Forget the great resignation, it's time for the great lifestyle change

Forget the Great Resignation, it's now turning into the post-pandemic pivot with people leaving careers, cities and countries for more affordable and more enjoyable lifestyles. Joyce Fegan talks with five Irish people who made a major life shift in the last two years.

Pandemic or no pandemic, for performance psychologist Gerry Hussey and pharmacist turned health coach Miriam Kerins Hussey, there was always a plan to live abroad.

Raising twin toddlers trilingual 

 Liz Costigan Fleury's move to Malaga means her twin boys will be trilingual and the cost of living will be 30% cheaper.

Swapping in Spain for Dublin this March, was both a no-brainer and the realising of a dream, for yoga teacher Liz.

"My husband Seb was offered a job in Malaga and living abroad has always been a dream of ours. We did a lot of travelling before the boys were born and since their arrival and because of Covid we haven't done a lot," explains Liz.

Her twin boys, who turn 3 in May, are already bilingual speaking both English and French, and now enrolled in preschool in Spain means they'll be adding Spanish to their linguistic repertoire too.

But how easy was it to uproot toddlers from a tight family network in Ireland?

"We've been really lucky, the company that Seb works for has helped us a lot in terms of moving. We had a relocation company helping us find a house, and they helped us with actually moving our stuff from Ireland to over there, so a lot of the nitty-gritty hard work we have been assisted with.

"Myself and Seb went over for two nights a couple of weeks ago and visited one house and one Montessori. We had already seen them online and had really fallen in love and hoped they'd work out and they did," explains Liz.

Liz and Sebastien Costigan Fleury with their 18-month-old twins Jules, left and Zac. Picture: Moya Nolan

The move sounds simultaneously simple and idyllic, but it was actually the pandemic that helped turn the key on the decision to go.

"Covid played a huge role in it. Well, number one it shows how precious life is and how fast time goes and how important it is we do live our lives because we really don't know what's around the corner. And that's true, that's not just an airy-fairy way of thinking about it."

The spin instructor and yoga teacher said that while the pandemic hit her livelihood it also opened up opportunities virtually, and it means she can now stay in touch with her following no matter where she is in the world.

"Also my business has been impacted in a negative way by Covid, but it also transferred online too. Now I can bring that over to Spain, I'll be able to teach classes from over here and without Covid I would be severing the link with my community in Ireland somewhat," she explains.

Business and lifestyle aside, when they crunched the numbers the move to Malaga means their living and housing costs have just come down by 30%.

"We love Ireland and we will be back and I'm just trying to focus on the opportunity and adventure of it and the sunshine," says Liz.

• Liz is on Instagram at @lizcostiganfleury 

Finding accommodation in Dublin is like The Hunger Games 

As a cancer survivor Vicky McGrath was rebuilding her life after Covid. However, a lack of sunshine and extortionate Dublin rents made her and her partner think twice about where they would locate themselves post-pandemic.

"We were away in Hvar (Croatia) in September (2021) and both of our moods were just so good. I was like: 'Imagine we just escaped for a few months.' My partner kind of felt the same and we talked about it. We were talking about it like it was a dream and then we said: 'Why don't we just do this?'

"We made the decision at the end of October and then I told my work and it just felt like the right thing to do. It felt like a reset. That was the why - life on hold with my illness and then lockdown and then just the cost of living in Ireland and the weather in the winter time," explains Vicki.

Vicki and her partner landed in Lisbon at the end of January and found an apartment with a wrap-around terrace for 30% cheaper than what they had been looking at in Dublin.

"We found a place on Airbnb for a long stay in this gorgeous area in Lisbon, Santos. We booked that for the first month and then we were like no we love it here we want to stay.

"We have a fabulous terrace, a big double bedroom with the doors out to the terrace, all the rooms lead out to this terrace. It works out at €800 a month plus all your electricity, Wifi, everything is included.

Cancer survivor Vicki McGrath and her partner landed in Lisbon at the end of January and found an apartment with a wrap-around terrace for 30% cheaper than what they had been looking at in Dublin

"Whereas in Dublin for a one-bed, it was between €2,000 and €2,500 plus all your bills. We're saving so much. The cost of living is so cheap," says Vicki.

Getting two coffees at home in the morning came to roughly €8, whereas in Lisbon they're getting two coffees and two custard tarts for €4. Lunch, in a place just off the main thoroughfare, cost them €9 in total recently - that included two pork fillet sandwiches on traditional baps, two bottles of water and a ginger ale.

And double their lunch bill is how much it cost them to get out there in the first place - their flights were €20 each.

The couple's plan was to stay there until May, as Vicki has a follow-up oncology appointment in Ireland, but now they've had a taste of Iberian life the hope is to make it a long-term move.

Has Covid been a motivation of sorts?

"There is never a good time so why not do it now? If you're to buy over here it is a 20-30% deposit but the cost of the apartments for where we are, a nice one-bed, is €220,000." 

"I saw in the Irish Times this tiny, tiny cottage off the canal in Dublin and it was €495,000. I saw a tweet that said trying to find an apartment in Dublin is like the Hunger Games," she adds.

And would she buy out there and set down roots?

"If my friends and family were over here it would be the perfect situation but it's only a two-hour flight".

• Vicki is on Instagram @vikkimcgrath 

"I realise I have a global audience"

Pandemic or no pandemic, for performance psychologist Gerry Hussey and pharmacist turned health coach Miriam Kerins Hussey, there was always a plan to live abroad.

However, Covid took so much online, including their business Soul Space, that living abroad became a reality quicker than they had imagined.

"One of the reasons I set up my own business was freedom," says Gerry.

"The second reason was to give ourselves 'project sunshine', where we'd go away a few months a year. In Ireland we have a lack of vitamin D, so the plan was always there to move. Covid really just sped it up. It made us get our business online, but living abroad was something we always wanted to do," adds Gerry.

Gerry and Miriam and their toddler son made the move to Portugal in August 2021, and returned home to Ireland just before the New Year.

Now after a taste of the lifestyle, they're going to make living abroad part of their lives permanently.

"Will we live in Ireland forever? If I'm asking honestly, probably not. There is something about sunshine, there is something about waking up to a blue sky, and the impact of a blue sky for anyone, like me, who had mental health issues," says the psychologist.

In order to make the most of the blue skies, Miriam and Gerry made sure that their time in Portugal wasn't all sedentary screen time.

"You get into the practicalities straight away. We found a gym, the local tennis courts, we built a little community and made sure we were getting out of the house meeting people.

"We would work from 10am to 3pm because we said: 'We're not just here just to work'. We had early morning walks on the beach, picnics on the beach and meeting lots of other like-minded people," says Gerry.

Gerry had already pivoted pre-pandemic from a "safe pensionable job" to doing the work he is in now. However, the pandemic took him away from spending 25 hours a week driving to get to speaking events. The virtual aspect of his work has given him "confidence" in the feasibility of the online business model as well as living and working abroad. So too has something else.

Gerry's best-selling book 'The Power Within' was published the summer before he went away, and it's since been published in more than 50 countries.

For someone reading this and feeling worlds apart from Gerry's mindset and life, what would he say?

"Create a vision board, ask yourself what's the lifestyle you want?" says Gerry.

And for someone who would never dare create a vision board what's a good question to ask yourself?

"People have stories about why things wouldn't work. Write down 10 reasons why it would work or ask yourself: 'If it had to make this work, how would I make it work?'"

• Gerry is on Instagram at @gerry_hussey 

"There was no part of me that was able to go back to the PhD"

The decision to make a major pivot happened on the cusp of the pandemic for Kate Horgan. She went from doing a PhD in plant genetics in Trinity College Dublin in January 2020, to working for Dogs Trust by March 2020.

"I came back from holidays, walked into the lab and I burst out crying. I just said: 'I can't be here'," said Kate.

It was January 2020, she was now more than a year into her PhD, something she had won prestigious funding for, and she was also just home from visiting her sister in Australia. The time out gave her major pause for thought, something she hadn't done between her undergraduate degree in Trinity and starting the PhD.

Kate Horgan with dogs, from left, Sully and Red. Kate went from doing a PhD in plant genetics in Trinity College Dublin in January 2020, to working for Dogs Trust by March 2020.

"My competitive nature was let's go get a PhD, my end goal was to be a researcher. It was definitely more head oriented than heart oriented.

"The first 12 months were quite fun, but then I got into second year and every experiment I tried, nothing was working. There was imposter syndrome," she says.

But on the day in January 2020, when she said no more, it would be a few months before she'd figure out her next move.

"Initially I took a week off, and that became two weeks. Then I went to the mental health support in Trinity, and they were great, like fabulous. I was able to get six months to decide: 'Do I want to go back to the lab or not?'

"I was so burnt out, and I took a break until March, then the pandemic kicked off," says Kate.

She had been looking for a part-time job that she would also enjoy — enter Dogs Trust. She's never looked back.

"I loved it from the get-go, working with animals, working with people, I am a people person. I wasn't able to cope with being by myself all day, but I knew that about myself before the PhD.

"As soon as I came here (Dogs Trust) I was able to shine," says Kate.

The pivot was supported by her family, boyfriend and understanding professor.

"There was no part of me that was able to go back to the PhD. And to anyone who is now in a similar position I would say: 'People have quit whatever you are doing before, the world won't end'." 

"I am so much happier now. I get to work with dogs and people every day and make a difference. But I encourage anyone to seek out a mental health professional if you need one".

"I booked a one-way flight to Portugal in March 2021"

There was a time, not too long ago, when Sarah Shannon would sneak out of her corporate law office with a yoga mat under her coat. Now she lives in Portugal where she hosts "wild and free" women's yoga retreats.

But Sarah had pivoted pre-pandemic, leaving her corporate life behind to teach yoga and meditation full-time in Dublin.

However, by November 2020, she was feeling the effects of many months of online teaching.

"I'm teaching for a year and a half and the pandemic hits, so it was back to the drawing board. I wasn't too worried. You realise when you pivot once, you can pivot twice.

"But by November 2020, I'm feeling the effects of online teaching and living on my own. I remember saying to myself: 'This isn't what I pictured, this isn't what I wanted my life to feel like'.

"So I started the whole process again, journalling, Pinterest vision boards, reflection, meditation...Then the idea of Portugal came, I had come here a lot as a child and a friend was here and I could see from Instagram that it could be an option," says Sarah.

By December 2020, the decision to move was made.

Sarah Shannon lives in Portugal where she hosts "wild and free" women's yoga retreats.

Having already pivoted professionally and then pivoting in a pandemic, pivoting to Portugal filled her with a little bit of fear, as well as hope.

"The idea of it gave me a bit of new hope, but starting over again made me feel scared.

"I had this idea to have this 'wild and free' space for women to gather and discover their inner wild woman, I had no idea where I was going to do this. But I booked a one-way flight to Portugal in March 2021. I found an apartment, down in the Algarve quite quickly, and you just know when these things start to flow," says Sarah.

So far she has hosted three sold-out retreats in Portugal, which include everything from yoga to journalling and sea swimming to Celtic wisdom. Her upcoming one in May is also sold out.

And who comes?

It's mostly Irish women from their 20s right through to their 60s.

"They're mostly coming over to rest and recharge and connect back in with themselves."

"When we're off track, I find listening to that nudge, listening to that soul calling brings you back on the path. Between the two moves, from law to yoga and Dublin to Portugal, seeing them both work out has really encouraged me more to listen to the soul whispers," she adds.

• Sarah is on Instagram at @sarahshannonyoga