This week, I blow out 25 candles on my birthday cake. My family won’t be with me for this somewhat milestone birthday as I’m based in London, where I’ve lived for the past three years.
You may not regard 25 as a defining age, yet it’s a quarter of a century and for me, it is significant and daunting in equal measure. Lately I’ve seen a very simple meme shared across social media, which, right now, is hitting me hard. It’s a list of ages from 21 to 25 and beside the first four it writes: “You’re so young”. But at 25 it says: “When are you getting married? How’s the career going now? Have you applied for your mortgage? When are you having children?” While it’s funny and light-hearted, that’s my life right now - I’m subconsciously asking myself those questions but feel like I’ve nothing to show.
My partner and I left Dublin in 2013, feeling disenfranchised at our unpromising career opportunities, and under-appreciated in our jobs. We arrived on British soil with aspirations to climb the media ladder. Luckily, I got a dream opportunity working at BBC Radio 1, which and the experience there helped me to land my current job on ITV's Good Morning Britain. Coupled with my food and travel blog, GastroGays, I now feel I've got quite an impressive CV to showcase.
But the media industry is a tough place to be today for entry-level employees like me. Expected to work for free for a number of years before being afforded a real-paying job, my generation are left indefinitely at the bottom of the the pecking order. Most junior media roles just about scrape the London living wage, which for many post-tax is just over £16k a year. Fourteen-hour days running about town for props and grabbing umpteen coffees for talent is the norm. To progress to a £30,000-a-year role takes years of hard graft.
Back to that meme: The notion of marriage only came into my mind when Ireland voted for marriage equality last May. I'd like to get married and settle at home in Ireland, but that's still a while away.
Career? I’m happy and working on that, but it is tiring juggling two to three jobs and trying to grow a blog which keeps up with competition. This is my real passion, though it is almost entirely unpaid.
Mortgage? My British colleagues have the luxury of family homes in the city where they can live while saving rent-free for a deposit. It is a situation I’m sure plays out in Ireland too. But in London, where only native or mega-rich oligarchs can even think of getting on the property ladder, paying rent is a struggle. It is close to impossible to save for the future. Even a paltry pension contribution is crippling each month.
I could be more frugal. But that would mean sacrificing trips to Ireland. I’m blessed to live a short-hop away from home, it would be wrong not to visit. Friday flights out and Sunday returns do not come cheap, yet it’s only an hour flight. Those who say: “You’re living in London, why aren’t you out experiencing everything it has to offer!?” Well, after rent, travel, bills and food, it’s very difficult to truly experience the 360 of London on a complete shoestring.
With rents increasing, moving to a cheaper suburb each year is on the cards. We’d save on rent, but lose out on travel costs and commuting time. Repacking possessions, renting a van, spending free evenings at viewings, and putting down eye-wateringly high deposits isn’t how anyone wants to spend a month or two for every year of their 20s.
Precarious work and financial instability pushes various life-changing events further away for us and our London-Irish friends, sometimes by a decade or more when compared with our parents. If we decide to move home, we’d have to start all over again on a new career ladder, establishing roots in a local area, rekindling with friends, and enduring similarly incredible living costs.
The fact that we left Ireland by choice rather than circumstance mean all those well-meaning #HomeToWork ads in the airport calling nurses, teachers and the like come home and work for Ireland has zero effect on us. Even with our media insights and specific skills gained in an international environment, are people like us not worthy enough?
Maybe I’m facing a quarter life crisis. On one hand I have my career aspirations and dream to make it big in a world capital. On the other, I’ve got responsibilities, as society treats you like you’re 20, but expects you to act 29. An older generation may read this cynically - “the youth don’t know how good they have it these days!” But they probably managed to get on the property ladder at my age, didn’t have to intern and work for free for years, and had some semblance of confidence in planning for major life decisions like marriage or kids.
I’m playing my part in a technological age, where media and web skills and talents are valued and nurtured, and I’ve put them to use by building a fledgling web presence and business. But these skills don’t seem to the desirable for an older generation flummoxed by tweets, SEO and social media influencers.
When I’m asked how old I am though, I’ll say 25 and I’ll stand proud at what I’ve done, learned and achieved in those years, however difficult it has been and however uncertain the future is set to be.
