A NEW LIFE:Lifestyle was the main reason for Adrian Lynch and his family to move back home, writes Michelle McDonagh
Living in New York was a great experience for Adrian Lynch and his wife Sinead while they were independent, but with marriage and the birth of their first child, their perspective changed and moving back home became a much more attractive proposition.
Although they could have made a lot more money in New York, Adrian points out that they would not have had the large family support network that they have in Ireland and their children would not have the same freedom.
"Young kids couldn't care less how much money you have. I have seen a lot of ultra successful male clients who sacrificed their first marriage and kids to make money and it's often too late for them to repair those bridges," he says.
In late 2006, Adrian moved lock, stock and barrel from New York with his wife, Sinead, and their young son after spending four years there working as senior vice-president with international insurance managers AON. Prior to that, he had spent four years in the Cayman Islands working in the same role.
A graduate in European Studies and French from the University of Limerick, Adrian had always liked the idea of using a job to travel. After finishing college, he trained as a reinsurance underwriter and was recruited by AON in Dublin.
He moved to the tax-free haven of the Cayman Islands to look after the company's business there - an experience he thoroughly enjoyed.
In late 2001, he moved to New York as director of business development for AON, a job which involved flying 200,000 miles a year all over North America. He had met his wife-to-be Sinead at a wedding in the Caymans where she was bridesmaid and she moved to New York to be with him after finishing her masters at NUI Galway.
They lived 14 miles north of Manhattan in Westchester county and came home to Ireland to get married in 2004. During their time in the US, they travelled to almost every city in the country using up the many air miles that Adrian had built up.
"New York has an incredible energy about it, we were enthusiastic every day we got up. We were still living in the US when we realised Sinead was pregnant and, like any new parents, our perspective changed very quickly. The lifestyle for two independent people in Manhattan was incredible but there were tremendous deficiencies in terms of family network and supports."
One of Adrian's clients, who has also become a good friend, was a partner in a private Swiss bank which was in the process of being sold. They decided to set up a company together offering consulting services to international high-net-worth clients looking to establish reinsurance and insurance companies for tax deferral and estate tax planning.
His partner relocated to Switzerland and Adrian and Sinead decided to move home.
Adrian explains: "We chose Galway primarily due to lifestyle issues and the purchasing power of property in the country as opposed to Dublin or London. We were both raised in the country and we wanted our children to grow up in the country yet be part of a thriving cultural city."
Although they made some great friends in New York, many of whom promised to help them out with the big move, in the end, Adrian and Sinead had to load a 40ft container on their own in the blazing heat.
"I'll always remember the day the container arrived in Galway when 28 friends and family turned up to help us unload it. If there was ever a sign that we had made the right decision, that was it," says Adrian.
The couple bought a house in the village of Corrandulla in Co Galway close to Lough Corrib where Adrian enjoys fly fishing in his little boat which is cheekily named An t-Oifigh and chasing salmon up and down the weir. If a client calls while he's out in the boat, Sinead informs them quite truthfully that he's "in the office".
Initially, Adrian ran his business, Westwind Alternative Risk (Ire) Ltd, from an office at home, driving up to a local hotel car park for broadband access. He has since moved into office space at the IDA centre in Mervue where he has access to broadband and other necessary infrastructure.
The company operates primarily in the US market advising wealthy individuals ranging from professional athletes to successful entrepreneurs on how to protect their assets and financially plan in a tax-efficient manner.
Adrian says: "A lot of people told us to give ourselves a year to settle in. Many people who move back from abroad find it difficult to settle because friends have moved on and things are different to the way they remembered but for us, it was the complete opposite."
Adrian still returns to the States on a regular basis for work while Sinead goes back for shopping and to see friends, but they are delighted they made the decision to move to Galway. A neighbour minds their two boys while Sinead works part- time as a practice nurses in nearby Lackagh and Adrian gets to spend a few hours in the morning with them as his business day does not start until about noon due to the time difference between the US and Ireland.
The children can ramble around the garden without the same sense of fear their parents may have had in New York or any other major city.
Adrian accepts that he has been lucky to have the type of business to enable his family the option to move to the West of Ireland but he points out that he and Sinead always felt that lifestyle must come first and the job after that.
"Ireland is expensive but we knew it was going to be. There are always going to be people with more money and bigger houses but we made the decision to step off the carousel. We could have made more money if we stayed in New York, but we would not have the family support. We would be lost without Sinead's family, we have plenty of babysitters, a lot more time together and I get to fish plenty. I believe we made a wise move."