I had a number of incredibly fortuitous circumstances and got in before they changed the laws. SeanT doesn’t really have the same options I had, unless he either (a) develops a really in-demand skill or (b) is willing to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week doing some job that they have to give work permits for because no EU citizen would ever think of doing it, like picking mushrooms.
I work at a university just up north of you. But, at one time not so long ago, I worked at a university in England, doing somewhat the same work.
The steps I took to get that job are actually ones available to you. I won’t say they’re easy, but here they are:
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Apply to and be accepted for a graduate degree in a school outside the US. Not as hard as you’d think, really, if you are a good student. I was accepted at the University of Toronto to do a master’s degree in British history, and, though I’d been accepted at schools in the US, nobody offered as much scholarship money as U of T. U of T has an excellent MBA program, as I remember.
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Find and marry a woman from another country. This is obviously the trickiest one
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After your marriage, apply for residency. This one isn’t as easy as it looks. Although you can start working in the other country right away (within limits), it may take a long time to get permanent residency. In my case (in the UK) it would have taken a little more than five years total. Unfortunately for me, my then-spouse and I separated after less than two years of marriage. As a direct result, I had to quit my job and leave the country. I don’t recommend that.
If I may speak extemporaneously, IMHO, the immigration business sucks. In my experience it is next to impossible to leave the country, even if you have wanted skills and experience. Two years ago, just before I came to Western New York, I applied for a job at U of T to do prospect research. I had good experience in the field, and of course I had attended U of T, which should have helped. To make a long story short, my application went straight into the circular file: essentially, it would have only been accepted if no hire-able Canadians had applied to the job, regardless of how much better qualified I was. As it was, I sent out just one application to a US job in that round, and was hired immediately, so it wasn’t as if I was unwanted.
When I was going through my divorce proceedings and immigration issues in the UK, I was treated like dirt, as if I caused massive headaches to everyone involved when I had the temerity to suggest that I didn’t want to be thrown out of the country I’d been living in for the previous six years. My immigration “advisor” knew less about the process than I did. The immigration authorities lost my passport, then found it somewhere in the recesses of someone’s desk. Any questions about what stage my case had reached, or about what I could do to expedite the process, was met with a stone wall of ignorance.
Trust me, Sean, if you can help it, you don’t want anything to do with this. There’s a lot of better places to live in the US than here in WNY, places where it doesn’t snow six months a year. I don’t think you need to leave the country to find what you’re looking for.
What if I win the lottery? Isn’t there some exception for those who won’t be an economic drain on the country? I think there is in the US. John Lennon lived here for years with no “real” job. And Tina Turner lives over there somewhere. France, isn’t it?
It’s a lot different if you want to work. Many countries will let you stay there if you can prove you have X number of dollars in the bank and thus you don’t need to work and take a job from one of their citizens nor become a burden on their society.
Actually, there are a number of countries that will essentially allow you to buy a passport (or at least permanent residence), for a substantial “investment”. Too substantial for the OP unless he wins the lottery, I’m guessing.
Guys, thanks so much for the responses. I put this thread in my favorites, and certainly learned a little…unfortunately heh
Hmm…good question.
I guess I’m just not really fond of the attraction to violence, the power of evangelism in politics, and the obsession with consumption. I know this stuff is found in other countries too, but it just seems so much more prevalent here.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful I was born here instead of a third world country, but that doesn’t mean I’d pass up a chance to live in Canada
Thanks again guys, I really wasn’t expecting to pay the 15 bucks for the forum when I registered, but I think I’ll be an addict by the time my trial is up 
…yeah, but have you SEEN those european citizens? I don’t think I would hesitate…
Considering Spiny Norman is a European citizen, I imagine he’s seen a couple, maybe once or twice.
Korea’s a pretty big hot spot, too, (I see Crandolph has beaten me to the punch.) If you want to teach English, there’s any of a number of Asian countries and some Eastern European ones which will take you, give you have a university degree. Even better, these days, is to get a TEFL certificate. The courses don’t take long, and many schools even offer placement. Eastern Europe used to be a hotbed for English teachers, but it’s become much more difficult in the past few years. Many schools do prefer native speakers, so you do have that advantage.
I also know plenty of people who simply packed up and left to go to Prague or Budapest or whatnot with nothing more than a connection or two and began privately teaching there. There are plenty of quasi-legal expats in these cities and, generally, the law will not crack down on you if you do private English teaching as long as you follow the terms of your visa (which is leaving the country every three months. You simply cross the border and come back.)
Restrictions are tightening, though, although I haven’t heard of any strict enforcement from my expat friends in these places. I personally lived in Budapest for five years and moved there right after college. My luck was that I came on the tail end of foreign hires for English language newspapers there. I applied and got the job, worked for the paper for two years, and then lived as a quasi-legal resident for three. (I was registered as a foreign correspondent for one of the several publications I worked for, although this was not really necessary to keep me there.)
However, there’s not many of these sorts of jobs left. Most of the Eastern European papers have made a transition to a local staff, and the influx of American and English journalists has halted.
One place you might want to check is the OSCE. It’s an NGO which the US is part of. Their website has several well-paid postings available for anyone who is a citizen of one of the OSCE member states.
Personally, my attitude is if you want to work abroad, take the risk, save up some money, and go. Meet people, make connections, and try to parlay that into a job. I’ve seen it happen with many foreigners in Budapest. There’s a good chance you’ll fail spectacularly, but I think it’s better than sitting on your ass in the US hoping some company will send you there. That was my attitude, it worked for me, but YMMV.
Both you, Kyla, and MM8B watch way too much tv.
[sub]I an not envious. ;)[/sub]
See, I would have no problem leaving. I don’t hate America, and I do defend it when it’s attacked, but the European pace of life and general atmosphere was far more fulfilling to me than my lifestyle here. It’s an issue of preference, I suppose. America is a great country, but I would never ever say it’s the greatest in the world. It’s one of the great. But I couldn’t use the superlative for it, or any others.
It’s not about Bush or politics or anything. It’s just that the European way of life is closer to my heart.
As far as a company sending you there, American companies don’t seem to do that as much as they once did. Pretty much only very upper management and/or very temporary assignments go abroad. I think it’s because sending someone over is expensive, and many major corporations have gotten sensitive to local attitudes toward hiring local folks. That’s the case with my company (Chevron), anyway.
So, you gonna pay up and join us? 