I just want to start by saying that I realize how lucky I am in the whole scheme of things and there are far, far worse places to live and issues etc. I just come here for a moan every now and then!
Basically I live in Ireland but recently I’ve started to have some doubts, maybe a bit of thinking about how we have one life etc....I also have a bad trait of looking for the next thing etc. I have three adorable very, very active dcs. Before having dcs I travelled and lived abroad but was always very happy to come home etc and wouldn’t say I’m a sun worshiper BUT I live in the west coast of Ireland and the weather is seriously bringing me down , it’s also all people talk about here. It’s always raining, even if it was just like that for the winter etc and we had a summer to look forward to that would be ok but the summers are just like the winters only a slightly higher temp, we are lucky if we get to 24 degrees here. I just feel as for my kids , we get out as much as humanly possible as really they need a huge amount of exercise etc. but I just get a bit fed up when I look at the stunning beaches here , we live beside some dramatic scenery but we only swim in them v occasionally . We are absolutely the types to have the wetsuits on from spring but honestly we are fairly limited by the weather at times.
On another note we had visitors recently from France whose kids are all in school 9-4.30 from 3 years and while I think that’s a bit young to start school I think it’s great for working parents. Childcare is also heavily subsidized there too. I’m lucky to work flexibility and part time but it’s still costing us with childcare and my kids are finished for the day at 1.15 and 2.15 ( again totally awkward for parents two different pickup times), I have to pay after school and sometimes breakfast club. They also have hot dinners in a lot of schools abroad whereas here kids all eat packed lunches at their desks. I honestly believe eating together in school would encourage healthier eating habits. So many of my friends here in Ireland have really fussy eaters and I don’t notice it so much with my relatives in France...
I don’t know, maybe I’m nit picking but wondering about countries like New Zealand/Canada ( although we are 35 so visa would be tricky )..
It’s so not the right time to think like this as we are doing up an old cottage and it’s beginning to look beautiful ( we have put a lot of time and energy into it) but just have the dcs bouncing off the walls here after finishing at 1 today. Also in Ireland teenagers are off (drum-roll please) for 3 MONTHS every summer. I adore my dcs but with a rainy summer this is going to be challenging ...
Just wondering about others who made a change to summer climates. In all honesty it would be New Zealand/Australia/ Canada as I know how challenging it is having to intergrate without the language and I don’t want to have to be lonely with kids. One v positive thing where I live is that plp are v friendly..