Maybe moving to Europe for a year

[waffles]

I am getting out of the US Navy this fall. College wont start for me until the next fall. I have been thinking about moving to Europe for about a year. I have a small chunk of change saved and have enough to get there and find a place until I can get work. Anyone have any advice on where to go, what to do, or anything helpful?

It has to be at least very english friendly. I have been to London and Rome, but would really like to stay away from the big tourist cities.

- Jamison

[Big WIll]

The United Kingdom is nice, people are generally friendly.

I would recommend trying Wales (Maybe for a trip at least) - Wonderful scenery, people, adventures all around, peaceful.

[condyk]

Europe is a big place with lotsa countries. I think you need to define more precisely what counts for you because your current criteria could be met by pretty much any country, except France who hate everyone :-)

[timbernet]

Europe is a big place with lotsa countries. I think you need to define more precisely what counts for you because your current criteria could be met by pretty much any country, except France who hate everyone :-)

And everyone hates France - it works out quite well ;-)

[rhys]

The French hate each other too. Those in Paris hate those in the rest of France and vice versa.

Ireland's quiet. Eastern Europe is cheaper but more dangerous.

[Big WIll]

haha, my mum always says she loves france but hates the french!

[rhys]

Spain's quite nice but I don't think a lot of their business ethics or honesty.

[Dchemist]

We spent two years living and working in southern Germany and it was a superb experience. Language is a minor issue but people welcome you and its a wonderful relaxed life style. The other area I thoroughly enjoy is the Netherlands. Great old towns with wonderful people. Delft is the town I have visited most. Just remember that you won't be able to officially work without appropriate documentation. Good luck, Dennis

[Stavhp]

come to England! you speak a knockoff off our GREAT english so you wont have any language difficulties and the people here and generally great!

[rhys]

Germany is great. I love Germany. They're a bit stiff but it's safer for most things. I always relax in Germany after my trips to Eastern Europe. Holland is interesting but gets a bit tired after a while. Amsterdam is nice for a day. Two days is very boring unless you're into drugs or whores.

[ramblingman]

I liked Ireland, but only in the summer. They speak English and the women are beautiful. However, I prefer the women in Spain, and you'll get a whole different cultural experience, as they have a zest for life and are a truly laid back culture. Siestas are great!

[forno]

Malta, English speaking too

[RichNY]

Switzerland would be my first choice, Netherlands second, Germany third.

[timbernet]

Switzerland would be my first choice, Netherlands second, Germany third.

Question about Switzerland - if you don't know any of their official languages are you still able to get by?

[rhys]

Norway, Denmark and Sweden are good too. Everybody in Europe speaks English to a certain degree - even the American tourists!

[RichNY]

Question about Switzerland - if you don't know any of their official languages are you still able to get by?

Considering they all speak English I'd say so ;)

It's a great country- natural beauty, friendly people, great food, incredible rail system. It's one of only two places I'd seriously consider living over the US. The other is the Islands of French Polynesia (Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea)

[timbernet]

Considering they all speak English I'd say so ;)



Cool! Some friends brought an exchange-student from Switzerland over and she spoke English just fine - but I didn't know if everyone was like that... good to know!

[rhys]

English is very popular. You'll find most people have a reasonable command of it.

People like my Dutch friend Jan are not uncommon.

He speaks (natively) Fresian and Dutch then German, English, French, Russian, Bulgarian, Japanese and Chinese.

I met an Estonian woman in Rome who spoke fluent Italian, SPanish, French, Russian, Estonian, English and German. She was astounding, I thought. Then I discovered many people are multilingual in Europe. It's just the British that aren't that good at languages.

[waffles]

Thanks for all of the great replies. Right now I am looking at either Spain or Germany. I have been to London and want something with a different culture. I would really like to go to Russia, but that might be a little too different for me.

Any advice on what I should look for in a job? or anything I can do now to prepare myself for the culture difference? This is probably happening this fall.

[rhys]

For jobs you need to get a work visa. That's much more difficult now since Europe has to cope with the flood of immigrants from the former Warsaw Pact countries coming across to work as part of the EU freedom of movement policy. You need a niche. Maybe training people in survival camps etc.

[waffles]

You need a niche. Maybe training people in survival camps etc.

I wish I had one. The only things I have been trained on enough to be an expert is the Trident 2 Ballistic Missiles and Tomahawk Missiles. I am afraid I can't teach that to anyone, much less someone in a foreign country.

[rhys]

I wish I had one. The only things I have been trained on enough to be an expert is the Trident 2 Ballistic Missiles and Tomahawk Missiles. I am afraid I can't teach that to anyone, much less someone in a foreign country.
There you go... You could train the UK military since they have both.

[primoz]

Nowadays I'm sure there's quite a demand for such trainings... especially with non-native residents of EU :mrgreen: Sorry guys I just couldn't resist :mrgreen:
But seriously... You have huge territory over here, and you can get everything from Scandinavia with their winter, to Spain, Greece... with Mediterranean sea. Not to mention Alps in between, and flat east of Europe. With different terrain you also get different people's characters. So it's really hard to suggest something more specific.
And just to small comment about "safety" in Eastern Europe. It's not all that bad, and this wouldn't be issue for me, when deciding where to go. Personally I have more concerns when going to USA, then when going to Czech for example, but I guess this has at least a bit to do with all the influence we get with American movies :)
And of course if you mean something else then Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland etc. with Eastern Europe :)