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Comment by mellavora | Hacker News Reader

Unless you want to stay longer than allowed by a Schengen visa,

or if you want to open a local bank account,

or access local healthcare,

EU banks don't want US citizens as customers however residents have a right to a basic payment account. Details at https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-pr...

US did this to themselves, FATCA et al pushed very aggressively by US government through regional/EU governments. Same goes for ie Switzerland, land for US retirees on very opposite wealth spectrum compared to this article. Now there is like 1 bank in the land of banks that accepts US citizens.

And first part of the OP's statement is true - its easy to retire into southern Europe from wealthier parts of Europe. Quality of life, safety, healthcare etc is usually more than fine.

FATCA is a terrible law. It's like they're machine-gunning people who try to get over the Berlin Wall.

So, practical question for Americans living in Europe: Are you able to just forgo local banks and use an internationally-minded US bank for everything? One without international fees? Can you just get your paychecks deposited there, say? Does this make anything impossible? Say, getting a mortgage?

I have a German bank and am a US citizen. No problems here. I've seen this reposted online on several occasions but living here and knowing other Americans here I've not actually heard any stories of people being denied a bank account. No idea if it would work but I suppose you could use something like Wise to bank here - it gives you an IBAN like a normal bank so it should work.

See my comment below but again - this is reposted online everywhere but I've yet to encounter this even one time in my 10 years here that US citizens get denied an account or get complaints from their bank about FACTA.

I just Google'd "europe retirement visa". Many, many hits. Most Southern European nations have reasonable options. The GP post is valid to me. About healthcare: I have no idea how that works, but surely it will be cheaper than the United States.

In Italy you just get free (=public) healthcare. When we visited a few years ago with our then-baby son he developed a fever and we took him to a pediatric hospital & were treated without anyone asking to see any health insurance or talking about cost. We just got in, got treatment and got out at the end.

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