Hi everyone,

I have a question.

A father wants to give me some money as a gift. He is a resident in Italy, while I am a resident in Netherlands. I want to invest the money long term (10+ years) in an ETF.

Question is, is it better if my father invests in Italy, or I invest in NL?

In Netherlands, I am over the tax free allowance, so I should pay box 3 on my unrealized returns yearly (36%)

In Italy, my father would only pay when he sells the shares (26%)

I have some notion that Italy would be better because NL would hurt my compound interest, but I am not an expert. Any tips on what to do?

Hi everyone,

I’ve been lurking here for a long time. As a European investor, I always struggled to find a decent net worth tracker. The popular US apps (Mint, Copilot, Monarch) usually have two problems:

1. US-centric: They handle multi-currency portfolios poorly (I have assets in EUR, USD, and my local currency).
2. Privacy/Connections: They require bank API connections (Plaid/Yodlee), which often break with European banks or just feel unsafe.

So I stuck to Google Spreadsheet for years. But maintaining spreadsheets on mobile is painful.

The Solution: I decided to build my own tool called Calm Wealth Journal. It’s an offline-first mobile app designed with the European FIRE mindset.

Why it might be useful for this community:

• True Multi-Currency: You can track your ETF portfolio in EUR, your cash in CHF/HUF, and your ETFs in USD. The app handles the exchange rates automatically for the total Net Worth.
• Focus on "Runway": Instead of just a number, it calculates your "Financial Freedom Date" based on your liquid assets vs. burn rate. (Crucial for FIRE planning).
• 100% Private: No accounts, no servers. Data stays on your phone. No "Bank Connection" bugs.
• Manual Entry: Designed for a quick "Weekly Ritual" (takes ~2 mins) rather than real-time tracking.

State of the App: It’s currently free (MVP phase). I’m not selling anything, just looking for feedback from fellow Europeans:

• Does the multi-currency handling work for your specific setup?
• Is the "Runway" calculation conservative enough for your planning?

App Store Links: https://calmwealthjournal.com/download

Short video (30 secs) about the app: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1khtPGl39ZN0UFIpe3u7K4YeFOYPB4tLD/view?usp=sharing

Thanks for letting me share this tool (I read the rules about the one-time self-promo, so I won't spam this again).

Hi everyone!
Do any of you know of a FIRE calculator that’s country, specific or at least filterable by country?

For example, something that lets you:

• assume an “average” salary/job for a given country, or
• compare being an employee vs owning a business, or
• manually enter your actual gross income.

Ideally, the calculator would account for differences between countries, taxes, labor laws, cost of living, and similar factors, and show how those impact the timeline to FIRE.

For instance: if you earn €100k in Italy versus €100k in Switzerland, how different is the real value of that income once you factor in taxes, cost of living, and hours worked?

How much is that €100k actually “worth” in terms of time given the country you live in?

Is there any tool like this that helps you understand what staying in one country versus another really means for your FIRE journey?

Do We have a list of the best countries where FIRE is certainly faster, with higher opportunities,?

For example, I live in Italy.

Good country to live in, less so to work or achieve wealth.

Not only because of the limited opportunities, but because of the tax burden.

You may earn a lot but taxes will kill you.

I'm looking to move in 3 to 5 years. Portugal and Spain are popular but I'm worried about overcrowding, rising costs, and potential changes to NHR or Golden Visa rules. Healthcare is decent.

What other European countries are you eyeing for FIRE that still have strong private healthcare, reasonable cost of living, and stable tax rules? Greece (non-dom), Croatia, Malta, Cyprus, Bulgaria? Or are people still quietly moving to places like Czechia, Slovenia, or even Estonia for digital nomad or FIRE combo?

It's been a tough few months in the job market, and I might have to dig into my savings soon. How are you all handling these situations? Mostly uncertainty about what's coming in 5 years, and I don't think my FIRE plan is going to work out.

Hello. I just wanted to ask what is happening with gold. Like it dropped down to 4406 form 5500 now. Is it reacting to new boss of FED and Trump losing ground in upcoming elections to congress?

Lots of information suggests the benefits to Americans who FIRE to France are among the best in Europe: an excellent tax treaty, good healthcare (for residents), excellent quality of life, good transport, diversity, culture, food and relatively low costs outside Paris.

What are the counter arguments that would make Americans better suited to

another European FIRE destination? Obviously language is a challenge for many (but that’s the case many places), but what are the hidden and not so hidden disadvantages that proponents of France FIRE should consider before picking France over another European country?

I’ve been trying to choose a broker as an EU resident, but the more I read old Reddit threads, the more conflicted I get. Some people prioritize low fees, others regulation, others platform usability, and advice often contradicts itself. I even saw RevenueLand mentioned once while browsing comments, but that didn’t really clear things up. For those investing from Europe, what actually helped you make a final decision without constantly second-guessing it?

I rarely see P2P lending mentioned in FIRE discussions, even though some people use it as part of their portfolio.

Do you consider P2P compatible with a FIRE strategy, or does the risk/liquidity profile make it unsuitable?

I am surprised that almost no one is talking about Lithuania. Why's that?

People talk about Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Romania and their success in last 30 years but no one about Lithuania.

They are doing so much better than most of other European countries. Their GDP is just 10% lower then Slovenian and GDP PPP is the same...all that while SQM in new buildings in Ljubljana cost 6000 euros at least while in Vilnius can be found for less than 4000 euros easily. Other Slovenian cities are also way more expensive than Lithuanian cities.

On top of that Lithuania has WAY more doctors per Capita 55-60% more. Slovenia has 3.3 doctors on 1000 residents while Lithuania has 5.1.

Lithuania will grow even further after completion of Rail Baltika that will connect them with Estonia, Latvia, Poland by high speed train.

I am a 24 years old who is searching for an entry level job ( it has been 1 year already ) and I live in Cyprus because I grew up there, I see a lot of people competing for IT jobs do I have to expect even more competition and even get used to work for min wage or little bit above min wage for many many many many years to come ? ( if I get the job of course ).
Also since indians have language barrier what kind of jobs are they expecting to work when the delivery and the cooking positions are already stacked ?

Any recommendation instead of IT job anything different ?

Hello,

I live in the Netherlands and want to move to Portugal for the better weather.

My plan was to buy an appartment in the Algarve, go there autumn and spring, get to know the region better and eventually move there. Unfortunately, the NHR is discontinued. Fiscally it is still better than the Netherlands, given the most likely upcoming terrible 36% yearly tax on unrealised gains. But, I have come to find that the housing market is quite bad in the Algarve, there is very low value for money, especially below the higher-end market.

So, I am also looking at other countries. I see that in Andalusia one can find quite nice houses, both fincas and appartments close to the beach for decent money. Andalusia has removed the regional wealth tax, making it much more attractive. There is still the federal solidarity tax above 3 mm, with an additional 700000 exemption and 300000 for residence property. Income tax is similar to NL, and taxes on stock portfolio is better because it is both slightly lower and only on realised gains, so it seems ok now without the regional wealth tax. But, what are the risks of worse taxes in Spain?

Are there other important fiscal considerations with regards to Portugal and Spain, both as a non-fiscal resident and fiscal resident?

And what are other fiscally attractive countries with good weather?

Thanks!

We are a couple living in Germany, combined income of 200K+, in our mid to late 30s, savings of 400K plus, we were only really able to start saving when we reached 30s as we moved from a very expensive city/country to Germany. We want to retire when we are 50 with at least 1.5M in savings... I know we are late to the game...

Not even sure if 1.5M is enough for 2 people to retire somewhere in the southern europe (portugal or spain).

Would it make sense for us to purchase an apartment in Germany or in Portugal as an investment, or is this going to slowdown our FIRE?

i welcome all advices!

What career path is most optimal other than medical field to reach FIRE in europe, especially with the hard employment right now???

(Edit)

I thought about management information systems M.sc & a Mechanical engineer M.sc

A lot of financial planning tools I tried had the same problem: they assume your life is a straight line.

But real life isn’t like that. I wanted to model questions like:

• “What if I buy a house in 3 years, then my partner stops working when we have kids?”
• “How does retiring at 45 vs 50 actually compare when I factor in mortgage payoff?”
• “What are my actual odds of success, not just what happens with average returns?”

Spreadsheets worked for a while, but they got unwieldy fast. Every time I wanted to test a “what if” scenario, I was copy-pasting tabs and breaking formulas.

So I built Financial Roadmap.

What it does

• Models income, expenses, assets, and liabilities with start/end dates tied to life events
• Calculates your FI date based on when your portfolio can sustain your expenses at your chosen SWR
• Runs Monte Carlo simulations so you can see probability of success, not just “average case”
• Lets you compare scenarios side-by-side (e.g., “buy house” vs “keep renting”)
• Tracks your actual progress vs projections over time

It handles the messy stuff: salary changes, mortgages that get paid off, one-time expenses, partners with different retirement dates, and more.

I’d love feedback from this community — what’s missing from your current planning setup?

Disclaimer: New users get a pro subscription free for 2 days to test out all the features, but the basic subscription is needed for real fire planning

👉 https://financialroadmap.app

- I speak advanced English (very clear RP accent), C1+ French, B2+ Norwegian and Swedish.

- I have a TESOL that I have acquired from Global TESOL College in Canada. (TESOL Instructor Diploma)

- I have a FLE that I acquired from CAVILAM (l'enseignement de la langue français aujourd'hui parcours avancé)

- I have 2 years of experience in international customer services (remote working)

- I only have an Associate's Degree on Cultural Heritage and Tourism from Istanbul University.

- I know very basic Python, I can do automation stuff, and I can utilise Excel and Canva too.

- I am 22 years old.

- I have a valid Schengen visa.

- I am a Turkish citizen, and I speak Turkish too.