Interesting piece, and I appreciate hearing first-hand from a European how the costs have changed.

I moved to Germany in 2016 (from the US) because it was the only place where freelance visas were available and where I could get good public health insurance as a freelancer in the arts and publishing. Health insurance in my own country is insane.

There are a lot of other places I'd like to explore, but as a woman who has experienced gender violence in machista cultures while simply going about my life (e.g., riding the bus, heading to class), I feel that the world is substantially "smaller" for me than for a man; female travelers/immigrants have safety concerns that most men don't, which unfortunately often limits us to pricier countries... and also costlier lodging/rents (i.e., safer neighborhoods). So, geo-arbitrage also has a gendered aspect, I would like to add. ;)

All in all, I don't regret having moved to Germany. Even though it wasn't necessarily a place I've felt THRILLED about, I prefer my quality of life there MUCH more to the quality of life in the US.... but Berlin's housing crisis (driven by a combination of AirBnB, rent controls, and the vast spikes in migration in recent years) leaves me with a chronic sense of stress. I can't afford my own country, and I can barely afford Germany.

Meanwhile, in the background, all these years, my lifelong dreams of world-wandering, going neglected for lack of money. Hopefully someday. ;)