Damp dismal depressed - welcome to Ireland 2008

mike65

Its (semi) official - Ireland is the craphole of developed western Europe (and worse than Poland too!).

from rte.ie

Ireland has come last in a study of quality of life, according to U-Switch, a British service comparison website.

Despite having one of the highest average income in Europe, it comes bottom in terms of quality of life issues.

Spain and France are at the top of U-Switch's European Quality of Life Index.
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People in Ireland and Britain have to pay high prices for fuel, food and other essentials, while having among the shortest holidays, latest retirement age and lowest life expectancy, according to the survey of ten European countries.

The study assessed 19 factors affecting quality of life, ranging from income and working conditions to healthcare, education and cost of living.

Britons have an average net income of more than £35,000 sterling (€44,000) a year, about £10,000 more than the European average, while Ireland comes second on more than £29,000 (€36,600).

But they pay between 6-18% more for fuel and 49% more for gas, not to mention spectacularly high housing costs. Ireland's gas bills are more than twice the European average.

At work, Ireland comes worst in terms of retirement age, with an average of 64.1 years, followed by Britain on 63.2 years, while life expectancy is 78.1 years and 78.9 years respectively, the lowest barring Italy.

At the other end of the scale, Spaniards have the lowest average income at £16,800, but low taxation and cheaper essential goods prices put them at the top of the overall quality of life indicator.

France comes second, notably benefitting from the longest holidays in Europe at 40 days and the second-lowest retirement age at 58.9 years, just later than Poles who retire at 58.4 years old on average.

1. Spain
2. France
3. Germany
4. Netherlands
5. Denmark
6. Sweden
7. Italy
8. Poland
9. UK
10. Ireland

and we have the fewest hours of sun as well (but you knew that).

Back in the good old days( 2004)

Mike.

zuutroy

I think I'd believe the UN over U-Switch in fairness!

Sherifu

Feels like a recession. :pac:

ntlbell

mike65 wrote: »

Back in the good old days( 2004)

When men wore pink and lemon shirt's and the girls sat in toni and guy sipping mocha's

I remember them well...

Bring back the 80's ftw

KTRIC

Hello from sunny Munich

Pighead

It's better this way. Most Irish people have horrible teeth and look terrible when they're smiling. The hungdog look sits on our shoulders much much better.

Anyway Mike these surveys are all a bit rubbish really aren't they? Pighead knows for a fact that he's at least 20% happier than he was in 2005. And chances are, you are too. Instead of damp dismal and depressed let's be delighted, delirious and drunk with happiness.

Steve_o

U-Switch?? I'm gonna go with the UN one i think... I also agree with Pighead i'm happy and content...and a little bit drunk nowadays!

Wertz

Jesus talk about swings and rounndabouts....why it was only 2 yrs back we were top spot of some of these surveys for standard of living and such.
Meh, I'm perfectly happy if not ecstatic...I'd be even happier if I'd some work to go to, but f*ck it, there'll be plenty of time for work when I'm 70...

pickarooney

40 days holidays in France? Does that include strikes and sick leave? Cause I'm getting ripped off by 15 days if not.

Note to self: whip unmotivated colleagues into striking frenzy.

I'm pretty sure petrol prices in Ireland are on the low end of the European scale, which leads me to believe this is bollocks.

Steve_o

pickarooney wrote: »

I'm pretty sure petrol prices in Ireland are on the low end of the European scale, which leads me to believe this is bollocks.

+1

L1011

I'm more depressed than two years ago but thats solely because its harder to get my precious precious Irn Bru than it used to be....

Blisterman

That pole's a load of crap
How does having a lower retirement age make any difference to quality of life?

It only makes any difference to people between the lowest retirement age in Europe and Ireland's retirement age, which is a very small minority of people.

Also, does retiring really improve anyone's quality of life? I'd be bored out of my head, if I retired.

Wertz

There's a train of thought that reckons people who retire earlier die younger, something to do with lack of place and sense of duty or that...

Pompey Magnus

Wertz wrote: »

There's a train of thought that reckons people who retire earlier die younger, something to do with lack of place and sense of duty or that...

I heard this before alright, but not according to this study, we retire the latest and die the earliest. What exactly have we going for us?

Trev M

Pighead wrote: »

It's better this way. Most Irish people have horrible teeth and look terrible when they're smiling. The hungdog look sits on our shoulders much much better.

Anyway Mike these surveys are all a bit rubbish really aren't they? Pighead knows for a fact that he's at least 20% happier than he was in 2005. And chances are, you are too. Instead of damp dismal and depressed let's be delighted, delirious and drunk with happiness.

Im voting Pighead in the next election. . . . he's definitely a pint half full kinda head.

SimpleSam06

Aaahahhaha, this is just a pile of Brits upset the Ireland got the highest quality of life, as opposed to the dear ould yuk. I'll be trusting the economist for my results, if its all the same.

What a load of todger.

Terry

So now we're 10th in the world instead of first?*
10th out of almost 200 countries is good enough for me.




*I'm quite aware it was a poll of European countries, but Europe overall has a better quality of life than the rest of the world.

Latchy

To go from the top to 10th place in 4 years is some drop .It's only a stat to take with a pinch of salt unless we go back to the grim 80s again .

SimpleSam06

latchyco wrote: »

To go from the top to 10th place in 4 years is some drop

We didn't, this is some nothing publicity group. The original quality of life estimates were done by the Economist.

Latchy

SimpleSam06 wrote: »

group. The original quality of life estimates were done by the Economist.

A more relibable source for sure

mike65

Dissapointed to see so much denial here - look if this is not proof of our impending penury what is? Think of Chloe and Aoife!

Mike.

colly10

It's bollox tbh, ye stuff is more expensive but we get paid quite a bit more. I remember chatting to a Polish lad and he was saying that over here ye pay for all the essentials and still have a load left to go on the beer where as when he was at home he could just afford the essentials.
He also said that it was hard to get a job over there (at the time) even with a degree and that it was much easier to get a job over here.
I know things are going downhill lately but lets not get carried away. The only thing that ****ty about living here is the weather

Edit: I remember going on some website and you enter your annual wage and it tells you how you compare to the world average. A lower than average Irish wage will put you in the top 4% in the world. If you earn a grand a year that will put you in the top half, Irish people just like to moan

SimpleSam06

mike65 wrote: »

Dissapointed to see so much denial here - look if this is not proof of our impending penury what is? Think of Chloe and Aoife!

Mike.

Denial of what? I don't see anything here even worth discussing tbh. Also what does some overpriced developer dropping a golf club deal have to do with the quality of life in Ireland? Do you measure quality of life by your proximity to a golf club?

mike65

SimpleSam06 wins todays prize for straight faced literalism.

Like I give a fvck about a golf club and its 'impovrished' membership. :pac:

Mike.

SimpleSam06

mike65 wrote: »

SimpleSam06 wins todays prize for straight faced literalism.

Whats the prize?

colly10

mike65 wrote: »

Dissapointed to see so much denial here - look if this is not proof of our impending penury what is? Think of Chloe and Aoife!

Mike.

It's a step back from a huge boom though (just cause were at our peak doesn't mean things are bad), it's not like people a sewing patches over holes in our clothes again. If Poland really has a better standard of living then we would be going there to work rather than the other way around.
Things are getting worse (but thats doesn't mean really bad, just worse than it was)

mike65

SimpleSam06 wrote: »

Whats the prize?

A correspondence course studying dry humour!

Mike.

SimpleSam06

mike65 wrote: »

A correspondence course studying dry humour!

Mike.

Thanks. Still in its original packaging, is it?

Terry

SimpleSam06 wrote: »

Thanks. Still in its original packaging, is it?

Comes with this.

SimpleSam06

Terry wrote: »

Comes with this.

Brilliant. See, I don't need that course after all.

mickoneill30

colly10 wrote: »

It's bollox tbh, ye stuff is more expensive but we get paid quite a bit more. I remember chatting to a Polish lad and he was saying that over here ye pay for all the essentials and still have a load left to go on the beer where as when he was at home he could just afford the essentials.
He also said that it was hard to get a job over there (at the time) even with a degree and that it was much easier to get a job over here.
I know things are going downhill lately but lets not get carried away. The only thing that ****ty about living here is the weather

Absolutely. I lived abroad where everything was a lot cheaper. Including my wages (for a similar job to what I'm in now). At the end of the day my standard of living was pretty much the same as here (except for the weather). It's dead easy to go abroad and look at how cheap everything is and say it's brilliant. Try working there for a while to really be sure.

Terry

colly10 wrote: »

It's bollox tbh, ye stuff is more expensive but we get paid quite a bit more. I remember chatting to a Polish lad and he was saying that over here ye pay for all the essentials and still have a load left to go on the beer where as when he was at home he could just afford the essentials.
He also said that it was hard to get a job over there (at the time) even with a degree and that it was much easier to get a job over here.
I know things are going downhill lately but lets not get carried away. The only thing that ****ty about living here is the weather

Edit: I remember going on some website and you enter your annual wage and it tells you how you compare to the world average. A lower than average Irish wage will put you in the top 4% in the world. If you earn a grand a year that will put you in the top half, Irish people just like to moan

dey dook our jewbs.
They really did though.

Underpriced me out of the market.

I'll just get training in something else.

Claire121

Edit: I remember going on some website and you enter your annual wage and it tells you how you compare to the world average. A lower than average Irish wage will put you in the top 4% in the world. If you earn a grand a year that will put you in the top half, Irish people just like to moan

That's pointless though, because it's relative to the cost of living. I think Ireland is a really expensive place to live for a lot of people. I barely have anything left every month after paying rent, bills and food so the fact I'm in the top 4% of the world doesn't mean I'm rich. My flatmate is from South Africa and said the wages there are low but at the same time, it's possible for a waitress or someone on a low salary to buy a house, whereas here it's damn near impossible. She's 33 with a good job and renting with strangers.

I lived in Spain for while and the salaries are low but the cost of living in insanely cheap. I used to go out with a fiver in my pocket and get several rounds of drinks and tapas. Cinema tickets were about 4 euro, a big basket of good quality food 10 euro, you could get a three course meal for a fiver. It was much easier to go out and socialise with hardly any money, whereas here if you're broke you have very little choice but to stay in and watch TV. I went for a burger and to see a film with a friend last night, the whole thing ended up costing over 30 euro! That's just ridiculous to me. I think a lot of normal activities are out of reach for a lot of people here. People say 'well you can shop at Lidl, not go out, walk everywhere, eat leftovers all week' but that's hardly a great quality of life is it? That's the point. In Spain you can live a lot better with a lot less money.

entropi

Wasnt Ireland placed 2nd behind Denmark earlier during the year in some other study? This new one is a load of crap tbh, although it has some points that are valid

Steve_o

Master of Nothing wrote: »

Wasnt Ireland placed 2nd behind Denmark earlier during the year in some other study? This new one is a load of crap tbh, although it has some points that are valid

Basically the food price and the holidays are good points the rest is b*ll*cks!!

SimpleSam06

Claire121 wrote: »

I lived in Spain for while and the salaries are low but the cost of living in insanely cheap.

You'll find the same thing in a lot of third world countries. Food, beer, smokes, the basics are cheap and easy to afford. Electronics, cars, anything modern is out of reach of the average person. On the whole I'd rather have it the Irish way.

Nolanger

2008 is a great year for Ireland:

• A new recession
• Failed to qualify for the Euro 08 football
• We rejected Lisbon Treaty
• Were a joke in the Eurovision

and we still have the Olympics to look forward to

MissHoneyBun

:(:(:(:(

Not comin in here no more

Jumpy

I understand all the Irish defending the country, but as an outsider I can see the quality of life here flowing down the plughole.
Loved it when I arrived 8 years ago, not my favorite place anymore.