Paula Pinto is no stranger to moving homes. Having lived in nine countries, when the opportunity arose to move to Ireland two years ago due to a job opportunity for her partner, she welcomed it with open arms.
“I remember Kris saying: ‘Oh, it’s in Dublin, do we want to leave London? We have the little one.’ The only time he had ever moved was when we moved to London so it was all very new to him, he hated the whole situation with boxes and everything,” says Pinto.
“But I knew that home is wherever we are, as long as the three of us are okay. I asked him if it was the job he wanted, and the challenge he needed, and he said yes. So we came and arrived here two years ago.”
Pinto, who was born in Chile, moved abroad for the first time when she was two years old.
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“I moved from country to country and within the country sometimes, we would be living in a hotel for a few months until the house was ready and then we’d move into the house. My parents moved their whole household every time, so sometimes furniture wouldn’t arrive until months later, so we would be forced to live in a hotel or an aparthotel,” she says.
“So by the time I was two, we were living in Argentina, and that was the place we were living the longest, about four years. From there, we went to Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Singapore and Ecuador. Then England and Ireland.”
I remember growing up and having to change schools every year or every other year and being the new kid. It wasn’t fun
She has a love for adventure and movement as a result. However, she is the mother of a three-and-a-half year old son, Julian, and so she recognises he requires stability.
“I remember growing up and having to change schools every year or every other year and being the new kid. It wasn’t fun. Looking back, obviously it made me really sociable, adaptable and flexible, which is great,” she says.
“But at the time, that’s not what you’re taking in. I remember a lot of tears and I want to not keep that from my child, but if I can give him some stability that would be great.”
Though she says every country she has lived in has good and bad things about it, her favourite place so far was Ecuador. This is partially due to the age she was when she was there.
“I turned 15 when I was there, and you have the quinceañera – that huge party – and I made amazing friends, I had my first boyfriend when I was living there,” she says.
“I remember crying in the airport because he and all my friends came to say goodbye to me in the airport. That was really hard but I hold very special memories from that time there.”
The family lived in London for five years before they made the move to Dublin. The move was relatively seamless, they say, largely due to the relocation package provided by her husband’s employer.
Though very aware of the housing crisis in Ireland, they found an apartment they fell in love with almost immediately. It is an area in which many immigrants live. The cost of rent, meanwhile, took them by surprise.
“A lot of people when we moved here were saying, ‘Oh you’re going to save so much money going to Dublin’, but actually that’s not true, it’s just as expensive. Rents are just as expensive.”
While accommodation was easier than they anticipated, childcare proved to be more difficult. They were on waiting lists for three different creches, but didn’t want to leave their son in front of the TV all day while they tried to work.
Fortunately, Pinto’s cousin was taking a gap year, and she travelled from Chile to Ireland to mind Julian while his parents worked. This arrangement continued for a few months, before the family got permission from their employers to work from Chile for a few weeks, where they had the support of Pinto’s extended family.
“Just as we were leaving we got a call from one of the creches, saying he could go there from February. It was like ‘Oh God, amazing’. The universe kind of makes it all happen,” she says.
“We went to Chile and enjoyed it. My parents came back with us, and Julian started nursery. I think then it felt like we could finally breathe.”
I’m getting to know what Ireland is, rather than just living with expats
Despite living in Dublin city centre, Pinto says she and her family are still surrounded by lots of greenery, which they adore.
“We have Phoenix Park, we have the Irish Museum of Modern Art, we have the war memorial gardens. We can just walk out and be in so much green. My favourite is the memorial gardens because it has the river, so just being able to have a picnic there,” she says.
Although she enjoys living in Ireland, she says she has never been as aware of her skin colour as she is in Dublin.
“I know I’m not white, but I guess in Chile I would be more white and I don’t think it matters. I remember I took Julian to the GP for the first time and Julian is very fair-skinned, and the GP asked is his father is Irish. I said no, he’s Chilean. And the GP said ‘Oh, why is he so white?’ I don’t think he meant anything by it, I think it was just natural curiosity,” she says.
“That always takes me back to Chile because Chile was quite insular maybe 20 years ago. But you can see that progress, change and openness, and I really like seeing that parallel with Chile.”
The move also introduced her to a new area of healthcare: palliative care. She is the policy and engagement programme manager for the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care. The job has not only allowed her to make great friends in Ireland, but has also given her a new appreciation of life.
“I do a lot of work with LGBT Ireland, I work with the community to do death cafes. That is very much around my professional [life] but its been so enriching on a personal level and getting to know a different side of the community,” she says.
“That has also made me feel a bit more like I’m living in Ireland and getting to know what Ireland is, rather than just living with expats.”
We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the recent past. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com or tweet @newtotheparish
