Meeting foreigners in Ireland

LegacyUser

Hi Folks,
Hope this doesn't offend anyone but I'm looking for advice on where to meet people in Ireland (Dublin really) who are foreigners like myself?
I have a few Irish friends already but I like the diversity of other cultures. I also find that as a Canadian I just don't seem to fit in here with my friends (unless I want to get loaded drunk every weekend and dress like a hooker and go to a club).
In Canada things are much different, women dress much differently and well, the interactions between men and women in pubs/bars is MUCH different to here.
I don't want to leave Ireland as there are things I really like about it but I want to diversify my circle of friends so that I can find people who have a similar cultural background to me...especially people who aren't socially and politically conservative like most of my current Irish circle of friends are (yet they weirdly dress like prostitutes on nights out...what's up with that????)

Can anyone recommend how one would go about meeting folks from other countries who also moved to Ireland? I am feeling increasingly isolated so I'm desperate to find like minded people.

franklyon

The airport?

Seriously though there are not many places where you can meet people from different countries and not run into Irish people at the same time. Maybe try some language exchanges (French/Italian/Spanish are in the Ilac shopping centre library every week) Maybe get a job in a youth hostel?
As for the Irish people you hang out with well not all girls are like that, maybe try hanging out with older ladies who have a bit more self confidence and less likely to be wearing little or nothing on a night out.

Wisco

Canadian eh?
Are you in to any sports? There's an inline/ice hockey club where I live and we have LOTS of foreigners including Canadians, Russians, Czechs, etc, (as an American I get what you mean about not wanting to go to bars and dress like a slag all the time) and it's a good way to get out of the house (and off the couch in my case) too. I know there are clubs in Dublin if you're into that sort of thing.
Settling in here can be tough- took me a few years to finally meet some like minded people that I could really relate too. Don't get me wrong, I sometimes enjoy the Irish style of socializing, but my liver can't handle doing it more than once every few months at most, nor can my wallet :rolleyes:
Good luck-

seachto7

All of the women I know don't dress like hookers on nights out and are liberal minded too. I reckon you need to start hanging around with more like minded people. I think it's the same everywhere. There was an Italian guy I worked with who always said "Tutto il mondo e un paese", my bad Italian spelling aside, kind of means, that "the whole world is like one country", People are people etc...

nyarlothothep

You just have lame friends, not all Irish are there same though the type you describe are certainly numerous.

nickobrien1985

I'm Irish but I have Canadian citizenship, lived in Newfoundland as a kid.

Politically conservative? What the heck you about? What party is Prime Minister Harper from?

What has liberalism brought Canada? - Loads of teenagers who think its cool to be homeless? loss of identity? loads of people smoking dope?

Interesting to see how European nations such as Belgium, Holland, Sweden have been turning their backs on liberalism over the last few years and turning more to the right.

I was delighted to hear the new Dutch govt., decreasing the no. of brothels in the Red Light District (as it run by organised criminals), taking a tough stand on immigration, and tighten up regulation on cannabis cafés.

Oh ya forgot to mention Dave Cameron fine win in the UK last May. Great to see the Tory party giving the middle finger to those never bothered to work or go into training.

The 'right' man marches on!

tenchi-fan

You'll find that a lot of foreigners in Ireland are even more conservative than Irish people.

You haven't mentioned what age you are.. if you're under 23 you can seek out a few college-types who tend to have more liberal attitudes before they enter the real world.

I'm in Toronto and I have to say I find Toronto people difficult. They're too career focused, speaking too loud and too slow, coming across as fake and sounding whiny. Irish people just don't tolerate that nonsense ... maybe that's why you're not fitting in better?

Webmonkey

Have you tried meetup.com. There are a lot of international meet up groups on that in Dublin city.

wylo

In fairness to the OP, shes just pointing out things that alot of us dont acknowledge. The truth is, the majority are the way she describes(not all), but a vast majority.
I lived abroad and I experienced the same as a foreigner(i.e. feeling like im not fitting in culturally), I couldnt wait to meet up with Irish people, have the craic, feel at home again. Theres nothing wrong with that.

wylo

tenchi-fan wrote: »

I'm in Toronto and I have to say I find Toronto people difficult. They're too career focused, speaking too loud and too slow, coming across as fake and sounding whiny. Irish people just don't tolerate that nonsense ... maybe that's why you're not fitting in better?

and heres a great example about what im talking about in my post above.

LegacyUser

Thanks folks for the suggestions. I'll look into them further. I've looked at meetup now and that looks good. Also like the idea of hockey of course!

I didn't mean to offend - it's just that there are many cultural differences here and I find that there is little diversity in Irish society and I'm struggling with that. From the people I meet through work and socializing I just get a bit stifled by the homogeneity of it all. There is an Irish culture, no? I don't think it's wrong to say that there is, nor is it a problem. It's just some of it is not for me.

For instance, I find you get judged here a lot more for what you wear. Home it's perfectly acceptable for a woman to go to the pub in hiking boots, jeans and a sweater on a Friday as opposed to dresses and high heels. If you do that here you are seen as a freak or someone who 'doesn't care about their appearance'??!! That's the kind of homogeneity I'm talking about. It also applies to how they approach different cultures or anyone who is different. In Canada there's an anything goes kind of attitude...much less of a 'normalising' attitude to people. I find that many people I meet are also conservative in terms of a lot of social and political things. That's fine, it's just that I'd like to mix it up with a range of different views...and not the same one over and over. I hope that's clear and not offensive. It just boils down to seeking out diversity.

Thanks.

RoisinDove

advplzandthks wrote: »

Thanks folks for the suggestions. I'll look into them further. I've looked at meetup now and that looks good. Also like the idea of hockey of course!

I didn't mean to offend - it's just that there are many cultural differences here and I find that there is little diversity in Irish society and I'm struggling with that. From the people I meet through work and socializing I just get a bit stifled by the homogeneity of it all. There is an Irish culture, no? I don't think it's wrong to say that there is, nor is it a problem. It's just some of it is not for me.

For instance, I find you get judged here a lot more for what you wear. Home it's perfectly acceptable for a woman to go to the pub in hiking boots, jeans and a sweater on a Friday as opposed to dresses and high heels. If you do that here you are seen as a freak or someone who 'doesn't care about their appearance'??!! That's the kind of homogeneity I'm talking about. It also applies to how they approach different cultures or anyone who is different. In Canada there's an anything goes kind of attitude...much less of a 'normalising' attitude to people. I find that many people I meet are also conservative in terms of a lot of social and political things. That's fine, it's just that I'd like to mix it up with a range of different views...and not the same one over and over. I hope that's clear and not offensive. It just boils down to seeking out diversity.

Thanks.

It's not Ireland. It's the people you hang around with. Sure, there are plenty of the short skirt and heels girls around but there are plenty of girls who aren't like that at all. I always go to the pub in snow boots, jeans and a sweater and rarely wear make-up. Most of my friends are into stuff like climbing, hiking, playing guitar/drums, that kind of thing, and they wouldn't even know what MAC was.

And I think Irish people are a LOT more liberal than most nationalities. You just won't find many people who subscribe to the incredibly patronising 'I'm SO liberal' attitude you find in Canada, or who make annoyingly over-PC remarks. I've been around loads of nationalities and I find Canadians very hard to get along with and very judgemental (which is ironic, as they think they're so openminded). Perhaps part of the problem is your views and expectations?

Wisco

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Squiggler

OP

Maybe you would also find some of Dublin's social spaces of interest. Seomra Spraoi is one that springs to mind. There are others like that too, one in temple bar that I can't think of the name of right now. They cater for a very diverse group of people, are very welcoming and can be a good way to meet people.

I'm Irish, and have lived in Dublin for about 12 years. I've seen a lot of what you describe, but that isn't the whole of the Dublin social scene, just the most visable side of it.

Do you like music? There are several independent regular music nights operating that can be good fun and a good way to meet other people too.

wylo

OP, you need to start going to alternative clubs,not the mainstream ones, thats your problem. Alternative here probably isnt that alternative by your standard so your better off going to them (they are not full of goths and exagerrated emos). Seriously your going to the wrong places. Yes you are right, if you go into most clubs not wearing the standard 'going out uniform' you probably will be judged but not all clubs, theres some fantastic bars/clubs all around the country that have a much more alternative vibe, i.e. decent music(dj playing rock/soul/funk/house/techno as oppose to chart ****e), different dress "code" (women not forced to wear short skirts/high heels)/(men not wearing standard shirt and jeans) and decent atmosphere where people are more chilled out, friendlier and alot of the times less drunk.

I see what your saying, dont get me wrong but you really are going to the wrong places, the way you describe yourself I genuinely believe you will find one or 2 spots that you will LOVE. I wont lie, they are not as common place as other countries but thats simply because of population size. I dont live in Dublin so I cant vouch for places there, but give me a shout if you want the name of a few places around the western half of the country.

wylo

to the people saying Ireland isnt conservative, you really have to go to other countries to realise we are actually quite conservative. It doesnt mean we are bad people, we just havent been as exposed as other countries yet, this will balance off in time. The past 10 years has been our first experience of immigration unlike USA/Australia/Canada, they're countries are built on immigration.

RoisinDove

wylo wrote: »

to the people saying Ireland isnt conservative, you really have to go to other countries to realise we are actually quite conservative. It doesnt mean we are bad people, we just havent been as exposed as other countries yet, this will balance off in time. The past 10 years has been our first experience of immigration unlike USA/Australia/Canada, they're countries are built on immigration.

Where are you comparing Ireland with? You think the USA and Australia aren't conservative?

dub_3

advplzandthks wrote: »

to go to the pub in hiking boots, jeans and a sweater on a Friday as opposed to dresses and high heels

Try some of the pubs that do Trad music (but not in Temple Bar),
The Cobblestone springs to mind.
Heels and dresses would be out of place there.

Also as you like Skating / Ice Hockey, then maybe you would like rollerderby

http://www.facebook.com/dublinrollergirls
These girls might be more your scene than the clubbing types you describe

wylo

RoisinDove wrote: »

Where are you comparing Ireland with? You think the USA and Australia aren't conservative?

those countries, along with alot of European countries (Germany/Holland/France) have massive stretches of areas that are hugely conservative, but also have massive populations of liberal non conservatives. Due to the grand scale of each you could live your life in parts of these countries and never have to deal with over conservative types, whereas Ireland doesnt have quite the exteremes , overall I think it would sway towards the conservative side of things,
You cant deny the OP is right, in the majority of clubs here, if you walked in wearing hiking boots ,jeans and a sweater people would judge you.Im not saying theyd stand around and stare at you, but they would still judge you.What im trying to tell her is that not all places are like that and she must go and find the good/non mainstream places.

Its the first thing I noticed when I got back from living abroad, we hold back, we dont like anything over the top, we dont like massive change, we get personally offended by someone with an over the top haircut, we are not homophobic but we still think it looks weird if two men are walking down the road holding hands.

Ickle Magoo

This is not a discussion on the ins and outs of immigration/emigration.

Please keep replies on topic and helpful to the OP.

Be aware that off-topic and unhelpful posting can earn you a ban from this forum.

Please take the time to read the forum rules in the charter and abide by them.

Many thanks.
Ickle

Wompa1

I hear ya OP. I'm Irish and I struggle with the culture here. I'd rather date women than meet up in a bar and get off. I'm not a big drinker either which doesn't sit well with some of my friends when it comes to doing things together. Plus a lot of 'lads' in Ireland have a pretty bad sense of humor, overly vulgar about women and talkin ****e in general.

I don't think you necessarily need to meet foreigner but maybe join clubs so you meet Irish people with similar interests. You might find a nice Irish out cast to be friends with and I don't mean that as a put down, but not all Irish people are the same, some do have different ideals and socialising skills

UngratefulWhelp

dub_3 wrote: »

Try some of the pubs that do Trad music (but not in Temple Bar),
The Cobblestone springs to mind.
Heels and dresses would be out of place there.

Also as you like Skating / Ice Hockey, then maybe you would like rollerderby

http://www.facebook.com/dublinrollergirls
These girls might be more your scene than the clubbing types you describe

I reckon this is the way to go. The girl does drink, she just doesn't like shovelling it into her - which, to be fair is what a lot of Irish people do.

Apart from the Cobblestone, Foggy Dew and Gypsy Rose down on the Quays would be good spots for this. Hogans might also be an option. There are other nationalities there, just couldn't really say which ones beyond Spaniards, as that's the language I notice most.
POD used to do a Brazilian/Latin club night on SAturdays, it may be still going, but the last time I was there was a year ago.

You might also try Alliance Francaise, the Instituto Cervantes or the Latin American Solidarity Centre. Eastern Europeans, by and large, tend to congregrate at house parties in my experience.

tenchi-fan

advplzandthks wrote: »

For instance, I find you get judged here a lot more for what you wear. Home it's perfectly acceptable for a woman to go to the pub in hiking boots, jeans and a sweater on a Friday as opposed to dresses and high heels. If you do that here you are seen as a freak or someone who 'doesn't care about their appearance'??!! That's the kind of homogeneity I'm talking about.

I don't think wearing the same clothes you wore all week to the pub at the weekend is anything to be proud of. I've been in pubs in Toronto where people did go to some effort to dress up (although they were late 20s/early 30s, so I'm guessing you're in your early 20s?). I know plenty of pubs in Ireland where people go along in hoodies and runners... maybe seek one of those pubs out instead?

advplzandthks wrote: »

It also applies to how they approach different cultures or anyone who is different. In Canada there's an anything goes kind of attitude...much less of a 'normalising' attitude to people. I find that many people I meet are also conservative in terms of a lot of social and political things. That's fine, it's just that I'd like to mix it up with a range of different views...and not the same one over and over. I hope that's clear and not offensive. It just boils down to seeking out diversity.

I have yet to see this "anything goes" attitude. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying Canada.

But everyone plays it safe. No one will come out with something crazy for fear of being ostracised. Everyone is extremely PC. No one makes off colour jokes. In fact, there's very little diversity among people who were born in Canada.

They usually end up telling you about their ethnic background as a way of proving how diverse they are, and that's usually a pretty dull conversation.

To me, it sounds like you're out of your little group of oh-so-diverse friends.
Ireland isn't Canada. They are different countries. If you really want diversity in Ireland, seek out a few African asylum seekers. Or Polish workers. Or Chinese students.