Skill: ivangdavila/europe (version 1.0.0)

--- name: Europe slug: europe version: 1.0.0 homepage: https://clawic.com/skills/europe description: Navigate Europe for travel, relocation, study, remote work, and cross-border life with bloc logic, country fit, rights, timing, and practical execution. changelog: "Initial release with a Europe-wide framework for travel, moving, work, study, and cross-border planning." metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🌍","requires":{"bins":[],"config":["~/europe/"]},"os":["linux","darwin","win32"],"configPaths":["~/europe/"]}} --- ## When to Use User needs Europe-specific guidance that generic travel or relocation advice usually gets wrong: choosing the right country or city, understanding EU vs Schengen vs eurozone rules, planning multi-country trips, moving, studying, working remotely, handling healthcare, or operating across borders. This skill should activate for seven modes: visiting Europe, choosing a base in Europe, moving to Europe, living in Europe, studying in Europe, working remotely across Europe, and operating a Europe-facing business or freelance setup. ## Architecture This skill works statelessly for one-off Europe questions. If the user wants continuity across sessions, memory lives in `~/europe/`. If `~/europe/` does not exist, read `setup.md`, explain planned local storage in plain language, and ask for confirmation before creating files. See `memory-template.md` for structure. ```text ~/europe/ └── memory.md # Nationality, mobility rights, target countries, timelines, constraints, and open loops ``` ## Quick Reference | Topic | File | |-------|------| | Setup guide | `setup.md` | | Memory template | `memory-template.md` | | Europe blocs, rights layers, and country-group logic | `europe-basics-and-blocs.md` | | Macroregions, corridors, and cluster tradeoffs | `regional-corridors-and-country-clusters.md` | | Choosing countries, cities, and base strategy | `choosing-countries-and-cities.md` | | Entry, visas, residence pathways, and right-to-stay logic | `entry-visas-and-right-to-stay.md` | | Schengen math, borders, and 90/180 traps | `schengen-border-and-90-180.md` | | Move-in sequence and settling checklist | `moving-and-settling.md` | | Housing, banking, SIMs, utilities, and local admin | `housing-banking-phone-and-admin.md` | | Jobs, universities, qualifications, and business setup | `work-study-and-qualifications.md` | | Tax residence, social security, and cross-border paperwork | `taxes-social-security-and-residency.md` | | Public healthcare, EHIC/GHIC logic, and private cover | `healthcare-and-insurance.md` | | Rail, flights, ferries, buses, and passenger rights | `transport-and-passenger-rights.md` | | Multi-country routing, road trips, and Europe pace design | `rail-flights-and-road-trips.md` | | Eurozone reality, cards, cash, and everyday payments | `money-payments-and-eurozone.md` | | Remote work, digital nomads, and split-country life | `remote-work-and-digital-nomads.md` | | Seasonal stays, second homes, and part-year Europe life | `seasonal-living-and-second-homes.md` | | Families, children, schools, and student tradeoffs | `family-students-and-children.md` | | Scams, emergencies, 112, and consumer protection | `safety-scams-and-consumer-rights.md` | | Climate, shoulder seasons, and event timing | `weather-seasons-and-trip-timing.md` | | Weekend trips, interrail-style loops, and short-break logic | `weekend-trips-and-multicountry-routes.md` | | Official sources map | `sources.md` | ## Core Rules ### 1. Europe Is Not One Operating System - Separate Europe the continent from the EU, Schengen Area, eurozone, EEA, UK, Switzerland, Balkans, and microstates. - Never answer a Europe question as if all countries share the same visa, tax, bank, health, or border rules. - Start by identifying which legal bloc and which country or corridor actually controls the answer. ### 2. Classify the User Before Giving Advice - Decide which Europe mode applies first: visitor, future resident, current resident, student, worker, remote worker, family household, or operator. - Then anchor the answer to nationality, passport, visa status, target country, intended length of stay, and whether the user is moving between countries or just visiting. - If that context is missing, ask before pretending Europe is interchangeable. ### 3. Separate Stable Framework from Volatile Execution - Bloc definitions, 90/180 math, passenger-right concepts, and broad routing logic are stable enough to explain. - Visa thresholds, local registration steps, fees, opening-hour quirks, health enrollment steps, and tax details can change. - For volatile topics, explain the framework first and then verify with official current sources before giving precise compliance steps. ### 4. Country Fit Beats Bucket Lists - Europe planning fails when users pick countries from aesthetics alone. - Compare countries and cities using legal access, language load, weather, housing stress, healthcare depth, transport quality, salary reality, and social fit together. - Use `choosing-countries-and-cities.md` before endorsing a base. ### 5. Cross-Border Friction Is the Real Difficulty - Border rights, tax residence, social security, roaming, banking, school systems, driving rules, and healthcare access can all change when the user crosses countries. - Treat Europe as a network of connected but non-identical systems. - When the user is splitting time across countries, lead with what breaks at the boundary. ### 6. Deliver Sequences, Not Vibes - Europe users often need a path like "choose country -> confirm right to stay -> secure housing -> register locally -> fix bank/SIM/health -> then optimize lifestyle." - For trips, answer with transfer logic, reservation deadlines, and fallback routes. - For moves, answer in the form "do this before arrival / in week one / in month one / after stabilizing." ### 7. Respect the Difference Between Tourist and Resident Advice - A city that is great for a 4-day trip can be bad for long-term housing, bureaucracy, or income fit. - Do not use tourist-season impressions to answer residency, schooling, or work questions. - Do not use residency-oriented cost assumptions to answer short-break or interrail questions. ### 8. Use Official Europe-Level Sources Before Blogs - Prefer Your Europe, the EU Immigration Portal, EURES, Europass, national government portals, Eurostat, and passenger-rights pages. - Use private guides only as secondary context, never as the final authority for legal or rights-sensitive topics. - If a country-specific official page is required, say so clearly instead of improvising. ### 9. Before Writing Local Memory, Ask - If continuity would help, explain exactly what would be stored in `~/europe/`. - Ask for confirmation before creating or changing local files. - Do not save passport numbers, tax IDs, banking credentials, or full street addresses unless the user explicitly asks for that behavior. ## Common Traps - Treating Europe as if EU membership, Schengen membership, and euro use are the same thing. - Recommending a move path without checking the user's nationality and right to stay. - Suggesting multi-country trips that look short on a map but waste time in transfers. - Mixing tourist affordability with long-term housing and tax reality. - Assuming roaming, healthcare, or consumer rights apply equally in every European country. - Giving digital-nomad or residency advice without asking whether the user wants legal residence, tax residence, or just a long visit. - Ignoring language load, local admin friction, and housing inventory until too late. ## External Endpoints | Endpoint | Data Sent | Purpose | |----------|-----------|---------| | https://europa.eu/youreurope/ | Page requests only unless user explicitly wants country-specific rights guidance | EU citizen rights, travel, residence, work, health, consumer protection | | https://immigration-portal.ec.europa.eu/ | Nationality and target-country context only if user asks for non-EU residence or work guidance | Non-EU migration pathways by country | | https://eures.europa.eu/ | Country, language, and profession context only if user asks for job-market guidance | Jobs, living and working conditions | | https://europass.europa.eu/ | Qualification or CV context only if user asks for recognition or study/work prep | Skills, qualifications, and CV framework | | https://eur-lex.europa.eu/ | Page requests only | EU law and regulation reference | | https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat | Page requests only unless user asks for comparative data pulls | Europe-wide comparative statistics | | https://europa.eu/112 | Country or location only if user asks for emergency readiness | Europe emergency-number framework | | https://www.eccnet.eu/ | Country and consumer-case context only if user asks for purchase or travel-rights help | Consumer protection and dispute support | | https://europa.eu/solvit/ | Country and rights-problem context only if user asks for EU-rights problem solving | Cross-border rights assistance | No other data is sent externally. ## Security & Privacy **Data that may leave your machine:** - Public page requests to official EU and national portals - Country, nationality, residency, profession, or route context only when the user asks for location-specific guidance **Data that stays local:** - Mobility goals, target countries, trip or move timelines, family constraints, and open tasks in `~/europe/` **This skill does NOT:** - Submit visa, tax, residency, or university forms on the user's behalf without explicit instruction - Store passport numbers, tax IDs, bank credentials, or payment information in local memory by default - Assume country-specific rules when the answer depends on nationality, right-to-stay, or local registration ## Trust By using this skill, details such as nationality, target country, and cross-border route context may be checked against official European or national-government websites when the user asks for precise guidance. Only install if you trust those public services with that lookup context. ## Related Skills Install with `clawhub install <slug>` if user confirms: - `travel` — General trip planning and itinerary structure - `booking` — Reservation workflows and confirmation hygiene - `car-rental` — Better cross-border rental and handoff planning - `health-insurance` — Deeper insurance-plan comparison support - `english` — Language support for bookings, admin, and fallback communication ## Feedback - If useful: `clawhub star europe` - Stay updated: `clawhub sync`

path: choosing-countries-and-cities.md
content: # Choosing Countries and Cities

Use this file when the user does not yet know where in Europe they should base, move, study, or spend most of their time.

## Country-Choice Dimensions

| Dimension | Questions to ask |
|-----------|------------------|
| Legal fit | Can the user actually stay, work, or study there? |
| Housing reality | Is rental inventory manageable for the user's budget and timeline? |
| Language load | Can the user function in English only, or do they need local-language capacity fast? |
| Work and salary | Does the country support the user's field or remote-work model? |
| Daily life | Transit, walkability, healthcare depth, family fit, and admin friction |
| Weather and seasonality | Heat tolerance, winter tolerance, daylight, and shoulder-season use |
| Connectivity | Rail, airports, and weekend-access patterns |

## Fast Regional Heuristics

| Cluster | Often good for | Watch for |
|---------|----------------|-----------|
| Iberia | Climate, lifestyle, food, medium-cost cities, remote-work appeal | Salary levels, bureaucracy, hot summers, housing in hot markets |
| France and Benelux | Strong rail, major cities, institutions, consumer protections | Cost, bureaucracy, housing competition |
| Italy | Lifestyle, culture, smaller-city depth, varied regional choices | Wage gaps, slower admin, regional differences |
| DACH and Nordics | Salaries, systems, order, welfare depth | Cost, language expectations, winter and housing competition |
| Central and Eastern Europe | Value, growing tech hubs, easier short-trip coverage | Local salary differences, country-to-country variance, legal specifics |
| UK and Ireland | English use, strong universities, certain job markets | Post-Brexit border rules, high cost, housing stress |
| Balkans and non-EU southeast | Value, slower pace, scenic routes | More fragmented rights, payments, insurance, and border logic |

## Good Comparison Questions

Ask these before recommending a country:
1. Tourist base, relocation base, student base, or tax base?
2. Full-time, split-year, or project-based stay?
3. Prioritizing weather, salary, affordability, or legal simplicity?
4. Need a mega-city, mid-size city, or slow coastal or mountain base?
5. Rail-first life, airport-first life, or car-first life?

## City vs Country Rule

- Use country choice to set the legal and macro-economic frame.
- Use city choice to set housing, transport, community, and day-to-day quality.
- A country may be right while the capital is wrong for the user's actual life.


path: entry-visas-and-right-to-stay.md
content: # Entry, Visas, and Right to Stay

Use this file whenever the user asks about moving to Europe, staying beyond tourism, or working or studying legally.

## First Principle

Europe does not have one unified long-stay system.

The correct answer depends on:
- nationality
- target country
- purpose: tourism, study, work, family, retirement, or remote work
- stay length

## Three Big User Groups

### EU/EEA/Swiss citizens
- Often have the easiest pathway inside many European countries.
- The real work is usually registration, housing, tax, and healthcare, not a visa.
- Country-specific registration still matters.

### UK citizens
- Need separate post-Brexit treatment in many scenarios.
- Do not assume EU-style free movement.
- Tourism, work, study, and long stays must be handled separately.

### Non-EU citizens
- Need country-specific visa or permit logic for stays beyond tourism or for employment, study, or family reunification.
- Use the EU Immigration Portal as a Europe-level starting point, then confirm on the target country's official site.

## Safe Answer Pattern

1. Identify nationality and passport.
2. Identify target country.
3. Identify intended stay length.
4. Identify work vs study vs tourism vs family vs retirement.
5. Give the framework first.
6. Then verify the target country's current official requirements.

## Common Mistakes

- Saying "move to Europe" without naming a country.
- Confusing visa-free tourist access with work or residence rights.
- Assuming a digital-nomad route exists continent-wide.
- Planning a move before confirming right to stay.


path: europe-basics-and-blocs.md
content: # Europe Basics and Blocs

Use this file before answering any Europe question that risks confusing geography with legal reality.

## The Four Layers That Matter Most

| Layer | Why it matters |
|-------|----------------|
| Europe (continent) | Geography, climate, culture, route logic |
| European Union | Citizen rights, consumer rights, roaming, social-security coordination, common regulation |
| Schengen Area | Border checks, 90/180 logic for many visitors, internal free movement |
| Eurozone | Currency and payment convenience |

## Core Distinctions

- A country can be in Europe but not in the EU.
- A country can be in the EU but not in the eurozone.
- A country can be in Schengen but not in the EU.
- UK, Switzerland, Balkans, and microstates often require separate logic even when the trip still feels "European."

## What Usually Changes by Layer

### EU layer
- Right to live and work for EU citizens
- Roaming and many consumer protections
- Coordination of some social-security and qualification frameworks

### Schengen layer
- Border-crossing experience inside the area
- 90/180 stay math for many non-EU visitors
- Need to think in area-wide time spent, not just one country

### Eurozone layer
- Currency friction and ATM/cash assumptions
- Easier price comparison and card use

### Country layer
- Visa categories
- Tax residence
- Healthcare enrollment
- Housing processes
- School systems
- Job market and salary reality

## Default Rule

If the answer changes based on nationality, country, or stay length, do not answer at "Europe" level only.

Use Europe as the framework, then drop to the correct country layer.


path: family-students-and-children.md
content: # Family, Students, and Children

Use this when the user is deciding with children, studying, or evaluating Europe beyond solo travel.

## Families

- Europe family fit depends on school access, healthcare, housing size, walkability, safety, and whether both adults can function in the local system.
- Do not recommend a city only because it is pretty or walkable.
- Ask whether the family wants international school, public school, or a local-language path.

## Students

- Student life is shaped by housing and bureaucracy as much as by the university.
- Ask whether the user wants a prestige track, a lower-cost city, or a pathway to stay after study.
- Work rights during study and post-study options differ by country.

## Child Logistics

- Registration, health access, school calendars, and childcare waitlists all vary.
- A country that is fine for adults can be poor for a family if admin and housing chains are weak.

## Good Comparison Lens

For families and students, compare:
- affordability
- paperwork load
- language barrier
- healthcare depth
- safety and daily independence
- airport access to home country


path: healthcare-and-insurance.md
content: # Healthcare and Insurance in Europe

Use this for travel cover, EHIC/GHIC questions, resident enrollment, and cross-border care concerns.

## Core Distinction

- Short-stay travel cover
- Public healthcare entitlement
- Private insurance
- Long-term resident enrollment

These are not interchangeable.

## Europe-Level Reality

- EHIC or GHIC can help some users access medically necessary public care in certain contexts.
- EHIC or GHIC is not the same as full travel insurance and does not solve every private-cost or repatriation issue.
- Residency often changes the correct health pathway from travel cover to local enrollment.

## Practical Use Cases

- EU citizen moving within the EU
- UK traveler or resident using GHIC logic
- Non-EU student choosing required private cover
- Remote worker splitting time across countries
- Family choosing cities partly through healthcare depth

## Good Advice Pattern

1. Identify nationality and current healthcare status.
2. Identify trip vs move vs residency.
3. Identify target country.
4. Explain what Europe-level rights may exist.
5. Then verify country enrollment steps if residency is involved.


path: housing-banking-phone-and-admin.md
content: # Housing, Banking, Phone, and Admin

Use this when the user needs daily-life setup, not just entry rights.

## Housing

- Europe has very different rental cultures by country and city.
- Competition can be extreme in capitals and tech-heavy cities.
- Ask whether the user needs long-term lease, furnished short-term, student housing, or family housing.
- Do not separate housing advice from registration, because some countries need proof of address to unlock other services.

## Banking

- A pan-European fintech can solve the first week, but local banking may still matter for payroll, rent, taxes, or utility setup.
- Ask whether the user needs a temporary landing solution or a full local bank relationship.
- Explain that account-opening requirements vary by country and resident status.

## Phone and Connectivity

- Roaming and eSIM convenience are strong Europe features, but they do not remove the need for a reliable local plan in long stays.
- For short trips, EU roaming rules may be enough in many cases.
- For long stays, local contracts, proof of address, and local customer-service realities matter.

## Local Admin Pattern

Many European setups form a chain:
1. legal status
2. address
3. local ID or registration
4. bank or payroll setup
5. healthcare or tax enrollment

The exact order changes by country, but the dependency pattern is common.


path: memory-template.md
content: # Europe Memory

Create `~/europe/memory.md` with this structure only if the user wants continuity across sessions:

```markdown
# Europe Memory

## Status
status: ongoing
version: 1.0.0
last: YYYY-MM-DD
integration: pending

## Current Situation
- Mode: visitor / choosing-base / moving / resident / student / work / remote / family
- Nationality or passport context:
- Target country or shortlist:
- Target city or shortlist:
- Stay length or seasonality:

## Constraints
- Budget pressure:
- Right-to-stay or visa posture:
- Family, school, or care needs:
- Language comfort:
- Transport and mobility realities:
- Tax, healthcare, or insurance sensitivities:

## Open Loops
- Task:
- Waiting on:
- Next deadline:

## Notes
- Natural-language observations that improve future Europe guidance

---
Updated: YYYY-MM-DD
```

## Status Values

| Value | Meaning | Behavior |
|-------|---------|----------|
| `ongoing` | Still learning context | Keep gathering high-signal details naturally |
| `complete` | Enough stable context exists | Reuse what is already known before asking |
| `paused` | User does not want more setup right now | Help with current task and avoid extra intake |
| `never_ask` | User does not want this tracked | Stop collecting new background unless asked |

## Key Principles

- Keep notes in natural language, not config-style keys.
- Nationality, target country, and length of stay matter more than a generic "Europe" label.
- Save only details that will materially improve the next Europe answer.
- Keep the default memory coarse. Do not store full identifiers unless the user explicitly wants saved continuity at that level.
- Update `last` on each meaningful use.


path: money-payments-and-eurozone.md
content: # Money, Payments, and the Eurozone

Use this file for budgeting, cards, cash, currency friction, and everyday payment behavior.

## First Distinction

Europe is not one currency zone.

The euro removes friction in some countries, but UK, Switzerland, parts of the Balkans, and other non-euro countries still create payment and budgeting differences.

## Practical Rules

- Card use is widespread in much of Europe, but cash still matters in some countries, markets, and taxis.
- ATM strategy matters more than exchange-counter strategy.
- Budget by country and city, not by continent.
- Cost of living, wages, and housing pressure can swing more inside Europe than many users expect.

## Good Questions to Ask

1. Short trip or long stay?
2. Eurozone-only route or mixed-currency route?
3. Need rent, payroll, and bills or just travel spending?
4. Backpacking budget, family budget, or premium city-break budget?

## Trap

Users often say "Europe is expensive" or "Eastern Europe is cheap" in ways that hide city, season, and housing differences. Force the comparison down one level.


path: moving-and-settling.md
content: # Moving and Settling in Europe

Use this when the user is choosing a European base or relocating to a European country.

## Before Arrival

1. Confirm legal pathway first: free movement, visa, permit, student route, family route, or work sponsorship.
2. Narrow the country and city before booking long-term housing.
3. Decide whether the first base should be temporary housing or a direct long lease.
4. Price the move with deposits, paperwork, health cover, and setup friction included.

## First Week

1. Confirm the local registration sequence for the chosen country.
2. Get a workable payment stack and local phone connectivity.
3. Walk or test the actual neighborhood and commute before emotionally committing to it.
4. Start any mandatory local registration, tax, or address proof steps immediately.

## First Month

1. Secure permanent or semi-stable housing.
2. Register for healthcare if eligible.
3. Fix banking, rent payments, transport passes, and recurring bills.
4. Build the first local routines: groceries, pharmacy, urgent care, coworking, school, or language classes.

## Europe-Specific Reminder

Moving success often depends less on the continent and more on:
- the country's admin friction
- the local housing market
- the user's language readiness
- the order in which documents unlock each other

Never promise a smooth move from Europe-level logic alone.


path: rail-flights-and-road-trips.md
content: # Rail, Flights, and Road Trips

Use this when the user is building a Europe route or comparing transport models.

## The Three Default Models

### Rail-first
- Best for dense Western and Central European corridors.
- Good for city-center to city-center movement.
- Often highest quality for 2-5 country loops with moderate pace.

### Flight-first
- Best when geography is wide, islands matter, or time is short.
- Strong for north-south jumps and non-contiguous routes.
- Weak if the trip is supposed to feel calm and urban.

### Road-first
- Best for rural regions, mountain routes, coastlines, Balkans, islands with ferries, and areas where public transport is weaker.
- Weak for old city centers, parking cost, and one-way cross-border rental complexity.

## Europe Pacing Rule

- One major base per 4-7 days is often a better Europe experience than checking off countries.
- Use the map plus transfer reality, not the border count, to decide trip shape.
- Night trains, ferries, and shoulder-season routes can improve both budget and pace if used deliberately.


path: regional-corridors-and-country-clusters.md
content: # Regional Corridors and Country Clusters

Use this file when the user needs a realistic Europe map, not a random list of countries.

## Europe by Functional Corridor

| Corridor | Strong for | Watch for |
|----------|------------|-----------|
| Iberia | Climate, medium-cost city life, food, slower rhythm, remote-work appeal | Hot summers, bureaucracy, salary ceilings |
| France-Benelux-Western core | Rail density, institutions, city hopping, high service depth | Cost, housing competition, strike exposure |
| DACH and Alpine arc | Salaries, order, transport, mountain access | Cost, language expectations, tighter systems |
| Italy and Adriatic south | Lifestyle, culture, regional variety, slower pace | Wage gaps, admin friction, seasonality |
| Nordics and Baltic north | Governance, English use, digital systems, summer quality | Cost, darkness, winter load |
| Central Europe | Rail, value mix, city-break density, growing business hubs | Country-to-country differences can be larger than expected |
| Balkans and southeastern routes | Scenic road and coast value, longer stays, non-Schengen buffers in some cases | Fragmented rights, border friction, payment and insurance differences |
| UK and Ireland | English-first work or study, global-city pull, easy air access | Post-Brexit rights, cost, housing stress |

## How to Use the Corridors

- For tourists, corridors help avoid absurd country counts.
- For movers, corridors help compare legal fit, climate, and cost before choosing a single country.
- For remote workers, corridors help balance timezone, airport access, and quality of life.

## Default Matching Rule

Start with a corridor, then narrow to country, then city.

That sequence is usually more useful than asking "Which European country is best?" with no frame.


path: remote-work-and-digital-nomads.md
content: # Remote Work and Digital Nomads

Use this for remote workers, freelancers, slow travelers, and split-country users.

## First Clarify the Goal

Ask whether the user wants:
- a legal residence base
- a travel-heavy temporary route
- a tax-efficient structure
- a climate or lifestyle base
- a company setup

These are different problems.

## Europe Reality

- There is no single Europe-wide digital-nomad status.
- Some countries offer national remote-work or digital-nomad pathways.
- Other users may be operating under EU citizen movement rights, student status, or ordinary long-stay permissions instead.

## Common Failure Modes

- Confusing a legal long visit with tax-safe remote work
- Staying inside Schengen too casually
- Choosing a city for vibes while ignoring housing or admin friction
- Assuming fast internet and English service means easy legal setup

## Better Advice Pattern

Compare countries and cities using:
- legal fit
- housing pressure
- weather
- airport and rail access
- coworking and community depth
- cost of staying compliant


path: safety-scams-and-consumer-rights.md
content: # Safety, Scams, and Consumer Rights

Use this for safety, emergency planning, travel disruptions, and consumer problems.

## Europe-Level Safety Reality

- Many European destinations feel physically safe compared with other global regions.
- That does not remove the need to plan for pickpocketing, tourist scams, transport theft, rental scams, fake ticket sellers, or post-disruption stress.
- The safety pattern changes more by city zone and travel style than by continent branding.

## Practical Priorities

- Keep ID and payment resilience in mind for cross-border trips.
- Teach users to separate petty theft risk from violent-crime fear.
- For relocations, include housing scams, fake landlords, and deposit fraud.

## Rights Tools

- 112 is the cross-Europe emergency baseline to remember.
- Consumer-protection tools such as the European Consumer Centres and SOLVIT can matter when rights are cross-border.
- Passenger-right processes should be handled with official guidance when delays or cancellations create losses.

## Do Not Forget

- A scam problem in Europe is often administrative or transactional, not dramatic.
- The best prevention is often route design, booking hygiene, and contract skepticism.


path: schengen-border-and-90-180.md
content: # Schengen, Borders, and 90/180

Use this for multi-country trips, long visits, split-country travel, and border planning.

## Core Idea

For many non-EU visitors, Schengen time is counted across the area, not country by country.

That means:
- leaving France for Spain does not reset a Schengen clock
- combining several Schengen countries still counts toward the same stay limit
- non-Schengen countries can sometimes be used as buffer space, but only if the user's nationality and route support that plan

## Why This Matters

- Users can accidentally overstay even while crossing many borders.
- Rail-heavy or backpacking itineraries create false confidence because movement feels casual.
- Split-time plans like "90 days in Spain, then 90 in Italy" can be legally wrong.

## Guidance Rules

- Ask whether the user is an EU citizen, UK citizen, or another non-EU national.
- Ask which countries are in the itinerary.
- Ask how many days they have already spent in Schengen in the relevant window.
- If precision matters, use an official calculator or official Schengen guidance before confirming legality.

## Border Reality

- Schengen often reduces routine internal border checks, but users should still travel with proper ID or passport.
- Transport disruptions, ad hoc checks, and non-Schengen segments can change how a route works in practice.
- UK, Ireland, Balkans, and some southeastern corridors often require different assumptions.

## Good Use Cases

- building a 3-month Europe trip
- designing a split between Schengen and non-Schengen countries
- helping remote workers avoid accidental overstay
- checking whether a cheap flight route creates a border or document problem


path: seasonal-living-and-second-homes.md
content: # Seasonal Living and Second Homes

Use this when the user spends only part of the year in Europe, owns or wants a second place, or is testing a Europe base before committing.

## Typical Profiles

- winter-in-south households
- retirees splitting time across continents
- second-home owners
- remote workers staying in Europe for part of the year
- families using Europe around school breaks or summer only

## Core Questions

1. Which months are spent in Europe?
2. In which country?
3. Is this tourism, legal residence, or a soft-launch before moving?
4. Where are healthcare, taxes, vehicles, and documents anchored?
5. Who handles the home when the user is away?

## What Changes for Seasonal Users

- Schengen time can become a hard constraint.
- Tax residence and social-security assumptions can get messy.
- Insurance for an empty property matters.
- Banking, mail, and local admin may still matter even without full residency.
- Airport access often matters more than neighborhood romance.

## Advice Pattern

- Keep recommendations reversible while the user is still testing Europe.
- Optimize for resilience and simplicity first.
- Treat seasonal staying as its own mode, not a weaker version of either tourism or full residence.


path: setup.md
content: # Setup — Europe

Read this when `~/europe/` does not exist or is empty. Start helping naturally, but be explicit before creating persistent local memory.

## Your Attitude

Be practical, continent-aware, and anti-simplification.

Europe questions usually hide one of seven problems:
- a trip that spans multiple countries, rail systems, languages, and legal blocs
- a move where nationality, right to stay, and housing markets matter more than destination aesthetics
- a remote-work or split-country setup that breaks on tax, banking, or Schengen limits
- a study or family decision driven by school systems, healthcare, and paperwork
- a job search or business plan that needs country fit, not just city hype
- a health or rights question that depends on EU membership and local registration
- a comparison problem between countries or cities that look similar online but work very differently in real life

Answer the user's question first whenever possible. Then gather only the next detail that improves the next step.

This skill works statelessly if the user does not want continuity. If persistent memory would help, explain what would be stored and ask for confirmation before creating `~/europe/` or `memory.md`.

## Priority Order

### 1. First: Integration

Early in the conversation, learn when this skill should activate:
- whenever the user mentions Europe at all
- only for cross-border and multi-country questions
- only for relocation, study, work, or residency topics
- only for trip planning and transport
- only when bloc logic, rights, visas, or country comparison matter

Confirm the user-facing result, not the technical storage.

If the user does not want persistent memory, continue without local files.

### 2. Then: Identify Their Europe Mode

Figure out which mode applies now:
- visitor
- choosing a country or city
- moving to Europe
- already living in Europe
- student
- worker or freelancer
- remote worker / digital nomad
- family household

Then narrow by:
- nationality and passport
- target country or shortlist
- length of stay
- whether they will cross borders often

### 3. Finally: Capture Ongoing Constraints

Pick up only the constraints that change future advice:
- timeline and season
- budget and housing target
- nationality, right to stay, and visa posture
- family, school, or care needs
- language comfort
- transport style and airport or rail dependence
- healthcare, disability, or insurance sensitivities
- whether the user prefers capital-city depth, smaller-city balance, or lighter bureaucracy

## What You're Saving (internally)

Keep `~/europe/memory.md` lightweight and useful:
- activation preference for Europe topics
- nationality and mobility posture at a high level
- current mode and target countries or cities
- major deadlines, reservations, applications, and open loops
- persistent family, work, language, and budget constraints
- which official Europe-level or country-level portals already matter for this user

Do not store passport numbers, tax IDs, bank credentials, insurance IDs, or full street addresses unless the user explicitly asks for that behavior.


path: sources.md
content: # Sources — Europe

Use these sources when precise Europe-wide rules or current workflows matter.

## Core Europe Rights and Guidance

- Your Europe portal: https://europa.eu/youreurope/
- Your Europe citizens section: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/
- Your Europe business section: https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/
- EUR-Lex: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/

## Travel, Borders, and Mobility

- Your Europe travel and documents: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/
- Schengen area guidance via the Council of the EU: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/schengen-area/
- Europe emergency number 112: https://europa.eu/112
- Rail passenger rights overview: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/rail/
- Air passenger rights overview: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/

## Residence, Work, and Qualifications

- EU Immigration Portal: https://immigration-portal.ec.europa.eu/
- EURES: https://eures.europa.eu/
- Europass: https://europass.europa.eu/
- Professional qualifications information via Your Europe: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/

## Health, Insurance, and Social Protection

- European Health Insurance Card information via Your Europe: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/health/
- Social security in the EU via Your Europe: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/social-security-forms/

## Money, Consumers, and Problem Solving

- Roaming in the EU via Your Europe: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/internet-telecoms/mobile-roaming-costs/
- European Consumer Centres: https://www.eccnet.eu/
- SOLVIT: https://europa.eu/solvit/
- Eurostat: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

## Usage Notes

- Use Europe-level sources to explain the framework, then move to the target country's official portal for execution.
- If nationality, country, route, or regulated profession changes the answer, do not stop at EU-level guidance.
- If a current fee, threshold, date, or permit condition matters, verify before giving a precise answer.


path: taxes-social-security-and-residency.md
content: # Taxes, Social Security, and Residency

Use this for split-country life, long stays, remote work, employment, and any question that smells like "where do I really belong on paper?"

## Three Different Ideas

| Concept | What it means |
|---------|---------------|
| Immigration residence | Right to stay legally |
| Tax residence | Where the user may owe tax as a resident |
| Social-security position | Which system covers contributions and some benefits |

These do not always align automatically.

## Why Europe Trips People Up

- Users can be legal to stay somewhere but still trigger tax-residence questions elsewhere.
- Remote workers often assume employer location solves everything. It does not.
- Social-security coordination exists in many Europe contexts, but it still depends on the user's exact situation.

## Safe Question Sequence

1. Where does the user live most of the year?
2. Where is the employer or client base?
3. Which country issues the residence right?
4. Is the user employed, self-employed, studying, retired, or split-year?
5. Are they crossing borders weekly, monthly, or seasonally?

## Advice Rule

Use Europe-level logic to explain the framework.

Use country-specific official guidance or professional advice before confirming tax or contribution outcomes.


path: transport-and-passenger-rights.md
content: # Transport and Passenger Rights

Use this for trains, flights, buses, ferries, missed connections, and cross-border travel friction.

## Europe Strengths

- Dense rail in many corridors
- Strong budget-air competition in some routes
- Relatively good bus and ferry coverage for specific corridors
- Passenger-right frameworks that are often stronger than users expect

## But Do Not Oversimplify

- Rail quality varies sharply by corridor and country.
- Cheap flights can destroy a short trip if airports are far, baggage rules bite, or strikes hit.
- Ferries and overnight options solve some geography problems but create new timing constraints.

## Rights-Aware Planning

- If a user is buying separate tickets, connection protection may be weaker.
- Air, rail, bus, and ferry rights differ.
- Use official passenger-right resources when delays, cancellations, or compensation matter.

## Routing Rule

Choose transport based on:
- total door-to-door time
- transfer risk
- border or ID checks
- luggage friction
- strike sensitivity
- whether the user is traveling light or moving their life


path: weather-seasons-and-trip-timing.md
content: # Weather, Seasons, and Trip Timing

Use this file whenever the user is timing a Europe trip or choosing a base partly for climate.

## Europe Timing Is Not Uniform

- Mediterranean summer, Alpine winter, Nordic darkness, shoulder-season cities, and stormy Atlantic coasts all behave differently.
- Saying "best time to visit Europe" is too broad to be useful.

## Useful Timing Buckets

| Pattern | Usually best for | Watch for |
|---------|------------------|-----------|
| Spring shoulder season | City breaks, mixed routes, gardens, lower heat | Holidays, rain variability |
| Peak summer | Coasts, festivals, mountains, school-break travel | Heat, crowds, expensive lodging |
| Autumn shoulder season | Cities, wine regions, lower crowd pressure | Shorter daylight, rain patterns |
| Winter | Christmas markets, skiing, museums, cheaper city breaks | Cold, snow, short daylight, closures |

## Planning Rules

- Southern Europe can be punishing in peak summer if the user wants city-heavy days.
- Northern Europe may be magical in summer but harder in dark winter for first-time visitors.
- Shoulder seasons are often the best answer for Europe beginners unless the trip is explicitly beach or ski driven.


path: weekend-trips-and-multicountry-routes.md
content: # Weekend Trips and Multi-Country Routes

Use this for shorter Europe travel, repeat trips, and users who want to use one city as a base.

## Weekend Logic

- Europe is unusually strong for 2-4 day trips if the base city has good rail or low-friction airport access.
- The key is not country count. It is transfer quality and city-center access.

## Good Route Shapes

- one major city + one day trip
- two nearby cities linked by fast rail
- one base with open-jaw flights only if airports are easy
- one non-Schengen segment only when the user is document-ready

## Bad Route Shapes

- three countries in three days
- late-night flight in plus early morning border-heavy connection
- separate tickets with zero buffer
- backpacking pace for users who actually need comfort, family rhythm, or work hours

## Resident-Useful Angle

Use this file not just for tourists, but for:
- people deciding where to live based on weekend reach
- remote workers designing low-burn travel patterns
- families comparing how usable a city is as a base for school breaks


path: work-study-and-qualifications.md
content: # Work, Study, and Qualifications

Use this file for jobs, universities, credentials, and business entry.

## Jobs

- Europe job logic is country-specific even when EURES gives a continent-wide starting point.
- Ask whether the user needs local-language work, English-first work, remote work, or a specialized regulated profession.
- Salary alone is not enough; compare tax, rent, healthcare, and social-security obligations too.

## Students

- Separate university choice from country fit.
- Housing, paperwork, language, and work rights during study often shape the real experience.
- Ask whether the user wants an international-student bubble, a lower-cost city, or long-term stay after graduation.

## Qualifications

- Some credentials move more easily than others across Europe.
- For regulated professions, formal recognition may be required.
- Use Europass and official qualification-recognition portals as starting points, then drop to the country level.

## Entrepreneurs and Freelancers

- Europe is not one company-formation zone.
- Ask where the user will actually live, where clients are, and where tax and invoicing will happen.
- Country-level registration, VAT exposure, and local compliance can matter more than the city brand.


Security scan verdicts — ClawScan: clean | static analysis: clean | VirusTotal: clean | SkillSpector: clean (LOW)