Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm 26, am 4 years into a teaching career, 1 year into a 15-year mortgage, 1 year into a 5-year car loan, and am kind of settled where I am. The past few years, though, I've been watching a lot of videos about Berlin and Paris and have been wondering what it would be like to live in those two cities, but I feel like moving would be starting over, as simultaneously exciting and scary as that is. I guess if I moved, I would move to Paris first to try to get dual citizenship with France since France allows dual citizenship and Germany doesn't, but Germany allows French citizens to just settle in Germany without needing any special visas or permits. I feel like in my mid-sized American town of Shreveport, the only interesting thing to do here is eat, so I just eat all the time and am getting fatter and fatter. Moving may be good for my health. I am unmarried and have no children except my 3 toy poodles.
I am not sure what jobs I could do abroad with my current specifications as a teacher of who also holds a pharmacy tech certification and a general studies bachelor would be, but if Germany offers free programs in English for education in areas that pay well and are in high demand, I wouldn't mind going back to school, the only thing question would be how I'd handle my living expenses while I did that.
Ok....may I ask why you took on a 15-yr mortgage a year ago, if you've been watching a lot of videos of cities in Europe, and daydreaming about living there? And don't sound too happy with your current city anyway?
You could get some course work in English as a Second Language, and take teaching jobs in France. You might not score Paris right off the bat, or you might, but in an immigrant ghetto area.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. The first question should be: do you speak French? If not, French classes shouldn't be too hard to find in Louisiana, I would think. Start learning French. Instead of dreaming, start putting together a plan. Figure out what you'd need in order to land a job in Paris, then start preparing. Examples: learn French, get an ESL certificate. Start saving money.
I don't know how 26 could possibly be "too late in life" to live abroad. Or even 30, which might be how long it would take you to gain sufficient fluency in French AND the right teaching qualification, to be able to walk into a job. By the time you're 30, you could either rent out a place via a property management agency, or sell it. Or rent it out for a year or two, while you see if France will work out to your liking, then either come home, or sell it. By the time you're 30, your car loan would be nearly paid off.
IMHO if you want to make a significant lifestyle change then by all means go for it , if for no other reason than the fact that you will at least have tried as opposed to resign yourself to thinking about what could have happened if you had tried .
I myself was 24 years old already when I first set foot in Europe and here I am now a total of 18 years later having lived almost continuously on the Old Continent , still splitting my time between various parts of the Habsburg lands of old .
It's definitely a good idea to learn the language of whichever country/region you plan on staying in long term along with setting your finances in order before making the move , along with obviously checking out the job market of the place you'd want to settle in .
I'm afraid that about does it for the useful advice I can personally give you OP , though as an aside I may as well mention that finding work related to your pharmacy tech certification may very well be easier in several parts of the Continent than as a teacher , since the hiring process for teachers can be a bit of a pickle from what I've anecdotally heard here and there .
Anyways I wish the best of luck to you and never forget the cliche adage of never say never .
Of course you are not too old. But do you really have the drive to do it? And what about your poodles? It would be a huge upheaval in life & you need to be adaptable. Are you?
The culture will be different than what you are used to.
Ha... 26, too old?! You are young, and at the exact age when most go to Europe to live a new way of life. You will not have all the luxuries that older people have, you need to build yourself up, and you are starting out just at the right time.
I would tend to agree that at your age, an educational path will be the way to go. You will be granted a visa as a student, and you can work a certain number of hours. After being in X country for so many years, you can change your visa and/or try to apply for permanent residence.
I'm afraid that about does it for the useful advice I can personally give you OP , though as an aside I may as well mention that finding work related to your pharmacy tech certification may very well be easier in several parts of the Continent than as a teacher , since the hiring process for teachers can be a bit of a pickle from what I've anecdotally heard here and there .
Anyways I wish the best of luck to you and never forget the cliche adage of never say never .
IIRC, the OP already had a thread asking about pharmacy tech jobs in Europe. It didn't go well. Europe has plenty of pharmacy techs. They don't need to import them. They're not on the list of expertise countries need and give out visas for. Neither is teaching, except for ESL.
I’m guessing you want to fix what isn’t broken, instead of what is. You are bored, overweight, don’t speak French or German, but think moving to Europe is a good idea? Of course it isn’t.
At your age, the world, and all it’s possibilities are open to you, but be sensible. Getting 3 dogs didn’t fix what’s eating you. Buying a house didn’t fix whats eating you. Figure out what really IS eating you, and plan some nice vacations to the exotic places you think about.
I’m guessing you want to fix what isn’t broken, instead of what is. You are bored, overweight, don’t speak French or German, but think moving to Europe is a good idea? Of course it isn’t.
At your age, the world, and all it’s possibilities are open to you, but be sensible. Getting 3 dogs didn’t fix what’s eating you. Buying a house didn’t fix whats eating you. Figure out what really IS eating you, and plan some nice vacations to the exotic places you think about.
Brutally realistic perspective! OP, you have a good profession that will allow you to relocate within the US. If you don't like where you live right now, look at teaching jobs in other locations. There are many states that are desperate for teachers, and not only in math/science, but in other fields as well. What is it you teach, exactly? And btw, even in the US, ESL teachers are needed.
Instead of fantasizing about Paris, perhaps begin looking into where around the US teachers in your field/s are needed. You might discover some charming places, smaller towns in scenic locations (more affordable than big cities on your Louisiana budget...), lots of possibilities! You can have fun exploring potential options.
IIRC, the OP already had a thread asking about pharmacy tech jobs in Europe. It didn't go well. Europe has plenty of pharmacy techs. They don't need to import them. They're not on the list of expertise countries need and give out visas for. Neither is teaching, except for ESL.
I mean I really have no clue about the situation concerning how easy it is to obtain pharmacy tech jobs in France or Germany , but in my neck of the woods pretty much everybody who wants to work can easily get a job , including more than likely pharmacy tech ones at likely twice the current minimum wage rate .
Of course the OP doesn't seem to interested in moving to East Central Europe , which makes my 2 cents worthless in this case , but there have been plenty of jobs available in practically every sector in the Intermarium region ever since the exodus to Western parts of the EU began .
I appreciate your post regardless by the way and thanks for that interesting tidbit about the possibility of visas being handed out to pharmacy techs .
If my memory doesn't fail me at least one of the Americans I knew when I first moved to Europe actually got in on a pharmacy job related visa , but that was ages ago so things must have really changed .
I mean I really have no clue about the situation concerning how easy it is to obtain pharmacy tech jobs in France or Germany , but in my neck of the woods pretty much everybody who wants to work can easily get a job , including more than likely pharmacy tech ones at likely twice the current minimum wage rate .
Of course the OP doesn't seem to interested in moving to East Central Europe , which makes my 2 cents worthless in this case , but there have been plenty of jobs available in practically every sector in the Intermarium region ever since the exodus to Western parts of the EU began .
I appreciate your post regardless by the way and thanks for that interesting tidbit about the possibility of visas being handed out to pharmacy techs .
If my memory doesn't fail me at least one of the Americans I knew when I first moved to Europe actually got in on a pharmacy job related visa , but that was ages ago so things must have really changed .
Well, the OP can always check visa policy on the embassy websites for the countries he's interested in, which is a good point. And maybe it's easier to get a work/residency visa for "East Central Europe" than in the West, but that's pretty far from the OP's Parisian dreams, though possibly a bit more realistic visa-wise. I kind of doubt he'd be able to find courses in Slavic languages or Hungarian in Shreveport, though...
I hear the Czech cities are pretty charming and have good cultural offerings and nightlife, though. Not quite Paris, but not that far off?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ha-ha...
