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Your reasons for emigrating

lufties

Not sure if this has been a topic before, but I'll give it a go anyway.

Having been away from Ireland a few years now, I reflected recently on my life then in comparison to now. The real standout thing I can say is that I'm more confident and comfortable in my own skin(perhaps that's down to maturing with age). Anyway this got me thinking why I left in the first place back in 2009. It wasn't actually things like unemployment, corruption or anything to do with politicians. The recession was only a small part of the reason that I headed off.

The main ones I came up with were the following;
Career-My career was stagnant at home and I didn't 'fit in' to the mould.
Excitement and adventure-A new life abroad,new place,new people etc.
Leaving the past behind-As it says, along with a fresh start.
Finding myself-I always cringed when people say 'oh he/she went off to find his/herself. Now I get it.
A new challenge-to challenge myself, to grow as a person and become more worldly.
Relationships-having had a couple of failed ones under my belt, I naively thought that finding 'the one' would perhaps be easier overseas.
Right time- It certainly was with the country on it's knees.

Anyway so I wondered as the thread title suggests ,why others have emigrated?

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The Gimp of Dundalk

Left to get away from the liberal pinkos that run Ireland. Sick of the sight of them.

Push Pop

I wasn't an economic migrant but i just needed a change. The negativity was dragging me down and my alcohol intake was really affecting me mentally and physically. I had a good job but due to the economy it was going no where and i didn't have contacts to get me up the ladder. Got a visa for the US and have done freakily well over here on the west coast. I work in IT and get to work from home 2 maybe 3 days a week but it's pretty tough work.
I know it's a bit of a cliche but being Irish really helps over here. The positivity of people, which may irritate others, is actually good for and TypeB personality such as myself. The US may not be perfect but I'm very impressed with it and I have a far higher standard of life now.
I rarely drink and hope to wean myself further off it. Online dating works really well, never thought I'd be going on dates with girls on Christian mingle!
I will move back to Ireland in the future but not for a few years.

SureYWouldntYa

One of the reasons im considering emigrating is Ireland's fascination with drink. Every occasion is all about drink drink drink. Student life is supposed to be drink drink drink, and if you break the mould then you're a dryarse.

jank

lufties wrote: »

That is the primary drawback of Oz/NZ, couldn't live that far from family, I'd never settle in.

Well that’s what makes it unique in some aspects. Great weather and lifestyle. The quality of life one can half if they have a half decent job is outstanding. Opportunities galore. Decent wages, a fairish tax system (top level of 48% only kicks in at $180,000), a culture of work and the 'fair go', no real sense of entitlement where one earns their life by working hard. Success is rewarded and not looked down upon in general. Only smallish flights away from Indo, NZ and the South Pacific if you wanted something different.

Yet being on the other side of the world has its drawbacks. To be honest there is no utopia out there. You people who travel intially to another country think that where ever they are is the best place ever initially. Then of course after 6-12 months reality sets in and things about the new place starts bothering them and they begin to question their own belief system.

It is engrained and battered into us from an early age that Ireland is a kip and a dump and a ****hole, yet when one wanders from these shores they realise it is not the case. Often those people labelling Ireland one of the above have barely stepped outside their own parish never mind lived in another country.

Also we need to get over our perpetual negativity about emigration especially about young people. If I had kids who were fresh out of collage, I would tell them go off and see the world for a few years, you would be mad not to. Other countries call this the "Gap Year" in Ireland we label it as "boo hoo emigration". I recently listened to the Sean O'Rourke on a podcast and he had Paddy O'Gorman interviewing people who were heading off after the Christmas period. Some were genuine emmigrants but there were lots of lads in their 20's who just wanted to head off some place in the sense of adventure and seeing the world. All only had WHV and had no real plan, no jobs lined up and no idea where they would be in a few years time. I would never call these emmigrants

When you have a world city like London only 1 hours away then the pull factors there are obvious. There are loads of Australians who live in Sydney who grew up in quiet little towns up and down the east coast who just got bored of doing the same thing day in day out (much like small town Ireland), so they pack up and move to the big smoke Sydney or Melbourne. That isn't called emigration, yet we label young people heading off to London for a few years as emigrants?? There are thousands of Aussies and Kiwis who head off to London and the UK each year for the exact same reasons as Irish people do, yet not once I have ever heard this termed emmigration, EVER (and this include NZ)!

biketard

Left Belfast to go to university in Edinburgh in 1988. I was sick of the political situation at home at the time.

After graduating and working for a few years, I moved to Spain to teach English and learn Spanish. I did go back to Edinburgh after five years of that, but almost immediately met my now wife and moved to Taiwan with her (she's Taiwanese) over a decade ago.

I'd like to move back at some stage (either to Edinburgh or Belfast) in the not too distant future, but the British Government has made it really, REALLY difficult to do that now if your spouse is from outside Europe. You basically have to have a well-paid job offer in advance (some chance), or savings of over 62,500 pounds untouched for six months (again, some chance). The fact we have property in Edinburgh and friends/family willing to support us doesn't count at all.

Luckily the Irish Govt is a bit more sensible, so we may well end up in the Republic if/when we move back.

lufties

jank wrote: »

Well that’s what makes it unique in some aspects. Great weather and lifestyle. The quality of life one can half if they have a half decent job is outstanding. Opportunities galore. Decent wages, a fairish tax system (top level of 48% only kicks in at $180,000), a culture of work and the 'fair go', no real sense of entitlement where one earns their life by working hard. Success is rewarded and not looked down upon in general. Only smallish flights away from Indo, NZ and the South Pacific if you wanted something different.

Yet being on the other side of the world has its drawbacks. To be honest there is no utopia out there. You people who travel intially to another country think that where ever they are is the best place ever initially. Then of course after 6-12 months reality sets in and things about the new place starts bothering them and they begin to question their own belief system.

It is engrained and battered into us from an early age that Ireland is a kip and a dump and a ****hole, yet when one wanders from these shores they realise it is not the case. Often those people labelling Ireland one of the above have barely stepped outside their own parish never mind lived in another country.
Also we need to get over our perpetual negativity about emigration especially about young people. If I had kids who were fresh out of collage, I would tell them go off and see the world for a few years, you would be mad not to. Other countries call this the "Gap Year" in Ireland we label it as "boo hoo emigration". I recently listened to the Sean O'Rourke on a podcast and he had Paddy O'Gorman interviewing people who were heading off after the Christmas period. Some were genuine emmigrants but there were lots of lads in their 20's who just wanted to head off some place in the sense of adventure and seeing the world. All only had WHV and had no real plan, no jobs lined up and no idea where they would be in a few years time. I would never call these emmigrants

When you have a world city like London only 1 hours away then the pull factors there are obvious. There are loads of Australians who live in Sydney who grew up in quiet little towns up and down the east coast who just got bored of doing the same thing day in day out (much like small town Ireland), so they pack up and move to the big smoke Sydney or Melbourne. That isn't called emigration, yet we label young people heading off to London for a few years as emigrants?? There are thousands of Aussies and Kiwis who head off to London and the UK each year for the exact same reasons as Irish people do, yet not once I have ever heard this termed emmigration, EVER (and this include NZ)!

Thats a fair summation alright, I really admire people that can stay in Australia and settle there fully. A cousin of mine went there nearly 8 years ago and hasn't looked back since. I went for a year and a half and couldn't bear being so far away from home. The work there was fine but I felt too lost and could not adjust. That feeling of being isolated got to me too. I missed Ireland and my old life big time.

Fast forward nearly 4 years and i'm still 'travelling', mainly because my profession allows it. The next stop is London which hopefully will be the last port of call for a few years.

[Deleted User]

astonaidan wrote: »

I notice a common thing said is that there is alot more to do in X country besides drinking.
There is plenty to do in Ireland besides drinking.

In the daytime. A few Saturdays ago my friends and I were sat in a car at 10pm and decided we felt like doing something. Literally nothing within a 50 mile radius other than drinking.

CantGetNoSleep

My reason was (.)(.)

Ballfro

Have lived in Canada, the US, Germany and France and loved every minute. Tried London and Australia but it wasn't for me. I could never see myself living anywhere else but Ireland and am happily living in the beautiful south east by the sea.

I have travelled extensively and in my experience life is similar the world over in a lot of ways, there are still problems and bills etc but wherever you are it's what you make of it.

Always find this attitude of hating Ireland and can't wait to leave when i am back on holidays quite strange. Not that i don't understand it but in my experience it is always said with an air of pity lol especially from those in Oz for some reason. They find it hard to understand why anyone could love living in Ireland. Many of us do.

lufties

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

My reason was (.)(.)

Or lack of

lufties

Deleted User wrote: »

In the daytime. A few Saturdays ago my friends and I were sat in a car at 10pm and decided we felt like doing something. Literally nothing within a 50 mile radius other than drinking.

Nothing worse than being(single) in a pub drinking in a small Irish town with absolutely ZERO chance of getting with any women. The normal thing is get pissed, then bottleneck in the nightclub of the main town on a saturday night, thats your only chance of getting some lovin' until the following week.

Ok nowadays there's internet dating and its less taboo, but back a few years ago unless you lived in a city/big town, you were had slim pickings.

[Deleted User]

lufties wrote: »

Nothing worse than being(single) in a pub drinking in a small Irish town with absolutely ZERO chance of getting with any women. The normal thing is get pissed, then bottleneck in the nightclub of the main town on a saturday night, thats your only chance of getting some lovin' until the following week.

Ok nowadays there's internet dating and its less taboo, but back a few years ago unless you lived in a city/big town, you were had slim pickings.

It wasn't about that tbh, it was just looking for something to do other than mess around in the car. We even got to the stage of thinking about going to the offlicence til we realised it was too late :P

Xavi6

Came to Oz after finishing college, seven years ago next week actually. Initially it was a group of mates and was meant to be a six month thing. Luckily, I was born here and have citizenship so when they moved on I stayed in Perth and got settled in.

I do everything I did at home (play football, go for pints, go to live sporting events and gigs etc) but I have a consistent period of good weather which I love. I'm very much into the whole beach thing.

It's easy to settle here with it being English speaking, and Perth is a very chilled out spot. Others say it's boring but different strokes.

I miss my mates a lot, and my family, and the distance home is the only downside I have to living here. Then again, I have gotten a much great appreciation for Ireland since being away and I absolutely love going home every two years.

I've a better quality of life than I would in Ireland which is the most important thing for me right now.

dowhatyoulove

I live in the middle east. I mainly came over cos the OH was offered a job he couldn't turn down. I had a fairly good job in Ireland but I decided that he was more important..

Its a world away from home but I love it. OH job pays for all the bills so its great to actually have a wee bitta money to yourself! And the heat ain't half bad either!

kuntboy

Sleepy wrote: »

Always wanted to leave for the same reason many are posting: I've never really "fit in" here in Ireland. No idea where I'd be happier but with a wife and 2 small kids the option to just head off and try different places has been fairly restricted. I regret not travelling more when I was younger. Had I realised the demands for my skillset abroad in the mid 00's I'd almost certainly be living in London / Sydney or Toronto right now but wouldn't have met my wife either... swings and roundabouts I guess!

Sleepy, can I ask you why you never really "fit in"? Is it because you're too intelligent for these leprechauns?

mandrake04

I agree with Jank, there are a lot of opportunities in Australia for the right people. Since I have been here I have also Traveled/worked in NZ, India, China and Japan something that I wouldn't have had the chance to do working in the same type of work in England/Ireland the most exotic places I went was usually was Crawley in West Sussex or maybe Germany.

Here in Oz I limit my drives to 3.5hrs any further and its FIFO same day or over night, when I was working in Ireland I used to drive from Newry to Galway or Newry to Sligo... no chance of flying and during winter that was mostly in the dark, dangerous roads and crap weather just had to put up with it.

Sure its half a world away, but really its only a day (24 hours) which is nothing considering you have 7 of those a week and 365 a year plus you usually asleep 1/3 of that anyway. Its 9 hrs to Hawaii and 14 to California and that where I am meeting my parents next year for a holiday.

Lifestyle rules here, the winter is like an Irish Summer/Spring and the summer is the type of sunshine what people in Ireland jump into a plane and fly to Spain for two weeks. I don't really drink anymore, few weeks ago was on holiday never had a drink the whole week was staying up the coast went driving on Stockton Beach and Fingal bay on the Jetski there was 4 of us including my Irish mate who was both a a big drinker and smoker when he first came to Australia and has since give both them up. Went to bed sort of early and got up early... nice fresh head. I cant understand when people say Australia does not have culture, of course it has ....it has a beach culture where in your free time you get the sand between your toes and do cool stuff witch is just a different type of culture to just drinking the face of yourself.

The other thing I like about Australia is its a very Liberal country, brothels etc are perfectly legal not that I am interested but the fact that if I wanted to go I can legally do so... In Ireland the politicians and church would be preaching from their moral stool while secretly ripping you off or covering up their own dirty secrets.

playedalive

This is a brilliant thread. It's good to see people have different reasons. I'm 23 and just finished a languages degree and I'm finding it tough to find work with it. I have applied for a English Teaching Scheme in France so could be living there by the end of the year. Doing something related to my French studies as opposed to another retail job/unemployment

To be honest, I will emigrate regardless. I think a change of scenery would be great. Also can improve my French and see if I would like teaching. I think it would help me develop as a person. At the same time, I do like Ireland as a place to live (particularly the Irish sense of humour), but there are not many opportunities for me at present.

lufties

playedalive wrote: »

This is a brilliant thread. It's good to see people have different reasons. I'm 23 and just finished a languages degree and I'm finding it tough to find work with it. I have applied for a English Teaching Scheme in France so could be living there by the end of the year. Doing something related to my French studies as opposed to another retail job/unemployment

To be honest, I will emigrate regardless. I think a change of scenery would be great. Also can improve my French and see if I would like teaching. I think it would help me develop as a person. At the same time, I do like Ireland as a place to live (particularly the Irish sense of humour), but there are not many opportunities for me at present.

The thing about emigrating is it is very hard to go back and be content living in Ireland when your mind is open to new places and different ways of doing things. Lets face, Ireland isn't famous for being a progressive, forward thinking country.

You will be fine, my advice to any young person would be emigrate if they can.

cena

I haven't moved yet. But I really want to move to new york. Just to be closer to the family over there. There is just a lot more things to do over there on weekdays and weekends than here.

If I want to hang with friends here it is in the pub all weekend and I am not into it.

Legs.Eleven

lufties wrote: »

The thing about emigrating is it is very hard to go back and be content living in Ireland when your mind is open to new places and different ways of doing things. Lets face, Ireland isn't famous for being a progressive, forward thinking country.

You will be fine, my advice to any young person would be emigrate if they can.

It's certainly not the backwards country people like to make it out to be either.

Our lack of extremes in politics would be very progressive in my opinon - one thing I can not abide in Spain is the "You're either left or right" thinking here and there's zero compromise between the two. It seems they do nothing but bicker and stick the knife in. Nothing will ever progress in politics with that mindset.

I think the Irish are surprisingly open-minded and outward-looking in comparison to a lot of European countries. We don't have the big country mentality that many countries would and we certainly don't look down our noses at other countries (quite the opposite, in fact

). Women are relatively equal and people are generally not very extreme in their thinking and would consider the opinions of others (I'm talking outside Boards here). We're not voting in far-right politicians into power like most other European countries either.

Perhaps things are different in rural Ireland but definitely not in urban areas.

One of my students who's a journalist lived in Ireland for 3 years and commented on all I said above saying in terms of open-mindedness, we're ahead of Spain. One thing I've realised having left Ireland is just how progressive it is for a small island and a relatively new nation.

You live in Hong Kong right now, yeah? How progressive is Hong Kong outside of business?

maguic24

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

It's certainly not the backwards country people like to make it out to be either.

Our lack of extremes in politics would be very progressive in my opinon - one thing I can not abide in Spain is the "You're either left or right" thinking here and there's zero compromise between the two. It seems they do nothing but bicker and stick the knife in. Nothing will ever progress in politics with that mindset.

I think the Irish are surprisingly open-minded and outward-looking in comparison to a lot of European countries. We don't have the big country mentality that many countries would and we certainly don't look down our noses at other countries (quite the opposite, in fact ). Women are relatively equal and people are generally not very extreme in their thinking and would consider the opinions of others (I'm talking outside Boards here). We're not voting in far-right politicians into power like most other European countries either.

Perhaps things are different in rural Ireland but definitely not in urban areas.

One of my students who's a journalist lived in Ireland for 3 years and commented on all I said above saying in terms of open-mindedness, we're ahead of Spain. One thing I've realised having left Ireland is just how progressive it is for a small island and a relatively new nation.

You live in Hong Kong right now, yeah? How progressive is Hong Kong outside of business?

Cities, especially Dublin are leaps and bounds ahead of rural areas in Ireland with regards to open-mindedness. I say this because I was born and reared in the depths of Longford and moved to Dublin to go to college. I would say Dublin is an open-minded, liberal city. In contrast, I would say Longford is a bit behind the times and people still judge you on your mass-going status. I also went to a rural school in Longford and moving to Dublin at 17 was a bit of a culture shock.

Legs.Eleven

maguic24 wrote: »

Cities, especially Dublin are leaps and bounds ahead of rural areas in Ireland with regards to open-mindedness. I say this because I was born and reared in the depths of Longford and moved to Dublin to go to college. I would say Dublin is an open-minded, liberal city. In contrast, I would say Longford is a bit behind the times and people still judge you on your mass-going status. I also went to a rural school in Longford and moving to Dublin at 17 was a bit of a culture shock.

I'm from Dublin, so my perspective is probably very different to your own. The Ireland you describe I don't recognise tbh. I think when people talk about how small-minded, conservative and closed Ireland is, it's usually an indicator that they're from rural Ireland. Can't judge the whole country on your parish though; most people live in urban areas.

maguic24

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

I'm from Dublin, so my perspective is probably very different to your own. The Ireland you describe I don't recognise tbh. I think when people talk about how small-minded, conservative and closed Ireland is, it's usually an indicator that they're from rural Ireland. Can't judge the whole country on your parish though; most people live in urban areas.

Yeah I understand what you are saying and I agree. The majority of the population live in urban areas and it is not fair to base an opinion on small rural areas. I was trying to outline the differences between rural and urban areas. My fellow culchie colleagues hold the same opinion. I like to call it 'small town' syndrome and Longford is a severe case of that. Everyone knows everything about everyone. In fairness, it has a population of 30,000.

Boombastic

Basically it boils down for me to Ireland being a corupt sh1thole, with crap weather..half the country with their entitlement bleat, and the other half with their apathy

BraziliaNZ

jester77 wrote: »

Moved full time to Germany in 2002 after spending a few years traveling over and back. Nice country, good prospects, lots to do that didn't involve drinking and no f**king about. What you see is what you get, they are real direct. This is a revelation when you come from Ireland, where more often than not you are told one thing and the moment you turn your back it's something different. Plus things just work here.

Yeah but it's full of Germans. My wurst nightmare.

Legs.Eleven

Boombastic wrote: »

Basically it boils down for me to Ireland being a corupt sh1thole, with crap weather..half the country with their entitlement bleat, and the other half with their apathy

Which half are you?

Boombastic

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Which half are you?

I suppose because I left, you could class me in the apathy group ... which side do you fall?

cletus van damme

i never left ireland apart from holidays (well travelled mind)

In the past 2 years (although my gross salary is decent enough ) I see so little of that money with increases in tax , bills , petrol ect...(probably all tax related)

I want to leave but i've a kid with an ex and I doubt she'd let me take him - we split his time 50/50 a min.

reckon when he is 18 (not so long) I'll leave.

I love ireland but whats the point if you're constantly broke - working like a dog for fcuk all in the end.

USC my fcuking hole!

Legs.Eleven

Boombastic wrote: »

I suppose because I left, you could class me in the apathy group ... which side do you fall?

Not sure how leaving would automatically class you as apathetic. I left to study, not because I didn't care or love the place. No sense of entitlement either. I've worked for everything I have (not that I have much). Your labels are simplistic and dare I say, plain old stupid and is more an indicator of your own negative mindset than any kind of insight into reality.

Boombastic

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Not sure how leaving would automatically class you as apathetic. I left to study, not because I didn't care or love the place. No sense of entitlement either. I've worked for everything I have (not that I have much). Your labels are simplistic and dare I say, plain old stupid and is more an indicator of your own negative mindset than any kind of insight into reality.

So sorry for having my own personal opinion on my reasons for leaving, thanks for correcting me :rolleyes: