Hi everyone,
I wanted to share my current status quo of gradually moving away from US-based services and products and replacing them with European alternatives where possible.
This is not about perfection or ideological purity — more about direction, values, and supporting EU-based ecosystems when reasonable alternatives exist.
What I’ve Already Switched
Email / Cloud / VPN
I’m fully aware that Proton is a European company based in Switzerland. My decision to move away from Proton was not about trust or geography, but about risk concentration.
I was using Proton Mail, Proton Drive, and Proton VPN at the same time and decided to follow the principle of:
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
So I deliberately split these services across different providers:
- Proton Mail → TutaMail (Germany)
- Proton Drive → Filen (Germany)
- Proton VPN → Mullvad VPN (Sweden) (when I actually need a VPN)
This is more about resilience and diversification than distrust.
Music Streaming
- Deezer → Qobuz (France)
- While Deezer is often seen as European, I decided to move away after learning more about its ownership and investor structure.
- A significant share is held by non-EU stakeholders partly linked to the US, which didn’t align with what I want to support long-term.
- Qobuz feels more in line with my values, and the switch was a nice improvement in sound quality.
Messaging
- WhatsApp → Threema + Signal
- WhatsApp is completely gone.
- Signal is still US-based, but currently required for activism/political work.
Language Models
- ChatGPT → Le Chat
Charging Devices
- Anker → recable (Germany)
Voice Chat
- Discord → TeamSpeak
OS
- Windows → Linux Mint (Oh boy, do I love Linux Mint <3 Fck Windows)
Office / Creative Software
- Microsoft Office → LibreOffice (rarely needed anyway)
- For most creative work, I use Affinity Publisher, Designer & Photo
Entertainment
- Cancelled several US streaming services (e.g., Disney+)
Navigation
- Apple Maps → TomTom
Payments
- PayPal → Wero
Clothing
- While Adidas is a German brand, a lot of their production happens outside the EU, which I want to move away from over time.
- Ideal goal: Support European production under reasonable conditions.
- Shoes: Switching from Adidas → TREAZY (EU production, plant-based materials)
- Socks: Planning to switch to TREAZY socks (made in Portugal)
- Underwear — Open Question
- Looking for high-quality men’s underwear (trunks) that:
- Is genuinely produced in Europe,
- Feels really comfortable,
- Actually lasts a long time (doesn’t stretch out or fall apart after a few months).
- Do you have recommendations? Something you’ve had for years and still feel comfortable in, made in Europe?
- Looking for high-quality men’s underwear (trunks) that:
Audio / Hardware
- Initially planned: Shure SM7B
- Decided on: Sennheiser MD 421 Mark II (Supporting a European audio manufacturer felt like the better fit for me.)
What I Still Use (Reluctantly / Pragmatically)
- Netflix (No real EU alternative with a comparable catalog — I only subscribe occasionally, 1 month every few months.)
- Gaming: Steam (ecosystem reasons)
- Password Manager: 1Password (Canada — not EU, but best fit for my needs so far)
Big Open Topic: Smartphone
- Currently using an iPhone 15 Pro
- Considering a Fairphone with LineageOS
- Waiting to see developments around Fairphone 6
- Would love to see some experiences here.
Where I’d Really Love Community Input
- Messaging: Thoughts on Element / Matrix / XMPP?
- Streaming: Any serious European Netflix alternatives you like?
- Underwear: European underwear brands/experiences that are truly high-quality & long-lasting?
- General: EU services/products you’d strongly recommend or avoid?
This is very much a work in progress, not a finished state. Happy to learn, adjust, and iterate — feedback welcome! 😊
Thanks!
Edit: Improved structure and readability.
I really want an alternative to Amazon but I’m not sure such a thing exists.
Yeah, as far as I know, there isn’t really an Amazon-style alternative. I’m taking a slightly different approach, though.
I’m trying to buy locally whenever possible, then expand to regional and national options. On top of that, I’m gradually building a pool of reliable online shops that I can draw from when I need something. Basically, whenever I have to order something, I try out a shop, see how it goes, and if I’m happy with it, I’ll order there again in the future. If not, I move on and find a different one. Over time, this gives me a solid set of shops I can trust.
Above all, I try to buy directly from the brand whenever possible - for example, new cables or power supplies from recable, or clothes straight from the brand’s own online shop. This way I avoid middlemen whenever I can.
I get what you’re saying but it’s not like it’s a small sacrifice, there’s just nothing remotely like Amazon’s customer service. I find something I want, click a button, and it arrives at my door the next day. If somethings wrong or I change my mind I can return it without having to argue at all and I can drop it off at the return place at my local supermarket.
This could be replicated by other companies but they just don’t bother. I went to order a wallet from a normal shop once and they had an Apple Pay link. I clicked it and confirmed the purchase and it grabbed my delivery details automatically and sold it for the listed price as delivery was baked into the price. They should all be like that.
About a year ago I went to buy something and found a cheaper price than on Amazon. Went to buy it and it went like this:
Force me to create an account Force me to save payment details Add tax Add delivery Add tax to delivery Add processing fee
After all this I checked again and realised that the price was now nearly double what Amazon wanted for it and it wasn’t even express delivery. So I just deleted my account and ordered from Amazon.
Try your local ebay merchants. I’ve found it’s a better platofrm for buying stuff than Amazon.
I work for a small business that has a few boutiques and restaurants and the manager loves Amazon… she’d been doing the purchases for the nuts and bolts “maintenance” items for the locations when I needed to repair something - electronics, lighting, construction materials, etc. - but I’ve resorted to sending her links to ebay merchants for the exact things instead, as every defective, counterfeit item that has been purchased which failed in the shops under nornal use, came from Amazon.
Last order she put in was a dozen dimmable Feit 4 watt LED “filament” lightbulbs.
10 out of the 12 could not be unscrewed from the lamp sockets because the cement holding the glass of the lamp to the base failed. Twisted the first one right off before I realized it. I had to use cyanoacrylate glue (Krazy Glue) to get the bulbs out in one piece. Glued all of them once they were removed… (glad that the LED lights do not get hot like incandescent bulbs used to…) When I checked the printing on the bulbs… Yep. Totally counterfeit.
Done with Amazon.