Ashley Turner

Engineering Manager

Austin → Berlin EM. Lower salary, better life — is it actually worth it?

Berlin, Germany

Ashley traded a $180k EM role in Austin for a €95k one in Berlin in 2022. On paper it was a pay cut; four years later she works 40-hour weeks, has 30 vacation days, and hasn't opened her laptop on a Sunday since. She's no Germany evangelist — she misses Tex-Mex and smiling customer service — but she's honest about the tradeoffs.