Planning on moving to Europe
Thanks to the pandemic I've had a lot of time to reflect on my (relatively short) life, and I concluded that with no other clear goal in my life, I should at least pursue what has always been on my mind my entire life -- moving to Europe. My plan now is that I will try to gain a spot at my firm's exchange program to work a year or two in their London office, and see if I'm truly fit for a life there.
As for plan ahead, which countries have a good mix of IB/consulting/corpfin opportunities and are relatively immigration friendly? My impression is that Germany overall has a good balance and is probably less competitve of a market when compared to UK, but I guess so far London has the most finance related opportunities plus the fact that no additional language skills required.
Would appreciate any constructive feedbacks and/or insights on other parts of Europe (in particular the Nordics, Spain, Italy). Many thanks.
What language abilities do you have?
Native in English and Mandarin Chinese, advanced/business fluency in Japanese, plus infant level German skills acquired from high school lessons but I do plan to take German classes once quarantine’s lifted
why don’t you consider moving to Asia ? I’ve seen some roles in London requiring Japanese or Chinese Languages
The Netherlands (Amsterdam in particular) have very good buy-side opps that do not require knowledge of Dutch, while basic German may be beneficial; you don't Dutch to live there either, very international place.
Italy virtually impossible unless you know Italian. Spain like Italy, although slightly better as far as I know - seems to me Madrid best for established institutions like banks, Barcelona top for start-ups and VCs.
Will add that The Netherlands also have a solid consulting presence, do pan-European work as well as a focus on BeNeLux and also have a booming VC space for HC and Tech. Not a bad place to go
Very insightful answer and super helpful as I think through a similar question. Could you shed a little more light on the specific high quality buyside firms / roles?
bump, interested to see if anyone knows more about this. I’d consider doing this too at some point, buyside in Amsterdam would be great.
France is not a choice without french and would say the same for Italy and Spain. Even some clients dont speak english here...
Agree
Also PPT presentations frequently have to be made in native language otherwise clients can't understand.
Does anyone know what the moving process is actually like financially? Doubt SSI will exist later down the line but will it affect 401ks, IRAs, etc.
Did you guys just boat your car over there or was public transport so good you didn't need it?
I'm in the same boat. Starting FT this summer and hoping to transfer to London after a year... just wondering when the proper time is to ask managers/HR.
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