In fact, taxes and bureaucracy are both way higher in Germany.
People generally don’t mind paying a premium in time or money if they feel what they get it worth it. Everyone knows this is true, witness people happily stand in line for hours to buy an expensive but desirable item or experience.
In Germany and Sweden and a few other countries taxes are high but you can look around you and see that it goes on high quality public services and infrastructure. The bureaucracy is time consuming but you know when you finally fill in that form, something will actually happen.
Countries where people complain about taxes and bureaucracy are countries where the tax money disappears into a Black hole and where paperwork is pointless.
Netherlands would be one of those countries that has high taxation and indeed has good infrastructure and still decent public services (though it's been getting worse). Still I decided I wanted to leave the country for many reasons, but in part because I feel I pay too much for what I receive.
Now I live in Thailand with my girlfriend and while infrastructure is much worse and public services are of (much) lower quality than The Netherlands, yet here I will be able to make much more savings due to low (in my case pretty much non-existent except VAT) taxation.
I think it's better for us to raise our daughter here because we'll be able to give her an easier life where she will not have to work very hard and can enjoy her life. I think it's easy to save at least 35k a year here (if not more) where in The Netherlands, due to high taxation and high cost of living I should be happy to save maybe 15k.
I also think in the near future we'd have some property coupled with some other investments that will allow me to "retire" by 45 if not earlier. In The Netherlands I don't believe this would be possible either. I am 36 years old now by the way.
The key is good health insurance now, build up savings quickly and then if needed can use money from the savings for serious stuff not covered by health insurance.
But the private hospitals are very nice indeed in Thailand and very affordable as well. A decent healthcare plan for me + girlfriend would cost us around 1200 EUR a year (total), while in The Netherlands it would be double that amount and we would just get basic healthcare (i.e.: not to be used for private hospitals).
I do believe it's highly unlikely I will lose my job (mobile programmer) in the coming years. I believe there will be plenty of work for at least the next 10 years and probably much much longer. And as a freelancer I might be less affected by ageism.
People generally don’t mind paying a premium in time or money if they feel what they get it worth it. Everyone knows this is true, witness people happily stand in line for hours to buy an expensive but desirable item or experience.
In Germany and Sweden and a few other countries taxes are high but you can look around you and see that it goes on high quality public services and infrastructure. The bureaucracy is time consuming but you know when you finally fill in that form, something will actually happen.
Countries where people complain about taxes and bureaucracy are countries where the tax money disappears into a Black hole and where paperwork is pointless.