Sick of this country

I could say the same from when I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, with most planning to move away, the only difference being we couldn't afford to go away to an event.

Norway have a 1.3 trillion investment fund, more than the Saudis.

They are probably the closet thing in Europe to a true welfare state.

It helps to have shít loads of energy.

This is also a very Irish trait IMO.

I'm working for a german company in germany and our department is all english speaking (It's the online section of a large german supermarket chain)

Talking to the expats here, there's a lot of them in english speaking roles in IT firms. I'd imagine once you get into actual industrial jobs they'd probably require german.

There is a fcuking form for everything. A ridiculous amount of paperwork and bureaucracy.

There's some thing that are great. You can get a thing called a schufa which is a credit check. It's also based on your rental history so your landlord can make sure you're a good tenant. However it took me 4 weeks to get and it was a paper copy that had a reference number that I could put online. So it made my apartment hunt easier when I got it but made it impossible until I got it.

I had to register at the local city to say I live here. If I move I have to register again. My landlord had to give me a form to say I lived here.

When i started work they asked if I was private or public health insurance. I had no idea. Turns out that work will pay into either but I have to sign up myself. After googling I found there's about 200 insurers. So I chose one that had an english language website :)

Frankfurt has the largest number of Irish people in Germany. There's a few hundred there. It's becaise there's Irish semi state orgs there. I believe it's Bord Bia and the IDA.

Reputations, both good and bad, are largely bullshit.

This makes me sick of this country:

We need to start removing/refusing EU citizens who can't support themselves.

Workers here face 48.5% marginal tax rate on any income over a modest 40k.

Meanwhile, we are paying to support the lifestyle of imported criminals with 11 children.

Staying in another EU state for over 90 days

If you want to remain in an EU, EEA state or Switzerland for more than 90 days, you may be asked to show that you are:

• In employment
• Self-employed
• A full time student with health insurance and money to support yourself
• You have money to support yourself and health insurance (for you and your family) without state assistance

Qualifying family members of EU citizens, EEA nationals and Swiss citizens from these categories also have a right to live in another state for more than 90 days. See ‘Family members’ below for more information.

If you stay in another EU or EEA state or Switzerland for over 90 days and are not in any of the above categories, you could be given a Removal Order.

In Ireland, EU, EEA or Swiss citizens do not have to register their presence in the State with the authorities. This means that you will not have to show that you are in one of the above categories unless:

• Your spouse, partner or dependent family member is not from the EU, EEA or Switzerland and is applying for residence
• You apply for a social assistance payment and must satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition
• You apply for permanent residency for yourself, and/or your family (this is available after 5 years’ lawful residence)

You can read more about residence rights of EEA citizens.

But, and I realise this is a slippery slope argument, it is a slippery slope. Look at the stories of people in the UK who are refused universal credit. They're assessed by idiots who refuse them for the flimsiest of reasons.

I'd prefer to left a few people abuse the system rather than let genuine people in need suffer. Maybe there's a few little things we could do like expand the number of investigators but I'd hate to see us turn into the UK.

They're lovely. And this is after a price increase over the last 18 months.

Dusseldorf is the most expensive city in North Rhine Westphalia. People here complain about the rent. And they can't believe I'm paying over a grand a month. They think I'm crazy. But I have a nearly 100m2 apartment in the centre for the price of a 30m2 apartment in north kildare :)

BTW, I put in my postcode here and this is what popped up in the search. That's within 5km of Dusseldorf centre.

https://www.immobilienscout24.de/Suche/radius/wohnung-mit-einbaukueche-mieten?centerofsearchaddress=D%C3%BCsseldorf;40479;Arndtstra%C3%9Fe;;;Pempelfort&geocoordinates=51.23442;6.79311;5.0&enteredFrom=result_list

Wages here are about the same as in Ireland but it costs so much less to rent. I realise it's different markets. A town here has 100k people. A city in Ireland has that number. Because our population is smaller it's easier for small population fluctuations to have a bigger impact on housing. But with foresight and better planning we wouldn't face half the difficulties we face now. And if housing could be fixed, it would make Ireland far more habitable.

The strange thing here is that rents are cheaper than buying. Buying here is a lot more than Ireland. I think it's because there's loads of build to rent and they're financed over a longer period of time. They see renting as an investment that matures over a far longer period.

I realise there's a lot of vested interests in ireland though. Homeowners and landlords especially. If we were to have a surplus of housing, people would own property that's valued at less. Or returns on letting would be lower. But something needs to happen because rents are far too high in Ireland.

Or do they get taxed on their profit, like here in Ireland? Mortgage capital repayments aren't business expenses, that's just moving your own personal wealth around.

Someone renting out one or two houses is taxed in exactly the same manner as somebody with high PAYE income, somebody working overtime, somebody working a 2nd job, somebody starting a business while in PAYE employment.

A small landlord in Ireland is not treated differently for being a landlord. Our taxation system is applied to their income (and itssctually their rental profits after deducting mortgage interest, letting agent fees, repairs and maintenance costs and more).

Both my wife and myself are leaving our jobs in a few weeks. We are going to take a couple of years off and enjoy free time, hobbies and travelling. We are going to get the dole (the hoops you have to jump through for this if you simply want to stop working for a while are another story) while we do this plus we have savings. The prospect of half your money every month going to tax just annoys me now at this point in my life. Id rather just have 40 or 50 hours back to myself rather than be a wage slave. My company pulling us back to office working helped me along the way too.

But last week I posted what we were doing somewhere and suddenly my inbox is full every day with recruiters both in Ireland and abroad looking for me to contact them. There are plenty of jobs out there if you are looking but tax is just too high in Ireland, especially for what you get.

Our tax is about the same as every other western country.

But you're right about regards to what you get.

Every other european country has better services and planning.

In some way's we're not much different to other countries. In other countries they will complain about certain services lacking. Governments never do anything perfectly. However there's no country in europe like Ireland when it comes to accommodation shortage. It's our single biggest problem and it's entirely of our own making.

It shouldn't be easy to get the dole, especially in the case of a voluntary lifestyle change like you're making. The fact your taxes paid into it is returning now, isn't it? Likewise, whatever your parent's generation paid in to supply free Uni education. And on, and on.

And your fellow Irish citizens will fund your lux lifestyle. Enjoy!