thinking of emmigrating to canada or mainland europe

eurotrotter

hey gang
iv done a degree in BIS in ucc and im currently doing a masters in BIS now (BIS - BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS) - (IT)

I have always wanted to live in germany.
the only reason why im considering any place else at the moment is because of the economic climate thats out there.
id really like to here from anyone who has any knowledge or experience of working in germany, mainland europe or canada?
I speak semi fluent german and french and expect to reach fluency in either language, after 6 months of being in whichever country.

id really like to hear back from anyone with any experience living in any of these places.
I really want to live in germany but I want to get my career going also.
so my question is, if u were me, which country wood u go to and why?

thanks

ed

TPD

I'm tempted to go to canada myself.

Kintarō Hattori

Regardless of anything else, if you really want to live in germany, go do it for a period of time, otherwise it'll always bug you. Best to get these things out of the way while you're young.

ejmaztec

I'd go to Germany as there are less Canadians there.

Diarmsquid

You want to go to Germany?

May I refer you to this Dylan Moran video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoLIU2NI66w

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Diarmsquid wrote: »

You want to go to Germany?

May I refer you to this Dylan Moran video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoLIU2NI66w

...not if you can't link to it!

I'd recommend Germany. Berlin is cheaper, but not the best city for business. Abd you're only a short flight from home, should the need arise.

phenomenon

Do it now while you're young, never let money be an obstacle. You can't put a price on a life experience. You can pay back all those loans when you're 40!

Enjoy living abroad, I'm leaving this little island too when I graduate from college.

A year of youth in Berlin would be well spent.

banshee_bones

canada is lovely, bitterly cold in the winter obviously! temps usually hit minus 30 with windchill!

i found rent over there quite expensive, epsecially when they would be asking $1,000 a month for a crummy basement apartment.

Unlike Ireland most of the places are un-furnished.

People are nice though! So best of luck in whatever you decide!

liah

banshee_bones wrote: »

canada is lovely, bitterly cold in the winter obviously! temps usually hit minus 30 with windchill!

i found rent over there quite expensive, epsecially when they would be asking $1,000 a month for a crummy basement apartment.

Unlike Ireland most of the places are un-furnished.

People are nice though! So best of luck in whatever you decide!

Not all of Canada is even remotely like that; that's the beauty of having such a large country.

If you go to British Columbia the temperatures are quite like they are here in the south-central bits like Vancouver. Never really gets below -5 or so in winter, not much higher than 25-28 in the summer, rarely snows. Can get a little pricey in the city though.

Alberta, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, etc are all going through a bit of a buzz re: jobs right now but only in certain fields, especially oil. The latter two provinces are fairly remote and are more for the hardcore types. Just flatlands, mostly all farming communities. Really tough weather in the winter. Alberta's okay though since it's so close to British Columbia.

Ontario's nice enough, it's where I grew up. Does get quite hot in the summers (can easily hit above 35, not including humidity factor!) and incredibly cold in the winters (usually goes down to -25 around the dead of winter, not including wind chill), but the central provinces still tend to have it a lot worse as they're not protected at all. In terms of business it's about average; the recession has hit the globe, but compared to everyone else Canada, since it's such a largely underpopulated and growing country, does have an above average amount of jobs available at the moment.

Quebec... well, it's full of the french, and while I can't personally say I'm a fan of the place or their attitudes (just typical french, if you know what I mean) a lot of people seem to really enjoy it and Montreal is quite a busy city with a bit of culture to it. Seems to be thriving in terms of work, so it might be worth looking at. In terms of climate it is in the same boat as Ontario but the winters tend to hit harder (or at least, it's the only province that's had those ice storms-- google them.)

Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Halifax, PEI, etc are all very small fishing-dominated communities, and while the countryside is absolutely lovely I'm not sure there's really all that much out there.

The Canadian people are lovely, friendly, honest, welcoming and accepting with good senses of humour (outside of Quebec), and the quality of life is amazing. Plus, we have good weed, if you're into that kind of thing... :pac:

I'd recommend it to anyone and would still be there myself if I didn't have a very severe case of wanderlust.

If you have any more questions about it just ask and I can try to help you out.

Good luck in your decision either way.

I'm currently in Belgium, have lived and worked in France and Spain before. It's not really a big deal to move around within Europe - it's so close and if it doesn't work out you can just go home. Why not go to Germany and give it a go? I've never regretted moving anywhere, tbh.

banshee_bones

liah wrote: »

Not all of Canada is even remotely like that;

my bad i should have said that i was in Toronto and that was my experinece of it.

jochenstacker

Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Belgium and now the new Eastern Countries all within easy reach and easy to get to and get around, hell yeah! I would definitely not only advise it, but strongly encourage you to get out while you're young! Or even get out if you're not, you're never too old. Have a look at people who traveled and people who never even left their parish, who think Dublin is The Great Big Yonder. Don't end up a gombeen! You will have a vastly broadened horizon as far as life experience is concerned and no college in the world teaches that. Coming back is another matter, you will notice the food (****e), the weather (****e), health care, infrastructure, competence of the government, public transport and everything else to do with generally running a country (all ****e and run by gombeens who never even left their parish but mammy brought them for an interview for a job with the local council) and wonder why the hell you've come back in the first place.

ejmaztec

anladmór wrote: »

ok i was going to post something very mean about you but i will abstain from doin so.

wherever i go in europe or the rest of world ill always bring ireland with me. EIRE GO BRÁTH

Your caravan must be fucking huge. :eek:

YeatsCounty

Canada hasn't been hit particularly badly by the global downturn yet but it will be. Its close economic ties to the US will see to that. Jobs are becoming scarcer in many areas there and it will only continue to get worse. Make sure you have a skill that's in demand over there, or at least don't go over without first looking into the job situation of where you're planning to stay. If you are planing to work in Montreal, chances are that you'll need some French for many jobs there. Any job advertisement will state the need for French/bilingual speakers regardless, even if French isn't needed in it (Quebec law), so you have to identify which jobs you'll be able to get away without knowing French in.

Immigrating to Canada is a long process, so if you are thinking of going, start the application precess now. Again re: Quebec, you may have to take a French exam if you want to work there as an economic migrant. The other provinces don't have this requirement.

The missus (who's Canadian) put it very well a few days back: Imagine that the US is an anchor which has been thrown overboard. Canada is tied to the anchor. This anchor is sinking at the moment, taking the rope with it. When the anchor goes deep enough, the poor sap at the other end gets dragged in with the anchor.

endasmail

lived in germany for a while ,not a bad place ,it is good to get out and about and see a bit,wouldnt be mad on germany though can be hard to integrate ,i found the germans very closed to a point ,then again i couldnt speak german !

endasmail

endasmail wrote: »

lived in germany for a while ,not a bad place ,it is good to get out and about and see a bit,wouldnt be mad on germany though can be hard to integrate ,i found the germans very closed to a point ,then again i couldnt speak german !

Well, there's the problem. You can't really expect to fit in anywhere if you don't even learn the language - people will see you as a tourist (at best!) or may even take offense that you expect everyone to speak English. Brussels is a really international city where everyone speaks English, but I can feel the difference in attitude when I speak English (tolerant but quite frosty) as opposed to French (usually polite and friendly). It's crazy how different it is when you speak their language. If I continued to live here and speak only English, I think I'd be seriously missing out.

gurramok

That anchor thing about Canada seems to be happening http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7874955.stm

Meanwhile, in Canada, unemployment reached 7.2%, after a worse-than-expected 129,000 jobs were shed in January.

Duck's hoop

anladmór wrote: »

whats irelands unemployed rate? 9?

Yep. 9 outta 10 builders out of employment.

Boskowski

endasmail wrote: »

lived in germany for a while ,not a bad place ,it is good to get out and about and see a bit,wouldnt be mad on germany though can be hard to integrate ,i found the germans very closed to a point ,then again i couldnt speak german !

I'm German and I find people and life here really fine and I believe I get along with Irish people pretty well. Actually I never think about someone being Irish or not or whatever anyway. They're just my colleagues or friends or whatever. But I reckon I would think in those brackets and I'd find Irish people pretty closed too if I couldn't talk to them. I mean in fairness now to what extent do you expect people to go out of their way on a daily basis in order to appear amicable to you? Speaking in sign language and bits and pieces of broken English can be very tiring over time...

But I admit Germans can be a bit close if you're 'too different'. I don't like it but in some places it can be like that. But for instance in Berlin you will be alright, Berlin is very diverse. You won't experience any closeness, especially not being Irish. Germans like the Irish, they eat & drink similar stuff, they look similar enough and Germans have this (somewhat silly) romantic notion about Ireland anyway.

To the OP:
Go to Berlin. If you're in your twenties or so you'll love it. It will give you a different view. You'll be greatly entertained by the unlimited supply of bars, restaurants, theaters, clubs, gigs, places of history & culture, even weird stuff you name it. You gonna like the German girls and they will like you. And you will find a job and being from Ireland you will find everything very reasonably priced including a place to stay and moving around. Have to advocate my hometown...:D

Duck's hoop

realcam wrote: »

I'm German and I...

There ya go.

Duck's hoop

anladmór wrote: »

eh wat? lol

Yeah, Jerry's alrignt. Just don't..laugh out loud.

tj-music.com

... id really like to hear back from anyone with any experience living in any of these places.
I really want to live in germany but I want to get my career going also.
so my question is, if u were me, which country wood u go to and why?

thanks ...

Being German and away from it for more than 8 years I am always shocked by the decline of social services and jobs in Germany.

I have been visiting family and friends in Germany (Offenbach, near Frankfurt) just recently and economywise it is really bad.

Having said that, IF you'd manage to find a decent job Germany is actually quite a cool place to be. It has a brilliant culture and arts and it is 100% the opposite of what people actually think it is.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

anladmór wrote: »

ok i was going to post something very mean about you but i will abstain from doin so.

wherever i go in europe or the rest of world ill always bring ireland with me. EIRE GO BRÁTH

Sorry, but he's right. You only realise how badly run and how backward-thinking Ireland is when you see a modern European country in action first hand. My first expereince was Denmark - it was like going from one extreme to the other.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

anladmór wrote: »

but we went from being the poor man of europe to a thriving country...

... and back again.

Nothin wrong with a bit of national pride, fair playh to you, but you don't want to be blindly loyal about it. On a realistic level, I'm never going to even come close to achieveing what I want in Ireland; and now that the boom's over, I'm not sure many others will either.

The annoying this with Ireland, is that it has so much latent energy and potential, but does **** all to achieve it (in ALL fields, not just business)

Exit

liah wrote: »

Alberta, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, etc are all going through a bit of a buzz re: jobs right now but only in certain fields, especially oil. The latter two provinces are fairly remote and are more for the hardcore types. Just flatlands, mostly all farming communities. Really tough weather in the winter. Alberta's okay though since it's so close to British Columbia.

Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Halifax, PEI, etc are all very small fishing-dominated communities, and while the countryside is absolutely lovely I'm not sure there's really all that much out there.

Without trying to be rude, you sound like you've never been to any of these places. To describe the Atlantic provinces as fishing-only communities is ridiculous. And granted, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are fairly remote and I couldn't imagine someone outside of Canada wanting to go to Regina, I don't get how you can say Alberta is ok solely because it's close to BC. Tourists don't flock to Calgary and Banff because of its proximity to Vancouver. That's just silly.

Someone said earlier that Canada is a place you emigrate to rather than migrate to. I'd say that's true. While I've never been to Germany, I'd say that would be the better place for a young person to go to first, and then Canada later on.

liah

Exit wrote: »

Without trying to be rude, you sound like you've never been to any of these places. To describe the Atlantic provinces as fishing-only communities is ridiculous. And granted, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are fairly remote and I couldn't imagine someone outside of Canada wanting to go to Regina, I don't get how you can say Alberta is ok solely because it's close to BC. Tourists don't flock to Calgary and Banff because of its proximity to Vancouver. That's just silly.

Someone said earlier that Canada is a place you emigrate to rather than migrate to. I'd say that's true. While I've never been to Germany, I'd say that would be the better place for a young person to go to first, and then Canada later on.

They ARE fishing-dominated, though. It's huge over there, like no where else in the country. That, and tourism, is what those provinces thrive on. It's hardly a ridiculous statement. It's just how it is.

I mentioned Alberta in reference to weather, not in terms of jobs/tourism/anything else, really. The winters in southern British Columbia aren't nearly as bad as the middle or central provinces, and same with Alberta-- mostly due to the shelter of the mountains I'd wager, though up the north it does get quite brutal.

And yeah, I know it's in Manitoba, but barely anyone even knows what that is.. though I guess Saskatchewan is also pretty obscure in that respect.

Exit

liah wrote: »

They ARE fishing-dominated, though. It's huge over there, like no where else in the country. That, and tourism, is what those provinces thrive on. It's hardly a ridiculous statement. It's just how it is.

While that may be true, you wouldn't call Galway (for example) a small fishing dominated community. There is much more to Galway than that. And likewise with the Atlantic Provinces. I've only spent about a week each in Halifax and St. John's, but they seemed like two of the more vibrant, partying cities in Canada.

I'm living in Toronto for the year and it's a mixed bag. While I do really enjoy my time here, I wouldnt live here for good.

Firstly, they love the Irish. Many of them have never met Irish people and generally have the usual Irish questions which is grand. Toronto is 50% Canadian and 50% immigrants. It can be pricey enough (transport etc) but it's a cheap night on the lash (priorities you see).

I find that a bag of door knobs have more personality then some of the people who reside in the city. Being born and bred in Dublin, I just much prefer the Irish humour and way of life. While I have a good few Canadian mates, I tend to hang around with Aussies, Kiwis and Brits. They have had similar experiences.

There are far worse places in the world to live in like Somalia or Louth so you could do worse.

Thirdfox

Well Zimbabwe may just take the biscuit for worst country to live in right now (especially if you're a white Irish anyway).

In defence of Ireland (as someone who has lived in China, England, Ireland and the US) - it is a nice country and somewhere where I'd want to grow old in. Right now though, I'm young and do not drink... so definitely seeking an office placement abroad. Dublin might seem big to some, but when you've been to Beijing, Tokyo, San Francisco you'll see what a truly massive city has to offer to people.

As for emigration - the US is in trouble (600,000 jobs lost in January), Canada will be too (they put parliament/democracy on hold for a few months to avert a political crisis), UK not doing too hot and Australia seems like...well I haven't heard much about Australia. Seems like the staple countries that the Irish tend to emigrate too aren't in a particularly good shape either (to be expected during a global recession).

Myself - perfect job would be an Irish placement off to Beijing - their economic growth has dropped by 3%...but it's still something the Irish government would kill for at 9% (what's ours now still -0.5%?)

wixfjord

Im not your friend buddy!

Cianos

OP,
I've been living in Berlin for the past year. It's a great city and I would really really recommend it. From what I'm told it's very different to other German cities, so I would be careful about what choice you make in that regard. Munich and other more Western cities are apparetnly very work orientated. Berlin is a lot more diverse and there are more interesting things going on.

While it won't have as many jobs as other cities, it is very cheap. Rent is cheap, beer is cheap, food is cheap, transport is cheap etc. Not many people here have much money so you don't feel that big push to work work work!

If you have a strong level of German already, then you will find it very easy to get talking with people I think. People seem open enough to talking with random strangers, in bars or in the shop and so on.

Anyway if you have any questions about Berlin just ask!

judas101

i too have moved to germany in the last few months.

im in a lovely city called heidelberg.

i think germany is a cool place. granted, some of the older people arent that sound but the young ones, especially ones that have been outside germany for a while are bang on mostly.

go for it OP!

talkingclock

jochenstacker wrote: »

Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Belgium and now the new Eastern Countries all within easy reach and easy to get to and get around, hell yeah! I would definitely not only advise it, but strongly encourage you to get out while you're young! Or even get out if you're not, you're never too old. Have a look at people who traveled and people who never even left their parish, who think Dublin is The Great Big Yonder. Don't end up a gombeen! You will have a vastly broadened horizon as far as life experience is concerned and no college in the world teaches that. Coming back is another matter, you will notice the food (****e), the weather (****e), health care, infrastructure, competence of the government, public transport and everything else to do with generally running a country (all ****e and run by gombeens who never even left their parish but mammy brought them for an interview for a job with the local council) and wonder why the hell you've come back in the first place.

+1!

OP go to the continent! I have lived and worked in Germany and at the end of Feb I'm going back again.

In case you are homesick, Ireland is just a 2hrs flight away and with a bit of luck it costs you only 20 quid retrurn! Cheap enough for a long weekend at home.

deecom

OP Moved away 3 years ago to Slovenia. Best thing i ever did, as everyone has said before go for it, what have you got to lose!

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Professey Chin

wixfjord wrote: »

Im not your friend buddy!

IM NOT YOUR BUDDY GUY!!!

Im not your guy friend

Wagon

eurotrotter wrote: »

hey gang
iv done a degree in BIS in ucc and im currently doing a masters in BIS now (BIS - BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS) - (IT)

Same as me! Only i wasn't arsed doing a masters.

I'm moving to Italy with virtually no italian but on the upside, the climate there is excellet. It hovers around the 30 degree mark for half the year.

Boskowski

Duck's hoop wrote: »

Yeah, Jerry's alrignt.

Now that makes me feel so much better...

citytillidie

Currently looking into moving to Canada to, going to London in May to a Canadian jobs fair to see what the employment situation is like there before making any real big decisions.

NADA

Living in Munich now since September. Studying here. It's great. Great city. Nice transport system. No scum bags. Good beer. Not sure how the working situation is but I believe finding work is a bit tough. The German themselves are a pretty cool and laid back folk despite what you may be led to believe. Only 2 hours flight from home. Also if you know any German at all you'll get by. Even while your learning it everybody can speak English to you. Yeah Id say go try it. Also a cheap enough place to live although not the cheapest in Germany.

onemorechance

citytillidie wrote: »

Currently looking into moving to Canada to, going to London in May to a Canadian jobs fair to see what the employment situation is like there before making any real big decisions.

Ya heading there too. I hope it is good and not just recruitment agencies promising the world just to get your details.

NickCarraway

Crikey, is every one off to Canada then? Darn, that's what I was thinking of doing!!!!
I guess I'd like to go to Canada because its big, they seem to have a great quality of life, should be able to find work in my field no prob and they speak English. And its not Australia!!! Seriously, the amount of paddies in Australia is ridiculous! Seems to me that there is an upswing in people choosing Canada over Oz and I'd imagine its for this very reason. I only hope too many of us don't go and ruin it. Also, and I mean no offence to anyone, I don't particularily like Aussie culture/attitudes (horrible sweeping generalisation, but there you go!)
I'd be all for going to Europe (Berlin is class), the USA or South America but in my work I need to have fluency in the local language and I'm no where near this in anything but English unfortunately. Otherwise I'd move to Argentina.

Never been to Canada, but am hearing good things about the western states. Alberta seems to be where its at. Thing is i wont be in a position to go for another 4 years, so don't everyone go moving there and ruining it for me!

rossie1977

liah wrote: »

Alberta, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, etc are all going through a bit of a buzz re: jobs right now but only in certain fields, especially oil. The latter two provinces are fairly remote and are more for the hardcore types. Just flatlands, mostly all farming communities. Really tough weather in the winter. Alberta's okay though since it's so close to British Columbia.

yeah i don't think people from the uk/ireland realise how cold it gets in those places or how remote somewhere like winnipeg is. hit -40C there about 3 weeks back and average nightly temperature in winnipeg in january is -25C, and thats before windchill

Funkstard

Would going to Berlin to work for a year and having no German be a completely stupid thing to do or would it be maybe ok?