My love affair with Estonia – more specifically its capital, Tallinn – started long before I ever set foot in the country. It all started with a poster I had on my bedroom wall for years – an image of a snow-covered Old Town. I thought it was the most beautiful place I was yet to see.
I finally got my chance to visit the city in 2017, while a friend was at a conference for a few days. Stepping into Tallinn Old Town for the first time gave me that same feeling you get in your chest when the bass kicks in during Sigur Rós’s Hoppípolla. If you know the tune, you’ll know the feeling.
That trip was magic for me; I took some tours and sampled the nightlife, but most of all I just walked around Old Town soaking it all in.
I returned to Tallinn in 2018 to complete the Ironman event the city was hosting for the first time, and I fell in love with the place a little bit more, specifically the Kalamaja neighbourhood, where I was based for the week.
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I don’t own property in Ireland, so when I was given notice on a cottage I was renting last year in Bray, Co Wicklow, it gave me the perfect opportunity to explore life outside of Ireland for a while. Estonia was the obvious choice. I had been in Tallinn with my friend and colleague Stacey Connolly for a tech event in May 2022 and was keen to go back, we’d had such a great trip.
I started to give away a few of my belongings via some zero waste pages on Facebook and the more I gave away, the lighter I felt. It nearly became an addiction.
I ended up giving away everything bar my horse, car, bike and my Huku balance board. I kept a fraction of my clothes too. If you are thinking of becoming a digital nomad you need to learn to do without and live out of a suitcase.
I travelled home to Scotland – I’m from a farm near Edzell – to visit my family, and with the support of my editors, friends and family I took off to Estonia in September 2022. I work remotely – nothing’s changed workwise.
My plans were hampered slightly with a return to Dublin for a wee operation in the middle of it all, but in just over two months I managed to visit Estonia and Poland, have a very humbling visit to Ukraine, a recovery week in Tipperary, events in Dublin, Brussels, Lisbon and Helsinki, and family time in Scotland before landing back to Ireland mid-November.
The plan was to find a place to live and settle back in Ireland, but it felt like I was facing an insurmountable task. It was no longer affordable for me, even to rent a room. They were so few and far between and when you would answer a Daft ad it would already have hundreds of views.
So, I retreated back to Tallinn to a six-week sublet, with my trusty suitcase and an application for my long-term D visa in tow. A visa allows me to stay in Estonia/Schengen area for a year.
I know what it feels like to be running from something.
I’ve lived in Ireland since I was 21; in fact, I moved to Ireland on my 21st birthday. I’d love to say it was a strategic move but it wasn’t. I had been working in England, my dad had just unexpectedly died, and two weeks later I was on a plane to Shannon, running from feelings I couldn’t handle.
So I know what running away feels like, and this is not it. When I get on the tram from Tallinn airport I get what I call a “shoulder drop” – when your shoulders drop inches away from your ears and you begin to relax. I love Ireland, it’s my second choice in the Six Nations, my first choice for the Eurovision and it’s loved me since I arrived. But I just want to be elsewhere at the moment.
I’ve always been fiercely independent, much to the frustration of my family, so moving myself to a new country at the age of 21 and 25 was an adventure. I generally don’t miss people, but I do really miss my horse. He’s 16 next month and we’ve been in each other’s lives since he was born; he’s the reason I existed when I didn’t want to, and when his life was in the balance I moved heaven and earth to return the favour. Leaving him behind was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
But moving a thoroughbred to a Baltic country in winter would have been a selfish act – it is in fact rather “Baltic” here, and there is so much snow.
So I did the next best thing and moved him back to the best county in Ireland, Tipperary. Do we FaceTime? Of course we do.
I’m on a long-term D visa here as I’m not an EU citizen. Despite living in Ireland for 25 years, I still only have a UK passport as they don’t hand those Irish ones out for free (despite what some might think) and, being Scottish, I’m too tight to shell out over €1,200 for one. To be honest, I’ve just never really had the excess cash – did I mention I own a horse?
My visa decision was made two days after Christmas (yes, I was surprised government buildings were open too).
Christmas here was magic despite being all alone. The Old Town Christmas market was beautiful in the snow – I highly recommend you put it on your bucket list.
At the moment, I rent a decent-sized studio apartment in my favourite part of Tallinn for €470 a month. It’s maybe a base, I don’t know yet – not sure if I’m finished with this Eat, Pray, Love thing yet.
I spend early mornings walking through the quiet streets of Tallinn to the gym, which opens at 6.30am, and I walk home via the seafront in time to catch the start of Morning Ireland as I sit by my window, check emails, read the news and watch the dogs of Kalamaja run around the park across the street. By 11am it’s acceptable for me to start contacting people and I’m happy to work late evenings as I get my mornings to myself.
I’ve started to make friends here now, all from different corners of the world or Estonia, and certainly from different backgrounds to my own. I think being a journalist helps; by our very nature we have to chat to strangers and I’ve always been good at dragging new people into conversations. My new friends might think that Scotland has the best rugby team in the world, as I’ve just introduced them to the Six Nations – and may have left out a few historical facts.
The free bus and tram is handy on the days the ice makes walking the pavements treacherous. Everyone has a falling-on-their-arse story, including me
I also volunteer for World Cleanup Day, organised by Let’s Do it World, a movement which was started here in Tallinn. I’ve some lovely people in my life now from that experience.
Estonia is not cheap to live in, by any stretch. Yes, my rent is cheaper than Irish prices but inflation has hit hard and supermarket shopping can be an eye-watering experience. I do get free public transport here, though, as a resident of the city. Non-residents pay €1.50 per trip.
The free bus and tram is handy on the days the ice makes walking the pavements treacherous. Everyone has a falling-on-their-arse story, including me.
Would I recommend a visit to Tallinn? I sure would, for the “shoulder drop” alone. The Estonian population is so small, 1.3 million, with only 452,000 in the city of Tallinn, it’s so quiet.
But if anyone mentions the rugby thing to you, say nothing – give us our moment.
Estonia – a magnet for digital nomads
In August 2020, Estonia introduced a digital nomad visa, in an effort to attract highly skilled professionals to live and work in the country. Advantages include the ability to easily, quickly and affordably register an EU-based company online.
According to Numbeo, the cost of living in Estonia is, on average, 22.8 per cent lower than in Ireland, while rent is 63.9 per cent cheaper.
Eating out in an inexpensive restaurant will cost about €12, a cappuccino is €3, and a half litre of beer is €4.50.
Public transport is free for residents of Tallinn; otherwise it’s €1.50 a ticket. Childcare is about €233 a month, and a one-bed apartment in the city centre is about €555 a month, or €700 for a three-bed outside the centre. The average net monthly salary is about €1,273.