We Irish are like salmon. Come mating season we can be found swimming upstream against the financial currents to spawn where we were conceived. Often, no matter what the cost. Now, those who have not already made the journey home to settle down are considering swapping their relatively lavish lifestyles in the US to return to Ireland and claim a rain-soaked piece of turf near friends and family.
Why not? The Republic's day has arrived. Even the Americans are talking about it. Stories about Ireland Inc's success are rife in the US media. Business publications like the Silicon Valley technology magazine Upside carry wide-eyed and sometimes patronising accounts of the Republic's new-found wealth.
The Portland Oregonian said that five years ago Dublin was abundant with bicycles, and even had a horse and cart or two. But now it's bumper-to-bumper traffic. True, there are certainly more cars but the Dublin depicted is more akin to the 1950s than the 1990s.
However, with such startling revelations of Ireland's rags to riches or, more precisely, bicycles to BMWs success, who can blame the average emigrant for deciding they would prefer their children to grow up with an Irish rather than an American accent?
After all, the Republic now has a lot to offer. For a start, there are plenty of jobs. The State's high-tech companies are so desperate to hire that last week they were willing to travel as far as Boston for new blood. The Republic's education system is, on the whole, better. And at least there is a safety net, so if you lose your job you have some chance of surviving with State assistance. In the US social security lasts only six months. But most importantly, you get to see your parents and family more than once a year.
But it's a difficult choice. For many high-tech professionals Silicon Valley's new Internet economy offers a chance of real wealth. Without a doubt, the Internet is providing California's second gold rush.
Recently, a friend of mine who works as a software tester with e-commerce infrastructure company InterShop struck gold. Having worked at the company for just over 18 months he earned a sizeable bonus (he's not saying how much) when the company went public.
Of course, Irish high-tech companies now also offer stock option plans, but US plans tend to be more generous and initial public offerings on the Nasdaq tend to be more rewarding. US staff can expect to be offered between 6,000 and 10,000 shares on signing a contract. Not bad considering that some companies' share prices rise to around $60 (€57.75) on the first day of trading. Typically, those stock options become the employees over a four-year period. High-level employees will expect to get a lot more.
Even working for a company that is not going to go public, US employees tend to do better than their Irish counterparts. In Silicon Valley, entrants can expect $40,000 and experienced engineers can expect $70,000$120,000, while management and sales staff can expect between $100,000 and $200,000. The average Silicon Valley house costs around $400,000, although houses in Silicon Valley tend to be more expensive than in the rest of California. But a million dollars will either buy a nice Georgian house in Dublin or a beach-front property on San Francisco Bay.
Still, it's bit like playing poker. No matter how informed your decision in choosing your prospective employer, once public the company may bomb or the market may go through a correction i.e. crash. And for every person that manages to get out with anything upward of a couple of hundred thousand dollars following a successful IPO, there are thousands putting in 60- to 80-hour weeks, working weekends and taking no holidays for shares that will be worth very little at the end of the day.
Moving home is also a bit of a lottery. Few Irish people believe that they will live abroad for ever. Most, like Rory O'Flynn, the research manager for Wired Digital, believe that someday they will return to Ireland. "But not yet," he said. "I enjoy the outdoor lifestyle here."
Is now the best time to uproot and move back? Nobody knows. Perhaps it would be better to wait until property prices drop, but if they do, job opportunities are also likely to be more scarce.
In the meantime, the Government may be a little too optimistic if it believes that it will attract many more Irish high-tech workers to its shores. Why? Unless such people have cashed in lucrative stock option plans how could they afford to take a pay cut and buy property in Ireland?
Still, home is home and for many the opportunities offered by the US come a poor second best to spending a Sunday afternoon with family. That is, until you try it. Should the emigrants return? You tell me.
Niall McKay can be reached at Irish-times@niall.org
