Well after nearly three and a half years of living in Northern Ireland, I'm afraid it's nearly time to say goodbye to the UK
My partner and I are moving to France in 11 days and it's going to be a completely new adventure. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and it's rather bittersweet because I've made a lot of great friends and learned so much about a different culture.
I've figured out how to drive on the other side of the road, and somewhat mastered roundabouts.
I now am a huge fan of a good fry up, something I'll probably not find too easily in Paris.
Sunday roasts, walking absolutely everywhere, getting that muddled accent, becoming more and more pale, not being able to sleep during the summer mornings because it's bright at 5am, learning new terms like "pay as you go," "scundered," and "craic" have all been things that have enriched my life.
Having lived in another country has definitely been a huge positive for me and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'd highly recommend it!
And who knows if we'll be back one day. I kinda hope so because I've made a lot of friends here and as I say goodbye to everyone, it's amazing how many people I know. The greengrocer, my barber, regulars at the cafes on the road, even the workers at the Mace around the corner are all a part of my life here and it will be odd not seeing them all the time.
Of course I'd like to give a big thank you to everyone on UK-Yankee for being a source of advice and entertainment! I'll say this: there aren't many French-US forums that even begin to compare to this one! Hopefully one day I can pop back up and say "hello! I'm back!" but until then I wish everyone all the very best!
DanielD
