Mind How you Go

It was a lot harder to find a job than I thought it was going to be, so that was tough. Made me realise the grass isn't always greener.

I didn’t think it would have been as difficult to find a job as it was. That knocked my confidence a little.

The first month was much harder than I thought it was going to be. Finding a place to live and jobs was very hard. Much harder than I imagined. I thought we would just find both in the first week! After two weeks my husband got casual work and on the third week I secured a full time job. I'm not sure I would have done it if I knew it was going to be that hard, I don't think I could go through that again. I began to feel slightly more settled after the second month but found the first month very challenging.

It was harder to get work than I imagined- this caused a lot of anxiety Irish people stick together way more than I thought I didn't feel lonely but I can see how you would, you need to rely on yourself to be happy There are lots of free things to do and exercise is such a big part of life in Australia, it's a good way of tackling any negative thoughts or poor mental health.

I was stressed about lack of work and the "not knowing". I couldn't support myself financially as well as I would expect. I went the wrong way about getting work because I had nobody who I knew who had gone before me.

When you get down to the reality that you are not just travelling, that you are here to work and it's not all fun and games. Coming home to a house full if strangers after a long day at work when all you want to see is a familiar face is very hard.

The minor differences in culture became very pronounced, the differences in the job market, education system. Everything became strange and being Irish in the UK no-one seemed to think I should find it strange.

I wasn't as settled as I expected. Had no friends and no job, no structure to my life.

I didn't realize how hard it would be to cope with the little things. Like knowing the banking system. People struggling with my accent. Having no credit record. Figuring out where to get bus.

Reality hits of the magnitude of what you've done. You are getting to grips with the loss of your support network and trying to juggle it with the time difference. For many the formalities if moving - getting bank accounts, finding an apartment etc are done and then it's time to find a job. This is always a difficult place to be especially if you've already been unsuccessful in Ireland.

Things are difficult, you have to make a life for yourself completely independent of your friends and family back at home. It is not easy but empowering.

I realised it wasn't as easy as I thought to make friends and that people were very different to back home.

I found it hard to meet people. Meet ups wouldn't be followed up etc. Thought my new home was amazing, plenty of opportunities.

Harder to meet other people/make friends in London than I previously expected.

I didn't anticipate how difficult it would be to meet new people. So feeling very alone was not something I expected when leaving Ireland.

The feeling of isolation and loneliness was more overwhelming than expected.

I didn't realise I'd be so homesick. I was really happy leaving to take off on a new adventure, but I didn't realise how hard it hits you.

I struggled as I realised that very few people there knew or cared about me.

The realisation that I was so far away from my loved ones hit me like a ton of bricks. It's not that I wasn't aware of the distance, I just didn't think it would affect me like it did.

After the initial excitement homesickness set in and it can be very lonely.

Work was tougher than I anticipated and cost of living not cheap so I went through savings very fast. Adrenaline kept me going through the first month - it was later that loneliness set in.

I was very lonely and missed home. I wished I had sorted out even a temporary job - or activities to meet people before I left. I was broke and didn't realise it would take so long to get a job.

I had radically underestimated the amount of money I would need to last the expected amount of time- I was also pleasantly surprised by Belgian people's grasp of English and their friendliness.

Perceptions changed for the better. I had always thought Ireland was the friendly place on earth but I was pleasantly surprised to find San Francisco even better.

Improved as I felt very settled in my new country.

Once I had an apartment and starting doing interviews for jobs I felt much better about moving because I knew that things would work out in the end.

People and place was brilliant. It was great feeling realising I could cope on my own.

I had fitted in more quickly than I thought because I'd made the effort. My perception is that the people would be very different, they weren't at all.

I found Canada and Korea to be much better than I had anticipated prior to leaving. I guess I was nervous at first but then relaxed once I found employment and could make friends.

Once I found friends and made my life everything fell into place. My perceptions changed on home too. I have always felt I am a home bird but now I don't know if I will ever return. I love Ireland but to live now I don't know.