So I had a chat with my Dutch Neighbor tonight

keithclancy

So came back from the shopping tonight, ended up having a beer and a chat with the fella next door.

He thinks anywhere else is better than the Netherlands.

It got me thinking ... Did you ever think ANYWHERE else was better than Ireland or there was a specific place that was better than Ireland.

Or do you think Ireland is the best place in the world ?

The Backwards Man

What did you buy in the shop?

shruikan2553

Ireland is probably a bit better than Syria, Ukraine or Iraq anyway but they probably dont have property tax or water charges so its pros and cons.

wazky

I've heard the Dutch are filthy in bed, can you confirm?

Quazzie

keithclancy wrote: »

So came back from the shopping tonight, ended up having a beer and a chat with the fella next door.

He thinks anywhere else is better than the Netherlands.

It got me thinking ... Did you ever think ANYWHERE else was better than Ireland or there was a specific place that was better than Ireland.

Or do you think Ireland is the best place in the world ?

Everywhere is better than Ireland in small doses and if you are there under the right circumstances.

Overall though there is nowhere quiet like the Emerald Isle.

Mr. G

keithclancy wrote: »

It got me thinking ... Did you ever think ANYWHERE else was better than Ireland or there was a specific place that was better than Ireland.

Or do you think Ireland is the best place in the world ?

No, actually I quite like Ireland. I think our quality of life and awesome food make it for me. Although there are things about Ireland that I don't agree with, but hey, you will get that in every country.

Although some time I would love to live in the Netherlands (Not Amsterdam) or Germany. Always loved the culture etc over there.

Birneybau

Wash he pished?

Sir Arthur Daley

What beer were we drinking op?

Drakares

I live in Germany at the moment and it is IMO, the best country in the world to live in.

The heath service is unreal, I don't pay a cent for doctor/dentist visits. I don't pay for medicine either, covered by the health insurance, and none of this bollocks of collecting receipts and sending them in.

I pay about 45% tax on my salary, but as a result the services here are second to none. Cost of living is around 1/3rd cheaper than living in Ireland. The economy is in great condition and there is no slave labour bs here.. Internships at my current firm pay around €1,500 a month to people who are currently studying, there is no such thing as "work experience" as a full time job that doesn't pay.

A decent Weissbier is around €3 in the pub and the people are absolutely bang on, despite what anyone might say.

This is of course just my opinion, having done a bit of travelling.

Colinf1212

I would rather still be in highschool in Southern USA as a handsome white star quarterback macking on fine southern belles on the daily.

USA or I'd rather stay here for me personally.

Birneybau

Colinf1212 wrote: »

I would rather still be in highschool in Southern USA as a handsome white star quarterback macking on fine southern belles on the daily.

USA or I'd rather stay here for me personally.

Word

thomur

Cant beat Ireland.

Sir Arthur Daley

Birneybau wrote: »

Word

words

TheBeardedLady

Drank wine with two Romanian friends and a girl from Mexico tonight. We discussed corruption, salaries and standard of living. Any complaint I had about Ireland looked petty compared to theirs. Very grateful to be where I'm from the more time I spend away from it.

GLaDOS

I went to Holland once, lovely place. He's probably right.

Slicemeister

Lived there in Rotterdam myself once. What a ****hole.

If I had to pick a country it'd be Norway, loved it. Bunch of alcoholics, mad baxtards.

crockholm

klootzak

Slicemeister

Quazzie wrote: »

Everywhere is better than Ireland in small doses and if you are there under the right circumstances.

Overall though there is nowhere quiet like the Emerald Isle.

There's a dog barking outside and its nigh on 2am ffs!

Panthro

keithclancy wrote: »

So came back from the shopping tonight, ended up having a beer and a chat with the fella next door.

He thinks anywhere else is better than the Netherlands.

It got me thinking ... Did you ever think ANYWHERE else was better than Ireland or there was a specific place that was better than Ireland.

Or do you think Ireland is the best place in the world ?

Haha! That's Dutch Gold right there!

(I'll see myself out shall I)

Iranoutofideas

Lived in Munich for a while. The germans are very nice, exceptionally generous and good craic. Great beer.


My god though do they love their rules. You have no fcuking idea. Everything is by the book and good christ it is a big book.

I couldn't believe the amount of places I went there that had signs in the jacks instructing you to sit down to take a piss. And no I wasn't in the ladies toilets.

Naturally I pissed all over the seat. You have to draw a line somewhere.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Slicemeister wrote: »

Lived there in Rotterdam myself once. What a ****hole.

If I had to pick a country it'd be Norway, loved it. Bunch of alcoholics, mad baxtards.

At €12 a pint in Norway, I'll take my chances in Ireland, if I was to commit to the oul alcoholism full time.

Riddle101

You live in your home country your whole life or for the majority of your life, and eventually you start to resent it and start thinking everywhere else is better. I have no doubt that an Irishman recently moved to the Netherlands would feel the same way. I guess you could call it reverse psychology or whatever.

I mean make no mistake about it, I still love Ireland but I would be happy to start a life for myself in another country. If I had the money and the opportunity I would move in a minute.

Oranage2

I can confirm India is not better than Ireland - probably the closest place that comes to hell on earth.


But from other countries I guess It's a case of the grass looks greener.

Reindeer

I like visiting Germany. But I find it lacks soul...and spirit...and joie de vivre... and is full of robots pretending to be human. And it's creepy. So, living there, not so much.

Drakares wrote: »

I live in Germany at the moment and it is IMO, the best country in the world to live in.

The heath service is unreal, I don't pay a cent for doctor/dentist visits. I don't pay for medicine either, covered by the health insurance, and none of this bollocks of collecting receipts and sending them in.

I pay about 45% tax on my salary, but as a result the services here are second to none. Cost of living is around 1/3rd cheaper than living in Ireland. The economy is in great condition and there is no slave labour bs here.. Internships at my current firm pay around €1,500 a month to people who are currently studying, there is no such thing as "work experience" as a full time job that doesn't pay.

A decent Weissbier is around €3 in the pub and the people are absolutely bang on, despite what anyone might say.

This is of course just my opinion, having done a bit of travelling.

keithclancy

Reindeer wrote: »

I like visiting Germany. But I find it lacks soul...and spirit...and joie de vivre... and is full of robots pretending to be human. And it's creepy. So, living there, not so much.

Indeed .. you need a local "crazy johnny" who got his wheelchair taken off him at 2 in the morning for driving on the bypass and giving the finger to cars.

Pinch Flat

Iranoutofideas wrote: »

Lived in Munich for a while. The germans are very nice, exceptionally generous and good craic. Great beer.


My god though do they love their rules. You have no fcuking idea. Everything is by the book and good christ it is a big book.

I couldn't believe the amount of places I went there that had signs in the jacks instructing you to sit down to take a piss. And no I wasn't in the ladies toilets.

Naturally I pissed all over the seat. You have to draw a line somewhere.

I lived I Germany for a while and can vouch for the sitting down while pissing rule. I shared a house and student accommodation with Germans - a bit of a culture shock at 19.

We had a fully stocked beer fridge on each floor of the student res - simply tick off what you've had and settle up at the end of the month. Can you imagine that working here?


Germans I found to be very hospitable - I was living on the south west of the country. And yes generous as well - invited to dinner to meet colleagues families, bar-b-ques etc. would regularly be given gifts of local wine, schnapps etc

But yeah rules rules and more rules. A bit of a shock for a paddy coming from a socially immature country like Ireland but it works. They've for a country that functions well and a good quality of life.

Banjo String

I'm gonna take a punt here and go with Australia.

To be more precise, Perth. Great country, Great city. Spent 2.5 years over there, 1.5 of them based in Perth.

I'd go back in a heart beat, though I hear it's gone fierce expensive.

When I was there, I was earning 1800 a week. Rent was 100 a week. The rest was for me.

Grayson

keithclancy wrote: »

So came back from the shopping tonight, ended up having a beer and a chat with the fella next door.

He thinks anywhere else is better than the Netherlands.

It got me thinking ... Did you ever think ANYWHERE else was better than Ireland or there was a specific place that was better than Ireland.

Or do you think Ireland is the best place in the world ?

I love the Netherlands. Best thing about it is that if you get bored you can hop onto the most efficient train network in the world and be in half of western Europe a few hours later.

Ignoring the whole "best place in the world" thing, Ireland does have a lot going for it, but it has a lot of faults too. For some people those faults are more obvious than others. It's incredibly hard to get started on a career ladder. Accommodation costs a lot. Travel without a car is a nightmare no matter what part of the country you're in.
These type of things affect some people more than others and I can see why they'd piss some people off.

What things pissed off your neighbour?

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

I've been told by Dutch people that it is a very conservative and reserved place generally. Amsterdam is for tourists, foreigners and druggies, the rest of the Netherlands is very different in every way imaginable apparently.

holystungun9

wazky wrote: »

I've heard the Dutch are filthy in bed, can you confirm?

Shoo, you like de shcatt? Yesshh. Shexxy time.

Grayson

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

I've been told by Dutch people that it is a very conservative and reserved place generally. Amsterdam is for tourists, foreigners and druggies, the rest of the Netherlands is very different in every way imaginable apparently.

I had a friend who lived in various parts of the Netherlands (his job involved travelling around the country). He said the Dutch were German from Mon-Fri. Incredibly hard working, very diligent and followed the rules. They turned into the English on Sat-Sun. Got drunk and went crazy.

Off topic. I really want to know how long it take you to log in? How often do you mistype that?

keithclancy

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

I've been told by Dutch people that it is a very conservative and reserved place generally. Amsterdam is for tourists, foreigners and druggies, the rest of the Netherlands is very different in every way imaginable apparently.

I think his problem is mainly the taxes.

RDM_83 again

I don't know, there is tons of Dutch and Germans over here and its not just people moving over here for work in big companies (though I have met a fair few of those too), places like Clare and the rest of the West have loads of German and Dutch semi-hippy types since the 70's so Ireland is definitely appealing to part of there populations.

People talk a lot in these threads about healthcare being a major positive when they are living in other countries, I know its important but does it actually have much of an impact, I am well aware of the problems in the HSE but if your the average joe your not actually having to engage with it apart from once in the blue moon, I would get it if Ireland was like the USA where health care can bankrupt you but thats not the case here.

catallus

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

.... Amsterdam is for tourists, foreigners and druggies....

Isn't it very sad that their main city has been taken from the natives?

An apartheid imposed by liberal misthinking, one can only think of the fearful population being oppressed by the jack-boot of permissiveness.

DLMA23

Utopia's meant to be awesome

Drakares

Pinch Flat wrote: »

I lived I Germany for a while and can vouch for the sitting down while pissing rule. I shared a house and student accommodation with Germans - a bit of a culture shock at 19.

This did take me a bit of getting used to. But I do now feel safe in the knowledge that I won't ever be sitting/standing on someones smelly piss any time I go to the toilet wherever I go.

Not a bad thing!

Pumpkinseeds

We had a Dutch neighbour once, what a crazy bitch. Lived in the flat above us with her Irish boyfriend and she'd scream at him every day when he came home from work that he was neglecting her because she'd been on her own I always had the feeling that she was just using him until something better came along.

Paco Rodriguez

Mr. G wrote: »

awesome food

Yeah, we have some of the best Chinese, Indian, Italian and Spanish cuisine I'm the world.

DLMA23

Grayson wrote: »

Off topic. I really want to know how long it take you to log in? How often do you mistype that?

LastPass

https://lastpass.com/

Grayson

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

We had a Dutch neighbour once, what a crazy bitch. Lived in the flat above us with her Irish boyfriend and she'd scream at him every day when he came home from work that he was neglecting her because she'd been on her own I always had the feeling that she was just using him until something better came along.

I think I work with her

PizzamanIRL

Kazakhstan is the greatest countryyyy in the world.

cloudatlas

That's odd. A lot of my European friends complain about Ireland. The high cost of living, the high cost of a night out, the weather is repressive and depressive, the water being turned off in winter for hours at a time confused them, the airport closing for a bit of snow, many say they have a high expectation of how Ireland should be a friendly nation and feel let down. The price of housing and the standard of the apartments is also an annoyance. One friend complained that some land lords didn't clean the apartments before viewings as the knew the demand would be high and presentation didn't matter. They also complain about heating. Public transport not being on time. Many have left for warmer climates in central Europe.

dd972

Used to work with a Hungarian chap who'd been around a bit, on the Dart home he'd go ''look at that grey sky, it's f**king August,ffs !'' and passing Crosbies Yards apartments just beyond Connolly Station ''€300K,...for that s**t!??''

He didn't hang around long.

JustAddWater

The Backwards Man wrote: »

What did you buy in the shop?

Dutch gold?

keithclancy

cloudatlas wrote: »

That's odd. A lot of my European friends complain about Ireland. The high cost of living, the high cost of a night out, the weather is repressive and depressive, the water being turned off in winter for hours at a time confused them, the airport closing for a bit of snow, many say they have a high expectation of how Ireland should be a friendly nation and feel let down. The price of housing and the standard of the apartments is also an annoyance. One friend complained that some land lords didn't clean the apartments before viewings as the knew the demand would be high and presentation didn't matter. They also complain about heating. Public transport not being on time. Many have left for warmer climates in central Europe.

Or turning on the Hot tap and hot water doesn't come out. Then someone mentions something called an immersion and they think WTF.

Then when it is hot they have a hot and cold tap so you scald yourself trying to wash your hands.

Dutch friends when they visited Ireland thought the lack of mixer taps and waiting for water to get hot was crazy

bodice ripper

catallus wrote: »

Isn't it very sad that their main city has been taken from the natives?

An apartheid imposed by liberal misthinking, one can only think of the fearful population being oppressed by the jack-boot of permissiveness.

If that's your idea of oppression, you lead a comfortable life.

Beaner1

Lots of good stuff in the Netherlands but two big downsides. The natural scenery is awful and the food is the worst in western europe.

con___manx1

keithclancy wrote: »

So came back from the shopping tonight, ended up having a beer and a chat with the fella next door.

He thinks anywhere else is better than the Netherlands.

It got me thinking ... Did you ever think ANYWHERE else was better than Ireland or there was a specific place that was better than Ireland.

Or do you think Ireland is the best place in the world ?

I used to think everywhere was better than Ireland until I travelled and lived away for nearly 4 years. Ireland is the best country . It's the Irish people and the craic . Foreign people just don't get it and Yanks are dumb as **** it's true.

bodice ripper

The Netherlands is quite a culture shock. I cannot imagine a Dutch person being able to cope with Ireland.

DLMA23

PizzamanIRL wrote: »

Kazakhstan is the greatest countryyyy in the world.

Actually Kazakhstan is pretty cool, travelled around it with 3 friends a few years ago on Ural motorcycles.

Unfortunately this was in July & temps rose over 35C

The capital of Astana is an incredibly beautiful, modern city if a little windy, they even have a Radisson hotel & a glass pyramid that lights up with different colours at night :eek:

anncoates

Spent time in Norway and Germany and they're two places I'd live if not here. I liked their society and the countries themselves. Holland is also somewhere I'd like the idea of . Only visited there once or twice but worked for a Dutch company and liked the people and the trips there

In general countries that seem to achieve a balance between prosperity and relative civic cohesion/equality appeal to me.