zefffff

Yeah. Her entry stamp says Nov 5th, so it'll be the beginning of Feb. We have to be here in France until at least Jan 22nd, after which going to Malta could be risky, leaving me without much time to find work. I think she's legit while there is an application (for maltese residence card) being processed, so the sooner we get that in there, the better.

Someone on another forum mentioned a working holiday program for Canadians under 30 yo in The Netherlands. We are looking into that as well, since my wife may qualify (though I have my doubts bc she has a dependent).

Moses2013

Just read this and I wouldn't believe everything you hear about Ireland. Housing crisis is no different to other countries and it's mainly cities like Dublin, but if you're willing to live outside a city centre, you'll have no problems. We also have artists exemption, so Ireland is great for musicians Artists' Exemption Information and GuidelinesThings take a bit longer here, but if you do your research and don't give up, it can offer you a lot.

zefffff

Thanks for your response. We went to Ireland directly from Canada at the end of October. Cork was our city of choice, so we started searching for flats as soon as we got there. We searched online, talked to friends, etc etc. We were shocked and embarrassed about our lack of foresight. We thought we could land in Ireland and get a flat without a prob. Not the case. Ads online were getting an average of 1000k hits an hour. There were 30-person queues to view little dingy apartments. After about a week, we finally found a place 20-25 minutes outside the city centre. A somewhat upscale/pricey 2 bedroom flat owned by a landlord who didn't seem to care about wether we were employed or had references. The catch was that there was only 1 or 2 buses a day to and from Cork. So we had to get a car. Cars are cheap in Ireland and we had an easy time finding one. At the very moment I was going to withdraw the money for it, I realized that I should look into insurance. Absolutely everyone I talked to could not insure me. I talked to brokers, local dealers, international dealers, I (and others who were on the case for us) spent the entire day looking. Futile. Long story short- I hadn't lived in Ireland long enough, and even if I had, a Nova Scotia driver's licence is not interchangeable (ontario and manitoba licences are). I didn't have an international licence, nor a credit card that offered insurance. I was not eligible for a provisional licence. I would have to apply for a new licence from scratch, and pay what a new driver would pay for insurance, despite my 20 years accident-free experience (including 2 years as a professional limo driver). Getting an irish licence wouldn't have been an easy task in itself under our circumstances.

Back to square one. We were a little discouraged, and we were spending a lot of money on hotels, so we reluctantly left Ireland. And for the record, we really miss Irish people. They're the best in the world.

Moses2013

Sorry to hear that you had a hard time in Cork. It's seems to be a problem in many cities these days and in Galway centre it can be the same. 20-30 mins outside Galway, there are more affordable houses with more than one or two buses and obviously other areas in Ireland would be better if you know where to look. A lot of farmers rent out here, so it might not be the dream property, but it's something to start. I don't know what your budget was and were you looking for employment? Insurance can be a bit of a nightmare here, especially if you don't have no claims bonus from the UK, or are a young driver. A lot of the time, they try to rip you off over the phone, so it's best to go to offices in person. One way would also be to do the driving test here and prove that you're a good driver (Ironically the Irish can be terrible drivers). If you can find a way to start off, there are many opportunities.

zefffff

You're right. Prices are a lot better outside of the cities. Our budget may have been a bit low. We were looking for something around 800euro.

I wasn't actively seeking employment, no, so that wasn't helping. I was prepared to do gigs (which I started getting asked for after we left), but I wasn't yet in the "I'll take any job I can get" mindframe the way I am now! I'd work anywhere now.

Pulaski

Do you mean "e.g.", or "i.e."? ..... If you do mean "e.g.", what rights other than working could one exercise?

/just curious

Moses2013

It's still not too late and sometimes you have to learn the hard way. With €800 you could have certainly found something on the West coast. Even if it was just a minimum wage job to start off and at least you would have had extra income from gigs. It just takes a while to settle and it often makes sense to rent holiday homes during the winter months, which are a lot cheaper off season.

zefffff

You're quite right, and thanks for taking the time to give me some of your thoughts.

Although my wife seems quite excited for Malta, we haven't yet given up on Ireland. I am a bit bummed, however, by the driving thing. It wouldn't make sense to live in rural Ireland with a 7 month-old and no wheels.

It's a pity that an international driver's permit isn't something that one can obtain outside of the country that issued the original licence. If we end up back there I'll just have to bite the bullet and start from scratch.

BritInParis

I mean e.g. as exercising Treaty rights could also include job-seeking, self-employment (as opposed to being an employee), study or self-sufficiency. The latter two usually require you to have private health cover however.