We made a decision...

It's been a busy couple of weeks here. Do I always say that at the start of my posts? Maybe, I am always busy! Lol! Anyway, it has been particularly busy lately and I will fill you in on why that is. So if you read my post a couple of weeks back about when I came back from Ireland after Christmas you would of read how we were trying to make decisions on how long more we are going to stay and what route to take next. When it comes to us, we are the worst decision makers. We can't even decide what to watch on Netflix or what food to order, " I don't mind, whatever you want", so you can imagine what making this BIG decision was like.

We kept putting it off and when people were asking me what I was doing they thought I was keeping it a secret when in fact, I still had no idea what I wanted to do. A few weeks ago the time came to really think and talk about it. Since our visas are up in July we were really running out of time. We looked at all the visa options. To get a one or two year extension on a work visa is very difficult here. You have to basically get your employer to apply for what's called an LMIA, which is essentially trying to prove to the government, that I am irreplaceable in my role in work. Like I know I am irreplaceable  but I dunno does Canada know that yet! Haha! So that option was gone.

The only other option really and the one we went for is Permanent Residency. Yes. As scary as that sounds, permanent residents of Canada. Before I get a text from my sister who will be reading this, no I am not staying here permanently, I promise but yes I am staying a little longer. <insert monkey holding eyes emoji here>. Well that's if we get accepted etc but that is the plan anyway.

We have started the process and by god I am sick shit of it already. It's a long and pricey process but hopefully it'll all be worth it! I am not ready to leave Canada yet. I still have goals I want to achieve and places I want to see. I just don't feel ready to say goodbye to my second home right now.

I will keep you updated on my new visa journey. Wish us luck, we have our English test on Saturday. Yes, we have to do an English Test even though it's our first language. Lets hope we pass. Lol!

This wasn't an easy decision, missing family and friends is definitely the hardest about being away and I do have moments when I think this could be the scariest decision I ever made but you have to take chances in life. You are only young once. While Ireland will always be my home, for now Toronto has stolen my heart!

                         

Talk soon xx

Zita J

New York Part 2

Happy Friday! 

This day 2 weeks ago I was in New York, waaah! I did this post in two parts as I couldn't fit it all in one post, here's Part 1, if you want to have a read. I honestly didn't expect to love this city as much as I did. I thought the crowds of people would make me anxious but I kinda loved the rush! There is so much to see and even though we got a lot done in the few days we were there, there is so much more we had left to do and see. 

On Saturday, we went to grand central station, which I was very excited about seeing. It's pretty cool and after taking a million pictures we headed towards the world trade memorial. This is something I didn't want to leave New York without doing however I was a bit nervous about how upsetting it might be. 

Before we went inside the museum, we walked around the area where the two towers once stood. It was a weird feeling. What is there now is two beautiful man-made waterfalls and engraved all around it the names of the people who died. Reading all the names and seeing flowers laid down was very emotional. It is such a huge area and its crazy to think two enormous buildings were there.

The museum is really interesting but extremely sad. A worker was telling a story about the fire officers in this fire truck above and I had to walk away as it was upsetting to listen to. I would recommend it to learn about things you might not know about 9/11 but it feels weird seeing people taking selfies etc in a place where so many people died. After this we decided to do something fun as the memorial had us both feeling a bit down. We took a stroll to battery park and looked at the statue of liberty from a distance. I didn't have much interest heading out to the statue but maybe next time.

After a busy day we went for a drink in The Dead Rabbit. "The world's best bar", which I found hard to see why. Its overrated and overpriced. You'll find much better bars I think. It's Irish though so I had to have a look. We went to Brooklyn that night for food and drinks and I loved the area so much. We went to a bar that was a converted car garage called Hot Bird, so cool!

On Sunday we went for brunch in Maison Kayser, it was yummy and I wanted everything from the bakery. After that we wanted to walk it off so we went to the High Line, an old railway line transformed into a park. It is an enjoyable walk and you get an amazing view of the Hudson River. The walk was very busy towards the end so we decided to check out the Chelsea Market and meat packing area. With such nice weather that day and all weekend as a matter of fact, I got a feel of how amazing this area would be in summer time.

We met up with my friend after and went for a few drinks on some rooftop bars around this area. The views were incredible! A great way to spend our last night.

On Monday, it was our last day. I always feel on the last day of a trip you're just waiting around to leave for the airport. We weren't leaving for the airport until 5pm so we made the most of it. We walked around stalking peoples houses after brunch and headed to Central Park and The MET. We only briefly walked around Central Park the first day so I was glad we got to see more. You could spend the whole day there, I would love to go back in the summer and have a picnic in there. The MET was good too, I'm not going to lie though, I was more interested in taking pictures on the steps outside. Lol!

As I said previously I really didn't expect to love New York as much I did but I honestly think it is one of my favourite places I have ever been too. We had a great few days and being able to meet my friends again was the icing on the cake. I'm already looking forward to going back, when I have money again lol. If you want to see the video I made check it out on my Facebook page.

Talk soon xx

Zita J