This is why I ended up in London - to me it's the next best thing. Being an EU citizen I have equal rights here and employers can't lowball my salary, because they have no such leverage like they do in US with H1-B visa. There's nothing immigration-related looming over my head and working hours are better than in US (from what I hear), so I have plenty of time for starting my own gig on the side initially when I'm ready for it.
The irony is that you can get to US if you have a million to invest (if that hasn't changed yet), but if you have already made it this far, going to US kind of defeats the purpose - "If I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere".
While it's relatively easy for people with an EU passport to move to the UK, the work permit system is just as bad as the H1-B visa system. It's capped at around 20000 applicants per year.
For those with good English and tech skills without an EU passport, Dublin is a fairly good option. The work permit system is reasonable and the demand for skills is quite strong. There are also a lot of US companies with operations in Dublin, which opens the possibility for an L1 visa to get to the US.
I think UK companies should also consider setting up offices in Dublin, so they can get access to talent they can transfer to the UK using the intra company transfer visa, similar to companies in the US having offices in Canada.
> employers can't lowball my salary, because they have no such leverage like they do in US with H1-B visa
They have to pay you at least the average wage for your position, experience and area.
At least from the other H1B folks I know, all of them get above average salary.
There is a lot of indian body shops doing consulting (infosys, ...) that are super shady, but if you work at a 'regular' US company, you should be fine from what I've seen.
The irony is that you can get to US if you have a million to invest (if that hasn't changed yet), but if you have already made it this far, going to US kind of defeats the purpose - "If I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere".