Comments by "George H" (@georgeh6856) on "The Easiest Countries to Move to from the USA" video.

I spent two years in the Netherlands under the Dutch American Friendship Treaty. I did not have to use a lawyer to go through immigration there. Most people there speak English, and the culture is very (too) similar to the USA. However, buying property is getting expensive, although apartments are rent controlled. You can save money by not having a car. The weather was too cold and rainy for me. I had to move back to the USA because I could not make enough money to renew my residence permit there.
1
@newbsan7039 I was there under the Dutch American Friendship Treaty (DAFT). That treaty allows you to get a residence permit and cut through the red tape. Under DAFT, 1. You cannot use Dutch gov't funds. and 2. You cannot get a job there where you work for someone else. What you are supposed to do is set up your own company and then prove that you can earn enough to support yourself. I am very fortunate to have passive income so I did not need to run a successful business there. But the DAFT renewal requires it. So I had to come back to the USA. Yes, I could afford it. No, I could not stay.
1
@newbsan7039 I did have my own business in the USA before I went, but I definitely did not make enough money from it to depend on it. So I don't think that mattered much. I think I had to prove sufficient funds to be able to live there until I got my business up and running there. I think I had to prove I had an apartment before I signed up, but some of those details are fuzzy for me now. I did have to get a birth certificate with an apostille, which is a certification seal. I did not really know what that was, and then I had to go back and ask the US local agency or company for that. Do a search for DAFT. I also had to pay a 1250 euro fee. You can stay there for up to 3 months as a tourist without a visa, so I did not need to do any paperwork before I went, which was nice. I do not recall how much they wanted the business to make to renew immigration after two years. It may have been something like 20K or 30K euros, but I am just guessing. There is an actual form (in Dutch) that has to be filled out for DAFT renewals. Good luck.
1