Good Communities for Progressive Vegetarians?

CJoshuaV

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The current political climate in the US has us considering a few years abroad now that we're empty nesters. I'm a police firearms instructor and counter-terrorism expert. My wife is a veterinarian (who is a Swiss citizen and registered to practice in Ireland as well as the U.K.). I assume I'm eligible for a Stamp 4, but haven't pursued it actively.[/font]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]We currently live in a very progressive, university community in a big city. Lots of great restaurants of different ethnicities, neighbors from all over the world, progressive politics (Amendment 8 is something virtually none of our neighbors would support, and LGBT rights are taken as a given), and lots of eco-friendly greenspace for walking and biking. Most importantly for us, there's lots of vegetarian food readily available.[/font]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]As some of you may know, communities like ours are under siege by both our federal government and red-state (Republican) legislatures. We are thinking it might be nice to live for a few years in a country that's not led by an infantile egomaniac in the service of plutocrats and religious fundamentalists. Ireland seems like a definite possibility.[/font]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]We're planning a trip for next spring or summer, with the hopes of getting in some nice hikes and seeing some touristy spots, but the primary goal will be to explore communities where we might like to live.[/font]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I've found a few decent lists of vegetarian restaurants, but I'm having trouble finding lists of communities that might be a good fit for us. I welcome any suggestions about places we should visit, explore (or avoid).[/font]

millie35

Check out Cloughjordan eco village www.thevillage.ie

Breezer

If you're used to big city living, and want to stick with something similar here, your only option is Dublin really (population 1 million), with the next largest urban centre being Cork (population 125,000).

You'll find a multicultural population, ethnic restaurants, parks etc. in either of those. Vegetarian food is available everywhere, although the quality varies, but that's a restaurant by restaurant thing rather than an area by area thing. A lot of mainstream non-veggie places seem to think parmesan is vegetarian but it's usually not a problem to have it left off. Vegan food can be a bit trickier but it's very doable with a bit of planning (don't expect New York or LA though). Obviously the cities provide more variety, as is the case everywhere.

As regards politics, Ireland is more liberal in general than most of the US (the US Democratic Party would be considered centre to right of centre here). The stereotype of a conservative Catholic country is about as relevant to modern Ireland as Robert E Lee's policies are to modern America. We beat the US to same sex marriage, which was voted for by a 2:1 majority of the people, not imposed by parliament. There's some exceptions to our liberal views: abortion rights are the obvious one, though that may be shaken up in the next year or so; you'll also find the population at large is in favour of much stricter gun control than you'd be used to (as in almost nobody except some famers or sports shooters has one, can get one, or wants one - this also applies to the police!)

You'll find Ireland is small. You can go from one side of the country to the other in 2 hours, and nearly everywhere is within a 4 hour drive of everywhere else. If the country in general appeals to you, you'll have no problem finding somewhere that suits you.