sorry for not answering that long 
the question was why i would opt for US-based VXUS/VSS and not some IE-based alternative.
i decided for the US-based versions because
- they are from vanguard, which i consider is better than for example BlackRock (iShares), “conflict of interest”
- they have much more positions than comparable ETFs, i.e. are stronger diversified
- they are super cheap to trade, far greater volumes than IE-ETFs, and larger
- noone has lower TERs than vanguard
there are a few cons that I, in total, valued less than the pros:
- bulk risk of having all ETFs with one company (vanguard), in one domicile
- for non-US ETFs, holding US versions has a chance of being taxwise inferior (for VWO (EM) this is not the case, see the number in the example) to IE ETFs. overall the difference is very small. if i find out that it is till too big, the cost of swiching the ETF is very small.
- that issue with IRA & ineritance tax, which I believe is solved