The weather is bliss, 300-plus days a year of sunshine. And beer on the plaza for €2

I’m loving island life in Gozo but leaving Ireland was never a choice I purposely made.

This year, I approach my 37th birthday. It’s not a standout birthday like 30 or 40 or even 35, however it will mark a strange milestone for me.

I left Ireland when I was 19. And when I turn 37 this year, it’ll mark the start of a switch from living more of my life outside of Ireland, than in it.

Sometimes I wonder, will this gradually start to make me less Irish?

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I left Ireland for good because I could no longer live the restricted life I had once tolerated

Although after 18 years out of Ireland, I still have strangers give me that blank look, that anyone who has a strong Irish accent experiences from time to time. It’s when you chat to someone and they can’t understand a word you’re saying, so to say the least, my accent has stuck.

A family tragedy when I was 18 was the catalyst for me to move to England. At first what was a two-week break, quickly became four weeks, became four months, became four years and so on.

Over 12 years, I grew a business from strength to strength in the UK. However England never felt like home. Even though I worked almost exclusively in the property sector, I purposely never bought a home. No pictures on the walls. Only a handful of friendships and/or meaningful relationships.

And the English themselves, I liked, on an individual basis. But get them together, organised and established as a group, it didn’t work for me. Brexit was my first warning shot and by the time Covid came, the signs were clear that it was time to leave the UK.

At first there were wanderings and some close calls. I was in Ukraine and almost moved there several months before the war broke out. I spent an 18-month period in Colombia, a country which will always have a place in my heart.

In the end, I settled in Malta. Well more precisely, Gozo, Malta’s sister island, a bit further off the map but lively enough to enjoy and quiet enough to have to yourself at times. I’m here now coming on four years.

The weather is bliss, 300-plus days a year of sunshine. The summers here can be as challenging as a hard winter in Ireland, obviously just in different ways. However, it is the unspoilt and rustic nature of life here that really kept me here.

Giuseppe, an older neighbour of mine, brings his herd of goats past my house twice each day.He also sells the milk and cheeses, which he drops inside my unlocked door once a week (the car keys also live exclusively in the ignition).

Gozo also has a healing mystic energy which is hard to describe. An island half the size of Dublin city which is home to 10 or more well-known retreat centres and a large spiritual community to boot.

It’s easy to see why they call it a bubble and I often reflect how I live in a bubble within that bubble. But again that’s the joy and pleasure of living here. Who wants to tune into Trumpmania and that madness, when you can have an espresso or beer on the plaza for €2.

And of course not to mention, crystal clear sea waters, which are available to enjoy all year round. It’s no wonder I don’t see myself moving from here anytime soon.

Last but not least, the Maltese themselves, have a very similar sense of humour to the Irish. They are friendly but also a bit guarded. They’ll smile and welcome you but that tends to stops at their front door.

However there is a huge expat community so making friends is easy but losing them to the transient nature of the island, can also be hard. Some say soon there will be more foreigners than Maltese, which might explain their guarded nature.

For now, as I expect my first child with my (German) fiancee, I can see this will be our base and home for some time to come. But I still feel there is more time in Ireland somewhere in my future yet. Maybe that’s the far future or my ancient Irish bloodlines flaring up but I can still feel Ireland calling me, ever so faint.

Peadar Byrne is originally from Kildare, lives in Gozo with his fiancee and works in investment real estate funds

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