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.
what age are you Mannix
Quote from: mannix on September 07, 2007, 09:08:47 AM
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?
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.
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.
Quotewonder 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?
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?
Quote from: mannix on September 07, 2007, 09:55:48 AM
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
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?
I would rather die than live in the US again.
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.
Quote from: mannix on September 07, 2007, 10:11:17 AM
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?
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.
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??
Very city, central paris and before you ask i am full with south african in laws of my sister for the rugby.
Do you have to live in the shoe box in NYC.
What about moving just outside city?
interesting thread.
I have lived in New York for a while and just bought a house and moved out to the burbs a few months ago. I work right in the middle of New York and now it takes me just over half an hour to get in, which isn't really that much different to when I lived in Manhattan (15/20 mins). I have a one year old who was born in NYC and we moved out as we weren't sure about having him grow up in the city itself, and the space in the show box was starting to get cramped.
My wife is Irish too, and I think our view at the moment is that we will probably go home when its time for the wee fella to start primary school. Its a difficult choice as it isn't going to be easy for me to do the kind of work that I do anywhere in Ireland. However on the flip side all of our family and friends are at home, and we both attach a lot of importance to family.
We have a few years here to figure it out, but for the minute I'd say we're moving back in a few years.
I am in the same boat and at the moment plan to move back in another 10 years. I have lived in the states now since the mid eighties so over half my life has been over here, but I can never consider the U.S my home for some reason. My wife has only lived here for 5 years and though she likes it in some ways she misses her family an awful lot and is home sick sometimes. I expect it to be hard to readjust when I make the move with the climate been the biggest problem. But on the plus side as others have mentioned their is a quality of life in Ireland that is missing in the states.
There are loud mouths and arseholes everywhere, even Ireland! I find Americans fine - they're a mixed bunch, just like any society.
Regarding the education system, the quality of public schools depends very much on where you live. Public schools are paid for by local taxes, so funding varies widely from district to district. New York City is very poor, but the schools in the suburbs, being more well-off, are fine, and that is probably the case all over the country.
Pick Ireland, America sports are the worst, no other country has a sport that can compete for excitement with GAA.
Quoteand buy a house in the meath countryside on a few acres ......... Plenty of work for me in dublin
So that would be a million or so ....... and 3 hours a day in traffic.
If i were in your shoes and were going to make the move then it would be all the way home to Mayo ..... no traffic and the house and few acres would cost half the price
Quote from: stiffler on September 10, 2007, 10:26:48 PM
Pick Ireland, America sports are the worst, no other country has a sport that can compete for excitement with GAA.
You'd choose were you lived based on sports?
Quote from: Gabriel_Hurl on September 10, 2007, 10:33:39 PM
Quote from: stiffler on September 10, 2007, 10:26:48 PM
Pick Ireland, America sports are the worst, no other country has a sport that can compete for excitement with GAA.
You'd choose were you lived based on sports?
Not just sports, but its a major factor for me.
Mannix
Ive been over here for 6 years now, and it opened my eyes to alot. I love living here. Its warm, people are pleasant (small town west coast), the cost of living is superb. I can eat almost any cuisine I want for the price of a fish supper back home. I cant get a good fish supper though. Or a battered sausage. Its only recently I can get lucozade and I drank so much it cut the hole of me. Theres no gaelic games (unless I want a four hour commute to train). Its hard to watch the hurling on setanta. Sometimes the football too. The women are beautiful. They dont wear alot, and most of them arent beefed to the ankles like a mullingar heifer. But I cant read the irish news and bitch about paddy heaney. They've started charging for the ulster hearld now too. But in a couple of months Ill give up the lake and all you can eat sushi for the ski slopes (and all you can eat sushi). I have to drive everywhere, cos Reno is so sparse. Theres no walkin over to the spar for a ham and cheese jambon and a bottle of club orange. My kid thats being born in december is going to cost a fortune. Ive already paid 600$ to the OBGYN for regular check ups. The insurance for 6 months is going to be over 1000$. Plus 1900$ to deliver the baby. 20000$ a day if for some reason the baby is sick and needs to go to the NICU. I cant get a good pint of stout and it costs at least 50$ to play one round of golf.
America is beautiful - if you find the right place - but so is Ireland
America is cheap - if you dont need to pay for something really expensive like medical care
America has good weather
Ireland is home.
Congrats puckoon, i hope it works out for you.
I would live in Mayo no bother but its not entirely my decision, a nice mansion like the hundreds or even thousands I see scattered around Mayo would suit me fine or even a plain ould house would do.
For all the rain they get its still a nice place to live, if you like fishing,hiking and the outdoor stuff its great.It was pointed out to me that there is no theatre or fancy restaurants.I said nothing but thought of the local on saturday night where the pass around sausages around eleven o clock, class.
Mannix, from the way ur talking i think deep down u know u could never call the USA home.
And i dont think its got anything to do with the stereotype of the loud mouths, i'm sure theres as many nice people to meet there as anywhere else
Having lived at home for the last year and having moved back to dublin i can tell u even going that far is too far, i'd love to go back and get a job somewhere closer to home. Without trying to insult anyone i think the people from the west of ireland are the people i'd like to spend my life with. Maybe everyone things the same about their home area but i for me quality of life involves more the people ur around than the size of ur house or car.
Mannix i think u need to look at ur reasons for moving to america and weight them against what ur missing out on.
If like me u'd be happy heading back to a league match in kiltane or louisburgh or taking ur kids to U-8 training then u'll have to realise if u do go then it'll be hard to move back.
Quote from: Donagh on September 07, 2007, 10:01:12 AM
I would rather die than live in the US again.
Why? I highly doubt you mean that donagh, either that or you don't really like to live that much.
I love it over here and will live both here and in Ireland when I retire. I will live in the states until I retire however because that is where my children will live. I have 9 years left to go before I retire as I am done working at 52 and I am going to enjoy life to it's fullest without having to work 50-60 hours a week.
Thats the problem, if We do go back i am not moving again.I am 35, the moving is getting tiresome.Stuff stored here there and everywhere.NY will never be home,ever.Maybe I am destined to live a life where i just dream about having a home i would really call home and not a house.Would you live in a place that you would not call home?Lots of irish lads did in england and america.
I often wonder what will be the biggest pitfalls awaiting us on our return? Will it be the climate, the long winter evenings, the cost of living or will we just ease back into it as if we had never left. My sister moved back from the states about 8 years ago and did not last 6 months in Ireland, she could not settle.In my opinion she did not give it enough time, you would have to give it at least 2 years just to come near settling back into the Irish lifestyle. It will be an adventure and something to look forward to.
Great thread lads, i can find truth in nearly all of the posts here.
As for me, its pretty good here most of the time but there are
times when I'd love nothing more to be heading out with the lads
that you grew up with on a Fri night or the family get togethers,
especially when their on the phone to you at 2.30 in the morning
their time blocked out of their heads and me at work with the long face
questioning what in under a fcuk I'm even doing here :-\
Jaysus, this is making me homesick :'(
Mannix, i think its just that you're at that age now where it's
make or break, the fun "don't give a fcuk days" are behind us,
Nothing stays the same anyhow, make a call, go with it and never look back!
Quote from: FL/MAYO on September 11, 2007, 12:09:13 AM
I often wonder what will be the biggest pitfalls awaiting us on our return? Will it be the climate, the long winter evenings, the cost of living or will we just ease back into it as if we had never left. My sister moved back from the states about 8 years ago and did not last 6 months in Ireland, she could not settle.In my opinion she did not give it enough time, you would have to give it at least 2 years just to come near settling back into the Irish lifestyle. It will be an adventure and something to look forward to.
I think the weather and the long winter would be tough - but theres so much change at home. Theres yoga and pilates classes for the wife ( ;)) spinning, floodlight gaelic grounds, astroturf for regular games with friends. Evening soccer leagues. I think I needed to go away to realise how good home actually was. That said, Im more than content here but every time I visit home I realise I could be more than happy with a life at home, golfing with the old man on a saturday morning, couple of pints that evening and praying to god Id win the lotto! That said I cant decide if Ireland or here is the best place to raise a child, arguements for and against I suppose. The weather would seriously impact the decision. If god could provide some sunlight and they ressurected Glenroe and last of the summer wine - Id be home in a heartbeat.
Time for another drop of the dew... :-\
Puckoon - the PDF edition of the Irish News has been free since the start of the summer, so you can give Paddy Heaney all the abuse you like.
I'm in NW USA for 6 years, don't think I'd be ready to head home yet. Also cost of living/property would be a massive issue for me.
Big thing I think is whether you want to assimilate into American society or mainly hang out with Irish people. I don't have the last choice as they are few and far between were I am, but I know plenty of lads in NYC who'd mainly be with Irish lads all the time for work and socialising, if you don't integrate I think you'd have a harder time settling for good.
Mannix I lived in the US for seven years after I left college and to be honest my time there was an extension of student life and I felt that I never made anything of myself or challenged myself. I now have a reasonably secure job and the mortgage is nearly paid off. I visit the US two or three times a year mainly as I'm a lazy vacationer and like the value and climate. Also I can't remember the last time I bought a shirt or tie in Ireland. The US is such good value.
My brothers and sisters all lived for nearly 20 years in NYC and came back. One would go back tomorrow because of our grey weather. All were unsettled for a while, couple of years, but then the roots sank in again and they enjoy the qulaity of life in Ireland while sometimes missing the standard of living in the US.
Personally I'm going through a mid life crisis (in my 50s but was a late developer) and am thinking of a year in NYC and am trying to tie down a posting wiyh the UN.
My advice to you would be to weigh up the pros and cons, talk to those you love and trust, make the decision and stick to it for at least four years.
Good luck
QuoteBig thing I think is whether you want to assimilate into American society or mainly hang out with Irish people
I think thats the big part of the ability to enjoy the place. I do think that many people who come over and just hang around with Irish lads will always feel a pull home, effectively they are living an Irish life somewhere else. Being in New York it is always easy to socialise in Irish only company, and it took a while to get out of that way of going and open up the horizons a bit. Its made this a lot more enjoyable experience.
How easy is it to get a green card nowadays, if you are in Ireland?
Not easy.
There's a green card lottery, about 40,000 applicants for 400 odd green cards.
There is work sponsored visas where a company in the US can sponsor you for a job that they can't get a qualified American to fill. Thats a very long process.
And there is the old favourite, marry one of them...
Quoteabout 40,000 applicants for 400 odd green cards
Does the US only make 400 green cards available at a time in total or is that only for Irish applicants? If so, is there 40,000 Irish people applying for green cards?? If so that's a surprising figure.
There is a fella where I work just got word that he had got a green card. He had forgotten all about it because it was over two years ago he applied for it.He is the first person in a long time that I know that has gotten a green card. He said that there was 160 green cards for the south in whichever lottery it was he applied through.40 for the north.
Quote from: heganboy on September 11, 2007, 02:19:49 PM
Not easy.
There's a green card lottery, about 40,000 applicants for 400 odd green cards.
There is work sponsored visas where a company in the US can sponsor you for a job that they can't get a qualified American to fill. Thats a very long process.
And there is the old favourite, marry one of them...
;)
Quote from: mannix on September 07, 2007, 09:08:47 AM
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.
if you really feel that way why is the decision so hard? having said that i know alot of irish people who have lived in the states for years come back here and not settle in. its different for everyone but it certainly helps if you like the place your going to live in because money will only go sa far in the happiness stakes. personally i love the american sports culture yet i live here! good luck with your decision but if your close to your family stay that way..
QuoteI think thats the big part of the ability to enjoy the place. I do think that many people who come over and just hang around with Irish lads will always feel a pull home, effectively they are living an Irish life somewhere else. Being in New York it is always easy to socialise in Irish only company, and it took a while to get out of that way of going and open up the horizons a bit. Its made this a lot more enjoyable experience.
that's a very good point brought up by hegan.
I've tried to expand my friend base by heading out with Canadians and not always heading to the same old Irish pubs with the same friends - if I wanted to have done that I'd have stayed at home
heganboy is on the button - think about all the stories you've heard from friends who went to america and australia - i can name countless lads who went to either countries and only hung around with people from either their home town/county or irish in general. My opinion when you're traveling is to mix with the locals - see the country, experience the country - see the real thing rather than a green tinted version.
My experience here in the states is there are a bunch of irish lads who all hang out together, work construction, drink every night and get in an awful state at the weekends and do nothing but fuel the american notion that every irish man is a drunk a fighter and works in construction.
I try to keep away from those lads - its great to meet someone from home, i enjoy my beers with the best of them but i grew up a long time ago and life isnt about spending your wages in the pub anymore or seeing who the hardest man in your group of mates is.
I think you should come to america - ireland is home and always will be - but it isn't going anywhere - your chance of a better life in america is slipping away from your grasp - take it now - if it doesnt work out - go home.
If it does - you can holiday in ireland and maybe it will still stay as grand as you remembered it to be.
Quote from: Gabriel_Hurl on September 11, 2007, 07:21:50 PM
QuoteI think thats the big part of the ability to enjoy the place. I do think that many people who come over and just hang around with Irish lads will always feel a pull home, effectively they are living an Irish life somewhere else. Being in New York it is always easy to socialise in Irish only company, and it took a while to get out of that way of going and open up the horizons a bit. Its made this a lot more enjoyable experience.
that's a very good point brought up by hegan.
I've tried to expand my friend base by heading out with Canadians and not always heading to the same old Irish pubs with the same friends - if I wanted to have done that I'd have stayed at home
Each year a fresh influx of irish students come over here (around 8-14 per year). We have a number of long term irish here and due to marrying outside of that - Im one of the few who has expanded my friendship base. The irish kids dont understand why Id ever consider going out to a different place with different people. I think if you remain in an irish clique that you will never fully experience the life that is on offer, and therefore never really settle and make a life for yourself.
Do you fellas ever wonder if Ireland is best lived in the imagination rather than in actuality?
I knew a guy once who went to the States in the fifties, a great time to be there. He married over there, raised a family, got a job, did night courses, became a very successful man, much more successful than he ever would have been here. But all the time he wanted to come home, because there's no place like Ireland. Finally, after forty years in the States, he retired, and he and the wife bought a cottage in a village back home.
He was back in the States the following year to see his kids and they asked him how he liked it back home. He said he hated it - you couldn't see the ball game, you couldn't get a proper hamburger, you couldn't get those Italian beef sandwiches...
You need to be careful of what you wish for.
For my own case, I had to make the decision over the summer whether to buy a house in Dublin or head to the States and, I suppose, follow my dream. I took the sensible option of buying the house. But you know, I'm sitting here now, and Dublin isn't home. There's a world of difference between Dublin and Mayo, where I'm from, but I can't go home to Mayo because there's no work there. Never was, of course.
The reasons for settling in Dublin are that it's still Ireland and I'm still in Ireland and my friends are here, but nearly all of those are from the country originally and ninety per cent of them would bolt from the city in the morning once the kids are born, job or no job. As for still being at home, and what you understand about home, take a stroll out to the Square in Tallaght sometime and, after a while, ask yourself, how exactly you know that you're in Ireland and not some shopping centre in Bradford or Leeds or Birmingham. It's not at all obvious.
I read two autobiographies recently, by Liam Ó Briain and Séamus Ó Maoileoin, about being out in 1916 and the kind of Ireland they were fighting for and all this. The idealism of it was painful to read at this remove.
Ó Briain was with a garrison that held the old UCD building on Earlsfort Terrace. The troops were looking for stuff to make barricades, and they found some big, thick books. They asked Ó Briain if they could use them for the barricade, and Ó Briain said they shouldn't, really, because if the Rising was about anything it was about those books.
The books were the Annals of the Four Masters. And if Liam Ó Briain were to come back now, he must ask himself why he bothered.
Maybe I'm just in bad form tonight, I don't know. But the more I see of Ireland now, with the Star setting the news agenda, and the sleeveenism and shoneenism of Irish life, the more I think maybe I'll take a hit on selling the house again and hitting for the States. I don't recognise this country anymore.
God look down on you in your decision Mannix. I hope it works out for you.
IOR,
You certainly are in funny form.
Dublin certainly is not like Mayo, its as much an english city as anywhere in england.Even the locals say "yeah" after they say something.I was in dublin myself for 2 spells,early nineties and late nineties.No love of the place but if you can bed in with a few people in a community it could be fine.
Thats where the problem starts, we want it to be like it was in the place we grew up and it never can, reminiscing too much is a bad thing.Once when I was skiing in north east usa at christmas I was crippled with homesickness and on the christmas eve despite skiing in the great snow I would much prefer to be having a pint or 2 with old friends at home,it was raw and I had a poor christmas,delighted to see the back of it and went back to work on the 27th to avoid any more of the "holidays" as they call it.Maybe some life changing thing will occur and shake me to my senses, a fella of my age (late 30s) should not be in such a state, although i know one thing for certain, usa will never be considered home by me.
Does anyone else on this board live in a place today that they will be in for the next 25 years and they can not say they are home?
I will burn the bit of brain out with all the thinking and wondering about how it will all end up.
QuoteThere's a world of difference between Dublin and Mayo, where I'm from, but I can't go home to Mayo because there's no work there. Never was, of course.
Would love to know what percentage of Mayo folk living in Dublin that haven't really 'settled' there yet would prefer to be living and working at home.... >90% ?? ....... and yet decades on, nothing changes
QuoteDoes anyone else on this board live in a place today that they will be in for the next 25 years and they can not say they are home?
90% sure i will either life where i am now (unfortunately not Mayo) or else even further away from the sacred sod of Mayo ....... and every so often it bugs the sh*t out of me ...... but it seems to be part and parcel of who we are in Mayo and we never complain about it.
Well if IOR gets to unload on the lot of ye, than so do I.
Lived in Dublin from 1996-'06, and I lived everywhere from Foxrock to Santry and several bits inbetween. Met an Aussie girl the night of the 2004 All Ireland in Nealons on Capel St, we had the year together in Dublin and had decided that she would stay. Visa didn't work out for her in Ireland and we weren't prepared to get married just for the sake of it. I had just been promoted to quite a senior position (for my age) in the company I was in at the time in Dublin, decision needed to be made. Was it career and stay in Dublin forever and ever, or take the risk.
So I said, f**k it. I've been 10 years in this place and things are only starting to turn around, but I'll regret this if I don't at least try it. Moved out here to Sydney on the 30th December 2005, enjoying it so far but the first 12 odd months were a tough slog in terms of visa restricitions and only able to work 3 month contracts, I wasn't out here backpacking like the majority of the Irish you'd meet out here. Settled into a good permanent role a few months back and enjoying the challenge once again.
It can get a bit lonesome when glued to MWR listening to the Stephenites play and her coming in from bed to ask me to stop roaring at the laptop with my headphones on, and you do miss out on some occasions with friends and family. But on the whole it's been a very positive thing for me.
For the moment I can see Oz being home for quite a few years yet - but you never know what life sometimes has in store for you around the corner so I'm always loathe to hang my hat on these sort of decisions. And I think I'd like to get back at some stage......
Whatever decison you make - I hope it works out for you 100% , I think mine has for now
the great thing about this thread is that its about choices. That is brilliant. Many of the people I know in the US or England really had no choice when they left for economic reasons. We have come a long way in Ireland. Now if Cork can only win on Sunday!
QuoteNow america has drawbacks too like loud mouth knowallls everywhere, poor education for kids,sports that really are not sports
Sounds much like Roscommon
QuoteQuote
Now america has drawbacks too like loud mouth knowallls everywhere, poor education for kids,sports that really are not sports
Sounds much like Roscommon
;D ;D ;D
Great thread lads.
I wonder do a lower percentage of Dubs emigrate compared to people from other counties? On the basis that if a Mayoman (for example) has a choice of working and living in Dublin vs New York, maybe 60% or 70% would choose Dublin, but for a Dub it'd be 90%+ choosing Dublin, because it is home.
Personally I can't imagine living anywhere other than Dublin. Of course, I simply don't know what I might be missing out on, but at this stage in my life anyway, I can't imagine anywhere else giving me and my family a better quality of life. I am a bit worried about the seemingly increasing number of yobs and thus violence/crime around, but there's not many places that don't have those problems.
QuotePersonally I can't imagine living anywhere other than Dublin
Thats probably partly because you've never had to. The vast majority of young Mayo folk (using us as an example again) grow up realising that in all probability that they are going to have to leave home and their town for at least 5-10 years after school and for the vast majority of that group, they will then be faced with a choice similar to mannix etc of returning home to a poor economic outlook or slog it out where they are.
The nett effect of all this is that there is a brain drain effecting all counties similar to Mayo. The brightest and sharpest are the ones least likely to end up living at home by the time they are say 40 - although with exceptions of course - and thus there aern't sufficient numbers of driven people to attempt to drive change
Great thread indeed and as JMcG says earlier the great thing is that people have a lot more choice nowadays. There were 22 of us who grew up together and in 1985 there were only 2 of us left in Dublin - all the others had scattered to the winds UK,US,Europe,Oz etc. Over the intervening years a few have come home and settled down but the vast majority have stayed away and made good live for themselves.
Having travelled extensively but never actually lived anywhere el0se for longer than 3 months I could never live anywhere else other than Ireland - despite the obvious problems and my constant moaning about the state of civic life etc!!! I mean it must be good if I can settle in Meath :)
Quote from: mannix on September 13, 2007, 10:46:48 PM
Dublin certainly is not like Mayo, its as much an english city as anywhere in england.Even the locals say "yeah" after they say something.
i saw that croke park director peter mckenna on tv the other night and i could have sworn he was english before someone pointed out to me that he is from longford. why are more and more people in this country trying to become english?
Quote from: stephenite on September 14, 2007, 05:42:05 AM
Well if IOR gets to unload on the lot of ye, than so do I.
Lived in Dublin from 1996-'06, and I lived everywhere from Foxrock to Santry and several bits inbetween. Met an Aussie girl the night of the 2004 All Ireland in Nealons on Capel St, we had the year together in Dublin and had decided that she would stay. Visa didn't work out for her in Ireland and we weren't prepared to get married just for the sake of it. I had just been promoted to quite a senior position (for my age) in the company I was in at the time in Dublin, decision needed to be made. Was it career and stay in Dublin forever and ever, or take the risk.
So I said, f**k it. I've been 10 years in this place and things are only starting to turn around, but I'll regret this if I don't at least try it. Moved out here to Sydney on the 30th December 2005, enjoying it so far but the first 12 odd months were a tough slog in terms of visa restricitions and only able to work 3 month contracts, I wasn't out here backpacking like the majority of the Irish you'd meet out here. Settled into a good permanent role a few months back and enjoying the challenge once again.
It can get a bit lonesome when glued to MWR listening to the Stephenites play and her coming in from bed to ask me to stop roaring at the laptop with my headphones on, and you do miss out on some occasions with friends and family. But on the whole it's been a very positive thing for me.
For the moment I can see Oz being home for quite a few years yet - but you never know what life sometimes has in store for you around the corner so I'm always loathe to hang my hat on these sort of decisions. And I think I'd like to get back at some stage......
Whatever decison you make - I hope it works out for you 100% , I think mine has for now
Glad to know Im not alone!!! :D :D :D :D
QuotePersonally I can't imagine living anywhere other than Dublin
There's a few Dubs over here I wish had had the same thought a few years back
(admittedly there's a few I'm glad are here)
If people decide to leave home becasue of the weather, then they have no real roots. I moved back to Birr after about 15 years on the road around Ireland between college and work. I'll never make much money, but I'm just pissed off I didn't come back earlier. Ireland has a lot of problems, and my own town has more than most, but it's worth staying here and trying to improve it, because, after everything that has happened to us in such a short time, I honestly think that we are a good people with great hearts.
Quote from: Loughers on September 14, 2007, 04:32:53 PM
If people decide to leave home becasue of the weather, then they have no real roots. I moved back to Birr after about 15 years on the road around Ireland between college and work. I'll never make much money, but I'm just pissed off I didn't come back earlier. Ireland has a lot of problems, and my own town has more than most, but it's worth staying here and trying to improve it, because, after everything that has happened to us in such a short time, I honestly think that we are a good people with great hearts.
Thats a load of shite.
Thats not.
Following some serious talks its beginning to look like Ireland may be the choice.Not Mayo because of the work situation but towards the east where the work is for me, meath above all places.Thinking of a house outside the likes of navan with a few acres,expensive but would be the same in the usa and education would be very expensive there as compared to ireland.
Navan is a big enough town, anyone got any input on the TOWN, i will be visiting the place in due course to check it out.Is there a train service from navan to dublin?
there is no train service from Navan, its a nightmare getting top dublin, around Drogheda might be a better option? Good train service and the facilities are improving all the time.
You seem like a decent sort of bloke. You are welcome to come and live in Armagh. Great people, football so so at the moment, only 90 mins from Dublin, houses still affordable and great schools!
QuoteNot Mayo because of the work situation
But how long will it take you to earn the 300-400K (500-600K salary) extra required to buy a house and few acres close to Navan compared to close to Castlebar ?
And how you will curse Dunshaughlin, and the Johnstown traffic lights and the end of the dual carriageway at Blanchardstown .............
I am 35 and not ready to retire yet so i must work.I think I may find a spot that has a house which can be either renovated or levelled for the right price, the property market has stalled badly according to media and auctioneers so I may be looking at a good time.Nothing set in stone but hopefully I can get the ball rolling on something shortly.Travelling to dublin city centre via train is the only option so I must work within that zone, parking at a station outside dublin and commute in.Does anyone here commute into dublin by train other than dart, i mean commute from kildare or meath.
Mannix I'd avoid Navan, its a kip.
Theres lots of nice smaller towns within ten minutes of Navan, I'm in one of them.
Any one with a train to connolly?
The only towns in Meath with tranlines to Connolly would be Gormanstown and Laytown, and Laytowns a shithole ;)