Pushed or Pulled Thoughts on this

Crumble Froo

Great thread. I am probably the last person of all my mates in school who woulda moved. I work in the care sector generally, so always plenty of jobs back home, plus I loved my job, my hours, my clients, my friends, my hobbies, the food, the place, the sports, the language. I loved living in Ireland and everything was beautiful in life.

So I was almost entirely pulled, rather than pushed.

But I couldn't live in Ireland after living here. With the exception of no hurling/camogie, and a few price/money issues, I think just about everything here is generall better, as far as I'm concerned.

jonnybravo

Working in New Zealand at the moment and I would say I was pulled away. Left a secure job in Ireland to go working and travelling. Miss Ireland alot and can't wait to get home once I finish working and travelling. I can see the attraction for some people living away from Ireland but I'd miss my family, friends, dogs, weather (suits my white pasty skin) and the Irish lifestyle and culture in general to live away permanently.

BossArky

My story:

Growing up in Ireland I was always interested in tales of foreign lands. I knew I wanted to travel and see the world once I was finished with school, etc. I just didn't know how this was going to plan out given that I was just a young'un.

Fast forward a decade or so --> I was 18 years old and in 2nd year of Uni when I got an opportunity to do a work placement in Munich. This changed my life, opening up the possibility to travel all around Europe at weekends. Totally broadened my horizons. Often I'd head to Munich's Haupthbahnhof on a Friday evening and browse the train timetables. Over the course of a few months I'd hopped on trains to all sorts of places alone and had a great time, the most memorable being Prage, Zagreb, Amsterdam. I was 18 at the time and galavanting around Europe on my own with a stack of cash from the placement.

When I returned to Ireland I could see that many of friends were still stuck in the loop of Uni drinking and debauchery which I had been engaged in myself prior to heading on the placement. Their lives were still trundling along on the same path - groundhog day. I however had seen that there was something else outside of our usual existance and wanted more. The next few years saw me spend a summer on a J1 student working visa in New York, finishing my degree in Ireland, and doing a Masters in Ireland. The summer between finishing the degree and starting a Masters I got a permanent job in Dublin which I hated with a passion. Within a couple of weeks I knew that there was no way I could spend time sitting around doing this job in Dublin whilst my life passed me by. Jacked in the job and went back to do the Masters.

During the Masters I met a nice foreign girl on Erasmus who 8 years later would become my wife. In the last few months as I worked on my thesis I was frantically looking for a job abroad close to where she was. The aim was Vienna - I ended up in Strasbourg which was close enough-ish. My parents had always drilled stuff into me like "get a good education" to "get a good job", etc. So, here I was at 22 with a good education and a good job in France, when it hit me one day, what am I supposed to do with the rest of my life? Previously there had always been the goal of getting an education, getting a job etc. Now there was a blank canvas.

I beavered away for a year or so enjoying the work and French lifestyle. Gradually I began to think about the future, and as my 18 month contract came to an end the idea of Oz popped into my head. Unfortunately all the work in my line of expertise was in London, so myself and the future wife both moved to London living together. 5 years were spent there: buying a house, getting married, etc. London can wear you down. Travelling 4 hours round trip per day from one side of the city to the other was the nail in London's coffin for me.

Got the opportunity of a transfer to Oz with work and jumped at it. 3 interviews later and 6 months down the line everything was done and dusted. We arrived in Oz (Melbourne) in Jan 2010. The quality of life here in Melbourne is great. I've lived and worked all over the world and can truly say this has been the best from my experience. Sea, hills, weather, lifestyle, facilities, opportunities, etc. We totally feel at home and integrated in less than 10 months. Now we're looking forward to the birth of our first child in May next year, who will be a very mixed up little one with Irish, Czech and Aussie influences

No way I can see myself going back to Ireland to live. There is nothing there for me, with the exception of parents and bro, who like to visit Oz anyway.

So in summary - I'd say I was pushed from London and pulled to Oz. I always wanted to end up in Oz anyway…. so very happy right now

God, that was long-winded.

Doc

BossArky wrote: »

Now we're looking forward to the birth of our first child in May next year, who will be a very mixed up little one with Irish, Czech and Aussie influences
God, that was long-winded.

Congratulations!