Are you leaving?

[The Iceman]

But what is this quality of life you talk about? Big house, more money?? are they material things that float you're boat?

Money does not always have to be negative Milltown and it does take a bit of pressure off. My house is smaller than the one I grew up in.
I drive a beat up pickup truck and the Wife drives a 4 year old Corolla.
Just like its hard to define a day in Ireland or Life in Ireland so is it difficult to describe what is so good over here.
Great weather 8 months of the year. Cheap cost of living. Getting paid for working hard. Friendly people. Exposure to multiple cultures/foods and people.
I remember the first summer I moved here full time (I travelled back and forth for a while), I came home from work about 5pm and it was still really warm outside, I stripped down to the shorts, jumped into the pool and sat up on a floating tube, the Wife handed me a beer and the BBQ was going.... I remember thinking Holy F**K this is some life and I was only in the country a while......

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Interesting conversation lads. I regret the fact that I haven't sampled many other cultures or spend any meaningful period of time away from home. When I left university 5 years ago, I spent two years as a pen-pushing civil servant instead of taking the sensible option and seeing some of the world. Head over heart isn't always the right choice. I had the opportunity to take a year out in America during my degree but instead I was in far too much of a rush to get graduated. Looking back it was such a foolish decision - there I was at 21 stuck in job that was utterly uninspiring, earning a decent wage right enough but living in a student flat while my mates were all still having the time of their lives at university.

Even though I'm only 25 now I think my opportunity has more or less gone as I'm establishing my own business in a fairly specialised field and will need to be in Belfast to develop and sustain my practice over the next number of years. I'll have to make do with holidays. That said, I'm quite attached to home and take every opportunity to come back home to Armagh rather than stay in Belfast when work takes me to the Southern end of the province so maybe its a blessing in disguise as I may not have thrived away from Ireland.

It would sadden me to hear people talking about their homeland in such derogatory terms. A sense of place defines a person I think and its dreadful to think that so many people have a negative view of where they came from.

[Milltown Row2]

But what is this quality of life you talk about? Big house, more money?? are they material things that float you're boat?

Not at all. I don't mean to be disparaging or put anyone down, and I don't want to tar everyone with the same brush but Ireland can be very parochial.but after living in different more cosmopolitan places and experiencing different cultures, it opens a whole new world of experiences.

And I don't know about the rest of the emigrants in lands with better weather than Ireland but Milltown, in my own experience and in all seriousness the weather has an incredible impact on the psyche. Torrential Irish rain didn't bother me one bit till I lived in sunny Madrid for two years. Running the legs off you and the other old codgers back in the Falls Park with the sleet coming down had its infrequent charms, but I tell you pucking / kicking a ball about with the sun on your back nine times out of ten, was only bloody fabulous!

No doubt the weather is shite, but the other things are so much better, that tight family unit, trust of great old friends, clubmen and that sense of camaraderie when in the club and the slagging kicks off and we all laugh at the stories of the games we might have played!!

I'm lucky i can call on family at the drop of a hat to come round and mind the kids should we need to, xmas is special also. iI personally believe the pro's far out weight the con's.

[CiKe]

But what is this quality of life you talk about? Big house, more money?? are they material things that float you're boat?

Have always wondered this myself? have a friend that keeps saying "come to australia the quality of life is so much better than anywhere else"

If it's just the sunshine,beaches relaxed life etc then why not move to south of France/Spain which is closer to home?

For a lot of people it will be that while closer to home you will be more of an outsider. I find the Spanish fairly open and welcoming, though I'm fluent which makes things easier obviously. But the french? Christ at one stage I spoke passable French, albeit with an Irish accent, and sure they couldn't stop themselves laughing. Not having the lingo makes things a totally different experience which is why for me I couldn't be happy with the holiday's Milltown is talking about. Again that is not to be disparaging, just different strokes for different folks.

[CiKe]

But what is this quality of life you talk about? Big house, more money?? are they material things that float you're boat?

Not at all. I don't mean to be disparaging or put anyone down, and I don't want to tar everyone with the same brush but Ireland can be very parochial.but after living in different more cosmopolitan places and experiencing different cultures, it opens a whole new world of experiences.

And I don't know about the rest of the emigrants in lands with better weather than Ireland but Milltown, in my own experience and in all seriousness the weather has an incredible impact on the psyche. Torrential Irish rain didn't bother me one bit till I lived in sunny Madrid for two years. Running the legs off you and the other old codgers back in the Falls Park with the sleet coming down had its infrequent charms, but I tell you pucking / kicking a ball about with the sun on your back nine times out of ten, was only bloody fabulous!

No doubt the weather is shite, but the other things are so much better, that tight family unit, trust of great old friends, clubmen and that sense of camaraderie when in the club and the slagging kicks off and we all laugh at the stories of the games we might have played!!

I'm lucky i can call on family at the drop of a hat to come round and mind the kids should we need to, xmas is special also. iI personally believe the pro's far out weight the con's.

And that is why we set up the Madrid Harps, and sure I had the brother out there already - perhaps I got the best of both worlds!

[Milltown Row2]

Yes ya bollix and ya haven't set up a hurling team yet!! which (from you're background) is an insult to all those years of watching me play!!

[FL/MAYO]

The initial few years as an immigrant are  great with all the new experiences but as you get older so do your parents at home. This is the hard part about immigration in my opinion, all my siblings immigrated back in the 80's, now both my parents are close to 80 years old, they get to see their grandchildren and the rest of us  once a year. When your thousands of miles away and things are getting more difficult for your parents you cant just pick up and leave at any time. Immigration hurts everyone eventually.
When I left home I thought it would be for a year or two I am still here twenty five years later. I love the U.S, I have great friends here and the lifestyle is great but I can never find myself calling it home.

[CiKe]

Yes ya bollix and ya haven't set up a hurling team yet!! which (from you're background) is an insult to all those years of watching me play!!

We toyed with it, but sure after an incident where a little Colombian kid nearly lost his head, we nearly lost our own! Sure anyway I was always crap with the small ball. No smart comments about being crap with the big ball either please.

[ross4life]

Interesting enough European cities continue to dominate among the top 25 quality of life cites. maybe people want to be as far away from Ireland as possible?

[pintsofguinness]

The initial few years as an immigrant are  great with all the new experiences but as you get older so do your parents at home. This is the hard part about immigration in my opinion, all my siblings immigrated back in the 80's, now both my parents are close to 80 years old, they get to see their grandchildren and the rest of us  once a year. When your thousands of miles away and things are getting more difficult for your parents you cant just pick up and leave at any time. Immigration hurts everyone eventually.
When I left home I thought it would be for a year or two I am still here twenty five years later. I love the U.S, I have great friends here and the lifestyle is great but I can never find myself calling it home.

This is what kills me the most (and I'm not too bad, I get home every few months)- the oul ones aren't getting any younger and I feel I should be there for them. I know it's something that will hurt when they aren't around any more.  A close second is the fact that I'm a complete stranger to the youngest of the nieces and nephews. 

That said I've no real desire to go home, I'm happy here - as someone else said, if I could move them over here it'd be great.

I couldn't leave Ireland for any great length of time. I could probably live anywhere in Ireland but nowhere outside it.
I don't even like going abroad for holidays.

I was the same Hardstation.

[ONeill]

I suppose there are two ways to look on it.

You could live a very fulfilling life in your own parish. Immersed in what interests you, your family, culture etc.

Or you could take the chance to explore the planet before you croak it.

Different strokes. I remember saying to my ma (who hasn't set foot outside D/tresk) if she would consider even one flight to a foreign land. She says sure I can see it all on the Internet.

Personally, I could up roots and never return. But I would do that on a regular basis.

[delboy]

I suppose there are two ways to look on it.

You could live a very fulfilling life in your own parish. Immersed in what interests you, your family, culture etc.

Or you could take the chance to explore the planet before you croak it.

Thats a good point its horses for courses, someone else mentioned the marco polo gene earlier you either seem to have it or you don't, family, friends, shared cultural experience thats what makes me happy, others see that as stifling and parochial and wish to see more of the world and experience new cultures.

Im happy to do the two weeks hols somewhere, see the local sights, eat the local grub, drink the local beer and come home satisfied, unlike others i have no desire to attempt to immerse myself into new cultures im happy with the one i have to be honest.

I suppose we should do what makes us happy, as a homebird i know that if i was to go away i would be lying on my deathbed and regretting seeing less of my family, if however i had itchy feet and didn't go away i might be lying on my death bed and regretting not having seen the world. I guess we need both from a historical and anthropolgical viewpoint those that are happy to stay and those that go off to colonise new shores, if we all were homebirds like me we would never would have made it as far as ireland in the first place 

[FL/MAYO]

I suppose there are two ways to look on it.

You could live a very fulfilling life in your own parish. Immersed in what interests you, your family, culture etc.

Or you could take the chance to explore the planet before you croak it.

Thats a good point its horses for courses, someone else mentioned the marco polo gene earlier you either seem to have it or you don't, family, friends, shared cultural experience thats what makes me happy, others see that as stifling and parochial and wish to see more of the world and experience new cultures.

Im happy to do the two weeks hols somewhere, see the local sights, eat the local grub, drink the local beer and come home satisfied, unlike others i have no desire to attempt to immerse myself into new cultures im happy with the one i have to be honest.

I suppose we should do what makes us happy, as a homebird i know that if i was to go away i would be lying on my deathbed and regretting seeing less of my family, if however i had itchy feet and didn't go away i might be lying on my death bed and regretting not having seen the world. I guess we need both from a historical and anthropolgical viewpoint those that are happy to stay and those that go off to colonise new shores, if we all were homebirds like me we would never would have made it as far as ireland in the first place 

I can understand this feeling where everyone knows your business and "what will the neighbors think" syndrome but I witnessed the good side of the parochial thing when my father in law passed away a couple of years ago, all the neighbors were there to help when they were most needed, that would rarely happen over here. As you get older its your family and close friends that matter, I would never have said that in my twenties. Saying goodbye to my parents at the end of every trip is terrible, wondering will this be the last time you will see them....

[David McKeown]

I was lucky enough to go to College in the states (Austin, Texas) for a little over a year about 5 or 6 years ago.  It was the best year of my life for many reasons.  My problem though now is I find myself yearning to get away again but Im worried that the college experience has skewed my perception of what living abroad is really like.  Moving now would be much much more difficult than it was even three years ago, with work thankfully going ok and being involved in a long term relationship but at the same time Im concerned if I dont go now Ill regret it the rest of my life.

Has anyone here moved away and then moved back (with no intention of going anywhere again) only to move again?  If so how was the second experience compared to the first?

[armaghniac]

I couldn't leave Ireland for any great length of time. I could probably live anywhere in Ireland but nowhere outside it.
I don't even like going abroad for holidays.

I have to say that I have every intention of seeing as much of the world as possible on my holidays, even if I never live outside Ireland. Althohgh if I never visit Nigeria, I'll can live with that.