Expat

Things about America I've realized are weird

Things about America I’ve realized are weird now that I’ve moved away

, 0 Comments

Things about America I've realized are weird

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, YA’LL! In honor of the most American of holidays, I thought I’d share a few things about America that I’ve come to learn are considered a little weird now that I live abroad.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, if there was one, literally one, silver lining of the pandemic, it’s that I was able to visit home much more in the last year than I ever had before since I was able to work remotely.

It was soooo nice to be able to go home for so long. I mean after all, they do say distance makes the heart grow fonder. Although I’ve found that to be partially true, when it comes to going back to the US to visit now that I don’t live there anymore, in my experience distance ALSO makes me realize that there’s some super weird things about America that literally no other country does.

Here’s 10 normal things in America that I now realize are a little weird now that I live abroad.

(more…)

Well dang, it’s been a while.

, , , , 0 Comments

Hello? Anyone there?? I know I fell off the face of the earth for a while there and haven’t written a post in *checks notes* THREE YEARS, so I thought I’d post a lil life update. I promise I am alive and well! I’m still in Ireland and still loving it.

Actually, the fact that I’m loving it is part of the reason I haven’t posted in so long.

Let me explain with a lil life update.

(more…)
7 American Chains Dublin Needs

7 American Chains Dublin Needs, Ranked by Urgency

, , , , , , 7 Comments

7 American Chains Dublin Needs

Land of the Free, Home of the best fast food in the world. I LOVE living in Dublin, but oh how I miss the greasy French fries and overly-generous portions of American fast food. There’s really nothing quite like it.

And though Ireland does have a few US chains like McDonalds, Burger King, and KFC, they’re just not the same. The portion sizes are smaller, and they just taste different. (That’s probably because they’re lacking the artificial ingredients found in the States that are illegal in most other places because they aren’t meant for human consumption, BUT STILL.)

I’ve gotten used to, and mostly forgotten about, fast food places they have in the States that they don’t have here in Dublin. But then, every once in a while, I’m reminded. Someone utters the word “Popeyes” and I start foaming at the mouth. I wasn’t even a huge fast food eater back at home, but as soon as I hear magical words like “Taco Bell” uttered, I’m a goner. What’s that phrase again, “Distance Makes the Heart Go Fonder?” Well, that’s exactly what I’m suffering from.

Now, keep in mind that I’m from South Louisiana, and I realize that some of these chains aren’t everywhere in the US. But for me, these are THE best and the American chains Dublin needs, like, STAT.

(more…)
Ultimate Guide to Ireland's Working Holiday Authorisation

Ultimate Guide to Ireland’s Working Holiday Authorisation

, , , , , 122 Comments

Ultimate Guide to Ireland's Working Holiday Authorisation

I’ve gotten many emails over the past few years of people who come across my blog and want to know “How did you do it?” How, at 22 years of age, did I move from South Louisiana to Dublin, Ireland? Did I do it through a program? Did I have a job? How did I afford it? Was it scary?

Well, folks, I’ll tell you how I did it. I up and moved to Dublin, with no job or place to live, because of a little something known as the Working Holiday Authorisation – an amazing (yet little-known) program between Ireland and citizens of The US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Hong Kong, Chile, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

The rules and requirements vary slightly from country to country. For the purpose of this post I’m focusing on the Working Holiday Authorisation offered to people from the United States.

So here we go!

[UPDATE: This post has been updated in 2022 with new/updated information. For example, some processes/applications that had to be done in-person when this article was originally written in 2017 have now been moved online, companies that are no longer in business have been removed, etc. This has all been reflected here.]

(more…)

Expat Life in Ireland // Month #11 recap and photos

, , , , 13 Comments

Irish Life Month #11

Another busy moth of Irish life as an expat in Dublin, Ireland! Well boy, my March was FUN. It could definitely be considered the month of concerts.

Between seeing ADELE, Grimes, and The 1975 in concert, there were a few pretttty big events in Ireland. A little something known as St. Patrick’s Day, and the 100th Anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.

So, it was definitely an fun and busy month!

(more…)
Irish life month #10

Expat Life in Ireland // Month #10 recap and photos

, , , , 8 Comments

Irish life month #10

Although February is a shorter month than most, I managed to squeeze in a lot in these 28 29 days. Life as an expat in Dublin is still going extremely well. There’s never a dull moment and I’m loving every second.

From saying goodbye to a friend moving to Canada, to birthdays and house parties, to roommate dinners and work nights out, to moving apartments, to exploring more of Dublin and its thrift stores.. OH, and of course, a quick but fantastic little getaway to Strasbourg, France.

So yeah, one could say this month of Irish life was pretty dang epic.

(more…)
Irish life month #9

Expat Life in Ireland // Month #9 recap and photos

, , , 25 Comments

Irish life month #9

Ah, what I’ve been secretly dreading…2016 in Dublin. The year when my life as an expat in Ireland could come to an end, with my visa expiring in May of this year. But I don’t want to be sad and think about it too much. Instead, I’m going to continue sharing what life is life as an expat in Dublin!

Of course I had SO MUCH FUN ringing in the new year in Dublin, and there’s a lot of things I’m looking forward to in the next few months. But, it being 2016 means I’m even closer to having to leave this wonderful life behind. It means the end of my year of being an expat in Ireland.

That’s right. My Irish Working Holiday Visa officially ends at the end of April of this year. So I’m currently trying to figure out a way to stay. I’m even looking into some classes to be able to stay as a student. Because I REALLY want to stay.

But other than that semi-stressful endeavor, life here is (of course) wonderful. January was yet another great month on this beautiful island I’ve been lucky enough to call home for the last 9 months.

(more…)

Expat Life in Ireland // Month #8 recap and photos

, , , , 8 Comments

Ireland month #8

December was a whirlwind of a month, with the holidays being so fun yet so busy! So, I apologize for my lack of posting.

But, the good news is that I have SO MUCH to share about Christmas in London and the general holiday season in Dublin! Last month may have been quiet, but this month was cold, hectic, festive, and perfect! And spoiler alert: I’m still having an absolute BALL being an American expat in Ireland.

(more…)
1 2 3