Hello everyone.
This seems like an interesting site for expats. I'm from Milwaukee but live in sw Ireland with my Dutch husband and our daughter. My daughter and I have dual American/Dutch citizenship. We've been stressing out lately because we can't decide about where we should live. We don't see ourselves living in Ireland forever. It's a lovely country, but the poor infrastructure and the dismal weather really drive us crazy. We're debating about getting a spousal visa for my husband and moving to the States or moving instead to England.
The pro's for the States would be: close to family and old friends, good infrastructure, familiarity - not to mention good Mexican food:) Cons: extremely divisive political climate, safety, the idea that Palin could be taken seriously by a large portion of the population (that says something and it's not good),the live to work mentality and the lack of social support if something should go wrong.
As for England, I've been there before but never lived there. I know they complain about the weather, but, trust me, it's better than where I am now
The idea of the NHS is good but I don't know much about the quality. I love the English sense of humour and irony (something many Americans don't get). My husband is a head chef and there seem to be quite a few jobs available, but we don't really know which areas are safe, friendly places to live (we would rent first) and raise a child but also have job opportunities. I am self employed as a translator and work from home. We feel England would be a good compromise as far as location (close to the Netherlands for his family, with easy flights to the States to visit my family). We lived in the Netherlands for 6 1/2 years, but I don't really want to raise our daughter there. Any advice would be appreciated. I've had sleepless nights worrying about doing the right thing, so any good advice would be welcome.
