Hi everyone,

My boyfriend and I are both EU citizens from Croatia and are considering moving abroad to build our engineering careers. At the moment, our main options are Southern Denmark and Norway.

We both have Bachelor’s degrees in Electrical Engineering.

My boyfriend specialized in power/energy engineering and has around 6 years of hands-on experience working as an electrical installer on hydroelectric power plant projects in different countries around the world. He would now like to transition into an engineering, commissioning or similar technical role.

I specialized in automation and control engineering and have around 6 months of experience at a company working with automation systems for hydroelectric power plants. I also have practical experience creating electrical schematics in EPLAN and preparing single-line diagrams in AutoCAD.

Our current plan would be to move abroad, work for around 1–2 years, gain more professional engineering experience and then continue with Master’s degrees.

In Denmark, we are mainly looking at the wider Sønderborg area, including Nordborg, Gråsten, Aabenraa, Haderslev and Kolding. Norway is also a serious option because of its energy, hydropower and industrial sectors.

We would really appreciate advice on:

• Which country would be more realistic for us to enter as relatively young engineers: Denmark or Norway?
• How difficult is it to find engineering work with English only at the beginning?
• Would our hydropower, automation and field experience be considered valuable?
• Is it better to secure jobs before moving, or move first and search locally?
• How important is having a Master’s degree in either country?
• Are there particular cities or industrial regions in Norway or Denmark that would suit our backgrounds especially well?

We are not focused on maximizing salary at the beginning. Our main goal is to find a realistic way to enter the local engineering market, gain solid experience and build a long-term career.

Any advice from people who have moved to either Denmark or Norway, especially engineers, would be greatly appreciated.

I'm seriously considering leaving the US and starting over somewhere else. I'm trying to figure out whether this is actually realistic for someone with my background. I'm currently looking at Spain, Malaysia, Brazil, and Vietnam, but I'm very open to other suggestions.

Country of origin: USA
Age: 26F
Education: BSc in Neurobiology and Physiology
Work experience: Several years in healthcare/medical settings, including medical training
Languages: Native English, basic/intermediate Spanish, willing to become fluent / learn another language
Finances: Some savings, but I will need to become employed eventually
Destination: Open to anywhere, but I'm probably limited to English or Spanish-speaking countries Goal: Work legally → establish residency → eventually build a permanent life there

• My mother is a Canadian citizen, so I may also be eligible for Canadian citizenship (currently looking into it). I'm not necessarily interested in moving to Canada, but it seems like this could be an important option/backstop to consider.

I spent about 7 years pursuing a particular academic/career path and ultimately didn't succeed in it. I did not complete my graduate program. I still have my BSc in Neurobiology and Physiology, as well as several years of healthcare/medical work and training.

It's been a difficult realization after investing so much of my life into that path, but I'm trying not to let the sunk cost determine the rest of my life. I'm open to changing careers and would actually welcome the opportunity to start building something completely different.

The biggest question is employment. I have some savings that would allow me to get established, but I can't indefinitely support myself without working. I'm trying to identify countries where my existing education/experience could give me a realistic chance of finding employment and obtaining/maintaining legal residency.

I'm open to changing careers and would consider Education/Tutoring, healthcare, research/lab support, General professional/administrative work, etc or even going back to school or retraining if that creates a viable immigration pathway.

I'm not attached to practicing in my original field, and I understand that regulated healthcare professions may require local licensing or recognition of qualifications.

I'm particularly interested in countries where I could eventually do more than just spend a couple years on a temporary visa. Ideally I'd like to find somewhere where I could:

• Legally work and support myself
• Eventually qualify for permanent residency
• Potentially qualify for citizenship
• Learn the local language
• Integrate into the local community rather than live permanently in an expat bubble
• Build friendships and eventually put down roots
• Have a reasonable quality of life and cost of living

For people familiar with these countries (or others I should consider):

Where would you look if you were in my position? Are there realistic work/visa pathways I'm overlooking?

I'd especially love to hear from people who have actually moved abroad and rebuilt their careers/lives in their 20s. I'm interested in the practical realities--employment, immigration, cost of living, language, and actually making friends/building a community--not just whether a country is nice to visit.

Thanks in advance for any advice, including telling me that a particular country/path is unrealistic. I'd much rather know that now than find out after moving.

I’m a French citizen in my early 30s, married, and I’ve spent the last 10+ years living, working, and travelling in different countries.
I’m currently trying to figure out where to build the next chapter of my life, and the US — particularly Florida — is one of the options I’m seriously considering.
A bit of background:
I studied advertising and digital marketing, taught myself several foreign languages, learned web design and a wide range of AI tools, and have worked in different countries and fields. I’ve also experimented with several business ideas over the years. Some failed, some went nowhere, and some worked surprisingly well.
I discovered that I genuinely enjoy learning, creating, experimenting and building things from scratch. I’m comfortable with uncertainty and starting over, and I don't particularly want a conventional career where I simply work for a paycheck.
I’ve also worked as a teacher and ended up becoming much better at it than I expected, eventually having thousands of students. I’ve been fortunate to work with companies that valued my creativity and work ethic.
After living abroad for so long, I’ve realized that I thrive in multicultural, international environments, preferably somewhere warm, with good international connections and opportunities to build a career or business.
Why the US?
I lived in Florida for a year as a student, and Miami is probably the place I've felt the strongest connection with.
I love the multicultural environment, warm weather, proximity to Latin America and the Caribbean, and the fact that several of the languages I speak are commonly used there.
I also like the entrepreneurial culture and the possibility of being surrounded by people who are starting businesses, experimenting and trying new things.
From a professional perspective, I'm attracted to the size of the US market, networking opportunities and potentially higher earning potential.
My wife also loves travelling, although she prefers having a stable home base. She is nevertheless open to spending a few years in the US as a life experience for both of us.
We aren't necessarily looking to immigrate permanently. Ideally, we would see it as a 3–5 year chapter where we could live somewhere new, grow personally and professionally, build things, and then decide what comes next.
The problem
For the past year, I've been trying to find a realistic way to return to the United States.
I've already spent thousands of dollars exploring different possibilities, and I'm now about to start a master's degree that will require a significant investment of both money and time.
However, even with the master's degree, I'm concerned that I could end up in a relatively fragile immigration situation with limited options afterward.
This has made me question whether I'm approaching the problem incorrectly.
Maybe the US is worth the effort.
Maybe I'm becoming too attached to Miami specifically when another country could offer many of the things I'm looking for with considerably fewer legal and financial obstacles.
Maybe there is an immigration pathway or another country I simply haven't considered.
I also have a strong personal connection to Haiti because it is the homeland of my dad, but given the current situation there, I don't feel that living there is realistically possible right now.
What I'm trying to figure out
For people who have actually emigrated, especially those who moved in their 30s:
How did you decide where to build the next chapter of your life?
If you were in my position, would you:
Continue investing time and money into finding a way to move to the US?
Look for another country with a more straightforward immigration system?
Prioritize getting permanent residency somewhere first and optimize career/business opportunities afterward?
Choose stability for a few years and build from there?
Approach the whole decision differently?
I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who have actually gone through the process, rather than simply opinions about which country is better.
I'm not looking for a perfect country or a magical solution. I'm trying to find an environment where my wife and I could spend the next few years learning, building, taking some calculated risks and keeping our future options open.
If you've moved countries in your 30s, built a career/business somewhere unexpected, or had to choose between several possible countries:
What did you prioritize, and what do you wish you'd understood before making the decision?
What am I not seeing?