Moving home - is it the right thing to do

galwaydude

What is the irish economy like now, i know things are bad but surely not as bad as here in the states. Prices are increasing everywhere. We have a young family so health care and education are important to us. I am in the IT sector and my wife is an OT so would it be easy to get jobs in both. As our child is young my wife would be looking to do part time at first. If we do move back we plan to move back to galway as we own a house there.

I am all for moving back, moving here was a mistake but i dont regret the decision. It happened and now we have to move on. My wife is a bit hesitant as she doesnt want us to make the same naive decisions like we did the last time. We lost alot financially as i wasnt able to work for 7 months due to waiting for my greencard. So i am researching to see if it is feasible to move back. Are there any sites which have info on moving back and what to consider? Thanks

MIN2511

immigrant.ie although you are not an immigrant. citizens.ie perhaps? And maybe mods can move this to work and jobs as there would be loads of IT people who have moved in/out of the country posting there.
Sorry, what does OT mean? In relation to your wife's profession.

galwaydude

OT is occupational therapist. Sorry should have mentioned. I am just wondering about the state of the ecomomy and does it make sense to move back. I just dont want to make the same mistakes again. I have alot of family at home. Now that we have a young baby planning is important in order to making a decision which is best for us as a family.Thanks for the reply though.

spinandscribble

if healthcare and education is important to you forget about the states.

healthcare over there is a joke, watch michael moores 'sicko', it'll open your eyes, bit biased but you cant deny the facts.

education over there is all about who you know and how much money you have, plus their education isnt a patch on ireland in the leagues.

Gregor Samsa

The economy isn't bad in Ireland. Construction work is supposed to be slowing down, but there's still plenty going on. We may be over the boom of recent years, but that was never sustainable anyway.

There's a forum on Daft.ie about moving back to Ireland. You might find something in the comments posted there: http://www.daft.ie/discussions.daft?dcn[forum_id]=1[

As for not making mistakes like you did when moving to the US, at least this time you won't have to wait for a visa to get work (I assume you're both Irish citizens from the tone of your post).

You already have a house in Galway, so that cuts out the biggest expense you'd have. Granted, there are more IT jobs in Dublin than Galway, but there's no reason to think you won't find something. Take a look at some of the Job websites (http://www.richmond.ie/, http://www.recruitireland.com/, http://www.monster.ie, to name but a few), and see if there's anything that would suit you, even just to see the job atmosphere.

I moved form Dublin to Ennis a couple of years ago, and luckily found a much better job in Shannon in the IT sector than I would have got in Dublin.

Some people from Galway work as far away as Shannon and Limerick. It's a long commute, but they're in the process of linking the two cities by both a dual carriageway (Limerick to Ennis is already done) and a rail link (work has stated), so that will open up a larger catchment area for jobs in the not too distant future.

Best of luck in your decision!

galwaydude

Both are important as both cost a small fortune over here. But clearly standard of living and family come into the fray as well.

spinandscribble

galwaydude wrote: »

Both are important as both cost a small fortune over here. But clearly standard of living and family come into the fray as well.

oops misread thread thought you wanted to move to the states

galwaydude

We are in the US and thinking of moving back. Just weighing all options before we make the decision.

MIN2511

To be honest, the economy isn't the best at the moment but IT is big right now. So many companies are recruiting employees, you shouldn't have a problem getting a job. Coming home sounds like a better option in your case because you would have support from family especially with the children.

Things to be aware of

Ireland is really expensive at the moment.
Childcare is also very expensive, you would need to working parents to afford it.

All the best and keep us posted!

chump

How easy would it be for your wife to get a OT job here?

I'm not sure they are as easy to walk into as they were years back - so many people qualified not (much like physio)?

You'll walk into some form of IT job, even if it is a step down from what you are used to.

How Strange

I'm by no means an expert but AFAIK occupational therapists are in short supply over here. If the shambolic government ever implement all the educational support systems they are promising to (assistance for children with autism, dyspraxia, aspergers) then more OT's are needed.

It's a tough unglamourous occupation hence why its not so popular. And as they are in demand in other countries too its seen as a good qualification for travelling with; similar to nurses I suppose. They will get a job anywhere in the developed world.

So I'd say, in my unqualified opinion, your wife could find herself with a hot skill over the next few years in Ireland.

sunnyjim

Come back when the HSE is sorted mate.

There's a freeze on HSE recruiting, so she mightn't get a job right away.

Actually, that freeze might be over, but it's a mess anyway.

galwaydude

My wife has nearly 10 years experience as an OT specialising in kids with disabilities like Autisim. So i dont think she will have a problem finding a good job in Galway. I am just worried that i wont get a job in Galway even with my experience now.

leeroybrown

OP, can you be more specific about the area of IT you work in and the experience you have. You might get some good pointers regarding your chance of picking up a good IT job in Galway quickly if we knew where you fit into the very broad IT spectrum. Alternatively you could post a specific query about your employment issue on the Work & Jobs forum.

On the point of whether moving home is the right move, I'd say that if you're both happy to do it and know it's not just a case of 'the grass is greener' then it sounds like the right move.

Susannahmia

spinandscribble wrote: »

if healthcare and education is important to you forget about the states.

healthcare over there is a joke, watch michael moores 'sicko', it'll open your eyes, bit biased but you cant deny the facts.

education over there is all about who you know and how much money you have, plus their education isnt a patch on ireland in the leagues.

+1 That was pretty much what I was going to say.

Kernel32

I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work out from you. You should keep in mind that even though the economy is having problems in the states, there is an increasing demand for IT professionals again. In fact a local very large company where I live is so strapped for IT people they are going to open an office in Carlow and hire on people there to balance the deficit they have here in the states.

Health care is expensive all right but most jobs cover you for a good precent of the cost of the insurance. I've always been more than happy with the level of service offered by health care professionals over here. I'm not sure what the issue is with education. Public education is paid for by your state and local taxes, similar to Ireland. My son started school last year and so far I have been very happy with his education. He has probably already gone on more school trips than I ever did in my entire primary education in Ireland.

You can probably do fine either side of the Atlantic. When I first got here about 10 years ago I lived with my now wife in a two room apartment and didn't work for 6 months. Things were pretty tight for a while and we struggled big time with zero support for either of our families. Over time things got better and now we are doing pretty damn good. I don't think I could ever have progressed as far as I have in Ireland.

kraggy

galwaydude wrote: »

My wife has nearly 10 years experience as an OT specialising in kids with disabilities like Autisim. So i dont think she will have a problem finding a good job in Galway. I am just worried that i wont get a job in Galway even with my experience now.

Hey, good luck with the decision.

I know for a fact that there are a shortage of OT's here and there has been for a long time.

But I would suggest your wife rings an OT in the HSE (Health Service Executive, the old Health Board) and ask if her qualifications would match/better those required.

Galway Local Health Office, Community Services, 25 Newcastle Road, Galway
Tel: 091 523 122

Whatever else, don't assume the qualifications are as good or better. I know people who've been caught out before.

And there may even be a forum for OT's working in Ireland so maybe google.

Another point of interest is that house prices here have steadied and even dropped so if you were relying on the value of your property here to finance the move, I'd be careful on that one as well.

Anyway, good luck with the decision and/or move.

K.

JuliusCaesar

sunnyjim wrote: »

Come back when the HSE is sorted mate.

There's a freeze on HSE recruiting, so she mightn't get a job right away.

Actually, that freeze might be over, but it's a mess anyway.

The recruitment freeze IS over; the recruitment process will vary from Area to Area. Look at http://www.careersinhealthcare.ie/ which has all the HSE job advertisements. The HSE is I think Ireland's biggest employer - it may all be a mess, but there are lots of us working there (and trying to do our best for the patients). I worked in the NHS for 15 years before moving back here. Both places you're always working with less resources than you need.

tuppence

The returning to Ireland factsheets should be useful for catching up.

http://www.emigrantadvice.ie/publications.htm

galwaydude

Thanks for all the comments. It is not that things havent worked out for us over here in the states. Having a baby has changed things.

galwaydude

We moved to the states over 2 years ago. Things went ok, we both have good jobs. We built up a nice little life for us. But then we had a baby 6 months ago and things have changed. My priorities have changed. I want us to move back to Ireland for a number of reasons, mainly family support now that we have a family. We also have a house in Ireland which we tried to sell but cant due to the market bursting. We cant afford living over here and paying for a mortgage in Ireland and the bills that come with it. The exchange rate is killing us financially. We lost a lot moving over to the states whilst I waited for my greencard.

Over here life always seems to be go go go, always scheduling just to see friends or family members, granted my wife has a small family. She just has her parents and sister. I come from a large family back home. I came here and spent 2 years yet my wife wont really talk about us going back. Her only argument is that she will miss her family. I have already said that moving back will only be for the short term if things don’t work out.

Granted there is other issues why I want to move back but I wont bore with the details. It is mainly to do with her mom’s interference in any decisions we make. Moving back seems the right option, we have a house, we both would get jobs, my wife is in the healthcare field ( shortage of workers in her area). I am in the IT field, technical support – system administrator type role.

I don’t really know what to do, I mentioned last night that June would be a nice time to go back, then the excuses started. We are selling our condo here and my plan is if we sell early to go back. I don’t want to buy again here yet my wifes mom has already started looking at houses online and it is driven me crazy. I know she is glad to have her daughter back after a few years away but she is doing more harm than good.

leeroybrown

In my original post I said 'if you're both happy' as it appeared that your wife was only reluctant for work/financial reasons. Now it appears that there is a real divide in the camp. I'm now getting the distinct impression that you want to move home to your family and view coming back as resolving financial and quality of life issues too. It sounds like your wife (and her family) are reluctant to do this.

What I'd now suggest is that you and your wife really need to sit down discuss this and and make a strong decision before it becomes a major argument.

If you decide to stay in the US you then need to cut your losses and face up to dropping the sale price of your house here. I think that you might have done it already if you didn't have returning home in the shorter term in the back of your mind.

galwaydude

It has already come to that. My problem is not my wife, its her Mom. She is so interfering in our relationship, its crazy. My wife does not see, at least when we lived in ireland my wife was alot more independent, happier person in general. Now she is turning into her mom and thats an aweful thing to say.

I want my marriage back and make decisions on our own, yet things wont change whilst we are so close to her mom. Her mom minds our child for 2 half days a week while my wife is at work so she is always there. When i met my wife 4 years ago she was fun to be with, independent, liked to travel, didnt worry to much about things. Now its all so different. Everything is all about stress and schedules. Thats the way her mom survives and its sad really. She just wont let go of my wife and still treats her like a child.

I have given this country 2 years and i now i feel i want to go back of course with my wife and child. Originally we moved over because as my wife missed her family and so on but we didnt really think about the logistics of the move at the time. If we had i doubt we would have moved. My wife has even admitted that and that is part of the problem why she is hesitant to move back. She doesnt want us to make the same mistakes that we did when we moved.

MIN2511

galwaydude wrote: »

It has already come to that. My problem is not my wife, its her Mom. She is so interfering in our relationship, its crazy. My wife does not see, at least when we lived in ireland my wife was alot more independent, happier person in general. Now she is turning into her mom and thats an aweful thing to say.

I want my marriage back and make decisions on our own, yet things wont change whilst we are so close to her mom. Her mom minds our child for 2 half days a week while my wife is at work so she is always there. When i met my wife 4 years ago she was fun to be with, independent, liked to travel, didnt worry to much about things. Now its all so different. Everything is all about stress and schedules. Thats the way her mom survives and its sad really. She just wont let go of my wife and still treats her like a child.

I have given this country 2 years and i now i feel i want to go back of course with my wife and child. Originally we moved over because as my wife missed her family and so on but we didnt really think about the logistics of the move at the time. If we had i doubt we would have moved. My wife has even admitted that and that is part of the problem why she is hesitant to move back. She doesnt want us to make the same mistakes that we did when we moved.

This isn't about you moving home anymore... It's more about your relationship with your wife and her family, don't forget moving back here would mean you are closer to your own family............