{"id":2413,"date":"2026-07-30T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/?p=2413"},"modified":"2026-07-29T17:08:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:08:01","slug":"after-twenty-three-years-in-sydney-they-came-home-to-a-village-in-south-kilkenny-%ca%bcwe-should-have-done-it-before-the-kids-were-teenagers%ca%bc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/after-twenty-three-years-in-sydney-they-came-home-to-a-village-in-south-kilkenny-%ca%bcwe-should-have-done-it-before-the-kids-were-teenagers%ca%bc\/","title":{"rendered":"After twenty-three years in Sydney they came home to a village in south Kilkenny \u2014 \u02bcwe should have done it before the kids were teenagers\u02bc"},"content":{"rendered":"

They arrived in the rain<\/strong>, not the sun<\/strong>. A quiet lane curled past hawthorn<\/strong> and a half-toppled gate<\/strong>, the kind of Irish vignette that never quite goes out of fashion. The kids stared at the sheep<\/strong>, phones out, filming the way breath smudged the air<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Home was a two-storey farmhouse<\/strong>, freckled with lichen<\/strong>, bought on video calls and faith. \u201cIt smells like firewood<\/strong> and old books<\/strong>,\u201d their daughter said, half-wonder, half-complaint.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They had imagined a neat return<\/strong>, but life came back at them in edges<\/strong>\u2014accents, weather, the sway of long evenings<\/strong> that start early and end slowly<\/strong>. \u201cWe should have come back sooner<\/strong>,\u201d they murmured to each other<\/strong> that first week, not as regret so much as a map to follow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Leaving a sunlit life<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The move didn\u2019t begin with a list<\/strong>, but with a tug<\/strong>. A father\u2019s hip<\/strong> surgery. A friend\u2019s sudden illness<\/strong>. Bushfire smoke<\/strong> finding its way under a hotel door<\/strong>. They felt the delicate math<\/strong> of distance tilt: who gets seen, who gets missed<\/strong>, what becomes memory<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Work had grown strangely portable<\/strong>. His firm allowed hybrid<\/strong> schedules; her clients were already Zoom<\/strong>-shaped. \u201cIf we can email from a kitchen<\/strong> in Sydney, we can email from a kitchen<\/strong> in Kilkenny,\u201d she said. The arithmetic of rent<\/strong> versus mortgage made a nudge<\/strong> into a decision.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Teenagers between worlds<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

The adults adjusted faster<\/strong>, because adults have practiced pretending<\/strong>. The kids were set down into a story<\/strong> they didn\u2019t write: uniforms, timetables, new codes<\/strong>. \u201cI sound different<\/strong>,\u201d their son said after a week of school<\/strong>, hearing his own vowels fling and ricochet<\/strong> in a crowded hallway<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hurling looked like a bright, fast language<\/strong> with no subtitles<\/strong>. Lunchtime jokes required local history<\/strong>. \u201cWe just wish we\u2019d returned before<\/strong> the kids hit their teens<\/strong>,\u201d the parents admitted, gently. There was nothing wrong with the present<\/strong>. It was simply a harder climb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Acclimating took a plotline<\/strong>: small wins, steady rituals<\/strong>. The first friend who says \u201csit here<\/strong>.\u201d The first teacher who spots a talent<\/strong>. The Saturday morning latte<\/strong> at the market, where the barista learns your name<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Work, money, and the awkward middle<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

He set up a desk<\/strong> under the back window<\/strong>; the Wi\u2011Fi coughed, then held. Meetings landed at odd<\/strong> hours, but the commute was ten paces and a kettle click<\/strong>. She found clients who liked the time<\/strong> difference\u2014briefs at dusk, drafts by dawn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Money unspooled in surprises<\/strong>. Groceries were sometimes dearer<\/strong>, heating certainly was<\/strong>. But childcare demands softened, and the second-hand car<\/strong> cost less than a year of city parking<\/strong>. \u201cThe budget wasn\u2019t a win<\/strong>, more like a re-balance,\u201d he said, \u201ca different shape<\/strong> of enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Learning to belong again<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Belonging wasn\u2019t automatic\u2014more compost<\/strong> than switch<\/strong>. They joined the parish<\/strong> WhatsApp, showed up at the GAA raffle<\/strong>, learned the names of three lanes<\/strong> that are actually just one road<\/strong>. \u201cYou keep showing<\/strong> up, and one day it feels like you never stopped<\/strong>,\u201d a neighbour told them, handing over a bag of still-warm scones<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Weather was not a villain<\/strong>, more a constant character<\/strong>. They leaned into layers<\/strong>, into the bright shock<\/strong> of blue when the clouds finally bite<\/strong> clean. Sunday spins to the river<\/strong>, a pint by the pub stove<\/strong>, the children\u2019s laughter<\/strong> a fraction freer each week<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What they\u2019d tell anyone considering the same move<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n
  • Start your networks<\/strong> early: schools, clubs, and a friendly neighbour<\/strong> can soften the sharpest edges<\/strong>. <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Expect a six-to-twelve-month dip<\/strong> before your new rhythms<\/strong> feel natural. <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Keep at least one familiar<\/strong> ritual from your old life<\/strong>\u2014it steadies the days<\/strong>. <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • Budget for hidden costs<\/strong> (heating, setup, small daily things<\/strong>) and celebrate the savings<\/strong> you do find<\/strong>. <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

  • For teens, build-in a say<\/strong> and a timeline<\/strong>; belonging can\u2019t be scheduled<\/strong>, but it can be scaffolded<\/strong>.<\/li>\n

    \n<\/ul>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The heart of the place<\/h2>\n

    <\/p>\n

    On Friday nights, the village bends toward the pitch<\/strong>. Mothers lean on fences<\/strong>; fathers stomp the cold from their boots<\/strong>; children chase a last light<\/strong> across grass that holds yesterday\u2019s rain<\/strong>. Someone presses a paper bag of chips<\/strong> into a pair of surprised hands<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    At home, the dog curls by the range<\/strong>, and a geography lesson becomes a story<\/strong>\u2014how rivers find the sea<\/strong>, how families find their way<\/strong>. \u201cIt isn\u2019t easier,\u201d she says, \u201cbut it\u2019s truer<\/strong>.\u201d He nods, stirring the soup<\/strong>. \u201cTruer is a good direction<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    They don\u2019t romanticise the trade<\/strong>. Sydney still swims in their minds<\/strong>\u2014harbour light, jasmine on fences<\/strong>, friends who become midnight texts<\/strong>. But the children are laughing with their whole<\/strong> faces now, the accents settling into a bright, blended music<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    One morning, frost tapes the fields<\/strong> in silver. The lane is a little less strange<\/strong>. A robin lands on the gate<\/strong>, bright as a stitched button<\/strong>. \u201cThis is our homework<\/strong> now,\u201d he jokes, \u201clearning how to live the slow parts<\/strong>.\u201d She smiles, pulls her coat tighter<\/strong>, and watches the day open like a long, unhurried book<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2413"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2432,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2413\/revisions\/2432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}