Based on your own description as "pretty average developer", you could maybe try out for local "Big Tech" companies in Europe as entry level (Eng1/L3 in the article) or the level above, and it would already be a pay raise, and wouldn't require you to relocate or be a contractor.
(That's assuming the country in Europe you are in has similar ecosystem to Netherlands.)
Based on your own description as "pretty average developer", you could maybe try out for local "Big Tech" companies in Europe as entry level (Eng1/L3 in the article) or the level above, and it would already be a pay raise, and wouldn't require you to relocate or be a contractor.
(That's assuming the country in Europe you are in has similar ecosystem to Netherlands.)