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Message: [QUOTE="Ruby, post: 11, member: 2"] [HEADING=1]Relocation: The Other Side of the Coin[/HEADING] My friend Chidi relocated to Berlin for a software engineering role, and his experience taught me what relocation actually involves beyond the glamorous Instagram posts. [B]The Real Advantages[/B] Career acceleration is significantly faster. Chidi went from mid-level engineer to senior engineer in 18 months, something that would have taken 3-4 years remotely. Being in the office meant he got challenging projects, direct mentorship from senior staff, and visibility with decision-makers. Networking opportunities are incomparable. He's now connected with CTOs, VCs, and other engineers across Europe in ways that simply don't happen remotely. These connections have led to speaking opportunities, side projects, and job offers he never solicited. The professional environment pushes you. Working alongside talented engineers from around the world forced him to level up his skills faster. The standards are higher, the code reviews are more rigorous, and the learning curve is steep but valuable. Quality of life infrastructure works. Reliable electricity, fast internet, functional public transport, efficient healthcare—these aren't luxuries abroad, they're baseline. The mental energy you save not managing infrastructure issues is significant. Long-term immigration pathways exist. Chidi's on track for permanent residency in Germany after four years. That opens up EU citizenship possibilities, which means his children will have European passports. That's generational wealth in a different form. [B]The Honest Drawbacks[/B] But Chidi also told me things he wishes he'd known beforehand. The cost of living shock is real. His €65,000 salary sounds amazing until you realize €1,200 goes to rent, €300 to health insurance, €200 to transport, and €400 to groceries. After taxes (around 35%), his lifestyle isn't dramatically better than mine in Lagos, just different. Loneliness and cultural isolation are harder than expected. Making genuine friends is difficult. Most social connections are surface-level. Dating as an African in Europe comes with its own challenges. He goes months sometimes feeling like he doesn't truly belong anywhere. Racism and microaggressions are constant. From being followed in stores to colleagues expressing "surprise" at his technical competence to being stopped by police more frequently than his white colleagues. It's exhausting in ways that are hard to explain to people who haven't experienced it. The immigration stress doesn't end. Work permits need renewal, residence permits expire, changing jobs is complicated. One friend lost his job during COVID and had to leave Germany within three months because his visa was tied to employment. You miss important family moments. Weddings, funerals, births, family emergencies—you're always too far away. Flights home are expensive (€600-€1,200 round trip) and you can't just pop back for a weekend. [HEADING=1]How to Actually Get These Opportunities[/HEADING] Let me be practical now because knowing the options means nothing if you don't know how to access them. [B]For Remote Positions[/B] I got my remote job through consistent, strategic effort over six months. Here's what actually worked: I built a strong online presence. I contributed to open-source projects on GitHub, wrote technical blog posts on Medium and Dev.to, and engaged meaningfully on Twitter (now X) in tech communities. Recruiters found me through these channels. I targeted remote-first companies. I used platforms like RemoteOK, We Work Remotely, AngelList, and Remote.co. I specifically filtered for companies already hiring across multiple countries because they already had international payment systems set up. I customised every application obsessively. Generic applications get ignored. I researched each company, mentioned specific products or challenges they were working on, and explained how my skills addressed their specific needs. I leveraged African tech communities. Platforms like Andela, Toptal, and Turing.com connect African developers with international remote opportunities. I also joined Slack groups like "Nigerians in Tech" and "African Techies" where people share job leads. I did contract work first. My first international gig was a three-month contract through Upwork. The pay was lower, but it gave me international work experience on my CV and a reference from a UK company. That made the next job search much easier. [B]For Relocation Opportunities[/B] Getting relocation requires a different strategy. Companies need to justify the expense and hassle of visa sponsorship, so you need to make yourself worth it. I've seen people succeed by targeting countries with tech talent shortages. Germany, Netherlands, Canada, and Australia are actively recruiting tech workers. They have streamlined visa processes for skilled workers—Germany has the EU Blue Card, Canada has Express Entry, Australia has the skilled migration program. Build skills in high-demand areas. Cloud engineering (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), cybersecurity, data engineering, and machine learning are in massive demand. Companies are more likely to sponsor visas for these specialized roles than for general web development. Apply to companies known for international hiring. Companies like Spotify, Zalando, N26, and Delivery Hero in Europe regularly hire from Africa with relocation packages. In Canada, companies like Shopify, Wealthsimple, and Hootsuite do the same. Consider bootcamps and upskilling programs with hiring partnerships. Programs like AltSchool Africa, Decagon, and Stutern have partnerships with international companies. Some even facilitate relocations as part of their model. Network aggressively on LinkedIn. I can't stress this enough—LinkedIn is where international tech recruiting happens. Optimize your profile, connect with recruiters, engage with content from companies you're interested in. I've seen people get interviews purely from LinkedIn activity. [HEADING=1]The Financial Reality You Need to Know[/HEADING] Let me talk money honestly because this is where people make poor decisions. [B]Remote Work Math[/B] If you're earning $70,000 remotely from Nigeria, your take-home after taxes (you're responsible for your own taxes as a contractor) might be around $63,000 annually or $5,250 monthly. In Lagos, you could live very comfortably on $2,000-$2,500 monthly and save $2,500-$3,000. That's $30,000-$36,000 saved annually. [B]Relocation Math[/B] If you relocate to Berlin with a €65,000 salary, after 35% taxes you take home €42,250 annually or €3,520 monthly. Your expenses might be €2,200-€2,500 monthly, leaving €1,000-€1,300 for savings. That's €12,000-€15,600 saved annually, which is $13,000-$17,000. You're actually saving more working remotely from home, at least initially. But this doesn't account for career growth, which accelerates faster with relocation. [/QUOTE]

Verification: Which continent is Nigeria on?

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