Upside to the recession

Greaney

I heard on the news a couple of days ago that the Central Bank annouced that folk were clearing their debt and credit card bills. I thought this was a positive side to the recession.

Does anyone have any other observations about the recession and some of the more positive things emerging from it? eg; realistic house prices (not there yet!!) and an upsurge in bike use

Free Speech

2nd hand car prices are very low.

LadyMayBelle

Yup second hand car prices have dropped. looking to get myself a nice little motor and there a lot more options out there for less than i thought. woo!

darrenon

i have been hit really hard by the recession but can still see the up side..when people are struggling they can tell who there friends are......I hope this recession will help give the irish back their sense of comminity.also the price of everything in this country was getting out of hand.we all needed a come down.

Xiney

Upside is that, although our income is low, lots of things are cheaper.

Also, I'm hoping the recruitment agency industry dies off forever.

cornbb

I've lost my job, but this means I get to type this from my sunny front garden instead of an office, and I get to spend the afternoon having fun in the sea.

(This is only the silver lining mind, I'd prefer to have a job).

padraig71

Rents have fallen substantially. Not much consolation if you have a mortgage, but great if you never had enough money to dream of actually buying a house…

Gadfly

darrenon wrote: »

i have been hit really hard by the recession but can still see the up side..when people are struggling they can tell who there friends are......I hope this recession will help give the irish back their sense of comminity.also the price of everything in this country was getting out of hand.we all needed a come down.

Well said!

narwog81

its now more socially acceptable to haggle/ bargain with retailers instead of just blindly paying the display price.

Mrs OBumble

The Irish are no longer ashamed to be seen in Lidl/Aldi.

Traffic congestion isn't as bad.

Lots of sales on.

Dunnes have (though only just) started to have some competitively priced things.

More people going to church (may or may not be seen as a good thing!)

Sterling has come down relative to the euro, better prices for those travelling up north.

mikom

JustMary wrote: »

Sterling has come down relative to the pound, better prices for those travelling up north.

??? pound weight ??

m83

I only work a 4 day week now with every Friday off. Fookin love it! The recession has also made me examine my own spendings more critically and even though I'm getting paid less now I have more money than ever at the end of every month. When things turn around again I should be in a fairly healthy financial situation.

darrenon

not that lucky i work for myself and have,nt done anything for 3 months,,,but enjoying the family time

helios12

Has rent really come down? I'd love to hear some examples, particularly in and around the city centre.

m83

Indeed it has. We demanded and got 100 yops of the rent, right in the city centre.

helios12

m83 wrote: »

Indeed it has. We demanded and got 100 yops of the rent, right in the city centre.

Hmm going to have to check that out before signing a new lease.

Xiney

Unless you're moving to a new apartment, why would you sign a new lease?

You don't have to once you've been there over 6 months since your tenancy is protected under Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act (2004).

helios12

Xiney wrote: »

Unless you're moving to a new apartment, why would you sign a new lease?

You don't have to once you've been there over 6 months since your tenancy is protected under Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act (2004).

I'm moving

twinkle_toes

we went to see a 4 bed house on the west side last week, rent 900pcm. after saying we didnt want it the rent dropped and dropped to 700pcm. we didnt take it because of some problems with the house but the moral of the story is haggle like crazy. landlords will always give agencies the price they'd like and the price they'll take so dont be afraid. they havent much choice this weather. see the advertiser? gone down to 1 page of jobs and a million pages of accommodation!

jkmanc1974

Hopefully there will not be as many muppets around Galway City on the Wednesday and Thursday nights of race week this year!!!

Brgds
Johnny

helios12

twinkle_toes wrote: »

we went to see a 4 bed house on the west side last week, rent 900pcm. after saying we didnt want it the rent dropped and dropped to 700pcm. we didnt take it because of some problems with the house but the moral of the story is haggle like crazy. landlords will always give agencies the price they'd like and the price they'll take so dont be afraid. they havent much choice this weather. see the advertiser? gone down to 1 page of jobs and a million pages of accommodation!

Trying a bit of haggling alright, considering the current climate. Still amazes me how many 'bedrooms' a landlord will try and fit in a house in Galway in order to up the rent :rolleyes:.

banshee_bones

yep second hand cars are alot cheaper! my rent also dropped.

minxie

we got our 3 bed rental reduced
from €750 to €550

galwaybabe

minxie wrote: »

we got our 3 bed rental reduced
from €750 to €550

Where is that?

minxie

galwaybabe wrote: »

Where is that?

ballybane....
just said to landlord that we could get a 3 bed if we went a
bit further out of town for less
a week of haggling and hey presto,was dropped

galwaybabe

minxie wrote: »

ballybane....
just said to landlord that we could get a 3 bed if we went a
bit further out of town for less
a week of haggling and hey presto,was dropped

Very good, Well done. I think I'll have to wait til my lease is up for renewal unfortunately but that is exactly the line I was thinking of delivering to my landlord too.

minxie

galwaybabe wrote: »

Very good, Well done. I think I'll have to wait til my lease is up for renewal unfortunately but that is exactly the line I was thinking of delivering to my landlord too.

well you have nothing to lose by asking
the galway advertiser is full of rentals
at the minute bound to be a few bargains to be had...
good luck

JohnCleary

I have no problem haggling when buying things (except in the likes of chain stores/supermarkets etc. obviously) and always used to ask "Is that the best you can do / Can you do any better?" - The upside to the recession is that now when I ask this, I don't get stared at as if I have two heads... they're almost expecting the question

Fighting Irish

For people who were smart and saved some money this recession is great

lol @ debt

JohnCleary

Fighting Irish wrote: »

For people who were smart and saved some money this recession is great

lol @ debt

FACT! I can't wait for this summer and have loads of plans made for as soon as I finish my exams

jautukas87

Renting 4 bed for 3 years @ 800/month, will deffo try to haggle that down.

Fighting Irish

If only you guys always haggled

dougie ward

been working less hours so more time with family and friends,that has to be an upside for a lot of people, i know its hard when you have money worries and a family etc but hopefully in the long run it can help families get closer and take a step back from the rat race!

my tip - buy a tent (half price in argos) and go on the road and enjoy cheap accomodation in hotel ireland!

Greaney

Oh Lads, I'm delighted at the replys here. Here are a few of mine

• More Carboot sales
• More folk using freecycle
• Last time I organised the residents assoc. meeting ( I was the chairperson) no-one turned up bar me and the secretary!!!. They were too busy to care about where they lived. Now the recession's kicked in and more folk have time on their hands, they're getting interested in their community and rolling up there sleeves (best turn out at the meeting last week)
• Budget parties
• Sun holiday prices have plummeted, seriously, check them out
• Back buying second hand, which usually means quality, cos it hasn't broken with the first owner

I'm sure there's more...

Greaney

Up side to recession this Christmas, many of my family agreed not to buy each other usless presents but went out for lunch, visited and went for walks more