After moving from Seattle to Dublin in 2017, Nadine Scully was feeling “a little homesick” by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. She had recently met an Irish man, Patrick, online and despite feeling unsure if she wanted to meet him for their first date during the holiday Scully decided to take a leap of faith.
She recalls being won over after he showed up with a handmade Thanksgiving card for her – “He kind of swept me off my feet really” – and says “we’ve been inseparable since”.
Scully talks positively about the Irish dating scene saying, “From my experience, American men are definitely a lot more self-centred. Over here they’re a lot easier to talk to ... they’re definitely very flirtatious.”
After a pandemic engagement, the pair tied the knot in summer 2023 and have a son, Aodhán.
‘American men are a lot more self-centred. In Ireland they’re a lot easier to talk to. They’re very flirtatious’
‘Good old hedonistic Galway has a tendency of catching you,’ says a Lithuanian in Ireland
A Californian woman in Dublin: ‘Ireland’s not perfect, but I do think as a whole it is moving in the right direction’
“I always felt like if I lived in another country, I would love to have a name that was from that country. I always loved the name Aidan so I was like, what’s the Irish version of that?”
Having a safe place to raise her children was a large part of Scully’s motivation to settle in Ireland. “The reason why I moved here was because I really wanted a family of my own ... In the United States I always had that fear for children over there. I don’t want to wake up every day, bringing my son to school wondering if he’s going to get shot.”
The maternity leave benefits were also a significant pull factor. “Over here you are guaranteed at least six months. I did almost a year and my friends back at home were very jealous of me.
“I feel like it’s the perfect place to raise a family because it’s safer, at least from my experience, and I feel like it’s more family-oriented. In United States people are more focused on themselves, especially when it comes to careers and everything.”
Now working in a project management job in tech, Scully would still consider herself “very career focused as well” but says “it doesn’t define who I am”.
“I just think that mentality wasn’t really for me.”
She enjoys the “sense of security” that comes with working in Ireland, having “always been very anxious” about this with her previous jobs in stateside. “You just never know if you’re going to get fired for no reason [in United States], whereas over here you have workers’ rights.”
Having completed her Irish citizenship application, Scully now patiently awaits the ceremony: “I started the process in January of this year and then I got the letter in September. One of my colleagues is becoming an Irish citizen as well, originally from Spain, so we’re going to go to the same ceremony!”
As well as feeling like Ireland is now home, wanting to vote is a large part of Scully’s decision to take the steps towards getting citizenship here.
Already a dual-citizen of both the US and Germany, owing to her mother’s German origins, “Everyone always asks: why do you need Irish citizenship as well? One of the reasons why is because I feel like voting is very important for a person to have, especially for women – we didn’t have those rights decades ago.”
“Unfortunately I wasn’t able to vote this time around for the general election but I’m hoping next time around for any referendums and local elections I can.”
“I was very disappointed by the turnout here,” she adds, referring to the 59.71 per cent of the electorate who turned out to vote. “I just wish that if people are complaining about the state of Ireland and Dublin in particular, vote for change, you know.”
Irish dancing reminds me a lot of tap dancing but it’s more, I would say, graceful. It’s tough too but I picked it up very quickly
Speaking about Donald Trump’s recent election, Scully expresses her concern over the dominance of right-wing politics in the US. She disagrees with the foreign policies of both big parties, and says she cast her vote for a third-party candidate in November. “The United States has shifted so much to the right that even Democrats are to the right now.”
The political landscape in the States is “very kind of polarised in the sense that you can’t really tell anyone how you feel politically without someone getting offended, whereas here it’s more relaxed”, she says.
“My mom still has a German accent and she’s even a little more afraid now because she’s not a typical American per se.”
Growing up as a “military brat” meant that Scully lived “all over the place ... Dad was in the US military, and met my mother when he was stationed [in Germany] back in the 1980s.”
She studied journalism, getting a job as a production assistant for ABC News in San Francisco, but found it hard to continue on that career path during the recession. After pursuing a master’s in Brighton – “like the San Francisco of England” – Scully went on to teach English in Indonesia for a year. She describes her younger self as “a bit of a nomad” due to her upbringing but feels like Ireland is where she wants to spend the rest of her life.
On arriving in 2017, she fully immersed herself in the culture, even signing up to Irish-dancing classes.
“I know how to swing dance and did ballet when I was younger and everything, so I thought I might as well take a few classes ... It reminds me a lot of tap dancing but it’s more, I would say, graceful. It’s tough too but I picked it up very quickly.”
On the whole, her perception of Ireland is overwhelmingly positive but she says the cost of living is a challenge, especially in Dublin. Although she and her husband have steady, well-paying jobs, they can still find themselves “living pay cheque to pay cheque”.
She appreciates that Ireland’s capital is “a global city” and has fond memories of visiting here as an 18-year-old. The scenic northwest coast especially appeals to Scully, who says “Donegal is one of my favourite places in the world”.
“I just love how kind of secluded it is and it’s also what you would envision Ireland to look like.” She hopes to travel to more parts of the country soon.
We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the past 10 years. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com or tweet @newtotheparish
