It's still 100% pure Gentoo (and actually these days even vanilla Gentoo itself offers precompiled binaries) so you still can compile things in rare cases that binary isn't already compiled with use/config that you want.

One time their support just give me a licence for a newer version of Windows - I've replaced the HDD/SSD, cloned/copied it and it was not activated. I contacted their chat support from that laptop and when they asked me for licence on the sticker I mentioned I'll have to come back in 5 minutes since I'll have to turn off laptop, and take out battery to see the MS sticker/hologram.

Support said "No worries, here's a new activation key".

Can't recall if it was from XP to Win 7, or Win 7 to 10.

--

And after buying 2 or 3 licences from another website just like G2A (Win 10 was ~€10 on Instant-Gaming) - a bunch of new computers (even brand new assembled desktops) were automatically activated.

When we used to have access to (not all, but a lot of) Udemy through work - I could enroll into seemingly unlimited number of courses. And IIRC there was no (or no good) playlist/favorites mechanism - so I would just enroll in courses as a "playlist".

While work now mandates "If you want to use Linux, it has to be Ubuntu" (and I complied). On personal front - about a decade ago I've moved from "vanilla" Gentoo to Calculate Linux - which was and still is 100% Gentoo.

These days difference is even smaller, but already 10+ years ago Calculate had sane profiles as well as all software packages as pre compiled binaries matching those profiles.

And although systemd is one of configurable USE keywords on Calculate/Gentoo - it's still not the default.

So there probably are some folks that haven't been touched by systemd at all... For now.

As a diagnosed ADHD person myself - I think you should spend time to get that ADHD diagnosis Even without meds, stuff like CBT helps.

Anyway - not sure if they are downplaying FAANG salary, or its more about the ROI (long hours, stress ...etc)?

I'm basically at European equivalent of FAANG, and I don't see myself doing US version even if it's double the money.

The latter. I'm not saying FAANG salary is nothing (or that SWE salary is nothing). I'm arguing that the juice ain't worth the squeeze, FAANG or not (FAANG comes with extra challenges, but even the basic SWE job has a baseline level of unique challenges to deal with... the interviewing/hiring process being one of them for example).

Furthermore, the amount of juice appears to be decreasing every day with things like RTO, layoffs, beliefs in AI replacing everyone any day now, and the ever decreasing standard of software quality, meaning AI may actually replace a lot of us - not because it's any good at software, but because once you have a monopoly you have no reason to produce good software.

There could be a big spread from smaller tech companies, and governments/police/military/etc that pay low even for tech positions.

So actually I would be really curious to meet/talk to someone that took a tech job in say police/military or such.

Most devs are probably in the top 20-30% band making tech a relatively "normal" (but good) salary in the local region.

I could be entirely wrong though :)

I'm curious to hear what's your definition of "life changing"?

Salaried tech compensation in Europe grew quite a lot over the last 10+ years. Still behind US, but no longer by as much as before.

Back in 2005, 2010, and even 2015 - companies were benchmarking salaries locally (and even down to that specific country). With FAANG opening up shops in EU, all other bigger tech companies started to benchmark compensation somewhat globally.

I know plenty of European software engineers that got a house with 30 years mortgage, and (with salary, RSUs and bonuses) paid it off in <10 years.

Granted, cost of real estate is now 3x compared to 10-15 years ago (other costs are also bigger, but not 3x). From what I've seen it's the same just about anywhere in Europe.

So if you just got a mortgage now, it will take longer.

But still - there's usually enough salary left (even after spending on traveling with 25+ vacation days) to put loads of money into rainy day funds, expensive hobbies, as well as investments/FIRE.

Most other sectors are not really close.

Not just for periods before and after they are living there - also during their stay.

For example. If they (nomads) lose their (remote) job - they won't get social benefits payments like the "locals".

They (nomads) also don't accrue retirement/pension which is usually part of income taxes.

And of course they pay all the other "taxes".

If they rent/buy anything - there's VAT. If they drive around in their car - they pay registration, insurance, road tax, highway tolls.

Pretty sure they also need to purchase some sort of health insurance.

Perhaps we have different ideas about what "taxpayer resources" and/or "public infrastructure" is?

I was highly skilled migrant/expat, now "naturalized Dutch", and work for Booking.com - so I know a thing or two about tourism (beyond just traveling myself).

Tourists least, digital nomads a bit more, and expats even more - use public infrastructure.

But over lifetime, locals use order of magnitude more than expats.

Interesting. We may know each other. Are you C-suite?

> so I know a thing or two about tourism (beyond just traveling myself).

Appeals to authority are always suspect, but it takes staggering arrogance to claim employment at Booking.com as your authority on the economic impact of tourism. But you know the old saying about making a person understand something when their pay cheque depends on them not doing so.

> Tourists least, digital nomads a bit more, and expats even more - use public infrastructure.

You have this order exactly backwards, with tourists using proportionately the most public infrastructure, and residents the least.

So far your views/opinions seem to be very "black and white". And beyond stating them - I'm yet to see anything to support or even just explain/elaborate them.

I'm still waiting to see how/why my order of who's using public infrastructure is wrong/opposite.

Care to explain?

So what? Public/societal services aren't pay-as-you-go.

For example, I also never used any public schools in my current country nor do I have kids of my own who use them, but I still pay for them via my income taxes because that's what's necessary for a functioning society. You're not exempt from paying taxes just because you use less public services.

So why should digital nomads be exempt from contributions to the society they enjoy living in?

I am saying that over their lifetime - they use much less of the societal services in their "remote/nomadic" locations compared to lifetime-permanent/locals.

And governments calculated that in.

If you put it like that, other groups of people also use less societal services. Why aren't they getting the same tax exemptions too?

Personally - I'm happy for my taxes money to be used for police or firefighters (and other things) and I still hope I never really use/need them.

At the same time. If The Netherlands hadn't had 30% tax ruling for expats, wife and I would've went back after my initial 12 months contract.

Back in 2010/2011 - even with software engineer salary, until 30% tax rule was granted for me - we were chipping away money we saved up living in Serbia.

Back in <=2010 wife and I were earning €1500~€1750 in Belgrade. Saving at least a third of that. In the NL the ~€45k gross (before 30% tax rule was granted) was not enough for rent, food and other normal (no car, not eating out ...etc.) costs.

But Dutch had 30% ruling, so even with one newborn we could still make ends meet. And 15 years later The Netherlands has 2 adult tax payers (at 0 prior cost for NL), and 2 children (born there, so same societal/taxpayer cost as any other NL citizen/child).

Then .... we agree?

>At the same time. If The Netherlands hadn't had 30% tax ruling for expats, wife and I would've went back after my initial 12 months contract.

With all due respect, working for Booking in NL you were not a Digital Nomad, you were a local resident and local worker.

While you did get the tax reduction during that time, a local company in NL made use of your labor and not some foreign company like in the case of digital nomads.

It's apples to oranges

And while digital nomads and expats are indeed apples and oranges. It seems you're missing the parts where they are the same?

Both digital nomads and expats didn't cost the country anything while those nomads/expats were growing up, got education ...etc.

Perhaps it's USA centric vs the rest of more "socialistic" countries POV?

Outside of USA - (specifically in Croatia, but also many other countries) child birth, subsequent parental leave, daycare, school, college/university and children healthcare are subsidized or even "free". Of course "free" means paid by all the taxpayers of that country.

And yes - I think that bringing in expats (implying there being more local business/employers, more corporate and income taxes) is better for a country/economy than bringing in digital nomads.

However when economy is heavily relying on seasonal tourism (and it seems like most of countries with digital nomad visa programs are), they also tend not to be the most suitable for other types of services/innovation/manufacturing/etc business.

They usually still need to spend more money on building office spaces, change the laws to make it more attractive for business to incorporate there...etc. And overall not feel like a ghost town outside of tourist season.

Perhaps Croatia (and other countries with digital nomad visas) are counting on digital nomads leading to more office space being built, some of nomads staying and starting a business, etc

Yes. Then why should expats pay taxes and digital nomads not? Especially given that digital nomads will be the first to leave the moment the shit hits the fan and go to another country, while expats are more likely to stick around for various reasons like family, community, kids, familiarity, etc. It feels like the incentives are totally backwards unless your goal is more wealth inequality for the locals, more expensive housings, etc. You're screwing over the people who contribute the most while giving tax breaks to those who will leave on a whim.

Also, regarding your previous comment, your example with NL is an outlier in the EU. There's no way other countries here could give expats tax breaks and not collapse their welfare systems which are built on the socialist principles of having people constantly paying in the system, so they can't just do what NL does without going through a revolution.

The example is also survivorship bias since plenty of other people moved to NL to work on poverty wages initially lower than in their home countries, and then left because they didn't get to those magic six figure Booking wages. So the expats and the NL government got scammed, and the only winners were are the NL corporations exploiting cheap labor selling them the dream of potential future high wages that might not happen. Not exactly a society I dream of.

>Perhaps it's USA centric vs the rest of more "socialistic" countries POV?

What does this have to do with the USA? I'm talking from an EU point of view on what other EU countries are doing.

>when economy is heavily relying on seasonal tourism

Maybe it shouldn't. Because that only leads you into the tourist trap branch of Dutch diseases. Maybe it's best to build an economy on more tangible things that have some trick down effect, and not that only benefits landlords and hospitality business owners.

> digital nomads leading to more office space being built

How many digital nomads do you know who travel the world only to work in the same office spaces they try to escape from, and not from cafes and beaches?

Same feelings towards non-nomadic Expats in The Netherlands - because of the "30% tax free for Expats".

Meanwhile the truth is that some 15-20 years ago - Dutch government introduced that "30% tax rule" as a cost saving measures.

Previously expats in The Netherlands would collect bills/receipts for expatriation related expenses (e.g. language classes, international school for kids, differences in cost of living/housing ...etc).

And processing those tax claims was so much bureaucracy that Dutch government realized just giving expats 30% of gross income tax free for 10 years (reduced to 8 and then 5 years) is both less money than actual expenses used to be, and much less paperwork/cost.

And let's not forget that (definitely for non-nomadic expats, though arguably also for digital nomads) country didn't need to pay their birth/growing up, education ...etc.

And (especially for digital nomads) might not need to cover the costs for their old age health, retirement and such.