Question for anyone in Dublin

esy74

Hey, I'm studying abroad in Dublin next semester, and I wanted to know if anyone could give me any info about the area (what to do, what not to do, etc.). I've been hearing a lot of stuff about the crime being bad there. I'm from New York City and I know a lot of people exaggerate about the crime here, so is that the case? I also read something on the internet where someone said people are racist there. That surprised me because I never heard that before. A friend even told me that there are a lot of Asian people in Dublin (I'm Korean) Is this true? I'm an ignorant American, and anything anyone from Dublin could tell me would be much appreciated. Thanks!

lodgepole

What to do and where to go really depends on where you end up living in Dublin. What college? There's crime here but it's easily avoided with a bit of sense. There's racism here too, but that's easily ignored. The general populace isn't racist, and in general are good at sticking up for anyone who might be getting **** off someone. In my experience anyway.

There is a fairly large Asian community here, though I can't claim to know an awful lot about it. Depending on the size of the college you go to, there may be some kind of society that could help you in that department.

I'm sure all that's been of little use, but if you have more specifics, ask away.

Beruthiel

A friend even told me that there are a lot of Asian people in Dublin (I'm Korean) Is this true?

yes, there are quite a lot as Lodgepole has said, his synopsis is bang on. Like every large city, it has it's good areas and bad. I believe you will encounter ignorant racists anywhere, unfortunately Ireland is no different, but it’s only a small percentage. My b/f is French, has lived in Ireland for 6 years and has had two racist comments in that time. Obviously if you walk around Dublin late at night in a dodgy area then you could encounter trouble. Personally I never have, but I tend to be with someone and know what to avoid. That, I think can be difficult for a foreigner, knowing what places to avoid, etc. You will learn that quickly enough once you get here. I wouldn’t be worried, if you can live in New York, then you will have no problem living in Dublin.
Tell us what college you are going to and perhaps from there we can recommend an area that we would consider safe enough to live in.
I would also recommend that you stick around Boards and keep posting till you get here, we tend to have parties every couple of months and this could be a good place for you to meet people and find out all you need to know about the city.

Borzoi

Originally posted by Beruthiel
My b/f is French, has lived in Ireland for 6 years and has had two racist comments in that time.

Only two, he's well down on his quota then:D


There is a significant Asian population here, but not compared to New York, and I'm not sure to what extent they've a community.

Many are here to learn English and stick with their friends and live together to keep costs down, and so don't really integrate with the rest of society. But there are Asian stores etc.

Crime levels are comparable to NYC, so be street smart and you'll be fine.

Beruthiel

Originally posted by Borzoi
Only two, he's well down on his quota then:D

well, I wasn’t counting the ‘cheese eating surrender monkeys’ comments, as they are always done in jest

BigDaddyKone

I think that if you are coming to Ireland to check out another country and culture it would be better not to hang out in the asian community. This might sound bad but all I am getting at is that they are very introverted community and do not seem to associate with other groups/communities. I have travelled around asia and I have found the people very nice and I am interested in Asian cusine but here in Ireland, I think the general culture of pubs/boozing is not to the general asian communities taste. Then, I would imagine you being a American/Asian might not have all that in common with the Asian communitiy here (i am just speculating here) being westernised yourself?

hedgetrimmer

Well esy, you have started your introduction in a good way. Rumour has it that the boards crowd here are quite nice people

Perhaps you might get along to one of the drinks evenings


In answer to your questions, most cities do have racial difficulties, I would say well publicised but in the minority of the population. Dublin has only opened it's doors to other cultures relatively recently, so I think it is still undergoing a transition period.

I find the city can get a bit rough at night, at about 2am when the late bars empty, and as some people (in any city) look for an excuse for a fight, my advice would be just be aware, try to go out with at least one other person - kinda probably the same things you would say to someone visiting NY.

From my own point of view (even though I am currently in Belgium), welcome to Ireland

Big Chief

i imagine after staying in new york that dublin would be a walk in the park

As for these fights you speak of, i came over here from glasgow over a year and a half ago and in my time here ive seen 2 fights (one was in greystones which is actually in wicklow though?) and the other in Rathmines. Even heard frazers has a bad reputation but i was going up there pretty much alot of celtic matches that were being televised and never seen anything happen.. (dont get me wrong, im not saying it dosent happen, but keep your wits about you and you should be grand ) Infact ive drank in alot of the more of the bad rep places in dublin and never had any problems really, infact the only time where i was jumped/mugged and had a knife put up to my throat for my wallet was when i was walking back home from a pub in D4!! :rolleyes:

Pretty chilled out city usually, mostly have a good laugh and i dont know whether its just some nationalities but usually when people find out im scottish they 'take to me'? (dont mean women or anything, but come up to me and chat away and have a bit of 'craic') they are more than willing to have a great laugh and when i pretend im a tourist and go out with my scotland top on i usually get bought a few beers

all in all, you should enjoy it here i think

edit - ...

Beruthiel

Originally posted by Big Chief
i dont know whether its just some nationalities but usually when people find out im scottish they 'take to me'

and sure why wouldn't they ya big cutie

Victor

Dublin's Asian community is mostly made up of Chinese language students (and various Malaysians, Vietnamese, Pakistanis and Indians, many also students but also or business people / professionals). That said you will still find some Koreans, there is an embassy, so there might be a social club of some kind.

Dublin has a reputation for a lot of small crime - shop lifting, burglary, public drunkeness / street fighting or whatever, but by New York standards has low rates for serious crime. Learn what the average junkie / skanger / scum bag looks like and just avoid them.

The layout of dublin is a bit choatic - think small town that out-grew itself, not big city with regular blocks and sky scrapers. The tallest building in the city in 17 storeys but typically the city centre is 4-6 storeys.

Streets have the nasty habit of changing name every few blocks and having "varients" - there is four different "Liffey Street"s.

Liffey Street
Liffey Street Upper
Liffey Street Lower
Liffey Street West

Names are also reused alot, so be careful when asking for directions. Sometimes they are miles apart

Merrion
Merrion Gates
Mount Merrion
Merrion Square
Merrion Row
Merrion Street
Merrion Road

esy74

Firt off, thanks for all the replies. They were all extremely helpful.

I'm not completely sure where exactly in Dublin I'll be because I'm doing an internship there, not taking classes at a college. But I assume I'll be in Dublin City. Hopefully.

I'm actually pretty disappointed to hear that there are a lot of Asians there because I like being different. -=o] I'm especially disappointed to hear that they have a bad rap there. I don't want people to assume that I'm some close-minded Asian person and not want to get to know me. I'm nothing like that. As for associating with that community, I just wanted to know if it was true that there are a lot of Asians. I definitely dont want to go to Ireland and end up hanging out with a bunch of Asians. I wanna meet Irish people!

Anything else you guys could tell me would be helpful. Thanks again.

-Liz

Victor

Originally posted by esy74
I'm actually pretty disappointed to hear that there are a lot of Asians there because I like being different.

No, no, it's not like that. It's just almost all of Ireland's Asian community live in Dublin (the rest of the country being "backwards" - joke). They still account for only about 1% percent of the population.

Cake Fiend

Dublin is so small that no matter where you're doing your internship, you won't be much more than a bus/train journey from the city centre. There are a lot of Chinese students in Dublin (probably why you heard there were a lot of Asians), not so many Koreans though.

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

The Corinthian

You’ll probably get more hassle from being American than being Korean, TBH...

esy74

All the websites I looked at made it seem like Irish people were really welcoming to tourists and foreigners. I guess they're just bullsh*tting to get more tourists to come. Regardless, I'm still really excited about going. If anyone sees a Korean girl wandering around, looking lost, say hi because that'll be me.

By the way, how are prices there? Cigarettes, drinks, restaurants? Right now, cigarettes in NYC are 7-8 USD a pack (that's like 6-7? Euros), so I'm guessing it can't be as bad there.

ferdi

sorry but 20 smokes will cost you about 5.90euro here and soon you wont be able to smoke in bars etc here, just like NY.

your reading tourist websites, yes they are bullsh!t.

use this website, and checkout what people are saying, you'll get a better understanding of irish people on boards.ie than anywhere else, cause its mostly all real irish people.

good luck.

Victor

Originally posted by esy74
By the way, how are prices there? Cigarettes, drinks, restaurants? Right now, cigarettes in NYC are 7-8 USD a pack (that's like 6-7? Euros), so I'm guessing it can't be as bad there.

About €6 for 20 cigarettes.

Anything from €3.5-€6 for a pint of beer, depending on "coolness" of pub. Very few places have cover charges (some clubs only, no pubs).

€850 a month for a single apartment (45m2 - utilities extra) - you will need to find someone to share with. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?forumid=38

Internet cafés €2.5 - €6/hour.

Hamburger about €1. Big-Mac €2.50(?)

Mars bar €0.65

Litre milk €0.7 - €1

Loaf bread (800g) €0.9 - €1.5

Price wise, restaurants vary from reasonable (€20/head) to stupid.

Bus / train fares are relatively cheap (€.8 - €1.4 for most city journeys) and season tickets are available with some discount (varies depending on usage).

Local phone calls are charged at about €.05 per minute - no free local calls usually. Mobile ("cellular") calls can vary hugely.

esy74

Wow, I thought things might be cheaper there, but they're pretty much the same as New York. -=oP

Any good places to meet people? Since I won't be studying at a college, I won't get a chance to meet other students my age. Clubs/Pubs I should go to?

hedgetrimmer

What kind of music/ club scence are you into esy? We can rattle off some pubs then. Most pubs in Dublin close at 11.30pm, and "late bars" at 2.30am, so don't be expecting a all-night entertainment buzz, sadly :-(

the fnj

Spam removed,

chernobyl is banned for a week.

esy74

wow...that early? It's okay though because i'll be working full time anyway so i'll probably be too exhausted to pull all-nighters.

i'm into anything. i'm pretty open-minded about that sort of thing. i don't care if it's "high class" places or whatever. and i listen to trance, house, and hip hop, so any club's okay with me. i just don't want to end up wandering into some neighborhood where i'll get mugged or something.

tribble

oh yes! - another korean girl!

I haven't blown my chances with all of them then

tribble

tribble

ps - i know you're american but Korea (south obviously) is not that dissimailar to Ireland in that they drink alot (well, more than their respective neighbouring countries) and are ecnomically not polar opposites (wages are similar etc).

You'll have a great time, just socialise (with an s, no stupid american z's) regularly with the student scene and you be sorted:)

tribble

GuanYin

Racism in Dublin has skyrocketed in the past 3 years. It really depends on where you go and who you're with but it can range from innocusous comments to abuse and taunts, especially late at night when the perpitrators are drunk.

Generally on a day to day basis people are friendly and its just the same as the US (my family are from Chicago). On a day to day basis you probably won't notice a thing.

Personally I have an Irish accent at this stage but until I speak I sometimes get a bt of a cold reaction from strangers. At the end of the day, its the culture and foreign language that I think most people Irish people feel uncomfortable with so when they realise you're from the US you will be grand.

Not meant to be offending anyone or tarring all people with the same brush, but apart from gender my situation is pretty much identical to esy74's, so I'm just giving an "in my experience" comment.

esy74

Originally posted by tribble
oh yes! - another korean girl!

I haven't blown my chances with all of them then

tribble

what do you mean "another Korean girl?" I'm guessing one shot you down before? And you're right, I think the Korean nightlife is similar to Ireland's. Among the Asian community, Koreans are known for how much they drink. My relatives (like 40 year-old uncles and aunts) were taking me out and forcing me to drink with them when I went there even though I was underage at the time.

sykeirl, you're Korean also?

GuanYin

Originally posted by esy74

sykeirl, you're Korean also?

Mothers Irish, Father's Korean American.....
Lived in the US before coming here

tribble

what do you mean "another Korean girl?" I'm guessing one shot you down before?

yeah - you could say that...

...a number of times...:p

think I need to aim a notch or two lower. They've all been well outta my league

tribble :horned:

esy74

Hahahahahaha... at least you have the balls to admit it.
I guess if this has happened numerous times, there are actually more Korean people there than people let on. And obviously you're not too close-minded to try to associate with them, so I guess I'm worrying about being a social pariah for nothing.

GuanYin

Originally posted by esy74
Hahahahahaha... at least you have the balls to admit it.
I guess if this has happened numerous times, there are actually more Korean people there than people let on. And obviously you're not too close-minded to try to associate with them, so I guess I'm worrying about being a social pariah for nothing.

Pffft!! girls have it easier

esy74

yea, girls might have it easier, but at least you're half Irish and you've lived there for a good portion of your life. I'm going to have to deal with looking completely different from everyone AND being an uncouth American. Does it get any worse? -=o[

GuanYin

Originally posted by esy74
yea, girls might have it easier, but at least you're half Irish and you've lived there for a good portion of your life. I'm going to have to deal with looking completely different from everyone AND being an uncouth American. Does it get any worse? -=o[

Well I don't look in any way Irish anyway...

and I did work VERY hard to lose my american accent quickly

esy74

hey...what's wrong with an American accent? -=o[

Which poses the question...
I'm sure everyone knows that American's think most European accents are attractive because they're different. Therefore, do Europeans think that American accents are attractive as well? I didn't think so because most Europeans don't seem to like Americans, but my friend went to London a few months ago and she told me a lot of the guys there told her she had a "cute accent." So what do Irish people think?

GuanYin

nothing wrong with it, I just went to school over here, so it was not a good trait to have.

I do't really notice, but then I'm used to both accents

The Corinthian

Originally posted by esy74
I'm sure everyone knows that American's think most European accents are attractive because they're different. Therefore, do Europeans think that American accents are attractive as well?

Most men - European or otherwise - will find any accent attractive if it means it'll get them laid... :rolleyes:

lodgepole

Originally posted by esy74
hey...what's wrong with an American accent? -=o[

Which poses the question...
I'm sure everyone knows that American's think most European accents are attractive because they're different. Therefore, do Europeans think that American accents are attractive as well? I didn't think so because most Europeans don't seem to like Americans, but my friend went to London a few months ago and she told me a lot of the guys there told her she had a "cute accent." So what do Irish people think?

Depends... I have a good friend who grew up in nyc, lived in White Plains and then moved upstate to study and I love her accent. So do the guys over here when she visits... On the other hand, I don't like southern accents at all, I find them off putting.

Victor

Originally posted by esy74
Therefore, do Europeans think that American accents are attractive as well? I didn't think so because most Europeans don't seem to like Americans, but my friend went to London a few months ago and she told me a lot of the guys there told her she had a "cute accent." So what do Irish people think?

The "college girl" accent is great, the "booming obnoxious middle aged tourist who sould have stopped wearing shorts 20 years ago" accent is a real turn off

esy74

Most men - European or otherwise - will find any accent attractive if it means it'll get them laid...

Good point...

Depends... I have a good friend who grew up in nyc, lived in White Plains and then moved upstate to study and I love her accent. So do the guys over here when she visits... On the other hand, I don't like southern accents at all, I find them off putting.

I've got a similar background as your friend. Grew up in NYC and go to college upstate right now. I have a SLIGHT New York/Queens accent. It's barely noticable and you'd have to be from New York to hear it, but when I get drunk, I start tawking like this. That's haw us New Yawkers tawk. Don't worry, it looks worse than it sounds.
By the way, ditto on the whole Southern accent thing. I don't know how people could possibly think they're cute.

vibe666

Originally posted by esy74
hey...what's wrong with an American accent? -=o[

I wouldn't worry about the american accent, most of the americans that visit irleand (sorry if i'm stereotyping) are here to find their 'roots' and all turn up with nothing on their minds except harrassing the locals and telling them how their great, great, great, great grandaddy came over from EYER-LAND and how they are looking to finish off their family tree (eek).

so as long as (and unless there's a lot of weirdness going on, i can't see how) you don't do something like that you should be fine.:D