Thanks, Tills, for sharing your journey through Ireland and the ensuing discussion. Enlightening and encouraging for anyone considering relocating, and for those of us who can merely fantasize about such a thing.

How does one even leave their country. Most people can't even afford to move across town to a different rental property yet alone to another state or even country or even across the world....

Sell everything you own and hope it's enough to get you and your immediate family safely to another country, and then hope and prey they let you stay there under a temporary visa.

Sadly many people can't and unfortunately this results in discrimination prosecution detention and even death in their own country. Granted obviously not over night just a slow steady compromise of morals over time which leads to bigger and bigger compromise, and eventually to ethnic cleansing...

Like at what point is enough for leaders of the world to be like this is evil and wrong... How much will it take for intervention?

Sadly I fear I won't survive to see how all this plays out in history and that's the realistic hard truth.

It is too bad you may move mostly for safety.  That is just not right to have to do.
But, Ireland apparently has many nice places too.

Chrissy

Well it's certainly tough @Robbyv213 especially if you have roots to a place.

I've lived a very nomadic life, including one six-year period in a very remote location without any contact without the outside world (it was wonderful!). Without wanting to trivialise this, digital nomads are a real phenomenon now. People live and work all over the globe. Global travel is pronounced. The beautiful city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, for example, is now full of international people 'working from home'.

I believe, if I may be so bold, that this kind of outward-facing attitude is less true of US citizens where 45-50% have passports compared to, say, the UK where the figure is over 85%.

So a lot comes down to what you are used to. I don't know if I've spent a single year of my adult life, except during covid, when I haven't travelled abroad. And as a child my parents took me on some epic adventures. I don't feel that I belong to any one country anyway. In fact, having spent so much time in other cultures enjoying the very best they have to offer and seeing their darker sides, I'm an internationalist. I'm the very last person you'd find waving a national flag. I see positives and negatives in every country and I believe that generally extreme nationalism and religion are the two curses that have caused more conflict on this earth than anything else. Just my opinion, mind

There's a big psychological and practical difference though between travelling and living, especially if you are forced to uproot and flee. And the older you get, the harder it becomes. Culture Shock is a real deal.

Apart from recalibrating mindset the other factor which holds people back is often friends and family that they will leave behind. The internet has of course made this less of a factor but not wholly.

On a practical note, as @Devlyn has reminded us, there are no restrictions on a UK citizen living in Ireland. And an Irish citizen can live and move anywhere within the 27 member states of the European Union.

Other countries have visa policies that range from nigh-impossible to very plausible. Thailand, for instance, has a Retirement Visa scheme which really isn't too onerous and neither is it particularly expensive. At the other end of the scale there are Golden Visas for those with serious money, and many countries offer various options in-between.

So don't be overly negative. It's perfectly possible to live in another country. You need a positive mindset and then to go and do it.

xx

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on Yesterday at 06:53:02 PMIt is too bad you may move mostly for safety.  That is just not right to have to do.
But, Ireland apparently has many nice places too.

Chrissy

Yes Ireland is gorgeous.

xx

Quote from: Robbyv213 on Yesterday at 04:33:20 PMHow does one even leave their country. Most people can't even afford to move across town to a different rental property yet alone to another state or even country or even across the world....

Sell everything you own and hope it's enough to get you and your immediate family safely to another country, and then hope and prey they let you stay there under a temporary visa.

Sadly many people can't and unfortunately this results in discrimination prosecution detention and even death in their own country. Granted obviously not over night just a slow steady compromise of morals over time which leads to bigger and bigger compromise, and eventually to ethnic cleansing...

Like at what point is enough for leaders of the world to be like this is evil and wrong... How much will it take for intervention?

Sadly I fear I won't survive to see how all this plays out in history and that's the realistic hard truth.

I hate sounding like a broken record, but that isn't how immigration works. You can't just move to a foreign country because you want to. Usually you need a sponsor, almost invariably a partner, who is a citizen and resident of the host country. Some countries issue skilled worker visas. Fewer offer entrepreneur visas. "Golden visas" where you simply buy your way into a country are going away fast.

I'm not trying to be a killjoy, but anyone thinking of moving to another country should do some serious research.

Entry refusal at a border is not an enjoyable experience. I was initially refused entry to the UK on a flight from New York. After being searched and questioned, I was put in a unisex holding pen (with metal prison toilets) for nine hours. Then shoved in the back row of a plane going back to New York. On landing they charged me $1,900 for the last minute one-way ticket.

Why was I refused entry? They thought I might overstay because I didn't have strong enough ties to the US. I was traveling on a sabbatical. I had sold my house and quit my job. They didn't like that.

Hugs, Devlyn