Anyone who has left Ireland - could you tell me why?

[PhaseFour]

And also, if you have ever regretted it, and what you miss most about your homeland? I constantly fantasise about moving there when the DCs have all left home. I'd be interested to hear people's experiences of why they left - it might temporarily help me to stop fantasising about moving there!

What appeals to you most about living in Ireland?

I'm still here so I'm not much help at all, but I wouldn't live anywhere else on the planet TBH, and I've visited many other countries. Nowhere like home especially where I am. Well I would say that wouldn't I! It's not perfect by any means, but the people make it, and it's so easy to get to some gorgeous places as it's a relatively small country compared to UK (if that's where you live now).

I do know some younger people who have gone to Australia and Canada mostly. From what I can gather most of them don't feel much like coming back, life and weather far too enjoyable for them away. But I think a lot of them do come back eventually. Hopefully someone will come along who is away or knows someone who is and might be able to fill you in!

There are 100,000 Irish people in Australia alone according to recent news. People leave due to lack of opportunity, crazy house prices, cost of living, the rain and a million more reasons. It's a small country with a small country mindset, not always welcoming to blow ins (ie from the next town or county).
But at the same time it's a great place to live, and many Irish people who leave come back to raise their own kids.

Not quite what you were asking, but I moved to Dublin in 1995 (from the UK) and left for Portugal in 2007. Since then I got an Irish passport in 2016 thanks to my biological mother/grandmother. I would absolutely consider going back one day.

All the above posts are helpful & insightful, thank you. I can't quite put my finger on it, tbh. There's a family history there on my maternal side, which I feel draws me in. I do plan to get an Irish passport, I just haven't got round to it yet. I visited several years ago, and was drawn in by the people and the culture - it's beautiful to me. I'm planning a trip there next year, too, where I plan to explore as much as possible, rather than just be based in one place. The weather appeals to me - the lushness that comes with all the rain is a plus for me. Thanks again. I would still like to hear from others, if anyone's reading.

@zenaiyes the size of it does appeal to me - it's another plus. Though being English, I expect if I did move there in the future, perhaps there would be some barriers to overcome. I am in the UK, yes.

Some relatives of mine moved to the UK for work but stayed because of the NHS- healthcare more expensive in Ireland. I’d also take note of the mention of blow-ins from PP. Not a thing everywhere but in some parts, takes a long time to not be considered a blow in.

I love it. Calmest place on earth - I go several times a year and have family there.

that said 10 years ago maybe I’d have moved in a heartbeat (couldn’t as husband wouldn’t) but every time I go back I notice prices are wild. Supermarket shop eg the food is through the roof. Couldn’t afford to live there now, it’s much more than England which saddens me. That said the food is much nicer!!!

@babasacloverI was wondering about the differences in the cost of living. That's interesting. Thank you.

Realistically, I will probably have to just have regular, annual trips over there rather than move permanently, but I'll never stop dreaming!

@TheSofaIsTakenThe expression "blow-in" is great, even if actually being considered to be one probably isn't great.

I think it must be wonderful to be born & bred in a country you are proud to belong to - people from the UK generally feel much less pride in their roots, I think - and obviously not without good reason!

Worth noting that sometimes BA cost less than Ryanair to fly. I’ve just got 3 return flights in summer holidays for £300 - and that includes a checked case each!!!! Great if you go regularly.

btw we go all over, usually 3-4 days with family as they are middle of nowhere so not much to do (but I still enjoy being there as just so peaceful and slow way of life). Then we go somewhere touristy / coastal and have always been treated wonderfully - never like a blow in. Only place people I’ve heard people say it often is in Kerry where there are now more blow ins that locals. No one cares though.

i can tell when I go in shops / petrol station etc they think I live there and are always so cordial I just love it.

property can still be purchased reasonably cheap if you go proper rural but yeah cost of eating etc soooooooo expensive. Even stuff like cereal €6 a box. Lidl / Aldi help but I notice it’s gone up every time. Go over twice a year minimum.

driving is such a pleasure there with such few people.

have you tried Northern Ireland? Giants causeway / carrick a rede rope bridge / rathlin Ireland. The most dramatic coast ever stunning

I lived there for a few years in my 20's as have family there. I left because it was the worst few years of my life. Rented housing was impossible to get for longer than 6 months, I spent a lot of time living in a mobile home or in winter rentals, to be turfed out for the summer and have to stay with family as the rentals would be let out to tourists all summer. Being homeless like that for half the year with a baby was not fun. I was illegally evicted from the mobile home because the landlady sold it....someone literally came to take it away when I was still living there and she had given me a month's notice the week before. She turned off the electricity when I said I wanted to see out my notice (since it took 6-8 months to find rentals in that area). Went to a solicitor and was kicked out of their office because they knew the landlady. Apparently in Ireland one has to go to a solicitor in a different town if one wants the justice system to work.

I was looked down on and treated like dirt for being a single parent. Work was difficult to come by and that's why many people just lived on benefits.

All my clothes went black with mould the first winter because of the damp.
After a few years I was a victim of domestic abuse, I left the guy but he started stalking and threatening me and he got worse and worse. The gardai wouldn't do anything because "they don't get involved with domestics" and because I had previously lived with him they considered it a domestic. Some of my family also refused to believe me "because he was a nice guy".

Oh I was also looked down on because I was English and people disliked the English. Many years later I converted to Judaism and you should have heard the comments I got for that when I visited one time....even from close friends of my family.

I hear that things changed after European money went in and people became disillusioned with the Catholic church and voted for gay marriage, but nothing these days would induce me to even visit let alone move there. It's a pity because it's a beautiful country and in many ways people are very warm and friendly.

I lived in Ireland for secondary (rural) and University (TCD) leaving in 1990. So before the start of the Celtic Tiger period.
That’s when the lifestyle changes began. More money circulating, more Eurocentric, less Anglophile, people staying who would have emigrated in the past, more immigration, higher house prices, more social divide.
After the 2007(?) crash the rise in prices was insupportable and Ireland is visibly struggling.
I went back to Dublin 3 years ago for a family graduation and realised I couldn’t afford to live there in my current financial situation, close to retirement. Nor did I want to. The city was clearly a European one, with transport and cultural centers but a clear drug problem and homelessness worse than the 90s. It felt like an outpost of Europe. Next stop, the Atlantic Ocean.

So I said my goodbyes. I cherish my memories and am proud of my ties to Ireland. But I won’t be going back.

@babasacloverthanks for the heads up - I would have assumed BA would be more expensive.

A couple of years ago we went to Belfast (on the ferry) and also visited Derry. I have been desperate to go back ever since. About 16 years ago we stayed near the Ring of Kerry. It was stunning, and we loved Belfast and Derry.

@Letstheriveranswer so sorry for your awful experiences. Thank you for sharing. I hope you are in a good and happy place now.

@Sgtmajormummy that's interesting. I have always very much seen everything through my rose tinted glasses - like a typical tourist, I suppose.

At the point when I left, there were very few job opportunities and it was still very much a provincial feeling theocracy. England felt like a more forward-thinking, exciting place to live. Now things have moved in a different direction, and England feels more of a small-minded bigoted place to live. But I'm settled here, and houses are really expensive in most Irish cities, so I don't have any current plans to move back to although the thought does appeal in many ways.

Exactly I assumed that too until a few years back.

priced up Ryanair and easyJet and they were both over £500 including just 1 case between the 3 of us!!!!

ba also do good packages flight hotel and luggage. Try this link:

https://www.britishairways.com/travel/holiday-finder/public/en_gb

@PhaseFourother favourite places of mine are

lehinch
kinsale
dingle
Newcastle west
arran islands

Oh Northern Ireland is lovely and much cheaper to live in. I think you could live there if you are living in the uk now?

There is a serious lack of houses available in the south at the moment which is driving prices up but that won’t go on forever. Dublin is awful in every way and I would avoid it. Co. Clare is very nice, not as expensive as Cork and the scenery is beautiful, you are never too far from a beach.

I grew up in Ireland, left to go to university when I was 20 and never went back! I visit family 2-3 times a year and enjoy being there, but it's not 'home' to me and I have no regrets at all about leaving. Like other posters, I find it extremely expensive and the housing situation sounds really shocking. I think some people have a romantic, fantasy idea of Ireland where everything is lush and green and chilled out and everyone is super friendly and great fun - that's all a bit simplistic!

I left because it's parochial, even Dublin. I hadn't noticed before but once I got an English boyfriend I realised how much latent antiEnglish aggression there was (despite so much imported English culture).
Expensive as hell. An undertone of hypocrisy. Too small.
I miss my childhood but I have to go back to Ireland twice a year for family and I don't miss the country at all.

That’s a slightly odd question, OP. Culturally, emigration is entirely usual for Irish people in a way it’s clearly not for British people judging by so many threads on here in which people seem to need to convince themselves the UK is objectively a shithole in order to ‘justify’ leaving. Peoole leave for all kinds of reasons, not all of them anything to do with Ireland. I left at the start of the 90s along with most of my graduating cohort — combination of recession and unemployment, lack of opportunity, and a desire to see the world. I spent the next 25 years studying and living abroad in various places, then moved back to Ireland not long before Covid hit. My siblings followed. At one point we lived in Lodz, Beijing, the UAE and Tokyo. DH’s nephews and nieces are in Berlin, Toronto, rural Hungary, a provincial Japanese city, Denver, and Guatemala.

What I’m saying is that why people leave isn’t necessarily anything relevant to you.

I’ve just come back to Dublin after 8 years in Switzerland and 2 in Italy.

I couldn’t wait to get back.

Im a born a bred Dub and there is nowhere like this island in the world. I missed the people, the charm, the warmth, the friendliness. You’ll never be alone here, you can just start chatting to anyone.

It’s so chill, easygoing and people are still mostly considerate. The driving style has changed a lot but with the immigration rates, from all over the world, people bring their driving style here but it’s still slower than any other country I’ve driven in.

Im so happy to be home!

@WhateverYouSayDears with respect, if I'm asking a question, it is relevant to me, because I am genuinely interested.

What isn't relevant to me is you replying to my OP, and telling me information that I haven't asked for (where your family have moved to for example).

Telling me that my question is odd and also that other people's responses aren't relevant to me, because you have decided that they aren't, is also irrelevant, and ironic, too.
Thanks for sharing, though!