Dreaming of Europe someday.
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- 5tim0
Work week doesn't mean much. 35hrs in France, 37.5 in UK, 40 in USA. I don't think I've put in less than 45-50 here or in the UK, it's all down to the industry. 10 days holiday in the USA is a joke though. I visit family in Scotland, takes up a minimum of 7 days vacation, leaving me with almost nothing. Americans have limited opportunity to travel and see the world, and many don't see why they need to.
- That's is such a generalized statement about Americans that I'm actually getting angry.monospaced
- 10 days vacation + 5 national holidays in USA... OR... 19 days vacation + 9 national holidays in UK...5tim
- Ok, apologies for the generalization, stressing 'Midwest' here. I've met fucking LOADS of people here who think that way.5tim
- just like that. "America has everything! Why would you want to leave?"5tim
- British are the same.5tim
- I suppose it's too late to take out the last part after the comma? :)5tim
- 10 days!?!?!?!? I get 21! I don't know where you get your numbers, but they're wrong, or you're talking to McDonald's employees.monospaced
- fu, that. sweden you get 3 to 5 weeks off. woohoo.akrokdesign
- 3-5 weeks off in Sweden??? I wonder if working in Ikea in the US would give the same :P,ediot
- dyspl0
what 35hrs in france -really- means : work about 45-50 (as everywhere else) for a 35hrs/per week rate....
I don't think you will find any graphic design company in any country where people don't exceed the day/ week rate mentionned in their job contract.
- bigtrickagain0
i agree - 10 days standard vacation in the US is pretty frickin lame.
- Shit...I get 172 hours of vacation (21 days) plus unlimited sick days. That's STANDARD where I work.monospaced
- you work at a good company. i bet you have good benefits also.akrokdesign
- great benefits...they hook me upmonospaced
- ediot0
This is really making me save my money to travel to Norway.
- 5tim0
I'm on for Germany or Switzerland. I just need to learn the language first.
- monospaced0
Prak, you should just move out to NYC, enjoy the culture, work short hours and people watch with me. Or, head off to southeast Asia and start a start-up with Jake.
- ha yea I'm totally envious of Jake. NY is too cold/fast for me. Miami if anything.hellogoodbye
- Yeah, Jake has the right idea.monospaced
- ItalianStallion0
I would say Denmark or Norway if you're not fluent in native languages discard Spain, Italy and France.
- scarabin0
"I'd like to put in a 5 hr day, go to crazy festivals, hit on beautiful women, stroll the pebbled streets, lunch at the local cafe, bike the countryside etc..."
why can't you do that here?
i'm indifferent, but i have a feeling once you get there it's just gonna be the same old shit; maybe your lifestyle change should have a trial run where you are now?
- i mean i'm in LA and i do all this shit apart from the 5 hour work dayscarabin
- egosmoke0
I was born in Norway but grew up in Seattle for good part of my life, then LA for a few years. Decided to make the move back and now live in Stockholm, Sweden and don't regret it at all. Even if I didn't mostly understand the language, everyone here speaks perfect English. 5 weeks+ vaca and pretty standard 9-6 work week is nothing to complain about either. Having a job set up before you move does help, unless you have money to burn I suppose. I'll throw in the obligatory "grass is greener" statement as well, as I have fallen victim to that kind of impulse in the past, but if you are honest to yourself and your intentions for moving then I say go for it.
- autoflavour0
Move to berlin. learn german, hard transition, but totally worth the effort.
- learn enough german to get by, but to be honest most people speak englishautoflavour
- Kiggen0
Are you a freelancer? don't goto Berlin. Its swarming with them.
I'd say Belgium or Holland is a good choice.
- ********0
I'm dreaming of Newfoundland some day...
- akrokdesign0
hope you do it. and that it will be great. :-)
- neue75_bold0
It's difficult but not impossible... I moved to Amsterdam from Toronto 4 years ago, initially on a holiday working visa, but I also had a job lined up... You'll need to be under 30 or 31 to get a holiday working visa... If you're older then you'll to find an employer to sponsor you, and that in Holland is quite difficult [unless you want to work for a large international agency like Wieden, 360, etc] this is mostly due to the fact that there are salary requirements that come with sponsorship, a company needs to pay you upwards of €45k / year once you're over 31 and most Dutch studios will never pay that, even for a good senior... Culturally speaking it is still a big transition, even though everyone speaks english, it varies and if you want the real Dutch experience and work for a studio that does national/regional work you'll need a grasp on the language and probably more important, the cultural nuances...
It's a tough go but if you're good enough, spend a long time with the legwork, it's doable...
The other major thing is — the economy, when I left [to move to Australia] back in October, it was horrendous and I doubt it's picked up that much yet...
- Good points. How's melbourne working out? I'm considering it, being that it's so close to me.shapeaspect
- so far so good... ;)neue75_bold