Do North-West residents really appreciate the lifestyle ?..

Paddy20

It seems to me that people in the North-West do not fully appreciate the quality of life we enjoy. Away from city pollution, traffic problems,extreme violent social problems,etc,etc.

I truly believe that we who are natives, or those who have settled here. Have `something special that we should be grateful for, and I do sympathise with the those experiencing problems.

But do they compare with the problems of city dwellers ?. Personally I think not.

Are we better off, happier, safer, in the North-West ?....What is your view !

P. :cool:

smashey

Don't forget the price of houses in comparison to the rest of the country. I'm with you here Paddy.

Culchie

Just returned after 15 years away in Europe and Dublin .... love it !

Setting up my own business, building my own house, yada yada

Got to say Dublin was good to me as well though, as were Dublin people..... just time to move on.

Paddy20

Culchie wrote:

Just returned after 15 years away in Europe and Dublin .... love it !

Setting up my own business, building my own house, yada yada

Got to say Dublin was good to me as well though, as were Dublin people..... just time to move on.

Welcome home Culchie,

Hope everything is working out, as having come home myself in 87, it was not easy but it has proved worthwhile, as I am now Back where I belong

P. :cool:

il gatto

House prces aren't all that reasonable. I don't think most people know how nice the North West is as they've not expirienced any other way of life. I haven't lived elsewhere, but I hate cities (and large towns for that matter) so I appreciate living here.
You have to weigh up the pros against the cons though. We may have clean air, less traffic, less crime, but there's a flipside. If you, or someone close to you becomes seriously ill, chances are, you'll end up traipsing up and down to Dublin to visit them. If you want to see a concert or a big football match, you need to go to Dublin. Cities have better public transport, better shops and a vibrant social scene every life of the week. These are things that we, living in the sticks, are used to not having. Many city dwellers wouldn't live without their many amenities. We do without many things to enjoy the rural lifestyle, and conversly, city dwellers do without many of the things we enjoy. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.

Paddy20

I did live in a lage city for a long time, but home is where the heart is, and in my case it is Donegal
P.

Carrickman

Have to agree with you Paddy, I've been living up in Dublin now for nearly 7 years and would love to move back up (bought a house in Carrick last year so go up nearly every weekend), when I moved up here the craic was great before the prices on everything shot up (I blame the €uro) and traffic is now mental here as well, but not much work in the SW area this weather that would suit so I will have to stick it out until somthing comes up.

Paddy20

Carrickman wrote:

Have to agree with you Paddy, I've been living up in Dublin now for nearly 7 years and would love to move back up (bought a house in Carrick last year so go up nearly every weekend), when I moved up here the craic was great before the prices on everything shot up (I blame the €uro) and traffic is now mental here as well, but not much work in the SW area this weather that would suit so I will have to stick it out until somthing comes up.

I am sorry to here about your predicament, when I moved home from London in 1987. It was difficult to re-adjust my lifestyle.

I gave up a lot materially to come home, but I do not regret it in any way.

Many of my lifelong friends have also moved home recently, and for them it has proved to be a traumatic experience, but I still believe it is better to be - back where you belong -

`P. :cool:

Gillie

Happy in Sligo. Tonnes to do. Wouldn't move anywhere!

Just look at what the poor buggers in the east have to put up with.
M50, Dodgy bus service. A couple of hours commute!
Not worth it!

retalivity

done 4 years in dublin - hated it.
Just finished my first year in Letterkenny - Loving it.

And no plans to leave...

jimmycrackcorm

I've been up in dublin now for more than 6 years. What I found was that when I lived up in the north West, I had a salary which precluded me from buying a house, yet after I moved to the big smoke, I could afford to buy a house at double the price because of the higher salary.

Also in terms of jobs, there is greater mobility in the capital. Say I were to move back and take a job in IT back home in Donegal. It something happened then what use would having a cheaper house be with no money to pay the mortgage?

While people always mention the dublin traffic, it must be remembered that not everyone has a huge commute. Mine is only 15 minutes or so. If I had to go into the city center, I have bus every ten minutes going past my door with a bus lane almost all the way into the city centre. And there are a fair few people commuting between towns in the north west also. E.g I have a relative with a daily commute from Letterkenny to SLigo - no Luas there.

If I want to go out mid-week here, there's a lot more happening. Also there are far more hot Polish chicks up here.

JoeyJJ

Living in Dublin a couple of years now, while I find it OK I could never settle up here, not just because of price of housing etc, childminding, commuting etc but its nice knowing you can pop home at the drop of a hat. Once we get married next year we will be looking to move back to the west.

So trying to get a job in IT in the west again won't be an easy task but its where I want to live.

Hey Culchie, miss the Dublin Casino's and the odd Team Event?

Culchie

JoeyJJ wrote:

Hey Culchie, miss the Dublin Casino's and the odd Team Event?

Hey Joey .... It's the only thing I miss.

I play in the local though and am killing the game there against the newbs, so it's profitable:p

Will start to frequent Sligo casino soon though, so that's all the ex-Dublin bases covered then.

byte

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

E.g I have a relative with a daily commute from Letterkenny to SLigo - no Luas there.

:eek:

I thought my Commute between Letterkenny and Donegal Town daily was bad enough, but that's one serious commute!

il gatto

My neighbour commutes from Sligo to Castlebar every day. He gets up at six and leaves at half past. I also know a guy whose mother went back to college as a mature student, and she commuted to Galway every day.
That's a problem with the North West. The I.T.s are geared for engineering and business courses, and if a school leaver wants to do law, medicine, arts etc., you've no choice but move away from home. I know alot of kids take that opportunity as a chance to get away from home, but alot of people don't want to leave home at seventeen or eighteen, and many people just can't afford the rent, travel and other expenses associated with college. People in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Belfast can attend the top Universities by taking a ten minute bus trip in the mornings.

vesp

Cannot have everything. And the average commute in Dublin is more than 10 minutes.

il gatto

My point was that you can attend University without leaving home. You can live with parents and attend on a daily basis. I didn't suggest you should easy access to everything available in cities. I'm just pointing off another drawback people accept to live in the North West. Like I said before, swings and roundabouts.

nanook

It seems i am not the only one who left home to move to the smoke for a career. About six years ago I left leitrim to start working for a retail company. Before i left i was making good money but i was working 3 jobs and anything up to an 80 hr week.
My job in dublin, at the time, gave me the exact same money but I was on call, so roughly the same hours, but with alot less work.

Now I am in a new job, moved out of dublin but my work takes me to the city when i need to go, i commute on a daily basis, start when i want and return home at the latest 5pm, I usually have to work in the evenings when we put the baby down, but it comes with a price. That price we pay is that we have a nice home, good career prospects BUT never have the chance to even think about moving back to leitrim or even close to leitrim.
If we moved back then we would not have the lifestyle we have become accustomed too, as much as i hate to admit it, the north west can only give you so much.

elshambo

recently returned after 10 years away and cant wait to get away again,
COLD! dull! used to be a mad place, great craic, not anymore, just have to get the money together and off somewhere WARM!
NW still looks nice though, and its got the rovers

Goodluck2me

oh but those city girls!:cool:

jimmycrackcorm

goodluck2me wrote:

oh but those city girls!:cool:

You can't beat a stroll through stephens green at lunchtime on a hot summers day!

muffler

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

You can't beat a stroll through stephens green at lunchtime on a hot summers day!

And you cant beat a pair of binoculars at any beach in Donegal in the Summer

Paddy20

muffler wrote:

And you cant beat a pair of binoculars at any beach in Donegal in the Summer

Or a leisurely stroll through Ballybofey or Stranorlar any time of year, I always meet lifelong friends a few ex- girlfriends and some who were more than just friends.

Where else but at home, nowhere IMHO, It's in the blood and the memories and neighbours, and family relations which nothing in this life can replace. Thank God I am at home where I belong.

P. :cool:

Goodluck2me

i would disagree with that, i live in B&S myself, and its not a patch on dublin it has to be said, i like stephens green/trinity/UCD on a summer day more than a fat kid loves cake...:D

Paddy20

goodluck2me wrote:

i would disagree with that, i live in B&S myself, and its not a patch on dublin it has to be said, i like stephens green/trinity/UCD on a summer day more than a fat kid loves cake...:D

I suppose it depends on your age and life expeiences. I lived abroad for a very long time and loved life in London in the sixties, and my travels further abroad.

However as I became older, I appreciated who I was and where I was from, which in the end proved to be the best choice for me, so I moved home.

Best of luck to you.

P. :cool:

jimmycrackcorm

I definitely notice it is always a few degrees colder in donegal compared to Dublin. I do though really miss nipping down to the beach in Rathmullan on a nice summer evening.

Goodluck2me

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

I definitely notice it is always a few degrees colder in donegal compared to Dublin. I do though really miss nipping down to the beach in Rathmullan on a nice summer evening.

it certainly is, that atlantic air is refreshing in summer though! i doubt it rains as much either, hard to beat those donegal beaches Portsalon need i say more. well i will... voted 2nd Best beach in the world and 3rd best in Europe (differnet poll)

retalivity

ah its no carrickfinn....

ashken

i've been away from Letterkenny for 12 years, dream every day of moving back. donegal has everything to offer. i'm working on moving back, just need good job for the hubster (i'm civil service, so OK). after 5 years on property ladder in dublin/meath, could live nicely at home now mortgage free, god love the celtic tiger! (btw. ive been reading this forum for ages, and I love U paddy20, you're a legend.

muffler

ashken wrote:

btw. ive been reading this forum for ages, and I love U paddy20, you're a legend.

Yeah, hes like a farmer - out standing in his own field

ashken

Only for him, i don't think this forum would be any where near as active, for a long time i've been watching just to see what he has to say, he starts pretty interesting threads, and I know he's caused contreversy in the past which gives him his notoriety, anyway, I still want to move home, letterkenny, best town in the countrry, asbrourne only a second best for me.

muffler

Well as Paddy himself would say - there's no place like home.

Hope you get your wish to get back to the green pastures and by the way welcome aboard

Paddy20

ashken wrote:

Only for him, i don't think this forum would be any where near as active, for a long time i've been watching just to see what he has to say, he starts pretty interesting threads, and I know he's caused contreversy in the past which gives him his notoriety, anyway, I still want to move home, letterkenny, best town in the countrry, asbrourne only a second best for me.

ashken,

What can I say except Many thanks .

P. :cool:

dom40

moved back to se england recently one thing i couldnt get used to again in donegal rain rain rain but i still found the lifestyle quite easygoing compared to here

Paddy20

dom40 wrote:

moved back to se england recently one thing i couldnt get used to again in donegal rain rain rain but i still found the lifestyle quite easygoing compared to here

Goodness, I am sorry to read that the the damned rain drove you back to SE England, while I can understand what you mean, having lived in the warmer & drier climate of SE England for a very long time .

For me, home is home. Maybe it is an age issue ?..

P. :cool:

dom40

yes paddy ive just turned 40 so maybe in afew years the rain may not bother me so much

Paddy20

dom40 wrote:

yes paddy ive just turned 40 so maybe in afew years the rain may not bother me so much

Yep, I can personally guarantee it . Merry Christmas to you and yours.

P, :cool:

dom40

and have agood one yourself paddy

slickmcvic

What's there to appreciate?,
Some people consider its "nice & quiet" up here I think see it as being dead,
Anyone with any sorta education leaves this quagmire and gets a life somewhere else.
Anyone who doesn't buys a car and does laps down some dead village all day.
Ya dont needta be a whole 5 hours from a decent city to get fresh air either,I've got every thing donegal has to offer & i'm only 20min from Dublin.
While the rest of the country's boomin Rural donegals dyin....Whole villages are up for sale pubs,shops,garages the lot!
Can't see things changin much either no matter what transport links they put up we're still gonna be on the periphery of the country and the economic and social gap between the Donegal and the rest just seems to be widening daily.
Wish I could talk more positively about where Im from but unless something economically dramatic happens to the county cant see things gettin any better

jimmycrackcorm

IMHO, what Donegal needs is tourist attractions. Why does Kerry get such a large share of the tourist pie when it is fairly comparable?

nanook

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

IMHO, what Donegal needs is tourist attractions. Why does Kerry get such a large share of the tourist pie when it is fairly comparable?

As long as kerry has jackie healy-raye then it will always be strongly supported by all areas of government.

I see mcdaid is running again, if maybe the NW is going to be supported again, cause if you are relying on a leitrim politician then you are going to be waiting along time.
Leitrim has been seperated into to 2 political battle grounds.

Gareth Austin

I would agree with Paddy, the North West is a superb place to live. Although I do agree that you don't know what you have until you go away. I grew up in Edinburgh and came to live in Ireland about 7 years ago, although it takes a bit of getting used to I love my life here and when people come to visit from Scotland they love the place!

Al lot ask me if I miss Edinburgh, as they say it is beutiful, fantastic city - which it is, and I would have to honestly say I don't. I would rather go up to Glenties for some Music than go to Edinburgh city. I have been in Dublin twice in my years here and I didn't like it as it was so similar to what I was used to in Edinburgh.

The standard of living up here is better than a big city, however it doesn;t suit everyone....My sister hates it here and she is always in a hurry to get back home anytime she visits. She thinks it too wet and too rural.

I think if you look at the amount of 'blowins' coming into the area you have to aknowledge that the North West has something to offer, but sometimes you can't see whats on your doorstep?