Corkonians Abroad: Life is so fast-paced in Sydney

How did you end up in Sydney?

I moved here in February, 2016. I moved because I wanted more opportunity and my friend Gavin passed away and we always talked about going there together so I wanted to do it for him too.

How is life in Australia?

I love my life here! I work a lot, sometimes six days a week, but it’s worth it. I live 15 minutes from Coogee Beach and 20 minutes from Bondi, it’s absolutely amazing.

I love the different cultures in Sydney and you never know who you’re going to make friends with.

I also met an amazing English girl, Lauren, and we have a beautiful French bulldog, Ronnie. 

Life seems fast-paced but I prefer that.

What has been the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge has been being away from family, seeing the nieces and nephews grow up so quickly and missing out on it all. Visas are also super-hard to sort through but thankfully we’re currently waiting for PR (permanent residency) to come through, after a long eight years.

How are the weekends?

I usually spend the weekend with the missus and dog, we love a quiet drink after a long week so we love nothing more than going to local pubs or chilling at home. 

Every now and then we like a good music concert and meeting up with old friends for a catch-up.

Tell us a little about the culture in Sydney?

The culture here is very diverse, there’s more Asians in Sydney, and probably more Irish than Aussies. If you travel a little bit outside you get some real Aussies and they’re always fun.

The main difference between Ireland and Oz is definitely the opportunities. If you’re willing to get your head down here you can be really successful. My partner now owns her own lash business and is doing really well and I plan on working for myself by the end of the year. 

I felt like in Cork the job choices just weren’t as great. Everyone here wants to see you succeed.

Tell us about your line of work?

I currently work as a formworker, steelfixer and concreter. I was offered sponsorship from a company named Ormond Civil here in Sydney around four years ago. It’s an Irish-owned business and I’m extremely grateful for them because without it I wouldn’t be getting permanent residency. They’ve always kept me working and done right by me.

If you wanted to go and take the risk and build your own company here, you can be extremely successful.

There are not many problems here compared to home, only the visa issues honestly. If you can work through all of that, it’s worth it.

I loved living at home but at the time I needed a fresh start and Oz was right there. My friend (also from Cork) Timmy Lynch lived here already and him and his partner Laura took me in when I first got there. He now runs a successful company called Macquarie Rendering. Always good to see childhood friends do so well abroad! They made my life so easy at the beginning.

Most memorable moment?

My most memorable moment was when me and my partner Lauren had our last visa accepted. We were absolutely over the moon after a long year of waiting.

If you were back in Cork for one day, what would you do?

If I was home for one day, all I would do is spend time with family. I miss my parents Pat and Liz so much. They’re the most supportive parents a man could ever wish for and I’m so lucky. I also have a brother and sister Johnny and Jessica and they have beautiful kids too, so I’d just spend the day with them.

Having a cup of tea with your mother or a pint with your father is something I took for granted when I was younger, but now I really know how precious it really is.

What are you looking forward to in the coming months?

In the coming months I look forward to my permanent residency coming through and I’d love a visit back home in the near future. Cork has the nicest Guinness on earth and I’m counting the days.

What do you miss about Cork?

The thing I miss most about Cork is the humour. I genuinely think we have the funniest sense of humour I’ve ever seen, sarcasm is like a second language, which has caused me some problems over here.

My ideal day back in Cork is going for lunch with my mother, and a pint with my father.

I have an amazing godchild too called Darragh who I’d love to spend the day with. Seeing my siblings doing so well with my own eyes too is fantastic to see.

The No.1 thing I’ve learned about being abroad is family is everything, and finding a partner that’s on the same page with you makes life so much easier here.

Thankfully, since I’ve moved here I’ve made some amazing friends. I met my closest friends here in literally the first three months after moving here and we’ve been inseparable since. A lot of friends have moved home in the last few years but thank God for me most of my friends I’ve made here are still here and live close by.

Life was good in Cork before leaving but I always wanted to travel a bit. It was a toss up between moving to Germany or Australia for me, and eventually I went with Oz simply because of the amount of Irish community that’s already based here and I’d heard nothing but good things.

I felt like I needed a fresh start career-wise and I didn’t want to go my whole life without seeing what life would be like living in another country.

Any shout-outs to people back home?

Of course, I’d like to shout out again my extremely supportive parents Pat and Liz Glavin, who have always been there through thick and thin, and my siblings Jessica and Johnny who I stay in contact with every single day. I have a lot of friends that still live in Cork but there’s too many to mention and I’d get in trouble if I left anyone out.

Would the Aussies like Cork?

I think Aussies would love Cork because of the people and culture. People underestimate the good humour and friendliness of the Cork people but you really see it when you move away. The pub scene would be right up their street, and although the weather isn’t as good, I do think Cork beaches are some of the nicest I’ve seen, and that includes Bondi.

Have you any hobbies that you spend time on?

I’ve dived heavily into jiu-jitsu since I’ve been here, I played soccer for Castleview AFC for a long long time when I was home and also competed in several body-building competitions, but I wanted something new and fell in love with jiu-jitsu. I train at a fantastic gym in Zetland called Locals and in my last competition I won two gold medals in two different weight categories, and recently my nephew Leon decided to take it up as well so that makes me very proud to see my choices are having a positive effect.