Coming home? Are you thinking about it?

jank

iusedtoknow wrote: »

well if you're Aussie citizens...the E3 will get you in nice and easy so half the battle will be won - it's making it that is the rest. The US is expensive in the places that have good jobs (IT) - and getting the foot in the door is starting to get more difficult - not impossible, but the Tech bubble is starting to burst meaning there's a lot of people starting to be on the job market. I'm lucky - i work in a legacy non-tech company that has an active tech wing...but now is not the time to look at start ups in SF or Silicon Valley.

Interesting. Yes, I am an Aussie now so E3 is the way to go. It will be another year or so before I will be there, so will keep tabs on the market over there. I would not be heading to SF due to the huge cost of living there. Have had enough of that in Sydney. Southern California or places like Denver would be ideal.

Wompa1

jank wrote: »

Interesting. Yes, I am an Aussie now so E3 is the way to go. It will be another year or so before I will be there, so will keep tabs on the market over there. I would not be heading to SF due to the huge cost of living there. Have had enough of that in Sydney. Southern California or places like Denver would be ideal.

Denver is pretty cool but you'd want to be outdoorsy. The city itself is very, very small. You'll run out of things to do pretty quick. Colorado is a beautiful state, though!

I, personally am not a huge fan of Southern California. I find San Diego to be pretty boring. I've been there about 5 times now, I'll likely have to go again...ditto Los Angeles...I find myself in Southern California often. Depending on what you do, you can make just as much money in Denver as you can in California...I'm in Phoenix, making as much or more than my Silicon Valley counterparts but I specialize in something that's hard to come by.

If you're that lucky, don't go to California. It's an expensive state compared to most others BUT I will say, their employees rights are the best in the country..so there's a trade off with that. Arizona is a right to work state...which is awful. There's no upside of employee, only for employers.

At the same time, I've worked for a company based in Seattle. Washington is not a fully right to work state and the terms of my employment basically stated the position was right to work...

The US can be harsh. I think it depends on your personality. It's hard for me to look past all of the injustices around here and the brainwashed mentality of many.

Susandublin

It's all relative in a way. You could be on higher salar in London but have higher costs or slightly lower in Ireland with lower salary. I tried the whole Australia thing and hated it - I am a home bird but don't like the idea of being an visitor - not when my country is great.
Plenty more jobs around Ireland too - and it was reported yesterday that 75 % of employees are thinking of pay rises in the next 12 months so things will continue to get better.
I was delighted to come home a few weeks ago after a few months in Australia - really didn't like it there - was like a holiday that didn't have an end date which sounds good but really wasn't.

Wompa1

Arizona is pretty crazy. In the last couple of weeks there's been three Elementary schools evacuated for bomb threats made against them.

A shooting at a University in Flagstaff.

A shutdown at a University in Tuscon due to a gunman seen by the campus.

A wild west show performer shot a co-star with real bullets instead of blanks.

A man killed his family and himself by driving into a man made lake.

There was another freeway road rage shooting.

My fiance may be coming to her sense a little bit. She has been threatened twice in her job by people with guns. No joke! One woman who claimed "Next time, I'll bring my gun" and a man, who was holding a gun while f*cked up on drugs and dealing with mental health issues.

To cope, I've been trying to swap out the bad thoughts with good ones. E.g. what's great about America. The list gets smaller and smaller. I use to love the freeway system and turn right on red. But now it annoys me. Having commuted 40+ miles a day and seen all of the crashes, as well as deal with the stupidity of staying in the box at a junction and pedestrians get a green to cross when it's also green for cars to turn where they are walking...the efficiency of the roads is coming out a cost. Human suffering. Also, in every single state I've driven in, people don't use their indicators! If it was just dual carriageways, it wouldn't be so bad but on a freeway it's really dangerous.

Americans work ethic is very impressive. The level of customer service is second to none. But then the customers here are the f*ckin worst.

The food while really tasty is regulated by a company that allows companies to label stuff as Organic that follows a very misleading definition and an organization that allows something called Pink Slime to be used by fast food places.

I think Americans in small groups and one on one are probably the nicest, most friendly people I have ever met. But get them out in a larger collective situation and all bets are off. Walking around the city or a store...they are rude. Driving on a freeway, they are rude. Going to a sporting event or concert, rude etc. etc. Also, they are such d1cks when it comes to service....

I use to love the radio here because there were so many stations and they seemed to cater for all tastes. After my first year, it became apparent that they use small set play lists and just loop them for a couple of months. Not only that but they bring songs back into rotation. It's like they paid for royalties in advance for a cheaper rate to play x thousand times and so they won't play anything else...It gets to the point that at 4:20pm, I can switch onto a certain station and know that they are going to play System of a Down...

The illusion of choice, the illusion of variety. There's very few unique restaurants or bars in the cities here. You'll find a lot around New York, San Francisco and Chicago but even in parts of those cities in can be the same. Franchise places on every block. A bad example since they are going down in numbers now but a McDonald within every 2 miles. There's a lot...but not a lot to choose from in reality.

Luckily, my lovely fiance is here, a son on the way and a lovely dog. I have made some friends but they are much older and are rarely up for hanging out but that's cool. Meeting up once in a blue moon suits me fine. Life in my immediate circle is good..just not enjoying the environment and what's happening outside of the little bubble that is my home.

Musicman2000

Susandublin wrote: »

It's all relative in a way. You could be on higher salar in London but have higher costs or slightly lower in Ireland with lower salary. I tried the whole Australia thing and hated it - I am a home bird but don't like the idea of being an visitor - not when my country is great.
Plenty more jobs around Ireland too - and it was reported yesterday that 75 % of employees are thinking of pay rises in the next 12 months so things will continue to get better.
I was delighted to come home a few weeks ago after a few months in Australia - really didn't like it there - was like a holiday that didn't have an end date which sounds good but really wasn't.

I was the same as you Susan done the whole Australia thing and wasn't a fan of the place . Im currently working in Cardiff at the moment and loving it. But always open to the chance of getting home.

I work in IT and keep an eye on the Irish jobs most days. It depends where you live and what area you work in. But from my point of view its still quiet poor the majority of IT based companies are in Dublin with a handful around Cork and Galway , the rest of the country is forgotten about. The price of rent in Dublin is crazy at the moment its a major turn off for me .

catbear

My wife lost her job in Ireland back in 2010 so she took an offer in Australia and we gave it go but came back earlier this year. It wasn't that we missed Ireland but there just wasn't enough to keep us in Australia. The pay was great, the work was the easiest I've ever done but the much lauded lifestyle didn't really do anything for us, we were really bored.

The thing is though when she lost her job we were still very comfortable in Ireland on my salary, we actually were having a great time availing of cheap recession travel deal etc but the constant doom and gloom actually drove us off.

Now we see a full reversal to unbridled optimism (at least in Dublin which in national broadcasting terms means the entire Island) and although we both managed to get work we're both disinclined to commit to careers here again.

We're both currently considering career changes involving a move to the UK where it can be a lot cheaper and quicker to do than Ireland. Either next year or the year after we're gone again.

Edited to: I'm really glad that I was here for the marriage referendum and even if we're gone when the abortion referendum comas around I'd fly back to vote. It was so amazing to see Ireland change overnight, the old certainties challenged and overthrown.

Musicman2000

catbear wrote: »

My wife lost her job in Ireland back in 2010 so she took an offer in Australia and we gave it go but came back earlier this year. It wasn't that we missed Ireland but there just wasn't enough to keep us in Australia. The pay was great, the work was the easiest I've ever done but the much lauded lifestyle didn't really do anything for us, we were really bored.

The thing is though when she lost her job we were still very comfortable in Ireland on my salary, we actually were having a great time availing of cheap recession travel deal etc but the constant doom and gloom actually drove us off.

Now we see a full reversal to unbridled optimism (at least in Dublin which in national broadcasting terms means the entire Island) and although we both managed to get work we're both disinclined to commit to careers here again.

We're both currently considering career changes involving a move to the UK where it can be a lot cheaper and quicker to do than Ireland. Either next year or the year after we're gone again.

Edited to: I'm really glad that I was here for the marriage referendum and even if we're gone when the abortion referendum comas around I'd fly back to vote. It was so amazing to see Ireland change overnight, the old certainties challenged and overthrown.

Thats the problem Dublin is in a bubble of its own. Its not as bad as it was back in 2010 but its not where near whats being made out by Irish media and the Government .

catbear

Musicman2000 wrote: »

Thats the problem Dublin is in a bubble of its own. Its not as bad as it was back in 2010 but its not where near whats being made out by Irish media and the Government .

Annoying as it is it's preferable to the doom and gloom that drove us away in the first place.
If it was still doom and gloom we would have stayed in OZ or maybe moved to NZ but on a visit home in early 2014 we noticed that the mood had changed, or at least everyone had tired of being depressed.
If they Dublin property wasn't been inflated so hard we'd actually consider moving there but realistically having done the sums, parts of the UK are a lot lot cheaper for the career changes we have in mind.

CelticRambler

Wompa1 wrote: »

I use to love the freeway system and turn right on red. But now it annoys me. Having commuted 40+ miles a day and seen all of the crashes, as well as deal with the stupidity of staying in the box at a junction and pedestrians get a green to cross when it's also green for cars to turn where they are walking...the efficiency of the roads is coming out a cost. Human suffering. Also, in every single state I've driven in, people don't use their indicators! If it was just dual carriageways, it wouldn't be so bad but on a freeway it's really dangerous.

That's the French road network you've just described! :pac:

A lot of what you've written about falls under the heading of "getting to know the place - really know it". In France, there's a hard-core of expat Brits who "live the dream" without ever knowing what really goes on because they never bother to learn the language; as soon as you do, you find out that big chunks of society are just a rotten in one place as in another.

I've found its the same in any intense or relatively closed working environment - you're shielded from the reality of life outside your own community, and you get a "packaged version" until such time as something forces you to pass beyond the bubble. Marriage and parenthood are probably the worst culprits!

I'm back in Dublin this week, living a pseudo-normal life. First decision was to do the "school run" on foot because I couldn't bear the thought of sitting in all that traffic ... Then I had a :eek: :eek: moment when I went to buy a baguette and saw the price of it!

NoCrackHaving

CelticRambler wrote: »

That's the French road network you've just described! :pac:

A lot of what you've written about falls under the heading of "getting to know the place - really know it". In France, there's a hard-core of expat Brits who "live the dream" without ever knowing what really goes on because they never bother to learn the language; as soon as you do, you find out that big chunks of society are just a rotten in one place as in another.

What I find really strange about British people in particular who move to France is that they nearly always move from a big city like London or Birmingham to some tiny French rural village and are suprised by the culture shock when moving to rural Dorset or Cumbria would be just as big an adjustment leaving aside the language barrier.

CelticRambler

I think that's why we Irish make such good emigrants. Maybe there are a few 100% pure-blood inner-city Dubs who've never strayed beyond the two canals and would go mental if they had to spend more than 24 hours in West Cork or Donegal, but overall, we're a well-balanced mix of "urban" and "rural" and can fit into any new landscape.

ceemgee

Re settling down in Ireland, this is just what we have done (2 years ago now). For us, we are now close to family and the support that that can bring. The lifestyle is easy, if you have means, and we have the personal freedoms that living in some countries does not allow. There are frustrations, though, and sometimes I do feel that I am in a banana republic. Mostly, things don't work in the way I expect them to. People can be too laid back (even officials), which means that getting things done can be utterly frustrating. The country seems to enjoy bureaucracy on one hand, (dishing it out) but quite flouts the laws in other ways. Driving is annoying and frightening, as many people speed (in my county), and nobody has much time for others along the road. This may sound like a terrible generalisation, so I apologise, but it is my experience. I am very concerned about the health service, and worry about getting sick, partly due to the rural nature of where we live, and also because I only ever hear horror stories about waiting lists and the like. You definitely need to have a private health scheme if you plan to settle here. I find that people complain a lot about public services here, with reason, and we do seem to have to pay for a lot without getting an awful lot back. Nothing much seems to be means tested, so if you know where to go and who to speak to, you can bypass such things. Getting a job here (I think) is nigh-on impossible, as it all seems to work by who you know. In my area, it appears that most work is done on the black economy, where taxes and VAT is not paid, so we cannot really complain about public services and the lack of them. In a rural area, though, choices are limited which I find annoying, having been used to city living for many years. Being known everywhere you go can have its down side as well! Privacy is not something we have a lot of!
Overall, though, I am happy that we made the move as the scenery is beautiful and the people are friendly, I think. We have space and can engage in healthy options like outdoor pursuits.

Wompa1

CelticRambler wrote: »

I'm back in Dublin this week, living a pseudo-normal life. First decision was to do the "school run" on foot because I couldn't bear the thought of sitting in all that traffic ... Then I had a :eek: :eek: moment when I went to buy a baguette and saw the price of it!

Yeah, that's been Dublin for many, many years now. As much as I have grown to love it, I could or would never live there

Gettingtogrips

I'm in my early 60s - moved away at 19 first to London and then Saudi Arabia. I've never felt lonelier than I do now that I am at "home". I really don't like it - the weather is foul, the bureaucracy, the way nothing works as it should or as I've been used to, the cost of everything, the rip off merchants who see a single older woman and think "Yay, I can get away with giving her crap service". So, you ask why am I here? I am here because I have an aged mother who needs care which we share between us (us being her kids or let's qualify that - her daughters and the son and heir). I have managed to find a job in Dublin but have to commute from the Midlands - stupid decision years ago to buy a house there. I've made no friends since I returned, my neighbours keep to themselves - not a bad thing necessarily but a little bit of friendliness wouldn't go amiss. I wouldn't advocate a return if those of you out there have a good lifestyle and don't need to leave your country - I had to leave as expats have to leave Saudi after the age of 60. Not that I wanted to stay there, no way, but life was so easy. I knew then and I know now for sure, I was living in a bubble of comfort. I would prefer to live in London but have to do the honourable thing by my mother and I don't resent that but I do not like being back in Ireland. I can only get Irish radio stations on my car radio and there's rarely anything interesting on - all music stations - "Newstalk" is all about sport and the most important in the country right now is the fact that a boxing coach has left for the States leaving behind a good team of boxers!! That's the level of concern that Newstalk - it's called News "talk" but the talk is all about sport and injuries and how the Irish teams are in the doldrems because of this. Drives me nuts. It's so parochial. Dublin is full of beggars and filth - bags of rubbish opened by rats or cats, I don't know which, but rubbish strewn all over the streets probably because people don't tie the bags up properly and don't use bins or are bins a thing of the past there? Enough said I think.

Wompa1

Gettingtogrips wrote: »

I'm in my early 60s - moved away at 19 first to London and then Saudi Arabia. I've never felt lonelier than I do now that I am at "home". I really don't like it - the weather is foul, the bureaucracy, the way nothing works as it should or as I've been used to, the cost of everything, the rip off merchants who see a single older woman and think "Yay, I can get away with giving her crap service". So, you ask why am I here? I am here because I have an aged mother who needs care which we share between us (us being her kids or let's qualify that - her daughters and the son and heir). I have managed to find a job in Dublin but have to commute from the Midlands - stupid decision years ago to buy a house there. I've made no friends since I returned, my neighbours keep to themselves - not a bad thing necessarily but a little bit of friendliness wouldn't go amiss. I wouldn't advocate a return if those of you out there have a good lifestyle and don't need to leave your country - I had to leave as expats have to leave Saudi after the age of 60. Not that I wanted to stay there, no way, but life was so easy. I knew then and I know now for sure, I was living in a bubble of comfort. I would prefer to live in London but have to do the honourable thing by my mother and I don't resent that but I do not like being back in Ireland. I can only get Irish radio stations on my car radio and there's rarely anything interesting on - all music stations - "Newstalk" is all about sport and the most important in the country right now is the fact that a boxing coach has left for the States leaving behind a good team of boxers!! That's the level of concern that Newstalk - it's called News "talk" but the talk is all about sport and injuries and how the Irish teams are in the doldrems because of this. Drives me nuts. It's so parochial. Dublin is full of beggars and filth - bags of rubbish opened by rats or cats, I don't know which, but rubbish strewn all over the streets probably because people don't tie the bags up properly and don't use bins or are bins a thing of the past there? Enough said I think.

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time of it. I've never seen more rats in a city than I have in London and New York, to be honest. I had a love for London for a few years but then it ended. I was approached a few times by drug dealers, saw some pretty dark things in the middle of the day there..but I also have friends over there that love it and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. So I could see how you would want that for yourself.

Have you ever heard of TuneIn Radio? It's an app you can get for your phone or you get to the site from your PC too: http://tunein.com .That might be worth a look. You can get almost any terrestrial radio station in the world on that.

I hate Irish radio...though, I have to say, I have grown to hate American radio too. I've listened to a lot of it in Florida and Arizona. They seem to pay to pay royalties for songs in bulk. So, they'll say, oh that Taylor Swift song. Let's buy 10k plays and we'll get a deal on it rather than buying 100 plays of many song. It's awful. It's at the point that I go to a radio station at 4:20pm every day just to see if the same song is playing...which it has been for months at the exact same time...

I had Sirius XM Satellite Radio for a year. Which you can technically get in Ireland. There's more song variety and loads of channels but it wasn't worth the $12 a month.

Gettingtogrips

Thanks Wompa1. I am planning to get my car radio upgraded so that I can access English radio channels eg. BBC World Service, etc. It'll probably cost me a small fortune to do that. When you sit in your car for 1 - 1.5 hours each way each day, its nice to have something interesting to listen to other than stories about the rugby players or the boxers or the travellers who died (RIP and I don't mean to demean their plight but why has nobody addressed the issue of the mess they usually leave behind and their horses and the way they race them on the roads which to my mind is utter cruelty) who aren't being allowed to be rehoused - the same few stories over and over again and again. I quite like RTE's Radio 1 - they are the best of a bad bunch but not enough talk about a variety of topics or world affairs, for my liking. Having lived abroad, you find that you have more of an interest (or I do) in world affairs than perhaps people who have never moved away do. By the way, I haven't seen a rat in Dublin but I do see household rubbish strewn all over the streets of Dublin 7 (where I work). Traffic is horrible but I suppose that's cities. The politicians are a load of slime balls but people will say they are the same the world over. That Mayo man in charge is a joke - RTE 1 does great skits on him and his allies on Fridays.

Wompa1

Gettingtogrips wrote: »

Thanks Wompa1. I am planning to get my car radio upgraded so that I can access English radio channels eg. BBC World Service, etc. It'll probably cost me a small fortune to do that. When you sit in your car for 1 - 1.5 hours each way each day, its nice to have something interesting to listen to other than stories about the rugby players or the boxers or the travellers who died (RIP and I don't mean to demean their plight but why has nobody addressed the issue of the mess they usually leave behind and their horses and the way they race them on the roads which to my mind is utter cruelty) who aren't being allowed to be rehoused - the same few stories over and over again and again. I quite like RTE's Radio 1 - they are the best of a bad bunch but not enough talk about a variety of topics or world affairs, for my liking. Having lived abroad, you find that you have more of an interest (or I do) in world affairs than perhaps people who have never moved away do. By the way, I haven't seen a rat in Dublin but I do see household rubbish strewn all over the streets of Dublin 7 (where I work). Traffic is horrible but I suppose that's cities. The politicians are a load of slime balls but people will say they are the same the world over. That Mayo man in charge is a joke - RTE 1 does great skits on him and his allies on Fridays.

I wonder if it's just people and birds rather than rats. Not that I haven't seen rats in Ireland. I have and I actually got bit by one of the feckers before. And not to get in a slagging session for the Irish...something I have noticed is that in Irish cities like Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick...there's no pride in the community. Oh, they'll wear their GAA jerseys, University hoodies and put on a show but there's no care for the place. They'll spit chewing gum on the path, throw their cigarette buds on the ground, spray graffiti all over the place, break windows etc.

It's shameful. Since Galway's council has damn all money left, the place has never looked worse. When you drive in from the motorway you're greeted by an old hotel with broken out windows, you pass walls covered in graffiti. You can walk 5 steps in parts of the city without seeing dog sh1t. It's really shameful.

When I brought my fiance over for the first time (I know I'm repeating myself but...) we went into Supermacs on the first day. She watched in shock as people got up and left without busing their own trays. Then we walked out to Salthill and she noticed all of the dog crap and commented: "Well, I guess if the people won't pick up after themselves, they are not going to pick up after their dogs"

It was pretty heartbreaking for me. I didn't have it in my mind to move back at that time at all but I didn't want her to hate it and she did.

We've since been back a few other times and she's enjoyed it but that has made her weary of ever moving over.

But ya know, as I'm sure you do know, the grass is always greener. I'm sure Saudi Arabia was different and exciting for a while. Just like Arizona was for me. I'm not sure I'll ever be completely happy with a place. I'm just trying to find a place that checks a few of the essential boxes.

Your post is food for thought, though. The small town thing can be a real pain

my teapot is orange

I'd like to be back in 5 years max. Hopefully not that long, though I like it where I am. There is a certain type of work experience I want to get, and there are more jobs in it here, though it does exist in Ireland. But having graduated in the middle of a recession where Irish employers took the p$ss, which drove home to me the disadvantages of living in a small country with less jobs, I'm not going back until I'm in a more commanding position and they need me as much as I need them.

ceemgee

Dublin is full of beggars and filth - bags of rubbish opened by rats or cats, I don't know which, but rubbish strewn all over the streets probably because people don't tie the bags up properly and don't use bins or are bins a thing of the past there? Enough said I think.[/QUOTE]

WE PAY PROPERTY TAX, YET STILL HAVE TO PAY PRIVATELY FOR BINS.
So, the reason that places are full of rubbish is because people find it easier to dump than to pay. Simple.

catbear

I got rid of the TV back in 07, thought it was rubbish value but recently when we moved back from abroad to a parental house left to us we had a TV without that new box that allows the Irish channels. So we were happily watching the BBC's and c4 and when the letter for a TV licence arrived my first thought was it was worth it. Then I remembered where I was.

CelticRambler

I got rid of the TV in 1991, but staying in my sister's house this evening I've got some 900-ish channels to choose from (including BBC and C4;) ). Saturday night, and not one of them has anything worth watching. Thank goodness for Boards.ie!

Suaimhneach

Havent had normal channels for years, we have Netflix and Hulu and apple TV. Will keep that when we go home, though I love a bitta C4 and BBC and occasional Late Late.

As for Radio, I love XM satellite radio. Basically I cant stand anything with ads - prefer spotify or podcasts.

It's interesting to see how quickly we can turn to the bad side of things, I think we could all equally point those out about where we are now as easily as home.

Hope everyone's well. I'm giving some consideration to moving to the East coast for a few years, instead of home, for himself who doesnt want to go back at all. But that feels a bit like delaying the inevitable (ie I will go home eventually), but maybe worth it?

rsh118

We're coming home not for any home sick reasons but because my Kiwi fiancee wants to sample a bit of life in Dublin for a year or so. Should set our minds at ease about where we want to settle down in the long term.

It's an impossible choice over all though, damned if you come back, damned if you don't!

Wompa1

Suaimhneach wrote: »

Havent had normal channels for years, we have Netflix and Hulu and apple TV. Will keep that when we go home, though I love a bitta C4 and BBC and occasional Late Late.

As for Radio, I love XM satellite radio. Basically I cant stand anything with ads - prefer spotify or podcasts.

It's interesting to see how quickly we can turn to the bad side of things, I think we could all equally point those out about where we are now as easily as home.

Hope everyone's well. I'm giving some consideration to moving to the East coast for a few years, instead of home, for himself who doesnt want to go back at all. But that feels a bit like delaying the inevitable (ie I will go home eventually), but maybe worth it?

What's your or his reasons for wanting to move to the East coast?

The Corinthian

CelticRambler wrote: »

I got rid of the TV in 1991, but staying in my sister's house this evening I've got some 900-ish channels to choose from (including BBC and C4;) ). Saturday night, and not one of them has anything worth watching. Thank goodness for Boards.ie!

Here is Switzerland they're presently collecting signatures for a referendum to do away with the TV license. That this can happen here, and would never in Ireland, is one big plus of living here.

Another is the flag is a big plus.

Suaimhneach

Wompa1 wrote: »

What's your or his reasons for wanting to move to the East coast?

It was my suggestion - logic being it's half the cost and half the time to get back to Dublin, but it's still America. It seems like the perfect compromise (barring the snow).

Wompa1

Suaimhneach wrote: »

It was my suggestion - logic being it's half the cost and half the time to get back to Dublin, but it's still America. It seems like the perfect compromise (barring the snow).

What does he like about America?

I've spent a lot of time on the East coast. There's some nice things about compared to the West but it's still very different to home, as I'm sure you know.

Suaimhneach

He just loves all of it. We live in a nice part of California, not so much of the bad stuff you listed out (though obviously some). What's worse is I nearly agree; everything is better. Parks, and scale, and health care (if you have good insurance), car choices, things to do, speed and quality of service, weather, career pace and opportunities.

East coast would retain many of those things but give us more flexibility. At least in theory.

Wompa1

Suaimhneach wrote: »

He just loves all of it. We live in a nice part of California, not so much of the bad stuff you listed out (though obviously some). What's worse is I nearly agree; everything is better. Parks, and scale, and health care (if you have good insurance), car choices, things to do, speed and quality of service, weather, career pace and opportunities.

East coast would retain many of those things but give us more flexibility. At least in theory.

I had a long rambling reply about how the speed and quality of service and career pace and opportunities would be the only ones that resonate with me. That the others are all kind of surface level and when you look into it doesn't hold true. But for my own sanity and probably yours too. It's good to see positives.

Suaimhneach

Yeah, it becomes such a more meaningful question than 'where should we live' and something really deep like 'what kind of life do I want to lead?' Because objectively the US is better in so many more ways that lead to a higher quality of life, but only if you can be objective.

Silly example, I broke a tooth on Wednesday. Nothing painful, but knew it was urgent. I went to the dentist on Friday morning and the dentist did some poking around and mumbled about a recommendation. Then immediately left the room to get an admin person to come in to talk through costs with me before continuing. Like, I GET It. That's how it works in america, and I have insurance and can cover the rest. But it was so plastic and gross. Like I have a broken tooth, I'm a bit scared about the work I need to get done, and the dentist wasnt even reassuring, mostly focused on making sure I could pay.

I am frustrated constantly going in circles of rationality and the following my heart. It feels like a decision I've made a thousand times and have yet to make happen. Bleh.