Ireland for a year?

Back in 2008, Ireland and the USA signed a new agreement allowing each others students to come and work in their countries for up to 12 months. Unlike many other student or working holiday agreements with countries, this one doesn't appear to have age restrictions attached to it; you simply have to be in post-secondary education or have graduated within the last 12 months.

This is not a permanent relocation (I suppose it could be if you married your way into the country) and I don't know if it can be converted into a long-term visa, but it would tell you pretty quickly if you're cut out for the expat life.

Not a very "Irish" photo, but it's me on a ferry to Dublin

In addition to the education requirements, you'll have to have some money saved (at least €1,500), have a return plane ticket (you can skip the return ticket if you have €3,000), and have medical insurance. There's also the standard list of "don'ts":

• Don't be a felon
• Don't use drugs
• Don't have been deported from somewhere
• Don't suffer from communicable diseases

You will want to check their application for for this program (pdf) to get a better idea of what they're looking for.

If you take this opportunity, may I suggest checking out Ireland outside of Dublin? The folks I've met in Dublin were very friendly, but the city itself is not particularly attractive and there's a lot more to Ireland than Dublin.

Note that this is not the same as the Irish working holiday program, a program only open to citizens of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.