One point that hasn’t been noted here: doing an FAA IR ANYWHERE in the world requires you to get TSA clearance in advance. Doing it in the US means you need to get a student visa (which means embassy interview). If you’re doing it to avoid getting an EASA IR, do the EASA IR instead. It’s as much hassle and saves you problems elsewhere. And it’s not that hard. See https://www.euroga.org/forums/student-pilots/8546-uk-pilot-doing-cbir-in-spain-my-experience
“Minus: anytime the EASA license changes (even your home address) you have to re-do the 61.75 issuance, and the issuance can be a difficult process in Europe”
This is not true. You can modify your home address on the FAA website. You only need to reissue if (a) your licence number changes (which EASA unhelpfully made an issue, even though there’s a CAA work-around); (b) if you add ratings
In reality, you need to do one approach and one hold each month, to be sure to always be in rolling FAA currency.
In real life the autopilot flies all the approaches anyway. 
Sorry – I meant 6 approaches etc within last 6 months. Wx requirements
6 approaches a year
Not really. Typically, it’s more like at least 15 approaches a year in order to maintain the rolling FAR currency. Plus, in theory, unless similated, they have to be at least partially in IMC to count. Plus holds.
That’s true but let me throw something else into the pot:
The EASA IR needs to be revalidated with a flight with an IR Examiner every year.
The FAA IR runs on the 6/6 rolling currency. It can also be revalidated like the EASA one, with a flight with an FAA CFII.
There are likely scenarios where the EASA IR has lapsed but you still have the FAA one because you have been, ahem, flying around
OTOH low-time pilots who don’t fly 6 approaches a year find the EASA annual reval easier. It is surprising how many IR holders don’t get to do 6 approaches a year…
Also the EASA IR gives you automatic night passenger carriage privileges, whereas the FAA IR needs the 3 takeoffs and 3 landings at official sunset + 1hr within previous 90 days. IMHO this bit, like the EASA-anything in an N-reg, is valid only in the country of the IR issuance.
In this game, you never know what is just around the corner to bite you. The FAA regs have been pretty constant for decades. So constant that most US pilots have little idea what they are… European regs have been up and down more than a whore’s knickers and are now at a stage where only the most obscessive steam engine serial number spotter personality even knows where to find them
You’re building a house of cards if you do it that way. Now you have to comply with two agencies requirements and if any of them is not current, the license isn’t valid
The OP said that his goal is to fly in Europe on either an N- or EASA-registered plane. The former will require dual qualification in the near future anyway, in the latter case he would not need to keep the FAA-papers current at all after converting the FAA-IR via the CB-route, which can be done with as little as 25 hrs. IFR PIC.
You’re building a house of cards if you do it that way. Now you have to comply with two agencies requirements and if any of them is not current, the license isn’t valid. This might mean, you’ve done a BFR every 2 years dutifully, but then you’re EASA license expires in 1 year and the whole thing collapses. Or your medical. Or you change address. Or you might not have a night rating on your EASA PPL, then you can’t fly IFR at night a you don’t have an FAA PPL (where it’s included), etc, etc.
I would suggest doing standalone PPL first. All you need is a few extra hours and a checkride. All your experience counts.
FAA 61.75 PPL:
Plus: no flying needed to get it, and you can fly an N-reg worldwide on the EASA medical (no FAA medical required)
Minus: anytime the EASA license changes (even your home address) you have to re-do the 61.75 issuance, and the issuance can be a difficult process in Europe
FAA standalone PPL:
Plus: it lasts for ever and nobody (except the FAA, in theory) can take it away from you, valid for life subject only to a valid BFR, and you can use it to get other country local validations (outside Europe), not reliant on EASA papers or what happens in Europe.
Minus: you need an FAA medical (which can be much harder to get in “special issuance” situations than the EASA one)
