IRELAND OR THE USA

[mannix]

I have to decide very soon where I will end up living for life.Part of me says Ireland but the more I visit it the more I wonder.The USA is the same but I always found it easy to do things like skiing,motorbiking and other stuff I like doing.Now america has drawbacks too like loud mouth knowallls everywhere, poor education for kids,sports that really are not sports but tv commercial laced rubbish,nfl?I have been trying hard to not be annoyed by any of it but it really gets to me sometimes.Ireland is great in other ways, good education for the kids at little cost in comparison to a bad one in america,real sports to watch and play,fishing,my family are there, though some in america.I always like going to the pub on saturday night to meet the neighbours and wonder when i see them happy with a 5 year old car and the highlight of the week being a trip to see mayo playing in the league or something like it if they are wealthier than I am in senses other than monetary, I am comfortable but no billionaire.Then i think it would be good to be in ireland as my parents will not live forever but if they were gone next year would i hate ireland? Its a big problem best summed up by a man in his seventies that said to me that travel broadens the mind but takes the magic out of the best things.Any ideas?
If this note comes across as pompous it is not intentional.

[guy crouchback]

what age are you Mannix

[man in black]

I have to decide very soon where I will end up living for life.Part of me says Ireland but the more I visit it the more I wonder.The USA is the same but I always found it easy to do things like skiing,motorbiking and other stuff I like doing.Now america has drawbacks too like loud mouth knowallls everywhere, poor education for kids,sports that really are not sports but tv commercial laced rubbish,nfl?I have been trying hard to not be annoyed by any of it but it really gets to me sometimes.Ireland is great in other ways, good education for the kids at little cost in comparison to a bad one in america,real sports to watch and play,fishing,my family are there, though some in america.I always like going to the pub on saturday night to meet the neighbours and wonder when i see them happy with a 5 year old car and the highlight of the week being a trip to see mayo playing in the league or something like it if they are wealthier than I am in senses other than monetary, I am comfortable but no billionaire.Then i think it would be good to be in ireland as my parents will not live forever but if they were gone next year would i hate ireland? Its a big problem best summed up by a man in his seventies that said to me that travel broadens the mind but takes the magic out of the best things.Any ideas?
If this note comes across as pompous it is not intentional.

Why do you have to decide soon/ Are you married, one on the way etc?

[parttimeexile]

I can see you problem mannix. I was in America for four months and sometimes I thought it was a great place to be but sometimes it was a pain in the ass. There were many things about Ireland which I missed but when I did get home they did not seem as good as I had thought.
I have a cousin who lived in america for about 20 years or so and moved back to Ireland about 8 years ago. He was in his late thirties when he moved home. I am not sure but suspect it was his other half that put the pressure on to move home as they had a couple of young children and she wanted them to be brought up in Ireland. I asked him did he miss America and he said the thing he missed most, believe it or not was the weather. He has done well for himself since he has come home but still has his business going in America and goes over a few times a year. He said if you were going to be raising a family then he thought Ireland would be better.
I also have cousins that moved over about 15 years ago. They moved over as a family and they love it. I think the one thing they really like about it is that there is so much to do within a relatively short distance. Like snowboarding and watersports and the weather to suit it.
I am not sure I have helped you but just wanted to let you know how people in similar situations got on.

[mannix]

I am 35 but still cannot decide.Wherever i go will be the final spot and I do not want to make a big mistake.Imagine living in a place you do not like.I know people that love home because they never left it and others that hate it because its too confined.I am based in france now and will be for the next 2 years, i moved here from ny and wonder should i move home for good and buy a  house in the meath countryside on a few acres or move back to a shoebox house in nyc.Plenty of work for me in dublin and good money but i can make 3 times the money in america.

[ONeill]

wonder when i see them happy with a 5 year old car

Is there any chance you meant 15 here, or am I out of touch?

[mannix]

No i meant 5 but only  as a term of conversation and not neccessarily a car.The wristwatch may be timex and not a more expensive brand but it still tells them the time and they are very happy with it. I grew up when there was little money  and have been lucky to have done ok,my question is still the same.Ireland or USA?

[Chrisowc]

No i meant 5 but only  as a term of conversation and not neccessarily a car.The wristwatch may be timex and not a more expensive brand but it still tells them the time and they are very happy with it. I grew up when there was little money  and have been lucky to have done ok,my question is still the same.Ireland or USA?

I think you should come back to Ireland if only for a reality check.  I drive a 15 year old car btw and happy as a pig in sh*t

[ludermor]

there absolutly no comparsion with the quality of life living in the countryside with a 5 year old car/child and living in a shoe box in nyc or dublin. (or for that matter living in the french country side) I live in dublin city centre but if i had a family id be out of here like lightning.
I come from the back end of the arse hole of mayo and most of the kids i went to school with were born in england, therefore all of our parents had to make the same decision you are facing. Even now more and more of our english cousins are moving home. You wont get near the same cash but if its not important then it wont be an issue. For some reason id say money is important to you, maybe im wrong?

[Donagh]

I would rather die than live in the US again.

[mannix]

Of course its important, thats why i left in the first place.
France will never be in the equation for me, its nice and all that but thats it.
I suppose I will make the move and regret it some way no matter where i go to, thank you for your input.

[man in black]

Of course its important, thats why i left in the first place.
France will never be in the equation for me, its nice and all that but thats it.
I suppose I will make the move and regret it some way no matter where i go to, thank you for your input.

What part of France are you in Mannix? Is it city life or rural?

[parttimeexile]

To be honest I think ireland. Where I am from there is much more of a community than when I was in America but I suppose it depends what you want. The quality of life in the Irish countryside would be better than NYC in my opinion.  I think that is why I would chose Ireland.

[screenexile]

My parents faced the exact same problem as tou about 20 years ago Mannix. My father left Ireland when he was 17 and lived in inner city Toronto. He met my mother who was Canadian with Irish parents and they got married and had me and my little bro. I was 3 and he was 6 months. They took the decision to move back to rural Northern Ireland to raise the family away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

I think it was a harder decision for my mother than my father and I know she still misses her family who are all still living in Toronto but I know they don't regret it.

Having said that I suppose it depends what you  do. My Dad was a painter and he managed to do well when he came home but will you be able to do as well as you would like if you came home??

[mannix]

Very city, central paris and before you ask i am full with south african in laws of my sister for the rugby.