Immigrate to the continent

acoc100

Is Ireland the worst country to live in if you have a drinking problem / are a non-drinker?

Sometimes I'm tempted to immigrate to Spain, where tapas bars and cafes are as much a part of the social scene as pubs.

There is a much more easy going vibe and people seem more confident in themselves without the need for copious amounts of alcohal on the continent.

Anyone else tempted the get the hell out of Ireland.

sold

acoc100 wrote: »

Is Ireland the worst country to live in if you have a drinking problem / are a non-drinker?

Sometimes I'm tempted to immigrate to Spain, where tapas bars and cafes are as much a part of the social scene as pubs.

There is a much more easy going vibe and people seem more confident in themselves without the need for copious amounts of alcohal on the continent.

Anyone else tempted the get the hell out of Ireland.

I lived in Spain and Italy for years and Ireland is w a y ahead of them when it comes to drinking, it really is a very sad reflection on our society, it seems to be part of everything, I recently went to a work dinner and just because I did not want to drink until 2 in the morning I was seen as "not wanting some craic" Spain is starting to get a drinking issue with younger generation turning to an increased pressure for nightlife.

For sure there is no need for the drinking culture in Ireland. We could cut our intake by 50% and still be drinking too much. Problem is there are powerful companies and lobbys in Ireland who don't want us to stop drinking.

kieranoduill

I'm a non-drinker myself,
and I think the problem stems from (possibly) our awful weather.
Think back from about the 1800s - to about 1970 in Ireland, in small towns and villages such as Castlebar, Nenagh, Ballybrophy, Oola, there was nothing, literally nothing to do on a wet November's evening. Still there's hardly anything to do in these places except for drink and GAA.
It all became imbedded and acceptable in society.
Oddly, its one thing (apart from child abuse) that the Catholic Church never really came out against.

As for the continent, the Dutch, Belgians, Germans, Swiss do drink a fair amount but nothing in comparison to us. Also you won't be considered an oddball if you don't get hammered on an average Saturday night.

Another thing appealing about the continent, is continental European women who don't behave in unsophisticated drunken manner like British+Irish females.

-lala-

acoc100 wrote: »

Is Ireland the worst country to live in if you have a drinking problem / are a non-drinker?

England is considerably worse....

However, Germany, which I've spent quite a bit of time in and will probably be moving to in a year and a half, has much less of a drinking culture! So I would say, yes, continental Europe is the way to go.

unreggd

I think its the lower drinking age on the continent

Most teens in France and Spain would be introduced to drinking by their parents by having a glass of wine at dinner, very controlled

As opposed to drinking cans in a field here to be a rebel

Then of course [as with smoking] the habit just sticks, then adults drink endlessly without really knowing why

I think anywhere you go you're gna have someone wreckin your buzz, ye just hafta be thick-skinned and firm about it

kieranoduill

On negative aspect of nations like Spain, France and Portugal is that lots of people, particularly women smoke, which is way worse than drink

unreggd

kieranoduill wrote: »

On negative aspect of nations like Spain, France and Portugal is that lots of people, particularly women smoke, which is way worse than drink

Most people here smoke

hinault

For certain, we drink far too much here.

I was in Munich last week and had time to people watch, in the pubs over there.

It quickly became apparent that despite a booming and very busy pub culture, the average German doesn't drink to excess.

There was no one falling out of the pubs, urinating in public, starting fights, shouting abuse.
Yet the pubs were busy and they were full.

You can replicate this across most European cities.

I think the poster who suggested that the weather/facilities here are not great, makes a very relevant point.

mikhail

A few people have mentioned the Germans, which I'm dubious about, because they actually have pretty much the same alcohol consumption per capita as us. Any list like that is usually lead by Ireland, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia and a couple of other usual suspects, depending on exactly how you count it all.

AJ STYLES

well russia is not really europe. i grew up in another european capital city and there did seem more diversity in what people got up to. in ireland social outings revolve around drink.

however underage drinking is a problem right through europe. the finns drink loads of alcohol as well.

there is definetly a corelation between alchohol consumption and climate but a lot of europe has ****e weather for much of the year. i mean spain, italy, south of france are exceptions. ireland doesnt get great summers but we do have long long days so really we shouldnt be any different