Expats who returned home to Ireland?

The Planters Daughter

With eight years in Australia under the belt we are considering the huge move home maybe next year. We spent a month in Ireland over christmas time and it was just heart breaking saying goodbye - The hardest yet - With Family getting older and all the youngsters growing up
I would love to hear from some Expats who have done the move back and how things are going for them - All I seem to read is horror stories and people who regret the decision to move back but I know there must be some people out there who are enjoying life back at home - I love Ireland - And I really want some hope that this move could work out  - Thank you!

Dats_rite

Moved back after 5 years in 2015. 6 months to a year was difficult getting a job, house car insurance etc. But since then it has been good.

Albeit we came home when the kids came along and we love having the option to have babysitters available from family. If we didnt have kids I doubt we would have returned.

Prior to us returning we spent 6 weeks at home and that was what sealed the deal for us.

Not sure what else to say. It's a big decision and not easy. Though for us moving to Australia wasn't easy and the first few months there were tough. Any.specific questions let me know.

OP it sounds like you are only looking for positive responses and you’ve now got one.

I have yet to speak to anyone that moved back to Ireland and are happy with their decision. All bar none regret it.

The above response talks about access to babysitters as a good reason but the absolute main reason I’ve heard from parents here, and those that would like to move back, is that they could not refuse their children the opportunity to grow up in Australia rather than Ireland and I understand that 100%.

I’ve been back in Ireland recently and just found it to be very very grim. It was a wrench to say goodbye to family but I’ve got my life to live and the reality is I can go back and see them whenever I want. My flight was 25 hours.

waterfaerie

Not Australia but we moved back from NZ a couple of years ago. My husband is happy enough but I regret it every day.

There are certain things that are better about living in Ireland than overseas but way too many things that are worse. In particular, after experiencing the healthcare system in both places, there's no way I'd feel safe getting old here. We have permanent residence and will definitely be moving back eventually.

Absolutely. Access to healthcare just one of the many benefits to living here. I can walk in off the street and see a doctor usually within 15 minutes.

In Ireland you feel like you’re competing in an episode of the crystal maze just to get an appointment.

Tigerandahalf

Are you planning on having kids in Ireland?
If you are, having family around you is a huge bonus especially if they are some way reliable and not a pain in the hole. You just don't realise it until they come along. Getting an hr or 2 to yourself is vital. Then factor in the possibility of any of your kids having a health issue.

The health service in Ireland is pretty good. No queues for gps where I am. Most large towns should be fine. Many of the people in A&E shouldn't be there and could be easily seen in primary care centres (country is building lots of them).

The big negative for Ireland is the weather. It is bloody awful and limits an outdoor lifestyle. I have no problem with bad dark winters. It is when the summers are bad with constant heavy cloud that you would wish to be elsewhere.

Then again you do have the hotspots in Europe a few hours flight away and with kids it is easier.

I have siblings living abroad. One is wealthy enough and gets to bring the gang home frequently but the other only comes every 5 years or so and only with 1 or 2 of the kids.

Where you end up is probably not the biggest thing - a short commute, good salary and leave and access to good facilities will play the biggest role in your happiness.

Best of luck.

Canis Lupus

I'm in Brisbane, I 'own' a nice 3 bed house with a pool out the back that didn't cost an arm and a leg. The beach is a short drive away, everything on my doorstep. Don't know why anyone would want to go back to dreary Ireland.

Chocolate fiend

We did it and regretted the move to Ireland so now we are back in Australia again. We went back when our older boy was 6 months old, and moved back to Sydney when he was 4, his brother was 3 and their younger sister was under 1. Babysitting wasn't even on our radar but the lifestyle our children (and us) can have here makes up for basically doing it all on your own.

I don't know anyone who moved back home and was happy with the decision, I am sure they do exist though.

frankston

I moved back after 11 year in Melbourne and have never regretted it. I have kids who will benefit from not paying 40k each in tuition fees if they decided to go to university. We as a family love to travel and have visited numerous countries in Europe and seen sites such as Olympia , Pompeii , Rome, Prague and Paris . Travel with families to such places is very expensive and difficult from Oz , even getting to Indonesia is several hours from Melbourne.

I recently visited Melbourne and found that many of my friends and inlaws now spent many hours a week sitting in traffic. Some of my nephews and nieces commute over 90 minutes to attend university as city rents are so expensive.

Most of all I found the politics toxic , when I left John Howard was leader and the liberals are still in command with their special brand of simplisic retoric.

I like Melbourne but my reality was I lived in suburbia and rarely went into the city as it was over 25k away. Shopping was in a giant air conditioned mall. My kids here play trad music go on exchanges with french schools and view themselfs as Europeans. When I shop here I bump into people I know and have a chat. My kids to me seem far more worldly compared with their Australian cousins as they have had the opportunity to travel more frequently.

Most of all I think that it is very difficult to rationalise such a decision as there are so many personal aspects to each person's situation. Living in Melbourne will be a totally different experience to sonebody living in Broome , in a similar manner living in County Clare will be a totally different experience to sonebody living in Phibsborough .

You will benefit from not paying 40 grand. Not your children ?

Peregrinus

Deleted User wrote: »

You will benefit from not paying 40 grand. Not your children.

FWIW, it seems to be comparatively rare in Australia for even quite well-off parents to pay their children's university fees. Fees were abolished in the 1970s and, when they were reintroduced in the 1990s, the move was accompanied by a student loan scheme on generous terms. Payment of fees using the loan scheme seems to be much the commonest way to finance third-level education.

Morshlac

wow this thread is amazing to me.
The only thing I’ve seen about this sort of thing is the Irish Times Abroad/Emigrant section..and like everything on there it is Ireland Propaganda machine with everyone seemingly loving being back or mad to move back for a cup of Barry's tea.

sorry to reign on your parade some more OP but back 2 years with my family and we are going back to Australia in a few months’ time....no doubts at all in the slightest about the decision..we love the outdoor lifestyle

We could rant for days about the things that have frustrated us here but will stop there lol.
"The health service in Ireland is pretty good" aaahhhh hahahhahahahahhaha I think I’m going to have to go to A+E to get my sides stitched back together but will die from blood loss after being left on the floor for days...

Flights and skype make things easier these days....as for family.....we have some family over so not quite the same. But coming back here hasn't been what I imagined we have not got an iota of the support or welcome we expected....that’s no offence to anyone here they just carry on living they're lives as normal..

the only positive response you've had is dats_rite, and not exactly a ringing endorsement maybe ?!

The end of frankston post very good though not all situations are alike and it is a very personal decision. This is the first time i've seen something that endorses completely how we feel though.

anyways ....Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi !!!

pete4130

I've been here 7 years in Sydney. I left Ireland on a long career break from a stable job, with a good salary of about €50K a year, so had the option to return home if I had wanted to.

I've been home about 4 times since moving over here for anywhere between 2-4 weeks. Ireland will always be where I'm from but its not somewhere I'd like to call home any more. Every time I'm back in Ireland I look forward to coming back to Australia towards the end of my stay.

I was back home in November 2017 for a few weeks. It was good seeing family and friends. I don't mind the cold weather. I'd rather it over the heat here any day.

I earn much more over here. I do work harder here than back in Ireland but I'm rewarded for the hard work and can enjoy my free time a lot more here. Beaches, surfing, fishing, kayaking, biking, 4WDing, camping, hiking, canyoning are things that are from 30 mins away from me. These are things that are much harder to do in Ireland with the weather.

I get a 4WD work vehicle that I can use for personal use, go off road, camping, exploring and not rack up the Km on my own car.

I can go see a doctor for free with bulk billing, medicare covers a lot of other medical fees, so does health insurance. The system doesn't seem under as much pressure here.

I can leave a surfboard or kayak on my roof rack and be reasonably confident that when I come back to my car 30 minutes later it will still be there. There is less petty crime, junkies, theft, robberies for the most part.

I can lock my semi expensive bike with a cheap lock and not worry too much about it being stolen or damaged.

I can leave my car parked and not worry too much if I've hidden all the valuables away out of sight for fear of the car being broken into.

On the flip side, rental/buying can be more expensive, groceries are more expensive. Petrol/fuel is cheaper. So on a whole that stuff nearly balances out.

I've just got more options here to enjoy myself.

I know if I moved back to Ireland I'd regret my decision and it wouldn't be long before I'd be coming back to Australia.

Robert Power

Canis Lupus wrote: »

I'm in Brisbane, I 'own' a nice 3 bed house with a pool out the back that didn't cost an arm and a leg. The beach is a short drive away, everything on my doorstep. Don't know why anyone would want to go back to dreary Ireland.

Great to see a fellow Brisbanite here!

dubrov

OP, you are likely to get biased responses in this forum. Most people who frequent here will either be thinking of going to Australia, already out there or thinking of going back.

Anyone who has moved back and is happy will probably not check here at all.

At the end of the day, your happiness will mainly be based on family, friends, salary, job, commute. These will all be specific to you.

Morshlac

haha thats such nonsense. You should look up the confirmation bias dubrov good man.

dubrov

Morshlac wrote: »

haha thats such nonsense. You should look up the confirmation bias dubrov good man.

My whole post was about confirmation bias but that seems to have gone over your head.

For the record, I never said Ireland is better or worse than Australia.

Morshlac

I could give a big ranting reply but think I'll leave it! Look all of us ex-pats have been through a lot and make hard decisions so any of our opinions should be listened to....thats all.

I agree its the Australian forum to possibly a bit biased...as you say its personal decision.

And if the OP really just wants validation of moving back all he needs to do is read the Irish Times Abroad section! 

‘You can’t replace family so we’re moving home to Ireland",  Irish in Sydney: ‘All my friends talk about moving home’, "must to love but family draws Emigrants home"....etc

Youredeadright

Myself and the missus were away about 10 years and are back 1.5 years now. There's things I'm missing from Oz like camping, the taste of the fruit, cafe culture and a great circle of friends (loads more things) but we don't regret the move back. We made the decision not to move to Dublin even though that's where the jobs were. It would have been easy to get work there but our pay wouldn't have been spectacular and with the cost of rent, sh*te traffic and higher petty crime rates than we were used to in Oz, we decided to hold out for somewhere else. Also, something we observed among Irish friends that moved back from Oz, those that moved around the country seemed to be able to cope with the move better, whereas those who moved back to Dublin often moved back in with family or if paying rents found they had little disposable income to enjoy the great stuff that Dublin has to offer. So that sent us looking at the rest of the country.

I won't lie, we had our doubts and the first year turned out to be a real grind with government departments, insurance and the rest but we're over that hump now. My advice would be to move back only when one has a job lined up and preferably in Spring so you get a good run at the summer, invest in excellent wet weather clothing and thermals so you can still get out and about if you like walks/hikes or a wetsuit if you like the beach, book some cheap city breaks to Europe.

no.8

Canis Lupus wrote: »

I'm in Brisbane, I 'own' a nice 3 bed house with a pool out the back that didn't cost an arm and a leg.  The beach is a short drive away, everything on my doorstep.  Don't know why anyone would want to go back to dreary Ireland.

I hadn't realised that nobody on the island of Ireland lives close to a beach, how about that!

draiochtanois

This post has been deleted.

Browney7

The Planters Daughter wrote: »

With eight years in Australia under the belt we are considering the huge move home maybe next year. We spent a month in Ireland over christmas time and it was just heart breaking saying goodbye - The hardest yet - With Family getting older and all the youngsters growing up
I would love to hear from some Expats who have done the move back and how things are going for them - All I seem to read is horror stories and people who regret the decision to move back but I know there must be some people out there who are enjoying life back at home - I love Ireland - And I really want some hope that this move could work out  - Thank you!

OP, you were back at Xmas, first thing to remember is that it's only that particular few weeks of the year when people are out and about en masse and there's a great buzz about the place and everyone is in good form. Once January and February comes its back to the grind and people have moved on with their relationships and lives and you get a glimpse of what normality looks like.

Important not to have a rose/sepia tinted view of Ireland when making your decision. If in Dublin, it's likely you'll be paying a comparable rent but probably a lower mortgage repayment although it could take 6 months to a year of being in employment to get mortgage approval. You'll be paying a lot more tax, higher bills (petrol, electricity) and generally less disposable income in my experience. Would this piss you off?
Ireland has some great points too so you need to weigh up pros and cons. What is your motivation for moving home? If for family reasons, how often would you plan on seeing family if you were back here permanently? You could always offer people accommodation to come to you!

Best of luck in your decision.

Canis Lupus

no.8 wrote: »

I hadn't realised that nobody on the island of Ireland lives close to a beach, how about that!

A beach that doesn't require a wetsuit to prevent hypothermia 364 days a year.

lufties

I moved back to Ireland (from England), but then reverted back to England after 5 months. Everything is more expensive in Ireland. Car insurance, tax, health care, bank charges, rent, groceries etc..salaries are also a bit lower in Ireland. Also I get cabin fever in Ireland, as it is so small and insular.
I've also lived Australia but found it too far away from family. England isn't the best place, but I've been here 4 years and there are plenty of work opportunities.

lufties

Browney7 wrote: »

OP, you were back at Xmas, first thing to remember is that it's only that particular few weeks of the year when people are out and about en masse and there's a great buzz about the place and everyone is in good form. Once January and February comes its back to the grind and people have moved on with their relationships and lives and you get a glimpse of what normality looks like.

Important not to have a rose/sepia tinted view of Ireland when making your decision. If in Dublin, it's likely you'll be paying a comparable rent but probably a lower mortgage repayment although it could take 6 months to a year of being in employment to get mortgage approval. You'll be paying a lot more tax, higher bills (petrol, electricity) and generally less disposable income in my experience. Would this piss you off?
Ireland has some great points too so you need to weigh up pros and cons. What is your motivation for moving home? If for family reasons, how often would you plan on seeing family if you were back here permanently? You could always offer people accommodation to come to you!

Best of luck in your decision.

What great points does Ireland have?

Canis Lupus

lufties wrote: »

What great points does Ireland have?

It's very green and has Centra breakfast rolls.

amtc

You know I'd agree with the point that coming home at Christmas is different. My aunt in Australia has just retired (early...she is 50) and is thinking about coming back but she has this notion that we all go out to a local pub every night and socialise playing cards round a log fire and singing folk songs. In reality it's standing in the cold for a bus and the height of weekday entertainment is watching the soaps. I have one uncle here living nearby and I don't think have seen him in years.

lufties

amtc wrote: »

You know I'd agree with the point that coming home at Christmas is different. My aunt in Australia has just retired (early...she is 50) and is thinking about coming back but she has this notion that we all go out to a local pub every night and socialise playing cards round a log fire and singing folk songs. In reality it's standing in the cold for a bus and the height of weekday entertainment is watching the soaps. I have one uncle here living nearby and I don't think have seen him in years.

The hardest thing I found about Oz is the Aussies, and the lack of culture. Don't get wrong, i'm not someone who spends evenings listening to Russian classical composers. However, Oz is boring if you are a deep thinker.

amtc

I'd agree. I remember being in Melbourne and the shock that a building was 150 years old . Like that am not greatest culture vulture but at least have popped my head into art galleries and national archives here.

My point really is that faraway grass is greener. Both ways.

lufties

amtc wrote: »

I'd agree. I remember being in Melbourne and the shock that a building was 150 years old . Like that am not greatest culture vulture but at least have popped my head into art galleries and national archives here.

My point really is that faraway grass is greener. Both ways.

Yep, but even deeper than that. There is a lack of identity in OZ. Beaches and Barbies is about as cultural as it gets. I noticed the media try to force an identity on the population..Aussie comedy, Aussie cuisine etc.

amtc

Many many years ago I was in Perth when Gorbachev stood down. I was barely a teenager but it made the middle of the West Australian. Not the front.

My cousins over there live in malls. I couldn't live there at all.