Each month in Home from Home we ask someone to compare Dublin with another city in which they have lived. Sometimes they are Irish who have lived (or are still living) abroad, sometimes they are expatriates in Dublin. This month we spoke to Dublin-based actuary Eoghan who relocated to Buenos Aires for three years. Buenos Aires is renowned as the most European of South American cities – at least that’s certainly what the locals (Porteños) think – but for every common thread that BA shares with Dublin, there are many others things that make it feel a world a way from home.
You first visited Buenos Aires in 2006, returned to Dublin then lived over there and again between 2010 and 2013. How had both places changed during that time?
When I arrived for the first time in Buenos Aires in 2006, it was still in a state of recovery following the 2001 crisis. The city seemed abuzz and things were on the up and with that there was a general positive vibe around the place. The great people and lifestyle were still the same on leaving but things seemed harder for the normal person with another, albeit smaller, crisis on the horizon. The same ‘buena onda’ [good vibe] of the people, same amazing asados [traditional barbeques] on Sundays, same bonkers taxi drivers, same passion watching River Plate in El Monumental – but an empanada cost five pesos in 2013 as opposed to one peso back in 2006.
Being honest, I didn’t see huge change in Ireland while I was away. There was an outflow of people amongst those a few years younger than me – some friends and a sister. A lot of Celtic Tiger-driven pompous nonsense was gone too.
Are you ultimately happy that you’ve returned to Dublin?
Totally happy. I’m closer to friends and family and although I sometimes miss things, I knew it was time to come home. I realised how much Dublin had to offer. You miss the craic and humour, the closeness of everything and simple things like a breakfast roll and a cuppa Barry’s tea!
Aside from the weather, on the whole, how is life here compared to Buenos Aires?
It’s an amazing place to live. Crazy and hectic? Yes. But I miss things like going shopping on a Saturday morning at the local bakery, then have a natter with the veg guy from Peru about your week, then popping by the carnerceria [butcher] and getting the head honcho to sort the best cut of meat right in front of you. Maybe a throwback to times before here in Ireland – times I don’t remember. Then there’s the day-to-day bedlam of public service strikes and how that brings people together, the openness and disregard for what other people think. I think that we have a lot to learn… and a lot to be grateful for!
Words: Laura Gozzi / Photos: Ian Lamont
