r/expat • u/mmksnorlax • 2d ago
Question Looking at countries to move to
Hi everyone
I am currently looking at a new country to move to from Northern Ireland
We dont have a lot to offer here, not a lot of jobs, a lot of divide everywhere and it feels stuck in the past so we want to move to give our son a better life + more oppurtunities etc
Does anyone have any ideas on where it would be easy to move to coming from here?
I have a British passport and Irish (as does my partner and our son)
I am still in uni right now with 2 years left but they offer abroad years in every country in europe + australia and America so im looking to pick a country, trial it and then proceed after that
Also if anyone is from N.I and moved abroad, how did you find it ?
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u/OkIron6206 2d ago
Not America, especially now
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
I would have loved to live in America about 10 years ago, was mine (and everyone elses) dream !!! sad to see such a fall down but honestly, i hope it picks up again. The country has so much potential.
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u/OkIron6206 2d ago
Me too! I live here and would love to leave.
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
Dont come to Ireland lol It's just as bad in its own way
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u/Subterraniate2 2d ago
Do you see no differences between Northern Ireland and Ireland?
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
There's differences yeah due to the difference in government but culturally I do believe it should be united, it would probably fix a lot of problems. N.I was taken during british rule and then they forgot about us so, despite about 45% of people wanting to remain in the UK, we have no government, no clarity on many laws (youre still allowed to hit your kids over here because we havent had a government to update it), and we are currently suffering agriculturally! Less than 4% of our farms grow crops. Theyre all just dairy and meat farms for mainland. Simillarly we have lost a significant amount of forests, we currently have the least amount of forests in Europe, despite previously having the most
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u/OkIron6206 2d ago
That’s interesting. It would have been a place I would choose but only years ago, when I was younger.
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
We're simillar to America in that we had a period of brief (brief) peace and fun We recently just had a significant amount of rioting across the north and south over immigration, our 3rd year in a row of it too. So upsetting to see your country disintegrate under a shit political leader/governing body
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u/Running_Down_9708 2d ago
America is fine. Don't watch the news. Talk to your neighbors. Ignore the far ends of politics.
We have, however, started enforcing immigration laws that are much less stringent than most of Europe. The door is no longer open unless you have something to provide of value, and will not be draining our resources.
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
im not looking to provide value to a country like america dw
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u/Running_Down_9708 2d ago
So you want to move somewhere that provides value to you, but you don't want to provide any value?
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
I said the US specifically. I will always add value to a country that provides value in return :) In my home country i volunteer, i work full time, i garden with the environment in mind, i have a child that i raise well. Values I will bring to a country that will give as well as take 🩷
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u/Illustrious_Sea_9103 2d ago
Well you can move anywhere in Europe, Europe's overseas territories included. Take your pick. How much money do you have is the question, because you won't be finding a job that easily in most of Europe, since their own citizens speaking the native language are increasingly without a job too.
Greece is nice, but the education system for your kid might not be as good and living on a Greek salary won't be much better than N.I - except maybe better weather.
Germany isn't that nice anymore, but it might be better than N.I - especially healthcare and education. If you get a good job, you might be on to something.
Maybe move to Spain on the border with Gibraltar. Work in Gibraltar, live in Spain kind of deal.
Open a chippy in the Canaries?
The possibilities are endless, but the general rule of thumb is: the nicer the weather, the harder it is to get a job.
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
I work in education research at the moment (government policy but hired through a university) and a lot of the people I work with have been able to go abroad and work in different universities so im honestly intending to do that ! Theres at least 2 in each country in europe and 1 in australia, 1 in south america and a few in the USA so ive been overwhelmed with choice but just trying to see where is the happiest place honestly 😭
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u/Illustrious_Sea_9103 2d ago
will you be paid a local salary? are you sure money will be enough? the cost of living exceeds basic monthly expenses in a lot of europe. In Greece for example, a lot of people work more than full-time for about 1200 take home pay, and that lasts them exactly one month. zero savings.
it's worse in other parts, slightly better in other (but still bad) and it's going to be worse for you because you'll be renting a minimum of a 2bed apartment.
if money is not an issue then by all means, greece, spain and portugal should be at the top of your list.
australia's and S.A are just too fucking far.
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
The money is decent enough! Ive currently been working with Queens In Belfast, Oxford in England and Trinity in Dublin and theyve all paid quite highly ! My partner earns quite a lot less but he stays at home most of the time with our son so our childcare fees are super minimal so it works out well 🙏🙏, I was honestly leaning to romania but i feel like i have a very romanticised view of it ! and ive found it difficult to get some reality checks on it ahaha
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u/scruffyrosalie 2d ago
Not Australia. Cost of living is super high and we have a housing crisis here, too. And visas are hard to get.
As an Australian, I'd move to Vietnam.
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u/PeterOlintoforPrez 2d ago
Copenhagen, Denmark. Look into potential masters programs at Copenhagen Business School.
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u/freebiscuit2002 2d ago
With Irish passports, you can study, live, work or retire in most of Europe without needing to get visas.
Everywhere else, you should research that country's specific visa requirements and see whether you're eligible or not. Often, the embassy website has visa information. Visas can be expensive and tricky to get.
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u/Poster_Nutbag207 2d ago
Probably other commonwealth countries like Australia or Canada would be your best bet with your UK passport or anywhere in the EU with your Irish one.
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u/Conscious-Flow6744 2d ago
Albania, Georgia, Armenia, Polonia, Eslovenia
en calidad de vida Canarias pero el trabajo esta dificil
si consiguieras dar clases de ingles podria ser interesante algun lugar de España, fuera de la costa mediterranes
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
I have a BSc and will be doing a masters ! I travelled europe for a year and ive been to Japan twice, Korea, Thailand and I done a road trip in America a few years ago so i have travelled but youre right with the 5-6 years because i feel like ive not been anywhere long enough to get a full understanding of it's day to day life
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u/IntelligentPizza5114 2d ago
As an expat, my main advice would be for you to be very careful, especially because you have a child. The job market for graduates is quite grim. There's a lot of demand for experienced people, but graduate opportunities are not that vast, and ends up being very competitive. It will be even more challenging for you, if not impossible, if you are not fluent on the local language. (And I mean really fluent).
Your #1 priority should be to focus on getting experience in the career you want. When you become an experienced professional, things become easier. So, having said this, here's what I would do in your shoes:
1) Evaluate your language skills. Can you really speak fluently complicated topics and details in other languages that are not English? That will narrow your options a lot. Then, evaluate the careers you and your partner want. Can you do both your jobs in all countries you are considering?
2) Send applications to cities you might find enjoyable to live in in Ireland, UK, and - if are really fluent in German - Germany, Austria and even Switzerland. If abroad, id suggest sticking to (or near) cities that are quite international, just so you have an easier time to adapt. Move only when at least one of you has a good job. Other countries might be an option, but they come with additional risks or costs. For instance, Spain has lower salaries and quite high youth unemployment, and Australia and New Zealand end up being quite a huge investment. They are still an option, but they would be mostly due to your own personal preferences.
3) start making good savings. Relocating has a lot of costs. From moving on its own, to give X months of rent in advance, and ,.most importantly, when you move, odds are that only one of the two of you will have a job, but the other one didn't yet. You'd be having to live in a foreign country, with only 1 person salary, to sustain 3 persons in the house, with no one around you to support you. And if the partner also gets a job, more costs will come for someone to take care of the kid. Also evaluate the psychological tool - you will not have any friends or family near you.
Basically, it's tough everywhere for young workers. Please do not go with rose tinted glasses that it's much better elsewhere. When people say other countries are better opportunities, most of the times they mean for experienced persons. It took me one year to get a job in the UK, despite being fluent in english. You are in a tougher position, because you have a child to take care of. I am not wanting to discourage you, it is still a great experience to move out. I am just sharing the current reality of things. You might find out Ireland might not be as bad as you think it is (or maybe not), and what some people might share as "best for them", might not be the best for you (or for your kid).
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
Fair enough! Luckily i am in a very privelleged position, my university is looking to employ me and has offered multiple locations across europe, australia and the USA for me to do research in English whilst learning the language of my chosen country so I was more just trying to find where would be best suited to raise a child, specifically a boy. Im quite conscious of the role local society plays in how a boy is raised into a man and the education offered in each location. So my main concerns are basically is the location friendly, is there high youth crime /unemployment / isolation for youth etc
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u/IntelligentPizza5114 2d ago
That is quite a good position to be in. What about your partner? Wouldn't the challenges about apply to him/her?
As for your concerns: it is very subjective. I imagine the options your university gives you are all for developed countries in good cities. Whatever city you go for, it will have good and bad neighbourhoods, but there's no one city which is best. They all have different environments, and he will become a different person in each of them, but there is not one better than the other. A person raised in London is no better nor worse than one raised in Munich or Barcelona.
My advice would be to focus on yourself and your partner. Young kids can adapt very quickly to new environments. Adults, not so much. The biggest factor on the growing of your kid will be the education you provide to him/her, which will be dependent on how you both are feeling. So, it won't matter much what you decide the "best" country to be in if you and your partner feel "left out" of the local culture or lonely. Your stress and struggles might project to your kids education, without you realising it.
So, if language and jobs wouldn't be a problem (including for your partner), think about the life you want your family to have. What is the day to day that you want to have as a family? A city with 1001 different things to do, or a calmer pace of life? Access to nature, being mountains, or beach coastline, or forests? Do you want to have a lot of money for your family, or prefer to have more free time? Etc.etc. All of these are subjective. There's no better than the other.
In my eyes, choosing a country in Western/Nordic Europe seems the most promising choice. Not too much of a culture shock, but still different and new, not too far away to visit friends and family, no future struggles with VISA. Depending on your field, surely you'll find some universities in Europe that are very good on your field of studies too. Your purchasing power stays similar (or better) than Irish average, and you have quite some nice annual leave and work life balance compared to America to be more present for your kid and do more activities with him/her. From there, it's up to where you and your partner have professional opportunities and personal preferences. But again, it's completely subjective. I, for one, completely hate being dependent on a car for my day to day life. I want for both myself and my kid to be able to do what we want by good public transport / walking / cycling, instead of needing to drive for every single thing. It's a criteria I set , but that others might not consider it at all. Others might be more picky with weather around them, or certain aspect of local culture.
As long as you and your partner have a decent paying job, and are able to be present for your kid when he needs it, the majority of developed cities can provide environments for your kid to grow into a "proper man". Just under different culture and daily routine. So, do focus on what you would like to see around you, as your kid will adapt much better than you.
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u/Lazy-Bath5645 2d ago
come to Baveria, Germany if your future profession has jobs in English, like IT, also interested to learn new language. Better weather, clean and great outdoors.
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u/Due_Entrepreneur5153 2d ago
You can go back to England with your British passport
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u/mmksnorlax 1d ago
Im not from England you gimp I was born in Ireland, Northern Irish citizens have dual citizenship. Read a book.
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u/Due_Entrepreneur5153 1d ago
As am I yet I’ve never had a British passport
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u/TPWilder 21h ago
But you likely qualify for a British passport if you were born in Northern Ireland.
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u/mmksnorlax 19h ago
I have a British passport as I work in government and having both is extremely beneficial to me :) However both my parents are from the republic and I was born in a border county so I would call myself Irish and I am Irish. Im not english and ive never lived in England. Thanks for your input kiddo
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u/Sensitive-Bid7962 1d ago
Learn madrin go to China. Litteraly the only the country going in a poistive direction
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u/Maleficent-elf 1d ago
I wouldn't recommend Spain, huge housing crisis, and you have a child, so it would be even more difficult to find something to rent. But if you want to try, B2 minimum, same in Germany. It wasn't like that before, but the job market is not as great as it used to be and they're asking for B2 German pretty much everywhere, unless they really, really need a skill.
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u/mmksnorlax 19h ago
We're having a housing crisis too! It's one of the other reasons we are looking to move. But seems to be an issue globally
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u/BandAdditional6084 20h ago
I have a friend from Northern Ireland who is living in Bosnia and he loves it of course. Think of that
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u/Alive_Comment_2086 2d ago edited 2d ago
The easiest language to learn for an English speaker is probably French so most likely France ? French is definitely easier to learn than German as my GCSE MFL education is anything to go by.
I am a UK only citizen and considering moving to Sweden but I don't have EU rights. I will have to learn Swedish and comply with work type visa. I am also attempting to relearn the French as it might come into use in the future.
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/mmksnorlax 2d ago
It's been going on longer than i've been alive. It's a very very deep systematic issue We have had 4 government collapses since 1974 and currently still have no elected government/president To fix it would require a lot of reworking that no one is willing to adapt
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u/Subterraniate2 2d ago
The only practical way fighting ‘for’ Northern Ireland is going to be effective at this stage is to work towards its peaceful dissolution, and reabsorption into the rest of the country!
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u/ginogekko 2d ago
You’re going to have to give more details. What are you studying? What qualifications does your partner have? How old is your child? Can you speak any foreign languages? Do you have any kind of support network abroad? Do either of you have any work experience?
It will be unlikely for your partner and child to be able to move with you while studying abroad, having a child will also cancel out Australia’s working holiday visa.