Within 12 months of moving to Canada in 2009, Pete O'Sullivan (33) had secured permanent residency, had just changed careers from finance to IT sales, and thought he'd never move back to Dublin.
But sometime last year, he began to change his mind about spending his future in Vancouver.
“I had been going out with a Canadian girl for a few years, but we broke up and a lot of my ties to the place were removed then. My job was going well, but I knew I wouldn’t be in the same role for the long haul.
“Then my parents were in a car crash here. They were fine, but I found out by email the following day. It was a huge shock.
“I came home last Christmas for the first time since I left, and I realised then how much I missed home – my family, and friends who were getting married and having babies. I’m 33, I had been there five years, and the question was, do I want to live there forever? The answer was no. So I decided to move back.”
O’Sullivan moved home on August 1st.
Opportunities
“The economy in
Ireland
is improving, and I’ve already done a few interviews. There still aren’t as many opportunities here as there is in Canada, but I have the option of moving to London if Dublin doesn’t work out, which is much closer to home,” he says.
“I had a tight group of Irish friends in Vancouver, and the conversation was definitely shifting towards them moving closer to home.
“One of my best friends had already left the previous November. I would say most of them will end up coming back.”
