The Way It Was Meant to Be.
About four years ago we made a five-year plan to leave South Africa. Initially our plan was to go to the UK. We had lived in South Wales for about 4 years early in our marriage and our oldest son was actually born there. Two years into our plan we realized the salaries we were earning just wasn’t going to cut it. With the cost of living in South Africa rising, plus debt we were still dragging with us from multiple bad decisions (don’t judge), hubby accepted a 2-year contract in Saudi Arabia working away for six months at a time.
The Saudi decision was one of the hardest things we have had to do as a family. We reminded each other of the reason we were doing it constantly and some days went better than others. We were determined. We thought with 2 BP holders and 2 SA, it would easy peasy. Boy! Had things changed since early 2000. Everything had changed since we last lived there. Just visas and NHS fees for myself and our youngest would be insane, nevermind setting up a new life. We really wanted to be near hubby’s parents in the UK. They are getting on in years and we wanted to be close so our boys could have a relationship with their grandparents.
I came across this Facebook page with a bunch of South Africans moving to Ireland. It was a minefield of information, everything you can imagine from immigration, housing, jobs, cars, insurance, schools...and I started reading and asking questions here and there and I have to say, I got pretty excited. We had met quite a few Irish Nationals over the years and we absolutely loved the Irish. They were fun, caring, kind and pleasantly laid back. We felt unsure, but with Hubby working away for 6 months at a time, we knew something had to give soon. We were all pretty ‘gatvol’ from being apart. I had already started applying for passports, unabridged birth certificates, marriage certificates etc. Then, on the 18th of December 2019 an article was posted online about there being a MAJOR shortage of Chefs in Ireland and they would be added to the short-skills list. I think I will always remember this moment as the turning point in our journey. It was the final confirmation we needed. Hubby’s contract was finishing in March 2020 and we were going!
Nothing could have prepared the world for the onslaught of our common foe, COVID-19. This fiend did not attack all at once but made its presence known at a slow crawl spreading illness and death with an unhealthy dose of fear and uncertainty, not only to those infected, but to everyone who bared witness. Hubby had made it out of Saudi just before they closed borders. He landed 2 days before SA locked down and there we were. Stuck. We had both resigned our jobs, taken the kids out of school, given notice at our rental, cancelled internet, landlines, some short-term insurance etc. Luckily, we hadn’t yet sold our car...phew! We had been renting at the same property for 13 years, which the landlord was planning on moving into herself once we left and she graciously allowed us to stay as long as we needed. Weeks turned into months and it was bittersweet. We were together again as a family, reconnecting, laughing, playing board games and having cooking experiments in the kitchen, but we were also using our precious savings meant to start our new life. Staying strong for the kids’ sake, we were both pretty stressed out.
On 28 May, the Department of Home Affairs made the announcement that people will be able to travel for work, study, medical treatment or to take up residency elsewhere. We were so happy! We ate steak and drank wine that night, but it was short-lived. There were little to no flights and the ones available you had to basically sell a kidney to pay for. We considered only sending hubby, but to be honest, just the thought that we would be apart again made me cry a full day non-stop. In faith we booked tickets with Emirates for 1 July. Two days later, they cancelled. Adriaan, the superhero travel agent, was full of words of encouragement, but careful not to give us false hope. He was working on a plan...and on 17 June stuff started happening. Emirates was coming to the repat party and flights had been made available. It was still expensive, but considerably less than the other partygoers. We wouldn’t see our previous bookings refund for months yet, but we knew this was our chance. We registered our interest to travel on 25 June. On 19 June, late afternoon, Adriaan phoned and said there was an issue. The flight for the 25th had a terrible connecting flight from Dubai to Dublin and they were scrapping it. Could we fly on the 23rd? It took us all of 5 minutes to phone back and say yes-yes! We paid through the link they sent and things were set. We had 3 days to sell the car and get our shiz together.
Yay for WE BUY CARS! They gave us a reasonable price. We lived in Mossel Bay and George Airport was still closed. My mom and sister were dropping us off and we left 02:00am in a double cab bakkie and rented trailer for our many bags, making our way to Cape Town Airport for our flight check in by 7:30am. It’s a scary business travelling with your kids knowing they could be exposed to a potentially fatal pathogen. We were OCD about sanitizing, not touching surfaces, wearing our masks and abiding by the regulations put in place by the airlines. We knew they all wanted us to make it out virus free too. Definitely a team effort! We arrived on 24 June in beautiful Ireland and my first thought was that Ireland had an intense colour pallet with so many shades of greens and blues and many other colours. Beauty surrounded us from all sides. We were here.
We did our 14 days self-isolation with Marilee and Pearce (Moyglare Lodge) in Wexford and used the time to redesign Hubby’s CV, AGAIN, research areas, looked for cars and we applied for hundreds of jobs. The hospitality industry was opening back up and there were new Chef jobs posted daily. Hubby had some zoom and telephone interviews and we were honest about being in self-isolation and his date of availability. Most establishments were feeling the bite of being closed for so long and couldn’t wait. Literally the day after our 14 days were up, Hubs had 2 interviews. One he was offered the job on the spot, the other asked that he come for a second interview in person the following day and another place that zoom interviewed also wanted a second interview. In the end we were in the fortunate position of being able to choose. WHAT? Unheard of given the current circumstances. Within a week of finishing our 14 days he had a great job, we had bought a car with reasonable insurance and secured a lovely 3-bedroom house 10 minutes from his job and moved into it.
We have been in Ireland a whole month now and I wake up every morning and think how freakin blessed we are that things worked out the way they did. I know that, had we managed to come end March before the lockdown, our story would have turned out much differently. Of that I have no doubt. Lessons learnt so far? Your time will come when it is the right time. Don’t force it. Trust your instincts. I believe everything happens as it should, but you still have to do your part.
Constant RESEARCH & PLANNING is so important. Surround yourself with people that support your dream and can pick you up on days when you feel like giving up. If you knew me, you would know I am not a crier. I am a no-nonsense kind of gal that often bites her tongue to not tell people to get their shiz together and stop the pity party...lol...you know, one of those no frills, no drama people. It’s probably why God gave me boys. Despite that, this past week I have cried a lot!
I just feel so humbled by peoples kindness and by how very blessed we are to have made it. Thank you so much to everyone that is part of this group in whatever capacity i.e. admin, members etc., there are no words to sufficiently express my gratitude. You really are the ambassadors/enablers of change we all want to see in this world.
Important links:
#MapMyMove- Our coaching Services - Confused or lost and need some direction, book a session with us to help untangle the confusion and work out your route of immigration
Steps to take in the Immigration Process
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