US billionaire calls out Ireland as "no one wants to live here"

Omackeral

Sky King wrote: »

And don't get me started on the 'sound irish football fans' changing peoples tyres and cutting people's lawns. Fkin CRINGE.

Biggest load of eejits ever. You’d never seen them doing that over here. Festivals are forever covered in absolute crap after the tents are packed up... that’s if they’re packed up at all. Paddy’s Day the same, place like a tip. They do clean up for the Boys in Green then?!

Those fans that got attention in Euro 2012 really played up to it in Euro 2016, acting the court jester to try to get on to the likes of LAD Bible and Joe.ie, it was actually cringeworthy.

Oh and as for Best Fans in the World? We’re the best for watching British football on TV and claiming their teams as ours, while somehow justifying our hatred of the English in every other Avenue of life. It’s absolutely bizzare. We also, for the most part, ignore our own league “cos it’s muck” but that doesn’t apply to the national team.... but only when they’re in the big time tournaments.

fergiesfolly

Feisar wrote: »

An American... telling us our food is shíte...

Portions weren't big enough probably.

completedit

Gruffalux wrote: »

Haha He is not wrong about the food and weather. It is often shyte but with moments of heart stopping revelation.
I love this country and the people but the whole blather about the wonderful "Irish" is a bit condescending.
I am not all that sad about him thinking we are unfriendly. A bit of honest Eastern European style grumpiness would do us no harm. The top o the morning milking the brim of the hat shyte has long worn thin.
A few years ago I was having a month in Bulgaria and the locals were delightfully unimpressed and misanthropic. None of this licking your arse spiel. They could not give a toss where you were from, had barely the patience or interest to take your order, much less converse. I loved their honest humanity. I found the same in Hungary. Nobody putting on a show. Other countries too. I enjoy it. Plamas is unnerving. Let us be honest and unfriendly and grouchy and say fcuk you Mr Billionaire, like it or lump it, we are done pretending to be nice and oozy all the time like some creepy paedophile uncle. No more sycophancy.

That's so true. I notice Irish people will be so friendly and nice and familiar but then will go and sneer behind someone's back, not even in a nasty way but just in this overly cynical way. It's like we have to offset our initial enthusiasm with some backstabbing. I've seen Bulgarians in action; they won't even pretend to like someone if they find something unlikeable about them. Not saying it's perfect or anything but very different way of being. Who actually gives a **** what this lad thinks?

Mongfinder General

How many people want to move here permanently? I think that most people who move here do so out of need. Even a minimum wage job or two of then is way ahead of what you can earn in Eastern Europe.
Food has improved here but nowhere near the variety offered in the States. Service is ok. As for being friendly, I can’t really see this guy having too many friends outside his social circle.

completedit

Also, Irish people aren't friendly in a Californian/American way. It's a more self-aware friendliness. Californian way can be good but not for everyone.

Mr. CooL ICE

Level 42 wrote: »

Cheese on everything

That stuff that comes out of those squeezy bottles should not even be called cheese

snowstorm445

Sky King wrote: »

We need to get over our obsessive need for validation, to be seen as being 'sound' ... to agonise over how we're perceived elsewhere.

Go on a tourists YouTube video guide OF Ireland, or a video guide which explains irish accents and sayings to outsiders and it's all Irish eejits in the comments.

And don't get me started on the 'sound irish football fans' changing peoples tyres and cutting people's lawns. Fkin CRINGE.

We're not that sound. Its a total veneer of fakeness which is a combination of the aforementioned need for validation mixed with an inferiority complex, blended with our total indirectness as a culture.

Speak to an immigrant in this country. Irish people are unbelievably cliquey and difficult to make good friends with after you crack past the first hour or so.

100% agree with the last comment, most Irish people tend to form their own cliques as early as primary school and never move beyond it. Good luck trying to break into a new social circle in your 20s or 30s, particularly in less urban areas.

I've heard it said from a lot of people that we are great craic for a single night and then we tend to vanish afterwards. Which makes it all the more confusing - if you don't like someone in many European countries, you certainly wouldn't lead them on all evening in that way.

I've been working in Brussels for a while now and you really notice the social attitudes of different nationalities - the southern Europeans are more like us, indirect communicators, whereas the Dutch, the Scandinavians, Finland/Estonia etc are incredibly blunt. I think there's a lot to be said for both, but Irish people can come across as incredibly hard to read.

The problem is that, as with most things in this country unfortunately, Irish people love to compare themselves with countries in the Anglosphere where we have quite an enhanced reputation (mostly because of our diasporas in these countries), whereas for most Europeans, Ireland is just another country, so the "ah sure everyone loves us" line doesn't fly and looks a bit pathetic tbh.

Randy Archer

Elite Genetics wrote: »

Quoting crap weather and unfriendliness.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/youre-not-welcoming-and-no-one-wants-to-live-there-us-billionaire-blasts-ireland-39820146.html

I think he has some valid points. It is dull and depressing, not sure I agree on friendliness though.

I think what he means by no one wants to live here is that the Irish themselves run away to Australia and Canada.

Yanks , many of whom are tight arsed when it comes to spending money, whinging how people are cold to them 😂 .

Something tells me that that chap has issues with people no matter where he goes . At least most of the food prepared here is not pumped full of chemicals like they do in Yankie land

Saying that , cost of living here is ridiculous , in the last 10 years alone . Rent is insane . If you don’t drink alcohol (dry ****es) , a city like Dublin and even Galway can be quiet boring after 6pm for a family with kids . We don’t do enough with taking advantage of our outdoors facilities but in a way that would be rather crass - our walking trails etc are great

lalababa

Sky King wrote: »

Our indirectness is really fukin weird, and it's only when you experience direct cultures that you notice it moreso.

Interesting article on it:
https://www.watershedassociates.com/learning-center-item/direct-communication-vs-indirect-communication.html#:~:text=In%20indirect%20cultures%2C%20on%20the,even%20in%20a%20business%20setting.

There's loads of this stuff online.

Alot of Irish cannot say no. Or infact yes. They would think it the height of rudeness, procrastinating and not giving a direct answer is much more acceptable. I've been let down and beaten around the bush several times in business & social life.

Be right back

Mr. CooL ICE wrote: »

That stuff that comes out of those squeezy bottles should not even be called cheese

Is there such a thing??

adocholiday

Ireland is a wonderful place to live. Like anywhere in the world it has its negatives and those negatives will all vary person to person, but overall I think you'd do well to find much better.

I'd argue that in the cities at least we have an amazing food scene. Dublin has some of the best restaurants I've ever eaten in. The weather is generally great if you're not a sun worshipper. I like hiking and being outdoors and we actually have very few days where you can't get out. I think Irish people are for the most part very friendly, accommodating and helpful.

I've travelled to various parts of the world and to be perfectly honest I've yet to visit a place and think I'd rather live there. We as a country do some things badly but we do a lot of things right and I'd not pass too much heed on what one lad in the States has to say about it.

Multipass

We need to shake off this need for praise. Not everyone will love it here, who cares? Laugh it off. The article sums up the attitude, where they have to attack back because he said mean things. It’s so immature, and widespread - look at our politicians trying to curry favours in Washington on st Patrick’s day.... please love us, we’re Irish.

ChikiChiki

I've travelled extensively for business and leisure. I've lived abroad for years too.

I must say, I quite like it here. There's a lot we can fix but it's pretty darn good overall.

I think there is some resentment coming from the US at the success of Ireland. This administration has not done a whole lot to help for sure and they have effectively labeled us a the bad guy tax haven. That certainly leads to some I'll sentiment from certain quarters.

Anyway, nothing wrong with a bit of critique. Some of us take things too personally. :-)

ShatterAlan

Level 42 wrote: »

He ain't wrong. Terrible weather, poor food all spud based and a country where its not what you know its who you know regarding a career.

Terrible food?


Take Irish food compared to American food. Let's start with breakfast. A bowl of porridge and a slice of brown bread with Kerrygold and marmalade and a cup of tea is infinitely better than their shit dip dried coffee and a donut.
Compare Irish milk, eggs, bread, butter, tomatoes, cucumbers, tea, cheese, bacon, to their American counterparts. There's no contest.

lawred2

ShatterAlan wrote: »

Terrible food?


Take Irish food compared to American food. Let's start with breakfast. A bowl of porridge and a slice of brown bread with Kerrygold and marmalade and a cup of tea is infinitely better than their shit dip dried coffee and a donut.
Compare Irish milk, eggs, bread, butter, tomatoes, cucumbers, tea, cheese, bacon, to their American counterparts. There's no contest.

I would expect that that douche is more referring to the volume of establishments serving lunch/dinner etc. (good and bad food) than the actual raw ingredients themselves..

Anyone thinking that the American sourced ingredients are of a higher standard than Irish is talking abject shoite..

teroknor83

A billionaire can still be a tosspot

Aongus Von Bismarck

I’ve been accused of being a harsh critic on the land of my birth, but the quality of food in Ireland is quite high. Lots of gross breakfast rolls, chicken fillet rolls, and carveries of course, but there’s some fine restaurants, a new food culture, and a high standard of reasonably priced produce in supermarkets.

ShatterAlan

Idbatterim wrote: »

Infrastructure is a joke. Insane marginal rate of tax over a pittance, insane housing costs in Dublin, free accommodation if you are a waster, partially explains the need for an insane marginal tax, which even hits the working poor salary in Dublin... we have a relatively tiny elderly population and no military expenditure either...

Who gets free accommodation?

cgcsb

Food in Ireland is really good though, the Restaurant scene in Dublin is better than most mega cities in my opinion. Even in small towns in Ireland you get pretty decent fare. Mid-Range in New York for example is basically a slightly better presented version of Maccy-Ds

Pkiernan

6 wrote: »

Ireland is a great place to live, work and bring up kids.

You mean live, not got to work, and have the tax payer bring up your kids.

Pkiernan

ShatterAlan wrote: »

Who gets free accommodation?

Every single council tenant in arrears, that's who.

KaneToad

Ireland's weather is not terrible. It is rarely too hot and rarely too cold. We don't have hurricanes/typhoons. We rarely have weather related disasters. Our climate is mild, moist and variable. Personally, I'd hate to have Arizona's summers or Chicago's winters...(or even Arizonas winters and Chicago's summers). We are so lucky that, in general, we don't have to consider air conditioning in our homes.

Food isn't terrible either. Our food production standards surpass those of the USA. Not sure where this guy was eating? Maybe he went to the chipper most nights?

I do agree with him, partially, about the friendly Irish myth. We are nosey and suspicious of outsiders. But once we have you sussed we can be friends.

ShatterAlan

Mongfinder General wrote: »

How many people want to move here permanently? I think that most people who move here do so out of need. Even a minimum wage job or two of then is way ahead of what you can earn in Eastern Europe.
Food has improved here but nowhere near the variety offered in the States. Service is ok. As for being friendly, I can’t really see this guy having too many friends outside his social circle.

What food can you get in the US that you an't get in Ireland?

ElJeffe

Pkiernan wrote: »

Every single council tenant in arrears, that's who.

No. That money still has to be paid. It's not free.

DvB

ShatterAlan wrote: »

What food can you get in the US that you an't get in Ireland?

Chlorinated chicken.

Idbatterim

The ones not paying, the ones paying e50 a week " rent" for luxury apartments in dundrum etc, that are ten times that amount weekly on the private market...

ElJeffe

The worst thing about being Irish is the constant need for a slap on the back and admiration from others. We aren't great at anything in particular sport wise women's boxing aside. Sure look at rugby ffs. It's a sport played by a handful of nations and have we ever even reached a world cup final?? Okay we have some good musicians but that's about it. Also we aren't a particularly handsome or pretty people are we, good lord it's like a collection of Orks stuck on an island.

Parabellum9

Yes what a terribly boring country we live in - our lack of oversized food portions, extreme weather, theatrical politics, insanely overpriced healthcare, arrogant movie like demeanours and school shootings are simply unacceptable. Why would anyone want to live here?

TomTomTim

ElJeffe wrote: »

The worst thing about being Irish is the constant need for a slap on the back and admiration from others. We aren't great at anything in particular sport wise women's boxing aside. Sure look at rugby ffs. It's a sport played by a handful of nations and have we ever even reached a world cup final?? Okay we have some good musicians but that's about it. Also we aren't a particularly handsome or pretty people are we, good lord it's like a collection of Orks stuck on an island.

This is why the Irish will never be independent in a pure sense. When you shape your values based on validation, you have no true values, you become whatever you need to become to get validation. It's a big part of the reason the Irish are so proud of how "progressive" we are.

cgcsb

KaneToad wrote: »

Food isn't terrible either. Our food production standards surpass those of the USA. Not sure where this guy was eating? Maybe he went to the chipper most nights?

Typical Irish chippers are vastly superior to the fast food offering in the USA which is 99% dominated by chains.