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Friday, November 14, 2014

Fernando Aguirre with Jack Spirko on The Survival Podcast




Jack Spirko from The Survival Podcast is a great guy and it was nice to talk to him again.
Here’s the link to the interview, hope you guys like it!


FerFAL

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Fernando,
I have irish citizenship and passport, I would qualify for british citizenship.

Would it be worth applying for british citizenship? The two countries are so intertwined, I am not sure if the british passport would provide benefits.

cryingfreeman said...

@ Anonymous: I have both Irish and British passports (born in Northern Ireland, therefore entitled to both). I consider myself British though... yet oddly, live in the the Republic of Ireland.

Benefits wise, well, if you get in trouble abroad the UK consulate will be a much better bet for quick help than the Irish.

The UK government also has the resources and military equipment to evacuate its citizens from continental Europe in a crisis, as recently revealed during worries over civil unrest caused by wobbles in the Euro.

On the other hand, travelling into certain regions of the world with a UK passport would be less desirable than with an Irish one, which ranks with the Swiss as "inoffensive". Citizens from the UK and US are the 2 top targets for Islamic lunatics in hostage or hijacking situations.

Okay, more comparisons: if you have a UK passport and live in the UK, you are entitled to free healthcare, free medical prescriptions, free spectacles for your kids, you get your bins emptied by the local councils, and you actually stand a good chance in most regions of seeing a doctor right away if you accidentally chop off a finger. None of those goodies apply in the Republic of Ireland.

The UK also has a very (some would say insanely) generous benefits system, which has proven a massive draw for illegal migrants. Disabled (defined very loosely) people even get free cars and most if not all of their rent paid for, plus a bonus for winter fuel.

So, the UK is freeloader's paradise. But it has nastier tax laws (to finance all this excess) than Ireland has. Still, it feels like a "proper" country whereas Ireland feels a bit backward; conversely, the Irish are more laid back and the police are generally more relaxed than in the UK.

Both UK and Irish citizenship also open the door to residency anywhere within the EU, plus (with limitations) Switzerland.

So, now you know...