Living abroad

funkey_monkey

Hi.

I have lived inBelfast for ten years now since graduating from QUB as an engineer. I have been in the same job all this time.

It is sometjing of a regret of mine that I have never worked or lived in another country. Am I missing out or am I really fortunate that I don't have to emigrate? I know that more often than not dreams don't match reality.

Austrailia does not appeal to me. So it would be North America or England, if I opted to move.

Should I be grateful for what I have here or am I missing out? At 32yo have I left it too late?

Thanks.

munchkin_utd

graduated 10 years ago from QUB myself and went abroad straight away, and still there.

Every country is different. Every town even has its own plusses and minuses.

Munich for example has lovely summers where you can sit in a beergarden, wander about the alps or cycle on the hundreds of km of cyclepath through parks and along the rivers. Totally different lifestyle than car obscessed ireland (although belfast is much much better than anything in the south, Lagan valley towpath/ cavehill etc)

Or in winter you are in the austrian alps in an hour for a spot of skiiing/ snowboarding at the weekend. Hard to beat!

Theres places in Canada and New England in the US that have similar benefits to munich with a great lifestyle both summer and winter.

Or you can work in one of the mining towns in Canada in the Artic circle for 6 months at a time and go mad in the head, if you dont commit suicide in the meantime.
Or go to a soulless commuter town in England or farther afield.

WHERE you go is as much of a question as whether you go.

BTW - if youre doing mech eng theres an Irish company in Stockholm who are recruiting at the moment. Its a city that offers the full on winter experience but where the summers are enjoyed to the last.

InTheTrees

You sound like you're perfectly happy staying right where you are but are hearing stories about how amazing life is abroard and perhaps feeling left out.

If you really feel it would be a cool thing to do then go for it but otherwise stay home.

syklops

What is it with Irish people thinking there are only 3 places in the world they can move to, North America, Australia and the UK??????

There is this place called Europe, which you live in by the way, which has about 50 countries in it. Why do you instantly write them all off?

seachto7

The language barrier, plain and simple. Though it wouldn't stop me.
I went to Italy years ago with no Italian. I suppose culturally, ENglish speaking countries are more similar to Ireland, even the music on the radio will be familiar.

I would be heading for France if it were me,though I'm not sure of the economic situation over there currently...

I do hear stories of big towns in France being dead, nobody out in them during the week etc. That would put me off for sure....

syklops

seachto7 wrote: »

The language barrier, plain and simple. Though it wouldn't stop me.
I went to Italy years ago with no Italian. I suppose culturally, ENglish speaking countries are more similar to Ireland, even the music on the radio will be familiar.

I would be heading for France if it were me,though I'm not sure of the economic situation over there currently...

I do hear stories of big towns in France being dead, nobody out in them during the week etc. That would put me off for sure....

Well most if not all countries in Europe teach English in their high schools so most people speak at least some English.

Also, I dont agree with your music comment. I heard Jedward on the radio in Tesco a few days ago. Europeans listen to the same kinds of music as Irish people do.

As for french towns being empty during the week, you should visit some Irish towns and see what they are like during the week. My hometown is dead most days. Even at the weekend.

funkey_monkey

syklops wrote: »

What is it with Irish people thinking there are only 3 places in the world they can move to, North America, Australia and the UK??????

There is this place called Europe, which you live in by the way, which has about 50 countries in it. Why do you instantly write them all off?

Language, no other reason.

Jim2007

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Language, no other reason.

I failed French and Latin at school and just about managed to scrape a pass in Irish. And on top of that I was born with a hearing impediment. So when I moved out here (Switzerland), I figured I'd never be able to learn German, but I did!!!

It took about two years but it eventually started to click and by year 5, I got to the point where I could even joke and be sarcastic in German. So if I can do it anyone can, it just takes determination to do so.

If you want some real adventure, then don't pass up on Europe...there are some fantastic opportunities out here... an Irish friend of mine just started working as as a software engineer in St. Moritz, he is big into snowboarding hence the attraction.... Mind you he is going to have some fun picking up the language - it's mainly Romansch, the fourth language of Switzerland.

Check out some of the European job sites, most professional jobs are open to English speakers, provided you are willing to try and learn the local language.

Good luck with that,

Jim.

funkey_monkey

I just feel that although I'm 33 if I don't go and spend some time abroad it will be something I reget when I'm settled down and older.

I've no ideas about where to go - other than I'd like to work in my current area which is software engineering. I don't know where I could go though - or if I should. It would be a regret through. What if...

syklops

funkey_monkey wrote: »

I just feel that although I'm 33 if I don't go and spend some time abroad it will be something I reget when I'm settled down and older.

I've no ideas about where to go - other than I'd like to work in my current area which is software engineering. I don't know where I could go though - or if I should. It would be a regret through. What if...

Well your in luck as there are lots of software engineering jobs around. The company I work for is looking for engineers and developers in a number of countries around the world. Go look at some european job sites.

I just typed "Software Engineer" into the careers search page of the company I work for, and got 2 pages of results. From Germany and the Czech Republic to Hong Kong and India.

Jim2007

funkey_monkey wrote: »

I've no ideas about where to go - other than I'd like to work in my current area which is software engineering. I don't know where I could go though - or if I should. It would be a regret through. What if...

Well getting a job in software engineering should be no problem, so thing about the other aspects of life:

- town and country as opposed to city life
- Sand and sun as compared to the country side
- Winter sports
- Are you interested in learning another language
- Historic versus modern architecture

This should help you narrow down the locations

Jim.

michaeldunne65

Hey,

My experience is that people who come onto online forums to talk about going away are pretty unlikely to actually go away.

Stay where you are, you seem happy enough.

distant2soul

I'm living in Chaiyi, Taiwan at the moment. Sorry this might be a bit off topic. But does anyone know why I cant, use my boi visa debit to withdraw more than €20.

Thanks in advance

munchkin_utd

distant2soul wrote: »

I'm living in Chaiyi, Taiwan at the moment. Sorry this might be a bit off topic. But does anyone know why I cant, use my boi visa debit to withdraw more than €20.

Thanks in advance

I would ask such a question in the Bank of Ireland fourm where there are dedicated members of Bank staff there to answer queries here:
http://www.boards.ie/ttforum/1522

Taiwan is a mad place though I hear. The lovely beaches filled with barbed wire in case the Chinese invade!
The people working every hour god made with no weekend and little holidays.
And its one of the few countries that a british passport is more useful than an irish one as they dont need a visa but Irish passport holders do (something that can cause a moral conflict if you are a northern catholic who has both citizenships by birth but would normally not have any desire to declare as british).

keithclancy

seachto7 wrote: »

The language barrier, plain and simple. Though it wouldn't stop me.
I went to Italy years ago with no Italian. I suppose culturally, ENglish speaking countries are more similar to Ireland, even the music on the radio will be familiar.

I would be heading for France if it were me,though I'm not sure of the economic situation over there currently...

I do hear stories of big towns in France being dead, nobody out in them during the week etc. That would put me off for sure....

Netherlands is a better choice IMO if you have difficulties with languages. There's a load of companies that deal entirely in English in the Randstad (Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Den Haag) and also in Eindhoven,

Flights are pretty easy over and back to Ireland as well.

Been living here since 2007 and I see it as my home.

Culturally, it's not all that different to Ireland IMO, it's just people tend to mix up big city culture with country.

E.G. Moving from Cork -> Dublin gives about the same culture shock as moving from Eindhoven -> Amsterdam.

But after living here for a number of years there are a few things I find in Ireland that just seem plain strange now.

E.G.
The lack of bicycle lanes
The shockingly poor public transport
The mess on the streets when the pubs close
The links between airports and cities are awful (I think Dublin Airport is probably the worst capital city airport i've ever seen in Europe)
The amount of cars / household (As a result of the almost non existent public transport)

What annoys me the most is the "Do you ever think about moving back home" question, ffs .. I am home :P

If there were some peculiarities about the culture here, every year we have a Neighborhood party on the green next to our house, we setup a party tent and a beer tent, everyone gets together and has a good craic.

Neighbors talk to each other, I could be out on the street doing something with my car and a passing Neighbor would ask if I needed a hand, or some tools.

Another plus is if I want to go somewhere I can get the Train to almost anywhere on the continent.

distant2soul

munchkin_utd wrote: »

I would ask such a question in the Bank of Ireland fourm where there are dedicated members of Bank staff there to answer queries here:
http://www.boards.ie/ttforum/1522

Taiwan is a mad place though I hear. The lovely beaches filled with barbed wire in case the Chinese invade!
The people working every hour god made with no weekend and little holidays.
And its one of the few countries that a british passport is more useful than an irish one as they dont need a visa but Irish passport holders do (something that can cause a moral conflict if you are a northern catholic who has both citizenships by birth but would normally not have any desire to declare as british).

It's a nice place so far but the Chinese could invade, cause there many fireworks going off no one would know if it's gun shots. You can get a tourist visa for 3 months which is handy.

I'm glad I've lived abroad (am abroad again, actually!) but it's not for everyone. There are some downsides and it's the everyday little things that get to you. I have quite a few health problems at the minute and I hate having to use the local health system here in Spain. The care is good and everything, I just hate trying to explain important stuff in another language, having to find different medication, not really understanding how the system works... I just find myself wishing I was back in the UK where at least I feel at home and understand everything. This is a recent thing though - before I got sick, I loved living abroad and had few problems with it.

gm paddington bear

Hey, I'm not sure what forum to post this on as I can't find one specific to Abu Dhabi/Dubai for moving abroad. Myself and my boyfriend recently returned from Canada, with the naive hope that things had improved here. Unfortunately that hasn't happened. We missed out on getting our visas again for Canada this year so looking at other places to go. I'm a teacher and he's in construction, project management/finishing foreman. I have an offer of a job in Abu Dhabi for September and I want to take it. However, if my boyfriend does get work in construction over there then what are the chances we will get to live together since we're not married?? I know some of my friends, who are teachers over there, live with their partners, who are also teachers. As they're all placed in the same complex I suppose this is easier to get away with. However, is it possible to do if you are in a situation like mine?