Countries with lower taxes and a better quality of living?
I’m currently stuck in Denmark, and it feels like I’m in a never ending financial tug of war with the government, saying goodbye to 50% of my hard earned cash each month. Add a 25% VAT on everything and throw in some hefty taxes on utilities, electricity etc, and you’ve got a situation that has me questioning if this is the life I signed up for.
Living in a place where the cold weather feels like an extra tax on happiness, I’m craving a change.
I’m all about individualism, self-sufficiency, and independence. So here’s the big question: Where in the world are you guys finding that sweet spot between low taxes and a great quality of life?
As I contemplate my escape plan, Cyprus, Portugal, and Dubai are on my radar. I dream of living in a country where taxes don’t feel like daylight robbery. But, and it’s a big ‘but,’ my online income isn’t quite flexing its muscles enough for a move to the streets of Dubai just yet.
So, where are you residing? What’s the tax scene like in your corner of the world? Are you doing a happy dance every payday, or are you, like me, wistfully staring at your bank statement, wondering where all your money went?
And let’s not forget the living conditions. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your overall quality of life?
I’m not just asking for my benefit, this is a collective quest for a better lifestyle.
Your input is greatly appreciated!
(Just to be crystal clear, I’m not fishing for a lecture on why I should be grateful for my current Danish situation or any unrelated personal opinions. If your input doesn’t contribute constructively, save it for another time.)
It’s really hard to believe that people are talking about US as the utopia for taxes and infrastructure. They talk about our high salaries. When I traveled in Finland this summer, my friend was astounded how much something as basic as tampons cost. My daughter called me and she needed some cash to pay for them. So while “the taxes are low” and “the salaries are high”, what do you have left over at the end of basic necessities is not a whole lot
Health insurance for a person who has company sponsored insurance is at least $10,000 a year. And that’s a good price from employer based insurance. If you’re a freelancer it’s going to cost a lot more and that doesn’t include co-pays. You see you can spend $10,000 a year on health insurance but still have to sell out another $30 every time you go to the doctor . And your insurance still will not pay for everything and you’ll get additional bills, the ones we call mystery bills, where you agree to pay whatever fees without knowing what they’re gonna cost until after you’ve had the procedure done.
The cost of food here is astronomical. The quality of it is mediocre. The cost of housing is so unaffordable that most people can never buy a home. As other posters have said in almost every place, you have to have a car and that’s very expensive to run. The average cost for public university is $30,000 a year.
But throughout this entire thread, people talk about subsidies for the poor people. But they never talk about the other cost of government. Judges cost a lot of money. Legislators cost a lot of money. So much of taxes go to things that middle income and poor people don’t use. So much of taxes go to the ultra wealthy, and they are schemes to avoid paying for the infrastructure that helps them get wealthy. it’s very difficult to get wealthy in a place that doesn’t have a legal structure in place to make it happen.