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WHEN I FIRST came to France, nearly eight years ago, it was only supposed to be temporary. I moved here for a semester on Erasmus to learn French, but once I saw how students in Paris lived, I quickly realised that I wanted that life too.
Public universities are free for EU citizens, the standard of education is high, especially for languages, and students can actually afford to rent their own apartments in the very centre of Paris. That is unimaginable in Dublin or any other Irish city.
In Paris, I have a one-bedroom apartment all to myself right in the middle of the city. I can walk to any major monument like the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower, and I only pay €1,000 a month for it. In Dublin, friends of mine pay the same amount, or even higher, for a single room in a shared house with multiple housemates, and they still face long commutes on unreliable bus journeys.
At a certain stage of life, having the freedom to live on your own terms and a space to call your own is essential. These are not luxuries; they are basic milestones of adulthood and should be seen as the bare minimum.
Instead, young people in Ireland are trapped. They either remain at home with their parents or pay outrageous rent for a box room. How did we ever get to the stage where this is the norm?
Moving to France made me realise just how dysfunctional many aspects of Irish life truly are. The difference in quality of life once you emigrate is truly eye-opening.
As a student in France under the age of 26, almost everything is discounted, if not free. Public transport is unlimited, museums, even the world-famous ones, are free, cinema tickets and meals out are cheap, and there are government grants to help cover rent. You are given support to actually build your life. In Ireland, even the basics feel impossible to attain.
It is no surprise, then, that the National Youth Council of Ireland’s new research shows three in five under-25s are considering leaving the country. They are fearful of their futures, because how could you not be? Rent is swallowing salaries, leaving no chance to save for a home or a family. Entire lives are being paused because of unaffordable housing.
A whole generation has been forced into survival mode, and the milestones that were once ordinary for our parents, moving out in your twenties, buying a modest home, starting a family without crippling debt, have now been stripped away from us. We have been deprived of even the most basic forms of security, yet we are told these are “luxuries” we should not expect. Housing should never be a luxury. Independence should never be out of reach. And yet, in Ireland, for my generation, they are.
That is why I have come to feel freer in France, both socially and personally. Paris is a big city, more anonymous, and people are not afraid of standing out. Creativity is celebrated and supported, and is even financially viable as a career path.
Ireland has a small-town mentality, shaped perhaps by our history of colonisation and Catholicism, where you worry about being judged if you go against the grain.
But honestly, the economic reality is even harsher than the cultural one. Nobody I know in Ireland in their twenties is thriving, at least not in the same way we are in France.
As Irish people, we need to face reality. It is a disgrace that we still have sub-minimum wages. It is shocking that there is not proper investment in affordable housing or transport. If this was France, we would have set the entire country on fire in protest by now.
Our government waffles on about growth, but where is that growth going? Why does Paris have laws capping rent increases, while in Dublin landlords can charge whatever they like? Why does Donegal still not have a train in 2025, while other European countries invest in high-speed rail?
Ireland has an old seanfhocal, mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí. Nurture the youth and they will flourish. But we are not being nurtured. We are being stifled. Our potential is being smothered, and then we are made to feel guilty for leaving.
There is a lot of heartbreak and conflicting emotions regarding moving abroad. Ireland is a country I love deeply. I miss the humour, the music, the spark of banter you find in every corner. I miss the warmth of the people, the way home feels when you land back after time away.
But it is also a country that is pushing us out. I yearn for an Ireland that does not seem to love me back.
We grew up believing we would inherit a bright future, one more hopeful than the generations who came before us. Instead, the ladder of opportunity has been pulled away, leaving us trapped at the bottom of a financial pit.
Life has been rearranged around the scramble for housing, the insecurity of wages, and the absence of affordable transport. The promise of possibility that we were raised to expect has been broken.
I do not see myself moving back in the long term unless Ireland becomes affordable again. That truth breaks my heart. I am proud to be Irish, but like so many others, I have been pushed away from the place I thought would always be home.
If the government truly wants to keep young people at home, it is not complicated. Cap rents. Build homes. Invest in public transport. Scrap unfair wages for young workers.
Until then, Ireland will continue to lose its brightest sparks to countries that value them. And who could blame us?
But I want young Irish people to know this too. If things feel hopeless at home, the world is open to you. We are lucky to have a strong passport that lets us work and live in the EU and UK without a visa.
Moving abroad was the best decision I ever made, not because I wanted to leave Ireland, but because I wanted to live. Sometimes, sadly, the faraway hills really are greener, which is the most painful irony of all, coming from the Emerald Isle.
Mandy is a social media content creator from Ireland living in Paris.
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