Should I stay or should I go

Beibheann84

So, I have been away from Ireland for nearly 4 years now and I am thinking it is time to go home.
I have been in Toronto, Canada for almost two years and although I am working and I have made some very close friends, I just feel like it could be time to move on. Most of my friends are looking into staying and getting their PR but this is something that I just have no interest in doing.
My issue is that I am getting mixed reviews on what it is like back home. The most blunt review I got was that Ireland is a dead zone and no craic.
I would love to hear from people who have returned or from anyone contemplating the same decision.

Birdster

Have you been home for a visit at all over the last 4 years? Ireland is a completely different place to 2008, it has rapidly declined since then. Maybe wait until you hear the Budget in December before you make any decisions. I'm guessing it's going to be so bad there will be another mass exodus after it! You could be coming home to an empty island!

Beibheann84

I have been home every Christmas since I left and it was really tough leaving the last time. I am just tired of not being at home, I feel like this has been a very long holiday and that I am just living out of a suitcase so to speak. I haven't settled here in Canada and I don't feel I can settle anywhere other than Ireland. But the picture I am getting is that everyone is miserable at home and that no-one is having any craic at all anywhere, which cant be true can it??

Birdster

Ah well if you're homesick then you won't be happy anywhere else. There is still craic to be had, if you can get a decent paying job then you'll be fine. It's when you're not working that your self-esteem takes a knocking and having to move back in with your parents can break your spirit aswell. So hopefully you'll get a job when you come back and if you can afford a holiday once a year you'll be sorted! As much as we all love Ireland we all need a bit of sunshine and warm sand to keep us ticking over

media101

sounds like your homesick, but dont move back till you get a job or else you will be part of the miserable too.

Beibheann84

media101 wrote: »

sounds like your homesick, but dont move back till you get a job or else you will be part of the miserable too.

I don't think it's all homesick though, I actually didn't really want to stay the extra year but did and it been grand but I don't feel like this is my reality if that makes sense!?
I'm just confused because on Facebook you would swear everyone is having a great time but then you hear the odd person saying it's all doom and gloom and like a ghost town.

Birdster

Beibheann84 wrote: »

I'm just confused because on Facebook you would swear everyone is having a great time but then you hear the odd person saying it's all doom and gloom and like a ghost town.

Facebook is a version of someones reality.....we only ever capture the happy times on camera.

media101

Birdster wrote: »

Facebook is a version of someones reality.....we only ever capture the happy times on camera.

id agree with that, most of my friends have gone abroad so i go out less and i miss them. but if ur friends are in ireland and u can get a job then id say return home. i totally understand about canada not suiting you and you should do what makes yo happy!

tan11ie

Seriously don't even consider coming home unless you have a good job lined up! If you happen to find one keep in mind the taxes and cost of living here.
Ireland is quite depressing at the moment and to be honest I can't see it getting any better.

It must be hard being away from your family and home town but if I were you I'd really try stick Canada out another few years if possible.

lukester

We (me and family) are considering moving the other way, i.e. to Canada, probably for a few years. We have family on the west coast.

The only thing I'd say is that if you feel you can stick it there for a few more years, I'd definitely go for the PR. At least that way if you ever want to go back to work you can. Canada is a huge and varied country, it'd give you the chance to live and work somewhere else should you want to.

If you are thinking of coming back, as others have said, line up a job or a sugar daddy/mama. Bear in mind too, that Christmas in Ireland, in my opinion, is a very artificial period, when everyone comes home and is more or less out every night for a few weeks. I say this as someone who lived away for 7 years and loved coming back at that time. Once Christmas ends, January and February are probably the hardest months of the year. Also, when visiting from abroad, you tend to socialise way more than normal anyway, catching up with friends, and of course, you're on holiday. It's different when you're working and living here.

In my opinion, Ireland is a bit gloomy at the moment, but if you have friends, family and a job that you like, it's not so bad, ****e summers notwithstanding. I'd just be wary of having an artificial sense of how good things are/appear based on occasional visits and Facebook.

Beibheann84

Thanks very much for all the responses. I totally understand about things being artificial on Facebook, and even people looking at my Facebook would think that I am having a whale of a time too even though for the other half of the time my hearts just not in it.

I have really had a great few years, met lots of interesting characters and I would definitely recommend people to travel but I have just bought my return flight home because for me Ireland is real life no matter how tough. Its been tough on this side too, people thinking that moving away instantly eliminates you from being fired, unemployed or in debt your kidding yourself.

And I also get what people say about getting PR but I actually have no desire to return to Canada, and I say that with no badness its just my preference.

Birdster

Glad you made your decision. Best of luck and safe journey home too

Cream Bun

Hi Beibheann
Just came across this thread as was looking into going myself, and thought I’d ask how aer tyou getting on since you came home? Is it as bad as people were making out ? Do you have any regrets??

seanynova

just saw you got your flight home, good decision for you...best of luck with it.