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Ireland or Caribbean?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Blackangel, Oct 26, 2017.

  1. Blackangel

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    I'm considering moving out of the United States. I'm aiming for either Ireland or the Caribbean. Both places are absolutely beautiful. I love the Irish culture. Also I have a large Irish heritage, so that's a plus for me. But the islands have a perfect climate and comfortable society. Granted a lot of the islands are extremely poor, and they have to worry about hurricanes all year, but I just love the whole area.

    What I need is information from the Irish people here and from the islanders in the Caribbean. What are some of the pros and cons to your respective homes?

    The main reason I'm looking to move is the terrorist that's in the white house right now. If I have to choose between supporting the trump administration or Isis, I'll give you one guess who I would back.
     
    #1 Blackangel, Oct 26, 2017
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2017
  2. Loves books

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    Ireland is safe, for the most part easy going. If yo live in a college city some bars up the age to 23 or older to keep out the younger crazier kids. One thing about Ireland is that it rains a lot. Kind of everyday. If you like watersports you are never more than two hours from the sea but you would want the worlds best wetsuit before gong near it. Also Ireland and America have very different ideas regarding food. I'm still not quite sure what American biscuits are or if we have them.
     
  3. Secrets5

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    I hope you mean Trump, compared to ISIS he's a cute little bunny.

    American biscuits are like an Irish/UK scone.
     
  4. Aven

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    I spent six years living in the Bahamas as a child (from the age of six to 12) . I also used to travel back there every year until I was seventeen. This was in the late 80s early 90s.

    I lived in Nassau, and it's beautiful, but I can only tell you my experience of what it like to live there from a perspective of a child and teen.

    There is a lot of poverty, a very big divide between the rich and poor with only a small middle class inbetween. There was a lot of crime at the time (I don't know about now) but there were essentially three industries that kept the country afloat. Tourism, rum and drugs.

    There was also a lot of corruption. The Bahamas is a small place, with a small population. At the time about 800 islands , only 18 of which were properly inhabited. The law there is an ass, because often the officials are related, if only distantly, to the people commiting the crimes. At one point I think even the prime minister was accused of aiding drug smugglers and still got re-elected. Again,this was many years ago and my memory has probably been distorted and skewed over time.

    On the plus side, it's a beautiful place. If you love the ocean then the Carribbean is amazing. The islands there are often small, with small populations so having a love of the ocean is important because you will need to enjoy spending a lot of your time either in it or looking out at it. There generally isn't a lot to do apart from tourist activities, fishing, snorkelling, boating, sun bathing and other marine activities... And you can't get more beautiful waters than the Carribbean to do that in.

    The lifestyle is extremely laid back and relaxed. It's like the heat and humidity permeates your brain and forces you to slow down, and before you know to your on 'island time' where it takes three years to build a small roundabout and two weeks for A plumber to fix your leaking tap lol.

    I loved growing up there. It really is a beautiful place, but it's not for everyone, at least long term. My mum for example hated it, she often felt lonely and isolated.

    It comes down to what youre after, what environment and lifestyle you enjoy ☺️
     
  5. Lin1

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    I have also lived in the Caribbean for a little bit and I personally couldn't live there long term. I was in the second biggest island of the Caribbean yet, I felt extremely bored, definitely not safe while out and about and had a very hard time adjusting to the gap between rich and poor as well as the high level of corruption that was adding to the feeling of insecurity.

    The landscapes in the Caribbean are gorgeous but it's a very conservative place where religion is extremely important and where homophobia is renpent. I used to hear lots of homophobic comments there on a daily basis (and I wasn't out!) and a lot of the talk shows there are about concerned parents who want to "treat" their gay or Trans child as they refuse to accept them. I have read on your profile that you are trans and I unfortunately think there are even more discrimination towards trans people than there are discrimination towards gay people in the Caribbean as I found the culture to be extremely sexist and focused on men being macho men and there to provide for his family and women to be there to provide kids and visual/sexual pleasure to her man. Any sign of femininity in men seemed to be looked down upon. I am pretty vocal about my sexuality but could tell I had to stay closeted when living there if I wanted to remain safe and probably avoid corrective rape. Dating-wise, if you aren't in a relationship and plan on dating in the future, know that due to the size of the population and lack of acceptance of LGBT people, dating may be extremely difficult there as there really is no support for LGBT folks so no LGBT groups nor LGBT visibility and a lot of things LGBT related have to be underground, and if you do happen to date someone, it is likely they will have to live a double life with someone of the opposite sex so that they can keep the face in front of their family and friends as well as the community.

    Sorry to give such a dark picture of the caribbean, it's a lovely place and perfect for holiday purposes but not great to live in long term as an LGBT folk.


    Ireland is also pretty conservative for European standards but much more accepting of LGBT people and much more liberal than the Caribbean. You won't find the same weather or type of landscapes though as those two are incredibly different places.

    On a practical views, you say you have a large Irish heritage but do you have the Irish citizenship? Can you legally move to Ireland or would you need a visa? same with the Caribbean. I would look into that as it may not even be possible for you to move in any of those countries if you don't fit the requirements to be given a long-term visa (though the caribbean are a bit more lax with this as along as you have money to invest on properties and stuff).

    What type of lifestyle are you looking for? I think this is extremely important as those two countries would provide you with a very different lifestyle and there may even be other countries that fit what you need much more.
     
  6. SilverLining120

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    As for someone who lives in Ireland, I'd say move here. I can guarantee you that you'll have much more luck finding a stable job/ well earning job if you come here. However, most of Ireland's population lives in the East. So I imagine there wouldn't be too many opportunities in the West. Make sure to do research on where you're moving to if you choose Ireland as some areas in Dublin are fairly sketchy so you wouldn't want to be near them. Overall, Ireland is great, and the people are lovely. I say Ireland would be better to live in than the Caribbean islands, but I may be a bit biased. Haha
     
    #6 SilverLining120, Oct 27, 2017
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  7. Sundara

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    I dream to live in US, even now I am living in US but I am not US citizen and will go home in 2 months. I know some people wanna go out from US but some people wanna live in US. I am thinking how to get VISA for work and live in US in the future now. I should think about my kids too and their education.

    Hopefully your decision is the best in your life.
    Congrat!
     
    #7 Sundara, Oct 27, 2017
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  8. Blackangel

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    I don't have Irish citizenship. I would have to get a visa. And if gaining citizenship is the same way in Ireland as it is here, I would have to do a lot of homework to learn everything about the country. I have been leaning more toward Ireland anyway. I have been all over the Caribbean several times, and loved it. But I'm also a US citizen there for a vacation. We spent about a day in port, then it was back on the ship and on to the next island.

    For lifestyle, I'm looking for a laid back lifestyle, in a place I truly feel home. I'm not looking to be at the top of the food chain, but I don't want to have to go dumpster diving again either. Also I don't wanna get nuked. My biggest fear in Ireland would be the IRA. But I would deal with it, if it meant I could find a place that I was happy.

    In a nutshell I have always wanted to live in Ireland anyway. There or Scotland. I have a huge Scottish heritage also. More than my Irish heritage. My family being from there, I'm just drawn to go "home".
     
  9. bingostring

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    I lived in the Caribbean for a year .... my own feeling was it is a nice place to visit but not to live there long term

    the weather is nice but it is all the same. No seasons.
    Christian church is very strong and low tolerance of LGBT
    Corruption
    Nothing much going on
    Boredom
     
  10. Loves books

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    The IRA was in the Northen Ireland which is several counties that still belong to England. The Republic of Ireland is safe enough. You get the odd shooting in Dublin but no bombs. I also don't think the IRA you're talking about has done anything recently.
     
    #10 Loves books, Oct 28, 2017
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  11. Blackangel

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    I'll admit I don't know a whole lot about the IRA. It's believed over here that they are a terrorist organization, similar to al Quieda.
     
  12. IrishEyes

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    The IRA don't operate any more thankfully.
    Ireland is a fairly laid back country and has become more accepting of the LGBT community. We were the first country to vote for marriage equality.

    It does rain a lot but up until recently we never had extreme weather conditions. A few weeks ago we had a tropical storm which was an ex hurricane. So it looks like global warming is affecting us.
     
  13. Ryu

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    The US is amazing compared to the UK. I don't know ow about the Caribbean and but the UK is miserable. You have guns and fun and we have tea and bad weather.
     
  14. Jellal

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    From the time I spent in Ireland I can say it was better than the Caribbean. Way more comfy.
     
  15. Blackangel

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    You've never been to the US have you?
     
  16. Ryu

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    I do live in the UK and I've been to Ireland. It's not good. Once I'm 22 I wanna move to the US.

    22 because thats the youngest I can get out the army if I join at 18
     
  17. Blackangel

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    Don't move to the US. It's not a good country. The corruption and prejudice runs so strong and rampant here, it's why a hell of a lot of the population moved to Canada and the UK in recent years. If you have to come to North America, for the love of whatever you worship, go to Canada. We're about to get into a nuclear war with North Korea. You don't want to come here.
     
  18. Ryu

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    You have country music and guns, two things that I like and are frowned upon in the uk
     
  19. Aven

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    Why such a Strong interest in guns?

    I was in the army reserves for three years so I've been trained in a variety of weapons. I don't mind them, but they aren't toys, they are weapons whose sole purpose is to kill other beings. I guess I'm struggling to understand why the availability of guns seems to be such an important factor in deciding where to migrate?
     
  20. Loves books

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    Ireland is better than the UK in terms of crime. I was born in England to Irish parents and went to a Catholic school where the majority of the kids had Irish parents. We moved to Ireland when I was 9. I like Ireland better the only downside is the weather. Also the health system is terrible everyone's on several year long waiting lists for various consultants.