Author Topic: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.  (Read 5941 times)

TropicNebraska

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Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« on: February 20, 2016, 08:48:12 AM »
Apparently, San Francisco's $30/day dog walkers and dicks were the final straw to expat to Germany for this couple. Excluding the recent migrant crisis, I'm sure Germany is a pleasant place to live. However, there were literally 47 other states in the mainland America that would of significantly lowered their standard of living costs. Hundreds of thousands of former Californians that voted with their feet over the recent years to Nevada, Texas, Florida, ect. Have fun paying both German and American taxes while eating sauerkraut.
https://www.yahoo.com/style/left-america-better-life-were-193253870.html

madmax

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2016, 09:40:44 AM »
That article is pretty ridiculous but I believe their tax liability will be zero or close to zero because of the foreign tax credit and foreign housing deduction.

beltim

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2016, 10:04:51 AM »
This couple is doing what they want after much conscious thought, and not just blindly doing what society expects of them.  They're living below their means, and saving money.

This article is Mustachian, not antimustachian.

Capsu78

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2016, 10:55:11 AM »
Having struck out on my own 2 weeks out of college for the Golden State from the east coast, I admire what they are doing.  I used to consider San Francisco my own personal playground.  I loved showing it off and did a pretty quirky tour for my visiting friends, but now that I live in the Midwest and only get to see it as a visitor it has lost much of my affection-  seeing a guy taking a dump in a doorway on my way to the convention center has a way of changing my travel brochure memories.
As for the couple, they seem to have upgraded their daily lives while remaining pretty frugal and he continued his employment within his employer and industry- I would consider this period in their young lives more of an adventure than an escape. Good for them.

LeRainDrop

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2016, 03:38:24 PM »
This couple is doing what they want after much conscious thought, and not just blindly doing what society expects of them.  They're living below their means, and saving money.

This article is Mustachian, not antimustachian.

Yeah, I definitely don't think this is an antimustachian story.  I applaud them for recognizing that living in San Francisco was not really working for them, not letting them get ahead, and that they could make one of their dreams of living abroad come true.  I don't get the impression this was a bad decision for them at all.

arebelspy

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2016, 05:26:27 PM »
Totally Mustachian.

Moved from a high COL area to a lower one, saving hundreds per month for the future.  Yeah, they did some anti-Mustachian stuff while living back in SF, but overall a very inspiring story!
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

madmax

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2016, 05:37:32 PM »
Quote
Yeah, they did some anti-Mustachian stuff while living back in SF
This is what I was referring to when I said the article was ridiculous. People paying $600 a month on dog walks and complaining about being broke.

LeRainDrop

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2016, 06:49:45 PM »
Quote
Yeah, they did some anti-Mustachian stuff while living back in SF
This is what I was referring to when I said the article was ridiculous. People paying $600 a month on dog walks and complaining about being broke.

Ah, yeah, I see that.  But for me, the point of this article is that they left that the grind of their SF-living behind and made a positive change.  Just in the same way we see many of our friends here on this forum start from a pretty spendy place and then transform into frugal butterflies, we don't dwell or judge them on the mistakes of their past, but encourage their moving in a better direction.

clarkfan1979

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2016, 07:45:47 PM »
One of my friends did a post-doc in Ecology in Germany. He said that everything was super cheap in comparison to Colorado and upstate New York.


tobitonic

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2016, 08:05:33 PM »
This couple is doing what they want after much conscious thought, and not just blindly doing what society expects of them.  They're living below their means, and saving money.

This article is Mustachian, not antimustachian.

Yeah, I definitely don't think this is an antimustachian story.  I applaud them for recognizing that living in San Francisco was not really working for them, not letting them get ahead, and that they could make one of their dreams of living abroad come true.  I don't get the impression this was a bad decision for them at all.

Agreed. This article made me happy inside.

Kriegsspiel

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2016, 12:27:58 AM »
In all unequalness, Germany>San Fransisco.

Capsu78

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2016, 02:48:55 PM »
Lots of food for thought here:

Tech Exec "Outraged" At Having To See "Homeless Riff-Raff", Warns Of Revolution
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-18/tech-exec-outraged-having-see-homeless-riff-raff-warns-revolution

and here:

How can I survive in the Bay Area with $400k family income?
https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-survive-in-the-Bay-Area-with-400k-family-income#!n=12

And when the police PIO describes your assault and stabbing as"... Police spokesman Carlos Manfredi said tourists were not likely to be specifically targeted. 'It happens to everybody, so every now and then there's going to be a tourist in the mix,' he said.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3457062/British-tourist-fighting-life-stabbed-head-mugging-San-Francisco.html




« Last Edit: February 21, 2016, 03:20:09 PM by Capsu78 »

Capsu78

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2016, 02:57:24 PM »
In all unequalness, Germany>San Fransisco.

...and in the spirit of unequalness, San Francisco food>German food :-)

nobodyspecial

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #13 on: February 21, 2016, 06:50:10 PM »
In all unequalness, Germany>San Fransisco.

...and in the spirit of unequalness, San Francisco food>German food :-)
In the spirit of beer, however .....

(although in the spirit of international honesty there are now more craft beers in America - at least north of SF - than in Germany)

Capsu78

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #14 on: February 21, 2016, 07:27:28 PM »
In all unequalness, Germany>San Fransisco.

...and in the spirit of unequalness, San Francisco food>German food :-)
In the spirit of beer, however .....

(although in the spirit of international honesty there are now more craft beers in America - at least north of SF - than in Germany)

Actually, I will defer to the Germans on beer (and automobiles) as opposed to "chutney induced, orange sliced, pumpkin flavored, Starbuckedized" craft beers coming out of ...everywhere pushing $10 beers.  But then again, my favorite flavored beer is beer flavored.  However, I also have never had a disagreeable beer in either Germany, Belgium or the Netherlands.   

Dicey

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #15 on: February 28, 2016, 04:21:08 AM »
Thanks, I enjoyed the read. There are many paths to FIRE. I wish them all the luck.

nobodyspecial

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Re: Couple can't afford to live in SF so they move out of America.
« Reply #16 on: February 28, 2016, 12:02:27 PM »
In all unequalness, Germany>San Fransisco.
...and in the spirit of unequalness, San Francisco food>German food :-)
I think the problem is that Germans are meeker and don't complain as much as the British.

So a 19th century German says "it's cold and our cuisine is based on cabbage, have a beer" while a British leader said "Caruthers, its always raining and the food is disgusting. Put on some khaki shorts and a tall white helmet and go and conquer some country with sunshine where they have flavours"