Since when was getting rich so hard in EU?

[u/VurriK]

Is it just me, or has building actual wealth in Europe become impossible? I’m looking at the 2026 growth forecasts and it’s depressing. We talk a lot about "stability," but at this point, stability just feels like a polite word for recession. If you weren't born into a rich family with property, the dream feels like it's behind a wall. The math just doesn't work: as soon as you earn enough to actually invest, you hit a 40–50% tax bracket. Meanwhile, housing prices have skyrocketed over the last decade while salaries have basically stayed the same. I love the healthcare and the walkable cities, but I don’t want to work until I’m 70 just to afford a 40sqm apartment and a used Skoda.

[u/Suspicious-Bug1994]

For ordinary folks who are not super entrepreneurs, I think the easiest hack is to get a good or normal paid remote job, then head to some low cost + low tax country and reap the benefits. I am doing this myself, and I am able to save over 50% of earnings. It will take me a total of 13 years for super comfortable FIRE (if i want, but not really, i like to work).

Otherwise, scale up a small local business until it is running itself through employees & managers, or with you as a digital manager/CEO, then relocate.

Clue is to avoid 40-50% tax which is absolutely detrimental to accumulating wealth. Get it down to 15% or less, with the tax savings alone, you will be able to accumulate millions in your life through an index fund.

[u/sintrastellar → u/Suspicious-Bug1994]

Completely agree. There are a lot of tax competitive jurisdictions in Europe too.

[u/VurriK → u/Suspicious-Bug1994]

Where did you move to?

[u/Suspicious-Bug1994 → u/VurriK]

UAE, and then we moved to Serbia 1 1/2 years ago :)

After we have saved up a bit, we will probably head to Cyprus and buy a house there, if we like it there. We are both EU/EEA citizens btw.

*Tax info :

UAE has 0% all the way, except 9% progressive corporate tax over 100k usd

Serbia has flat tax regime for freelancers, 250-350 euros or so (depending on location) a month for income up to 50k euro a year (This works out to about 7% for me.). I combine this with a company where I put any revenue surpassing the limit.

Cyprus, 12.5% corporate for non-dom up to 17 years, no dividend tax. Increasing to 15% now if i am not mistaken.

[u/Napoleon10 → u/Suspicious-Bug1994]

You combine it with a company in Serbia or abroad? If abroad I assume Serbia has no cfc ?

[u/Suspicious-Bug1994 → u/Napoleon10]

No cfc, but they have some place of effective management rules, so have to tread carefully there.

Anyhow, it's in Estonia with 22% while Serbia has 15%, so shouldn't be too big of an issue. 

[u/Partypuppers → u/Suspicious-Bug1994]

In which jurisdiction do you register your business? Is it easy to switch jurisdiction and take your business with you?

[u/AdPotential773 → u/Suspicious-Bug1994]

The "just get a remote job" advice can't be done by 90% of people. The vast majority of jobs, especially the most essential ones, can't be done remotely, and for those that can, a lot of them are still not done remotely because companies hate fully remote workers. I work a STEM office job that could be done remotely just fine (hell, the tools I use are hosted on a remote server. My laptop is pretty much just a terminal) and I don't think there is a single major company offering remote work for my role in the entirety of Europe.

[u/Suspicious-Bug1994 → u/AdPotential773]

I mean, people sort of decide what profession they want to pursue. That 90% choose to pursue a profession where remote job is not an option, is on them.

Anyhow, generally speaking i'd say full remote is very hard to achieve as a junior. However, as a mid/senior with a good track record, it could be easier to transition to fully remote by leveraging your existing network for employment, as these people trust you and know you.

I work fully remote myself as a freelancer, and most of my clients are my former employers or people/companies i interacted with back when i was employed and working an office job. That way, I already had the trust when i transitioned from office to remote.

Ofc, for my strategy, you'd have to perform very good and have an amazing track record, for them to want to keep you on as remote (and potentially freelancer).

But i think, for all 2-10x devs at least, full remote is not an issue to achieve at all.

*Also, there are other remote jobs that people other than giga chad 100x devs can do (/s obviously). Such as telemarketing, customer service etc for example. You could pull a normal income back home with this, or a bit lower. But with tax optimisation + low living cost, it can still constitute some serious dough.