Laois emigration stories: Moving to Madrid

Throughout history, Ireland has seen its people emigrate in droves. Be it due to the Famine of the 1840s, or the economic crisis of the 1950’s, we have always seen our people leave to pursue a better life elsewhere.

Why are our family and friends still forced to leave home to achieve a comfortable existence? 

The Leinster Express/Laois Live spoke to young people from Laois who have emigrated as part of our series on their stories and reasons for leaving. 

Shane from Camross is working remotely for a Laois based company in Madrid. He has lived there since 2022.

“I kind of did the classic thing- there aren’t many education options in Laois, so I moved to Dublin and went to college there. I found the same issues that are happening everywhere- the prices just go up and up,” said Shane.

“You’re paying double the rent in Laois, and it’s not even in the city centre. You want something that’s affordable. But if you leave the city, you lose the amenities and it’s harder to access work,” he said.

Shane told us that one of the main reasons for leaving Laois was the price of housing.

“It just goes up and up, and gets further out of reach. You’ll never feel like you’re making good ground for saving for a deposit. I’ve ruled out coming back to Laois, just based on the lack of amenities compared to bigger cities,” he said.

“I was considering moving to the states, and then they offered me a position in Spain instead. I’ve been here in Madrid for about two and a half years now.”

“It’s good [in Madrid] it's very good. In some cases there are challenges, like language barriers. I never thought I could pick up the language, but I’m doing better than I thought- my work is in English so I’m lucky with that.”

“You make new friends, but life doesn’t pause back home. You almost expect things to stay in stasis but it's not only your life that’s changing. I’m lucky to get back regularly, but it can still be tough.

“Housing is way cheaper out here, and everything is really well run. That has been the biggest shock for me, with healthcare, things are subsidised in Ireland, but everything here is free. It’s also really easy to get in contact with your local GP,” said Shane.

“Roads and public transport are really good, and not just in the cities. There’s high-speed rail across the country, and it’s less expensive than it is in Ireland.

We could be so much more efficient in Ireland- we have the money, but for some reason the picture just doesn’t come together,” he explained.

Depending on the area in Spain, the cost of living can be better or worse.

“In Ireland, you go to a house viewing with 20-30 other people there, and the landlord cherry-picks the tenant.

Here, you get to consider whether you like the property or not, and it’s just you at a house viewing. If you want it and are suitable, you get the place. 

It’s not the same cut-throat system that we have in Ireland for renting at all,” he said.

“It was always “Laois is cheap, Dublin is expensive,” so everytime I go home I’m always shocked at how much the house prices continue to go up. I cannot get my head around the rental prices in Portlaoise.”

Shane originally didn’t want to leave Ireland, but felt he had to.

“I didn’t want to leave at all actually. I saw a lot of friends leaving, and I was so optimistic that our generation would reverse this trend of young people leaving.

This has been a problem for years, and there has been no progress in solving it. 

I wanted to stay, until I realised that I just don’t see a future. Now that I’ve left, I just don’t see myself returning.” 

Once an Irish citizen has been out of Ireland for over two years, they can no longer vote in Irish elections.

Irish people are forced to leave due to a lack of prospects, and should they stay abroad, they have no say in how the country can be improved for them to come home.

“I didn’t leave because I wanted to, I left because I had to, and once you’re out of the country over two years, you can no longer post your votes. I feel like this is a serious issue without a magical solution, but it needs to be addressed,” Shane pointed out.

“The biggest thing I would say to people considering leaving, is that leaving isn’t magical.

Do your research and consider whether it’ll actually get you ahead financially. Leaving because you have no prospects here doesn't necessarily mean that things will change abroad. It’s much easier to get skills in Ireland and then go.

Spain and Australia might be better than Ireland, but they still have housing crises too,” Shane finished.