Sick of this country

I know of one school in Dublin where 15 have applied for a career break to leave and emigrate. Now I don't know them all intimately or personally but you can have a go at that and give yourself the illusion that you're winning.

Everyone knows the countries they're going to and you know also.

Renting in Germany I know my rent for the next 5 years. It will increase but by that I mean maybe 10 euro a month each year. I know Ireland has caps too but I read horror stories on boards.ie also.I would have to read my contract again but it is no more than that.

Utilities are paid in the "warm rent" and the management company will read your electricity meter, the radiator meters and yes there is an electronic counter on each radiator and they check your water usage once a year and give you a total. Bins, communal lights we will never see those bills but most of the bills is on your usage and some of the communal usage. Maybe you owe them, maybe they owe you. Reading the units on every radiator, must be the most German thing ever!

Such certainty. You could rent for a lifetime. And many do.

Downsides, you must return the flat in the condition you got it and even if you are the world's most perfect tenant this may mean painting it again.

Not such a downside but you rent unfurnished. You can rent furnished but the rent is higher and if you are staying a while it is cheaper to go to IKEA and buy what you need. Quite normal for the last tenant to sell you what they leave behind.

May take months to get your deposit back and they wait to read all the meters.

Certainty gives you a lot of piece of mind. Germany is not paradise, I save my rants for another thread. But renting wise is less than half what I paid in Dublin.

Is this some kind of externalised self-loathing? You live in one of the most successful countries on Earth by any measure. Also, it's ironic you seem to think the English would make a better fist of running the country for us seeing how much they've managed to **** up their own in the past few years.

Only a few posts ago you were complaining about high taxes here. The three countries you mentioned all have higher taxation than we do, in some cases, substantially so. I was actually in Norway last year, the prices they pay would make your eyes bleed. Fantastic country though.

So basically all you're saying is living in a rich country is expensive. Look, if you want people to take what you're saying seriously it would help your case if you didn't need to lie. We have nowhere near the worst funded schools in the OECD. We're just below average as of 2019.

You won't hear me argue with you about public transport but for some reason the Irish public don't view it as a voting issue and thus our politicians don't focus much on it. If you can tell me how to change that I'd be all ears.

The education system in Ireland is highly vaunted by a lot of Irish but when you check the details you can really scratch your head.

Very severe lack of places and difficult to get kids into schools in most cities and towns, overcrowded classes, many prefab structures, religious interference in most schools , lack of coed schools, lack of subsidised hot meals provided, lack of music, drama and woodwork classes, very rare to have swimming pools and a large campus.

They ain't so great as they are made out to be. I surmise because many Irish people never saw the facilities and classes and cafeteria available in many other countries, including in many countries that they falsely assume to be less developed, they must think Irish Schools are 'better'. At least private schools arent very expensive in Ireland.

They're so well paid they're leaving in droves. :)

it also has effective healthcare, efficient infrastructure like public transport, etc.

An uncle of mine is clearing €750/week plus fuel and he told me recently hed have very little left at the end of the week and hes not living a life of luxury however he is mortgage free

If your uncle is burning through 3 grand plus cash a month without accommodation or fuel expenses he needs to talk to a financial planner.

Or maybe he already has and he is putting a shít load of money into stocks and pensions pots which will allow him to retire early.

Either way you haven't told us the full story or he hasn't told you.

You're back, how was Australia.

What's meant is the level of teaching and the curriculum and I'd rate that highly.

Your other points are valid but are a separate issue.

I do wish all religious orders were out of schools and they did not follow catholic ethos. Don't waste education time preparing kids for bouncy castle days (communion and confirmations) and use that time for other education and PE. Let people do religion in their own time.

Single sex schools should be got rid of as well. Dated idea that has no benefit in modern society.

I wouldn't agree with your comments about swimming pools. I would say most schools around the world do not have swimming pools.

Parents don't want all schools to be ETB schools.

Many ETB schools are great, but some aren't.

I recall the example of Ballymote, where there was a proposal to merge the ETB school Corran College with the church school.

The parents didn't want it.

I taught a short session to second-level kids. The apathy from the "tech" lads filled the room, whereas the girls from the church school were so motivated.

As a parent, I know where I'd send my kids!!

In saying that, Galway city is unusal, where the ETB run one of the best schools.

The younger generation (under 30's) seem to have a sense of entitlement and are becoming lazy. Their expectations are very high when it comes to financial reward for a minimum amount of work. Our teachers, nurses etc. are some of the best paid in the world but the promise of a better quality of life, higher take home salary, better climate etc. is attracting them away to greener financial pastures.

There's also another issue for single girls (which is never talked about) who are based in the bigger cities especially Dublin - that is the shortage of single men available ! It seem that for every single man there's at least two or three girls and the situation is getting worse. The arrival of thousands of Ukrainian women has not helped the situation. It's easier for singletons to pack their bags and move abroad than those in long term relationships. Some, especially those in the Middle East will return but many others in places like Australia, Canada etc. will only return to visit. I know of a group of five girls (including a cousin of mine) teachers & nurses, who moved to Australia six years ago, supposedly for one year, and all are still there - two are now married, one is getting married next August - all five have permanent residency

In terms of how successful a country is based on it's educational system, Ireland's lack of a highly ranked university puts paid to the notion that the educational system top to bottom is good. At best, it's average to below average; the religious presence wastes time with no educational benefit, e.g., it's not like they're teaching critical thinking in religion class or in religious ritual initiation classes like confirmation training.

TCD finally is in the top 100 of world rankings, that says a lot. And it's not, because the students coming into it, aren't as well educated as the ones that attend the higher ranked schools.

Nothing will improve until the RCC's presence in schools is completely removed. That won't happen without changes to the Constitution. So, if it were me and I had a child getting ready to go to University, I'd for sure move heaven and earth to get them into a better, non-Irish one.

I lived in Australia years ago, it was nice enough, just not home so we came back.

Years later it's hard to believe quality of life wouldn't be higher in Australia. Years of questionable government 'plans' have come home to roost.

People don't like to say it but immigration, generally legal immigration has caused massive problems here. Schools are full, there aren't enough houses, hospitals can't cope with the population, it's very hard to get anyone to do repairs on your house. In short our population has gone up way too much without the resources we needed to provide for more people.

The Irish economy is still booming, but people are very, very discontent. You can kind of see it in the response to the Ukrainian refugees. These are the most deserving immigrants we will ever get, yet there are some people complaining about them. In a time of full employment you'd typically expect people to be reluctant to change the Government, but this crowd are going to get a hammering.