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The Song Of My People: The Expat’s Guide to Foreign Language
For anyone traveling overseas, speaking the local language is not just useful, but may well save his or her life. For expats and immigrants, threading the needle of “becoming a local” (if that’s even possible) involves picking up not just … Continue reading
Stone Fences: Struggle, Sacrifice, and the Expat Life & Legacy
For the past week I’ve spent an hour or so every day digging in the garden, preparing a 4-foot by two-foot patch of ground for planting. Ever day, as I pull dozens and dozens of stones from the ground, I … Continue reading
Posted in Dublin Life, Emigrant/Immigrant Life, Immigration & Emigration, International Moving, Irish Countryside, Irish History, Irish Life & Society, Modern Life, Things to See in Ireland
Tagged emigration, expat (expatriate), home, immigration, Ireland, Irish Countryside, Irish Tourism, real estate, The Irish, travel
7 Comments
Why Ireland Is Better Than the United States: One Man’s Joy At Not Living Somewhere Slavishly Devoted To ‘The Individual’
After nearly three years of living in Ireland, the thrill and curiosity of not living in a superpower has dulled a bit, but still fascinates me. On a daily basis the need not to compete with everyone, and the need … Continue reading
Low Corporate Tax Rates & Attracting Foreign Investment: Is Ireland’s Greatest Asset Its Willingness To Be Controlled By Outsiders
In a recent post about land “ownership”, I remarked that in a country with few resources, Ireland’s land may be its greatest asset. Since that post I’ve questioned that assumption, and done a great deal of thinking about what Ireland, … Continue reading
As Dublin Wakes: Getting to Know Your City At All Times
I am a reluctant morning person. I’m probably at my “best” early in the day, but I like my sleep. My city is the same. While Dublin looks lovely in the morning, it is often up late, and frequently in … Continue reading
The Privilege of Immigration: The Honor of ‘Elsewhere’
Earlier this month I went back to the United States for both work and family reasons. On that trip I was reacquainted with a guilty pleasure available exclusively to immigrants. When asked where I lived, I must admit that I … Continue reading
The Local: Where Are You From
In a country as small as Ireland, where local parish control of life (so called “parish pump politics”) was, and is, still so important, the seat of knowledge, the gathering place (the pub), became known as, “The Local”. But for … Continue reading
Posted in Dublin Life, Home & A Sense of Place, Immigration & Emigration, Irish Countryside, Irish History, Irish Life & Society, Modern Life, Pubs
Tagged Dublin, Dubliners, emigration, expat (expatriate), immigration, Ireland, Living in Dublin, local, nationality, Pubs, The Irish, United States
9 Comments
Where Are We Going: Expectations of Life & Country
For migrants (emigrants and immigrants), notions of “destination” and “direction” are key. They are going someplace new, but, more importantly, they must concern themselves with where that place, their new home, is going. Is it going where they want it … Continue reading
The Right Question: Cultural Nuance For Migrants (and Others)
A thought has been gnawing at me. A question. Several, actually. I was recently at a gathering of folks from the travel industry, and struck up a conversation with a woman who has been, for lack of a better term, … Continue reading