I thought the Irish had an arrangement with the US for longer work visa periods.... Everyone in the USA thinks they're Irish anyway, just get one of them to adopt you
Whe I was leaving the states I tried Canada, south America, Africa, Far East, Russia, Australia, Europe (!) and probably the moon. All of those places have work, but with just piston time, an FAA license and no work visa priviledge, the pickings were pretty slim (read - none). I heard lots of stories about how easy it was to get a visa for place X (particularly Canada) but I coudn't see a way to make it work and I couldn't find any actual examples of people who'd done it without something more than their FAA Rotary license and UK passport.
If you can't bring yourself to marry a one of those American girls (or boys in some states!) then a trip back home might be all that is left to you.
The FAA->JAA is a bit of a slog - took me about 8 months from getting back to getting a job and cost about 25K (UKP, ATP including a Twin IR).
Worth it? At the moment yes - a few years down the line that may change though. Still you don't regret the (majority of) things you do, only the (majority of) things you don't do.
The only good news is that once you're on the "inside" in the JAA system you and you've got your foot on the ladder, there is a fair bit of demand (particularly in Ireland).
Good luck anyway - I've been in that position and it isn't a pleasant place to be, but you just have to stay focused and do what it takes.
BG.