Image Copyright: Carol Ann Kane

I wrote this blog post for an Irish expats returning to Ireland facebook group. I am an Irish but have lived abroad for 8 years. We returned to Ireland with a young family in February 2018. I hope you enjoy the post…..

Yesterday marked the end of our first year back in Ireland. What a year. I posted in this forum about 5 months after we got back and shared some of the positive aspects of being back. I was blown away by the number of people who commented saying they were delighted to hear some positivity about returning to Ireland. One (astute) man commented on the thread and said something along the lines of “see if you feel the same way in another 6 months” – so, I thought I would update my previous post and share the highs and lows of our first year back.

We left Perth after spending 8 years there. We arrived in Oz with nothing but backpacks and left 8 years later with a container, a car and two young children. Like so many Irish who settled in Australia we found ourselves leaving behind good jobs, a great lifestyle and a network of friends who had become like family.

But the pull to return home to be closer to family was strong and we missed the help we knew we would get if we were closer to grandparents.

So one year done.

365 days.

Over 1,000mm of rain.

From 17 hours of daylight a day in June to barely 7 in December.

So how was it? Overall it has been good. Difficult at times and in honesty it's easy to feel great about the move one day and regret it the next. In that way it's similar to when we were in Australia - that wasn't perfect either.

The highs:

• Being with family, seeing our two young children with their cousins, aunties, uncles and grandparents. No more long haul flights. No more heart-breaking goodbyes at the airports. No sense of “we only have a few weeks!” – being able to have a cup of tea with Mammy whenever I like!
• Being in the same time zone! Picking up the phone whenever I like to speak to those we love
• The summer (bear with me!) – the long evenings, the hysteria that breaks out when the sun shines is actually great! In Australia we took for granted the sun would shine but here people drop everything and soak it up. People are out walking, running, cycling at 9pm at night in the summer. I thought it would rain every day here – it doesn’t.
• The familiar – I don’t think I need to explain this. Being home is familiar. This could be a “pro” and a “con” but I lobbed on this side of the list rightly or wrongly.
• Not feeling rushed (I may be out on a limb with this one) – in Perth I always felt rushed – rushing to get to the beach before the sea breeze came in, rushing to get to a dinner reservation because they would shut early, rushing to the supermarket because it closed at 5pm on weekends. I definitely don’t have that sense here – things are relaxed and people accommodating.
• Being closer to Europe , getting to plan ski holidays, sun holidays, weekends away and not having to budget 10k to do so! Having babysitters for weekends away!
• Realising that there are playgrounds and things to do with kids here – we had a great summer, we live in Waterford. We spent time on the Greenway, down at the beach, going to playgrounds and there were hardly any days we couldn’t get outdoors at some stage even it was grey out.

The lows:

• The weather is hard when you are used to waking up to a blue sky most days. The winter hit us hard, I won’t lie. Waking up in the dark in winter hit our body clocks more than I anticipated – it felt difficult to get out of bed in the mornings.
• Job market – we both had successful careers in Australia. My husband got a job here easily and it is going well even though there is a definite “settling in” period where you work harder than you would have in an established role to make a good impression (that’s likely not specific to returning to Ireland though). Outside of Dublin options can be limited and salaries are lower. Saying that the cost of living is lower – we just bought a 5 bedroom detached house, new build for a fraction of what we would pay in Dublin so it can swing in roundabouts.
• The “starting again” feeling. We all did it when we went abroad to live. Made a life elsewhere and put time and effort into building networks, professional and personal. There is the same feeling coming back and it can be exhausting when you have a young family. Nothing ventured though, nothing gained.
• I kind of want to include “the weather” again as a con! The reality though has been that we have made extra effort to get out of the house when the weather is good and I have been to the beach for walks with my son on blue-sky clear days in December. You bring the “outdoor lifestyle” mentality with you when you return and it is sometimes about working around the weather to get outside when you can, especially in the winter months. Bearing in mind also that the weather was difficult in Perth when it hit 40 degrees it isn’t always a case of “grass being greener”.

If I had any tips for families or couples coming back it would be these:

• Figure out what you like about your life abroad and try and replicate it when you come back if you can. I loved being near playgrounds for my kids so we rented near a playground and it just helped in those early days when you are struggling to settle.
• Join local Network groups if you need to build your professional network. My area of speciality as an international tax specialist isn’t in high demand outside of Dublin so I have set up my own business and the support for new businesses is out there - in bucket loads.Your Local Enterprise Office is a great port of call. The Department of Foreign Affairs run a program called “Back for Business” to help returning entrepreneurs also. I’ve just had a desk for 6 months in a co-work space sponsored by the Local Enterprise Office – there are some great resources out there. If you are looking for employment it is worth contacting a good recruiter before you come back to hit the ground running when you return. Certain professions and jobs are in very high demand, even outside of Dublin.
• Resist the urge to compare, especially in the early days. Moving to a new country is hard regardless of where it is – I think it takes time to settle.
• Interestingly, our weeks here are similar to our weeks in Australia. Eat, sleep, repeat until the weekend. I think there is a perception in Ireland that when you live in Australia you spend all your spare time at the beach. I have been to the beach more times since we got back to Ireland than when we lived in Perth!

Before we left I followed this group, always eager to see how it had worked out for families that had decided to return. I am not sure why I thought I was going to find the answer to the “should we return dilemma” on a Facebook group. Coming back is in many ways, similar to leaving – lots of unknowns. The reality though is that no one person can tell you whether you should stay or go because every day is different and no one’s situation is the same. So this is just what our experience has been– yours will differ

Important links: 

  #MapMyMove- Our coaching Services - Confused or lost and need some direction, book a session with us to help untangle the confusion and work out your route of immigration

   Some family members have either or both: Irish and South African Passports

   Irish Citizenship (Foreign Birth Registration FBR) The basics

   Getting prepared for your Foreign Birth registration (FBR) 

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