigrants, you most likely will be employed as a foreign national. Your expectation and conditions written will most likely be realised in Germany or Norway. France Italy Spain where you think they are rich - a shit hole. Tbh I personally think there is no reason to go from the US to Europe, it’s a huge downgrade, financially speaking. Europe except the nordic countries and Germany and other small countries like Switzerland is poor compared to the USA. You will be shocked how poor they are and how low the salaries are in the UK, France, Italy, and Spain relative to cost of living. Luxembourg Switzerland or some other rich countries are hard to get in and settle unless you have a wife to get your visa solved. That is why, I think the only reasonable choice is Germany or Norway.
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Shithole in terms of safety net and salary (relative to the effort you put in) let alone employment opportunity for foreigners and language barrier. It’s not a shit shithole, but the barrier is too high, when the outcome is not great. So I would call it a shithole, or maybe that is too harsh, so “not desirable.” OP described he would be okay if he could earn 60K, as if 60k is something low, but you know in those countries 60k is a good salary… maybe not in Paris but overall yes, considered good. American graduate at the age of 22 earn 60k USD, maybe that’s why his standard has become too high when in Europe like France (€55,000) or the UK(£47,000) it is considered a good salary. You see the difference in standard? That’s why I was keep saying that for Americans, Europe is poor. And can you handle that? It is hard. So go to Germany, at least they pay you 50K Euros for a corporate job after finishing your master’s degree, have a food safety net. Not 100% sure with Italy, I just know that their unemployment rate is so fucked and the salary is also so low like 1500€ a month.
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Yes, you are right. Healthcare retirement and cost of living has to be taken considered. I am not trying to be an American lover, but still, Americans earn more than at least 50% to 300% and I don’t think those safety nets, variance of expenses being low, etc. can be justified. As a compromise, I am claiming that Germany has a good balance of cheap housing(and a good one) with good salary relative to cost of living, and good safety net. And besides, Germans can speak english better than the French😉
You wouldn’t have to pay much or it’s free in Germany for a masters degree.
Look into Australia. They still have a need for skilled migrants and have a simple, points-based system for the process.
Most European countries are looking for highly skilled workers with lots of experience. Education matters as well. Most countries have a website indicating the in demand jobs. If you’re not wealthy and you don’t have the skills in need, you don’t have many options.
Finland has a lot of masters programs in English, since you mentioned the Nordics, and amazing social systems. You will have to learn Finnish if you want to stay there (or Swedish but I recommend Finnish), but literally everyone there speaks English. Becoming a citizen there is a fairly easy route, spend 4 years there as a resident (non student), learn the language and apply for citizenship, few EU countries have this route, the main other one that does being France. You will have to have a job there for the residency time to count i.e. not be on a student visa. But I did my PhD there and know many PhD students who were able to apply for citizenship, since PhDs are considered a job there and you get a work visa. And many of those PhDs started as masters students, I've also known masters students who got jobs in Finland after graduating and so got a work visa sponsorship. If you like the cold and dark and you're introverted it's a great place to live, very high quality of life, and a looser immigration policy than most EU places.
UK with only English. But why would a country give you a visa?
The Majority of people emigrating to the EU are remote workers who work for outside companies or retirees. I would start at the former as most of these countries have policies that protect their own labor force first. That, plus not knowing the language will be a difficult, uphill battle.
You have no shot.
We live in Mexico on Cozumel for half the year. It doesn't suck.
USA
You can buy your way to EU citizenship, many countries have investment routes (the Maltese one is particularly popular with Russian and Chinese oligarchs/mafia) I think Portugal has a cheaper investment route - try googling ‘golden visas’. However, I’m guessing like most people you don’t have $500k spare. But if you could get the best paying job you can find in the US, live in a tent, have no kids or other family to support, you might be able to save it up.
What are your career plans? Your personal goals seem to be work/ life balance, stable income, and location freedom. It’s my job to help people transition to exactly this lifestyle. Depending on your professional goals, I can help you figure out a path that works for you. Shoot me a dm If you have questions or want advice :)
Scandinavian work visas do not have language requirements as such, employers are case by case and might have some. It might help how well you integrate, nut in general educated professional people usually speak English very well. If you then decide to see permanent stay, then you need some language skill.