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Wanting to go away for 6-12 months to another country.

magiic

magiic

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 17, 2008
244
14
San Jose
I just graduated from highschool in June and I am wanting to travel to another country for 6-12 months to work and explore and just get some kind of different perspective on the world and hopefully broaden myself as a person. All that exciting stuff. Anyways these forums have seemed fairly multinational to me so I thought I would make a post here to see what people have to say about different places from personal experience.

I am going to be doing it through SWAP (Student Work Abroad Program)

They offer a good variety of different countries and I have narrowed it down to either

Britain
Ireland
Australia
New Zealand

I am kind of hesitant to go to Ireland or Britain just because of the money factor as I am coming from Canada and our money is worth pretty much jack all over in Europe.

I am wanting to go to one of these countries and get a job (not quite sure doing what) and a place to live and from there work, make some money and just travel around in those countries see some different things and meet some new people.

Any help or tips or info or whatever you think would benefit me to know about any of these countries or just about this whole project in general particularily in regards to housing, employment and just general costs of stuff.

Please feel free to ask me anything too to get a better idea of what Im doing.

Right now I am particularily interested in finding out how hard it is to find a job and a place to live in the places listed. What kind of costs can expect and what kind of pay can I expect!

I'm also looking to get my first Mac to take with me but I think that might be a story for another thread.
Thanks!
 
Britain is a "safe" answer.

Ireland is great, but beware of the anti-GB sentiment there ... unless you don't mind a history lesson not written by the winners. ;)

Haven't been to NZ or AU, but NZ still holds much interest for me.

Maybe some day. :cool:
 
iJohnHenry said:
Britain is a "safe" answer.

Ireland is great, but beware of the anti-GB sentiment there ... unless you don't mind a history lesson not written by the winners. ;)

Haven't been to NZ or AU, but NZ still holds much interest for me.

Maybe some day. :cool:
Click to expand...

Haha I actually love listening to people, more or less regardless of what they have to say. I like history too. As long as there isn't a lot of hate towards Canadians I'm fine.
 
australia is a good place to visit, also if italy was an option i would go with that. in my opinion that is the most beautiful place in europe.
these views are biased but true since i am italian:cool::D
 
magiic said:
As long as there isn't a lot of hate towards Canadians I'm fine.
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Trust me.

I spent 2 weeks touring all over Ireland, and the only area I did not care for was Northern Ireland.

If the people in the Republic know you are from Canada you have it made.

PS: I don't know how you swing, but with your age I must say that the girls in Ireland are amazing. (Sucker for red-heads speaking here. Mind the insanity, please.)
 
ivtecDOu said:
australia is a good place to visit, also if italy was an option i would go with that. in my opinion that is the most beautiful place in europe.
these views are biased but true since i am italian:cool::D
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I have been to Italy before and agree it is an awesome place. My only reason for not going is Im trying to go somewhere english speaking as it's the only language I speak and my track record at learning other languages is not great.
 
I've been to Asia mostly.....
Nice continent though.... and nicer still are the people!:D

Japan, China (Shanghai), Singapore, Malaysia and India
Next trip will be Taiwan! And am also thinking of Angkor Vat! But considering all thats happened...
 
Maybe but I kinda like to see things develop. Everythings so saturated in Europe....

But still, France is an excellent choice (great country, great culture, great people).


et faire apprendre a parler francais. Son simple!
(and do learn to speak French. Its simple!)

P.S.: there should be a circonflexe on the 'c' in francais and a grave on a before parler!:D
 
I've tried to learn french. I took it in school from grades 5-10 and I still really cant speak or right or understand it
I've been too france as well before and thought it was cool but the language thing turns me away from it
 
magiic said:
I've been too france as well before and thought it was cool but the language thing turns me away from it
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LOL:D

I learnt it from 'The complete idiots guide (at least the basics) by Gail Stein! Brilliant book! The rest I learnt in France! LOL
 
bartelby said:
And great food.
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Lol... how could I forget THAT! Clams and shrimps might sound and seem daunting but are delicious!:D

P.S.: Please dont be Bean and break the shrimps before you eat em'..... Its a little string like chords behind their tails!
 
You really should list some of the other countries that were available to you. You would be surprised how common English really is in a lot of them. You may have more options than you think. Besides, no matter how bad you are, in 6-12 months you will definitely pick up at least a bit of a foreign language. If they speak a lot of English plus something else where you go, you should be set.
 
if wait a year i will go with you :D
haha jk
i plan on doing the same thing when i graduate. i hear new zealand is a great place to go and get a job and its very easy.
 
magiic said:
Asia has never really struck me as that appealing.
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But they're not really SWAP-pable places to go.

The suggestions here are nice and all, but if you're going to be limited to the choices offered by SWAP, then lets just stick with the choices.

As a Canadian living in Australia, I say go to England or Ireland. :p You're close to everything, and despite how different Australia is from Canada on a superficial level, Britain is far more different in terms of what it offers culturally. Australia is pretty at times, and the weather is (usually) nice. However, for a work experience and lots of travelling, you can't beat the UK or Ireland, nor the proximity to Europe.
 
One thing I've considered about going to Ireland or Britain is that I have the option of venturing off to other countries for short bursts without having to worry about trying to get a job and stuff while not speaking the language. I can just go and be touristy for a bit and then come back.

I appreciate all the responses so far. Thanks guys!
 
Go somewhere else.

Ireland, Britain, Australia, New Zealand...

Granted their accents are bad :)P), but they all speak english as their first language.

Try going to a country that doesn't speak english as a first language. Or even where the predominate race isn't caucasian.

You'll find a lot about yourself if you're in a different culture for half a year or more.

You'll find a lot more about yourself if you're in a different and strange culture for the same amount of time.

Try somewhere in Asia. Somewhere in South America.

You will definitely have a chance to travel Europe in your lifetime. Everyone with the means eventually travels to at least parts of Europe.

But not as many people, at least in North America, go travel Asia. There are reasons for that, obviously...safety, ease of traveling, comfort in being around more normal cultures... but as long as you're willing to go somewhere for a year, go somewhere completely different and find out if you can deal with it.
 
baby duck monge said:
You really should list some of the other countries that were available to you. You would be surprised how common English really is in a lot of them. You may have more options than you think. Besides, no matter how bad you are, in 6-12 months you will definitely pick up at least a bit of a foreign language. If they speak a lot of English plus something else where you go, you should be set.
Click to expand...

The full list is:

Europe
Britain
Ireland
France
Germany
Austria

Africa
South Africa

Asia
Japan

South Pacific
Australia
New Zealand
 
I'm in London right now taking a three week summer course at a University here, and I must say, this is my dream town. It is incredible, the people are nice, and the nightlife is...outstanding.

I highly recommend it.
 
Badandy said:
I'm in London right now taking a three week summer course at a University here, and I must say, this is my dream town. It is incredible, the people are nice, and the nightlife is...outstanding.

I highly recommend it.
Click to expand...

any take on employment and housing in London?
 
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