Ireland Triumphant: A Journey Awaits

February Trip Winner Announcement: We're Going to Ireland! | We Should Move Here Travels Podcast

In this episode of the We Should Move Here Travels podcast, hosts Brittany and Josh reveal the winner of their February trip vote between Finland and Ireland. After a close contest, Ireland emerges as the winner, and the hosts share their excitement about planning the trip. They discuss their tentative travel plans, including renting a car, visiting both new and familiar places, and exploring Ireland's natural beauty. The episode also touches on Ireland's potential as a future home, given its high safety ratings and appealing lifestyle benefits. Stay tuned for more details about their Ireland adventure and don't forget to follow them on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube @WSMHTravels.

00:00 Welcome to the We Should Move Here Travels Podcast

00:20 Announcing the February Trip Winner

01:37 The TikTok Campaign for Votes

02:52 Booking the Trip to Ireland

04:08 Excitement for the Ireland Adventure

06:16 Exploring Ireland's Scenic Beauty

10:03 Considering Ireland as a Future Home

11:54 Planning the Itinerary

18:51 Engaging with the Audience

19:29 Wrapping Up and What's Next

@WSMHtravels

Transcript

brit 0:11

Hello and welcome to the We Should Move Here Travels podcast. My name is Brittany.

josh 0:17

I'm Josh

brit 0:18

and we are your hosts. Today is gonna be a pretty short episode but we are going to be talking about the February trip winner. So if you missed it, we both presented. Our ideas of where we should go in February, I presented Finland and you presented Ireland So. Somebody did win. There was not a tie. At one point I was kind of hoping for a tie.'cause I was like, what would we do? Would we have to like rock, paper, scissors, it? Would we have to open the pole again? What would we do?

josh 0:57

I don't know. I don't know. We'd have to have some sort of Olympics of physical and intellectual feats and then livestream it for other people to judge us maybe. I'm not sure.

brit 1:08

Yeah,

josh 1:09

maybe not that.

brit 1:10

But anyways, so there is a winner.

josh 1:12

Mm-hmm.

brit 1:13

We're not gonna keep you waiting any longer. do you wanna say, or do you want me to say

josh 1:21

Ireland was the winner! Yeah. I wanna thank everyone who believed in me and believed in Ireland. I wanna also thank me for being me. Oh my gosh, no, but I thought it was really fun and I'm not sure if everyone who's listening to this saw it, but uh, I think on the eighth and ninth I posted a couple tiktoks, trying to round up some support.'cause Ireland was losing at that point. And I knew if I. Was out there trying to grab some votes. I could get some. And boy did people start pulling through.'cause I think Ireland was two or three votes down at that point. And

brit 2:04

well, you know, when you first made a TikTok mm-hmm. About Ireland and wanting people to vote for Ireland, we got like three more votes for Finland. Oh yeah. Yeah. And then you made another one. And that one I think really pulled through. And then I made one when you started to win, and nobody voted for Finland after that, and I was really sad about that. But you know, I am still really excited to go to Ireland. You just get the bragging rights that I wanted, so. but it is really exciting. We're gonna go to Ireland.

josh 2:38

We are gonna go to Ireland. It'll be my, uh, second time going, first time going back with you, so I'm really excited to share the experience with you.

brit 2:48

Yeah, me too.

josh 2:49

Yeah. And. We kind of talked about tentative plans of what we think we might do. When we go there we did already book tickets right away this morning after we found out who the winner was because I looked them up and it was a good deal. So I went ahead and booked them right away. But these, these back to back trips. It's fun, but it's stressful.

brit 3:14

It is. Yeah. I think that it is a lot of time away from home, a lot of time to explore. Mm-hmm. But I also really appreciate that we do give each other those days of like rest mm-hmm. If we need it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, we are gonna be doing the shorter trips, so I don't know how many days we're gonna need of that. Yeah. But I do appreciate that we do that and I don't know. We'll see if it's too much. The cats will think it's too much.

josh 3:43

Oh, for sure. Yeah. Cats are already fuming. Yeah. Mm-hmm. They saw me click the book on the, the ticket thing, and they immediately stared me down. So

brit 3:55

did they really?

josh 3:56

They, I felt like it. I, as soon as I clicked it, I looked over and Callie and Oreo were both just there, just wide-eyed looking at me. what are you doing? They know, They know. But yeah it's gonna be so much fun. I'm so excited to do this with you. I am really excited for how we are going to be doing this trip. We're gonna be going to Ireland, we're gonna be renting a car, and then we're gonna be driving to each of our locations very similar to how we toured throughout Scotland.

brit 4:29

Yeah. And

josh 4:30

I think that was. Very relaxing for us at times and also very exciting and very stressful at times. Yeah, absolutely.

brit 4:42

No, that's so exciting. Mm-hmm. I am so excited for this and even though I didn't win, like a part of me always did want Ireland to win too. Mm-hmm. I just, you know, we can't be in two places at once, so, and if we wanna go to Finland next year. The Northern Lights will still be there, like mm-hmm. They're not disappearing, so. Right. And Finland will still be there. I checked, so

josh 5:11

I, I will say it. There were definitely points that I was hoping Finland was gonna pull through the, the entire time actually, because the way you presented the trip sound amazing. Mm-hmm. I still wanna go as soon as we can. This, the way we're gonna do this, I think is gonna be great. February in Ireland is low season as far as tourism goes. Yeah, we are going to have lots of open roads, not a bunch of packed places, thank goodness, because we're booking everything kind of in this next week, most likely. Because of our upcoming trip to New Zealand. So we're gonna book this, go to New Zealand, come back, record some episodes, create some content for two and a half, three weeks. Yep. And then leave again on this trip. So quick turnaround, but I'm really excited For this, and I just can't wait to experience all the culture and everything that I remember from my first trip.

brit 6:13

Yeah. Mm-hmm. I'm so excited to go with you. Honestly, like I am most excited about, seeing all of the like cliffs and, just doing some of those like hikes and mm-hmm. Just seeing the beauty that Ireland is. So I'm really excited to do that. the fact that we are getting a car and we're able to do that mm-hmm. Is amazing.

josh 6:39

Yeah.

brit 6:40

That's gonna be so fun just exploring around Ireland with you.

josh 6:44

Yeah, same. And I think we have gotten sort of a nature awakening. Yeah. From doing trips like this. It's. Amazing how we did our Europe trip with the train. But when we took a car in Scotland and we were able to pull off the road, go for a little walks, experience the nature that way, go on a little hike, that was fantastic, and then we're gonna be able to do that again with this trip to Ireland. So it's, I don't know, it just gives us a closer feel to. To nature that way in our own way. Yeah. You know, I'm sure there's plenty of purists out there, like my parents who are like, oh, it's not a, multi-day backpacking trip and you're just in the woods the whole time and good for you guys. Love you guys.

brit 7:39

Yeah. That's so not my thing. I don't think I could survive that.

josh 7:44

But it's gonna be, it's gonna be great to, to have that experience. And I don't know, I feel like Scotland made me feel so grounded. Mm. Mm-hmm. And I feel like Ireland is going to make me, and hopefully us feel the same way.

brit 8:03

Yeah. I hope so too. Are there places that we're gonna go that you haven't been to? Oh

josh 8:09

yes. I think most of the places we're gonna go. I haven't been to.

brit 8:14

That's so exciting. Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah. Yay.

josh 8:17

There will be a couple. Yeah, for sure.

brit 8:19

Like the Guinness Experience, you've done that.

josh 8:21

Yep. The Guinness Storehouse. Yep. Oh my

brit 8:23

gosh. I am so excited. We're doing that. A hundred percent. We have to do that. I'm so excited.

josh 8:30

It was great when I went. I hope it's just as amazing when we both go. I'm sure you'll love it. We'll do that. Uh, there are a few landmarks, I guess like the Cliffs Moher that I'm sure we'll stop by.

brit 8:47

Yeah.

josh 8:47

But I think a lot of it's gonna be new for both of us. So just because when I went before, it was a lot of larger cities. Yeah. And it was the beginning, middle of December. So. A little different time of year as well as far as tourism goes, so it'll be a little quieter. it'll be an exciting time. Go to some pubs, listen to some traditional music. Have a beer, like you said, go to the storehouse, maybe go to another brewery. Go to a distillery, get some whiskey, maybe. Um, go to some museums'cause we've become museum people.

brit 9:30

Oh my God. I feel like it hasn't hit me until just now that we're going to Ireland.

josh 9:35

It's gonna be so fun. And I, from what I remember, they have great seafood as well and We've been on a seafood kick Fresh fish kick because of our last few trips and our upcoming trips,

brit 9:50

Yeah.

josh 9:50

Because we went to the east coast, had lots there. We're gonna be going to New Zealand, gonna definitely have some there as well.

brit 9:58

Oh my gosh. We're gonna have so much good fish.

josh 10:01

And as far as this podcast goes. Ireland's got a lot to offer. It's got some of the things that we look for in a country.

brit 10:10

Yeah. To

josh 10:10

move to we talked about'em when we presented to Ireland and Finland, but just to reiterate them they got some great healthcare. They have, uh, high safety ratings, one of the safest countries in the world. Yeah. They do have some grants for people who move there to live in more rural parts of the country. So if you buy a house, live there for a certain amount of time, you also get money to fix up and live in that house to

brit 10:41

Oh, interesting.

josh 10:42

Yeah.'Cause they're trying to. Rebuild or repopulate some of the areas of Ireland. So,

brit 10:48

uh oh. So it'll be really interesting to see if we could see ourselves there because mm-hmm. If it's a yes, that could really be a possibility.

josh 10:55

Yeah. Yeah. There's some remote work that. They have an easier pathway to citizenship, I believe, from what I've looked into. Mm. It's also a base for several European like tech companies, I believe. I could be wrong on that, but from what I looked into,

brit 11:14

wait, you also have some Irish heritage.

josh 11:18

Mm-hmm.

brit 11:18

Couldn't that be a thing

josh 11:19

as far as

brit 11:21

like going back and getting citizenship?

josh 11:24

I think you can only be removed so far from your last, like ancestor that lived there. I could be wrong in that'cause other people have mentioned that. Our sister-in-law has mentioned that to us,

brit 11:37

Yeah, our sister-in-law does love Ireland. Mm-hmm. So she's gonna be so happy that we're going there.

josh 11:44

Yeah. She was definitely one of the ones that, uh, helped me win this race. So,

brit 11:49

yeah.

josh 11:49

it's got a lot of benefits for moving there. And so we'll just have to see. Uh, we're gonna be doing a lot of traveling up the west coast of Ireland, which I believe is where most of these grant locations are, is some of the less populated islands just off the west coast or right on the west coast.

brit 12:11

Okay.

josh 12:12

So we'll get a feel of what it's like on that side of Ireland.

brit 12:16

Yeah.

josh 12:16

And then we will also be spending some time, on the east side as well as to the north as far as what I have planned in my head right now. But once you and me start Digging into where we wanna go, we'll see. But, uh, what I have in my head is, uh, pretty comprehensive all around Ireland plan.

brit 12:35

And you know that I'm gonna find us some like food tours, drink tours. Mm-hmm. Some fun stuff. Mm-hmm. So,

josh 12:42

yes. Yes. I've always started looking. There's a few of them out there that definitely look exciting.

brit 12:48

I am so pumped for this. Once we get everything booked, we will have a episode about what we are actually planning to do. So stay tuned for that.

josh 13:00

Mm-hmm.

brit 13:01

What is something that you're really excited for or that you. Are really looking forward to about Ireland.

josh 13:08

Gosh, I just remember the people there are so nice and friendly.

brit 13:16

Aw.

josh 13:16

And it, it just felt so welcoming and so homelike.

brit 13:21

Yeah.

josh 13:22

When we did our Scotland trip, we both got that feeling there. The feeling that we always talk about like, oh, this, yeah, this feels like home. And I remember driving through Ireland the first time and just being amazed with, like you said, the greenery, the rolling hills, the scenery in general, the cliffs, everything. Yeah. And. I think what I said before, the nature awakening, the groundedness of it.

brit 13:53

Yeah.

josh 13:54

And then that paired with amazing people there that are so friendly. You just instantly feel a part of that community. Now I've been pumping myself up for Ireland. So there's a couple people on TikTok that live in Ireland. There's one like Irish TikTok comedian person that I've watched a few times. They might, you know, say differently how nice people in Ireland are. But from what I remember, everyone was super friendly. We would go into restaurants and pubs went with the first time, and people would know right away that we weren't from Ireland and talk to us, ask us where from, what we're doing there, stuff like that. So I kind of expect the same thing. And yeah, just, just get to meet a lot of new people and explore.

brit 14:43

Yeah,

josh 14:44

That's what I'm most looking forward to at the moment.'cause we don't have a lot planned. I have also. Looked at a few B&Bs because we loved the one that we stayed in in Massachusetts, so we might be on a total b and b or local Inn kick for this whole trip.

brit 15:05

Yes. That is a really exciting. Mm-hmm. I do love that. Thinking about getting, giving our money to local businesses in Ireland, I love that. That's beautiful.

josh 15:16

What about you? Is there anything, I know you weren't the one who presented Ireland, and maybe there's still a little bit of bitterness from, you know, from losing. I'm

brit 15:24

not, no, I'm not bitter. I just am really excited to go explore with you, do what we love to do. I think though I am. A foodie at heart. So I don't really know what Irish food is. I mean, there's, what is it? Roast beef and cabbage. Isn't that a thing?

josh 15:48

it sounds familiar, but there's a name for it, isn't it? ColCannon, mashed potatoes with kale and cabbage. Sure, that sounds good. From what I'm reading and what I remember seeing very hearty meals. So lots of like stews, potatoes, soups. You got your Irish breakfast, you got seafood, fish and chips.

brit 16:13

Wait, is the Irish breakfast like a Scottish breakfast?

josh 16:17

Yeah.

brit 16:17

With the beans on toast?

josh 16:19

Mm-hmm.

brit 16:20

Oh, I'm so pumped for beans on toast. Yeah, it is different over there. You can't make it the same over here. Just can't. But you can try. It's still good, but Beans on toast, it's so simple and it's so delicious. Anyways I think I'm also really excited for that Guinness experience. Mm-hmm. And, some like food and drink tours I'm really excited for. And hiking, doing some of those hikes that I've seen people do in Ireland And we'll have the camera. Mm-hmm. So we just got a professional camera. And I love taking photographs so. i'm so excited to take some pictures in Ireland.

josh 17:03

yeah you, you'll have a good kind of test run when we're in New Zealand and you'll be able to. I see how it works out there, maybe.

brit 17:12

Yeah.

josh 17:12

And then you'll be all geared up and ready for, for Ireland.

brit 17:17

we will have some gorgeous photos to show Yes. From this recent purchase that we made. Yes. So exciting.

josh 17:26

Mm-hmm. Yeah, there's a lot of great. Um, Scenic drives that we'll probably be going through from the trip that I have in my mind, the Wicklow gap, the burn loop Sky Road, and the Sleeve League that we talked about, which I guess is the better version of the cliffs, of moher just on the northern Yeah. Shore. More so we, we'll have plenty of opportunities.

brit 17:55

Yeah. That is really exciting. I am looking forward to this.

josh 17:59

Me too.

brit 18:00

This is gonna be really fun.

josh 18:01

It's so crazy how this is all coming together and happening all these trips and everything. I just love it so much and I'm so excited and grateful that we get to do it together. And

brit 18:15

Me too.

josh 18:16

I. Just can't wait to be there. But also, I'm just so excited to plan it.'cause usually you and me, we have fun and a ton of stress planning it.

brit 18:26

Yeah.

josh 18:27

Cause we come together with all these ideas of things we wanna do and where we wanna go,

brit 18:31

and we have to compile them into just one idea.

josh 18:34

Yep. Yep. One somewhat cohesive idea.

brit 18:38

Yeah.

josh 18:39

And it's gonna be great, and we're gonna find stuff that we haven't thought of yet, and I'm sure we'll talk about that in the episode right before we leave.

brit 18:49

Mm-hmm.

josh 18:50

And. Maybe even this next week, I'll post a TikTok or two, or maybe you will, asking if anyone's got any places in Ireland or anything in Ireland that we have to do. And if they get to us within the week or before we have everything planned, maybe we'll insert those into the trip.

brit 19:08

Yeah, if you do have any ideas of what we should do in Ireland, please let us know.

josh 19:13

Yep. Yeah. And we'd be happy to learn of something that maybe we don't have our eyes on yet. Yeah, for sure.

brit 19:23

we will come back to you and report what we have booked before we go. Yeah. don't forget to follow us on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube at wsm h travels. And you can also check out our website, wsm h travels.com. To see any pictures that we have from previous trips and recommendations.

josh 19:46

Also, don't forget that you can send us an email, leave us a comment or a message. If you have any tips or any comments on any places that we have been or places you think we should go, we'd love to hear from you.

brit 20:01

Yes. Next episode we will be talking about Maine. So looking forward to continuing our East Coast trip and talking about that. Thank you so much for listening. Until next time.