firestorm

Your best bet is to contact your local Irish Embassy as they will have all the information.

However its worth nothing that Ireland has now set up a Green Card system and if you are earning 50000 euro or more and planning to work in Ireland you can get a fastrack visa and be working in Ireland within 10 weeks of application.

Alternatively it will probably take a few months for standard application , however shouldn't be a problem as there is a huge amount of expats and foreign workers coming into the economy . Largest per capita foreign work force in Europe .

crazydaisy

Hi there - we're moving to West of Ireland next summer! We're British born but have lived in the US and Canada as well as Switzerland so can see life from both sides of the pond. Wherever you choose to live and why is a personal thing so go with what feels right. It seems selfish, but we all have to look after number one and it adds to life's great experiences so what the hell! We're planning on moving to Galway, Clare, or Limerick area as hubby has family living in Clare (his Dad and Uncle is Irish although we're not sure about any other living relatives, it's sometimes hard to dig out those hidden secrets!!). For us, the reason why we have chosen Ireland is to be closer to Europe for easier access to friends, family and fave. holiday hangouts like Greece and Portugal. The oppurtunities also seem to be there in Ireland now as when we looked at the possibility 6 years ago jobs weren't so readily available. We used to visit every two years but our last gap between visits was around 4 years last time and we were amazed by how much had changed! Some of the rustic charm has gone but I was so glad to walk into the Uncle's old cottage and still be able to smell peat from the stove - lovely!

CelestialAnnie

Hi, CrazyDaisy...& thank you so much for responding & in a nice manner..It is much appreciated...It seems that people on this site, get very upset or beligerent if you want to move somewhere in Europe, if you are a US citizen..I may be wrong & it could be only a few that are like that..If so, then I am very sorry...So, a nice response, as your's was, is so much appreciated!!So thank you again...I wish you Great Luck in where ever you go & whatever you do! If there's any way I can be helpful, I'm not sure how, but just ask...& I hope I can email you for ?'s I may have about Ireland?? Thanks Again & good luck....Annie

Bob

It's more that people say it like they see it, if you don't have a chance then they tell you, it's the same for anyone wanting to move to the US....just because you want to move, doesn't mean you will be able to...once you know, then you can try something else....you might not like the brutal truth, but with a lot of people, it's the only way to understand the situation.

crazydaisy

Thanks Annie - emigrating sure is hard work and with moving around different countries we have spent many painful months waiting and waiting for red tape, visa paperwork, fingerprint checks, police record checks, medical checks, you name it - we've been there! I'm not too sure on the visa side of things for Ireland but you've come to the right place to ask lots of questions and it's good to hear views from both sides - as long as you can find balance between the two extremes you're doing good! I can't stress enough the importance of research moving to a new country and a real good place to start are things like job and housing sites - a. to see how much salary you're likely to get in each area and b. to see how much of a house you can afford to rent or buy with that disposable income. I also do a budget and put the salary at a fairly low level to start with just in case. Also allow for a buffer in case finding a job takes longer than anticipated. For housing you could possibly try www.daft.ie (my fave. site!) and for jobs there seems to be loads of sites out there but I often like to check out www.irishjobs.ie because as well as jobs they also have articles on emigrating to Ireland too.

As long as you can picture yourself doing the mundane things like carrying shopping across a busy street in the pouring down rain, or waking up to a grey cloudy sky then you're doing good - and to balance things think of that lovely pint of creamy Guinness and a warm cozy pub with a hot bowl of Irish stew to warm the cockles on a winter's evening. What more could you ask!!

CelestialAnnie

That sounds splendid to me! Thank you so much CrazyDaisy !!!! You give me such hope & great advice..I always look forward to reading your responses..You seem to be a very positive person, not to mention helpful, & I soooooo appreciate that...you have no idea...If there's anything I can ever help you with, PLEASE do not hesitate to ask me & I'll do what I can....Again, a HUGE thank you for your input & your help....May good things always come your way....Blessings, Annie

din

Hey Annie,
sorry for taking so long with my reply - been on holidays and then off sick..;-)
I live in Galway - so if you have any more questions, fire away!
Going to the US for the very first time next summer - but only for a week's vacation, visiting friends in Missouri (I think that's where the live..;-)) - really looking forward to that!
So good luck again with your plan of moving to Ireland - it's worth it (at least for a little while, until you get sick of the weather, the greed, the crappy driving skills of the locals, and the high prices for everything - but I'll try not to be too negative ;-))
din

crazydaisy

Hi Din - we're planning on moving to Galway (hubby has sights on Clare or Limerick but they seem to be more expensive housing wise in my opinion!) I have been learning German while we were in Switzerland but have never really had chance to practise the language conversationally. So, if you promise not to laugh at my poor pronounciation or bad grammar I would like to buy you a pint on our arrival in the hopes that I can get myself up to speed conversationally. I have noticed that jobs for multi lingual folks are fairly wide spread over there with Ireland being a central hub for Europe.

So, you will promise not to laugh won't you??

BlueScottyGirl

I remember saying I wanted to move to America, and that I was so sure it was just a matter of "when" not "if" that everything I did evolved around the fact that I WOULD get there.

Someone (his name was Manc or something, still around to this day) told me I was "mad as a fish"...but he said it very nicely. *laughs*

Sadly though, it is true..without getting political, a nice middle class proffessional family from the UK have a very slim chance of getting to the US. Personally, it worked out for the best for me, after a couple of false starts we landed in Ireland and I wouldn't be anywhere else now.

din

Hey crazydaisy - I won't laugh, I promise! As long as you don't laugh at my accent (Australian-Irish with a bit of German...;-))

Do let me know when you get here - and we should definitely meet up for one (or 5...first lesson: you never just go for one pint in Ireland..;-)) And you're right, Ireland is great for multilingual jobs - although most of it is callcenter work! When are you planning to come over?

crazydaisy

Hi - we're planning on arriving June 2006. I'm just finishing a big project at work which goes live in April and the son finishes his school year in June so planning to make it around that time. The idea is to drop the son, dog and furniture off in England and then come over to job hunt before settling down with a house rental and setting up schools etc. once we know more where the jobs will take us. If you know of anyone who has digs in the area just for a month maybe, let me know - mind you, it's a long ways ahead to be planning on digs I guess! (I'd be happy with camping but it's hard to dress up for interviews when you've just crawled out of a tent!) Hubby's uncle often has connections with people renting houses in the summer too so we may get a deal through him if not. Agh, the logistics is always scary with moving. I guess we never learn eh?!!!

I reckon we could practise our pints right now - cheers!

BlueScottyGirl

Just remember schools in Ireland are closed for July and August and while junior schools are open until end of June, senior schools kick out anyone not in an exam year at the beginning of June, so they get a three month summer.

Not sure how much you'll be able to organise school wise until September unless you can organse to see them before summer break.

Good luck! you're going to love it here

crazydaisy

No that's fine. The idea is to pull him out at the end of the Canadian school year so we have a couple of months to job hunt and house hunt before needing to worry about finding schools for September. Plus he can hang around and annoy the relatives for a while - only kidding!!

JAJ

US citizens need more than just a passport.





Jeremy

vdtfan

Hi Annie
Hope you are able to realise your dream
On the other hand I hope to move away from Ireland, have a cottage in Roscommon (50 miles from Galway), my husband passed away so I cannot go on without him so must go back to UK
I know the local school here is 2nd to none, children are now at Trinity,
Dublin, Cork universities. How old are yours? The main thing about living in this location is the peaceful environment - like living on another planet so far removed from the ghastly events that are happening every day