Sharon Canavan is 25. She is married to Shane (32). They have a 22-month-old son, Fionn, and a 4-week-old son, Daithí. They moved from Dublin to Nuneaton, a lovely little town east of Birmingham and north of Coventry, in 2012.
While the original plan had been to move to the west coast of Australia, circumstances changed and they ended up making a (much) shorter journey across the water just after getting married. With two young children and a house, it looks like they are set to stay.
We asked Sharon about the main differences between raising her expanding brood in Northern England, compared to Ireland. Here is what she said...
1. The Chats
In Ireland, we speak the same language, watch the same TV shows and wear the same clothes as the UK, but the cultural differences between the two countries are amazing. The NHS is one of the biggies but I’ll come to that later. Another is that people don’t talk to each other! This is something I seriously struggled with. I’m used to saying hello to whoever I pass on the street and knowing all of my neighbours (and their kids/grandkids/dogs). That hasn’t been the case here, though. I’ve tried making small talk with other mammies in the playground, or with other women at the gym, but they tend to look at me like I have ten heads. People are very polite but like keeping themselves to themselves. It took us almost a year to learn the names of our neighbours but I think once people realise we’re Irish, they make allowances for our crazy need to talk to people.
2. The Cost of Living
The cost of living is a lot lower here, once I stopped comparing the pound to the euro. We’re earning in pounds and spending in pounds, so I had to stop drawing the irrelevant comparisons. Groceries, dinners out, running a car etc. all take up a small percentage of our weekly budget than they did when we were living in Dublin. Granted Nuneaton isn’t a capital city, but still, we could afford to buy a family home without having to sign our lives away.
3. The Healthcare
The National Health Service goes a long way to helping lower the cost of living, especially with the inevitable/crazy mammy trips to the doctor you tend to make with a toddler. GPs are free, as are prescriptions (including contraceptives). A&E visits, ambulances, specialists, consultants are all free. I felt like I was stealing the first time I left a GP’s practice and chemist without putting my hand in my purse! Out-of-hours appointments are easily available and the maternity care I have received has been faultless. I was able to book midwife appointments on a Sunday and all visits are at the local children's centre, meaning fewer visits to the hospital. Honestly, it may be an unpopular opinion to read, but I feel a lot safer in the hands of the NHS when it comes to antenatal care. I know my life is the priority and I have the final say over my body.
4. The Attitude Towards Breastfeeding