What can I say; I jumped ship and headed to the Emerald Isle. With my wife’s career break reaching an end, it seemed like a no brainer to give Ireland a go. Our roles would be reversing a bit with me switching to Skylar’s care-giver and her becoming the almighty breadwinner. I could not pass up on the chance to live in such a vibrant and exciting country like Ireland. Skylar was at a perfect age to move (except for jet leg, don’t even ask about that!), and day care was pennies compared to America. In addition, I could oversee my properties and I hired an excellent manger to deal with the day to day. So if there was any time to do it, now was the perfect time.

First thing to deal with was getting everything in order over in America. Yvonne left a few weeks before me, and I had my parents come down to help with Skylar. This is my busy season, so I needed all the help I could get. It was wonderful for Skylar and my parents to spend so much quality time together.

There are so many things that need to be organized for an international move. Passports need to be straightened out, medical insurance, cars need to be sold, houses need to be rented, and everything needs to be packed up and stored. At the same time, there are a million things that need to be done in Ireland also. From housing, transportation, and insurance. We were lucky to find a great-furnished house to move into. We sure did not want the hassle of furnishings a three-bedroom house out here. No we needed to hit the ground running. Yvonne was starting work right away.

So now I am here, in the countryside, learning about a new culture. There are many big changes for me, going from big city to village life. This blog will be different than my travel blog that I did in Asia. Sure I will be writing about cool places I go, but I am also hoping to delve deeper into things that are uniquely Irish, and getting an expats perspective on it. Finally I will be traveling with a toddler, so there will be plenty of playgrounds and kid friendly events in the future. Though there will be plenty of pub reviews as I search out some of Ireland’s most unique, old world pubs. So if you find these things interesting then pop in occasionally, as I begin my new life in Ireland.