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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Eleanor Gordon-Smith

My partner and I are about to move to my home country. What’s the best approach?

Eleanor GordonSmith Ireland
An oil painting depicting a man reading a book to a woman in a bonnet, sitting in a mossy green woodland scene in Ireland.
‘Do things in Ireland that are new to both of you so it’s not always you showing her around.’ Painting: Landscape Near Clifton (1822-1823) by Francis Danby. Photograph: Gallery Of Art/Alamy

My partner and I are about to embark on a big, life-changing journey. We will be moving to Ireland, my home country, that I left 13 years ago. My wonderful and amazing partner will be arriving for the first time and it will involve meeting my family for the first time as well. My parents (in particular Mum) are over the moon that I’m coming back, and my partner will be royalty for dragging me home after so long away.

However, the visa process takes a while, and so my partner will be more or less just twiddling her thumbs for six months. Short term will be Christmas and spoiling my niece, but long term is when the dust settles and we have left that post-Christmas perk behind.

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