Anyone thinking of emigrating?

People on 50k are only getting by? Jasus if that's the case then there isn't much hope.

There's lots to do if you live in the right area. I'd consider myself to be fairly lucky here in Kildare. There's Mondello Park, Punchestown, Curragh Racecourse etc, and I'm a short drive from Wicklow and Dublin. It would be a much different story in somewhere like Leitrim or Roscommon.

I'd highly recommend emigrating to anyone, especially if you are young with no ties. If you're in that situation now it's an absolute no-brainer IMO. It's invaluable experience and is eye-opening to see how the world works outside Ireland.

I spent a total of 8 years living abroad in my 20s in UK, NZ & France and each country taught me different things.

UK - It's probably the easiest place to make the move to, and because of the Common Travel Area you have the automatic right to work etc so getting set up with a National Insurance number etc is very straight forward. The UK also has such diverse options where to live based on what you want or your budget - eg. London & S. England prices can be relatively high compared to 'Up North' and/or Scotland, but overall I found the cost of living so much more affordable. The thing that struck me was how laid back people were compared to Ireland, in the sense that no-one really cared about your private life or "keeping up with the Jone's". I did find it unusual at first that I didn't know anything about my neighbours (except for an odd hello) but actually learnt to enjoy the privacy quickly. Being Irish you can definitely expect every second person to take the piss about your accent, and at first it got a bit tiresome, but you soon learn that British humour and wit is very sarcastic and the only way to deal with it is to give it back! Some of my best friends to this day are the people I met during my first stint there. Obviously the main advantage with the UK if you are considering a move is how close and easy it is to get home, if things don't work out. However, although it's only a short distance away, the culture in the UK is hugely different to Ireland, in a good way.

NZ - I only spent a year in NZ and tbh it was more like an extended holiday than anything else - beautiful country and VERY, VERY laid back. It felt like going back in time with pace of life and even the buildings architecture makes you feel like you're in the 70s or 80s. The biggest thing I learnt from being in NZ was just how far I was from home. Thankfully there were no family emergencies whilst I was there but that thought was always in my mind if I needed to rush back there's not many places further on earth to get back from. (This was pre-Emirates/Etihad flying to DUB etc).

France - where do I start!? 😂 Difficult, frustrating and time-consuming to get set up but worth the effort because it's such a fantastic place to live. Learn some of the language - even just the basics, because one of the worst things you can say to a french person is 'parlez-vous anglais?'. A little effort goes a long way, and definitely helps when it comes to setting up social security, utilities etc etc. Try not take life too seriously either because you will quickly learn that there are very specific windows of opportunity for everything in France (eg. Social security office is only open every 3rd full moon between 1030am-1035am, and then your paperwork will be wrong). Also, pretty much everything shuts down on a Sunday (even supermarkets close at 12pm) and August for the summer holidays. Once you adapt to that way of living it really is fantastic. The French value their time off and family and that's the reason why all these things still happen today - it really taught me to slow down and enjoy life a bit instead of chasing the rat race. Summers were hot, but plenty of public swimming pools and lakes nearby, or else cold beers available in every cafe/bar. Food was amazing and very cheap compared to Ireland if you went to the right places. Winters could be cold but also lived about 1.5hrs from the closest ski resort so that was a great bonus being able to take day trips to ski. Great expat communities available but also plenty of opportunities to meet up with French-speaking locals who wanted to improve their english (pub quiz nights very popular for that reason) which I'd highly recommend if you are moving abroad - don't just hang around with english speakers. Regarding taxes, I don't agree with everyone saying "high high high" - you file your own tax return every year so everyone's circumstances will be different - one thing to say if you are single you will pay more tax than a married person with children for example. The social security charges are quite high but you get an amazing healthcare system for that, which I had to avail of myself whilst I was there - the level of care is simply incomparable to Ireland. I lived in a regional city in France so can't talk much of what life is like in an isolated village, but certainly my experience made it the favourite place I've lived in.

Moving back to Ireland was such a huge shock, and if it wasn't for the fact I was fortunate enough to buy a house just before COVID I would be out of here again. Myself and partner moved back to Ireland with the aim of purchasing a house within 2 years. It took 5 years and that is with us both on good-paying jobs. I couldn't - still can't - get over how expensive things are here, especially rent, taxes and bills. The worst thing is what do you get for it? At least in the other countries you get something back from the system but Ireland it just seems like dead money all the time.

COVID has completely shown me that Ireland is not the place I remembered it to be when I lived abroad. I have grown to resent it a bit throughout the pandemic as it has shown an ugly side of society and just completely rudderless leadership from those in charge, which in turn has highlighted how shambolic our infrastructure and policies are. We don't have kids at the moment so despite finally having a home to call ours, are actively considering emigrating again ourselves. You always hear "the grass isn't always greener" and that bears true a lot of the time, but you won't know unless you go.

My parting advice: If you are young with no ties, book that flight/ferry today. You won't regret it.

Suppose it's all very subjective but the powers that be definitely seem to be doing their best to suck the joy out of life lately, every headline seems to be a dig: fuel hikes, restrictions (yeah they're everywhere), price hikes all round, mup, housing crisis, even the tattoo ink thing (no, I didn't bother reading about it) combine that with the most difficult time of the year and you've got a good recipe for wanting out.

The problem with Germany is that it can be a lonely place. I like the country and I like "the Germans", but they can be awfully aloof. I've never actually lived there mind you, but I know in my heart that I could never be able to settle there. I've been to several places over there and while it seems like it would be a nice and quiet place to live in most areas, I think that that would end up be the problem. Germans are a nice crowd in the main and in general are very welcoming to the Irish I've found. But they're also quite stand offish too and I don't believe that I'd ever be able to gather the friends there that I have in Ireland. I know people who have moved there and they have nothing, except their job and their family (the mothers of which they met in Ireland). Their entire lives are centred just around those two things. They don't have buddies and they don't have a life outside of those limitations. Their job and their family is in Germany, but their home isn't.

This type of problem exists with moving to other countries too. I know people in Canada who only know their boyfriend and the people they work with. They're dying to come home because they haven't anything else going on except job and sitting in the flat in the evening. But they know that coming back here means a lower paid job because of our low wage economy and being stuck living at the mercy of some landlord because buying a house isn't an option.

You see while there are better opportunities abroad for Irish people with respects to work, and that has ALWAYS been the case, the simple fact is that most will end up missing Ireland for the people and the fact that it's home. I've know some people that have recently returned from America and they've said that they've had more fun in the few months they've been back than in the entire years that they've been away, which I found rather sad.

Life isn't simply about a job and it isn't a dress rehearsal.

400 quid of disposable income a week is more than enough for a good quality of life, unless you've a penchant for whores and cocaine.

I got the figures off him, and they're bills we all have to pay, 400 a week after rent is a good living and more than plenty to take care of all the bills and maybe some for saving, this is why I asked what do people expect from 50k a year, it's not a wage that will change your life, it'll keep you in a relatively comfortable way of living but don't expect a month in the Seychelles and a 70 grand beamer in the drive

As clarified I said disposable was the wrong word, there's no need to resort to insults about my first language, I'm not looking for a row, you say 50 k isn't enough, whereas I can survive no problem, I think people's expectations of what they think a good wage is and what it gets you are 2 different things, you say you can earn 70k somewhere else then here's the kicker, nowhere owes you a living, the government owe you nothing, you're more than welcome to find a place that accommodates all your expectations about what you deserve, if your job is paying you 50k and you think its not enough that's your problem, you come across as someone who seem entitled to more but you don't earn enough so that's everyone's problem but your own

I lived abroad for 15 years and would encourage everyone including my own kids to live somewhere else for some point while there are young. I had a great life, experienced so much, and made a lot of friends. We then returned back to Ireland about 9 years ago and absolutely love being back but I think it took out experiences abroad to really appreciate how great this country is and how much we love it here.