This post was originally published on relocateme.eu.

Short Bio

Andrei Ianovskii moved to London in February 2017. Initially joined Lebara as a Mobile Application Designer, Andrei is now its Senior Product Designer. He is also a talented photographer. Hope his story will be a great source of inspiration to you all.

What has encouraged you to consider relocation?

It all started with a remarkable honeymoon in the USA where my wife and I spent about a month. In particular, we were thrilled with the time spent in New York and sunny Miami Beach. The sharp contrast that caught our hearts inspired me to actively search: I’ve updated my CV, completed a portfolio and began actively seeking my dream job.

What kind of advice would you give to those of software developers and designers, who are looking for job opportunities abroad at the moment?

It’s worth noting that the job search for software developers is a lot easier than for other professions because of the rapidly increasing demand in the market. Day by day I was tirelessly looking through LinkedIn, Dribbble, craiglist, AngelList, Stack Overflow, Behance and other websites of interesting agencies to find that special company, hiring international talent. In the end, I have sent approximately 450 CVs to various European and American tech companies in less than a year, writing down their names not to be messed up. It was a truly long journey… I should say that over half of my applications didn’t get any feedback. About 20 companies invited me for a Skype interview, I did 5 test tasks, got rejected twice, 2 of them went missing, and one of the companies offered to contact them one year later.

Going through all that, what advice can you give?

First of all, believe in yourself and don’t give up trying! If you see a job description in German, send your CV anyway. Vacancy in Poland available in English? Apply for it too. Netherlands? Why not? If there is no response from a company, send your CV again and again!

What was your recipe for success?

There is no specific recipe, I would rather describe it as a happy coincidence. I remember when I felt like giving up. At that moment I was waiting for a reply from one interesting company in Berlin. I will never forget that casual Thursday morning when I was scrolling down news on Facebook and suddenly noticed a job opening in London for a Mobile App Designer with just 2 years of experience. I found that interesting and have applied.

What was the selection process like?

The selection process consisted of three stages. The final one with the CEO I found very interesting as we were talking about life rather than work. But at the end of the talk, he made me an offer so casually that I couldn’t believe it until I was sent a draft of my contract. Something that I had been aspiring towards for more than a year was achieved in a week.

If you could travel back a year in time, would you change anything?

We have the culture of mistrust towards the recruiting agencies, and there is no clarity that there are no costs connected with their collaboration with the software developers. I also didn’t know that the majority of companies in London do work through the middleman (except for Facebook, Google, etc. who have their own recruiting departments). If I would have known that, I would appeal/go to the recruiting agency in the first place.

Westminster Bridge. London, UK (Photo: ESB Profession/Shutterstock)

How long did it take for you to actually move after accepting the job offer?

The relocation process took me about four months. I went to Moscow to pass IELTS and to do the X-ray photography, application fee at the same time, expecting an invitation, sponsorship form and it has taken three months. In addition, we asked for an additional month for relocation. But it’s realistic to complete all of that in three months.

How would you compare your expectation vs. the reality of life in London?

I have been to London two times before the relocation, so I knew exactly what to expect. London is a stunning city with lots of opportunities available, an amazing cultural scene, a great variety of exhibitions, theaters, beautiful architecture. There are so many museums here that you may go to one every weekend of the year but still won’t visit every single one. I adore Georgian and Victorian style in architecture, neo gothics in London. On the other hand, the city has a diverse community and a stable economy, it is very green and clean. I really loved the moderate climate, which gets up to 25°C in the summer.

How do you find life (housing, cost of living) in London?

Accommodation prices here are changing rapidly due to the London housing bubble. In terms of standards of living, can’t say that we are showing off here. I am really glad that I have some budgeting experience and relocation — it’s a responsible step, you have to get ready and think everything through, start saving beforehand.

How did your adaptation go? What were your first impressions of the team and the company?

My first one was just one big amazing day and week. I was welcomed happily by the great team — we have people from Ukraine and Russia, Argentina and India, Poland and the Netherlands. I still can remember that delightful and inspirational atmosphere, when we were invited to the house party at our colleagues’ house, the way we were grilling Franburgers and enjoying ourselves. Unexpectedly, we were all lucky to witness our colleagues fantastic flamenco dance skills. It was tremendous.

Work at Lebara has opened so many opportunities for everything. It’s like entering a good, prestigious university and then trying to get a job or entering a usual vocational school and then trying to get a job. Both here and there is education, but the usual education in a good place gives you a promise for something better in the future. Same principles apply here.

What kind of effect does London have on you career-wise? Does it inspire you?

London’s vivid IT and design scene has allowed me to expand my horizons endlessly. Conference on Virtual reality, meeting with the designer of gov.uk and BBC has been great highlights for me. Networking opportunities are truly great. I had a chance to meet some amazing industry influencers. For instance, I have been to one Instagram meet up and have casually chatted with one designer, when later, he turned out to be the designer from Skype. Also, when I’ve been to the Facebook event, one of the lecturers, who had been talking about Origami, turned out to be the one I was watching two years ago.

Street view of Trafalgar Square. London, UK (Photo: Songquan Den/Shutterstock)

It sounds like London had a significant influence on you as a designer. What would be your advice for Mobile App Designers all around the world? What skills are worth developing to stay on top of the trends?

I would advise designers to become familiar with programming and learn to present the projects to stakeholders well. I have some knowledge of HTML, CSS and I am learning FramerJS at the moment.

I fully agree with Koen Bok, who said that every week hundreds of new and even better instruments are coming out and a good designer is defined by his curious mind, endless wish for development and growth.

The post The Recipe For Success Or How To Get A Job Offer In London In A Week first appeared on Relocate.me.

This post was originally published by @filipeabreu.

Getting a job in Germany may be a great idea, especially if you are into the tech industry like me. It is not a hard thing to achieve, specifically if you have some experience and a university degree. I have been working in Berlin as a web developer since April 2017, and I will share my experience working here so far. I found some blog posts, articles, and even videos about living in Germany, especially Berlin, but I felt it still lacked some information. I will try to get more deep into the details. Note that this post will mostly be related to working in the IT sector and about my personal experience here.

About Germany

Aerial view of Berlin skyline with famous TV tower and Spree river (Photo: canadastock/Shutterstock)

Germany is a great country to live in. It provides a great quality of life, with great social security, educational, and health systems. Also, the German economy is very strong, being nowadays the strongest economy in Europe and the fourth strongest economy in the world. Yet, you may find some differences in public governance here, especially if you are from more liberal countries like the USA (I’m from Brazil).

The German government is very serious about social politics, providing quality health care and education, as well as subsidizing public transport, among other things. But, for that, people pay a lot of taxes. Health insurance is collected from your salary, so each person pays a different value, but everybody gets the same health services. This is a solidarity model that is present in every aspect of German politics. I won’t go into details about tax calculations, as you can calculate using this calculator.

But one thing to note is that if you are married and your partner does not have income in Germany, you pay less taxes, and if you also have children, you pay even less. Choose the right tax category in the calculator above if you fit into those categories. Also, your health insurance covers your partner and children as well. Among other things, education is free in Germany, even universities. Some university courses are even in English, focusing on foreign students.

Another thing to note is that in Germany, and overall in Europe, you will find that social and economic gap is much lower than in other countries. While in Brazil, as a skilled worker in tech, you can get paid 8 to 10 times what a regular blue collar worker is getting paid, in Germany you will probably be earning 2 or 3 times what the regular worker is getting. While everybody is able to sustain a decent lifestyle and the smaller social and economic gap leads to fewer crimes and violence, my purchasing power is actually less than I had in Brazil. Germans living in big cities often live in small apartments (30–50 square meters kitchenettes) and don’t have a car, instead rely on public transportation or ride a bike (like me!).

Taken that, Germans often value quality of life more than economic success. Companies will not put pressure on your shoulders or give you unachievable goals. If you are staying late, your boss will even ask you why and tell you to go home. Germans believe that work is better done if it’s enjoyable, and I agree! Yet salaries in Germany are often a bit lower than in other countries, like the UK, especially in Berlin (overall salaries in Hamburg, Munich, and Frankfurt are often higher than in Berlin).

Still, you will find people all over the world moving to Germany to work. I even have two colleagues from the USA who chose Germany as their new home. The German government and labour policies are very open to foreigners, especially if you are a highly skilled worker.

Quick tip: When arriving in Germany for the first time, especially in large cities like Frankfurt, taking a taxi Frankfurt airport can be the best and least stressful way to get to your new place—especially if you’re carrying a lot of luggage.

German Efficiency

Germans are often known and praised for their efficiency. As I have to agree that mostly things work better here (for example, trains and people are often on time), this efficiency happens as a result of very strict rules and people following this rules strictly. That even means that German rules are even more important than social empathy. Germans are not confortable on bending the rules, as this would imply that their rules don’t work. So instead of applying a work around, the rules should be changed, but that would require following the protocols of rule changing. Even than, sometimes German eficiency fails. We have several delayed constructions, like the Schönefeld airport in Berlin or the Elbphilarmonie in Hamburg (this was finally delivered with a 5 year delay and at 10 times the budgeted costs).

So, don’t try to get smart here (take note Brazilians!), things can get worst for you. But if you follow the rules, everything works just fine. Just be patient and follow all the required protocols. For example, in traffic people are very polite, drivers stop on each red light and respect pedestrians and cyclists very much. But if you try to cross the street in the red light, possibly you will get run over by a car, drivers won’t stop for you in this case. You can get also earn a ticket and get strange looks, especially if there are children around (don’t be a bad example).

Every step you make living in Germany is filled with bureaucracy, which you must follow step by step. For everything here, especially public services, you will need to make an appointment. The problem is that you can only get free appointments slots within one month ahead. Also, there are often several forms that you must fill, sign and send the original forms by post. Digitalization is still not very trusted here. That also means that most places don’t accept credit or debit cards, most restaurants and cafes only operate on money. Another interesting thing in Germany is that people often have insurances for everything, as if you mess around you can end up having to pay huge amounts of money. So, get a liability and a residence insurance as soon as you arrive.

About Berlin

Most tech jobs and startups in Germany are concentrated in Berlin, but still, you can find tech companies in Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt, as well as in other smaller cities. So if you are considering a tech job in Germany, most probably you will find one in Berlin.

Urban city life with famous Reichstag building in the background, Berlin (Photo: canadastock/Shutterstock)

Berlin is the capital and largest city in Germany. There are around 3.5 million people living here. People are living spread all over the city, so you don’t have a large concentration of people and jammed traffic. The city is filled with parks and green areas all over, and there are beautiful canals where you can have a nice walk or even a boat trip. There are cozy cafes all over the city, especially in neighborhoods like Prenzlauer Berg (my favourite!), Mitte and Schönenberg, and the biergartens are very busy during summer.

About Berlin weather, the summertime is great! You actually can get around 25°C temperatures and sunny weather to enjoy a day in the park. You will often find people having barbecues and bare naked sunbathing in parks and lakes during summer. Days lasts for very long, getting dark after 9h30 PM. Summer weather lasts for around 2 to 3 months, then it’s back on being gray, cold and rainy. You will probably get more rain than snow in Berlin. And during winter you will get dark, depressing days, getting dark as early as 4 PM, as opposed to the long days of summer.

Berlin is one of the most culturally active cities in the world. The city has 175 museums, 140 theaters, 300 cinemas, 4650 restaurants, around 900 bars and 190 night clubs. You will find a show or event on any day of the year, many of them as open-air events in parks. During the 1st of May, there is a massive party and events all over the city, especially in Kreuzberg area, characterized by leftist and social movements and manifestations. It’s a city that you can find anything to do, for any taste, at any time. You can’t ever get bored in Berlin.

Konzerthaus Berlin on the Gendarmenmarkt square (Photo: meunierd/Shutterstock)

Yet, Berlin is not a regular European city. You can even hear Germans saying that Berlin is not really Germany. Berlin is truly unique and has its own characteristics, but not everything is for the best. I myself find the city to be very dirty and sometimes even messy. There are a lot of constructions happening in old buildings, blocking the sidewalk, all over the city. The U-Bahn stations are in bad shape, although they work very well. You will find homeless people and often people begging for money inside the U-Bahn trains and stations. Also, Berlin is under constant renovation, with a lot of constructions happening, especially in the Friedrichshain area. Note that the city was divided into two less than 30 years ago and the differences between east (soviet) and west (capitalist) Berlin are still notable.

Rent prices in Berlin are rising every day. It is still cheaper than other cities in Europe like London or Paris, and even other German cities like Munich, but the super cheap rent prices days in Berlin are over now. You will be paying around €600–800 monthly for a single room apartment.

One thing to note when searching for apartments in Berlin is that they count all rooms, not only bedrooms. So a one-room apartment has only a single room (consider it a living room or bedroom), often with a kitchen inside too. A two-room apartment often has a living room with a kitchen plus a bedroom. There are still some apartments with a separated kitchen. Another thing to note is that most buildings are old, but with a renovated apartment. The city is filled with old buildings with 5 floors at most, without elevators or automatic doors. Rarely there are new buildings, that count with elevators, mostly in Mitte, Litchenberg or Friedrichshain, but are overall more expensive. And you won’t find buildings with a doorman, which is very common in Brazil. Also, if you are planning on owning a car, note that old buildings do not count with a garage, so you will have to rent a parking space on the street. Even new buildings with a garage, the parking space is rented separately, which costs around €60-90.

Finding an apartment in Berlin is also becoming harder every day. You will have a lot of competition, it looks like getting a job. Often when visiting an apartment for rent, you will find 10-20 other people also visiting at the same time. I heard stories of lines with over 100 people to visit an apartment. You will have to provide work contracts, proof of income, and documents proving that you don’t have any unpaid debts (the so-called SCHUFA). That’s why so many people often share apartments or rent rooms in other people apartments. This is possibly the best option you get when arriving, but note that these room rentals are often temporary, sometimes even less than a month.

Overall Berlin is a great city to live, but it has it’s problems too. It is an always changing city, culturally active, filled with green areas and much fun. It is a big city, with a lot of people, and if you are seeking a calmer and more settled atmosphere, maybe you won’t find it here in Berlin. Finally, the city has a lot of immigrants and welcomes expats, with a lot of people speaking English at most any restaurant or shop.

Conclusion

This was my personal experience on working in Berlin so far. Many of my opinions reflect my personal taste and feeling about Germany and Berlin. If you want to know more details about my personal experience or any tips on how to get a job here, please connect with me on LinkedIn or Xing and send me a message there! I will be more than happy to help you out!

Note: I wrote another post on how you can find a tech job in Europe and especially Berlin. If you think Berlin is for you I recommend you check it out!

The post So, I heard you want a job in Germany… first appeared on Relocate.me.

Quick Background

Before moving to Sydney, I had studied Media/Marketing at Nottingham Trent University. After (unsuccessfully) pursuing a career in the Media/Marketing space I decided to relocate to Australia for a while as the global financial crisis hadn’t really affected the country and there seemed to be a lot more opportunity here.

How long have you been living in Australia?

In April 2018 I’ll have been in Australia for 6 years!

How did you search for a job in Australia? Any tips for those seeking similar work?

Some of the local job boards such as SEEK, Indeed, Gumtree, etc. are a good starting point for more generalist role. However, if you’re relocating with an in-demand skill (Software Engineer, Data Scientist, Growth Marketer) I would recommend connecting with local Talent Acquisition Specialists.

What was the visa process like?

I initially applied for a Working Holiday Visa which can be done online. It probably took me about an hour all up, and was approved within 24 hours so it was a great turnaround. From there and once I’d moved, I received sponsorship where I was working and have now obtained permanent residency. The process for me was about five years but that’s because I changed around. One pathway you can take is if you’re on a 457 visa and you’ve been working full-time for two years, you should be eligible to apply for permanent residency.

Current laws are that you can apply for permanent citizenship within 12 months from receiving permanent residency. However they’re always subjective to change.

How long did it take for you to actually move after accepting the job offer?

When I relocated to Sydney I hadn’t secured an actual job yet, however since becoming Head of Talent at finder I’ve placed people in roles who’ve relocated from overseas. This has taken, on average, between 3-6 months roughly depending on circumstances. This is where tools like Relocate.me really help to give you a broad overview of what it’s like to move and show you the opportunities in the market you’re exploring.

Finder Team in Sydney, Australia

If you could travel back in time, would you change anything?

I’d influence the Australian government not to make some of the recent changes to 457 visas locally!

What are the best things about living in Australia?

The people, the culture, the work-life balance, the ever-evolving tech landscape, the weather, the growing economy, the nature, I could go on for ever.

New Year 2016. Sydney, Australia

What have been some of the most challenging moments so far?

In my role as Head of Talent at finder it’s challenging to deal with the sheer volume of hires and the incredible amount of growth we are experiencing! We’re growing globally so there are new challenges every day which is great.

And the most memorable one?

My engagement in Amsterdam last June 

Getting engaged in Amsterdam

According to Numbeo, the average cost of rent for a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Sydney is A$ 2,700. Is it true?

Sydney is a massive city and because of our great public transport system, people don’t worry about living too close to the Central Business District (CBD). It’s extremely rare for people to live right in the city center, because it’s expensive but also because it’s not a necessity. Also, who would want to live in the city when you’ve got the beaches and the coast?!

Bronte Beach in Sydney, Australia (Photo: Dan Breckwoldt/Shutterstock)

Housing is great here but buying a property, for example, is fairly tough with the market growth over the past decade.

Can you name a couple of websites that can help in finding an apartment in Australia and Sydney specifically?

Domain and realestate.com.au are two of the most major platforms Aussies use to find properties for rent or for sale, but I know a lot of expats also use Flatmate Finders and find it helpful too.

Cost of living in Sydney compared to your home city

I’m from Birmingham but the most fair comparison is probably between Sydney and London; the cost of living is relatively similar between the two places, especially if you’re based quite close to the city. There are so many factors that can influence the costs of food and housing in both places, but it is quite similar. The closer you are to the city center the more expensive it gets.

A few words about public transport in Sydney. Is it essential to have a car?

Public transport here is great, we’re currently having a tram-line installed through the town centre of Sydney which will improve these even further. Transportation can be cheap if you want it to be — our Opal card system on public transport (trains, buses and ferries) provides a discount after 8 trips, so that’s good. Also everything is pretty interconnected by public transport so there’s always a way to get around. Most city workers commute to work by public transport — the traffic can be bad sometimes at peak hour. The upcoming tramline will help with that as well.

Sydney City Highway (Photo: Taras Vyshnya/Shutterstock)

I’d say you probably can get by without a car but most locals do have one. They’re more useful if you’re planning on heading away or to the coast.

Do you have any advice for people considering job relocation to Australia?

Do it! The more you know about the country and city you want to move to, the less stressful your relocation will be. I suggest you check out this article to learn more about moving to Australia. Here’s another useful link where you can find out more about health insurance, especially OVHC (Overseas Visitors Heath Cover).

The post Expat Advice: Moving From The UK to Australia first appeared on Relocate.me.

By Kyle Asaff

Two years ago, I made it my absolute goal to follow my dream to move, live, and work in San Francisco as a Software Engineer. In 2015, I was a new graduate living on the east coast of Canada; now, I am working my first (and dream) job in San Francisco, California. It feels amazing to say after a ton of hard work, I was able to do it. I thought I would share my story and hopefully inspire those who are trying to live out their dreams.

San Francisco skyline (Photo: IM_photo/Shutterstock)

Quick Background

I graduated May 2015 with a Bachelor’s of Computer Science Degree and a 3.3 GPA. I worked three co-op jobs (internships) in pursuit of my degree: two as a Systems Administrator and one as a Web Developer at a Canadian IT Company — all in my home town.

Developing My Dream

When I found out that I was going to be working as a Web Developer for my third co-op work term, I was so excited. My first two work terms as a Systems Administrator didn’t include coding, so I was excited to work my final work term as a developer with a company I could work for when I graduated. A couple of months into my work term, my excitement faded. I lived, went to school, and worked in my hometown (where I had lived my whole life), and things felt repetitive. The work term was a success by most measures, but I wasn’t happy; everything felt stagnant and I felt complacent. After my work term, I returned to school as a senior with the mindset that this is just how it’s going to be when I graduate.

During my fourth year, I met a student in ones of my classes who created an app which at the time had over 50,000 users. He mentioned that he was going to do a work term in San Francisco. We started chatting about the tech industry, opportunities, culture, weather, and everything else that makes the Bay Area such a desirable place to live — I was legitimately excited for him. His experiences made me wonder, could I possibly find a job in California and move there when I graduated? I always thought of myself as an average computer science student and never considered doing something as big as moving across the continent to another country. Just the idea of relocating all the way from the east coast of Canada to California was the first time I felt excitement in a very long time.

I remember hearing a quote at the time which stuck with me:

“You only live once and you have all eternity to be dead. Why not live doing something that you like, even if you never make it, at least trying to achieve something that you like, versus doing something you don’t like and just going through the comfort zone of society.”

From that point on I set out to make that thought a reality. It became my dream and I made it my absolute goal to move to San Francisco when I graduated to experience life, and something new, in a city far from home.

The Process

The process started well before I began applying for jobs. I taught myself new programming languages and technologies, hoping to make myself more marketable as a new graduate. I was interested in developing web applications so I focused on that. In my spare time, I taught myself JavaScript and dedicated my whole summer to making a Google Chrome App called Forum Buddy, which now sits around 1000 users. I returned to school in September for my final semester and continued to fill my Github with side projects including technologies, languages, and frameworks that I never learned in school or used before such as Scala, Ruby, JavaScript, jQuery, Angular, Bootstrap, Less, Ruby on Rails, and more.

By January, I officially completed my degree requirements and was set to graduate in May. During this time I shifted my focus from side projects to studying algorithms, practicing interview questions, and applying for jobs. Sending job application became a full time job. I spent 6-8 hours a day writing cover letters, applying for job postings, responding to emails, and studying for interviews. I kept a spreadsheet of every job I applied for. I used the spreadsheet to keep track of my applications and used it as motivation.

The first interview I had was with Google. The week leading up to the interview I didn’t leave my house. I studied “Cracking the Coding Interview” for over a week straight, doing practicing problems and algorithms all in preparation for that single interview.

“Googleplex,” Google headquarters in Mountain View, California (Photo: MariaX/Shutterstock)

When it came time for the interview itself, I cracked under the pressure. It was a coding phone interview and I didn’t code a sufficient algorithm in time (looking back now, after all my studying, I feel I could have passed, had it not been for the pressure).

I continued to apply for jobs through every available outlet, including company websites, LinkedIn, Indeed, and everything else in between. I even made a Hired.com profile and passed their coding test, but ultimately was not accepted, because of non-sufficient work experience. I eventually started using Hacker News for job postings, which lead to some great responses. Through Hacker News I was usually able to email an engineer or hiring manager directly, which resulted in personalized responses. In total, during the first six months of 2015, from January to June, I applied for 305 positions and interviewed at 21 companies, all in California.

Downtown streets of San Francisco, California (Photo: Alex Cimbal/Shutterstock)

A lot of companies (especially startups) have their own unique interview process — to go into detail about all of them would make this post a thousand times longer than it already is. By June, I had received two offers from two different companies, both in San Francisco. Both offers came in around the same time and were from funded startups.

The first offer was bad; I was excited to finally receive an offer but I knew I would have to reject it, which gave me a ton of anxiety. I had what I was working so hard for right in front of me but I knew I couldn’t accept it and I wasn’t sure if I was going to get another (or better) opportunity. 10 days later I received another offer. This second offer was much better and was everything I was hoping for. I negotiated a bit, thought about it for a day, and then accepted it. With that, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I set out to do something I wasn’t even sure was possible, and I did it. All the doubts in my head were erased and in that instance and I felt a sense of accomplishment that I have never felt before; it was pure bliss and I couldn’t have been happier.

Relocating

I accepted my offer late July with a start date of early September. This gave me plenty of time to plan my move, find a place to stay, and prepare for my new job over 3000 miles away from home. I was able to find a place online within an apartment complex, which made things easier.

The visa process was fairly seamless. As a Canadian, you are eligible for TN status to work in the United States as long as you have a university degree and a job offer under the current NAFTA agreement. My company had a lawyer draft up some paperwork to bring on the day of my flight to help smooth out the process. Everything went well, I went through security at the point of entry and told the border agent I was applying for TN status. I gave the agent my paperwork I had prepared and went in the back room for a quick interview before my flight. After my interview, the border agent stamped my passport giving me TN status for three years and I was sent on my way.

The oldest mechanical public transport in San Francisco (Photo: Lorcel/Shutterstock)

I landed in San Francisco a week before my start date which gave me some time to settle in. It was a little rough starting out (I had nothing besides what I could stuff into two suitcases) but after a couple months I was back on my feet, and I haven’t looked back since. I have lived in San Francisco for over two years now and looking back, I know I made the right decision. The excitement, drive, and ambition that I felt fading my senior year was back and I couldn’t be happier.

That is my story. I truly believe that you can accomplish anything in life as long as you have drive and a strong work ethic. It feels very surreal to accomplish something you originally never thought was possible. My advice to anyone trying to follow their dreams or who wants to move on from their current situation is this: dream big, work hard, be ambitious, and no matter the circumstances, never quit.

Author

Kyle Asaff
Software Engineer
LinkedIn • Twitter • Github

The post How I Landed My Dream Job in San Francisco as a Canadian New Grad first appeared on Relocate.me.

So, the offer to work as an automation engineer in Dublin appeared suddenly. Before, I had rejected all the vacancies for the positions abroad, but this time I started thinking about it as I had always been really interested in Ireland. First of all, it’s not trite. Ireland has caught the eye of Ukrainian IT people over the past couple of years. Secondly, it’s a beautiful country and I wanted to compare the pictures to reality. Thirdly, I’m keen on Irish music.

Howth Head — a peninsula 15km northeast of Dublin City

Relocation

It took me about two months to relocate:

1. All the interview stages: with a recruiter, technicians, and the CTO of the company. The recruiters are tenacious and they always keep you informed. The technicians and the management in my case were good as well.
2. Job offer, signing of the contract. You shouldn’t jump at the first offer, you can haggle over some better conditions.
3. Preparation of work permit documents. There is nothing unusual. I didn’t even have to translate the documents about education. If you have experience according to their specialty of more than 5 years, you don’t need a certificate of degree.
4. Waiting for the grant of work permit (the longest period of time, almost a month).
5. Getting a visa. You should address the Consulate of the Republic of Ireland in Kyiv but the decision is made by the Irish Consulate in Moscow, so they can call you from there to ask for some additional documents (e.g. a CV).
6. Flight and accommodation to the new country.

Actually, everything was quite easy and no stage caused any real difficulties. However, the Irish visa has a considerable disadvantage — it only enables you to stay in the Republic of Ireland (not the Schengen area, Great Britain, nor even Northern Ireland is available).

Usually, companies provide a relocation bonus and some of them may rent a temporary accommodation to you. However, I had to find accommodations on my own. As soon as I arrived, I rented a room in a more or less good hostel near my work and started to look for an apartment. The real estate rental market had already been overloaded, so I was very lucky to rent a small flat in the city centre that cost €700. Most of my colleagues with their families were charged €1300 for an apartment with two bedrooms. Now, they say it’s impossible to find something appropriate that costs less than €1500. Everything that is cheaper attracts loads of potential lessees, sometimes more than 10 people per one showing. Meanwhile, the prices are rising constantly each year. Here you can see relevant advertisements for the area.

The mortgage interest rates are not high at 3-4%. The price of a good two-room apartment or a semi-detached house starts at €200 000. Nowadays, people who want to buy a dwelling are lining up in the streets.

Image source

Electricity bills come once every two months and they are between €150 and €300. The cheapest wired Internet is €45. Until 2015, running water had been free but since then it has cost €150 per person per year. It caused massive strikes but the charge hasn’t been abolished. People who have gas-heaters pay €100–200 more per month.

Work, salary, and expenses

There are many IT companies in Dublin. There are branches of Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Ebay, Amazon, and loads of other well-known companies. A lot of them are European Headquarters but all of them include development centers. The last six months of my stay, I was working two floors higher than Twitter and I even ate the cake they presented us for at an office warming party.

According to the work permit system, it’s quite hard to change your working place there during the first year or two. To do this before 12 months is possible only if you are discharged and only if you manage to get a work permit for a new company.

After two years, you are able to get a work permit that is not attached to a company and you can choose an employer more freely. All this refers to professions that are ‘critical’ and, of course, to IT specialists.

IT salaries, even subtracting taxes, are a bit higher than Ukrainian salaries but it is completely leveled by the rent. To make it obvious, let’s take three Kyiv seniors, a software engineer, an automation QA, and a manual QA, relocate them to Dublin and see what we get:

All the sums are estimated for people who don’t have families. Here you can count more precisely how much money you’ll earn every month based on the annual salary. If you are interested in further information about the salaries of different positions, here isthe report.

To conclude on the topic of money, it is estimated that a senior software engineer, after he pays for rent (€1200-1500), public utility payments (€200-400), mobile communication, food, and commute, will have €1500.

By the way, transport is expensive and poorly run:

• DART (city electric train). There is only one branch line that goes along the coast through the capital and suburbs. The average trip costs €4.
• Luas (tram). It costs about €2 and there are only two branch lines.
• Dublin bus (double-decker busses). The advantages include free Wi-Fi and the fact that the front seats on the top floor have a great view. The rest: you have to pay the fare by coins or card and you get the change with cheques. If you pay by card, you have to tell the driver your stop for the correct sum to be withdrawn from your card. However, the drivers often don’t know the names of the stops. And, moreover, the traffic turns aside from the timetable.
• Taxi. The trip from the airport to the southern part of the centre of Dublin, where I lived, costs about €25 and there is a surcharge for every additional passenger.
• Intercity trains are quite comfortable but expensive, you pay about €70 to travel from one edge of the country to another (three hours).
• DublinBikes is a chain of city bike stations around the whole centre of Dublin. It’s cheap and comfortable (€20 per year). A lot of people use it.

Medical service

I can’t tell anything about medical service as I haven’t used them. But, according to my colleagues, the problems are the same as in other European countries: general practitioners are low-skilled. Whatever you feel, they offer you some paracetamol.

Weather

Irish weather is known for being bad, but I didn’t think that. The temperature during the year is comfortable. On average in winter, it’s 5°C above zero and, in summer, it’s 17°C above zero. There is neither heat nor freezing cold. It rains more often than in Kyiv but mainly for short periods of time. The grass is green during the whole year and there are even small palm trees. But, there is no spring weather. In April and May when the weather in Kyiv wakes up and everything blossoms, in Dublin, it feels like winter (8°C above zero).

Glendalough National Park, 40km from Dublin — one of my favourite places

About people

Irish people are quite friendly and cheerful. They treat immigrants well. Perhaps it is because a lot of them in their time have left the country themselves and they know how hard it can be. Among the immigrants, there are a lot of Polish people. People even say that the Polish language is more common than Irish. They try to solve the language problem by learning Gaelic in school, but its popularity is very low.

Cliffs of Moher. Here the Irish language is still alive.

There aren’t many Ukrainians in Ireland, but, as an example, during my stay, three more fellow countrymen joined the company I worked for. Besides, I often dealt with interviews and saw the number of Ukrainian software engineers and QAs’ resumes growing.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Now I’ll try to answer the main question. I haven’t come back because I felt bad there and feel good here. I’d felt good before I went there, when I was there and after I’d returned. Moving there I initially was going to come back in a couple of years. This is the reason. All in all, it was good and useful experience.

If you are really thinking about relocation, my only recommendation is to choose the company thoroughly. If it’s not Google, you should read the reviews on Glassdoor and ask questions to the ex-employees on Linkedin. A high level of employee turnover is the main marker that not everything is good within the company. You should always haggle over the salary, based on the average market indices and demand some good relocation bonuses. And, of course, use your imagination in order to see your new life in detail. It’ll help you to make the right choice.

The post 20 Months In Ireland: My Relocation Story first appeared on Relocate.me.

My name’s Sergey. I have more than 5 years of experience in the sphere of commercial software development using Java/Scala. I’ve worked on various challenging projects, from banking systems and human resource management systems to online casinos.

My wife and I recently moved to Stockholm, having lived in Wrocław, Poland, for two years before that and originally coming from Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Glossary for renting an apartment in Sweden

When you see tables comparing prices in different districts in Sweden, you’ll need this mini-glossary. Hyror refers to the rent of a flat, and Kop refers to the purchase. The price is shown for a month in the case of rent and for m² in the case of purchase. The prices are given in Swedish krona or SEK.

South of Stockholm:

West of Stockholm:

Sites for finding a flat in Sweden:

• Blocket.se
• Qasa.se
• BostadDirekt.com

How to find an apartment in Sweden →

Taxes in Sweden

It’s not a secret that taxes in Sweden are among the highest in the world. But, before I explain how they work, I’ll tell you about läns and kommuner (municipalities). All the territory of Sweden is divided into 21 läns, similar to states or provinces. Läns are divided into kommuner, each with their rules and taxes. This tax varies depending on the kommun and ranges from 28.98% to 35.15%. For example, there is Degerfors kommun, where the tax might be higher by almost three percentage points than the national average, which is 32.37%.

In Sweden, you might pay only the local tax on your annual income, as most of the people do. Only those who earn above 598,500 SEK need to pay the 20% state tax. However, this threshold is not a hard and fast one. Instead, there’s a basic deduction that is subtracted from your total income first. You only pay tax on the remaining amount, called taxable income. There are actually two brackets, depending on your age at the beginning of the year.

• If you’re under 66, you can earn up to 615,300 SEK (598,500 + 16,800) before taxes start.
• If you’re 66 or older, the threshold is higher at 697,300 SEK (598,500 + 98,800). This is because you get a larger basic deduction if you’re a senior citizen.

Pension

Pension in Sweden is divided into three levels:

• Inkomstpension (income pension): This public pension is based on your income throughout your working life. It’s 16% of your salary paid directly by your employer that goes to the people who are retired today. It also consists of the premium pension, which is 2.5% out of your salary each year. It’s like a separate savings account for your retirement that you can invest as you want.
• Tjänstepension (occupational pension): This employer-sponsored pension can vary depending on your employer, industry, and negotiation.
• Privat pensionssparande (private pension savings) is a voluntary pension you can set up to supplement your other pensions.

Salaries in Sweden

The average salary in Sweden is 40,100 SEK (3,500 EUR), which is approximately 28,070 SEK (2,500 EUR) after taxes. Salaries in the IT sector range from 36,000 SEK to 66,000 SEK, depending on age and work experience. 

Food and purchasing power for food in Sweden

Food in Sweden is very expensive, but it is of really high quality at the same time. Swedish food is pricier than imported food because of its high production standards. Some products that are very expensive elsewhere, like salmon, are accessible in Sweden, maybe because Norway is a top exporter and they have agreements on trade. I’ve made a short list of different foods and their prices.

Product	Price, SEK
Oranges (1 kg)	20
Orange juice (1.75 litres)	25
Apples (1 kg)	12
Potatoes (1 kg)	10
Chicken breasts (1 kg)	100
Salmon fillet (1 kg)	150
Cheese (1 kg)	70
Loaf of bread	25
Eggs (20)	35
Butter (0.5 kg)	35
Milk (1 litre)	15

Travel passes cost about 970 SEK (86 EUR) a month and allow you to travel around all of Stockholm län on any kind of transport. The number of rides is unlimited.

Home insurance covers plenty of things, even stolen bicycles or broken phones. Insurance is mandatory for all house owners. Membership in the engineer labour union costs 240 SEK (21.44 EUR) a month, per person. The union pays unemployment compensation, provides relevant information on salaries, and makes contracts with various companies. Check all its benefits on the official site. Unions in Sweden are world-renowned for protecting their workers. All unions pledge to do that, but the Swedish ones really walk their talk.

Cost of living in Sweden →

The post Relocation to Sweden: Work, taxes, the IT market, and buying an apartment first appeared on Relocate.me.

Nowadays, tech companies are appearing every day with a high growth rate. Relocation of overseas talent has long been a common practice for most of them. It brings diversity and allows outreach beyond the local market.

A modern spacious office, table tennis, adjustable desks, a coffee-maker are already a must-have for technology companies. However, all companies attracting international talent have one thing in common: relocation packages, which could vary from absolute zero to some luxury type.

Well, why does at least basic relocation support matter for your future foreign employees?

1. Relocation to any foreign country is always cost-intensive.

Flight tickets, essentials for a new home, rental costs, security deposits, etc. fall on the newcomer’s shoulders all at once. As a result, a newly hired employee can leave the company for a higher salary well before the end of his/her probation period. The reason is obvious — it’s simple math when the candidate’s moving expenses exceed his/her income over a period of 2–3 months.

2. A set of expectations and professional experience could be overrated by the employees when hiring from abroad.

Sourcing foreign candidates, companies often take a big risk. At the same time, they gain access to the global market along with a chance to hire the best and most-qualified tech candidate. Having the suitable skill sets found in a local employee and an international may affect hiring the former with some doubts about hiring the latter.

3. The relocation process itself is always stressful and full of uncertainty.

So if you want to have a productive and committed employee from day one, help your newcomer settle into a new country with minimum stress and tension.

4. The provision of relocation support emphasises your company culture and attentive attitude towards your employees.

Attention to employee happiness, enabling self-organised teams and transparent communication are very trendy now and contribute towards encouraging an employee’s full potential. The attitude of a new employee during relocation and their attitude over the period of employment is not usually thought to be linked, however, if you (as a company) wish to show your value to the employee from day 1, ‘prove yourself’ able in ensuring employee well-being and comfort with comprehensives relocation assistance.

5. In the long term, it would be cheaper for you (as an employer) to provide some relocation perks.

It sounds strange, doesn’t it? But if you don’t provide, for example, housing assistance, your employee will probably have to leave during valuable working hours to view prospective apartments at a cost to you. The absence of any relocation support may also lead to the fast quitting a job. So you, as the employer, would have to utilise your resources (time and money) to find new talent again.

Taking all of the above into account, relocation package really matters for your international employees and it does not necessarily have to cost a lot. Absolutely not. Our key function is to provide at least a basic relocation package that will cover most moving ‘issues’ of your future employees and effectively reduce relocation stress, thus, easing integration of new employees into your company’s work environment.

The post For Tech Companies: why ‘Relocation package’ really matters first appeared on Relocate.me.