Should I Stay in America or Move to Ireland?

Jackie from NYC

Sorry if I posted this thread in the wrong forum.

I’m looking for some life advice. There’s not really anyone for me to talk to who cares or will give me an answer other than “do what you want to do.” So I decided to seek out an Irish point of view.

I’ve reached the fork in the road that many college students confront when they’re about the graduate – what do I do from here?

I thought I had it all figured out. I planned on becoming a high school teacher and eventually moving onto college teaching once I achieved the appropriate degrees. In addition, I figured I could finagle my way into real estate as I accumulated cash and contacts.

Well, that was until a year ago. I started to think deeply about my life and study what stood in the way of the goals I wanted in life: an upper-middle class income, a beautiful wife, a peaceful existence, etc. and I realized that being a college professor and living in NYC didn’t jive with my aspirations. I made a decision to pursue becoming a lawyer and thought I solved the problem, but then I stumbled onto Ireland.

I’m an Irish citizen, but I was born in America (my dad was born in County Leitrim. I would ask him for advice, but he has passed on). I finally visited Ireland (Dublin) for two weeks back in January and I fell in love with it. Beautiful women, people I can relate to, awesome culture, etc.

So, now I have two ideas floating around my head with college graduation looming in May 07: 1) Stay in the States (Not NYC of course) and pursue a law degree in which I’m familiar with the political/U.S. Constitutional issues concerning law . . . OR 2) Go on a wild limb and pursue a romantic dream of moving to Ireland in search of a law career and romantic love in an uncertain environment in which I’m unfamiliar about what it takes to pull off such a feat.

Any advice whether it be professional or instinctual about this? Someone said I was being crazy and maybe I am, but I just can’t seem to shake these thoughts.

simu

You could move here for a year or so first to get a better flavour of the place. If it all goes wrong, go back home. If not, go about putting down more permanent roots.

Duffman

Well I'm studying law in Ireland (at an undergrad level here) and I'm spending the year in a US law school so I have a fair idea about the lawyer dilemma.

A lot of lawyers here will have studied law as their undergrad/primary degree and then gone on to do professional training (the equivilant of law school but only for a year or two) but this is by no means a requirement. With any kind of degree you can take the entrance exams but you'd want to spend a few months doing an intensive law course to learn the material you would need.

In terms of studying law, there really aren't that many differences. Both countries have strong common law traditions. Sure the caselaw is different but the way you learn and the skills you develop are essentially the same and therefore very transferrable. The biggest difference is that our legal profession is divided into two branches, you don't become an attorney, you become either a solicitor or a barrister. Wikipedia for more info maybe.

Some law students here are studying in their own time for the NY bar exam and flying over to take it, mainly as a qualification which gives them the option to work in the states. Maybe you could do the reverse? Keep your options open by doing the bar there and qualifying here later.

If money really is important to you then stay in the States. The starting salaries for law students are astronomical compared to salaries in Ireland.

In the shorter term do what simu said, spend a year here. Not sure about visas and such but a job wouldn't be hard to find. You'd get a better sense of the place and it would be a great starting point if you wanted to travel around Europe a bit. What about doing a masters degree here? You'll find that tuition is a fraction of what you're paying now.

Beruthiel

simu wrote:

You could move here for a year or so first to get a better flavour of the place. If it all goes wrong, go back home. If not, go about putting down more permanent roots.

agreed
you are young, taking a year out of your life at this point is a great idea.
Ireland can be beautiful to someone on holidays for two weeks. Come on over, get a little job, rent a room, live like we do and then see if the rose tinted glasses are still there
one point that I'll make, (I'm a culchie so I can say this), there is Dublin and there is the rest of the country. For a real flavour of the country, you should probably try to find a job in a small town in the country for 6 months, then move and live in Dublin for 6 months - see how you feel then.
You seem to have strong feelings on the subject, I'm betting if you don't try the above, it will always be in the back of your mind, you will never have an easier time to try this.
have fun!

Peace

A 2 weeks visit isn't enough to get a proper flavour of a country or its people. If you want to make an educated decision then like th rest have said you'll need at least a year working and living here.

Look at is as your 2 week visit was the speil you get on the recruitment day, the 12months is the actual work you'll be doing.

Huggles

OP I strongly suggest that you don't move here. You have a romantic notion in your mind as regards Irealnd. In terms of standards of living ect you have it so good in america with the exception of healthcare maybe. I lived in the states for four months a few years back and I curse the day I came back here. Ireland is not the place it once was.

A cousin of mine has been living in LA for ten years and recently moved back home to 'raise his kids here' he lasted a month and went back! Your plan to stay there and get a law degree sounds like a great idea. Fel free to PM me any questions you have on moving here if you decide thats what you want to do. Good Luck.

Slutmonkey57b

Jackie from NYC wrote:

I’m an Irish citizen, but I was born in America (my dad was born in County Leitrim. I would ask him for advice, but he has passed on). I finally visited Ireland (Dublin) for two weeks back in January and I fell in love with it. Beautiful women, people I can relate to, awesome culture, etc.

Are you SURE you were in Dublin? In January? And you're from New York?

Ummm... I don't know what to advise you other than to change your glasses. Stay where you are, Dublin is a cultural wasteland full of scumbags, filth, and uuhh.. well the women are pretty but most of them aren't Irish. Some people will tell you it's not that bad, but eeeh... frankly they're wrong.

DAEDULUS

Im from Dublin,and only when I have left(last August) do I realise what a beautiful place it is, try something new in your life, take 1 year out, it will be an experience you will always remember... go for it

jubi lee

hey jackie, i don't think 2 weeks anywhere would give you a good all round view of the place. why don't you take a year out after college and come over and see how you like. if after the year it doesn't work out, you can go back to NYC and start the law career. you're still young i presume so a few months out won't make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things.

best of luck!

delly

Taking a year out would be a great idea to see what its really like over here. Don't worry about anybody who says the place is full of scumbags, as its a common practice to put a negative view of Ireland from its own people.

Ireland today is totally different than 15 years ago. We have had an economic boom as well as plenty of immigrants. There has been a lot of development in the building sector and a lot of our towns and cities have cleaned up there act as property prices go up and up.

I personally love my country as well as being a native of Dublin, and I feel it has changed for the better, with a modern day diversity.

Untense

You're still studying law, you're still persuing a career. You're not losing out in any way from what I can see.

If it goes wrong that's fine, you can go home happy that you at least tried. If it works out and you stay in ireland, you'll be happy you tried and delighted it went well.

There’s not really anyone for me to talk to who cares or will give me an answer other than “do what you want to do.”

'Do what you want to do' is sound advice! I'd go with it. It's clear what you really want.

BuffyBot

Agreed. A year out and a trial run is a much better idea than just moving lock, stock and barrel over.

I've known people who have moved to Ireland "all in" and regretted it - they returned home in the end. So dipping your toe in the water seems like a good plan!

jimmycrackcorm

Wait til you become a vicitim of crime in dublin and that'll put you straight.

Ruu_Old

Yep dont tie yourself down yet, see how you like it when you move for a year or however long.

walt0r

'beautiful women' in ireland? where????

Khannie

simu wrote:

You could move here for a year or so first to get a better flavour of the place. If it all goes wrong, go back home. If not, go about putting down more permanent roots.

I'd echo this.

Give it a year. If it doesn't work out, go back to NY. Don't forget: As an Irish citizen, you can go anywhere in the EU. If you just have itchy feet, maybe give other cultures a go too? Netherlands is lovely, as is Italy, etc. etc.

MW

Ok Jackie, I think moving here is a good idea, but you have only seen Dublin. Many people think Dublin is the only place to see in Ireland when frankly it's not. I will piss many people off by saying this but, people from Dublin consider any place outside of Dublin as the "Sticks" this is not true. There are many other beautiful towns and cities to see here. Cork is a fantastic city and people are much more down to earth. I am from Waterford and I must say that the South East region (Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Tipperary) is the nicest part of the country, especially if you have a more romantic idea of Ireland. What I suggest is that you come back to Ireland and really open your eyes, travel the whole country and don't just concentrate on Dublin as many people do. If you're into City living, stay where you are as no place measures up to New York, but for a more Irish way of life, Dublin is not the place to settle, we are much more relaxed down South. Plus we don't have the big traffic jams that they have. Now don't get me wrong Dublin is a beautiful place to visit but I am happy city slicking in Waterford City and always will be. Hope this helps you with your predicament, and you're right all of us Irish girls are gorgeous!!

Jackie from NYC

Thanks guys for all your advice and info. A lot of prudent advice to heed when laying the plans for my post-undergrad life. Moving to Ireland for a year is good advice that I definitely try to follow through if job opportunities and all the wild cards of life line up for me. Getting a good job in Ireland is a bit of a mystery to me. What can a guy with a bachelor's degree in history do for a living?!

I can’t some of the comments about Irish women. Trust me, NY might have every flavor of chick imaginable, but none of the multitude of women here could match up to what I saw when I was in Dublin. Good thing Dublin had a lot of cold water available.

If anyone else has advice, I’m all ears!

Slutmonkey57b

You are looking at Eastern European and foreign girls.

A guy with a history degree in Ireland has a fine, fine, fine future in the burger - flipping, table waiting industry. Not a lot of call for Arts degrees in a cultural wasteland you see.

I really don't think he is talking about eastern european girls, he would have seen plenty of those in NYC to be able to differentiate, besides the may have bods like baywatch but they have faces like crimewatch .
For some insane reason NYC fella's are like flys to a ****epile when it comes to Irish looks.


It isn't up to anyone else to tell you what to do, we all have a natural place in the world it's up to you to find it, and you find that as you gain expierence in life, hopefully.Although I do think it is how you care about the people around you that gives you a sense of home rather than geography.

I think your priorities are a little confuddled , leading a quite life and earning ****loads of cash from a job are preety much mutually exclusive, with the cash comes responsibility and that will leech time and attention from the other things you find important in life.
Also while I agree that everyone should find their mate in life to be mesmerizingly attractive, judging people by their percieved beauty is neither the way to ensure that you do meet someone who you spark with or who you can build a fullfilling realtionship with.
The problem about defining your sense of self worth by status symobols is that the ego boost is shortlived, in that situation you are likly to feel under the same fincial stresses as someone with a much more modest income, because you have the pressure to keep up appearances.

Where in Leitrim was your father from? Did you not visit it? Have you no uncles or aunts?As an irish citizen you would qualify for a free postgrad. You could spend the year or two getting a qualification that would help you decide if Law was for you and make the entry exams to lawschool easier.

here are some links.

http://www.graduatestudies.ul.ie/prospectus/main/Postgraduate/pages/col_hum_LLB_grad_entry.shtml

http://www.dit.ie/DIT/study/graduate/courses/ft314.html

http://www.ucc.ie/en/ProspectiveStudents/PostgraduateProspectus/TaughtProgrammesbyFaculty/Law/Law/