Federico Trilnik, senior software engineer at TripAdvisor, tells us why, out of everywhere he has been, he believes Ireland provides the best work-life balance.
Where are you from?
I’m from Mar del Plata, which is known as the ‘Happy City’ in Argentina. It’s a seaside city in the south-east of the Buenos Aires province. It’s a beautiful city with plenty of tourist attractions, a fishing port, beaches and 28km of coast. It is the one of the country’s most popular cities for domestic holidays, especially during the summer months.
How long have you been in Ireland?
I’ve been living in Ireland for more than five years.
Why did you move here?
To cut a long story short – it was not the weather, it was a girl! I first came to Ireland on holiday to visit my girlfriend. We went travelling around the country and I really enjoyed the trip. After a few days, I started thinking about the possibility of moving here, so I decided to check the IT job market locally. I had no idea at the time how many really good IT companies were based here. I sent my CV around, and in no time I had a few interviews and lots of interesting opportunities to choose from. That is when I realised I really could move here and make a life and career for myself. So I decided to go for it – I accepted a job offer here and, five years later, I’ve never looked back.
What work do you do?
I’m a senior software engineer working as part of the partnerships team at TripAdvisor.
How would you describe your working environment?
Everyone is very friendly and helpful despite working on different areas or projects. If you have an issue, everyone here will be happy to help.
The environment is very relaxed and you have everything you need to be comfortable at work.
What do you like most about your job?
I like the dynamic environment because there is always plenty of new stuff to learn. You can be working on a project for a partner in Thailand one week and the next week on a project for a partner in South America. Also, I had the chance to work on projects with high visibility all around the world, like the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence programme, that rewards businesses that have received consistently high ratings from travellers.
Was it difficult to adjust to living and working in Ireland?
Not at all! When I moved to Ireland, I lived first in a small town, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Everyone there was so friendly that I felt at home in no time. It took me awhile to understand their strong accent, but they didn’t have a problem repeating what they were saying so I could understand – even if that meant saying it again a hundred times!
I’m lucky in that I have worked in lots of different countries throughout my career, but living here I have to say Ireland has the best work-life balance of anywhere I’ve been. Here you can have a great professional career but also have time to enjoy your personal life.
What surprised you about moving to Ireland?
I thought all the process would be very stressful – adapting to a new job, finding a place to live, all the paperwork. Also, I thought it would be difficult to meet people and make friends. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. In a few days I had met a lot of new people and everyone at work was very helpful to help me settle in quickly.
How does your working life help to make you feel at home here?
Well, I think being happy at work is an important thing to be able to enjoy your personal life. If you have time and energy after work to meet friends, practise sports, travel and do any activity that makes you feel good, then you will feel at home.
What do you like most about your adopted home?
The relaxed environment, the amount of activities and options you have in the city, and the fact that everything is close by. You are also close to the beach, to the mountains, to national parks. Here, it’s always green and when the sun is shining it’s one of the most beautiful places on Earth – and, of course, living in Ireland you really learn to appreciate those rare days!
