We Irish have a bad habit of begrudging our expats.
There's an even more special type of Irish begrudgery when it's directed at a working class boy from Dublin 10 who outwitted everyone else by choosing the one place that was on the absolute ascent when he chose to relocate at the precise right time in order to (a) maximize potential/profit AND (b) to dodge the oncoming Celtic Tiger years by deftly side-stepping the entire debacle and using hit-and-run tactics to extract as much moolah as possible to make his new life abroad as comfortable as possible.
Had the tiger never reared its head, would I have left anyway?
Fuck, yeah: Ireland was aback wards shithole as early as 1997 and things were clearly getting worse all the time.
I'd love to live in one of the Nordic countries and wouldn't begrudge anyone not having to endure this corrupt, rain-ridden kip of a country.
The initial years are the most difficult for any expat: finding a home, finding work, building a reputation, being part of the inner circles even if the language barrier was a difficulty to be met head-on. But once those things were settled and signed off on, establishing a private company and integrating into the local business world requires balletic skills, especially in a smaller nation like Finland with her own language and customs.
Having a beautiful Finnish wife helped a lot, and then divorcing from said wife left me in the driver's seat alone and hungry for more.
But it was the steps I took myself that gave me the most satisfaction: I made this life, this is all my own work.
I have nobody to thank because I asked nobody for help, I figured it all out myself, and to hell with the complexities.
That takes balls.
Sitting on your arse in Dublin playing online tiddlywinks (hiya
A
AN4 ) while the country's swirling down the u-bend doesn't.
Just ask Jimmy.
Ireland is to Europe what Craggy Island was to Ireland.
Yeah, but I laughed even louder at Ireland when she collapsed into the sewers.
Your African "More Irish than you!" BFF and professional poker player, Tyrone O'Fogarty, can confirm everything I'm saying is accurate..
As it happens, yes: he is of far more value to Ireland than you'll ever be.
He has a few kids, so he's populating the island with an Afro/French/Irish future.
He works and pays his taxes, unlike you on the dole for the last twenty-seven years.
He loves his country, loves his county, loves his hometown and is very active in the community.
You, meanwhile, sit on your arse moanin' and cribbin' all day, soaking up the tax-payer's money, living like a leech, and having zero to contribute to anything.
I have no idea who Antrim O'Grogarty is, Jim.
Nor do I care.