I think you are getting things a bit mixed up explanade. Alan referred to his 'UK bank' which means he has an account in a UK bank and his ATM withdrawals from that bank triggered things. Making withdrawals from your US bank account using ATMs in Europe will not trigger anything. No country is going to look to tax you unless you are legally resident in that country or somehow earning money in that country.
However, I think you need to understand that as a US citizen you can only stay in almost all of Europe for only 3 months at one time. You need to read up on Schengen and the Schengen rule. What you will find is that you can stay 90 days in any 180 calender day period, in all of the Schengen countries combined.
http://www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-countries-list/
So, you cannot for example stay in France for 4 months unless you get a visa that allows you to stay in France for more than the 90 days you are allowed visa free as a tourist. You could stay 3 months in France and then 3 months in the UK however as the UK is not a member of Schengen.
As for overstaying your welcome, some people do and some people don't get caught but you then need to understand the potential consequences if you are caught. They range from a slap on the wrist to being declared 'persona non grata' for 7 years in all of the Schengen countries. The other factor to consider with an overstay is that no insurance you buy will cover you if you are doing something illegal and that includes overstaying.
You also seem to have World Nomads coverage mixed up somehow although I'm not quite sure I understand what you meant about travel and a heart attack. If you have a heart attack while travelling then your hospitalization for that would be covered. It would not be covered if you had a pre-existing heart condition however and did not tell them about it.
I think you are getting things a bit mixed up explanade. Alan referred to his 'UK bank' which means he has an account in a UK bank and his ATM withdrawals from that bank triggered things. Making withdrawals from your US bank account using ATMs in Europe will not trigger anything. No country is going to look to tax you unless you are legally resident in that country.
However, I think you need to understand that as a US citizen you can only stay in almost all of Europe for only 3 months at one time. You need to read up on Schengen and the Schengen rule. What you will find is that you can stay 90 days in any 180 calender day period, in all of the Schengen countries combined.
http://www.schengenvisainfo.com/schengen-visa-countries-list/
As for overstaying your welcome, some people do and some people don't get caught but you then need to understand the potential consequences if you are caught. They range from a slap on the wrist to being declared 'persona non grata' for 7 years in all of the Schengen countries. The other factor to consider with an overstay is that no insurance you buy will cover you if you are doing something illegal and that includes overstaying.
So, you cannot for example stay in France for 4 months unless you get a visa that allows you to stay in France for more than the 90 days you are allowed visa free as a tourist. You could stay 3 months in France and then 3 months in the UK however as the UK is not a member of Schengen.
LARS, you seem to have World Nomads coverage mixed up somehow although I'm not quite sure I understand what you meant about travel and a heart attack. If you have a heart attack while travelling then your hospitalization for that would be covered. It would not be covered if you had a pre-existing heart condition however and did not tell them about it. It is certainly not just an 'accident' policy.
Travel Insurance – What’s Covered
World Nomads is generally considered the gold standard for long term travel, by which all other travel insurance is judged. The most common users are 'backpackers' on a Gap Year or someone on say a year long RTW trip. Their policies are designed for that specific market. They offer several features that not all other travel insurance providers do.
They allow you to extend the policy if you decide to travel for longer than you originally planned. They allow you to claim online/phone while still travelling, not have to wait until your return to claim. They cover medical evacuation. They cover your 'stuff'. They cover trip cancellation. They cover risky activities such as bungee jumping, hang gliding, etc.
Travel insurance policies cover 2 areas. 1. The travel itself and associated risks like cancellations or theft of goods. 2. Medical coverage and associated costs. Some policies cover only one or the other and some cover both. Nomads covers both, while your US medical coverage if it has a overseas component covers only the second.
However, someone looking at going to stay somewhere else in the world for a period of time may not want travel insurance. They may want to look at expat insurance instead and that is different again. Those policies could be attractive to someone planning to live overseas for a longer period or indefinitely. For 3 months I'd buy travel insurance, for longer expat insurance.
Expatriate insurance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Another factor those looking at retiring overseas may want to consider is what passports do you have access to. The USA is a young country with a lot of immigrants and descendents of immigrants. Therefore, a lot of people may have access to another passport and not even realize it.
If you have a parent or grandparent born in another country, you may be able to claim citizenship and get residency or a passport from that country. That can then become a factor in looking at where you can easily move to. Generally speaking, getting legal residency is the biggest stumbling block to living overseas.
Let's say you have a Polish grandparent. (I'm using this as an example, I don't know what the laws of Poland say) You may be eligible to apply for either residency in Poland OR for a Polish Passport. If you get a Polish passport, then you can legally live in any of the EU member countries as Poland is a member.
Being able to legally live in say Jamaica only gets you the right to live in that one country. But being able to live in an EU country gets you all EU countries. I consider a passport from an EU country to be the most valuable passport you can have if you want to retire to another country or spend longer periods of time somewhere. You get a lot to pick from.
I have a UK passport as well as a Canadian passport. You ask about overstaying in Europe explanade. I can't overstay in the EU, I'm allowed to legally live and work in any EU country. That's why I could and did go to Greece for a week and just stayed for 7 years. So what is your ancestry explanade? You may have an opportunity to get another passport somewhere. And as for taxes, nada, zilch, zero if you stay under the radar. I made withdrawals from ATMs in Greece for all 7 years from a UK bank account without anyone coming to ask me to pay taxes in Greece and I also had a Greek Residency Card during all that time. I also stayed in the UK for 6.5 years used UK bank accounts, was registered with the NHS (government health care), etc. and never once had anyone come to ask me to pay taxes. Just don't earn an income in the country.
I consider much of the commentary about taxes pretty close to scaremongering. There are ways around it, but you need to have lived it to know how.