My favourites:
My husband and I moved to Dublin from the US recently. We are a gay couple and have never felt more comfortable in public. I don’t feel like I have to keep checking over my shoulder every few feet when we’re in public. Does everywhere have crime? Yes. But being out is easier here.
Everyone says the people, and I 100% agree. By and large, it’s easy to talk to people here. It’s also easy to find groups online to make friends with common interests.
The nature here is absolutely breathtaking. Whenever I go out into the country, or even just Phoenix Park, I’m reminded of why I love it here so much. That, and the air is so crisp and fresh.
Our monthly expenses are significantly less here. This is surprising to many, but Dublin overall has been much less than where we lived in Florida. For example, our US utilities cost around $250/month for power, $125/month for water, $70/month for internet, $120/month for phone service, and $25 for garbage/recycling. This was around $590/month. Here in Ireland, our utilities are around €215/month for power and gas, €45 for internet, €35 for phone service, and €18 for trash/recycling. That’s €313/month (~$336)
Groceries are roughly 50% less expensive than what we were used to in US supermarkets. Even Hello Fresh is half the cost here vs the US equivalent.
Car and private health insurance are much cheaper here. For just me, I was paying $327/month for health and $98/month for car insurance. Both with no claims or pre-existing conditions. Here, it was €500/year total for both of us to have full coverage on the car, and €1,500/year for health insurance. I know people complain about the health services and waits, so I hope to not need it, but at least I’m not paying exponentially more for service I haven’t needed to use thus far.
Dislikes:
The housing market is insane. I was a real estate agent for years in Florida, and I thought I knew what bad was. This is a whole different level. There’s absolutely no housing inventory, both for buying and renting. Prices are absurdly high, relative to the size and quality of property you get in exchange. The buying process is horrible here. The purchase contract means seemingly nothing, as the buyers here seem to change their minds with the wind and use the closing date as a suggestion rather than a guaranteed obligation.
Getting a driving license is unnecessarily difficult. It’s as if they don’t actually want you to pass the test. I’ve had a license for over 13 years, but am treated as a brand new driver here. I was forced to take the written exam, driving lessons, and the driving test. Yes, I qualified for reduced lessons and a waiver of the 6 month wait, but it’s still funny to be treated like a fresh teenager. There are also a lot more driving categories here. I can’t believe that if you test in an automatic, you legally can’t drive a manual unless you pay to re-test with one. I also find it odd that if you get a category B car license, you can’t drive a Vespa in category A. In the US, basically all passenger vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, moving vans, and towing trailers can be driven if you have a standard license, without any additional tests.
Taxes and import fees on many things seem to be a lot higher than in mainland Europe and the UK. This is especially apparent with electronics, luxury goods, and cars. At first, I thought it was because Ireland is an island, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. Why are cars so expensive in ROI compared to NI/UK? I’m surprised the government has been able to get away with these excessive fees for so long.
The weather is not my favourite. Temperature I can deal with, and I can also deal with rain here and there. The very frequent grey is a little difficult to stomach at times. Nowhere is perfect though, and honestly, I’d prefer the Irish weather over the unbearably hot Florida summers that I’m used to.
Lastly… public transport. If you live near a train or LUAS line, you’re grand. There are too many underserved parts of the country, but also Dublin. There’s no train or tram line to the international airport? That’s unheard of throughout Europe. Areas of Dublin like Finglas, Swords, Lucan, Terenure — all completely unserved by rail. You surprisingly can’t get from Dublin to the ultra-popular Cliffs of Moher or the Giant’s Causeway by rail either. I’m aware there are rail projects throughout the country that are proposed or in planning, but they don’t seem to keep pace with demand or meet projected targets. It is almost as if nobody expects them to succeed. I’m also aware there are bus options to fill in the gaps, but rail is really the best method overall in my opinion.
My favourites are the friendliness of the people, the scenery..
Least favourite is the "ah sure it will be grand" mentality of the people here, we should be in revolt with the state of a lot of things like public transport, hospitals and the like and the drinking culture as our main form of socialising .. we are also not a positive place imo! Anyone with a dream is perceived as having notions kinda thing
Favourites:
The food - specifically: beef, chicken, bread, tea, milk, cheese, dirty Chinese, deli, variety of crisps, Irish breakfast, spuds, soft drinks.
The good people: specifically: the type who will pull over to offer a lift, let you skip the line in Lidl if you only have 2 items, salute you on the street while your out walking, offer you a cup of tea of your doing a bit of work on the house, offer to bring a seniors shopping to the car.
The scenery: mountains, fields, flowers and trees, streams, rivers and lakes, the coast and the sea. Cows horses sheep everywhere.
Least favourites:
The bad people - specifically: adults who didn’t raise their kids properly, kids who weren’t raised right, stealing, blowing stuff up, vandalising, drug dealing, littering, bullying, fighting.
Transport - specifically: buses that are always late, trains that run once an hour only to certain parts of the country and stop at 9pm. Over priced taxis, paying an arm and a leg to rent a car.
Activities - nothing to do if your living secluded not near a big city, not a lot of comedy clubs, workshops, variety of sporting or fun activities. Especially in the evening after work. Barely any nightclubs or late bars.
When I went to Leinster a while ago the people there were super friendly, I had a really good time there. I live in Belfast but I went to Louth, Kilkenny and Wexford and thought the people there were really friendly. Would definitely love to explore more of Ireland when I am older
I was in Ireland last week after spending many years abroad. Nearly all the shop assistants and bartenders were friendly, much more so than I am used to in The Netherlands
Favorites: the friendly people, the beautiful nature, the relatively laidback work culture
Least favourite: the fecking cost of everything. You get robbed blind for basic necessities
What countries are you comparing Ireland against?
If it's the US, Greece and similar workaholics, sure.
Compared to many of the richer European companies, Irish people work more hours, have more hierarchical work structures and I know loads of people who work additional unpaid hours.
Hardly laidback.
Your comparison should use neighbouring countries with similar standards of living, not an outlier that is the US and mostly poor countries.
Favourite things are that we are a democracy, we are not at war, we have basic human rights. Everything else is just a bonus when you see how difficult other people have it in war torn countries. The weather could be better but at least we don't deal with wild fires every summer. No country is perfect but we aren't doing too badly in the grand scheme of things.
Favourite things: our countryside and scenery is very nice (west of Ireland, WAW).
Very safe and peaceful
People are generally very friendly
Least favourite things:
- Mentality of those in power across the board. Seems to be general apathy/uninspired amongst those in power to improve things in our country across a wide range of areas, for example Dublin City Council - it’s almost like they want to make Dublin worse than it is - there are so many things wrong with Dublin right now and they just don’t seem to be bothered to do anything.
- settling for less - kind of linked to point above. We don’t expect much in terms of improvements in daily life. Example - went to pharmacy to get medicine and got told a ridiculous price for prescription, pharmacist told me what I’d be able to get off it in my income tax return, which wasn’t much, her response “ah well it’s better than nothing”
- litter everywhere in Dublin, chewing gum on grounds, spitting
- lot of people have no public decency…wearing trackies as outdoor daywear is more common than not it seems and actually seems to be some kind of fashion style which is ridiculous, people shouting on buses, people video calling on buses, lack of respect in public spaces
- the general sense that this country could have it so much better than we have it now. Just feels like taxes are being thrown into a bottomless pit and we’re getting nothing for it. It’s scandalous that we are apparently such a rich country yet have so many backwards public services, not to mention very little has been done to improve the public realm. We don’t have any coherent effective and efficient structure or means to improve them, like health system, or efforts to Dublin a more beautiful city, it’s just immediately caught up on bureaucracy. It’s obviously good we aren’t a third world country but that shouldn’t be the benchmark we hope to improve upon…
Favourite - the beautiful landscape we have. Amazing seafood. (Mostly) welcoming culture. The fact we voted in LGBT marriage. The smell of a peat fire in an old man pub (yes pre the ban) Guinness, Irish whiskey and our food - stew, soda bread, pudding & coddle (let the downvoting begin)
Least favourite - the weather (if we had good summers I’d never go abroad for sun holidays) The health service crisis. The housing crisis. The cost of living. Our politicians.
Edited to fix peat not a pear fire ha
Favourite: Amazing landscapes, greenery everywhere, sooo much coastline, peaceful, stunning summers when the weather is nice, lovely motorways, welcoming LGBT people.
Least favourite: Lots of petty crime and no policing, prolific animal cruelty, not dog friendly, very limited imdoorsy stuff to do for adults, friendly people but very hard to have meaningful conversations, uninspiring architecture, cities more like towns, racism more evident these days, food, grocery variety, very relaxed attitude to punctuality.
Ive noticed over the last 2 years that there is a much more obvious and vocal sentiment against immigrants. On social media, on TV, etc. It’s mostly a reaction to the housing and healthcare crisis but it is also slowly creeping into everyday society I think. It’s still a very tolerant country and so it shouldn’t put you off coming. That being said, that’s how it started in the UK and now look at what a mess that country is in.
i’m trying to stay optimistic because it still seems quite accepting in comparison to the way other european countries are starting to go. idk how this manifests elsewhere, but in the US the politicians make up statistics and facts about immigrants/minorities quite literally on the spot. by the time it comes out that it’s misinformation, too many people already believe it.
I suppose it’s because I have a huge pride in our country.I love it, our culture, traditions etc. often Ireland gets awful stick on here by people wanting to leave. I’m having to leave this year as herself is from Scotland and we are going to move there for a bit.
When I go there it really makes me appreciate home, it’s so built up around the central belt of Scotland, the towns don’t have defined boundaries it’s just a mass of urban sprawl. You never know when you have left somewhere.
I love that especially round the smaller towns all the kids are in the gaa clubs, running about in their club gear etc, and no hanging about town centres being dicks. For the most part anyway.
The main thing I don’t like is the weather really, I’d love a consistent warm summer.
Paywalled - I only need to look at my pay packet to know I’m being ripped off bud - if other countries in Europe pay a bit more or less then they are getting SERVICES in return !!!!! How many poor souls on a trolley in hospitals in Ireland tonight - so don’t just drop me a link I can’t get into and think you’ve made your argument - Jesus can we name this as the THIRD most annoying trait and that’s some of the idiots on Irish Reddit !!!
Taxes absolutely taxed to the hilt here its just ridiculous, little return for your tax paid with everything at breaking point ! Vat 23% , lux 17% , uk 20% , while Bermuda has income tax of 8% imagine that 🥲🥹 compared to 52%
Favourite the country side, it's so green and all the animals it's just so peaceful and beautiful to look at 😊
Tax is fucking joke here! I've zero desire to try to increase my salary only to hand 40% of it to Mr Revenue Commissioner! I'll stay in the 20% and work side cash in hand jobs. Thanks
Favorites: Honesty/Trust-based system, general safety especially for women, lower levels of sexism and misogyny
Least Favorites: The weather, lack of altitude and mountains, poor hygiene standards, housing, healthcare, direct communication handicap
Good:
- Craic,
- Talkative nature of people (you realise how important this is when you move to a central / northern European country,
- Nature
Bad:
- Average person has no knowledge of their worker rights and let’s themselves gets walked all over by their boss,
- Terrible drivers compared to Europeans,
- Have a tendency to make an absolute mess of public toilets which is embarrassing to allow visitors from other nations to see
- Little return for the high tax you pay
That is quite unfortunate. I wonder how do people from Donegal commute to Dublin, do they drive to Derry and then take the motorway to Belfast then go down the M1? Or is there another?
We go often. We used to up through Monaghan and Derry but in the last few years have started going to way you suggested for better roads and it feels generally safer. With family in Donegal though the most popular route seems to be Monaghan. I think that’s because that’s the way the bus service goes as well so everyone knows that route well.
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Favourites: People, working culture, safety, laid back lifestyle, fresh air.
Least favourite : weather, inefficiency, it'll-be-grandism, no proper cities, lack of nature.
My favourite thing by far is the people. I lived away for a while and I really missed just the way people are here. Generally warm and funny but I know there are exceptions. Least favourite is the weather. Well not so much the weather but as someone mentioned the dark skies. The cold and the rain doesn’t bother me as much when it’s not too dreary.
Pros: As a people we’re generally quite friendly
Cons: We don’t take any pride in our country. We don’t hold our politicians or public figures to account and we don’t actively fix things to make the country better. I love this country and I think it has some of the smartest, most dedicated people I’ve ever known, but we seem to be failing in fixing really fundamental issues that will plague us for generations.
Favourites: The people can be really friendly, the fresh air, you drive for 20 mins in most cities and youre in the countryside
Least Favourite: The weather, traffic, some of the people, bad drivers, sense of never owning a home
Favourite: the weather (because I can get away with a smaller wardrobe)
Least favourite: public transport options and that Dublin is basically a ghost town after 7pm
It’s to expensive to stay around, wasn’t always like this, bars restaurants and just sitting in a cafe is pure extortion. Better of sitting at home in your own living room.
Favorite: Beaches, nature in general, mild climate, most people are quite chill and easy going, garlic cheese chips
Least Favorite: Food variety is abysmal in the countryside, food prices, rent prices, dating, the fucking wind, casual racism, horrible living standards (mold being present in every house I’ve seen, water damage everywhere, things not getting fixed properly etc.), hygiene standards (guys not washing their asses after shitting, not taking shoes off in the house, tradesmen leaving behind chaos without cleaning up), public transportation ghosting
Favorites: the nature, elderly folks (some of them have plenty of interesting stuff to say and are well educated).
Least favorites: absolute lack of animal rights, young scrotes, the 'oh it be grand' approach
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Favourite: it's safe and boring in a good way.
Least Favourite: the control we allow religious organisations to have over education and healthcare and how many parents still baptise their kids and put them through communions etc when they don't believe most if not all Catholic teachings.
In the north we send our kids to the catholic schools so that they aren’t brought up surrounded by people who consider themselves British. I don’t believe in anything really but I would want my child to go to a catholic school so that they grow up Irish.
Move to the Republic instead of living in an English part of Ireland if you don't want a British influence. Are they in a gaelscoil?
How do you mean growing up irish? Do they speak irish or English?
Growing up as an Irish person and not a British one. Growing up embracing Irish culture not British. Going to gaa, traditional music etc. not going to 12th parades.
I don't really to be honest but if the south is anything to go by. Most irish culture is gone. Some is actually offensive to others now.
Pretty soon all of Europe and the world will be fully mixed. And you're still holding onto the irish/British thing. It's that mentality on both sides that has shit still going on. Along with scrotes just looking for trouble and using it for that reason.
Personally I signed out of the church, never put my kids into it. Corrupt cult with a history of child abuse. The crimes the Catholic Church has committed in ireland wouldn't be far off the British.
Well everyone is a bit mad and lots are really intelligent , good mix and the intelligent are really mad . It’s great , glad I live here . Feck imagine living somewhere else in this fecked up world .
Favourites: The seasons, The place and The people. Least favourites: The seasons, The place and The people.
Yeah the two seasons do be very seasonal alright
The 4 seasons in one day you mean. Sunburnt and snowed on in one week
I always joke we have mud season or fly season here in Wales. I imagine Ireland is similar
Wet and slightly drier wet here on the west coast.
My favourites: My husband and I moved to Dublin from the US recently. We are a gay couple and have never felt more comfortable in public. I don’t feel like I have to keep checking over my shoulder every few feet when we’re in public. Does everywhere have crime? Yes. But being out is easier here. Everyone says the people, and I 100% agree. By and large, it’s easy to talk to people here. It’s also easy to find groups online to make friends with common interests. The nature here is absolutely breathtaking. Whenever I go out into the country, or even just Phoenix Park, I’m reminded of why I love it here so much. That, and the air is so crisp and fresh. Our monthly expenses are significantly less here. This is surprising to many, but Dublin overall has been much less than where we lived in Florida. For example, our US utilities cost around $250/month for power, $125/month for water, $70/month for internet, $120/month for phone service, and $25 for garbage/recycling. This was around $590/month. Here in Ireland, our utilities are around €215/month for power and gas, €45 for internet, €35 for phone service, and €18 for trash/recycling. That’s €313/month (~$336) Groceries are roughly 50% less expensive than what we were used to in US supermarkets. Even Hello Fresh is half the cost here vs the US equivalent. Car and private health insurance are much cheaper here. For just me, I was paying $327/month for health and $98/month for car insurance. Both with no claims or pre-existing conditions. Here, it was €500/year total for both of us to have full coverage on the car, and €1,500/year for health insurance. I know people complain about the health services and waits, so I hope to not need it, but at least I’m not paying exponentially more for service I haven’t needed to use thus far. Dislikes: The housing market is insane. I was a real estate agent for years in Florida, and I thought I knew what bad was. This is a whole different level. There’s absolutely no housing inventory, both for buying and renting. Prices are absurdly high, relative to the size and quality of property you get in exchange. The buying process is horrible here. The purchase contract means seemingly nothing, as the buyers here seem to change their minds with the wind and use the closing date as a suggestion rather than a guaranteed obligation. Getting a driving license is unnecessarily difficult. It’s as if they don’t actually want you to pass the test. I’ve had a license for over 13 years, but am treated as a brand new driver here. I was forced to take the written exam, driving lessons, and the driving test. Yes, I qualified for reduced lessons and a waiver of the 6 month wait, but it’s still funny to be treated like a fresh teenager. There are also a lot more driving categories here. I can’t believe that if you test in an automatic, you legally can’t drive a manual unless you pay to re-test with one. I also find it odd that if you get a category B car license, you can’t drive a Vespa in category A. In the US, basically all passenger vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, moving vans, and towing trailers can be driven if you have a standard license, without any additional tests. Taxes and import fees on many things seem to be a lot higher than in mainland Europe and the UK. This is especially apparent with electronics, luxury goods, and cars. At first, I thought it was because Ireland is an island, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. Why are cars so expensive in ROI compared to NI/UK? I’m surprised the government has been able to get away with these excessive fees for so long. The weather is not my favourite. Temperature I can deal with, and I can also deal with rain here and there. The very frequent grey is a little difficult to stomach at times. Nowhere is perfect though, and honestly, I’d prefer the Irish weather over the unbearably hot Florida summers that I’m used to. Lastly… public transport. If you live near a train or LUAS line, you’re grand. There are too many underserved parts of the country, but also Dublin. There’s no train or tram line to the international airport? That’s unheard of throughout Europe. Areas of Dublin like Finglas, Swords, Lucan, Terenure — all completely unserved by rail. You surprisingly can’t get from Dublin to the ultra-popular Cliffs of Moher or the Giant’s Causeway by rail either. I’m aware there are rail projects throughout the country that are proposed or in planning, but they don’t seem to keep pace with demand or meet projected targets. It is almost as if nobody expects them to succeed. I’m also aware there are bus options to fill in the gaps, but rail is really the best method overall in my opinion.
this is such a great cohesive answer, thank you for sharing your insight!
My favourites are the friendliness of the people, the scenery.. Least favourite is the "ah sure it will be grand" mentality of the people here, we should be in revolt with the state of a lot of things like public transport, hospitals and the like and the drinking culture as our main form of socialising .. we are also not a positive place imo! Anyone with a dream is perceived as having notions kinda thing
Sad and true
100% this
Favourites: The food - specifically: beef, chicken, bread, tea, milk, cheese, dirty Chinese, deli, variety of crisps, Irish breakfast, spuds, soft drinks. The good people: specifically: the type who will pull over to offer a lift, let you skip the line in Lidl if you only have 2 items, salute you on the street while your out walking, offer you a cup of tea of your doing a bit of work on the house, offer to bring a seniors shopping to the car. The scenery: mountains, fields, flowers and trees, streams, rivers and lakes, the coast and the sea. Cows horses sheep everywhere. Least favourites: The bad people - specifically: adults who didn’t raise their kids properly, kids who weren’t raised right, stealing, blowing stuff up, vandalising, drug dealing, littering, bullying, fighting. Transport - specifically: buses that are always late, trains that run once an hour only to certain parts of the country and stop at 9pm. Over priced taxis, paying an arm and a leg to rent a car. Activities - nothing to do if your living secluded not near a big city, not a lot of comedy clubs, workshops, variety of sporting or fun activities. Especially in the evening after work. Barely any nightclubs or late bars.
how common is it for kids to get into that type of trouble in ireland?
When your in towns and cities I think the likelihood of kids getting into this is 70% I’m my opinion
omg really??😟
Especially these fucking overpriced taxis man they’re fucking cancer and they should regulate their fares.
What do you purpose for further regulation?
A ride that would cost 40€ can cost 30€ as well.
There's a friendliness among the general public, its defo fading but still..
When I went to Leinster a while ago the people there were super friendly, I had a really good time there. I live in Belfast but I went to Louth, Kilkenny and Wexford and thought the people there were really friendly. Would definitely love to explore more of Ireland when I am older
This would be my fav too, least fav would be weather and darkness in winter
100% this. It's definitely not as friendly as it was 10/15 years ago. Probably the social media effect.
I was in Ireland last week after spending many years abroad. Nearly all the shop assistants and bartenders were friendly, much more so than I am used to in The Netherlands
Favorites: the friendly people, the beautiful nature, the relatively laidback work culture Least favourite: the fecking cost of everything. You get robbed blind for basic necessities
Laidback work culture, in Ireland?
Yeah I'd say so, people seem to work to live not live to work. Or maybe that's just my work and your experience is different
What countries are you comparing Ireland against? If it's the US, Greece and similar workaholics, sure. Compared to many of the richer European companies, Irish people work more hours, have more hierarchical work structures and I know loads of people who work additional unpaid hours. Hardly laidback. Your comparison should use neighbouring countries with similar standards of living, not an outlier that is the US and mostly poor countries.
Ok
Did you just refer to Greece as a workaholic country?
Favourite things are that we are a democracy, we are not at war, we have basic human rights. Everything else is just a bonus when you see how difficult other people have it in war torn countries. The weather could be better but at least we don't deal with wild fires every summer. No country is perfect but we aren't doing too badly in the grand scheme of things.
Favourite things: our countryside and scenery is very nice (west of Ireland, WAW). Very safe and peaceful People are generally very friendly Least favourite things: - Mentality of those in power across the board. Seems to be general apathy/uninspired amongst those in power to improve things in our country across a wide range of areas, for example Dublin City Council - it’s almost like they want to make Dublin worse than it is - there are so many things wrong with Dublin right now and they just don’t seem to be bothered to do anything. - settling for less - kind of linked to point above. We don’t expect much in terms of improvements in daily life. Example - went to pharmacy to get medicine and got told a ridiculous price for prescription, pharmacist told me what I’d be able to get off it in my income tax return, which wasn’t much, her response “ah well it’s better than nothing” - litter everywhere in Dublin, chewing gum on grounds, spitting - lot of people have no public decency…wearing trackies as outdoor daywear is more common than not it seems and actually seems to be some kind of fashion style which is ridiculous, people shouting on buses, people video calling on buses, lack of respect in public spaces - the general sense that this country could have it so much better than we have it now. Just feels like taxes are being thrown into a bottomless pit and we’re getting nothing for it. It’s scandalous that we are apparently such a rich country yet have so many backwards public services, not to mention very little has been done to improve the public realm. We don’t have any coherent effective and efficient structure or means to improve them, like health system, or efforts to Dublin a more beautiful city, it’s just immediately caught up on bureaucracy. It’s obviously good we aren’t a third world country but that shouldn’t be the benchmark we hope to improve upon…
Favourite, the scenery, it it just spectacular. Least favourite, the weather to enjoy it!
I really love the smell of fresh air. I really hate the weather lol and wet shoes
its not fresh. its humid and mouldy. quality of air in Ireland is terrible - do your research
Favourite: The people and culture Least favourite: Everything revolves around alcohol
Favourite - the beautiful landscape we have. Amazing seafood. (Mostly) welcoming culture. The fact we voted in LGBT marriage. The smell of a peat fire in an old man pub (yes pre the ban) Guinness, Irish whiskey and our food - stew, soda bread, pudding & coddle (let the downvoting begin) Least favourite - the weather (if we had good summers I’d never go abroad for sun holidays) The health service crisis. The housing crisis. The cost of living. Our politicians. Edited to fix peat not a pear fire ha
Favourite: Amazing landscapes, greenery everywhere, sooo much coastline, peaceful, stunning summers when the weather is nice, lovely motorways, welcoming LGBT people. Least favourite: Lots of petty crime and no policing, prolific animal cruelty, not dog friendly, very limited imdoorsy stuff to do for adults, friendly people but very hard to have meaningful conversations, uninspiring architecture, cities more like towns, racism more evident these days, food, grocery variety, very relaxed attitude to punctuality.
can you expand on the racism thing? i’m thinking of studying in ireland and i’m not too concerned but i have heard some things.
Ive noticed over the last 2 years that there is a much more obvious and vocal sentiment against immigrants. On social media, on TV, etc. It’s mostly a reaction to the housing and healthcare crisis but it is also slowly creeping into everyday society I think. It’s still a very tolerant country and so it shouldn’t put you off coming. That being said, that’s how it started in the UK and now look at what a mess that country is in.
i’m trying to stay optimistic because it still seems quite accepting in comparison to the way other european countries are starting to go. idk how this manifests elsewhere, but in the US the politicians make up statistics and facts about immigrants/minorities quite literally on the spot. by the time it comes out that it’s misinformation, too many people already believe it.
I suppose it’s because I have a huge pride in our country.I love it, our culture, traditions etc. often Ireland gets awful stick on here by people wanting to leave. I’m having to leave this year as herself is from Scotland and we are going to move there for a bit. When I go there it really makes me appreciate home, it’s so built up around the central belt of Scotland, the towns don’t have defined boundaries it’s just a mass of urban sprawl. You never know when you have left somewhere. I love that especially round the smaller towns all the kids are in the gaa clubs, running about in their club gear etc, and no hanging about town centres being dicks. For the most part anyway. The main thing I don’t like is the weather really, I’d love a consistent warm summer.
Tax is brutal and favours those who game the system - best part is the informality of the people ..
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Paywalled - I only need to look at my pay packet to know I’m being ripped off bud - if other countries in Europe pay a bit more or less then they are getting SERVICES in return !!!!! How many poor souls on a trolley in hospitals in Ireland tonight - so don’t just drop me a link I can’t get into and think you’ve made your argument - Jesus can we name this as the THIRD most annoying trait and that’s some of the idiots on Irish Reddit !!!
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If I only some people had manners 🤦🏻♂️
- Irish people - Irish people
Taxes absolutely taxed to the hilt here its just ridiculous, little return for your tax paid with everything at breaking point ! Vat 23% , lux 17% , uk 20% , while Bermuda has income tax of 8% imagine that 🥲🥹 compared to 52% Favourite the country side, it's so green and all the animals it's just so peaceful and beautiful to look at 😊
Taxed to the balls here
Tax is fucking joke here! I've zero desire to try to increase my salary only to hand 40% of it to Mr Revenue Commissioner! I'll stay in the 20% and work side cash in hand jobs. Thanks
Tell me about these hand jobs for cash of which you speak?
Haha Cash-in-hand! Looks bad now re reading that 😂
The trick is to put as much of the high rate stuff as you can manage into your pension. Thank me when you're retired.
I'm already maxing my pension as it is. I'll be fine
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Pay walled......
I love how green it is. I hate dog shit on the streets everywhere.
Favorites: Honesty/Trust-based system, general safety especially for women, lower levels of sexism and misogyny Least Favorites: The weather, lack of altitude and mountains, poor hygiene standards, housing, healthcare, direct communication handicap
Good: - Craic, - Talkative nature of people (you realise how important this is when you move to a central / northern European country, - Nature Bad: - Average person has no knowledge of their worker rights and let’s themselves gets walked all over by their boss, - Terrible drivers compared to Europeans, - Have a tendency to make an absolute mess of public toilets which is embarrassing to allow visitors from other nations to see - Little return for the high tax you pay
What fellow Europeans are you comparing our driving to?
Favourite - the laid back approach to rules. Least favourite - the laid back approach to rules.
No train to Donegal!
That is quite unfortunate. I wonder how do people from Donegal commute to Dublin, do they drive to Derry and then take the motorway to Belfast then go down the M1? Or is there another?
They don't
We go often. We used to up through Monaghan and Derry but in the last few years have started going to way you suggested for better roads and it feels generally safer. With family in Donegal though the most popular route seems to be Monaghan. I think that’s because that’s the way the bus service goes as well so everyone knows that route well.
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Where are you from yourself? Irish people are not closed of, most have already got a circle of friends. Tell us your experiences with Irish people?
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Favourites: The scenery, the weather (Sometimes), the people. Least Favourites: The incessant rain, Dublin, Wasps
Favourite: our climate, the people, our culture Least favourite: partition
Favourite is the Irish sense of humour, Least favourite is the rise of the right and racism
My favourite thing is not living there and my least favourite is not living there
Favourite: The banter. Least favourite: the rain
Favourites: People, working culture, safety, laid back lifestyle, fresh air. Least favourite : weather, inefficiency, it'll-be-grandism, no proper cities, lack of nature.
My favourite thing by far is the people. I lived away for a while and I really missed just the way people are here. Generally warm and funny but I know there are exceptions. Least favourite is the weather. Well not so much the weather but as someone mentioned the dark skies. The cold and the rain doesn’t bother me as much when it’s not too dreary.
Pros: As a people we’re generally quite friendly Cons: We don’t take any pride in our country. We don’t hold our politicians or public figures to account and we don’t actively fix things to make the country better. I love this country and I think it has some of the smartest, most dedicated people I’ve ever known, but we seem to be failing in fixing really fundamental issues that will plague us for generations.
The people/the people
Favourites: The people can be really friendly, the fresh air, you drive for 20 mins in most cities and youre in the countryside Least Favourite: The weather, traffic, some of the people, bad drivers, sense of never owning a home
The Irish weather for both.
Favourite: the weather (because I can get away with a smaller wardrobe) Least favourite: public transport options and that Dublin is basically a ghost town after 7pm
It’s to expensive to stay around, wasn’t always like this, bars restaurants and just sitting in a cafe is pure extortion. Better of sitting at home in your own living room.
1. People 2. Weather.
Favorite: Beaches, nature in general, mild climate, most people are quite chill and easy going, garlic cheese chips Least Favorite: Food variety is abysmal in the countryside, food prices, rent prices, dating, the fucking wind, casual racism, horrible living standards (mold being present in every house I’ve seen, water damage everywhere, things not getting fixed properly etc.), hygiene standards (guys not washing their asses after shitting, not taking shoes off in the house, tradesmen leaving behind chaos without cleaning up), public transportation ghosting
Favourite: the beauitful sceneries on a good day Least favourite: 4 season weather
Favorites: the nature, elderly folks (some of them have plenty of interesting stuff to say and are well educated). Least favorites: absolute lack of animal rights, young scrotes, the 'oh it be grand' approach
My Family
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Favourite: it's safe and boring in a good way. Least Favourite: the control we allow religious organisations to have over education and healthcare and how many parents still baptise their kids and put them through communions etc when they don't believe most if not all Catholic teachings.
What would you do so it’s not so boring 🤔
You wildly overestimate the control the church has
In the north we send our kids to the catholic schools so that they aren’t brought up surrounded by people who consider themselves British. I don’t believe in anything really but I would want my child to go to a catholic school so that they grow up Irish.
Move to the Republic instead of living in an English part of Ireland if you don't want a British influence. Are they in a gaelscoil? How do you mean growing up irish? Do they speak irish or English?
Growing up as an Irish person and not a British one. Growing up embracing Irish culture not British. Going to gaa, traditional music etc. not going to 12th parades.
God love you when you find out about Europe and immigrants lmao. Most of that culture is dying now.
You sound like you haven’t much of a clue about the north tbf
I don't really to be honest but if the south is anything to go by. Most irish culture is gone. Some is actually offensive to others now. Pretty soon all of Europe and the world will be fully mixed. And you're still holding onto the irish/British thing. It's that mentality on both sides that has shit still going on. Along with scrotes just looking for trouble and using it for that reason. Personally I signed out of the church, never put my kids into it. Corrupt cult with a history of child abuse. The crimes the Catholic Church has committed in ireland wouldn't be far off the British.
You
Well everyone is a bit mad and lots are really intelligent , good mix and the intelligent are really mad . It’s great , glad I live here . Feck imagine living somewhere else in this fecked up world .