Leaving Australia: ‘I decided my best option was to move back to Ireland’

“Australia suits some people perfectly and others seem to struggle,” says Matthew Brady from Laragh, Co Cavan.
The 25-year-old lived in Coogee, Sydney in Australia until June 2023 and was one of 6,400 people to move to the Republic of Ireland in the 12 months leading up to April.
Within that same period, an estimated 10,600 people in Ireland emigrated to Australia, a 126 per cent increase on the previous year, and the highest number to emigrate there since 2013, according to new data from the CSO.
Coogee is commonly called County Coogee due to the number of Irish people living there, he says.
“It’s honestly wild the amount of Irish concentrated in the eastern suburbs of Sydney,” he says. “The majority of times that I went to the gym, I would bump into someone that I know, which doesn’t regularly happen to me in Dublin.”
Brady had been long attracted to the idea of living in Australia, citing a common story of Irish people finding better lives there, prompting him to move there a year after graduating from the University of Galway in 2021.
Although the cost of living is similar to that in Ireland, “if not slightly more expensive”, his wages while working as an accountant in Sydney make up for it.
“The base wage in Ireland definitely needs to improve since our living costs continue to rise. Dublin and every Irish city has gotten so expensive that students are taking out loans to cover fees or rent, to then graduate with a salary that barely covers basic costs,” he says.
Above all else, Brady hails the lifestyle in Australia as a significant factor in attracting Irish people, which he says has much more of a focus on wellbeing, health and fitness than Ireland.
[ CSO records ‘strong outward flow’ to Australia with 10,600 people moving there from IrelandOpens in new window ]
Visa restrictions ultimately led to his return home, with Brady’s working holiday visa meaning he could remain in his role for just six months, which meant career development there was unlikely.
“The only way around the working holiday visa requirements is to apply for a different visa, which is much more expensive and harder to obtain or receive employer sponsorship,” he says.
Although glad to have lived there, Brady says visa restrictions can result in “unstable living”.
“Friends you make are constantly moving around and it can be hard to get settled. I decided that my best option was to move back to Ireland where conditions would be more stable,” he says. “Australia suits some people perfectly and others seem to struggle. Much of it depends on the employment you are searching for. If you are a teacher or working in construction, the opportunities and conditions are so much better than in Ireland.
“However, in certain industries you are more likely to struggle, such as accounting or finance or corporate roles in general. The opportunity to grow your career in these industries for the average Irish person is much higher in Dublin,” he says.