Corkonians Abroad: London? It’s the land of opportunity

How did you end up in England?

I think I always knew I would move away from home. I loved travelling, and did the usual things like J1’s in the States. I loved those experiences so was never fearful of travelling or moving away.

Having completed my degree in UCC, I first moved to Australia with a bunch of friends with the intention of giving that a go. But all the lads were tradesmen, they found work easy and took to life in Oz easy. For me, I didn’t have a similar experience. They did look after me a lot over there, getting me jobs on the sites where possible, but I am not built for it and didn’t have a clue what I was doing.

I bluffed my way through jobs like roofing and labouring but all were short-lived, so after six months I returned back home to Cork.

I returned to UCC to complete my Master’s degree. Once I finished that, I all but immediately managed to get a role in a trading platform company based in London and made the move.

What is life like in your new home?

Life is good where I am now. Things have moved fast over the years. I met my wife Nadia in London, she is English and we now have two beautiful daughters.

Whilst London is a great city, it can be hectic, busy, and not the best place to raise a family so we moved outside of London to Berkshire. Still within commuting distance to London for work.

Work life can be tough, working long hours throughout the weekdays. One benefit that came from Covid was the ability to work from home on occasions. But with long working days and long commutes to London, weekdays can be really hectic.

We also run our own business in Wokingham. When I met my wife in London, we both had a shared interest in martial arts. Her father Frank has run his own club since the 1980s. So, over the past 18 months, myself, my wife and my father-in-law have opened up our own 2500 sq ft. mixed martial arts gym.

Whilst a passion of all of ours, it can be difficult juggling everything. The business goes from strength to strength, with more than 150 members in our first 18 months.

What has been the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge for me really was the first few weeks I first arrived in London. When I first landed, I had my job lined up but I didn’t have anywhere to live. For the first couple of weeks, I was living out of hotels and guesthouses. It was probably the hardest times I have experienced in London, as it was tough financially and mentally not knowing the next move. As ever, you can always fall back on the Cork expat community.

Lads I did my Master’s degree with massively helped and let me stay with them until I found a proper place to live. If it wasn’t for them, I would have no doubt returned home.

How might you spend your weekends?

Weekends these days are far different to what they were when I originally moved over. Like that of Australia’s ‘County Bondi’, London had ‘County Clapham’. Having spent years there, weekends consisted of finishing work on a Friday afternoon and literally spending the weekend watching sports in whatever bar or pub would have us.

Big social circles were by far one of the best things about that time. And many a Saturday night rolled into a Sunday morning in The Swan or the The Church… notorious haunts for Cork and Irish expats in London.

These days, with the kids, and the gym, my weekends are very different. Work can be very busy, with long weekdays and weeknights in the gym, so weekends are spent with the family and kids, trying to keep them occupied and entertained.

Tell us a bit about the culture of where you live?

Culturally, etc, London and England in general are much aligned to the Irish. Though we might not want to admit it. It’s easy to integrate and, let’s be honest, no matter where you are in the world, everyone loves the Irish.

One of the best things in Ireland and Cork in my opinion is the sense of community and how everyone knows everyone. Any issues you may have, there will always be someone you know who knows someone who can help. When moving to London, not having that community or family can be a struggle. London being such a large place, you can sometimes get lost in the crowd, and It takes time to build those social circles that you would have at home.

Tell us about your line of work/career?

I have worked my way around various brokers and banks throughout London and I am currently working for BMO Capital Markets, a North American investment bank.

I am a VP in European Equity Trading. Working on the trading floor comes with its pluses and minuses - it can be stressful with long hours, but also at times can be very interesting and enjoyable.

Tell us your thoughts on opportunity when living abroad?

In my opinion, opportunities in London are far greater than those which can be had in Cork or Dublin in that manner.

I work in finance, and London’s finance district is far greater than that in Ireland unfortunately. I think if I was ever to return home to Cork, job prospects and opportunities in my profession would be difficult to come by. Dublin never appealed to me.

Any special mentions to friends or family back in Cork?

Special mention to all family and friends in Cork. All the Fordes and Murray clan (there are too many of them to mention). My parents John and Christine. Brother and sister Ian and Lyndsey. To all the lads who looked after me in Oz - and to all the UCC friends who helped when I first arrived in London.

If you were back in Cork for one day, what would the ideal day for you be like?

OK, so this might be a bit of a weird one, but there are strange things you miss when not at home. I guess everyone will always say a night at the local or a night out in Cork. But it’s the day after and the hangover cure that I actually miss, the trip to Centra or a garage for the usual: jambons, hot chicken roll and a bottle of milk. Nothing beats it and the English have yet to discover it.

Is there anything that you especially miss about Cork?

Family and friends. You cannot beat the sense of community in Cork. Everyone knows everyone’s business which is a good and a bad thing.

It can be tough waking up in a house with three English accents every morning!!

Cork is always missed, when my wife and I got married we returned to Cork to get married at Castlemartyr. When my daughter Saoirse was christened, we also returned to Cork.

We both love Cork and always want to return whenever we can. Although, unfortunately, it’s a lot harder to get home now these days with two kids, work commitments and school schedules to manage.