Romanticising a new place is nothing new, especially not in Ireland. We as a population have been leaving in search of better and happier places for centuries. Just think about the coffin ships of the famine, the unsinkable Titanic, the and more recently countless plane journeys to the sunny coasts of Australia. Ireland is a small, old fashioned and very hostile towards the young generations that we find ourselves growing into. From the viewpoint of someone still living in this country, seeing nothing but hiking rental costs, ever rising grocery bills and fuel prices that are through the roof, it makes one feel completely hopeless that staying here in Ireland is a reasonable or likely hope. It would be simply easier to pack our bags, update our passports, say goodbye to our family and friends who we promise to visit and then we board a flight to a foreign land in hopes of a better and happier life.
With unattainable rent prices, mortgages become nothing but a pipe dream, people are being forced out of their homeland; it is not so much ‘Paris Syndrome’ where we romanticize a new country so much that it makes us uproot our lives to live there, but the fact that it is a place of hope and a chance at a lifestyle that won’t break the bank. Lets not even mention the lack of nightlife and social meeting places for young people in this country, pubs, nightclubs are being closed left and right due to being bought up by hotel chains and the rising alcohol sales. With no social settings left there is very little fun to be had and even fewer places to meet friends.
Paris Syndrome makes us romanticise foreign countries because it is a mystery, something we simply do not understand. It ignites a fantasy of a new exciting life that waits for us should we only gain the courage to buy a plane ticket. It is the hope of a new world, new places, food, people, architecture, love. IT is a promise of excitement and happiness that we cannot even begin to imagine from our expensive Irish digs. In reality, while there are many attractive things about moving abroad, there is also the promise of leaving everything and everyone you see and love in your everyday Irish life will be thousands of miles away. You will be leaving friends and family behind. Facetime is great, but it should be realised that getting a hug and shoulder to cry on is something you are leaving behind, and moving to a new country will inevitably be a lonely and scary experience at first.
Unfortunately for most of us, the plane tickets to the US, UK and Australia will be a decision we are forced to make even if we do not truly wish to leave Ireland. But it is still a good and exciting process, the promise of new opportunities that would never have been offered had you not packed up and kissed your old life goodbye. New people, jobs, food, and adventures you haven’t even dreamed of could be waiting for you should you decide to take these foreign opportunities. Life becomes exciting in these new situations as you discover new ways of life away from Ireland.
