[Closed] Moving to Northern Ireland from U.S

Cost of living. 5 paid weeks off a year? Are you working with the same company to rack up enough years for 5 weeks off? Are you sure the public schools are that much better? http://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/10/15/the-most-educated-countries-in-the-world-2/2/

Stay in the States, go to Canada if you can.

I should clarify, more paid time off than I get here. In my current job I do not accumulate any paid time off. Its different for my husband who gets 1 week after 1 year of employment and 2 years after 3 years of employment. I was factoring in the bank Holidays. As for the schools, you get amazing schools here if you can afford the very high cost to buy a house in the neighborhoods the schools are in.

Thank you for the link Tom. Any advise on this helps.

This is a mountIn bike forum. I woukd suggest you ask the question on a website more orientated to Northen Ireland and/or for immigrants/ex-pats.

Me? If I was in the states I'd stay just for the chance of getting a scholarship for M.I.T/Harvard/Yale/Stanford/Princeton/CalTech etc.

My Northern Irish and Southern Irish friends all moved to London as they feel there are no opportunities in Ireland for the young.

Last thing I'd do personally, the US is still an innovator despite it's social problems. I'd ask myself whether you were doing it for your daughter or whether you were doing it for yourself, maybe Ireland is the easy option. I'd be doing my best to have her go to an Ivy League as it's an opportunity I never had. 😐

No offence though, just my own personal biased thoughts.

5 paid weeks off a year? Are you working with the same company to rack up enough years for 5 weeks off?

Most companies give 5 weeks paid leave don't they? I think only one job I ever had was 4 and that was years ago.

If I was in the states I'd stay just for the chance of getting a scholarship for M.I.T/Harvard/Yale/Stanford/Princeton/CalTech etc.

Yeah good luck with that. I don't think I'd want my kid to have to be that competitive their whole school career. I'd rather them go to Oxbridge where they just have to be good.

My wife is American, so we could choose to live there, but we live in the UK. Reasons being, in no particular order and from both me and my wife:

1) Healthcare. The US system is beyond awful, even if you have insurance in many areas.

2) The system that allows the healthcare situation to arise. Commerce above all else.

3) Parochialism

4) The school system

5) Armed people wandering around all the time

6) Social injustice

7) Lack of progressive attitudes

8) Work/life balance

9) Equality of opportunity

10) The ****ing death penalty *shudder*

11) Political system

12) Land access

I could probably list more. There's a list of disadvantages to the UK too but it's shorter.

Where are you in the US, OP?

There are good and bad areas in the US; the same for NI...

Just out of interest, Why NI?.

We are in Colorado. Amazing place but we have no family here and would like our daughter to grow up with her family. Husbands family is in Northern Ireland and mine in Scotland. We are looking at NI because of the family support we would get. It's also a more affordable to buy in house there than Scotland.

Although we have health insurance we still pay thousands a year in health care bills. Colorado is beautiful and has all the outdoor sports you could imagine. It's getting very busy here. Going to the mountains to ski/ mountain bike is insane traffic and very expensive especially when you forking out money for babysitters.

As far as daughter ring able to get a scholarship to any of the above mentioned Universities is not realistic. It could happen but more than likely not.

Go to Scotland or stay in Colarado and move to Leadville, Salida or Buena Vista.
Good luck

Where abouts in NI? Some parts maybe be a bit of a culture shock! 😆

Btw do you really not get holiday entitlement in America? That's insane.

The USA is crap place to be poor or at the lower end of the pay scale. Getting ill must be really scary if you are not wealthy. Just cannot get my head around why so many citizens are anti an NHS type system, it ain't perfect by a long way but I who'd vote to get rid?

Canada is a bit poop too for hols, the jobs I've had so far give 2 weeks after the 1st year has been worked and it's quite a while before you accrue a 3rd week(think it's 5 years)

Op do you mind me asking how you got into America if neither of you are American? Are you permanent or on temp visa's that need renewing? Why not try somewhere else in America it's a big place?

Amazing how many STWers are blinded by the old clichés about Norn iron. True there are pockets of nastiness, prejudice and ignorance but all the people I've met from there have been charming, hospitable and very genuine and I'm told the country is absolutely beautiful. From what my brother tells me about his life in Michigan I think I'd rather be in Norn Iron any day.

Move to Scotland or stay.

NI resident here, to be honest I wouldn't be comfortable raising my child anywhere else. We live in the west of the province. Finding work can be a limiting factor though, I'm an electrician and from next week I'll be driving 160 miles a day to go to work.

NI is a great place to raise a family. I grew up in NI and worked in London, Australia and Scotland before coming back to NI.

My current job means I spend a lot of time in Scotland and I had the opportunity to move there permanently but the cost of housing compared to NI meant we could have a better house in a nicer area with access to excellent schools.

Education in NI is excellent, most large towns have state grammar schools and the best schools always rate very highly in GCSE and A Level results. You can get a very good education without having to pay private school fees.

You mention that you would like to live in a rural location. Rural in NI is never that rural as you are generally no more than 10 or 15 mins from a village or town. It also means that you can be in Belfast in 90 minutes from the most westerly parts of the province.

There has been considerable investment in NI since the Good Friday agreement and with that comes more opportunity for young people. We have a number of global companies choosing to have a UK base here due to the lower costs of setting up and access to a well educated workforce.

Healthcare obviously is NHS and my family and I have always been well served by it and I see no need for private insurance.

You mention that the trail centres are very busy in the US. There are now about 5 trail centres in NI and they are never really massively busy, certainly no queues to get in!

If you do locate in NI you can get the ferry to Scotland in 2 hrs or fly in around 40 mins. I'm on the ferry at the moment.

The bad points; yes there are still small pockets of mindless people who will stick to their blind sectarian ways. However this is definitely on the decrease especially due to integrated schools. It doesn't effect day to day life for most people and isn't as bad as the media like to make out. I've been asked, 'are you blue or green?' more often in Scotland than I have in NI.

The weather will not be as good as Colorado but will generally be a bit milder than Scotland.

Other than that I'd say pack your bags and get here by May so that you can take in the Giro d'Italia!

Me? If I was in the states I'd stay just for the chance of getting a scholarship for M.I.T/Harvard/Yale/Stanford/Princeton/CalTech etc.

Article regarding A level results compared to Eng/Wales obv highers in Scotland so no direct comparison

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-23709184

Interesting topic - Mrs Clubber is a Norn Ironer and would love to move back there to be nearer family and to make life a bit easier with our kids.

But NI can be a bit backwards in places and certainly her old friends seem to be gradually (or less gradually) evolving into Stepford wives.

Also, from what I see/hear the economy isn't brilliant - and that's even before a lot of the public sector cuts that are taking place have hit.

I guess it would depend on the industry(s) you work in though. Certainly for me, it's looked pretty dead end and I don't want to have to be taking on a job where I'd be working away from home half of the time as that defeats the point of having kids (for me at least) - eg spending time with them.

In addition, almost everyone who lives there that I've discussed it with tells me not to which surprises me given the pride most N.Irish seem to show in their country.

I moved to NI about 18 months ago from Edinburgh. We moved from Edinburgh because we couldn't afford a house, or even a 3 bedroom flat in Edinburgh. We chose NI because my wife is from there and housing is very cheap (especially in the area we moved to).

The computing industry is growing but has trouble finding enough good staff, so although there aren't a lot of jobs, there are enough vacancies. When I first moved over I was commuting to Belfast, which took about 1hr 15m on the bus and cost ~£200 per month. (I'm based down between 2 trail centres with a couple of bike friendly forests on my door step :))

We are happy with our life here, but know that there is not much to do for 17 to 30 year olds. Maybe there is in the cities, but not in the towns. I would hate to be single here.

I think some of the differences is that I am used to cities and big towns and have moved to a small town. Everyone knows everyone...

NI has come along way in the past 12 years from when I first came over. If it was still like that (a bit backwards, not much development) I wouldn't have moved over. However, there are things here that I don't like (on a moral level, most of them don't affect me directly), or a just a bit backwards. Age of consent is higher than in E/S/W (17 vs 16) and abortions are illegal (to keep things in line with the Republic). When you learn to drive, you have to show R plates and are restricted to 45 mph and restricted passenger carrying for a year. It just moves the deaths up a year, and doesn't address the fact that the roads are poor here. There is still a small amount of people how like to cause trouble: 2 winters ago, I couldn't get home because people decided to block the roads in an effort to show power (the snow cleared them off though :)) and last winter there was a bomb outside my old office (I stopped working there a couple of months before, and yes, it was opposite a police station). A lot of that stuff doesn't get reported on the mainland, but I think that is more about not giving them the attention than anything else.

We are making sure that our children go to integrated schools, even if other schools are 'better'.

A bit rambling, probably missed things or put too much emphasis on the bad things... If you have any specific questions, ask away.

Reasons being, in no particular order and from both me and my wife:

I'd agree that a lot of these are issues there too

3) Parochialism

4) The school system (or at least segregation)

[s]5) Armed people wandering around all the time[/s] I don't believe that this is really the case in NI, maybe just in some areas but that's the same for pretty much any big cities, etc

7) Lack of progressive attitudes

12) Land access

5) All the police that I have seen have been armed.

Saying that, outside of cities I don't see the police often.

Ah, OK, I guess that is a fair point (I wasn't considering police as 'people') though it maybe says a lot about my experience of NI (I've been going for 17 years now) that outside of Belfast and police stations, I don't think I've ever noticed armed police.

Northern Ireland has the highest standard of living anywhere in Europe. Ok i made that up, but it really is a great place to live.

And we now have lots of good MTB trail centres too.

Yeah, I'm more than happy living here. Plenty of riding to do, and more investment in the trail centres too 🙂

the weathers not that bad, it was 5 degrees this morning and it's only raining a little bit today.............

Sorry clubber I should have said apart from 7!

It's a running joke that not once in 17 years have I been there and not had it rain at least once...

[i]Husbands family is in Northern Ireland and mine in Scotland. We are looking at NI because of the family support we would get. It's also a more affordable to buy in house there than Scotland.

[/i]

Depends where in Scotland you are looking I'd have thought.

Globablti funny you mention Michigan, that is the other state in America where we would have a little bit of family support but my husband is not keen on living there for many reasons and would prefer NI.

I have duel citizenship which gives us the opportunity to live here or in the U.K.

With the above mentioned MTB trails in NI makes it sound even more appealing and with help of a loving Nanna to help with the kiddo so both Hubby and I can go biking all sounds good 🙂

This all boils down to where will be the best place for the wee yin. Growing up with a loving family and more people around to keep her safe is paramount. The education is huge for us, giving her the best chance to get a quality education.

Thanks for the advice it really does help.

You do get to ride the Lap the Lough if you live locally. Mind you I fly over each year to do it 🙂 It does rain every time though...

Husbands family is in Northern Ireland and mine in Scotland. We are looking at NI because of the family support we would get. It's also a more affordable to buy in house there than Scotland.

Depends where in Scotland you are looking I'd have thought.

Depends where in NI you are looking too! we had the biggest rises and biggest falls in prices in the uk (world maybe?)and really the market hasn't found it's feet yet, to rhyme or reason to prices

Well, I can't comment on NI, but from what I have seen, there are some very nice parts.

Just as an aside, I think if I had the opportunity to live in Colorado and legally work, I would jump at it. It does get more complicated with family, health care and availability of jobs.

Personally I have had it up to the eye balls with the cruddy weather, cramped housing, bad roads and huge cost of living in the UK. Having said all that, we have got a relatively stable economy and I think I am often guilty of thinking the grass is greener.

huge cost of living in the UK

Find out how much healthcare costs in the US...

Clubber, good point.

What I don't understand is why there is such a huge push against Obamacare in the US, considering the huge costs of health care. I am a fan of the NHS and in that respect we are very lucky to live in the UK.

Cost of living in the US varies dramatically depending on where you are and what you do. It's cheap in the Midwest, say, away from big cities but that's because wages are low.

If you have a well-paid job in the US things can be great, but not everyone has one of those. It's pretty shitty for a lot of people. And as for roads - in the US, when it's bad, it's far worse than it is here!

And as for cruddy weather - no tornadoes, no hurricanes, no golfball sized hail, spring comes in March instead of May, it doesn't get down to -30C for weeks, it doesn't get up to 40C in the summer.. As you say, don't be thinking the grass is always greener 🙂

What I don't understand is why there is such a huge push against Obamacare in the US, considering the huge costs of health care

If I may be conspiratorial for a minute, it's because of the intense propaganda against it. The anti brigade (ie Republicans) are playing on people's fears about government intervention because they don't want Obamacare. The reason they don't want it is because they are in the pocket of big businesses, and healthcare is one of the biggest around.

If you think the Tories here are just looking after business fat cats, the US Republicans make them look like Bob Crow. The US electorate are manipulated to such an extent it makes me feel sick. Obamacare is a perfect example of this. People with no healthcare were campaigning in the streets against it.

Well that's a whole different thread. Let's just say fear of socialism is a big part of it rather than real rational reasons.

Reasons not to move back: Terrible weather.

You get used to it and besides, it really makes you appreciate the rare sunny days.

Being perfectly blunt i think you would be totally nuts moving from Colorado to NI. (Where in CO are you?).

Cost of living will still be cheaper in CO, even factoring in healthcare. Schools will be as good if not better. The most important thing though is quality of life. The weather sucks in NI compared to the 300 days of sunshine in CO.

What I don't understand is why there is such a huge push against Obamacare in the US, considering the huge costs of health care

There are three main issues.

1. The republicans hate Obama so will do anything in there power to make it extremely hard for him to implement. (Which is stupid as it was Romney who started the first version of affordable healthcare!)

2. Americans hate big government and having policy forced on them.

3. It was a really good idea, really poorly implemented. Putting aside a lot of the technical issues they had, a lot of the things that were promised were not delivered, like being able to keep your current doctor etc.

LHS - have you lived in Colorado?

The OP has lived in both CO and UK, so they would seem to be in good position to judge I think. Have you been through or put a kid through the school system? Some of the things my wife tells me definitely make me favour the UK system.

The most important thing though is quality of life.

Of course, and there are several reasons why the quality of life in the US could be worse. Quality of life is not the same as quality of weather!

OP may I ask what type of work you and your husband do?

I was offered positions both in NI and then in the USA and ended up in the USA.
For me I was going to have to relocate to a new area anyway so I looked at the posibilites of changing jobs etc if it didn't work out in either place. From what I could tell with the job market in NI I would have found it reasonably hard to get a new job at the seniority level I was at so would need to relocate again figured I might as well try the US.

Relocating as a family is a massive PITA and you are not going to want to do it multiple times so I would look at the historical job market in your chosen region and see how that would fit in with the stability you want.

My husband is an electrician and I am a hairdresser. We are keeping an eye on jobs to see how the market is.

We are located in Denver. It's getting very busy and the housing costs are insane. Sort of like the U.k at the height of the housing boom. Schools can be decent if you can afford to live in the neighborhood, however if you can not afford it you are looking at terrible schools.

I'd seriously question whether the cost of living is cheaper in NI as well, I wouldn't guarantee it that's for certain when you factor in things like take home pay (lower taxes in the states), the cost of fuel etc.

Where are your relatives in NI?

I'd seriously question whether the cost of living is cheaper in NI as well

It varies MASSIVELY in the US depending on what city you are in never mind state.

Backinireland, they are in Ballygally.

With those proffessions you should be able to get work pretty much anywhere so that is a plus.

I am based in Texas so don't have the additional state or city taxes to pay and my overall percentage of salary that goes on tax is roughly the same as it would be for the same salary at home.

For gas, electricity and petrol the US seems to be cheaper but everyone I know uses more so it balances out. Food is roughly the same for me anyway but then I don't live a lavish life.
The biggest draws back to the UK for me are the NHS and the fact that it is overall a pretty safe place to be. You can always jump on a plane to for sun and skiing if need.

Although I didn't move from the US I have moved from England to Northern Ireland. For similar reasons to be closer to my wife's family for support etc.

I have been coming to Northern Ireland now for 20 years and lived here for 7 years and can't ever see me going back.( was living in Kent but from the lakes district) and tried to go back there.
Main positives over here are:
Better education system
Value for money - house prices etc
Feel safer here than a lot of places in England
Also the work life balance is significantly better over here as my current roles allows me to have breakfast and tea with my family ( 2 small kids) most days where my equivalent job in Kent meant that I was doing 12 plus hours every day and therefore wouldn't see my kids until weekend. Yes the pay is reduced to what I used to earn but you can't buy time with our family. Plus it doesn't make me feel guilty taking a morning out at the weekend to go biking.

So you're effectively thinking of moving to Larne? Hmmm.

Ballygally? Some of the best schools in the UK are 20 miles away ( Ballymena) and you'll be surrounded by some fantastic scenery. If you're even remotely outdoorsy then you'll love it. Sea at your front door, the Glens at the back? I'd pack my bags personally (bring a coat though 😉 )

p.s. You'll have no bother getting a job as the women over here are really hairy and we've electricity now so hubby might be all right too.

shooterman - Member
So you're effectiely thinking of moving to Larne? Hmmm.

😆

I felt dirty even typing it Euro!

What's Larne like?

East Antrim property is some of the best value in NI so that's a positive as well.

globalti - Member

Amazing how many STWers are blinded by the old clichés about Norn iron. True there are pockets of nastiness, prejudice and ignorance but all the people I've met from there have been charming, hospitable and very genuine and I'm told the country is absolutely beautiful. From what my brother tells me about his life in Michigan I think I'd rather be in Norn Iron any day.

Yet you feel perfectly qualified to comment, even though you've never set foot in the place. STWtastic.

lol!

Mrsgregg, I am in the US, Florida, now after leaving NI 3 years ago, looks like I might be back within 12 months too

Schools
My three kids loved both NI and now the US schools, I tend to go by as long as the schools are okay to good it depends on how hard the kids work to get the most out of it.

NI
We go back to NI every summer, I do see some small improvements but I always hope to see more after 12 months of not being around - it does seem some folk are just set in their ways and I leave dissapointed and broke as it seems very expensive compared to the US

Work
As for moving back, I am dreading it, looks like I will be working in England and leaving family for weeks at a time - dont please fall into the trap of moving back just to be with your family only to have your husband have to work away from home.

MrGregg is an electrcian? I have been construction all my career, 15 years in UK, 3+ now in US - if he has previous work in the UK then great, if all his training and experience is only in the US tell him to be prepared for a shock, it is very different regards standards, engineering, work ethics, quality, safety, etc, it [still is] took me a while to get acclimatised - he may find it hard to get a start as even a young NI apprentice may have more quals and relevant UK experience above what MrGregg has

Weather
Least of your worries I would say

Hope thats not too harsh, PM me if you want any more info

East Antrim property is some of the best value in NI

There's a reason for that!

BBC Radio4 Taday programme concentrating on NI this morning, will be available for listening for a week here:
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj9z/episodes/player ]http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj9z/episodes/player[/url]

Yeah good luck with that. I don't think I'd want my kid to have to be that competitive their whole school career. I'd rather them go to Oxbridge where they just have to be good.

Hahaha - too funny. If you imagine there is any resemblance between Oxbridge and MIT, well, I don't know what I can say.