Who said anything about entry level jobs? You are a highly experienced marijuana grower who knows a lot about the huge industry in the US.
Haha, you are right about that, my MMJ resume is absolutely solid, all I really have professionally. The only thing is that much like the U.S., the Netherlands cannabis industry is in a grey market. I have all the skill sets for cultivation/processing, but cultivation is still illegal there believe it or not. Only the coffeeshops and limited possession are tolerated. How does the weed show up in the coffeeshops? Magic! Because if they catch you growing for a coffeeshop, you get your plants thrown away and prosecuted. At least that's how the Dutch government treats it. So I'd still be a criminal marijuana grower, and I don't want to break any laws in Europe.
It may sound crazy, but look at whats going on in the US with the AG Sessions. I relocated across the U.S. to work in what I saw as a legal industry with a promising future. The news, Obama's administration, and international community saw the state laws as a very worthy experiment. In my career we had to campaign and fight against local ordinances threatening to end our jobs, only to win and immediately be under threat again from Trump's attorney general. To work so hard in a field trying to provide for your family, proving yourself and moving up, only to be under a constant threat of your industry ceasing to exist is a nauseating level of stress that you either cope with through denial or recognize that you need to find a more stable way to provide.
That's why I really want to go back to school, and I see relocating to Europe in general as a huge part of that plan. I know it takes about 3 years of residence to qualify for the tuition rates locals enjoy but we all know what the ball & chain U.S. tuition loan system can do to people. I figure in my 3 years of living and working waiting on residency that I can identify the sectors in the European/UK economy that would be the best fit/most lucrative to study for.
The agreement is there to help the Irish government and is for Irish citizens who move to the UK from the Republic if Ireland (the Common Travel Area).
Yeah this type of thing surprised me most when I got my Irish citizenship, and its reasonable given how generous their citizenship requirements can be for the granny rule. In the U.S. citizenship is citizenship, you can come back anytime and not really be in a different category except maybe for in-state tuition costs. Whereas Ireland requires residency for different amounts of years for different things and those residency requirements transfer to some other countries. What's interesting is that Ireland requires 3 years of residence to qualify for free fees, which is reasonable given without residence I have contributed virtually $0 to their system. However in another poorer country in the EU, Slovenia, they don't care how long I've lived or haven't lived in Ireland, they're more than willing to give me a free college education right off the bat. I'm applying to these Slovenian schools just to see if I get in, and that might be a game changer in our plans.
However, that UK/RoI agreement does not extend to any family members who are not an Irish or British citizen anyway, even if they do come from the Common Travel Area. You will have to use the EU laws for your wife and be her EEA sponsor. i.e. you will need to be an EU "qualified person" at all times to use "free movement" for your wife to have a "right to reside" in another EEA country as your "Direct Family Member". It’s all in that link I gave. EU laws end on Brexit.
That's important to know. The Immigration lawyer I'm talking to, we haven't swapped any funds just yet, said that the information he has received implied that if we get there before March 2019 we will continue under EEA rules and still avail of the ability to get permanent residence. He said it might get even easier as we will have to show less documentation when it comes to her settlement application as they are going to streamline this into an easier type of application. Is this the "promising me the world", I've heard some immigration lawyers are known to do? Or is he just in the know? He does have that official certification from the UK government for immigration lawyers.
joining a poor country where they will be 50% of the population.
I was all for moving to the jurisdiction that was generous enough to give me this citizenship, but since I have no degree it just doesn't seem very viable. The cities Dublin, and Cork, and to a lesser extent Galway and Limerick where there are entry level jobs are just too pricey. Donegal was in our price range just doesn't have the jobs, where 40 people show up to apply for 1 Aldi job. I thought when people said jobs are hard to find, they were talking about college degree jobs, not McDonalds. Its been quite a disappointment.
@ieatdinoeggs. You originally mentioned Donegal. What is the interest in moving there? In Northern Ireland, Belfast is the main city (population ~340K) but Derry (or Londonderry depending on your tastes) is on the north-west of Northern Ireland and just over the border from Donegal. It has a population around 80K. For most locals, movement between Donegal and Derry is second nature, with quite a few people living in Donegal and commuting to work in Derry.
Donegal has a very good cost of living for the Republic of Ireland, that was our initial lure. We were hoping on getting an apartment at the center of Letterkenny so I could walk, bike, or use a bus to go to a job at an Aldi or other type of entry level low-skill job to start out with. We've since learned that Apartments don't let to pet-owners (we have 3 cats we're relocating) for some reason? So we would have to get a house, and then get a car. We'd also have to go through the whole driver license classes. Commuting to Derry wouldn't be bad at all but again would realistically require a car. So that's a lot of money right off the bat, whereas Belfast is attractive with some of the advantages of Dublin but 60% less rental costs, more jobs, and a much better public transport system. Thank you for the links! I'm going to check those out.
