 |
| A beach near my hometown |
I've heard that question so many times I don't count anymore. Still now, after 12 years, some people still ask the question.
It doesn't mean I haven't thought about it. Actually, I've had that idea a million times, but somehow, something always happened that made us stay in Ireland over the years.
And right now, a 35-years mortgage is probably the reason why we're stuck in the Emerald Isle.
When there's a will, there's a way, and maybe there is just not enough will to find a way to get rid of the apartment that doesn't worth anything since the 2008 property bubble. Maybe we just have to stay put for the moment and see what happens. Hopefully we'll be able to move soon enough .
Having said that, I'm not sure I actually want to go back to France, but at the same time, I don't see myself grow old in Ireland. My sister works in a retirement home, with patients who have Alzeihmer disease. One of the patient is a foreigner who lived in France all her adult life. Unfortunately, the condition made her forget most of the French she used to speak. So the last part of her life is being spent in a place where she doesn't understand everything people say to her. That's very scary. I know I'm not there yet, but I also know I don't want to end up like that.
I often asked myself: If I won the lotto and money wasn't an issue, where would I live? The answer is surprisingly Ireland.
I like the country, the people, the way of life, even if it's not perfect. I like the area I live in, the school, the fact that it's near the beach. People are also more relaxed than in France.
The best of both worlds would be to live in Ireland but be able to go to France every couple of months. Of course, squeezing a Mauritius trip in every year would just be the icing on the cake...
My friends know all that, I've been saying it for a few years already, but never acted on it.
Maybe I should stop dreaming and actually do something about it. Or else it will never happen.
I don't want to wake up tomorrow in an Irish retirement home unable to speak English, and having regrets about what might have been my life if I had done things differently...
