Being Single Has Given Me Freedom
At the age of 60, I have had three lives in three different countries. Why? Simply because I did not want to wake up one day and wish I had done more with my life.
My first life was in the country I was raised in: Ireland. I grew up in Dublin and studied fashion and textile design at the city’s National College of Art and Design, but my first “proper” job was as a junior designer on a magazine. That led to a 26-year career in publishing design.
In 1988, I was 28 years old and my friends were buying houses and getting married. I was single and knew I wanted to do something different. Some younger friends talked about how they had loved their working holidays in Australia. It sounded appealing and so I applied for a full visa, which took a year to be granted. When it arrived, I took it as a sign, quit my job and bought a one-way ticket. So began my second life.
My friends said they thought I was so brave to go to the other side of the world alone, but Sydney was an easy place to settle in to; most people I met were very open and friendly and liked me for myself. There was none of the, “Where did you go to school?” that you get in Ireland, which pigeonholes you immediately. It gave me a wonderful feeling of freedom.
I found great jobs – including a stint as Dolly magazine’s art director – and built new social networks by sharing flats with strangers who became lifelong friends, and by accepting almost every invitation to a party. I ended up staying for 23 years.
During that time, whenever I went to Ireland to visit, I would include a side trip to the Greek island of Antiparos. I had first been there on a holiday the year before I moved to Sydney and I adored it.
In 2009, I was lying on the beach in Antiparos when I got a text from a work colleague letting me know that all casual employees at the newspaper where I worked (including me) were to be made redundant.
I was 49 and doubted I would find a job that paid enough for me to continue living in Sydney. Many of my friends were planning to leave the city when they retired and, also, I was single again. So I decided it was time for another change and resolved to give life on Antiparos a go.
I sub-let my apartment in Sydney to do a six-month trial on Antiparos. It was pouring rain when I arrived but even so, I knew within days that I wanted to move there. There were obviously no publishing jobs on Antiparos, but I had seen a financial adviser in my 30s and built up decent investments. I’m not a big spender, and the cost of living here is relatively cheap, so I didn’t need much to survive. I sold my apartment in Sydney, bought one here and had money left over.
I wasn’t too worried about starting over again. I already knew a few people on the island from my days as a regular tourist, and if it didn’t work, I resolved I would find another option.
But what I did need was to find things to do. I got involved with animal rescue which helped me to meet more people. Since there was no recycling on the island at that time, I starting making useful things out of plastic bags, old clothes and old furniture. That turned into my label Upcycled Antiparos, which now mainly makes bags and purses. (That textiles degree is finally being put to use!)
When Syrian refugees fleeing that country’s ongoing hostilities began to arrive on Greek islands, albeit far away from Antiparos, a local woman started collecting clothes to send. I and many others jumped in to help.
I made contact with The Hope Project on the island of Lesvos which assists refugees who end up there, and over the past couple of years I have been collecting clothes from locals and tourists.
If the second-hand clothes are needed by refugees in Lesvos, I send them over. If they are in good condition but unsuitable (a mini skirt probably isn’t suitable for a refugee), I take some items to the animal rescue charity shop on the neighbouring island of Paros. The rest I use to make bags.
I am so glad to have lived three lives so far – and I’m not ruling out a fourth.
“My friends were buying houses and getting married. I was single and knew I wanted to do something different … I quit my job and bought a one-way ticket.”
Words_ Verna McGeachin