Watching Politics From Afar While Living in Ireland

I think living abroad changes how you hold politics.

By Neil Solomon · 2 min read

Picture a couple named Frances and Tom. They have settled in Ireland. Each morning, Tom reads the news from the country they left. Frances asks him not to read it aloud. It is not that she does not care. It is that some mornings the headlines seem to follow them across the sea.

This is a feeling many retirees describe. We move for a different life, and then we find that the old country is still in the room. The news does not stop being ours just because the address has changed.

I think living abroad changes how you hold politics. At home, a bad week of news may sting but it also feels like something you are inside of. From a distance, it can feel like watching a house you used to live in from the street. You care, and you have less say.

There are a few ways people tend to respond over time. Some lean in. They follow every turn, vote from abroad when they can, and talk about it with friends back home. Some step back on purpose, because it was costing them sleep. Some drift, and one day realise they have not looked in a month.

Frances and Tom had a short talk.

"Are you reading it again?" Frances asked.

"Just to know what's going on," Tom said.

"Do you feel better knowing?"

He did not answer right away. I think that is a fair answer.

There is also the matter of the new country. Ireland has its own news, its own debates, and the neighbours have their own views. Some retirees from abroad find that over the years their attention shifts, slowly, to where they live now. Others keep a foot in each place. Neither is wrong.

Distance also changes who we talk to. Friends back home may feel they have to be careful, or may assume we no longer follow things. Sometimes it helps to say plainly how much we do still care, and how much we would rather leave alone. That honesty can make the calls easier.

What I would suggest is to notice how you feel after you read. If the news gives you a sense of connection, it may be doing a job. If it only leaves you tense, it may be worth changing how much you take in.