‘In Singapore you are a lone ranger ... What I love about living in Ireland is everyone looks out for each other’

Moving from Singapore to Ireland should have been a culture shock for Roxenne Holohan, but the transition was made much easier by the friendliness of Irish people.

“For me, the biggest cultural difference between Singapore and Ireland is: in Singapore, you don’t talk to anyone. You are very much a lone ranger,” she says.

“It is the extreme opposite in Ireland. I could walk down to the local shop and en route people would say hello.”

Holohan was born in Vietnam and lived in New Zealand for the early part of her childhood. Her mother worked for the Vietnamese embassy and was stationed in New Zealand. After the Vietnam war, the family chose to stay there, which she describes as a green country not too different from Ireland.

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When she turned 12, she and her family moved to Australia, where she remained for high school and university. Australia is a beautiful country, she says, with lots of sun and incredible beaches.

“But I love to travel, and obviously my parents had left their country, which gave me a taste for travel. So I did what every Australian does: I went on a two-year working holiday to London and just sort of fell in love with Europe, the culture, and the history,” she says.

“I met my husband there. We lived in London together. We’ve got three children. About seven years ago, around Brexit time, we wanted to go and experience a different side of the world.”

We were in Singapore during lockdown and they went over the top in terms of what you can or can’t do. And then we came here and everyone is talking and chatting and it was just much more relaxing

Holohan says even though her children are half Vietnamese, at that time they knew little about Asian culture due to growing up in London. The desire to live elsewhere gave her the opportunity to rectify this issue.

“They didn’t even really like Asian food. I was failing as an Asian mom! We decided to move to Singapore. We lived in Singapore for five years, which we loved. We travelled all around Asia on our holidays.

“But then Covid hit. We really missed family and friends. My siblings live in London, and so we decided to move back to Europe. I didn’t want to move back to London, I wanted another adventure, and Dublin was an adventure for me and the kids. So we landed in Dublin almost two years ago.”

The biggest shock in Ireland was the weather, she says. “We went from every single day being 20-30 degrees, hot and humid, to Irish weather, which isn’t quite the same. That was tricky to start with. That was the biggest challenge.”

Outside of that, she says the move was enjoyable. Holohan loves the “humanity” of Irish people.

“Irish people look after people,” she says. “A great example was this week I had to go to London to work, and, on my return from London Gatwick to Dublin, all of the display machines weren’t operating. I got told to go to a gate, and there was no one there and it had the wrong sign. There were obviously other Irish people on the same flight and we kind of all banded together and just helped each other out. You just don’t get that in London at all.

“What I love about living here is everyone just looks out for each other. It made moving to Ireland so much easier.”

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Being in Singapore during the Covid pandemic was difficult due to the stringent regulations put in place in response to the public health crisis. “I look at my kids and we were in Singapore during lockdown and they went over the top in terms of what you can or can’t do. And then we came here and everyone is talking and chatting and it was just much more relaxing.”

That culture has made it easier for the new arrivals to make friends. Her husband, John, is from Ireland, which also makes it easier in terms of having family close by.

“That’s what we were missing [in Singapore] and what we wanted. I didn’t grow up with any extended family and the fact that my kids have that now has made it easier for me.”

Although they are settled on the southside of Dublin, her wanderlust has not disappeared. She feeds it through other avenues, as well as her own holidays.

Even though I love to travel, I want to be in a country where I know my kids are going to be relatively close. Dublin, I think, would be a great base

Holohan has set up her own company, Luxe Cinq, in the area. She runs this on top of her full-time job as a HR director.

“There are two sides to the business,” she says. “I’m an agent, so for people who don’t like to book their own holidays, that’s what I do. And then for other people who love the research or want to earn back commission for their own holidays, or for other people, I mentor and coach them on how they can do that.

“I started the travel company because it just opens your mind and it just gives you so much more opportunity when you see how other people do things. My parents gave that to me by moving to another country, and that’s what I wanted to give to my kids, too, and to other people when I help them with their holidays.”

What about the future? Holohan says she would love to stay in Ireland.

“My oldest is going into sixth year, my middle daughter is just finished her Junior Cert and my son is starting first year next year,” she says. “Even though I love to travel, I want to be in a country where I know my kids are going to be relatively close.

“Dublin, I think, would be a great base. For sure this is the place we are going to be for the foreseeable future.”

We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the recent past. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com or tweet @newtotheparish