From picturesque views of Kodak Corner, Rostrevor, to more intimate feelings of homesickness, Miranda doesn’t shy away from showing both the highs and lows of moving abroad. After marrying her Northern Irish husband David two years ago, Miranda is familiarly acquainted with a north coast accent, Guinness, and fifteens. Yet there are a couple of things that aren’t so mundane to the 27-year-old.
“New York was very much like, by the age of 12, you learn how to take the train. “You learn how to get around by yourself, and learn how to meet people from all different cultures, all different kinds of lifestyles,” explains Miranda. “When I came [to Northern Ireland] it definitely is a slower-paced lifestyle.
Little things like, I got around easy in New York because you take the train. I don’t actually drive. Now I’m here where you need to be able to know how to drive to get to most places.
” Miranda says that this changed her day-to-day life significantly. “The best way to explain it is that because [New York City] is so fast-paced, you really have no other choice but to kind of match that energy, or match that intensity,” she continues. “I think that the change of pace from being outside of the states, and being here, and just having more accessibility to nature and being able to fully enjoy it for what it is, has also been a really, really refreshing change.
” Moving to Northern Ireland has been somewhat of a circuit-breaker she says: but this has not been without difficulty. “It is a bit harder because I’m a bit more dependent on other people: whether it’s my husband, or family, or family friends. It means my independence was kind of shifted, and that impacted my confidence in myself.
“And then people don’t really know this, but when you have a visa pending, you’re not allowed to live in the country that you’re waiting for your visa in. “So even though [me and my husband] we were married for two years, we spent a year separated simply because if I had a visa pending and I was waiting for a decision, I wasn’t allowed to live in Northern Ireland, or I wasn’t allowed enter the UK,” Miranda explains. Following the tumult of the separation and the painstakingly long wait for visa approval, Miranda says she expected her new life in Northern Ireland to materialise immediately.
“I thought that, oh my goodness: I finally got my visa. Everything is going to fall into place. But that wasn’t really reality.
“I think there are kind of sides of it that no one really loves to talk about, which is this idea that you kind of uproot everything. “I think that the first couple of months were really tough for me, as I really, very much didn’t know what to expect, because I don’t think that people have the kind of conversations about the lows of living abroad. “It got to the point where [David] said: hey, have you ever thought of putting, kind of all of your thoughts and feelings and kind of your journey in a more digital diary form, where you not only can connect with people, but you can really find a community that also understand.
” This sparked Miranda to create her TikTok and Instagram pages, which are now embellished with colourful videos of the countryside, thoughts about living in Belfast and the downpours of rain in the summer. “It was funny: I didn’t even want to start my social media pages. I was terrified of doing it, but I kind of sucked it up and did it, and now we’re at the phase of, it’s done and it has been helpful for me.
” She also says it has been invaluable in connecting with people who may be in a similar position. “Recently I was at a coffee shop, and someone stopped me because they recognised me. It was the weirdest thing,” she laughs.
“They were from Northern Ireland, and I have a big following from Northern Ireland. They don’t really share my abroad journey. “However, their brother married someone from outside of their culture, and country, and they’re sitting at the dinner table, with their new sister-in-law, for all these Sunday roasts and events.
“They said they never really thought to ask her, like, hey, how are you finding it? Or how is it different? “They said it wasn’t until they started following my social media page that they kind of grew the empathy on how to navigate people who are living abroad, and how to make them feel seen.” Distance from the current presidential election in the US has also provided some much-needed space, Miranda says. “It’s very unfamiliar to be far away and watch that unfold, and what that’s going to mean for the next four years, and the fear that comes with it,” she explains.
Although the 27-year-old New Yorker says she prefers not to be drawn on what’s happening across the pond, she emphasises her gratitude for being able to explore a new country. “I’m pretty sure that there’s a handful of Americans who never leave the country, their whole life, or never get a passport. “To know that some people will never be able to experience a beautiful cliff, or waterfall, or to explore in this way.
There are people in this lifetime that will never be able to experience this, and I’m just really grateful that I’m in a position where, while I’m here, I can do that.” Miranda also attributes some feelings of comfort to the fact that the healthcare system in Northern Ireland operates very differently to the US, citing an initial sickness when she first moved. “My husband always jokes around about this,” she cautions.
“But I ended up getting vertigo, which is so random. “I was so terrified because while I was able to legally live here, I was still waiting for my national insurance and my NHS. I was really scared.
I could barely walk in a straight line. “I thought, I don’t have insurance here, so what does that mean for me? Can I go to hospital? Can it be fixed? “It was the most bizarre experience to walk into a hospital, get seen, get my problem fixed, and then leave,” she continues, “it was the weirdest thing.” Regardless, Miranda says she never actually felt the itch to leave home.
It wasn’t until she studied abroad in London one year that she called the biggest plot twist: she met her husband. They spent time in Northern Ireland while dating, before getting married in 2022. “One of our favourite places together is a place called Torr Head,” she says.
“It’s essentially like an abandoned rooftop. It used to be kind of a lighthouse post, and when we were dating, we would go up there a lot, just for dates. We’d do picnics, or play board games, we watched sunsets up there.
We got engaged up there.” “Just with memories, I think that whole area would be a favourite. The Torr Head area, and then Murlough Bay beach, and White Park Bay.
That whole area is stunning and beautiful,” Miranda says. “We recently went to Silent Valley, and we went to Donegal. I thought, places like this don’t exist, I was like wait, what?” Although regarding an Irish summer, Miranda says even her friends have been messaging her about it.
“I’m at the acceptance stage. I think there’s mourning. We got married back home in New York in July, so even for our wedding, it was 30 degrees.
It was one of those things where I love the sun, and this is my first summer living here. It was so funny: I was in denial for most of July. “I kept telling my husband, you know, it’s going to get better.
It is going to get better: just watch. “And then I think that once we hit the end of July, I was like: okay. This is it,” she says.
“Where I’m okay with the change is that we don’t have long summer days back home. So I think that’s been, mental-health wise, that’s been keeping me.” Trad music has also found a new place in Miranda’s home after attending Belfast’s trad week.
“I grew up with hip-hop. So [trad week] was just so different. I was there, mouth open, just in awe of what I was watching.
“After trad week I kept playing traditional music, just in the house. My husband saw me, and went: what the hell? I was all, I’m in my trad-era,” she laughs. Guinness has grown on her, too.
“I’m not a full-pint girl, I’m definitely a half-pint girly,” she adds. But Miranda still says she has a long way to go building a life in Northern Ireland. “It was difficult at first, but now when it comes to actually producing a life here, I think that I’m just starting that journey.
“I spent my whole life, I guess, establishing a life in New York where I’m from. That’s community, friends, family, hobbies, you know, extracurricular activities, and a career. “Now I’m establishing these new kinds of relationships and friendships and navigating that to the sense of hopefully, these people will stick around for the next 10 years.
” Follow Miranda on Instagram @miranda__johnston/ and on TikTok @miranda__johnston.
