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Would you ever consider moving to continental Europe? And if so where?

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    #422
    zweton
    Registered Users Posts: 2,683 ✭✭✭zweton


    Gorteen wrote: »
    Portugal.... and more specifically, east Algarve

    Interesting choice, spain and portugal seem to be very popular i just wonder when would/will be a good time to buy there...crystal ball and all that!


  • Options
    #423
    zweton
    Registered Users Posts: 2,683 ✭✭✭zweton


    humberklog wrote: »
    A really handy thing about Torremolinos is that it's just a 25 minute commuter bus spin into Malaga City which is not a bad town at all and it has high speed train links to some cracking places for really cheap fares.

    I love France but I can't be the only person to find it sorta boring after staying for a little while and in winter the shutters just get pulled down and the people sorta hibernate.

    I'm actively looking at property in Crete at the moment, it won't happen for another year or two but I'm keeping an eye on the market to see what effects Brexit is having on it.
    Lovely weather, people and food and good scope for working in what I do here.

    How do prices in Crete compare to Ireland? Been to crete once loved it. As your actively looking do you get alot for your money?


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    #424
    humberklog
    Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 10,406 Mod ✭✭✭✭humberklog


    zweton wrote: »
    How do prices in Crete compare to Ireland? Been to crete once loved it. As your actively looking do you get alot for your money?

    Yeah, there's of course regional differences in prices. I'm looking in the North between Chania and Rethymno city (specifically around Plaka for a number of reasons that suits what I'm looking for).
    It's hard to compare prices between Ireland and Crete though as the properties are very different- as in you don't get housing estates there in the same way as Ireland.

    A closer comparison would be Tenerife, Lanzerote, Majorca, Manorca etc. and price wise you'd get more bang for your buck in Crete even though Crete would be one of the more expensive regions/islands in Greece. It's a relatively affluent island for the region.

    In the price region of €225k-€325k in the area I'm looking you can get a very nice house with pool and close to amenities.
    Price and property wise it's comparable to coastal large towns in Andalusia.


  • Options
    #425
    ancapailldorcha
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 37,146 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    Hamachi wrote: »
    If you choose Germany, start learning the language before you leave. It’s not extraordinarily difficult, but it takes longer to get to the point of basic proficiency vs. Latin-based languages.

    Too many people are under the impression that all Germans speak English. They don’t. They’re usually pretty accommodating of non-German speakers for your first year or two in the country. However, if you aren’t showing decent proficiency at that point, they’ll think that you’re taking the piss.

    Is this your personal experience?

    With my luck, I'd get fluent and then get the job in France. I was looking at Heidelberg but I'll see how things go.

    We sat again for an hour and a half discussing maps and figures and always getting back to that most damnable creation of the perverted ingenuity of man - the County of Tyrone.

    H. H. Asquith



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    #426
    Hamachi
    Registered Users Posts: 2,387 ✭✭✭Hamachi


    ancapailldorcha wrote: »
    Is this your personal experience?

    With my luck, I'd get fluent and then get the job in France. I was looking at Heidelberg but I'll see how things go.

    Yeah. You need to speak the language if you want to be respected professionally in Germany.

    Having said that Heidelberg is a bit of anomaly. English would be more prevalent there because of the internationalization driven by the large university. I think there is also a significant US army presence in that area.


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    #427
    jimbobaloobob
    Registered Users Posts: 5,153 ✭✭✭jimbobaloobob


    France. Have contently made it my home. Renting but looking for a spot happy to wait patiently


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    #428
    ancapailldorcha
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 37,146 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    Hamachi wrote: »
    Yeah. You need to speak the language if you want to be respected professionally in Germany.

    Having said that Heidelberg is a bit of anomaly. English would be more prevalent there because of the internationalization driven by the large university. I think there is also a significant US army presence in that area.

    There is. Knew a few English women who'd lived there.

    Makes sense language wise and I'd want to learn it but I'd need some slack at the start.

    We sat again for an hour and a half discussing maps and figures and always getting back to that most damnable creation of the perverted ingenuity of man - the County of Tyrone.

    H. H. Asquith



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    #429
    bear1
    Registered Users Posts: 12,811 ✭✭✭✭bear1


    Live in Warsaw, have done since 2009.
    Came to study here during the crash, stayed and worked here ever since.
    Winters used to be brutal but the last few years seem to be warmer.
    Summers are generally good and it's great being able to drive around the continent.
    Employment is quite stable but the government is utter garbage.
    They have made the country close to unliveable.
    I've picked up the language enough to get by but noticed that people are changing.
    Country is quite split between the ultra patriots who are against anything foreign to those that embrace the EU and everything that goes with it so you've quite an interesting situation.
    Government is very religious and the church is a massive deal here, from abortion bans to high inflation it's a very strange place to live.
    Generally safe, great mountain towns with cabins that you can rent relatively cheap.
    Much better selection of cars to buy but huge risks you're buying two cars welded into one.
    Salaries are ok, but the eurozone will eat into your salary fair quick so it is harder to travel comfortably with a polish salary.
    Its a nice experience but I'd love to come home.


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    #430
    Hamachi
    Registered Users Posts: 2,387 ✭✭✭Hamachi


    ancapailldorcha wrote: »
    There is. Knew a few English women who'd lived there.

    Makes sense language wise and I'd want to learn it but I'd need some slack at the start.

    They will cut you some slack for sure. However, if you know you plan to move there, go take an intensive course at the Goethe institute before you move. It will really help with the transition and navigating the initial bureaucracy.


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    #431
    Hamachi
    Registered Users Posts: 2,387 ✭✭✭Hamachi


    bear1 wrote: »
    Live in Warsaw, have done since 2009.
    ...
    Its a nice experience but I'd love to come home.

    Interesting insight into life in Poland. It seems like a lot of the Poles who migrated West post 2004 in the EU expansion are starting to return home.

    I’m curious if they tend to reintegrate seamlessly? Or do they find that the country has changed too much in their absence and they end up bouncing West again?


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    #432
    pgj2015
    Registered Users Posts: 8,926 ✭✭✭pgj2015


    ancapailldorcha wrote: »
    There is. Knew a few English women who'd lived there.

    Makes sense language wise and I'd want to learn it but I'd need some slack at the start.



    I sometimes meet eastern europeans here in Ireland that have lived her the last 10 to 20 years, some have zero English, it puzzles me that they never learned the language but I wouldn't think any less of them and would treat them the same as anyone else I met. That poster doesn't paint a great picture of the Germans and the way they treat people who don't learn the language quickly. would you really want to live in a country with them kind of people? maybe they should lighten up a tad.


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    #433
    pgj2015
    Registered Users Posts: 8,926 ✭✭✭pgj2015


    Hamachi wrote: »
    That’s not unique to Germany. Try living in France without speaking French. To be honest, if you haven’t mastered the fundamentals of most languages after a few years, you’re either not trying very hard or are living in a bubble.



    who cares though?, if they dont or cant learn the language that is up to them. I dont see why the natives would be bothered by it.


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    #434
    pgj2015
    Registered Users Posts: 8,926 ✭✭✭pgj2015


    Hamachi wrote: »
    You work with them in an office and are forced to speak in a second or third language just to get through the work day. You can’t see why that would be draining and annoying?

    You don’t see anything rude about moving to another country and actively refusing to learn the local language?



    I am self employed so working in an office with them wouldnt be an issue.

    it isnt rude at all if they dont speak the language.


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    #435
    gmisk
    Registered Users Posts: 31,829 ✭✭✭✭gmisk


    I think possibly somewhere like amsterdam. I have a friend who lives there and I would visit a fair bit I can see the appeal, he speaks very little dutch but works for european org so english is only real common language lucky for him.
    I would personally need to learn language to fit in I think.

    I also love Spain, and Spanish people, could be fun to learn Spanish again I loved it in school.


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    #436
    pgj2015
    Registered Users Posts: 8,926 ✭✭✭pgj2015


    Hamachi wrote: »
    Most people aren’t self-employed and have to engage with colleagues. Why should Romain in Lyon or Thomas in Munich be forced to speak in another language just to accommodate a colleague who refuses to speak their language. You really can’t see how rude that is?




    So Germans and French are only annoyed by people who don't learn the language if they work with them?

    your definition of rude and mine seem to be totally different.


  • Options
    #437
    pgj2015
    Registered Users Posts: 8,926 ✭✭✭pgj2015


    Hamachi wrote: »
    I suspect our definitions of most things are very different. Good luck.



    It would be a boring world if we were all the same.


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    #438
    Economics101
    Registered Users Posts: 1,616 ✭✭✭Economics101


    Portugal: apart from great wine, food and weather, public services have improved hugely. When I was first there (in Salazar's time - that's a giveaway as far as my age is concerned) it was quite backward and one had to learn some Portuguese pretty fast in order to get by. Now I find that a huge number of people under 50 speak English, and are more than keen to do so. All I want to do is speak a little Portuguese and not let my knowledge got too rusty.

    This speaks a lot about the attitude of the people: they appreciate their own culture, but are not at all stuck up or hyper-nationalist. They had a revolutionary (but peaceful) transition to democracy which was in many respects inspiring.

    Eastern Algarve and a huge number of inland towns and villages are on my go-to list.


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    #439
    Gorteen
    Registered Users Posts: 1,002 ✭✭✭Gorteen


    Economics101 wrote: »
    Portugal: apart from great wine, food and weather, public services have improved hugely. When I was first there (in Salazar's time - that's a giveaway as far as my age is concerned) it was quite backward and one had to learn some Portuguese pretty fast in order to get by. Now I find that a huge number of people under 50 speak English, and are more than keen to do so. All I want to do is speak a little Portuguese and not let my knowledge got too rusty.

    This speaks a lot about the attitude of the people: they appreciate their own culture, but are not at all stuck up or hyper-nationalist. They had a revolutionary (but peaceful) transition to democracy which was in many respects inspiring.

    Eastern Algarve and a huge number of inland towns and villages are on my go-to list.

    I struggle with Portuguese but still try to shop, travel and chat in the language as much as possible.
    I'm fully on board with the Eastern Algarve thing.....anywhere west of Faro is akin to Sodom and Gomorrah as far as I'm concerned.


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    #440
    Tuesday_Girl
    Registered Users Posts: 388 ✭✭Tuesday_Girl


    pgj2015 wrote: »
    I sometimes meet eastern europeans here in Ireland that have lived her the last 10 to 20 years, some have zero English, it puzzles me that they never learned the language but I wouldn't think any less of them and would treat them the same as anyone else I met. That poster doesn't paint a great picture of the Germans and the way they treat people who don't learn the language quickly. would you really want to live in a country with them kind of people? maybe they should lighten up a tad.

    They don't expect us to speak to them in Polish to make up for their lack of English language skills though so it's not quite the same.


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    #441
    Hamsterchops
    Registered Users Posts: 3,133 ✭✭✭Hamsterchops


    Spain/Portugal + their amazing choice of Islands in the Med and the Atlantic.


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    #442
    bear1
    Registered Users Posts: 12,811 ✭✭✭✭bear1


    Hamachi wrote: »
    Interesting insight into life in Poland. It seems like a lot of the Poles who migrated West post 2004 in the EU expansion are starting to return home.

    I’m curious if they tend to reintegrate seamlessly? Or do they find that the country has changed too much in their absence and they end up bouncing West again?

    A few years ago I would have said yes but with this government and their policies I found more and more poles are planning on leaving once the pandemic is over


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    #443
    ilovesmybrick
    Registered Users Posts: 1,118 ✭✭✭ilovesmybrick


    Mister Vain wrote: »
    I'd love to but getting a job is the problem. Prague or Vienna would be great.

    I wouldn't write off Vienna, there's a huge number of international organisations and businesses here that hire native English speakers. A third of the cities population are foreign born, so it's actually not as difficult as you might think to get work here.

    They also have one of the best salary systems I've come across, you get 14 monthly salaries a year. Basically your annual salary is divided by 14, and at the start of the summer and just before Christmas you get the "extra" months salary at a lower tax rate. Utterly brilliant boost in the bank account just before the summer and Christmas holidays.


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    #444
    Economics101
    Registered Users Posts: 1,616 ✭✭✭Economics101


    They also have one of the best salary systems I've come across, you get 14 monthly salaries a year.
    referring to Austria.

    They are by no means unique. a 13th or 14th month are not uncommon in Portugal, and France AFAIK. Great way of saving for holidays.


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    #445
    Barna77
    Registered Users Posts: 3,271 ✭✭✭Barna77


    ilovesmybrick wrote: »
    They also have one of the best salary systems I've come across, you get 14 monthly salaries a year. Basically your annual salary is divided by 14, and at the start of the summer and just before Christmas you get the "extra" months salary at a lower tax rate. Utterly brilliant boost in the bank account just before the summer and Christmas holidays.

    A similar system in Spain.
    I miss the two extra pays checks


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    #446
    ilovesmybrick
    Registered Users Posts: 1,118 ✭✭✭ilovesmybrick


    Barna77 wrote: »
    A similar system in Spain.
    I miss the two extra pays checks

    It's honestly the best. Even though I know that it's actually the few hundred removed from every months paycheck previously to that point I still can't help but think of it as free money!


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    #447
    ShatterAlan
    Registered Users Posts: 2,807 ✭✭✭ShatterAlan


    Brian? wrote: »
    It’s quite easy to understand, read and write. It is not easy to speak though.

    I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Irish people have a lot of peculiarities with how we speak English.

    Th=d
    T= h sometimes, as in water . Wa her
    G gets dropped at the end of words

    There are dozens more, which vary with with regional accents.

    I really struggle with the Dutch R. The sound is completely unnatural to me. The G is tough, but it’s similar or the ch in Irish. The vowel combinations are a nightmare. I still don’t know if I’m say thuis, boer or Koop right.




    Dutch people hear these difficulties and immediately switch to English. Makes it very hard to practice and get better.


    At the start of a word just pretend the G is a H.


    Pronounce "Gouda" as "How-da"


    Ik heb geen idee = Ik heb hane ee-day


    The Dutch will understand you. They'll just think you learned your Dutch from culchies in Limburg rather than the phlegm spewing Amsterdammers.


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    #448
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 20,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    ShatterAlan wrote: »
    At the start of a word just pretend the G is a H.


    Pronounce "Gouda" as "How-da"


    Ik heb geen idee = Ik heb hane ee-day


    The Dutch will understand you. They'll just think you learned your Dutch from culchies in Limburg rather than the phlegm spewing Amsterdammers.

    I know how it’s done. My post is a response to someone who said it’s east for a native English speaker to learn Dutch. That isn’t true when you speak Hiberno English.

    they/them/theirs


    And so on, and so on …. - Slavoj Žižek




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    #449
    Brian?
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 20,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭Brian?


    ilovesmybrick wrote: »
    It's honestly the best. Even though I know that it's actually the few hundred removed from every months paycheck previously to that point I still can't help but think of it as free money!

    In the Netherlands we get the 13th paid before Christmas.

    they/them/theirs


    And so on, and so on …. - Slavoj Žižek




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    #450
    zweton
    Registered Users Posts: 2,683 ✭✭✭zweton


    Haarlem just outside Amsterdam was a lovely place when i visited, could see myself living there.


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    #451
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 13,712 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Lived in France for a couple of years during the Great Recession. Signed up to boards and spent most of my time listening to Irish radio and being extremely homesick. We don't appreciate this country until we've lived abroad, as perhaps most of us in this thread have.

    Coming home was the best decision I ever made. Never regretted it.


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