Moving back to Ireland after missing out on the whole Celtic Tiger thing

punky

So I've spent most of the last eight years living or travelling abroad and basically missed out on that whole Celtic Tiger lark. A lot of my old school and college friends have nice gaffs and good salaries. I find myself in my early thirties with barely a penny to my name, but I've absolutely no regrets as I've had a brilliant time feckin' about the place.

Anyway...so I'm planning on coming home this year. Most people I've talked to seem to think it's crazy to move back to Dublin in the middle of a recession, especially as I don't have a job lined up and the only thing I'm really qualified to do is teach English to foreign students. But despite the sh*te weather and the state of our, eh, state, Ireland is a great place with great people and I've really missed family and friends and having the craic. I doubt my family will let me go hungry and I'm sure if I try hard enough I'll find some work to keep me afloat until times pick up.

So what do you reckon? Am I totally mad to be coming home or should I just ignore all the negativity and arrive home with relentless optimism?

FlutterinBantam

Aaah sure you seem to have been livin' of the toil of others up to this, why stop now.

Cookie_Monster

Yeah, I wouldn't bother coming back, give it a few more years

Riddle101

How are you doing abroad? If you are doing well living abroad and are happy then I would say stay where you are and don't move home because you could be making the biggest mistake of your life by coming back here were people are losing their jobs left right and centre.

If you're doing bad abroad and aren't happy where you are then by all means come back if you want, you've got nothing to lose right?

seamus

It's no better in any other country. If you're barely qualified in Ireland, you're barely qualified everywhere else too.

connundrum

There's no room in the inn. Sorry

chamlis

For Christ's sake STAY WHERE YOU ARE!!! :eek:

tribulus

Yeah there's probably an ever decreasing number of people to teach English too anyway.

Come back in ten years when a new government/fake economy/bank scandal is up and running well.

punky

connundrum wrote: »

There's no room in the inn. Sorry

Sure I'll try Bethlehem then. Or maybe Gaza. There's probably lots of construction work there at the mo.

I'm doing ok here (living in Japan), just making enough to get by really. Myself and the missus want to try living in Ireland, or in Europe at least, for at least a year or so to see if it works out. I'm hoping to study for a masters part time. I know it seems like the worst time to move home but I think if you want to do something, you should do it and not let your life be dictated by the economy. Obviously I don't mean I'd move to Zimbabwe if I was so inclinded, but we haven't exactly resorted to eating out of rubbish bins and spending our days hunting pidgeons just yet in Ireland. So feck it, I'm coming home and I'm going to enjoy it.

Rockshamrover

punky wrote: »

So I've spent most of the last eight years living or travelling abroad and basically missed out on that whole Celtic Tiger lark. A lot of my old school and college friends have nice gaffs and good salaries. I find myself in my early thirties with barely a penny to my name, but I've absolutely no regrets as I've had a brilliant time feckin' about the place.

Anyway...so I'm planning on coming home this year. Most people I've talked to seem to think it's crazy to move back to Dublin in the middle of a recession, especially as I don't have a job lined up and the only thing I'm really qualified to do is teach English to foreign students. But despite the sh*te weather and the state of our, eh, state, Ireland is a great place with great people and I've really missed family and friends and having the craic. I doubt my family will let me go hungry and I'm sure if I try hard enough I'll find some work to keep me afloat until times pick up.

So what do you reckon? Am I totally mad to be coming home or should I just ignore all the negativity and arrive home with relentless optimism?

Maybe you should have a plan B. Come home for a few months and see how you get on. If you find it tough going after a while, hit the road again.

Most of your friends with the nice gaffs and big salaries are probably up to their necks in debt. They would probably be very happy to swap places with you right now.

All the best with whatever you decide to do.

cL0h

1 person a minute lost a job in Ireland in January. I understand you are probably missing certain aspects of life in Ireland. That wears off after a month or two. Come home for a holiday if you are between jobs. If you are gainfully employed in some other country then I'd grin and bear it.
Another option would be to go to London. There's quite a bit of work there and you could come home once a month if you saved your cash and booked ahead with Ryanair each time.

ScumLord

So it looks like no body wants you around, what did you do to upset all these people?

PGstudent

punky wrote: »

So feck it, I'm coming home and I'm going to enjoy it.

So after a resounding NO, you've decided YES. I cant see you having any trouble finding work

Why did you even bother asking anyone for their opinion?

corkhero

There are enough foreigners in Dublin that need to be taught how to speak english.

You should make a killing

FlutterinBantam

Locals as well;)

blow69

You're living in Japan you lucky ****er! Why would you want to move back here? Believe me, the novelty will wear off in a couple of weeks. There's nothing here at the moment. It's just all too depressing.

Maybe you should move to Europe like you said. That way you can reap the benefits and still be close to Ireland.

Biggins

punky wrote: »

...So what do you reckon? Am I totally mad to be coming home or should I just ignore all the negativity and arrive home with relentless optimism?

Personally, I think you should stick it out where you are.
Ireland is not going anywhere. It will still be here when things pick up again (hopefully).

pcardin

corkhero wrote: »

There are enough foreigners in Dublin that need to be taught how to speak english.

You should make a killing

There are million times more nationals that need to be taught how to speak english. Most of them are in Dublin.

Yes, I think you are crazy, to be honest. Especially if you're in TEFL - there's much more work and better pay outside Ireland. It used to take me forever to take to work with the disgraceful public transport - now it takes me 15 mins on the metro. Used to get paid crap money for teaching a class of 12, now I get 50% more money for 1-2 students. I can't think of any good reason to go back, except I miss my mates and the pub culture. Half my mates are unemployed, it's all quite depressing really.

RonMexico

There is no pub culture anymore, did you not get the memo?

Rb

You can come back, so long as you pay for 1 Pole to leave in doing so.

minidazzler

OP since I assume you have properly travelled and not just been a tourist, I am sure you know how to live on feck all. Get a job where you can. and then work from there.

There is no pub culture anymore, did you not get the memo?

There certainly was when I left 2 weeks ago. Not what it was before, but try living in Belgium!

K-9

You missed nothing tbh, just people your own age getting massive mortgages.

FlutterinBantam

minidazzler wrote: »

OP since I assume you have properly travelled and not just been a tourist, I am sure you know how to live on feck all. Get a job where you can. and then work from there.

Any chance you could explain that one?

minidazzler

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Any chance you could explain that one?

Just the difference between travel and tourism, Tourists have the place change to suit them, travellers imerse themselves in the culture.

FlutterinBantam

minidazzler wrote: »

Just the difference between travel and tourism, Tourists have the place change to suit them, travellers imerse themselves in the culture.

No kiddin?

Tourists have money, travellers have none.

Ok ok I get it.

galwayrush

The OP won't be as badly off as a lot of us, considering the stupid amount of debt the Celtic Overdraft left us in.:rolleyes:

Latchy

punky wrote: »

So I've spent most of the last eight years living or travelling abroad and basically missed out on that whole Celtic Tiger lark.

Intresting you say you missed out on the whole celtic tiger lark by being away for eight years which means you only left Ireland in about 2000. Considering it arrived in Ireland about early 90s ,you would have expierenced some of it. I left in the late eighties so missed out on the whole phenomenon completely.

Ross_Mahon

There's no session like a recession! Lets drink the problems away

1966

Hear hear !!

CiaranC

If you have no debt, you are richer than all your mates who are up to their eyesballs in debt.

Irish people still dont get it.

10 euro < -100000 euro

banshee_bones

you have no debt, thats alot more than most people can say. However since you have been gone so long im thinking you will have no PRSI built up so getting some kind of jobseekers benefit while you look for fairy dust sorry i mean job could be a bit of hassle for you.

and as others have said the novelty of being back will wear off in about...6 days!

luckat

cL0h wrote: »

1 person a minute lost a job in Ireland in January.

44,000 jobs? Surely not?

Dave!

I'd say get a return flight from Japan to Dublin.

IvaBigWun

So the OP missed out on when we were all making 50 to 70k a year and all the coke and hookers?

Hate tha'!

galwayrush

IvaBigWun wrote: »

So the OP missed out on when we were all making 50 to 70k a year and all the coke and hookers?

Hate tha'!

Aw feck,I never left and i missed out on that as well.:mad:

L.R. Weizel

punky wrote: »

So I've spent most of the last eight years living or travelling abroad and basically missed out on that whole Celtic Tiger lark. A lot of my old school and college friends have nice gaffs and good salaries. I find myself in my early thirties with barely a penny to my name, but I've absolutely no regrets as I've had a brilliant time feckin' about the place.

Anyway...so I'm planning on coming home this year. Most people I've talked to seem to think it's crazy to move back to Dublin in the middle of a recession, especially as I don't have a job lined up and the only thing I'm really qualified to do is teach English to foreign students. But despite the sh*te weather and the state of our, eh, state, Ireland is a great place with great people and I've really missed family and friends and having the craic. I doubt my family will let me go hungry and I'm sure if I try hard enough I'll find some work to keep me afloat until times pick up.

So what do you reckon? Am I totally mad to be coming home or should I just ignore all the negativity and arrive home with relentless optimism?

Don't come here. It's not just that our politicans are some of the most incompetent in the western world and extremely poor at dealing with the recession, it's also that Ireland is socially dry and a generally boring place to live.

schween

I read the other day that Japan is officially in a Depression no?
It's economy shrank by 12.7% or something like that in 2008. Doesn't sound so fantastic.

EDIT: Just seen this on the BBC, no wonder they're in a depression.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7893924.stm

Biggins

If Japan is also in a bad decline, would they not also be learning another language now more so to increase their chances of work and maybe going elsewhere for it?
All the better for you over there.
Honestly, stay where you are. I would. Your missing NOTHING - pub culture here is relatively gone.

K-9

schween wrote: »

I read the other day that Japan is officially in a Depression no?
It's economy shrank by 12.7% or something like that in 2008. Doesn't sound so fantastic.

EDIT: Just seen this on the BBC, no wonder they're in a depression.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7893924.stm

Here, he gets promoted to Taoiseach.

luckat

Lots of tírgrá here, eh?

If you want to come home, come home. You'll find TEFL work here too, while you qualify for whatever you want to do in the long term - or are you qualified for other work?

Japan is lovely for a few years, but it's a young person's gig, imho. After a while, most of your western friends are going home, and your Japanese friends are settling into a traditional Japanese life and you're a little un-needed.

traverse

Japan is nice is Japan.