Expats in Galway, did you ever regret moving there?

bahamut88

Hello guys,
as you may have read on my previous thread (or no), I'll be moving to Galway on April. I'm leaving all behind me in Italy, a decent job, an house, a Girlfriend (well, I'm not leaving her but it's going to be difficult!). I really don't know why I did this, I just wanted to change my job and I was able to succeed in Ireland which, by the way, was my second choice after Germany.
I'll be in Galway for the next year at least, not that the date is approaching really fast, of course I have more fears, not strictly related to me because I basically eat everything, I don't mind the weather (of course, being italian, I'll miss the sun but I'm don't live for it) and I adapt fast. I'm more scared about my gf, she says she'll join me in July but I fear she might hate the place (nothing wrong in Galway! It's just what I'm (over)thinking).

Anyway, to stay more in topic, I would like to know if some of you ever regretted moving there?

Mrs OBumble

The weather sucks (last summer was an exception).

Irish politics is gombeenishly corrupt, the relationship between society and alcohol is not healthy, and some people are incredibly parochial in their outlook.

But the music scene is great, the city is very small and live-in-able, and Mr O'Bumble was found here and is worth staying for.

So yes. But there are compensations. I suspect most people who change countries have this sort of experience, just over different issues.

Mrs OBumble

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Irish politics is gombeenishly corrupt, t

He is from Italy, our politicaians are saints compared to what he is used to

bahamut88

Leona Zealous Self-sacrifice wrote: »

He is from Italy, our politicaians are saints compared to what he is used to

LOL, true indeed. Sadly.

Aunt Tebby

I definitely regret moving here and can't wait to get back to Europe.

The health care system is abysmal, as is the quality of rental housing. Totally desperate!

The only positive thing is that the people here are lovely; but that's not enough to make me want to stay.

Red Pepper

Aunt Tebby wrote: »

The health care system is abysmal...

That is a fair point. University Hospital Galway is one of the worst hospitals in the country and that's saying something. It is more likely to kill you than make you better. And it is getting worse.
It is not the fault of the doctors/nurses, the bureaucracy/waste in the non-frontline HSE is to blame.

beardybrewer

bahamut88 wrote: »

Anyway, to stay more in topic, I would like to know if some of you ever regretted moving there?

No. If you have to live here, Galway is the best place to live in Ireland.

Aunt Tebby

@Red Pepper.

It's horrifying.

Compared with the health care systems in France/Belgium/Luxembourg/Germany, the Irish system is on the level of the 2nd or 3rd world.

Red Pepper

Aunt Tebby wrote: »

@Red Pepper.

It's horrifying.

Compared with the health care systems in France/Belgium/Luxembourg/Germany, the Irish system is on the level of the 2nd or 3rd world.

I know full well. And I understand the reasons. Unfortunatelt there is no fixing it in the short-medium term (i.e. 10-20 years) because the unions and management have it all tied up.
Bottom line, do not get ill in Galway unless you have superb private health insurance!

ben.schlomo

Red Pepper wrote: »

I know full well. And I understand the reasons. Unfortunatelt there is no fixing it in the short-medium term (i.e. 10-20 years) because the unions and management have it all tied up.
Bottom line, do not get ill in Galway unless you have superb private health insurance!

Most of the fit and healthy population dont so its not a major worry for a large %. Rental in Galway isnt that bad either, some great places out there,some poor too but its a student city with high demand.

hfallada

Aunt Tebby wrote: »

@Red Pepper.

It's horrifying.

Compared with the health care systems in France/Belgium/Luxembourg/Germany, the Irish system is on the level of the 2nd or 3rd world.

Irish hospitals are excellent if you have private health insurance and the public system isnt bad, but expect long queues. The Irish health system is in ways better than the NHS. If you require an expensive drug, the HSE will buy it. However the NHS may decide the drug isnt value for money and you are left to die.

OP I know an Italian working in Galway and he likes it. He works for a MNC and I imagine the one you might be working at possibly. He says the local supermarket (Dunnes) sell Decco Pasta and decent tomatoes( As an Italian, you wouldnt eat what Irish people can Pasta).

Despite what you read about Ireland, there is little black market activity and no massive corruption like in Italy. You will not be required to give any one a brown envelope. Expect living expenses to be a lot higher. But the quality of life in the west is pretty good and you will enjoy it.

bahamut88

hfallada wrote: »

Irish hospitals are excellent if you have private health insurance and the public system isnt bad, but expect long queues. The Irish health system is in ways better than the NHS. If you require an expensive drug, the HSE will buy it. However the NHS may decide the drug isnt value for money and you are left to die.

OP I know an Italian working in Galway and he likes it. He works for a MNC and I imagine the one you might be working at possibly. He says the local supermarket (Dunnes) sell Decco Pasta and decent tomatoes( As an Italian, you wouldnt eat what Irish people can Pasta).

Despite what you read about Ireland, there is little black market activity and no massive corruption like in Italy. You will not be required to give any one a brown envelope. Expect living expenses to be a lot higher. But the quality of life in the west is pretty good and you will enjoy it.

Thanks all for your opinions.

Well, I live in Abruzzo ( De Cecco pasta it's actually produced 50 km away from where I live, Glad I'll be able to find it but as I was saying, I really eat everything, I even ate the crocodille in Germany...), so no brown envelopes here! Maybe you're referring to Campania and Sicily, but that's another matter.
I took a look at numbeo, I didn't find the prices to be particularly higher compared to where I live here and I'll be earning a lot more, so I think I should be fine.

As for the quality of health care, I hope I won't need it but I'll have a private insurance, I hope it will help.

What I find true it's that the quality of houses seems a bit low, I won't mind paying a fair price (even 500euros for a room) to have a decent house. I'm no snooty person but I'm 30 years old and I lived in crappy houses, now I want some comfort. I can't seem to find a decent place on daft, I'll have a more detailed look when I come there.

biko

I only ever met one foreigner that didn't like it here.
She was going out with a local guy and when they broke up she went back to Scandinavia.

ErnieBert

You have made a good choice in Galway. There are only a handful of places that would I recommend to people coming to this country and Galway is one of them.


With regard to healthcare, my son was very sick when he was born. He was given a 10% chance of survival. He received world class care that cost us nothing. He is in school now and I will never forget the professional medical care which he got at University Hospital Galway. Many people have had bad experiences in our healthcare system but it's not all doom and gloom.

dimcoin

Odd question...but is there surfing near Galway?

ben.schlomo

dimcoin wrote: »

Odd question...but is there surfing near Galway?

Achill and Lahinch.

BrokenArrows

Well since you're moving from a place with a large population I think you will love the place but find it hard to live with the fact that Galway is tiny in the grand scheme of things.

However I still think its a great place to live.
Get involved in the culture of music and arts.

Note that I don't live there anymore but did for 9 years.

Mrs OBumble

Healthcare is hit and miss: there are no clinical protocols, so if you get into the system and a good consultant is on your site, you can get brilliant care.

OTHO, getting in is hard and there have been some dreadful failures that some of us believe had more to do with race than many Irish would like to admit.

_Whimsical_

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Healthcare is hit and miss: there are no clinical protocols, so if you get into the system and a good consultant is on your site, you can get brilliant care.

OTHO, getting in is hard and there have been some dreadful failures that some of us had more to do with race than many Irish would like to admit.

I don't think that's true and can't think of any evidence to suggest it. There was one recent tragedy involving an Indian lady that appalled the entire population. It was due to clinical mismanagement of sepsis care and no one,including the woman's family, has ever suggested that race was a part of it. It could've happened and has happened to Irish people too.
All Irish people have foreign friends ,even family through marriage, who are integral to our lives. No one here would stand for racially motivated poor medical care.

Anyway in UCHG you are almost as likely to get a doctor of foreign origin in clinics and assisting you on a hospital stay as you are to meet an Irish doctor. Most consultants however are Irish Drs.

All that said I definitely would not come here specifically for the healthcare system. There are much better offerings in other Euro countries in that regard.

h2005

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Healthcare is hit and miss: there are no clinical protocols, so if you get into the system and a good consultant is on your site, you can get brilliant care.

OTHO, getting in is hard and there have been some dreadful failures that some of us had more to do with race than many Irish would like to admit.

Link to these failures?

zarquon

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Achill and Lahinch.

Actually there are also fanore and Westport for surfing which are both nearer than the aforementioned places

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

there have been some dreadful failures that some of us had more to do with race than many Irish would like to admit.

That's a pretty outrageous statement. If you have evidence to back this up then you need to post this otherwise you should retract this statement. Our health system may not be world class but to state that poor medical care is racially motivated is just ridiculous.

Mrs OBumble

zarquon wrote: »

That's a pretty outrageous statement. If you have evidence to back this up then you need to post this otherwise you should retract this statement. Our health system may not be world class but to state that poor medical care is racially motivated is just ridiculous.

My apologies: reviewing my post I realise that I left out a key word that I intended initlally, but my fingers were moving faster than my brain.

No evidence is needed. Some people (myself included, and I know I'm not the only one) believe that if Savita was Irish, her sepsis would have been detected a lot earlier and managed properly. I can name one other person who went into hospital for test and came out dead - again, I believe that this was due to lack of attention most likely because of race. And I know I'm not the only one who believes this.

I'm the type of foreign who people quickly forget is foreign. I've heard some quite outrageous things said when people believe there are only Irish people in earshot, from folks who are nice as pie otherwise.

Harps

There's plenty of good accommodation out there for a decent price, when I lived in Galway I was paying around €240 per month for a nice house sharing with three others and that included all bills, cable tv and 100mbps internet.

I moved to Galway from elsewhere in Ireland but I didn't know a single person when I moved there, loved the place though and I'd move back tomorrow if I could find a job. There's plenty of foreigners and people in the same boat who don't know anyone so it's really easy to meet people if you're willing to put in a bit of effort

biko

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

No evidence is needed. Some people (myself included, and I know I'm not the only one) believe that if Savita was Irish, her sepsis would have been detected a lot earlier and managed properly. I can name one other person who went into hospital for test and came out dead - again, I believe that this was due to lack of attention most likely because of race. And I know I'm not the only one who believes this.

There have been some terrible things to happen to foreigners here as well as elsewhere in Ireland/EU/world but this thread isn't for potential HSE racism discussion, particularly unsubstantiated.
Please continue on the life of expats here but let's drop HSE and racism from this thread (feel free to use Politics, Health Sciences, AH for that discussion).

Paddyfield

If you miss watching Inter Milan, Lazio, Roma. AC Milan etc etc, well you can continue to follow your dreams by watching Galway FC on their European* journey. Look at www.galwayfc.ie


*Longford and Cobh are geographically in Europe

bahamut88

Paddyfield wrote: »

If you miss watching Inter Milan, Lazio, Roma. AC Milan etc etc, well you can continue to follow your dreams by watching Galway FC on their European* journey. Look at www.galwayfc.ie


*Longford and Cobh are geographically in Europe

I'm not really into football, so I won't miss matches.
Also, many of you suggested to go into music, I do like live music so I'll be fine, I'm into metal but I'm good with other genres.
Come on guys, less health opinions (hopefully nobody would need it :P ) and more about the city!

Paddyfield

bahamut88 wrote: »

I'm not really into football, so I won't miss matches.

Believe me, you won't see much football here either.

bahamut88

Paddyfield wrote: »

Believe me, you won't see much football here either.

LoL, I count on that.:D

h2005

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

My apologies: reviewing my post I realise that I left out a key word that I intended initlally, but my fingers were moving faster than my brain.

No evidence is needed. Some people (myself included, and I know I'm not the only one) believe that if Savita was Irish, her sepsis would have been detected a lot earlier and managed properly. I can name one other person who went into hospital for test and came out dead - again, I believe that this was due to lack of attention most likely because of race. And I know I'm not the only one who believes this.

I'm the type of foreign who people quickly forget is foreign. I've heard some quite outrageous things said when people believe there are only Irish people in earshot, from folks who are nice as pie otherwise.

I think evidence is needed. Find it outrageous that you can just throw around lazy allegations without providing even a stitch of evidence.

biko

Back on topic

_Whimsical_

biko wrote: »

There have been some terrible things to happen to foreigners here as well as elsewhere in Ireland/EU/world but this thread isn't for potential HSE racism discussion, particularly unsubstantiated.
Please continue on the life of expats here but let's drop HSE and racism from this thread (feel free to use Politics, Health Sciences, AH for that discussion).

Do you not think it would be somewhat important to allow posters to refute allegations that as a nation and a community we are standing by and letting people die in our hospital system because of their race?

If it's not answered or questioned it looks very much like there might be a credible accusation.People thinking of moving here will search these threads in future and if that question hangs in the air, if posters do not even see fit to respond to it, then surely people would be seriously put off ever coming here.

Mrs O'Bumble I think you can take an instance of something happening to one or two people and extrapolate unfairly that it was because of their race,gender or class. The sad truth is that every health service has it's issues and UCHG is no different. I know three people who have serious health issues that went undiagnosed this year there. 2 of those people are now dead as a result.1 narrowly escaped that fate. All 3 of them were Irish,middle class,2 of them were male. I think it is a shoddy system but that it treats everyone equally unfairly.

seachto7

Get yourself to a hurling match in championship time.

Elmo

After about a week you become an Irish curmudgeon.

wotzgoingon

Aunt Tebby wrote: »

@Red Pepper.

It's horrifying.

Compared with the health care systems in France/Belgium/Luxembourg/Germany, the Irish system is on the level of the 2nd or 3rd world.

What are you taking about. I was in the Galway clinic once it was luxury, I was in the University hospital Galway twice and found it good and I was in the Mayo Gerneral hospital after a car crash and I was well looked after. So I don't know where you got that the hospitals are not good. More than likely word of mouth and you probably do not have first hand experience of being in any hospital.

Birroc

wotzgoingon wrote: »

What are you taking about. I was in the Galway clinic once it was luxury, I was in the University hospital Galway twice and found it good and I was in the Mayo Gerneral hospital after a car crash and I was well looked after. So I don't know where you got that the hospitals are not good. More than likely word of mouth and you probably do not have first hand experience of being in any hospital.

I agree with RedPepper. UCHG is a terrible hospital. Venture into A&E any day of the week and you'll see first hand.

Quick google: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/medics-lash-appalling-ae-situation-as-hse-says-trolley-list-down-29938297.html

Yesterday, 308 patients were on trolleys in emergency departments and another 86 in wards, with University Hospital Galway the worst affected with 44 people waiting for a bed.

I and several of my family members have received poor treatment in UCHG. I do not want to provide details.

Birroc

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

I think it is a shoddy system but that it treats everyone equally unfairly.

Agree with this, the HSE treat everyone equally badly. The doctors/nurses are good but the support systems are terrible and they are overworked.

Mrs OBumble

wotzgoingon wrote: »

What are you taking about. I was in the Galway clinic once it was luxury, I was in the University hospital Galway twice and found it good and I was in the Mayo Gerneral hospital after a car crash and I was well looked after. So I don't know where you got that the hospitals are not good. More than likely word of mouth and you probably do not have first hand experience of being in any hospital.

FWIW, I work with a fairly recent ex-pat who has experience with hospitals in Europe, and who went to a consultant in the Galway Clinic for a particular issue. He said that it was like being in a lovely hotel, but didn't feel confident in the care offered. So he now uses some of his annual leave to travel back to the continent to see the previous doctor there. (The ex-pat has English as his first language.) And the Galway Clinic, like many private hospitals does not have 24x7 on-site doctor coverage. If you're there and something goes wrong, they either have to ring your consultant and have him/her come in, or call an ambulance.

And the recent survey published by the INMO makes it very clear that staff levels here are grossly inadequate: http://www.inmo.ie/tempDocs/INMO%20MIDWIFERY%20STAFFING%20SURVEY%20CONFIRMS%20MAJOR%20STAFFING%20CRISIS%20REVISED%20Press%20Release%2006%2003%2014.pdf



(I'm an expat, which was who the OP was asking to hear from. I wonder how many other posters in this thread are.)

WallyGUFC

I've never had a problem waiting in A&E the few times I've been there. Ya can't expect to be seen straight away, and the nurses and doctors always do their best. If this testimony about the race thing influenced people's decision to come and live in Galway it would be very sad indeed.

Lovely place in the Summer, fairly dreary in the Winter. Lot's to do and a nice atmosphere around the place. Don't need much else!

Red Pepper

wotzgoingon wrote: »

More than likely word of mouth and you probably do not have first hand experience of being in any hospital.

Don't call me a liar. I have actually worked for the HSE in the west in what I will call an advisory capacity. The level of incompetence among non frontline workers shocked me and I am not easily shocked. Some of the HSE "managers" are grossly overpaid and completely useless with zero value add roles. I made my opinion quite clear too. Utter bureaucracy.

My experience of direct hospital care has also been quite poor overall. I walked out of A&E 2 years ago with a close relation because they were actually making her situation worse. Long story but I was told after 9 hours beside a trolley in the hall that they were "waiting for blood test results" and then I reminded them they had not taken any blood. Left hand did not know what the right hand was doing. There are many other examples. From all accounts A&E is even worse now.

Per capita we spend more on the health system than most other EU countries but shure we're Irish and we'll accept mediocrity, its what we do best...

sammyjo90

Bringing the thread back slightly on topic...... Not much of a metal scene here unfortunately OP!
What does your OH like to do? Maybe if she can do it here she'll like it better

beardybrewer

BTW, in case OP hasn't noticed, the Irish are passionate when it comes to complaining.

Source:

Nonoperational

A guy asks about living in Galway, and even states that he is healthy with private health insurance, and people start giving exceptional examples of extremely rare adverse healthcare events and anecdotal stories that could easily be a load of exaggerated made up nonsense.

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Healthcare is hit and miss: there are no clinical protocols, so if you get into the system and a good consultant is on your site, you can get brilliant care.

OTHO, getting in is hard and there have been some dreadful failures that some of us believe had more to do with race than many Irish would like to admit.

That's not true. Vitals are monitored of every hospital patient, and an escalation protocol is at the foot of every bed in the NEWS score chart.

Jesus I despair with the mentality of some people.

Birroc

Nonoperational wrote: »

That's not true. Vitals are monitored of every hospital patient, and an escalation protocol is at the foot of every bed in the NEWS score chart.

Last time I was in A&E, they lost my chart when I was sent for an x-ray. They even blamed me for it being lost!
My appendix burst soon after while I was waiting for a bed. They told me I could not get get surgery until I got a ward bed. It was a rule. I told them I would happily come back to a trolley. I remember the exact moment my appendix burst lying there in a corridor. The surgeon was very eager to operate but they would not let him.
I should have been there for 2-3 days, I ended up there for 9 holding up a bed for some other unfortunate no doubt...

kefir32

Birroc wrote: »

I agree with RedPepper. UCHG is a terrible hospital. Venture into A&E any day of the week and you'll see first hand.

Quick google: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/medics-lash-appalling-ae-situation-as-hse-says-trolley-list-down-29938297.html

Yesterday, 308 patients were on trolleys in emergency departments and another 86 in wards, with University Hospital Galway the worst affected with 44 people waiting for a bed.

I and several of my family members have received poor treatment in UCHG. I do not want to provide details.

AMEN to that, had a woeful experience personally last year with emphasis on the a/e department. Never want to go back there again,relatively minor episode
but the stress and narky staff shaped my opinion until this day

Mrs OBumble

Nonoperational wrote: »

That's not true. Vitals are monitored of every hospital patient, and an escalation protocol is at the foot of every bed in the NEWS score chart.

I was referring to treatment protocols (if you have X, Y and Z then the approved treatment is A, B and C) - and my comment is a direct quote from a friend who is a registered health professional with extensive experience both here and in the NHS.

Something else she admitted is that she was quite shocked when she came back home and discovered how much less treatment she was able to give to the average patient here, compared to what the NHS required her to do. She also said that she shock wears off after a while, and you get quite blaise about what the system is like here.

Harps

newkie wrote: »

BTW, in case OP hasn't noticed, the Irish are passionate when it comes to complaining.

It does seem to happen in nearly every thread on this forum, very offputting..

bahamut88 wrote: »

Come on guys, less health opinions (hopefully nobody would need it :P ) and more about the city!

What sort of interests do you have? There's plenty of groups and university clubs you could get involved in just to get yourself on your feet, the first few months are obviously a bit tough when you don't really have anyone to spend your free time with. Galway is a small place but always interesting and has a real mix of people so keep positive, there's always the boards beers if you're desperate :pac:

ben.schlomo

Why is this HSE sh1ttalk still going on.

OP theres one metal pub in town, Sally Longs, has a reputation for being rough but in my experience its always been good anytime ive been, sometimes they have live bands too.

Nonoperational

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I was referring to treatment protocols (if you have X, Y and Z then the approved treatment is A, B and C) - and my comment is a direct quote from a friend who is a registered health professional with extensive experience both here and in the NHS.

Something else she admitted is that she was quite shocked when she came back home and discovered how much less treatment she was able to give to the average patient here, compared to what the NHS required her to do. She also said that she shock wears off after a while, and you get quite blaise about what the system is like here.

What do you mean by that?

bahamut88

Harps wrote: »

It does seem to happen in nearly every thread on this forum, very offputting..



What sort of interests do you have? There's plenty of groups and university clubs you could get involved in just to get yourself on your feet, the first few months are obviously a bit tough when you don't really have anyone to spend your free time with. Galway is a small place but always interesting and has a real mix of people so keep positive, there's always the boards beers if you're desperate :pac:

Mostly I'm into live music, cinemas, bowling and things like that. Being a metal head, I hate clubs and disco. I enjoy a nice chat in front of some beers, a dinner at friends' house. Relaxed stuff!

bahamut88

sammyjo90 wrote: »

Bringing the thread back slightly on topic...... Not much of a metal scene here unfortunately OP!
What does your OH like to do? Maybe if she can do it here she'll like it better

She's not into metal AT ALL, so sometimes gets really weird between us
You know, I'm not the typical satanist, or the thrasher, or the manowar fan, I'm just someone who dresses casual and I'm very easy going, I always just listened to the music, I've never lived it apart from a small period when I was a teenager.

She likes to cook and she's an architect, I really hope she'll find something to do, even non paying jobs! We enjoy exploring new places (and Ireland has many of them) and tasting new food.

ben.schlomo

bahamut88 wrote: »

She's not into metal AT ALL, so sometimes gets really weird between us
You know, I'm not the typical satanist, or the thrasher, or the manowar fan, I'm just someone who dresses casual and I'm very easy going, I always just listened to the music, I've never lived it apart from a small period when I was a teenager.

She likes to cook and she's an architect, I really hope she'll find something to do, even non paying jobs! We enjoy exploring new places (and Ireland has many of them) and tasting new food.

The Roisin Dubh might be more up your street so as the music is much less commercial than most of the late night venues.