Living abroad, What do you miss the most.

InTheTrees

There's a great cafe upstairs at Shannon Airport and I'm usually in there having the full irish within about 20 minutes of my flight landing.

Jude13

I miss the good old bag of chips. Just back from home and due to manflu I only had one bag when I was at home.

My OH tried to convince me that SuperMac's had good chips, I had never been. The lies!!! They are nothing on a good Dublin chipper

Lucena

Living in France here.

The one thing I miss the most is pub culture. I know it often gets a rough ride here on boards (people langered out of their box pissing in doorways and the like) but I think it plays an important role in facilitating social interaction.

Here in France most bars are actually cafés, opening at six or seven in the morning and closing around 7 in the evening. A lot of them generally have as their business model: get four or five smelly old seasoned alcoholics in and keep them drinking all day. There are of course “proper” bars that stay open until around midnight, but these are rare enough, only in larger towns and cities, and generally mostly for a younger crowd (I’m 40 by the way). Other than that, there is not much socializing done outside of the home. I’ve been working in France for ten years now, and I haven’t once gone for a drink with colleagues, and as a result I haven’t made any friends. My OH (who is French and has friends who she thinks are also my friends) says to me “Well why don’t you invite X around for a meal”. F*ck that, the step up is too large. If you invite someone around for a meal, you’re also inviting their OH and any kids they may have, you have to spend ages cooking for them, and then they’re going to stay for two to three hours, and then they feel obliged to invite you to theirs at some stage. If you don’t hit it off, that can be a long two to three hours.

In Ireland, you can always go for drinks after work, either with one person or in a group, and see where it goes from there. You can always head after one drink if the person is boring the arse of you, or stay longer if you feel like it. Or maybe you’ll make friends that you’re happy to go for a couple of drinks with, but don’t necessarily ever feel the need to invite back to yours for a meal. In France it seems to be either all or nothing, whereas in Ireland there are different levels of friendship.

I also miss the GAA matches. I was never huge into GAA when I was in Ireland, but still enjoyed going to the odd game now and then. Maybe going for a pint or two beforehand, chatting to anyone and everyone, fans of the different teams mixing easily with no tension between them. Always a relaxed atmosphere. In France, the main sport is soccer, and I followed my OH to the matches for a while, but stopped because of the scummy atmosphere. The first match I went to, I nearly got hit on the head by a bottle thrown by opposing supporters and when they lost the game, they ripped up the seats and tried to throw them at the home supporters. Riot police outside the stadium before and after the game, supporters having to be separated.

Summer. Ok, the weather is better in France, but during the summer, everything f*cking closes, so a lot of towns are dead. At least in Ireland, in spite of occasional bad weather, there’s a bit of life around the place.

FURET

Lucena wrote: »

Living in France here.

The one thing I miss the most is pub culture. I know it often gets a rough ride here on boards (people langered out of their box pissing in doorways and the like) but I think it plays an important role in facilitating social interaction.

Different strokes I guess. Pub culture is one of the reasons I left Ireland.

SeantheMan

I miss sitting with the lads on a Saturday/Sunday and watching the footie all day with a fry up. Then a few beers later in a proper pub.
Matches don't generally start here till 1am or 4am due to the time difference.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

Norwesterner wrote: »

Posting from Latin America.
Here's my big list.
Sense of security. Being able to walk home alone at night. Not having metal bars on all your windows.
The nice gardens and the pride people take in their homes (in general).
Civic pride and duty, good manners (yes, Ireland has it in spades compared to most countries).
Irelands Atlantic coast. We take it's beauty for granted.
Cosy, snug bars with sofas and real fires, as opposed to hard seats, fluorescent lights and formica tables in canteens.
Being able to visit family and friends for a cuppa tea and maybe blag a sandwich or two. Especially Mammy.
Reading the Sunday papers in my local cafe, sipping a latte (yes, I'm bourgeoiuse). Papers abroad are very dumbed down and not very challenging.
Watching Irish current affairs programmes/debates etc and shouting at the TV.
The fact that most Irish people are aware of worldly matters and able to maintain a conversation or debate on issues in other countries (Palestine, Syria etc).
The 4 seasons. All of them.
Sipping a hot whisky by a turf fire.
Long Summer evenings.
No mosquitoes or cockroaches. (though Irish midgees are worse than any mosquito)
The free museums and galleries.
It's old buildings and range of architecture.
So much more.

Now start a thread on what I DON'T miss.

Where in Latin America do you live?

I miss the security as well, but it actually makes me nostalgic for Korea, not Ireland. Korea has virtually no crime at all. Ireland does seem remarkably safe compared to here though.

I also miss having seasons.

The Corinthian

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

I also miss having seasons.

In fairness, Ireland doesn't have much by way of seasons. Rain, occasional sun, but otherwise cloudy or overcast most of the year, with a temperature range of zero to twenty degrees centigrade for 355 out of 365 days.

One of the things I had to become accustomed to here was that the temperature could go over 35 degrees during the Summer, with sunny cloudless days and snow for weeks or months on end frequently going below -15 in the winter. The difference between the seasons is far less marked in Ireland than it is in many other places.

I would admit that, at least compared to Switzerland, Ireland is a far more windy place.

InTheTrees

I always notice the high humidity in the summers in Ireland when I go back. It can be 10degs and yet 90% humidity. You wear a tShirt and get chilly so you put on a sweater and you start to drip with sweat, so you take it off and get chills. And round and round it goes.

Never really noticed when I was younger.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

The Corinthian wrote: »

In fairness, Ireland doesn't have much by way of seasons. Rain, occasional sun, but otherwise cloudy or overcast most of the year, with a temperature range of zero to twenty degrees centigrade for 355 out of 365 days.

One of the things I had to become accustomed to here was that the temperature could go over 35 degrees during the Summer, with sunny cloudless days and snow for weeks or months on end frequently going below -15 in the winter. The difference between the seasons is far less marked in Ireland than it is in many other places.

I would admit that, at least compared to Switzerland, Ireland is a far more windy place.

I know, Korea had a similar range to what you describe, it's far more noticeable there. (Oddly Koreans often believe that no other country has seasons )

Colombia has no seasons at all however.

Long Gone

keithclancy wrote: »

Wtf happened to taytos. They taste manky now.

They always tasted manky - You just never noticed before ! .:D

Qualitymark

Fascinating thread. I'd love it if people would put the place they're living in, in bold, at the top of every reply - some people don't say it; some say it in a first reply and not later ones, and who's going to page back to see where they are…

Funny thing about batch bread - a big American newspaper had a piece raving about Dublin batch bread as one of the great world breads a year or so ago; I was expecting Irish bakeries to pick this up and start exporting. Arrah, not at all!

The Spanish and surging through doors without saying thanks - it's not just the Spanish; a couple of Irish boys did the same on me the other day. I was tempted to say "You're welcome" to them, but realised they were just lost in a dream. Maybe it's the same in Spain - maybe they go into a zone when they're on the street.

When I was a kid in California I longed and longed for rain. One day I was out and people warned me to get in because it was going to rain. I stood out hopefully, wanting the soft, cool feeling of rain on my face and beading on my hair. What came down was like being doused in a bucket of warm water - wet to my underwear in seconds! There's nothing like Irish rain.

mickeyrooo

Croatia
I miss a proper functioning government and economy...and sometimes home!!

Xdancer

Southern Spain

I miss green grass and green fields. I live on the edge of a desertic region and everything is brown.

InTheTrees

Qualitymark wrote: »

The Spanish and surging through doors without saying thanks - it's not just the Spanish; a couple of Irish boys did the same on me the other day. I was tempted to say "You're welcome" to them, but realised they were just lost in a dream. Maybe it's the same in Spain - maybe they go into a zone when they're on the street.

USA

Also the etiquette of walking down the street. The lack of manners on the pavement in europe is pronounced. I notice it in Ireland every time I come home. Usually when you walk along a crowded pavement its necessary to perform a kind of dance to avoid hitting other people, almost everyone does it.

Except coming home to Ireland (or UK). It takes me a few days to relearn the way to walk down the street which is to tense up ones shoulders and take the hit, because other people are not going to move for you whatever. You just slam into people all the time because they're not going to move.

And I'm an over six foot, well built male. And after a few day i'm banging into kids, old people, etc, just ike everyone else.

Its curious.

Qualitymark

mickeyrooo wrote: »

Croatia
I miss a proper functioning government and economy...and sometimes home!!

Feck, so do we in Ireland!

keithclancy

Qualitymark wrote: »

Feck, so do we in Ireland!

You think you do at least.

Compared to Croatia ... mmm ... nah.

pajor

My family, Lyons tea and pint bottles of Bulmers.

In that order. Otherwise very little actually. :pac:

C.D.

Miss feeling safe and having a reasonably uncorrupted state. Living in US now and I rarely feel 100% safe and find it difficult to trust large institutions here.

Formosa

Living in Abu Dhabi, 6 months at this stage.

Don't miss a whole lot yet, main thing I do miss is being able to stroll to the local for a couple of pints without it being the ordeal it is over here...

Cunning Stunt

Jude13 wrote: »

I miss the good old bag of chips. Just back from home and due to manflu I only had one bag when I was at home.

My OH tried to convince me that SuperMac's had good chips, I had never been. The lies!!! They are nothing on a good Dublin chipper

This. My niece in Ireland just posted up a pic of her chipper food on facebook - could have killed her. Would give anything for a bag of chips covered in salt and vinegar mmmm They don't even do vinegar on your chips in Denmark

keithclancy

pajor wrote: »

My family, Lyons tea and pint bottles of Bulmers.

In that order. Otherwise very little actually. :pac:

Don't they sell Magners in Albert Heijn, haven't looked in a while actually.

Lingua Franca

No, AH only sells Jillz. I think you can get Magners in Mitra and some branches of Gall & Gall.

mob

Cream Crackers
Lucozade
Spice Burgers
White Pudding

Everything else I can live without

Wompa1

Phoenix, Arizona
3.5 years

20 days paid holidays a year. Generous bank holidays. Employee rights. Social Welfare (Never used it but good to know it's there). Laid back culture. Temperate Weather. Fresh Air

Lingua Franca

mob wrote: »

Cream Crackers

Can you not find those in Germany? I'm in the Netherlands but I can still find those in most supermarkets if I scour the shelves. You need to carefully check the part baked goods, crackers/rusks *and* the biscuits sections because they usually only have one brand of cream crackers and the category they're put into varies from store to store, but I can almost always find a packet.

mob

Lingua Franca wrote: »

Can you not find those in Germany? I'm in the Netherlands but I can still find those in most supermarkets if I scour the shelves. You need to carefully check the part baked goods, crackers/rusks *and* the biscuits sections because they usually only have one brand of cream crackers and the category they're put into varies from store to store, but I can almost always find a packet.

Only place I can find them is in English/international food shops, so theve become a bit of a treat.

must have a look next time im in NL

munchkin_utd

Lingua Franca wrote: »

Can you not find those in Germany? I'm in the Netherlands but I can still find those in most supermarkets if I scour the shelves. You need to carefully check the part baked goods, crackers/rusks *and* the biscuits sections because they usually only have one brand of cream crackers and the category they're put into varies from store to store, but I can almost always find a packet.

in germany I've only ever seen them in the food sections of the bigger department stores, but they are so handy to get to that its not really a problem.
as for

Lucozade
Spice Burgers
White Pudding

can live without them!

I'd also point out that (english made Unilever) PG tips are very similar if not the same as (english made Unilever) Lyons tea - and every ethno shop has pg tips for some reason.

With summer in full swing, again missing not going to the big matches, but will be home for the 2 football and 2nd hurling semi finals and I'm sorely tempted to book a flight for the all ireland football final - so wont be doing too bad this year !

keithclancy

munchkin_utd wrote: »

can live without them!

Me too ... I'm probably better off without them anyway :P

You can also order Barrys Tea online

http://barrysteashop.ie/

Gets cheaper the more you buy.

Jude13

I am after having the mother of crap days and I would love to go out into town for a pint with pals and forget all about it.

Sadly I cant. Stupid expat life.

nervous_twitch

Peanut Butter! It's available in France alright but most often in the 'foreign foods' section and priced accordingly. I refuse to pay that much. I don't understand how a whole country could be dismissive of peanut butter