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A Canadian Student's Experience Relocating to Ireland During COVID-19

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From Alberta, Canada to Dublin 4 in the midst of a Pandemic  A Canadian Student's Experience Studying in Ireland During COVID-19   I knew a master’s degree in physiotherapy was going to be challenging, let alone choosing to study abroad in a country that I had never been and didn’t know a single person. To top it all off, I got to experience all of this in the midst of a global pandemic! I was just finishing up the second semester of my first year at UCD, when we were told by our program director that we could go home to Canada as classes would be online for the remainder of the semester due to COVID-19. At the time, I had been living on campus in residence and my contract was due in August, so I had no choice but to pack everything up and take it home with me. There were a lot of unknowns during this time- How long was I going to be home in Canada for? Will classes be online for the rest of the year? Where am I going to live when I do eventually head back to Dublin? These were jus

FROM THE NORTHERN BEACHES OF SYDNEY TO SOUTH DUBLIN ........

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The Story of the “G” Family’s Relocation to Dublin.  The Highlights, Stresses and Lessons Learned as told by Mrs G.  Why?  Was the first question I asked when Mr G called me last summer, why do you want to move your family from the beautiful beaches of Sydney to rainy cold Dublin?   “There’s a career opportunity I can’t turn down” he said.  Also, “we’re ready for a change” We only came to Sydney for 3 months and have stayed 7 years so we’re ready for a new life experience. The most stressful part of the journey was before the family even left Sydney!   Mr and Mrs G had underestimated the work that needed to be done to pack up a family of 5 and leave their home ready to rent out.   After working through the night, they realized they just weren’t going to make it!    Flights for the whole family had to be postponed.     Not a great start, but I’ve come to realize, the G family are true Aussies!   The delay didn’t faze them, they just got on with the packing and arriv

American Style Retirement Village comes to Ireland.....

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ATG, Cois Carraig Village, Limerick. Hugely successful throughout Europe, Australia and the USA, the concept of co-housing is the ideal option for those wishing to enhance life after retirement. With co-housing, neighbourly support for an independent, active and secure lifestyle occurs naturally. This type of lifestyle offers the ideal antidote to the modern epidemics of loneliness, inactivity, financial uncertainty and security. On a recent visit to ATG’s Cois Carraig Village in Limerick, Minister for Health, Jim Daly said that the people of Cois Carraig had found much more than a place to live.   They had found a sense community which he described as very special indeed. This generation of retirees are far more discerning than previous generations. People are looking for a more socially interactive lifestyle and for a quality of life that was not available to retirees in Ireland to date. Based in Limerick Cois Carraig is just 2 hours train ride form Dublin and 1

New Zealand to Ireland: Making the Move. By Julia Mahony

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New Zealand to Ireland: Making the Move By Julia Mahony The day we decided to move to Ireland, my mind shot to the practicalities of shifting a young family overseas. With our eldest daughter about to start secondary school, my husband had been offered a secondment to a government job in Dublin. It seemed like the ideal time, as our two girls would be old enough to remember the experience but young enough to willingly leave their friends and travel with us. However, their education was our foremost priority. I’m a diligent researcher but we had just four days between landing in Dublin and the first day of the Irish school term. There would be no time to visit and choose schools myself. Searches online found `Relocation Services’ - people on the ground in Dublin with local knowledge, who assist people to set up a new life. Lesley Light, of Local Line, answered my enquiries quickly and with a personal touch. I needed someone who listened carefully to my requiremen

A Tour of the Quays.......

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Dublin, October 2018, - A tour of the Quays……. I recently had the pleasure of being appointed to find a city bolt hole for a professional commuting weekly from London to work in Dublin.     The brief was to find an apartment within a short walk of the red Luas line.  With this in mind, I embarked on a tour of Dublin’s Quays.   The Quays are a far cry from their original purpose and have mostly been converted to high spec, gated apartments for the steady stream of professionals that are moving to Dublin to work in the booming financial service, tech and pharmaceutical industries.    Security has been given high priority, even the most nervous resident would feel safe once inside the cocoon of high walls, electronic gates and shinny steel locks.   However, I had a definite feeling of unease as I parked my car in a side road next to one of these highly secure buildings.   Many of the surrounding areas to these high spec luxury apartments still have a long way to go

Time to Come Home?

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Time to Come Home? In the not so distant past it was normal practice for Ireland’s youth to travel to the UK or America for University.  The lure of greater subject choice and a few years away from home proved too much for most eighteen-year olds. The resulting exodus became known as “The Brain Drain.”    Ireland’s top talent lost for many years to British and American enterprise.   Now however, an unexpected impact of BREXIT is the return to Ireland of many of it’s citizens who have spent decades living and working abroad.   Many large and prosperous companies operating in Ireland have launched programs to tempt Irish born professionals to come home for good.   Recruitment firms are also offering support and guidance for Irish nationals returning home to take up opportunities in Ireland.   BREXIT has caused a reversal in the balance of job opportunities between the UK and Ireland.   For the first time in memory I think it’s fair to say there are now mor