Would you consider leaving?

Chuchoter

After reading a thread over in the Irish Economy thread about emigrating, I was thinking that I'd prefer not to leave, because I like Dublin and all my family is here. The thing is, although in the last few months there has been a lot of progress LGBT rights wise in Ireland, we're a very long way off any recognition for children (I don't think we'll have it until 2020, at the absolute earliest, purely because we're so slow in Ireland). When/If you start a family, would you consider moving to somewhere like the UK? Personally I would find it very difficult not to have my name on the birth cert and not be able to consent to hospital treatment etc etc.

L1011

UK for all its apperances isn't much better. There are more legal rights, but outside of London its not as generally accepting even as "beyond the Pale" is here.

Also the culture of equal supply of goods and services has not yet sunk in there - see the B&B case in the news this year; whereas here is ingrained. We had it about a decade before they did in law.

I'm not intending to have children in the next 3 or 4 years anyway, and I'd expect better protections by then. There is a possibility some will come in the children's rights bill / referendum which is being proposed anyway.

Goodshape

It's not the only factor that has me thinking of leaving but it's certainly one of them. Whether it's on gay issues or anything else, I'm increasingly feeling that I'd like to live somewhere that's more forward thinking.

Although -- while I do very much like and care for this country -- I've always been quite comfortable moving around. I've never really had one place that I'd unquestionably call "home".

So, not having that ingrained attachment, I do find myself wondering why I'm hanging around this dull, rainy, corrupt, conservative little place.

baby and crumble

TBH the thing making it attractive for me to leave Ireland now isn't gay rights... not that I can leave anyway til I get my PhD but still...

I think by the time I'll be thinking realistically about kids (7-8 years) I'll probably have lived in a a few places and it depends on whether or not both of us want to rear our kids here. You get a good lawyer and write up enough bits and pieces and along with the civil partnerships bill and hopefully some sort of children's legislation within the next couple of years and Ireland will be a perfectly acceptable and legally safe place to bring up kids as gay parents.

TBH my concern would more be the availability and quality of schooling and healthcare for my children.

plein de force

well i'll be studying for two years in france, if i like it i think i'll stay for work, around then the economy will hopefully have picked up worldwide

MultiUmm

Well, it's part of my plans to leave Ireland for a few years (in the future) but I wouldn't move to a country solely based on how it treats its LGBT citizens. Sure, it would probably be a factor I'd take into account and consider but it wouldn't dictate where I go/ if I stay there, wherever 'there' happens to be.

OP, you're right in saying we're a long way off certain rights yet, sure we have a two-tier marriage system as it is, not even considering recognition of children. :rolleyes: But say theoretically speaking all lgbt's (or at least a lot) decide to up and leave for greener pastures, how will there be any progress in getting the same rights that heterosexuals are entitled to? If we were to all say "Let's go somewhere better" there'd be no hope for change at all, no hope for gaining the same rights that other people enjoy. If we keep campaigning for full rights hopefully someday in the future we'll be granted them. Sounds idealistic I suppose but still.

Blah, that sounded a lot better in my head, still hope I managed to get my point across or at least some of it.