This article is from page 35 of the 2007-03-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 35 JPG
EDITH Van Burgh decided to change her lifestyle last year. She had spent her life living in The Netherlands, where she was born and bred. Edith knew that, at 46, the time was right to move to another country. She had al- ways had a love of Ireland and when she saw a job advertised in Shannon company Digital River, she decided to apply.
From her home in The Netherlands, Edith sent off her application and was delighted to get the job. In February 2006, she packed her life into a few Suitcases, bade farewell to her native country and headed for Shannon.
Edith had always had a preference for the west coast of Ireland and was
thrilled when she found her dream job in the Digital River call centre in Shannon.
And Shannon did not disappoint Edith. Given that Shannon is home to hundreds of people from all over Ireland and overseas, there was eve- ry chance that she was going to settle in quite fast and that is exactly what happened.
Although she misses her husband Taco – she is hopeful he will leave his job in the fire department in The Netherlands and join her in Shannon later this year – she is delighted to have made the move to Ireland.
“It was not difficult to settled in. The social side is very easy. I speak English, but it would be very differ- ent if I didn’t. It is not hard to talk to
people here,” she said.
Through her work at the interna- tional call centre, Edith has got in contact with various people of dif- ferent nationalities – including from her native country – and this has also helped her settle in to Shannon.
She believes that she would not have settled in to Shannon as quickly if she had been younger when she took the decision to move here.
“T imagine there is not a lot to do for young people in Shannon, but for me, there are a lot of things to do,” she said.
Asked does she miss home, she replied, “I am home…of course you miss some things, but Iam not home- sick. I plan to stay here.”
‘Ireland has much more space than
The Netherlands. I like Irish people. They are more gentle than Dutch people. I have waited for 20 years for an opportunity like this,’ she beamed.
Edith is just one of the many people who have chosen to move to Shan- non and start a life there. Locals are keen to embrace the outsiders into their community.