>>40423396i've lived in mainland europe for almost eight years, few different countries. for the most part it's alright and i'm happy enough here but every place i've been in has had its own set of things that make living there annoying. i think the big thing people who've never moved abroad don't realise is that a LOT of countries in europe will just never consider you one of their own even if you speak the language perfectly and get cultural references and so on. like i speak french fluently, have a degree from a french uni, am really aware of the culture and current affairs and so on and yet when i lived in france people would still constantly insinuate that i didn't really belong there and ask me if i was going to move home. it felt like once they find out you're anglophone they start seeing as you as some kind of long-term tourist and it makes forming durable connections kind of hard. i don't think you get this as much in the likes of the UK and the US but i could be wrong. most mainland european cultures are also a lot more sexist than anglo ones especially in professional environments so worth considering if you're stealth mtf.
anyway what i'm trying to say is i understand OP because i also sometimes fantasise about moving home to ireland or going to another english speaking country but the more i read about how ireland has changed since i last lived there the more i think i'll just stay on the continent. emerging europe is a pretty good place to be (presuming you're white and pass lol), people are welcoming towards and curious about foreigners still but most of these countries haven't imported thirdies en masse yet. seeing the government just randomly choose irish villages to airdrop 100 afghan males into made me realise it's over, you can't even move to a rural area for the quiet life anymore because for all you know you could end up with an asylum seeker hostel next door.
