I wouldn't touch a Software Engineering job in Sydney at $80,000. That doesn't buy much of a lifestyle in one of the world's most expensive cities.

Visas are pretty easy to come by in Berlin - google "EU Blue Card".

Thanks, that's a relatively new development, I wasn't aware of it.

$80k AUD is €50k, sounds pretty close to me.

So, not worth jumping through all the extra inmigration hoops compared to Australia or New Zealand, not to mention the language barrier.

My grandfather was German-born and they didn't grant the citizeship to him, and I remember the ridiculous requirements he faced trying to get it (and he was more German than most actual Germans, a Fischer Reuter Spangemberg and more German surnames all the way down)

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/skilled-immigran...

"The paperwork is nightmarishly complex and requires a wealth of information, with endless pages and extra documents. Sometimes translations are required, sometimes not. In fact, she no longer sends the papers off without consulting an expert. Anders works as the human resources manager for Adidas. She is looking for skilled workers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. These days, even a company like Adidas rarely finds new employees in Germany, especially IT experts and designers."

Yeah I guess it depends on your situation. For us it was a lot easier due to EU freedom of movement laws. It just sounded funny ("funny") cause it always seemed so much easier than moving to the US when I looked into it.

I also know a lot of Israelis who got German citizenships via their grandparents, but there might be special rules that make it easier for victims of the nazis (and their descendants) or people that fled the country.

Either way the salary is probably never a reason to move to Germany (I don't think wages are higher than in any other western country), I meant more like that it's not a reason NOT to move in that particular example.

However, after taxes, you're looking at about €29k, as opposed to $60k (€38k).

Not sure where you got that number, I've never paid 40% tax on my income in Germany (despite earning more than €48k per year).