American Expats!

Same problem here in The NL. And it doesn't help that my Dutch bf is super skinny and eats 3x as much as me... :O

And the beer here is great. I just weighed myself today after 5 months here and I think I'll be going into Keto cold turkey now

:-)

I used to live in Rotterdam and Now in Belgium so I have all of my American cravings, my Dutch cravings (stroop waffels, jodenkoeken, dairy dairy dairy ) plus the Belgian issues (fries, beer, chocolate, waffles, etc etc etc)

There are TONS of expats/ trailing spouses and hey my husband in from " ..." so I live there now on MFP and you will be amazed at the number of people you meet that originate near to where your from and now live in your new country as well

Why renounce your USA citizenship? Just become a dual citizen.

Some countries do not recognize dual/multi citizenship, like the U.S.

The US allows you to hold dual citizenship. The only way you can give up US citizenship is by formally renouncing it. I do not know if other countries will make you give up your citizenship to become their citizen, but the US will not make you.

Things could have changed. My mom is originally from El Salvador and she had to give up her citizenship to get US citizenship. My uncle's Cambodian wife I think is giving up hers as well. I'm not sure. *shrug

Before 1967, it may have been the case, but the Supreme Court ruling of Afroyim v. Rusk in 1967, US citizens cannot be forced to give up their citizenship. I am also not sure when the US government required you to give up your foreign citizenship to become a US citizen, but they don't do it now. You have to renounce your "allegiance to foreign governments" in order to become a US citizen, but it doesn't have any real affect on your existing citizenship.

Why renounce your USA citizenship? Just become a dual citizen.

If I could keep both citizenship I might consider it but it's just not worth it to me. In Norway you have to reapply for permanent residency every three years and while you have more protection to stay in the country it's not guaranteed. They could deny it and then you'd have to go back to the country you were originally from and start all over. I have a husband, a child and my future is in this country and it's not worth the risk that some new law would be put in place that would prevent me from being with them. Just like in America there are political parties in Norway that want to close the borders and stop immigrants and asylum seekers from entering the country.

PS: You have to renounce your US citizenship to obtain Norwegian citizenship. If you choose not to do that, then you live on permanent residency your entire life.

Why renounce your USA citizenship? Just become a dual citizen.

Some countries do not recognize dual/multi citizenship, like the U.S.

The US allows you to hold dual citizenship. The only way you can give up US citizenship is by formally renouncing it. I do not know if other countries will make you give up your citizenship to become their citizen, but the US will not make you.

You can only hold dual US citizenship if you were born with it, i.e. one parent has a different citizenship. If you accept citizenship from another country as an adult, you typically have to renounce your US citizenship. At least that's what they told me when I looked into getting German citizenship...

Regardless of if you are born into it, or choose to get one as an adult, the US does not make you renounce your US citizenship. They may have before 1967, but after the ruling in Afroyim vs. Rusk, they cannot. The Constitution protects your citizenship once you receive it, and the government cannot make you give it up against your will. You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afroyim_v._Rusk.

However, that does not mean that another government, such as Germany or Netherlands, can't make you give up your American citizenship as a requirement to be one of theirs. So if they require this, I do not know. All I know for sure is that from the US side, if you want to gain another citizenship and the country you are attempting to get citizenship from allows it, the US will not make you give up your citizenship.

Canadian living in London, but I was in Amsterdam 1988-2008.

Canadian (hope that's close enough) :flowerforyou:, living in Copenhagen, Denmark. Great to see so many expats in Scandinavia.

Here's to our Canadian and 'other' American expats! :drinker:

Awesome thread! Everyone's welcome to add me!

Originally from Mississippi…moved from Portugal to Denmark a month ago. Just now settling in and becoming familiar with the many new and different food products here. Funny, I find it's actually more similar to the US than to Portugal in terms of packaging and quality.

No specific diet; I just try to eat healthy and limit processed foods.

I'm a lucky one when it comes to citizenship: dual with USA and Portugal (my mother's Portuguese)…so living/working in the EU is easy peasy for me and my husband.

Looks like we'll be in Denmark for a long time…good thing we really like it here!!

I'm still getting used to it . I find the supermarkets very different from North America. I am glad that there are quite a lot of ethnic food stores in the city. I do go to Malmo, Sweden to get some British foods like Marmite which we cannot get in Denmark

re renouncing citizenship to become a citizen of another country...

the requirement to give up USA citizenship may be a requirement of the country that's issuing the new citizenship. Many countries don't recognise dual nationality and so require the old nationality to be renounced before someone can be granted citizenship. Their original country may choose not to recognise the renunciation though, and so their original country considers them a dual national, while their new country considers them to have one nationality only.

this happened to someone my husband knew... she renounced her British nationality to be a national of her husband's country. However, the British embassy/government didn't recognise her renunciation and sent her passport back to her after she got her new nationality. The new country doesn't recognise her British nationality, but Britain still considers her a citizen.

Renouncing your nationality is a lot more complicated than you'd think.

Well we do have a few markets that specialize in imported food, but you will definitely pay an imported price. I have a hard time finding good greens in the Taiwanese markets. I am personally not a fan of cabbage, and i don't think its worth it to eat. So for a box (that will last me about 4-5 days) of dark greens I pay about $10 and sometimes it goes bad before I eat it all since its imported from either the states or NZ. Other produce, I also tend to buy organic here. I dont know how many times I've washed my veggies, made a salad, begin eating it to find a caterpillar or something else unsavory inside. I'm lucky that we have a costco which I go to about once per month, but those are just the extras that I don't HAVE to have and I still spend about $2-$300 per trip. In a week I spend about $200 for my basic groceries and this is just for me. But I also rarely eat out because I can't handle all the pork, grease, and salt thrown on everything. I am just lucky that I have that money to spare since cost of living is really low and I make a decent wage here. Otherwise, I would be F***ED on my healthy eating plan. My main issue is that I tend to eat the same things because the kitchens don't come equipped with ovens which makes creativity in the kitchen hard to do. Also, the variety isnt what I am used to from America. So for me it is a protein for every meal, and the same basic 4-5 different steamed veggies for lunch and dinner. Muesli for breakfast and eggs, cheese, nuts for lunch. If its a good week they will have a supremely overpriced ($5 for a single serve cup) plain greek yogurt lol. But it is what it is! I am really looking forward to Turkey where I will get a better selection of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. I miss hummus and its hard to make without a food processor. lol.

I live in the land of greasy meat......greasy everything really. My students are constantly eating processed sugary breads and of course a ton of plain white rice as well as other carbs. It blows my mind how so many are thin. Also, they are pretty blunt. Weight to them (my students, adults are tad bit better, so it doesn't happen as often) is a black or white issue. You're fat or you're not, just like you have black hair or blonde hair. lol. So it isn't too long before a student or a random person on the street will say to me in Chinese or English "WOW YOU ARE SO FAT!" This is after losing 80 pounds......sigh!

But then again I will never have the body of a Taiwanese person. lol.

But regardless of the problems I've faced in eating, working out (its hard to find good gyms or equipment and not pay through the nose) this is my dream. To travel and teach and see the world. I think my next adventure in Turkey will come with its own set of ups and downs, but will be a great experience none the less.

Wow. Over here I just feel really self conscious because I'm the overweight American out of all these Swedes. (in tennis mostly)
How difficult is it to get good food in China/Taiwan?

Great thread!

I'm a (former) American, born and raised in Detroit, living in the Netherlands since 2001 (with a short pause where we lived in Ireland). I became Dutch in 2012 and had to renounce my American citizenship (I can totally sympathize with all the paperwork and hassle that requires!).

It's been great reading through all the different experiences and trials people have. While living here has sooo many perks, just adapting to and living with all the cultural differences can really get to a person at times! The small things that Americans take for granted while in America are just... well, they're different when you leave home. Of course, that goes for everywhere. Culture shock isn't reserved for just one nationality!

Anyone wanting to add me is welcome!

Hello all, glad to join this thread. I am an American Expat currently living in Panama City, Panama. I moved here about 2 1/2 months ago with my wife, who is a dual Panamanian/American citizen. Really enjoy it. I've been eating healthier, and walking more, which has helped me shed a few pounds, but tomorrow we're kicking it into high gear by starting P90X3.

I'm a while a way from permanent residency, let alone citizenship, but I could never see myself giving up my American citizenship. The good news is that even if I do become a Panamanian citizen, I won't have to give it up. But to each their own, and I could never blame anyone for their reasons as to why they would want to give it up.

As for taxes: regardless of income level, if you are an American living abroad, you have to file income taxes with the IRS. If you are making below a certain level, you can get an exemption from paying any, but you still need to file. Also, if you have at least $10,000 in a foreign bank account for at least one calendar day out of a year, you need to declare that to the IRS, or face major fines and penalties. Additionally, if you have foreign assets over a certain level, you have to declare those too. It certainly is a pain, but it's part of the price of the benefits of US citizenship, which includes keeping the right to vote, consular services, social security, and medicare, among others.

Always looking to make more friends, whether they are expats or not. Happy to meet you all!

Don't forget about state taxes (if you are unlucky enough to be from a state that has them). There are no exemptions for state taxes. Most states once you move overseas and pick up residence there will consider you not a resident of that state anymore. However, some states like California, will require you to prove that you are not a resident, they will consider you domicile and try to argue that you plan to return. This has been my biggest tax issue. In order to break residency I have for tax reasons had to cancel my voter registration, trade in/give up my California drivers license, and cancel all my back accounts. Basically I had to break any and all ties to the state or else they will argue that you plan on returning (it doesn't matter if you have residence in another country and are even married to a foreigner).

Does anyone else find dieting difficult outside of the US because of the cost of food? I drive across the border once a month to buy food in the States since meat and dairy are often 30-50% higher in Canada. Buying organic isn't even an option unless I hit the lottery. I do my best, but I imagine prices in other countries, particularly one's with small populations like Canada might be just as high, if not higher.

Food here is ridiculous! As much as it's become 'home' to me over the past nine months, I can't wait to get somewhere where I can afford decent food.

As one of the few expats on this thread living in what's considered a "third-world" country, I'm in one of those places where food is significantly cheaper than in the United States. In Panama, all the local basics (meat, cold cuts, bread, pasta, produce, rice, etc) are significantly cheaper than in the US. My rule for beef is that is costs around the same amount per kilo here as it does for pound in the US. For higher end beef from a nicer store, I'll usually pay about $6-8 dollars a kilo, which is what I was paying for a pound back home. Other items are 30-50% cheaper than they were in Tampa. Imported food is usually slightly more expensive than it is in the US, so it's all a question of the quality of life you want. Outside the city in Panama things are even cheaper. They still have the stands where you can get a cooked meal for less than a dollar.

Other cost of living here is cheaper, certainly compared to a metropolitan city. My rent is $1100 a month, and that gets me a 3 bedroom/2 bath with a giant balcony on the 18th floor of a high rise in a great location in the middle of the city. So I definitely enjoy the cheaper cost of living.

The downside is that salaries are significantly lower here. The minimum wage is just $624 a month, which is highest in Latin America, but compared to Europe or even the US is super low. For those who telecommute like myself, and others who work in select industries that have salaries more comparable to the US, it's not a problem. But it can make life tougher for many locals.

The government invests heavy in infrastructure, but not really in social programs. The country has a strong network of buses. You can take one anywhere in the city for $0.25, and can take one for 11 hours to the Costa Rican border for about $12. They also have an underground metro in the city that costs $0.35. But there's not too much of a social safety net. Unemployment is super low at 4%.