I’m French, so here are some infos about living here.
First of all, I think most people are welcoming here, even if they don’t speak a proper English (older generations for example). I work in the music industry so I work with a lot of English native speakers but I don’t know for other work sectors…
If you need a decent weather I would recommend the southern part of the country. The north / north-west is rainy during winters, and I grew up in the east and it was fog / rain / cold / snow / ice for a few months. The south and south-west are the best for a decent weather all year long.
I think we have a decent standard of living, good hospitals for the most part, and considering you have a Irish citizenship you will have access to healthcare, employment systems I think.
— If you struggle to find a job, go to « Pole Emploi », it’s a governmental agency which registers unemployed people and help them to find jobs etc. They also provide free French lessons I think. French people always bitch and make jokes about French administrations, saying people working here are lazy etc, but they can really help you if you need. Don’t get discouraged by the waiting lines. You also have an unemployment allowance based on your previous work. There is also a recurring status for people working in the entertainment industry (music, cinema, tv, etc)
— When you rent a place, your salary must be 3x your rent, at least in theory. This is what the landlords ask for, but most of the people have photoshopped payslips, my ex boss made me fake ones to rent an apartment when I was younger…
— I think like in most places in the world the easiest jobs to get are in restaurants bars etc.
— Don’t live in Paris unless you have to. My wife and I have to work here, we like the city but damn rents are expensive. If we didn’t pay this rent, we could probably pretend to buy a house by the sea in Brittany haha.
— Smaller cities are obviously cheaper to live in. Tourist places (southwest, south-east etc) can be expensive too.
Skatewise, there are plenty of local skate scenes here. Also a lot of skateparks. The concrete skateparks craze started a few years ago so you can find em in some relatively small cities.
One city I would recommend here is Lyon, because :
— rents are way cheaper than Paris
— good transportation system
— from here you can go to the sea (around Marseille for exemple) or in the Alps in a few hours
— lots of restaurants / venues / art galleries / museums
— great skate scene obviously
We have a great railroad system (even though expensive…) so you can move easily within the country and around (Belgium, England, Swiss, Italy, Spain…). I suppose you are more accustomed to American distances, one thing i like in Europe is that different cultures / landscapes etc are within hundred of km perimeters.
For the government I would considering it right-wing, I’m not into Macron politic stances, but I have French standards I think.
I have friends living in Barcelona and they love it too. Also have a friend living in Italy and she made similar comments as some Pals here. Went to Germany a few months (Berlin, Hamburg and Mainz) 10 years ago but I mostly crashed on friends couches making music, partying and watching skate videos and life seemed cool in these cities, but I was 21 so that doesn’t count.
Hope this helps you. Europe has a lot of different cultures to offer, so I think you will find something that ticks all the boxes.
Good luck!