Where would you move to if you had the choice in your 20s?

CBear1993 · 19-05-2020 9:01pm

Jim2007 wrote: »

Would you really want to live in a country where it is dark in the morning until at least 9:00am and get's dark again at about 3:00pm...

That would be absolute depression IMO . You’d need the SAD Lamp on all day

19-05-2020 9:02pm

That's the winter, Summer is lovely

CBear1993 · 19-05-2020 9:13pm

bubblypop wrote: »

That's the winter, Summer is lovely

Do ye need not blackout blinds then with it being bright to all hours in the north?

19-05-2020 9:17pm

CBear1993 wrote: »

Do ye need not blackout blinds then with it being bright to all hours in the north?

I guess you might!
I work shifts for over 20 years, so bright doesn't bother me!
But to be fair, winter is depressing.....

Jim2007 · 19-05-2020 9:29pm

It will be 30 years ago next month since I moved to Switzerland and if I had to do it all over again, I would not change a thing.

There are many reason why I'm happy here, in no particular order:

- It is not a consumer society, people are careful about their money and thrift is seen as a positive thing. The credit in credit card is the period between when you buy the item and when you pay the statement off in full at the end of the month. Every town and village has a second hand shop, it is the first port of call when you are looking for something.

- The work/life balance, is very good. Companies respect your private life and accept that over time is not part of the deal, nor is contacting you outside office hours or when you are on holidays etc... Yes people work hard, there is not much time for coffee breaks, hanging around the water cooler or socialising - you are there to do a job and that is all. Most people to not socialise with work colleagues and indeed is is common for people not to know people's first name. Generally speaking regularly doing OT is seen as a negative - you or your manager are not up to the job.

- The crime rate is very low, where I live people leave their doors unlocked from morning to evening and stuff never disappears if you leaving it lying around as most of us do. Five year olds walk to and from school every day etc...

- Excellent health service: waiting lists and people on trollies are unknown concept. I have had 4 occasions to go to the A&E and I have never been waiting more that a few minutes before I was seen by the nurse to kick things off. In fact on one occasion she was standing waiting for me to compete the registration form...

I used to think that the level of preparedness for disaster here was a bit OOT, but the last few weeks has changed my mind about that. Being told that we have sufficient supplies of all essential foods and medicines and that these are regularly inspected to ensure that everything is as it should be was source of confidence for many and discouraged the bulk buying seen else where. Yes it was tight on PPE and ICU beds, but it did not reach a critical level and steps are now being taken to rectify that.

Oh and I have by own nuclear bunker! It is a building requirement since way back in the 1960s or os.

Jim2007 · 19-05-2020 9:30pm

CBear1993 wrote: »

That would be absolute depression IMO . You’d need the SAD Lamp on all day

Yep I spent a few months in Copenhagen during the winter and while the Danes were great fun, never again.....

CBear1993 · 19-05-2020 9:45pm

Very very interesting!! Thanks for sharing. Out of interest which part of Switzerland are you in? And which are the main (best) cities for work - much like Dublin is the main driver here. Construction specifically .

ted1 · 19-05-2020 10:39pm

James Bond Junior wrote: »

Brilliant place to live and work. Where were you? Have you seen much of a reduction with Omanisation?

Generally work in Muscat with OETC, OPWP and AER, have done some work in Duqm. masirah Island and Musandam. In my industry it’s generally locals I’m working with. But talking to the other kitesurfers on the beach there a few moving , also several of the people I k ow working in IT it retail are being replaced due to Omanisation

How’s Things over there ? I had flights booked in March but moved them to July. Not sure if I’ll get back over them

BailMeOut · 20-05-2020 12:03am

CBear1993 wrote: »

Thanks. What the attraction to it?

Hong Kong is East and West in the same place. You can live a normal 'western' lifestyle and step in out out of the east at any time. Travelled there many times more recently and always thought I would have loved to live here when younger. Fantastic place.

Padre_Pio · 20-05-2020 12:09am

BailMeOut wrote: »

Hong Kong is East and West in the same place. You can live a normal 'western' lifestyle and step in out out of the east at any time. Travelled there many times more recently and always thought I would have loved to live here when younger. Fantastic place.

I love Hong Kong to visit.

I don't know what living there is like. Rent is extortionate unless you're in the New Territories, which is not Hong Kong.

CBear1993 · 20-05-2020 12:22am

Bit like San Francisco. Only visited it once for a month about 6-7 years ago and wanted to stay, except I couldn’t afford it as rent was colossal.

The best city in the world IMO, just pips Sydney.

krissovo · 20-05-2020 12:58am

I spent 8 years in Germany, in the north (Celle) for 6 and in Munich for 2. Didn't speak a word of German when I arrived but most companies use English for business. Munich was a great city to live but quite expensive however a view of the mountains and a short train ride to the slopes meant it was a very active lifestyle. Taxed like crazy plus medical expenses meant you will not get rich while on payroll. Germany is a great balance of lifestyle and you can get used to the strange "logical" rules.

I lived in Boulder Colorado for 2 years, amazing experience in a fairly liberal town. Great for earning money and out door experiences, similar to Munich but you need a car and the nice people to asshole ratio is quite high.

Singapore was a interesting 18 month stint but a sweat box, no need for weather forecasts its 31 and humid every day of the year. Great for earning money and the food is class but after 3 months its boring.

Alberta Canada was a fun 3 years in a place called Medicine Hat, 200 kms to civilization in Calgary but I loved Alberta. Moved to Toronto for a year and its like a decent America but not as good earning potential.

18 months in Zurich, Switzerland to me was like a prison sentence, rules and rules and even more rules. Similar to Germany but taken up 10 levels, living to apartment rules is similar to lock-down rules and add the most unfriendly people who cannot open up is not great. I earned bucket loads of money though, at least 5x the rate of any other country. Again a short train to the slopes in Winter but stupid rules on the slopes, plus if you want live with sunlight the price of apartments runs at about €4k per month, €2.5k a month will rent you a apartment that is in permanent shade all year due to the mountains.

CBear1993 · 20-05-2020 1:10am

Unreal insight. Cheers. Sounds like North America was your favourite anyhow?
Are you back in Ireland now?

krissovo · 20-05-2020 2:04am

CBear1993 wrote: »

Unreal insight. Cheers. Sounds like North America was your favourite anyhow?
Are you back in Ireland now?

Been back in Ireland the last 4 years, its my favourite place to live bar none especially semi rural with a short journey to a city.

America is too volatile at the moment with the trump administration and the idiots that it breads. Boulder when I was there just legalised weed and while it sounds good in principle the reality is that it really cheapens the place. You cannot walk the streets or sit outside and enjoy a meal without the smell. In your 20’s and when healthy its great but I was there at 40 and when colleagues at work came down with health issues who had to sell homes even with insurance and carry huge amounts of dept just to live the reality kicks in fast that the low tax and high earnings need to be put away for a rainy day.

Canada now was class, at your age I would stay and lay proper roots.

con___manx1 · 20-05-2020 2:28am

The winters are really shíte in Canada. I had a few different bosses while I worked in Vancouver and Toronto. Everyone of them was a ****in arse hole. I lived in Australia aswell. I found there attitude to work much better than the Canadians. I'd love to go back to Canada one day but not to the city's.
Just for a holliday in the wilderness😁

maninasia · 20-05-2020 2:40am

BailMeOut wrote: »

Hong Kong is East and West in the same place. You can live a normal 'western' lifestyle and step in out out of the east at any time. Travelled there many times more recently and always thought I would have loved to live here when younger. Fantastic place.

Hong Kong is a fantastic place but far more east than west. That's what is great about it. I'm a long term expat in Asia.
HK is changing rapidly due to political oppression and China is not friendly to foreigners now.

There are many fantastic places to live , work and travel in Asia . Especially the travel and getting out into nature .

I wouldn't generally recommend to the OP because of his need to find two jobs I also lived in Australia and loved it it's hard to beat .

In the end you choose a place where the two of you can get jobs with decent pay and you make the most of where you are for a couple of years. Sounds corny but everywhere really does have its pros and cons. If you ever fancied learning a foreign language or culture this is your big chance so think about it....

Or are you interested to explore and travel in certain regions of the world while based there...?

There's a huge difference between short term expats and long term expats/emigrants.

dwayneshintzy · 20-05-2020 2:48am

Padre_Pio wrote: »

I love Hong Kong to visit.

I don't know what living there is like. Rent is extortionate unless you're in the New Territories, which is not Hong Kong.

Why's the New Territories "not Hong Kong"? Of course it's Hong Kong! There's great public transport all over HK, bar Sai Kung perhaps. I've always lived in Kowloon, but would seriously consider New Territories in future for something a bit bigger.

dwayneshintzy · 20-05-2020 2:58am

maninasia wrote: »

HK is changing rapidly due to political oppression and China is not friendly to foreigners now.

Definitely a difficult 12 months in HK, but I don't agree that it's not friendly to foreigners. If anything, the recent troubles/changes have been far more problematic to locals than foreigners/ex-pats. What do you mean "not friendly to foreigners", like?

maninasia · 20-05-2020 3:44am

dwayneshintzy wrote: »

Definitely a difficult 12 months in HK, but I don't agree that it's not friendly to foreigners. If anything, the recent troubles/changes have been far more problematic to locals than foreigners/ex-pats. What do you mean "not friendly to foreigners", like?

I said CHINA. Things are going bad for foreigners in China and HK is partly an extension of that (and I love HK but hate what China is doing to it...I know it well for decades )

I wouldn't want to live in an unhappy Chinese controlled state personally but then again I am a bit biased.

sasta le · 20-05-2020 3:51am

Own a apartment out college 5 years jesus your doing well man

sasta le · 20-05-2020 3:54am

CBear1993 wrote: »

Thanks but no thanks

Was offered a post in sweden 3 weeks on 1 weeks off 2 years ago to build a data centre. Couldn't think of anything worse to be honest. I'd say rural Ireland is livelier. A lot of the lads who took up the post got their 3 weeks on, down to 1 week out there and 3 weeks here. Hated it.

Its hardly a warzone?

Rubberchikken · 20-05-2020 3:57am

Germany. Lived there a long time ago. Really liked it. Picked up German but everyone you meet wants to or can speak English. Found them friendly overall. I liked the order and rules I guess.

Canada would be a place I'd have liked to work I think.

You'd have to do your homework on a place before deciding though.

James Bond Junior · 20-05-2020 5:19am

ted1 wrote: »

Generally work in Muscat with OETC, OPWP and AER, have done some work in Duqm. masirah Island and Musandam. In my industry it’s generally locals I’m working with. But talking to the other kitesurfers on the beach there a few moving , also several of the people I k ow working in IT it retail are being replaced due to Omanisation

How’s Things over there ? I had flights booked in March but moved them to July. Not sure if I’ll get back over them

I don't know many people in oil and gas as I am in education but there are a lot seriously worried right now. Border is locked so no in or out but the talk is it will reopen in July. C19 has gotten into the labour camps and is running riot so we will see a curfew yet I reckon.

All in all, it is really great living here in normal times. Hiking, the sea, amazing beaches and friendly locals who don't have the immense wealth the other gulf countries have so are down to earth and friendly.

Zascar · 20-05-2020 6:55am

I was only in Oman once - nice in parts but not sure I could live there. I highly recommend Dubai - there is very very little I miss about home. Higher wages, lower tax, even housing is cheaper than Dublin. Service economy, great weather - sure somethings are more expensive but overall there's no contest. Finding jobs out here at the moment is incredibly difficult however, and I have a feeling it's only going to get worse.

CBear1993 · 20-05-2020 7:39am

That’s interesting about Dubai, have they stopped building or why the lack of jobs? From what I remember it’s full of English and Irish teachers all living in blocks together?

Roadtoad · 20-05-2020 8:28am

For a long while (late 1980s, early 90s) I thought the only thing in the world was to get out of Ireland. I worked in USA for 2 years previously. Both my fiancée and I got work visas to USA. After we married we delayed going, then eventually cancelled the idea. I suppose the plan was to stay away while the (then non existent) kids were in primary school, and return to Ireland then, if appropriate.

The plan never crystallised, but four kids did. All now are working in Ireland or in college. Perhaps we sacrifised some financial well-being for living close to parents, our siblings, old friends, the kids cousins, but I consider it a fair swop.

This is a good place with many advantages over other places. Don't under value it.

Zascar · 20-05-2020 8:29am

They building has been going steady for a long time with literally hundres of new developemnts coming online - simple supply and demand means rents are coming down - and I hope a lot more with the current situation. I just don't think the jobs are here so there is not the massive inmigration like in the past - in fact a lot are leaving and that's going to escalte now with so many job losses due to Covid19.

It's compleetlely multicultural but yes there are lots of british and irish - and yes many Irish are teachers - but I don't really hang out in such groups - maybe if I was younger haha. I find the people incredibly nice - espescally in the service industry etc. Dubai is incredibly safe crime is almost zero here - you could leave your wallet, phone and keys on the bar and go to the bathroom wothout a problem. The one thing I don't miss about home is there are no real nackers here. No homeless, no junkies etc. You may get the odd English chav but only in places.

There are many bad stopries about Dubai but most are total bs. You have to respect the culture out here - if you don't you can get in trouble. Don't have sex on the beach, don't do drugs, don't drink and drive - you'll go to jail. Apart from that you can do what you want really. Seems fair to me.

I work in Tech - all the big companies are here like Google, Amazon, IBM, Microsoft etc which is great - but it's nowhere near the Tech Hub Dublin is. Dublin has literally hundreds of tier 2, 3 and startup companies which there are very few here. Problem is if you lose your job getting another one is incredibly difficult - your visa is based on your job so you'll eventually have to leave. I'm very lucky my jobs is safe and not too badly affected so it's all good. I know of a few people in construction who have lost jobs and had to move to Saudi etc. I think if you can get a decent job here it's great place to live, especially if you are young / single.

Fr Tod Umptious · 20-05-2020 8:43am

Don't rule out the US OP. I know it's hard to get to but that may change with the E3 visas and the Trump administrations desire to allow more skills based immigration, rather than the randomness of the DV lottery.

There is good money to be made there and you can really notice the value in working hard.

A poster previously mentioned it being "volatile".
It's not, it's a huge country with a huge diverse population with very decentralized government.
So just because something is happening in one part of the country does not mean it is the norm across the country.

ted1 · 20-05-2020 9:58am

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Don't rule out the US OP. I know it's hard to get to but that may change with the E3 visas and the Trump administrations desire to allow more skills based immigration, rather than the randomness of the DV lottery.

There is good money to be made there and you can really notice the value in working hard.

A poster previously mentioned it being "volatile".
It's not, it's a huge country with a huge diverse population with very decentralized government.
So just because something is happening in one part of the country does not mean it is the norm across the country.

No health care system , no social welfare , massive homeless in big cities like San Francisco, massive Gun problem, food quality is very questionable.

Fr Tod Umptious · 20-05-2020 11:57am

ted1 wrote: »

No health care system , no social welfare , massive homeless in big cities like San Francisco, massive Gun problem, food quality is very questionable.

No one from Ireland moves to the US (or any other country for that matter) to go on welfare or become homeless.

They go to work and enjoy what the place has to offer, if for some reason they can't find work in the long run they usually come home.

Most companies supply good health insurance also, and as a 20 something health care is not something that's high on people's list.

As regards gun problems, as I said it's a vast diverse country, in some places you will never see a gun let alone be the victim of a gun crime.

Where would you move to if you had the choice in your 20s?

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