Why we moved to Ireland

This is a question we have been asked numerous times since we made the decision to move. Sometimes, it's phrased as, "Are you sure this is what you want?" or "Why Ireland?" or "Why not just get away from DC?". 

We chose to move to rural Ireland because...

• it is a slower-paced lifestyle 
• the rural life is familiar to Thomas
• we speak about 85% of the language
• we both have Irish ancestors
• it was a sneaky way of getting Thomas to retire
• we want to live in a peaceful country 

Once we made the decision in July 2020, it became my job to get us here. I immediately purchased a subscription to a project management tool because that is within my comfort zone. Leaving the United States involved untold hours of research on whether we could move to Ireland. There are a number of immigration schemes (scheme is Irish for method). We found one that matched our motives and pocketbook. 

Next came the truly heartbreaking decision to sell our home of 20 years in Arlington, Virginia. We had "bought" the house three times if you count the renovations and upgrades we underwent over those two decades. We added a four-car garage, gutted and rebuilt the interior, and added a sunroom in three separate construction projects, each of which left us thrilled and exhausted. Despite our deep emotional attachment to our home, our decision to sell did not change. 

We considered how difficult it would be physically for us to move. Thomas is 70 and I am 67 years old. To move anywhere other than a retirement community seemed daunting enough, but to move to a foreign country? We are unconventional people. This was typical for us. Also, we completely underestimated the difficulty of moving two senior people, one deaf senior dog, and one cat to another country in the middle of a global pandemic. I had only lived in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Arlington, Virginia, throughout my life. Thomas has lived in more places and was raised in a semi-rural environment in upstate New York, so this was marginally less traumatic for him. We reminded ourselves that when we team up, we are unstoppable. 

After nine months, thousands of emails, dozens of phone calls, seven months spent in a cramped condo while our house was sold and our lives were shipped to Dublin and stored, we have arrived in Ireland. We bought a house sight unseen - we saw photos of it online. We established strong bonds with our accountant and solicitor, who guided us through the home purchase and move processes (see my next post about Irish houses). We lost our dog to old age in February, so only three of us made the final trip. But we made it. Together, we are unstoppable. We are standing side by side in our kitchen, Thomas researching water softening systems and me typing this post. We are content in our empty house with ourselves and our cat. We belong here. 

Sláinte!