How bad is Eastern Europe etc

Jimbob1977

I've been to Macedonia twice.

Skopje is modern and relatively picturesque.

Meanwhile, Lake Ohrid is a renowned UNESCO world heritage site.

However if you venture beyond Skopje's suburbs, there is definitely poverty and deprivation. Ramshackle houses and old cars abound.

There's a bit of a "Northern Ireland" vibe as the Albanian population is 30%. The fear is that the ethnic Albanians want to create a 'Greater Albania' with Kosovo and today's Albania.

The Macedonian people are pleasant.

Hilarious that the government put up statues of Hellenic heroes (like Alexander The Great) in Skopje just to antagonise Greece.

Macedonians are mainly Slavic, so the Greeks are furious that Hellenic culture has been misappropriated by Slavs.

Now that the naming issue has been resolved (official name became North Macedonia), EU membership is the goal.

AndyBoBandy

andala wrote: »

They may not consider themselves EE but we, Poles, call them Russians anyway :P (A lot of Latvians consider themselves Russian due to their history of the USSR moving Russians into the Latvian territory)

The same as Irish people being called British, it’s quite offensive.

The Latvians that consider themselves Russian is because they are Russian (like the British living in Northern Ireland). They don’t even hold Latvian passports because they can’t get them (they can only get travel permits).

andala wrote: »

We've suffered indescribable atrocities from the Soviets and a deep dislike and distrust are still there, decades later.

Replace the word Soviets (Russians) with English, and were pretty much in the same club.....

breezy1985

dmrules wrote: »

Hi, I am here 20 years(used to live in UK for 3 years previously, didn't like it though) I am from Poland. Didn't come to Ireland to save money etc. I like the country , people, good craic, etc. Never been on the dole . Bought the house in 2005. Settled down for good I'd say.
I don't agree with the statement "2004 that Irish unemployment rates have not shot up with this hoards of Eastern Europeans coming over and claiming our social welfare"
I thought that recession was the reason of huge numbers signing up for the dole not "hoards of EE coming here claiming our social welfare" ( claiming our jobs )

Thanks

I was leaving school and getting my first job just as the Polish and Lithuanians were moving to Limerick big time.

Best thing ever happened the town. All the new shops, accents, ideas and just out of a school of all Irish kids it was great to work with so many different peoples.

Eleven Benevolent Elephants

Niner leprauchan wrote: »

I'm assuming you mean children's allowance? As is their legal right as tax payers in the republic of Ireland and it's not as easy as I'm betting you think it is.

I know as my family live abroad and we claim children's allowance

I'll ignore the rest as typical bull**** allegations best kept to rag uk papers.



Like what? Please do explain how they avoid the habit residency requirements, eu regulations and our own social welfare act which allows quite a bit of leeway in both investigating and refusing claims

We are in the eu. I have benefited from that in spain's superior health system. I have benefited from the German systems.

There's far more Irish scamming than 'dam foreigners'

That's a joke son.
It went right over your head.

dxhound2005

How bad is Western Europe etc that has so many of them here. Britain is in Western Europe so I am including the British.

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpnin/cpnin/

jmayo

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Poland although not in the Soviet State, might as well have been as they were run by Moscow.

Lithuania/Latvia/Estonia are collectively known as the Baltic States, and don't consider themselves to be Eastern Europe

Ah feckin hell.
All of Europe past the Elbe, West and South of Austria was under Soviet control or as good as in the case of Yugoslavia.
And the Baltic states were actually subsumed into Soviet Union as old part of Russian Empire.

And as andala mentions they have and had a huge Russian population thanks in no small part to good old Stalin and his ilk.
Watch how those countries vote for Russia in Eurovision, if you can bear to watch that shyte.

andala wrote: »

They may not consider themselves EE but we, Poles, call them Russians anyway :P (A lot of Latvians consider themselves Russian due to their history of the USSR moving Russians into the Latvian territory)

Calling Poland an Eastern European country will not be met with great enthusiasm as it's comparable to calling Ireland Western Britain. We've suffered indescribable atrocities from the Soviets and a deep dislike and distrust are still there, decades later.

Post Soviet countries have an astonishing variety of holiday opportunities - high mountains, low mountains, the cold-ish Baltic sea, the warm Black sea, lakelands and more than enough historic sites across all the countries. You don't have to the touristy Krakow/Prague/ Auschwitz thing, go somewhere less popular and you'll have a much better time.

So when are you folks giving back Breslau and Danzig
I am kidding, ok.

The Poles got screwed over by both sides.
The Western Allies started a war to supposedly help Poland and then ended up presenting it on a plate to Stalin.
Of course that was after it was wrecked and moved Westwards.
Some freaking Allies they turned out to be.

I know one depressing thing in former Soviet Union or Eastern Bloc was the old soviet style buildings.
Freakin awful horrible sights.
Fecking tower blocks made Ballymum look positively enticing.

But a lot of cities in Central and Eastern Europe have fantastic old sections and loads of history.

jmayo

jmayo wrote: »

Sorry to nitpick, but a fair few people here are referencing the likes of Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia when afaik a lot of these people see themselves as Central European and definitely not Eastern European.

They see Eastern Europe as really the former Soviet states.

I have been chastised about this by Polish colleagues.

People have moved here and the likes of UK because standard of living is better.
And the standard of living depends on the country in question.
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Hungary would definitely be far better than say Moldova, Romania, Belarus.




Estonia women are hot.

There's east and west, not central because it's referring to the iron curtain, not a geographic location.

It's perfectly correct to refer to central nations as east or west if you are only dividing the continent into two sections.

ohnonotgmail

Niner leprauchan wrote: »

There's east and west, not central because it's referring to the iron curtain, not a geographic location.

It's perfectly correct to refer to central nations as east or west if you are only dividing the continent into two sections.

if dividing the continent forces you to refer to Poland as Eastern Europe then perhaps you shouldn't limit yourself by only dividing it in two.

pgj2015

DangerScouse wrote: »

Yeap. Dated a Hungarian girl years ago who worked here in a beauty salon for 5 years and saved up enough to buy outright a brand new house in Hungary.

I find eastern european people in general to be fantastic and love their work ethic (much like the Irish in that regard) and have high family values. They are mostly also deeply proud nationalists which is to be greatly admired.

I agree. They also are usually very good at things like kitting and diy etc. And they make sure their kids learn to look after themselves, they know how to cook at 10 years old or younger. most Irish teenagers would probably burn the house down if they tried to make themselves a sandwich.

pgj2015

RobertKK wrote: »

I have Romanian friends and will visit them when all this virus stuff is over.
Some of the nicest people I have ever come across.
Romania is a country that reminds me of Ireland growing up, they have the emigration, but now they have the higher economic growth (excluding the virus anomaly) the motorways are being built so it is a country in a rapid transformation.
I hope they keep their traditions and culture. It is a Latin country in an area dominated by Slavic
I see is as a major tourist destination in Europe in the coming decades, between the Carpathian mountains, the Danube Delta - ranked as the third most important biopshere on the planet after the Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos islands and then there is the Black Sea coastline, not to mention all the castles and beautiful Transylvania.
Wages are on the rise but they have the lowest cost of living in the EU.
Many go abroad to make some better money, but their country is a hidden jewel.
What I find is people holding prejudices against the country due to the Roma people who make up 3% of the population.
If people look beyond their prejudices they will discover a great country with people to match.

The Romanians get a bad rep in Ireland generally because of the Roma gypsies who just come here to beg and steal but the other Romanians I have come across are lovely people, some of the nicest people I have ever met. it is probably like our own Irish gypsies who give us a bad name in any country they visit.

whisky_galore

pgj2015 wrote: »

The Romanians get a bad rep in Ireland generally because of the Roma gypsies who just come here to beg and steal but the other Romanians I have come across are lovely people, some of the nicest people I have ever met. it is probably like our own Irish gypsies who give us a bad name in any country they visit.

Again, Roma aren't all from Romania and Travellers aren't Gypsies.

TM2015

andala wrote: »

They may not consider themselves EE but we, Poles, call them Russians anyway :P (A lot of Latvians consider themselves Russian due to their history of the USSR moving Russians into the Latvian territory)

You will also find that people from the Baltic States consider Poland ‘Russian’ and do look quite down on Poland and Polish people. Your average Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian culturally has a lot less common with Russia than Poland. You fill find Estonia and Northern Latvia to be quite Nordic, Latvia in general rather German and Lithuania, well not sure about them, think a bit of everything really but definitely not Nordic. And let’s be honest here, while the Baltic states were annexed by the Soviets, Poland openly embraced socialism.

The Latvians and Estonians that consider themselves Russian are Russian. Immigrated during the soviet occupation. You can’t change your ethnicity really.

Eastern Europe is incredibly diverse. You have the Baltic States which in reality are Northern European counties. You have places like Slovenia and Hungary, then Belarus and Ukraine, how about Albania and Kosovo? You’d be a bit dumb if you lumped them all in together and made assumptions that it’s pretty much the same place. It’s be like having been to Holland and assuming that life in Britain would be the same.

Also, the Iron Curtain fell 30 years ago. I think it’s time we got over thhat and stopped referring to a quarter of our the continent as ex Soviet states. Might as well keep calling Ireland ex British Colony. They are counties with their own identities!

Rant over! Only been to a handful of places. They’re all lovely!

ohnonotgmail

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

if dividing the continent forces you to refer to Poland as Eastern Europe then perhaps you shouldn't limit yourself by only dividing it in two.

Yes, because in 1945 I made the political decisions that resulted in this.

I have Latvian tenants who repainted the inside of the place from spare paint I left in the attic. I noticed when visiting the country that everywhere was very freshly painted looking, and having got chatting with a couple of people there I heard that traditionally they like to redecorate as regularly as possible. I also observed a police car being recharged at an electric point!

ILoveYourVibes

From what I know..its not so much living as a young person that is bad. You actually could have a nicer life there in some ways.

But as you get older pensions etc ...its a disaster.

Either you make it big or you are begging in your old age. Particularly women.

Plus working here for a bit ...would set you up back in poland ...to retire comfortably.

ILoveYourVibes

kravmaga wrote: »

Czech republic is in Central Europe.

I've been 3 times, Prague and Ostrava.

Very industrialised, good transport systems, great food and the best beer in the world.

Prague is a far superior city compared to Dublin, beautiful buildings, museums.

English is spoken and they are very friendly people.

In many ways Czech republic is very advanced compared to Ireland.

You can say that too tbh.

galwayguy85

I"m a lad living and working in outside Ireland these times. Starting out, I had to do some work that was very over-qualified for. Namely, working for a computer reseller - inspecting incoming gear, cleaning it and getting ready for sale... all that.

I had no choice but to work in immediate proximity to a Ukrainian mail-order bride (who was only there on account of the fact that her 'local' husband worked there already).

She was as thick as two short planks and spoke in a strange mixture of English, the local language and Ukrainian. She had zero tech skills and was only capable of cleaning. For example, she would (sometimes) squirt an entire bottle of window cleaner in my general direction on a given day. For months at a time she would also insist on leaving electrical heaters switched on 24/7. Imagine that on a sunny day in May!

Anyway, to get to the point of the post, I developed reduced lung function as a result of the dry air and other sh!tė she sprayed in my face. I have since found a better paid job but some symptoms remain - phlegm in my throat that may never fuçk off.

To give the girl a nickname, I like to refer to her as 'My Little Taste Of Chernobyl'.

The EU needs to take a bit more care in terms of who enters its borders.

spurious

Have travelled quite a lot in the old USSR, Baltic States and Poland over the last 40 years or so.
I remember thinking the people who moved here must have thought they had come to some hellhole here when they would first see what passes for fruit and veg here.

breezy1985

galwayguy85 wrote: »

I"m a lad living and working in outside Ireland these times. Starting out, I had to do some work that was very over-qualified for. Namely, working for a computer reseller - inspecting incoming gear, cleaning it and getting ready for sale... all that.

I had no choice but to work in immediate proximity to a Ukrainian mail-order bride (who was only there on account of the fact that her 'local' husband worked there already).

She was as thick as two short planks and spoke in a strange mixture of English, the local language and Ukrainian. She had zero tech skills and was only capable of cleaning. For example, she would (sometimes) squirt an entire bottle of window cleaner in my general direction on a given day. For months at a time she would also insist on leaving electrical heaters switched on 24/7. Imagine that on a sunny day in May!

Anyway, to get to the point of the post, I developed reduced lung function as a result of the dry air and other sh!tė she sprayed in my face. I have since found a better paid job but some symptoms remain - phlegm in my throat that may never fuçk off.

To give the girl a nickname, I like to refer to her as 'My Little Taste Of Chernobyl'.

The EU needs to take a bit more care in terms of who enters its borders.

Did the window cleaner damage your command of the English language too?

galwayguy85

breezy1985 wrote: »

Did the window cleaner damage your command of the English language too?

Maybe the company of a failed air hostess does that to a man. A grammar Nazi I shall never be. You can assume that role, bud. :-)

ILoveYourVibes

I don't like this weird view Irish men have of foreign women. Either they are thick or sexy..or less sexy or more sexually active or less sexually active or ...whatever ..its almost like they are ALL different!

completedit

spurious wrote: »

Have travelled quite a lot in the old USSR, Baltic States and Poland over the last 40 years or so.
I remember thinking the people who moved here must have thought they had come to some hellhole here when they would first see what passes for fruit and veg here.

Yeah, our fruit and veg is ****e.

breezy1985

galwayguy85 wrote: »

Maybe the company of a failed air hostess does that to a man. A grammar Nazi I shall never be. You can assume that role, bud. :-)

Grammer is one thing but you dont seem to be able to speak English yet you can call this Ukranian woman thick

AndyBoBandy

ShamNNspace wrote: »

For me its hard to beat strolling down laisves aleja in Kaunas in the spring or winter snow, making your way down to the old town to meet up with someone. O motoring there drivers drive a bit aggressively imv but you get used to it

Didn't spend a whole lot of time in Kaunas, as we were all based in Vilnius.

I did however go to a Euro 2021 qualifier between Lithuania & Spain in Kaunas which was good craic. There were loads of Spaniards working with us and they got tickets. Spain were reigning World & European champions at the time (and also went on to win Euro 2012), so it was good to see them play and win 1-3.

ohnonotgmail

Niner leprauchan wrote: »

Yes, because in 1945 I made the political decisions that resulted in this.

you are the one deciding to use a classification that makes no sense.

ShamNNspace

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Didn't spend a whole lot of time in Kaunas, as we were all based in Vilnius.

I did however go to a Euro 2021 qualifier between Lithuania & Spain in Kaunas which was good craic. There were loads of Spaniards working with us and they got tickets. Spain were reigning World & European champions at the time (and also went on to win Euro 2012), so it was good to see them play and win 1-3.

Basketball is king in Kaunas, its Zalgiris home town. A lot of tourism potential in Lithuania imv as long as they stay away from the stag weekend kind of thing al a prague

bear1

I live in Warsaw, and have done for the past 11 years.
Cost wise, it is not a cheap city. The salaries are nothing special and the job market is saturated with outsourced work so your main scope will be operations.
The market is stable though.
PLN doesn't go very far once you hit the Eurozone unless you earn very very well. I've just come back from a 2 week holiday in Italy and it was painful to see the cost of it.
There is a big discrepancy between classes here and it's very common to see homeless people wandering around the streets pissed off of their tits asking you for money.
It's a safe city but with a terrible Government, close to authoritarian.
I find a lot of products to be cheaper in Ireland than here. Food in supermarkets and clothing for example.

AndyBoBandy

ShamNNspace wrote: »

Basketball is king in Kaunas, its Zalgiris home town. A lot of tourism potential in Lithuania imv as long as they stay away from the stag weekend kind of thing al a prague

Oh I know all about the basketball, and their love for it.. Lithuania hosted Eurobasket when I was there, and it was HUGE!! as in everywhere.., and again, luckily for the Spanish lads I was working with, Spain won it ,and they got to party with the Spanish team after the final..

Don't usually see a whole lot of stag weekenders there, though I did see a few the odd time, but they were always reasonably well behaved. The Police in Lithuania take no sh1t, and are not to be trifled with...

We always try to get to Palanga at least every 2 years for summer holidays, it's a great seaside resort type town, full of touristy stuff.. The beach has a bar/restaurant every 200 meters or so, actually on the beach. The last time we were there we stayed in a famous basketballs hotel (he's ex NBA and is son is currently in the NBA, and apparently he was there the same time as us).

Regis779

I think it started off after the Communsit regime fell apart and these countries were in a bad state in terms of economy, so people started emigrating out need. Now some emigrate because they dream of easier money, but as someone from Eastern Europe, I think the situation is getting remarkably better in terms of jobs

ohnonotgmail

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

you are the one deciding to use a classification that makes no sense.

Just so we are in the same page here, are you suggesting that Europe was not split down the approximate middle during the cold war and referred to as 'east' and 'West'? That I have made this up?

This should hopefully clarify the usage of these terms for you based on the cold war that started long before my birth.

You will note the colour red for Poland and the color red referring to the 'eastern bloc'.

https://www.quia.com/files/quia/users/rebekahedelman/Europe