Are we lucky to live in Ireland?

dpe

Liam Byrne wrote: »

We're not comparing with London. We're asking if we're lucky to live in Ireland.

Neither was I - London actually has an excellent transport infrastructure. Way better than the rest of the UK. Ireland's is about the same as anywhere except London, but given the population density that's not actually a bad thing.

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Speeding up ? Where ? Eircom rang me to offer me their NGB and I told them it wouldn't work.....they said it would. They rang back and said "oops, sorry" so I'm stuck with a 2-meg max, and that's 1.5 miles outside a city. God help anyone who's in the sticks.

That's the joy of DSL everywhere. Go to the UK or France (or God forbid, the US) and you'll find a similar problem; I've got friends just outside Bristol and in Derbyshire who get "8 Meg", but really they never get more than 2MB, and probably never will. I know plenty of people in the US who can't get fixed line broadband at all.

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Can't say I've noticed; some things have, but day to day stuff is still far too expensive compared to other countries, and any drops have been negated by taxes (aka levies & charges), fuel increases and decreases in wages.

And yet we still pay less overall tax than most EU countries. Go figure.

Liam Byrne wrote: »

I don't blame you for not wanting to be in the rat-race that is London, but again that's measuring levels of how unlucky we are rather than actually how lucky we are.

Not really. If I want a decent job in most countries I'm probably going to end up in or near the capital city (Germany would be an exception) or a big conurbation. Its not just about London. Paris or Madrid would be as bad or worse. Dublin can be a bit dull compared to those places, but its also way less stressful to live and work in.

Liam Byrne wrote: »

The best bits of Ireland - people helping each other out, leaving doors unlocked as you went out for 5 mins, chilling out somewhere for free, heading to the seaside or forest park without having to fork out €20 in petrol and another €5 for parking - are (generally) all gone, and the worst bits of having to put up with drunken idiots outside a bar or worse - coming back to find your car broken into or keyed, or returning home to find your house broken into - are on the increase, while you then claim from an "insurance" company that will then try to get their payout back over the next 3 years by charging it back in premiums.

You see I still see those things. They were all parts of my youth (in the north of England) that are long gone from the UK, but still persist here. Maybe they're going, but things are still friendlier and more relaxed than in other countries.

Greentopia

ellieswellies wrote: »

Having realised this, I did emigrate, mostly for personal reasons (the OH is a yank) but it's turned out to be a big boost for my career too - the standards of my job here are a lot higher than what I worked at back in Ireland. I moved to the States btw, and while it's great for the most part, it's also very strange at times. There's this constant threat of being sued (because of the type of job I'm in), people are all on millions of prescription drugs, and you can't get sh!tfaced in public or cross a road without getting a ticket or something. And the supermarkets are really weird and people take things VERY literally most of the time. What I miss most about home is going for a pint or 10 with my friends and having the craic in general. But life is grand here for the most part. Mind you, I'm glad to be able to call Ireland home and I'm glad I grew up there. The states is grand but it's nice to have the option to leave whenever you want.

What a downer I think I must be missing the alcohol loving Irish gene when I hear people here talk about drink like that. Not judging you for it and don't get me wrong I like a few myself, just not getting rat a*sed in public.

The prescription drugs thing is weird isn't it? I'm on another American website where I've gotten to "know" a good few people and the number of them on anti-depressants is staggering.
The litigious nature of the U.S. is another thing that would put me off moving there.

Seattle (which is where I assume you are) is supposed to me nice though. One of the more progressive parts of the States by all accounts.

Seattle or Portland Oregon (which I've heard great things about) would be where I'd want to live if I ever did go there.
Glad things are working out well for ya there anyway.

fat__tony

I consider myself lucky not to live in Ireland.

In the cold light of day, the country is in economic ruin.

Ireland is fine to visit but definitely not to live in anymore.

Canada has a vastly superior quality of living.

AudreyHepburn

For all the moaning and complain that goes on I think we are a great little country really.

Sure times are a bit rough right now but as a nation we've come through a hell of a lot worse (wars, famine, occupation, extreme poverty) and here we are still standing.

I wouldn't want to be from anywhere else. What I love the most is that no matter where you are in the world you can always pick your own out in the crowd and there is always a great sense of comraderie there.

Greentopia

DoesNotCompute wrote: »

Meh, Irish girls are quite plain and very moany (not in a good way) compared to most girls from other countries IMHO.

I don't think women complain (if that's what you mean by "moan") any less about things than men here tbh, and I think we complain less than the English for example in my experience of both countries.
And "most girls from other counties" is a rather meaningless phrase. What countries? How many countries have you been to or lived in to compare us with? quantify "most", what does "plain" and "very moany" mean to you?

See the problems with such generalisations?

And I won't begin to talk about the shortcomings of Irish men...

Greentopia

Voodoo_rasher wrote: »

Irish people don't want to know you if you don't have money. Otherwise you're heartily welcome, and come into the parlour.

I don't think like that and I'm Irish, though undoubtedly many do.
We use money in place of class in this country to judge people.
I'd be rather the opposite of what you say though, if someone had obvious wealth I'd wonder what they had to do and who they had to step on to get it. Money changes people.

I have met some honest wealthy people, but they tend not to be the nouveau riche ones who made their money during the so-called celtic tiger.

Doublin

Well I paid €10 for a pouch of tobacco today that has a tax tag from Holland of €3.40... To me it's a small minded, catholic, conservative, utterly corrupt small island. Only the scenery gives it some saving graces..

Zebra3

saywhatyousee wrote: »

Im sure the oil money [in Norway] helped that though.

It has and will continue to do so for generations as the money isn't being pissed away to win the next election as would happen here.

Denmark and Sweden don't have any oil, but still rank up the very top end of best places to live and least corrupt.

Sadly Irish people are by and large too stupid to elect decent politicans.

FF decide that the taxpayer should foot the bill for the actions of corrupt private institutions so the Irish electorate think the best thing to do is get rid of them and vote in FG who have the same policies. :rolleyes:

Morons. :mad:

The King of Moo

Greentopia wrote: »

I don't think like that and I'm Irish, though undoubtedly many do.
We use money in place of class in this country to judge people.
I'd be rather the opposite of what you say though, if someone had obvious wealth I'd wonder what they had to do and who they had to step on to get it. Money changes people.

I have met some honest wealthy people, but they tend not to be the nouveau riche ones who made their money during the so-called celtic tiger.

I think that was a problem that came with the Celtic Tiger, many people became very class conscious, but the only way they could try to determine class was with money. Like you say, there are many honest rich people, and there's honest people across the social spectrum.
But I saw so many people suddenly become very obvious in the way they deliberately flaunted their wealth, in silly ways like buying property abroad just for the sake of it, and never neglecting to tell you about it.

superbad50

most the women in ireland have hairy armpits. much prefer the foregn women

goat2

Cú Giobach wrote: »

The 1755 and 1761 Tsunamis in Ireland
Earthquakes In Ireland and the UK
Oídhche na Gaoithe Móire (Night of the big wind)
Winter of 2010–2011 in Great Britain and Ireland
Never say never.

thank you, i found that interesting,

Helix

Greentopia wrote: »

the number of them on anti-depressants is staggering.

crazy isnt it

in ireland we just commit suicide as men in our 20s instead

Liam Byrne

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Speeding up ? Where ? Eircom rang me to offer me their NGB and I told them it wouldn't work.....they said it would. They rang back and said "oops, sorry" so I'm stuck with a 2-meg max, and that's 1.5 miles outside a city. God help anyone who's in the sticks.

Holy shlt... Really? Stuck with just 2megs broadband on your laptop? God, you live in an absolute shlthole. I don't know what the rest of the world were moaning about.

Greentopia

Liam Byrne wrote: »

The best bits of Ireland - people helping each other out, leaving doors unlocked as you went out for 5 mins, chilling out somewhere for free, heading to the seaside or forest park without having to fork out €20 in petrol and another €5 for parking - are (generally) all gone, and the worst bits of having to put up with drunken idiots outside a bar or worse - coming back to find your car broken into or keyed, or returning home to find your house broken into - are on the increase, while you then claim from an "insurance" company that will then try to get their payout back over the next 3 years by charging it back in premiums.

We lost our way during the "Celtic Tiger" years, and it sickens me.

Well I think one good thing to have come out of the mess we're in is I find more people have time now to stop and chat or to give something back to their community. I agree we definitely lost something very precious in losing our strong sense of community during the "good" times, and anti-social behaviour, public drunkenness etc makes life unbearable or a lot of people here.

Some examples:
Since I moved to Arklow 7 years ago I've had my top window smashed for no reason whatsoever when someone lobbed a full milk bottle through it from the opposite side of the road at 3 o clock in the morning.

I've been shouted at/intimidated by drunken yobs going home after dark.
I've had teenagers block my path and intimidate me as I went to the local supermarket in broad daylight.

My ex has had his car that's parked outside his house bashed and dented numerous times/ found bags of chips smeared on the windscreen.

A car was set on fire in the car park next door to him one night, just for the hell of it.

He's been knocked unconscious by a scumbag because he dared to ask him (politely) to move out of his drive-way (and the guy got away with it).

His (and my former) shop keeper neighbour was brutally murdered last year-got a knife through the heart by scum who robbed his shop.

I could go on. Nothing like that EVER happened to me or my friends when I lived in Sweden (and Sweden is a very PC place, so it's not PCness that's the underlying problem).
Can't wait for the day I move out of Arklow to the country away from people tbh.

Clareboy

Neither was I - London actually has an excellent transport infrastructure. Way better than the rest of the UK. Ireland's is about the same as anywhere except London, but given the population density that's not actually a bad thing. ( Quote )

I have travelled widely throughout the UK using public transport and I have to say that public transport in all parts of the UK is light years ahead of this country. Even on remote Scottish islands, the are excellent and frequent bus, ferry and air connections. There are large parts or Ireland, where public transport is non-existant. There is no comparision between public transport here and in the UK.

beano345

Liam Byrne wrote: »

You're joking, right ?

The transport "system" is pathetic.
Crime and anti-social behaviour are at a level that belies the fact that 20 years ago a single murder would have been news for weeks, and no-one wants to challenge the PC crap that ha led to this
Communications services are chronic and overpriced.

Prices are too high, reducing everyone's quality of life, and there are very few truly "public" facilities at which you're not charged a small fortune for parking, food, etc......

have to agree,in australia they have public barbeques in the parks and most green areas that are free to use and are looked after.you just could'nt have them here(apart from the weather) they would be absolutely wrecked,have empty beer cans and joint butts all around them.in saying that their is nothing for the young people to do here apart from congregate in gangs, sit on walls or underage drinking.

Greentopia

The King of Moo wrote: »

But I saw so many people suddenly become very obvious in the way they deliberately flaunted their wealth, in silly ways like buying property abroad just for the sake of it, and never neglecting to tell you about it.

I felt more sorry for people like that as they bought into a lie. The whole property mania passed me buy thankfully. Even if I had the money then to buy there's no way I would have. Anyone with half a brain could foresee what was coming down the road. Though I understand the desire to own a home of your own.
Renting for me has always been the better option for many reasons up til now anyway.

Greentopia

superbad50 wrote: »

most the women in ireland have hairy armpits. much prefer the foregn women

:D

The King of Moo

Clareboy wrote: »

Neither was I - London actually has an excellent transport infrastructure. Way better than the rest of the UK. Ireland's is about the same as anywhere except London, but given the population density that's not actually a bad thing. ( Quote )

I have travelled widely throughout the UK using public transport and I have to say that public transport in all parts of the UK is light years ahead of this country. Even on remote Scottish islands, the are excellent and frequent bus, ferry and air connections. There are large parts or Ireland, where public transport is non-existant. There is no comparision between public transport here and in the UK.

Agreed, I lived in Scotland and was amazed that you could expect buses to be on time, and they even had electronic displays to tell you when the next bus would arrive (though on a weekday you'd never have to wait more than ten minutes).
Though as a Galwegian who's spent a good bit of time in Dublin, I also think there's a difference between transport in Dublin and the rest of the country, at least in terms of buses. Dublin Bus might not be perfect, but they seem fairly reliable in terms of punctuality and I think some stops have the electronic displays they have in the UK.
In Galway city the buses are a nightmare. There's one bus that's fairly reliable as it goes to an area that's boomed in population recently and it's a busy route. But with the rest, you can never guess when the buses will show up. You just arrive at the stop and might have to wait an hour for a bus. The timetable seems to be meaningless, and the bus is no use for getting to work in the morning as it might leave before the scheduled time or arrive a lot later.

The King of Moo

Greentopia wrote: »

I felt more sorry for people like that as they bought into a lie. The whole property mania passed me buy thankfully. Even if I had the money then to buy there's no way I would have. Anyone with half a brain could foresee what was coming down the road. Though I understand the desire to own a home of your own.
Renting for me has always been the better option for many reasons up til now anyway.

There still seems to be an incredible pressure on people in this country to buy houses rather than renting. I don't know if it existed before the boom, but I know a few people who got very close to 100% mortgages just out of pressure they felt to own a house, and now they're faced with massive repayments they struggle to pay. It seems to be an Irish thing, most people I know from other countries say they don't find that pressure in their home countries.

Greentopia

Helix wrote: »

crazy isnt it

in ireland we just commit suicide as men in our 20s instead

Hard to read tone sometimes on the internets but if it's sarcastic- I know that's the case and not saying it's worse to be on anti-depressants than have young men commit suicide. Of course not.
Anti-depressants have a place in treating depression-I was on them myself for 6 months when I went through a bad patch- but it does seem like vast numbers of Americans are over-medicated.

One problem doesn't negate or lessen the reality or seriousness of the other. Obviously both need addressing.

Clareboy

Greentopia wrote: »

I felt more sorry for people like that as they bought into a lie. The whole property mania passed me buy thankfully. Even if I had the money then to buy there's no way I would have. Anyone with half a brain could foresee what was coming down the road. Though I understand the desire to own a home of your own.
Renting for me has always been the better option for many reasons up til now anyway.

The tragedy is that we will all end up paying dearly for the great Irish building and property boom even if we did not actually take part in it.

Nolanger

Johnny D. Mudd wrote: »

I have seen people I know get into confrontations with a Spaniard because of some percieved slight. Same with some Germans too I'm afraid. I don't see this level of snobbishness too much in Ireland.

Spain/Germany have a proper class system. All we have are scumbags and the middle-class.

Greentopia

The King of Moo wrote: »

There still seems to be an incredible pressure on people in this country to buy houses rather than renting. I don't know if it existed before the boom, but I know a few people who got very close to 100% mortgages just out of pressure they felt to own a house, and now they're faced with massive repayments they struggle to pay. It seems to be an Irish thing, most people I know from other countries say they don't find that pressure in their home countries.

I think it did exist but just way more people could indulge their property owning inclinations when the banks started throwing money at them during the boom.
A mate of mine has a 100% mortgage on an apartment in the complex here where I'm renting.
She knows it's worth probably half what she bought it for a few years ago and that coupled with the fact that negative equity means she can't move for god knows how many years so it's a sickener of course, but she sees it as her home and it's a nice apartment so as long as she holds onto her job and keeps up the mortgage payments she's fine.
That's the only way to keep your sanity in cases like that I'd say, to think of it like that.

That pressure to own definitely doesn't exist in most other European countries that I know of anyway. Home ownership might be an aspiration for some but it's not the obsession it is here and they're happy to buy when they can put a sizeable downpayment down.
Indeed that's what banks demand in countries like Germany for example.

But then you can see why lots of people want to own when you go into the reasons behind it- historical inequities and displacement from the land, lack of security of tenure for renters here, the general sub-par standard of accommodation for rent, rent being in many cases more expensive than mortgages up until now, lack of availability of apartments built for families not just singles, as there are in other European countries, and so on.

Greentopia

The King of Moo wrote: »

Agreed, I lived in Scotland and was amazed that you could expect buses to be on time, and they even had electronic displays to tell you when the next bus would arrive (though on a weekday you'd never have to wait more than ten minutes).
Though as a Galwegian who's spent a good bit of time in Dublin, I also think there's a difference between transport in Dublin and the rest of the country, at least in terms of buses. Dublin Bus might not be perfect, but they seem fairly reliable in terms of punctuality and I think some stops have the electronic displays they have in the UK.
In Galway city the buses are a nightmare. There's one bus that's fairly reliable as it goes to an area that's boomed in population recently and it's a busy route. But with the rest, you can never guess when the buses will show up. You just arrive at the stop and might have to wait an hour for a bus. The timetable seems to be meaningless, and the bus is no use for getting to work in the morning as it might leave before the scheduled time or arrive a lot later.

The local bus service here in Wicklow is not much better. The expressway service to and from Dublin that passes through Arklow is ok and that suits me fine going to Dublin or Waterford, punctual enough even though it could be more regular, but try getting back from Wicklow town without having to spend hours killing time there until the next one comes along using the local service. Nightmare.
Train services are just as bad.

Greentopia

Clareboy wrote: »

The tragedy is that we will all end up paying dearly for the great Irish building and property boom even if we did not actually take part in it.

True. We already are.

softmee

gcgirl wrote: »

Some times we whinge and moan about Ireland the only thing id like would be cost of living a little bit cheaper and i wish that people who deal with customers on a face to face basis learn some basic proper customer service and smile a bit more

You should try to live in Poland and pay the same as here for petrol, but earn in a month what average irish person earns in a week. :pac: Yes, you are lucky, i wish i could live the same life in my own country.

-and its not only this, irish people are very possitive, open and have great sense of humour which my own nation including myself sometimes should learn from you.

(and the ocean, guiness and sea food)

Zebra3

Greentopia wrote: »

Some examples:
Since I moved to Arklow 7 years ago I've had my top window smashed for no reason whatsoever when someone lobbed a full milk bottle through it from the opposite side of the road at 3 o clock in the morning.

I've been shouted at/intimidated by drunken yobs going home after dark.
I've had teenagers block my path and intimidate me as I went to the local supermarket in broad daylight.

My ex has had his car that's parked outside his house bashed and dented numerous times/ found bags of chips smeared on the windscreen.

A car was set on fire in the car park next door to him one night, just for the hell of it.

He's been knocked unconscious by a scumbag because he dared to ask him (politely) to move out of his drive-way (and the guy got away with it).

His (and my former) shop keeper neighbour was brutally murdered last year-got a knife through the heart by scum who robbed his shop.

I could go on. Nothing like that EVER happened to me or my friends when I lived in Sweden (and Sweden is a very PC place, so it's not PCness that's the underlying problem).
Can't wait for the day I move out of Arklow to the country away from people tbh.

All those events have happened since YOU moved to Arklow?

Conicidence I think not!!!

Greentopia

Zebra3 wrote: »

All those events have happened since YOU moved to Arklow?

Conicidence I think not!!!

Hey! what are ya trying to say?! :P

PseudoFamous

Greentopia wrote: »

Hey! what are ya trying to say?! :P

Well, despite living in Arklow myself, it's a little bit unfortunate that I can tell exactly where you live by that fairly vague description.

However, something tells me that you're actually very unlucky in your experience of the town. I know people who've lived there for years and haven't had a bad experience yet.

Of course, it only takes one scumbag to ruin it for everyone.

Also, the bus service to Dublin and Waterford is very frequent, at least once an hour in both directions (Just get a connection at Rosslare).