{"id":199727,"date":"2025-12-19T07:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T07:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/199727\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T07:08:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T07:08:08","slug":"i-could-barely-afford-groceries-in-ireland-never-mind-a-mortgage-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/199727\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I could barely afford groceries in Ireland, never mind a mortgage\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is part of Letters Home for Christmas, an Irish Times series exploring views about Ireland among young emigrants<\/a> as the year draws to a close<\/p>\n

This Christmas<\/a> will look quite different for Galway<\/a>-born Yasmin Rather, who has just spent her first year in Australia <\/a>working as an agency nurse. <\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the 24-year-old says photos of the Galway Christmas markets on friends\u2019 social media pages has made her feel the pull of home. \u201cThere is absolutely nothing like that over here,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s not even Christmas songs playing; it\u2019s definitely a whole different vibe.\u201d <\/p>\n

Since moving in January, Rather has travelled and worked in Perth and New South Wales, and is now in Melbourne<\/a>. <\/p>\n

She is one of 13,500 people who left Ireland for Australia in the 12 months leading up to April 2025, an increase of 27 per cent from 2024.<\/p>\n

For many, Australia\u2019s lifestyle, work-life balance and wages have become a strong draw. <\/p>\n

After qualifying as a nurse in 2023<\/a>, Rather found that the cost of living in Galway had become unmanageable. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was just burning money, because everything I earned was just going on rent,\u201d she says. \u201cI was so happy where I was in Galway, where I was working. But I\u2019d pay my rent, I\u2019d pay my car, and unless I was working overtime there was no way I was saving for a mortgage, because I\u2019d been renting for so long.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rather felt the pressure of understaffing while completing her first year working as a nurse in Galway, saying she was \u201cconstantly drowning\u201d in work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were nights when I\u2019d finish [work] at home and I\u2019d just sit in my car and absolutely bawl my eyes out,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver here, I\u2019m learning so much and getting so much support, because there\u2019s nurses here that have time to show me stuff, whereas back home, it was so busy.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"YasminYasmin Rather <\/p>\n

Now, she says, there is \u201cnever a day where I\u2019m dreading going in\u201d to work. She hopes to eventually apply for a permanent residency sponsorship. <\/p>\n

Rather has bought a flight for her younger sister to visit during the festive season. \u201cIt\u2019ll be weird\u201d not being in Ireland for Christmas, she says. <\/p>\n

Living with her friend Caoimhe they are determined to re-create some sense of an Irish Christmas in the apartment. Rather\u2019s sister being tasked with bringing over Christmas pyjamas from Penneys for them all to wear. <\/p>\n

She says friends have plans to spend Christmas on the beach in Sydney. While Bondi Beach is ritual for the Irish on Christmas day, many people will feel \u201ca bit more nervous\u201d in the wake of last weekend\u2019s terror attack. <\/p>\n

Rather plans to join fellow Irish emigrants in Melbourne for a Christmas dinner. The large Irish network in Australia has been a source of comfort. <\/p>\n

She recalls walking into an Irish pub on her own when she first moved to over, and leaving with \u201c10 new best friends\u201d, who she still meets regularly. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d feel homesick, but there\u2019d be loads of things that would kind of bring you home in a certain way,\u201d she says. Watching Troy Parrot<\/a> score goals for Ireland has brought the Irish community in Melbourne even closer. \u201cIt was really nice to see everyone when Ireland won,\u201d she says. \u201cWe were all just jumping up and down\u201d in the pub. <\/p>\n

\"YasminYasmin Rather in Melbourne <\/p>\n

Still, the distance brings a sense of disconnect for Rather. She catches snippets of Irish news through TikTok or conversations with friends. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m so far away from home,\u201d she says. \u201cI literally wouldn\u2019t have known there was a presidency change, only that I have TikTok.\u201d<\/p>\n

She would like to return to Ireland \u201cif the cost of housing went down, or my wages went up\u201d. She \u201cabsolutely loved\u201d home, and is finding it difficult missing big family moments. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister passed her driving test, my little brother finished his Junior Cert, my other brother graduated. There was so much stuff that I missed out on,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Rather is on a career break from her nursing job in Galway, and notes the option to return home is still there. However, she wonders if the cost of living will improve. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way I could continue just going on the way I was [in Ireland]. I mean I could barely afford my groceries, never mind put a mortgage down on a house,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

This Christmas, she\u2019ll swap winter evenings at the Galway Christmas markets for sunny days in Melbourne, spending the festive season with her sister, her new friends and the wider Irish community that has helped her feel at home on the other side of the world. <\/p>\n

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