Where would you emigrate to and why?

Bermuda looks nice...:)
Well as I'm assuming you're not Bermudian, very little chance of an Irish induced property bubble anyway - you won't be allowed to own any! :)

Be prepared for a slow pace of life - literally: speed limit on all roads 35 kph!

Better have a pretty unique career or skill too or you won't have a job either - preference given to islanders.
 
How about Romania!? Excellent standard of living for little money. Quality of life second to none. Super-relaxed, virtually crime-free, very good public education system and private healthcare which would shame Ireland. Language is easy to learn (very similar to Italian) and a population who are incredibly welcoming. You'll have to nearly come to blows with them to be allowed to stay at home and cook your own meals!

Climate is fabulous too. Spend all Summer in T-shirt and shorts BBQ-ing and Winter skiing, sledging and sitting up-to-your neck in hot springs.

Not your usual image of Romania eh?
 
Well as I'm assuming you're not Bermudian, very little chance of an Irish induced property bubble anyway - you won't be allowed to own any! :)

Be prepared for a slow pace of life - literally: speed limit on all roads 35 kph!

Better have a pretty unique career or skill too or you won't have a job either - preference given to islanders.

Afraid I have none of the above.
This just came to mind,even though its way before my time..

The imperial leather commercial which Joanna Lumley plays the mother who, peering out of the window, tells the father "Simon, Bermuda looks nice."..:)
 
I'd go back to NZ, wellington to be exact, lot of good memories from there. not got the best weather in the world, but its a small city, outdoor lifestyle right on the door step, relaxed lifestyle...........and when the sun does shine walking down to the sea front along the boardwalk, jandels and shorts on, pick up an ice cream on oriental bay, chill out on the sea front for a few hours ( dont forget to slap on the sun cream, sun is strong). The gentle breeze picks up a bit, time to head off. Back down the board walk, past Te Papa museum, stop off at Macs Brewery bar for a nice cold one and some excellent sea food, sit outside enjoying the last of the rays at the sun slips behind the hills for the night....................bliss...
 
How about Romania!? Excellent standard of living for little money. Quality of life second to none. Super-relaxed, virtually crime-free, very good public education system and private healthcare which would shame Ireland. Language is easy to learn (very similar to Italian) and a population who are incredibly welcoming. You'll have to nearly come to blows with them to be allowed to stay at home and cook your own meals!

Climate is fabulous too. Spend all Summer in T-shirt and shorts BBQ-ing and Winter skiing, sledging and sitting up-to-your neck in hot springs.

Not your usual image of Romania eh?

No, not at all. The stereo type image is clouding everything. What parts would suggest visiting?
 
If you are just visiting then the northern bit along the border with the Ukraine is an absolute must. It's called Maramures and stretches right across to the romanian bit of moldova. There you will find the beautiful painted monasteries and other natural wonders like Cheia Bicazului (Romanias answer to Cheddar Gorge in the UK).

The Danube Delta is also magnificent as is Transylvania (all of it) and it's castelated medieval citadels such as Sighisoara (birthplace of Vlad Tepes inspiration for Dracula) and Brasov both of which are Saxon in origin.

If you're going to be all boring and settled (like me) and just live here, run a business and raise a family then, outside of Bucharest, you will probably gravitate more towards the centre and west. Cities such as Timisoara, Cluj and Oradea (where I live) would provide you with every mod-con you'd be familiar with in Ireland, all the services and infrastructure (International airports and only a few hours drive from Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Milan etc).

Should you ever wish to have a look around please PM me and I'll try and be of as much assistance as possible. I'm passionate about trying to change some of the very ignorant preconceptions that exist about this amazing country particularly in Ireland and the UK.
 
I think that what would appeal to someone like Clarkson in Romania is it's overt 'honesty'. It doesn't, as a country, have any airs or graces. Romanians are well aware of the negative image their country has abroad. I remeber once when a container-load of gypsies were found in Rosslare one of my business accquaintances phoning me up to apologise!

Why it should be of interest to very many irish is the fact that, over the last decade or so, the irish have become world experts in so many areas which, in Romania, simply are either under-developed or not developed at all. If you have a business in food-processing, particularly without additives, preservatives etc. then Romania is a booming marketplace. If you are a farmer then it's a fabulous place (cheap land, endless EU grants access to EU markets etc.). If you are in IT then the well-educated workforce is there to support you. Two of my childhood friends ran very successful web-based learning businesses with most of the content programmed and hosted out here. Now things are different at home they are looking to relocate here and explore other markets. If you have experience in HVAC (as my irish brother-in-law does) then there are consulting jobs a plenty here, particularly in Bucharest. Another friend of mine is teaching ACCA accredited modules to romanian banks (BCR and Banca Transilvania). There is a world of opportunity out here for precisely the reason that Romania IS underdeveloped in so many sectors.
 
How important is knowledge of the language Ancutza?

Obviously it would be sector dependent to a large extent and it goes without saying that one should learn the language anyway but how critical is it - is English widely spoken?
 
Buna Ziua Ancutza - oh, you're making me so lonely for my Romanian dream! :(

Whatever about living there, I can totally attest to Ancutza's assertions about the culture, landscape and people ... fab, fab country. Our misconceptions about Romania are our loss.
 
Many of the Caribbean islands have English as a first language and, certainly in the case of Trinidad & Tobago, are relatively cheap places in which to live.
 
Obviously it would be sector dependent to a large extent and it goes without saying that one should learn the language anyway but how critical is it - is English widely spoken?

English is very widely spoken. Basically anyone with a leaving certificate obtained since the '89 revolution speaks some english. Very many of those will speak excellent english. Anyone who has a university education will speak better english than you!! If you are working in IT, Financial services or, indeed, many manufacturing or service industries then you will not really need to speak romanian at all although obviously it is a distinct advantage to do so.

I did 2 hours per day 2 days per week 'grinds' with a romanian highschool teacher of english for 3 months when I first came out here 10 years ago. That was enough to get a very good grounding (and I'm not a natural polyglot!!) then, because of the industry I worked in at the time, I got better by talking to the shopfloor workforce although we spoke only english in the office. 6 months of a bit of graft will see you right but in the meantime you'll speak english.

Even today I only speak english with the wife and kids (although herself is prone to swearing at me in romanian when I'm naughty). We speak 50:50 in the office out of deference to our super-dooper bookeeper who is in her late 40's and doesn't speak english. Romanian when she is in the room so she understands what the craic is and english otherwise.

They're all mad keen to try out their english on you here anyway which can be a pain when you speak better romanian than they do english. Like "Please lets stick to romanian and we'll get this done faster! Please, please!!!' They are very forgiving if you stumble over pronounciations (although they will have a good giggle!) They are nothing like the very obtuse french for example.
 
Many of the Caribbean islands have English as a first language and, certainly in the case of Trinidad & Tobago, are relatively cheap places in which to live.

It's also EXTREMELY difficult and complicated to get working visas on many of the islands. I've worked in Barbados & St. Vincent and the Grenadines doing consultancy and watched an english colleague of mine get arrested in the street in Bridgetown for 'irregularities' in his working visa. Kept him for 3 days which was most amusing.

My best friend (irish) is married to a girl from T&T and they now live in Dublin. Trinidad is by all accounts a tough place to live. Very densely populated, quite expensive and with a fairly high crime rate.
 
Ancutza;
Trinidad is by all accounts a tough place to live. Very densely populated, quite expensive and with a fairly high crime rate

That sounds very familiar ,all that's missing is an incompetent government and it would feel like home :)
 
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