To leave Ireland or not!

LegacyUser

Bit of a dilema here with the way the country is going. My girlfriend is unhappy in a new job she started in the last few months, doesn't see future prospects in her company and finds herself bored in work. She sees our future abroad somewhere possibly in europe or canada and wants to do this in the next year.I have travelled and worked abroad for years myself so I'm not coming from a backround of someone who is cosy at home in good ol ireland. I do like my current job however and feel that i'm lucky to have one in the current environment we find ourseleves in. I like being in the same country as my friends and family and have learnt from experience (I'm just over 30) that life is more about people than places. This country is in a pretty dire state but I feel that there are still opportunities out there for people in the next few years. The thing is my girlfriend is getting more and more impatient with all the bad news etc and wants to leave in the next year, the simple fact is I don't want to due to the reasons above. Any advice out there from people who have been/are in a similar boat? Thanks!

Getting there

Is there any room for compromise? Could you take 2/3 months off work? Go travel with her to get a better feel of the places she would like to go to and make a decision after?

Or commit to going for one year? Could you afford that? How would you feel about a long distance relationship?

Im in a very similar position to you btw, I love being close to family, (<2hrs on a plane), OH wants to go to Oz. Its something were still discussing months after the first time. I think its a very subjective decision.

Best of luck!

Wisco

I don't know if you've gotten to the stage of enquiring about visas and where you can go yet, but if your girlfriend wants to go soon, she should start looking into it and she may realize it'll be harder to get permission to work long term, get visas, etc, than she thinks- I know it's getting harder to get in, depending where you want to go and what sorts of qualifications you both have.
I don't know if this will help at all. She might want to think about stuff like kids (if you're at that stage) and whether she'd want to have them abroad if you go and get settled into careers in another country. As someone who is currently living away from home, these are some of the things that I think about pretty regularly.
Another option (like someone else said) is to save up and go travelling for a while, if that would work in your situations. This might give her a way to see what life in a few places like, before actually moving there. Has she travelled much or spent much time away? I know it can be harder than many people think, especially if she's close with her family.

LittleBook

I worked abroad for several years with many ex-pats from various countries and I can tell you that the biggest problems with emigrating arise when one partner really, really wants to go and the other partner really, really doesn't and just goes along with the other one. That way lies misery.

So whatever you do, don't leave your family, friends, a good job and a place where you are happy unless it's something you yourself want to do.

LegacyUser

From my perspective I think travelling to different countries and holidaying around does not give a true reflection on what it is like to live and work there there. I think people come home from journeys like this with the view that yes the grass really is greener on the otherside. Its a very different story when working abroad.

I myself have worked for about 5 years in 4 different countries and always had the feeling that while I liked the novelty of being in a new place I only felt really at home in ireland after I returned, it is easy to visit friends and family and thats probably what I value most. My girlfriend has been on a few extended holidays abroad but has never worked and lived outside of ireland. I wouldn't say that she is particularly close to her family so would find it easier maybe to up and leave. The main issue I have really is that I cannot see myself being 100% happy living away from ireland and she cannot see herself being 100% happy living in ireland, this however is mainly due to her job and the lack of opportunities out there in the current economic environment. Outside of work she is happy but she is quite a driven person who needs to be challenged in her work.

weatherguy

Many of my friends are working abroad and they nearly all yearn to move home, not for better jobs, but for family reasons.
They all married and moved away and now ten years on want to return home. They couldn't do it until now due to the extortionate house prices, but now they can't return 'cos there are no jobs and those that are self employed are not prepared to risk setting up in Ireland at the mo.
So they are stuck.
One is in Aus, two in NZ, two in US and three in Canada.
I would suggest to your GF that going abroad is not always the answer. She may not qualify for a VISA. And these countries are very strict about who will qualify for a VISA and who won't.
Maybe, she should look around Ireland for a better, more rewarding job than the one she is in and she might feel better.
Certainly there are great opportunites abroad but that doesn't mean you will be happy together, even with great jobs abroad. You may miss simple things like your local pub, television, Tayto crisps, Barrys tea, cadburys chocolate. The craic of your local town, village or city. The weather.
Being Irish.
All those things I've mentioned were put forward as things my mates miss.