dnyhan
5/12/2008 23:42 EST
Hello,
I'm an Irish IT professional, working and living in Ireland.
My standard of life in Ireland is good, but I'm bored to tears with living here.
I was wondering about a move to Lithuania, my main problem is that I don't speak any Lithuanian, just basic phrases.
I speak quite good Polish and conversational Russian (which i'm working on).
My partner is Lithuanian and I visited her home town, Kaunas, in December.
I found the people in Kaunas were quite rude and people were generally quite miserable (obviously my GF's family and friends were very nice people but I'm referring to the general public).
People smash into you without saying 'a ty proshau', or when I held the door at a bank open for elderly people, they stared at me like I was a convicted rapist.
This is quite strange and very different to Ireland so it put me off Kaunas, and the fact that I don't speak Lithuanian is obviously a huge barrier.
I visited Vilinus and thought it was quite nice. I heard Polish spoken a few times and I was able to use Russian in the shops which was a relief.
Many of my friends in Ireland are Lithuanian, two or three of my best friends are Lithuanian. All of them have warned me against ever living there, but my GF has lived in Ireland for 3 years and thinks I would love the experience.
I did a basic search for IT jobs in Vilinus or Klaipeda but didn't really find much.
I really don't know much about living there barring what I have heard from friends and what I've read here.
All friends have described it as a very tough life, but none of them have degrees and their standard of life is not so brilliant in Ireland anyway, just a lot better than Lithuania.
I saw plenty of poor people in Lithuania but I also saw a lot of people who seemed to be comfortable.
Several people told me it would be possible to get a IT job in Vilinus with an international bank or company if I improved my Russian, given that I'm a native English speaker, but I'm finding it hard to find positive feedback.
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rikmo
5/13/2008 23:56 EST
Hello Dnyhan - I cannot recommend moving here if you do not speak Lithuanian. The IT market here is saturated. One of the reasons I moved here was that I had 3 job offers from previous visits. If you want to teach English you can probably find a job at ILS Vilnius or be a private teacher, but it does not pay well by current standards. Any Lithuanian company that would hire you has to get past the law here that requires a documented and notarized reason as to why a Lithuanian cannot have your job first - I had to file a document to even get permission to work here, and I was the director of my own company! As far as the people - in social matters, some can be fairly nice sometimes- but as far as business and bureaucracy - think LiarThiefWania, not Lithuania.
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Abakan
From: Lithuania
5/14/2008 00:35 EST
Hi,
I imagine the reason no one is responding is because no one takes you for real. Lithuanians tend to think they live in a terrible country that no one in their right mind would move to.
And then too, there is the culture shock. Many people stay for a while, pack up their bags, and go home. Most of the people I have known have.
Applying in person will help a lot.
I forwarded your letter to an IT friend of mine for his comments. I always thought Kaunas was the IT centre of Lithuania, but I agree that Vilnius has more to offer in general (hence the better atitude)and you should be able to get an IT job here in Vilnius.
I'll let you know what my friend says when I hear back from him.
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Abakan
From: Lithuania
5/16/2008 07:21 EST
I spoke with my friend, an IT specialist. He agrees that you will have trouble being taken seriously. His advice is to actively look for a job, directly contacting the IT companies yourself. You will need good qualifications, i.e. entry level is going to be a hard sell, and being willing to work for Lithuanian wages. My personal recommendation would be to take whatever comes up and then look for a better job in a year or two as your stay here will prove your commitment and you will then have a local reference.
As to excitement, we are getting more performers here but I can't really see Lithuania as exciting. Quiet and peaceful, yes, exciting, no. But maybe we just have a different idea of exciting.
As to language, all IT specialists will speak good English but nearly all the IT literature sold in the shops is in Russian.
Good luck
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ladelila
5/16/2008 12:42 EST
Hypotherical Question - If you still have IT job in Ireland, can you telecommute from Lithuania? That way minimal wage should hopefully not be an issue. Another idea is if you can do short term external contract jobs while living in Lithuania? Finally, there was a talk of Google opening up a huge data center in Lithuania to serve the entire region including Russia (read it in the Baltic Air magazine - not sure about the name on the way to Vilnius in March). It that plays out - that could be a major opportunity for you because of tri-lingual experience and IT.
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dnyhan
5/28/2008 11:36 EST
Many thanks for you replies folks, and Abakan, my sincere thanks for taking the time to ask your friend regarding the issue.
It does seem like a very hard sell.
I wonder if I was married to my girlfriend and had dual citizenship, would it be easier?
I agree with your comments in that people think I am insane to want to move there.
Then again, everyone thinks Ireland is fantastic and when you get here, you realise its a county full of either alcoholics or workaholics.
The boredom is a killer here, much like Groundhog day, which would be the main motivation for wanting to move.
As for external work, I know there is a Romanian in my company who works from Romania and comes to Ireland every 4th week.
However, given that I'm native Irish, I cannot see the same exception being made for me.
Many thanks for your thoughts, it does seem unfeasible unfortunately.
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