emigration

Purple is a Fruit wrote: »

And the moaners never seem to suggest what to do to improve things.

And yeah I'm not saying other places being worse makes problems here acceptable - I just can't stand the lack of perspective.

It's nearly a religious devotion for certain types of people, always has been always will be. Given we have posters who live in Spain for example who divide their time on here moaning about living there, stuff going on here and a host of other topics.

I think some people are lacking true perspective about moving abroad.

First off, regarding Ireland being a kip. It's not. However, if you end up living in somewhere like Thurles, then it's easy for your bubble of reality to shrink to a very small population, with few options for enjoyment, and limited scope for advancement in work. Whereas, if you move to Dublin, you have far more options, and any failure to appreciate them, is completely on you. I lived in Dublin for two years, after college, and I didn't like it. That was on me, but as a young person with little experience, I didn't have the balanced perspective to recognise that. I've been back a few times since and had a very different experience. In general terms, Ireland is a great country, although comparatively speaking, it's an expensive country.

I moved to Asia immediately after the Banking crash. Lived in Oz, and then, a variety of other Asian countries. When I lived in small cities, or the countryside, I experienced the same problems I had in Thurles, limited options. When I lived in cities of 9 million people or more, there was far greater options, and I enjoyed the experience more.

But I think people have to consider what work they do, and how that factors into things. I majored in Business/Finance, and most of my roles were connected to Credit Control, which is very much language based. So, I was mostly limited to English speaking countries, so I shifted roles to Management consulting, which was far more in demand in other nations. That shift also presented me with access to more levels of interaction with others, giving me the chance to see more levels of those cultures... whereas when I did credit control, even as a manager, I wasn't being introduced to the more prestigious or wealthier spheres of people.

The point being that when it comes to moving abroad, it shouldn't simply be the case of picking a destination. Consideration should be done regarding your career, and what you want from it, since that will affect your exposure to other cultures. Also, it's worth considering just how interested you are in developing your social life? Are you going to spend your free time getting stoned, and playing computer games? or are you going to be active, putting yourself out there, making friends, and pushing your own development?

I love living abroad. I have grown to appreciate Ireland due to my experiences living abroad, but I have little desire to live full-time here. However, at some point, practicalities kick in. Do you plan on leaving Ireland forever? Will you be contributing to a State pension, in addition to your own pension? Considering that it takes over twenty years for one to become eligible for the state pension, are you going to return to Ireland with enough time to avail of it, or are you going to find an alternative way to look after your retirement age?

I would highly recommend to everyone to live a few years abroad. Explore other cultures. Live in some major cities, like Berlin, or Tokyo. See what it's like in other places, and experience other cultures... but... don't skimp on being practical too. Make some realistic plans about your career development, do your research on financing, and pensions.. It's very easy to suddenly look back and realise that you've been a decade abroad, (and while it was fun), but then understand you've done little beyond paying your expenses.