peter
“Many of my friends have already made the move, while my siblings and I are also emigrating this year. My brother and sister are in the process of moving to Australia, and my other sister will be working in New York. A Teacher, a Carpenter, a Project Manager, and an Engineer. We all made our decisions independently, and only by coincidence did we find out that we were all leaving in the next couple of months. By the end of this year, none of the kids will be left in Ireland. I don’t want to leave, and will likely return eventually, but you never really know. In an ideal world, I would be planning to buy a house in Dublin, but it’s just not feasible right now. My family is from Galway, I moved to Dublin over 13 years ago to study, and am now working as a Structural Engineer. I will be moving to Australia in September for a couple of reasons. Surprisingly, one of the factors is the impending recession in the construction industry, which will result in significantly reduced job opportunities in the near future. However, the primary reason is the lack of prospects for me to be able to afford my own living space, either through renting or buying, for several years to come. I’m currently living with three friends, which is great, but I am turning 33 this year, and after five years of university and eight years in the workforce, one would hope that owning or renting a place of your own would be attainable. Government policies have been making the problem markedly worse over the past few years, and only seem to be getting more challenging. Hence the decision to go to Australia for a few years, to hopefully save up enough so I can come home and settle in my native country. Despite the fact that all four of their children will be living abroad by next year, my parents are fully supportive of the idea. When my parents were in their 20s, they also had to move to London for better opportunities. They made some money and came back later to start a family. In a way, history is repeating itself. Immigration is in our DNA at this point, but this is the first time people are emigrating because the standard of living is worse for them than it was for their parents.”