Would you ever consider moving to continental Europe? And if so where?

snotboogie

HalloweenJack wrote: »

When it comes to the weather, Ireland is a very safe option. There's no extremes either way. I can't stand Irish weather and the long winters wreck my mental health but I can also appreciate that its good to have some balance.

The "four seasons in a day" climate makes it impossible to plan any outdoor activity in Ireland. The long dark winters are also terrible for mental health as you mention. We also are not immune to extreme weather as flooding has devastating affects nearly every year here. I think we have one of the worst climates of any populated region.

bocaman

Would like to live in Italy, Venice to be exact. Just a pipedream now and unlikely to happen.

CelticRambler

snotboogie wrote: »

The "four seasons in a day" climate makes it impossible to plan any outdoor activity in Ireland.

Expecting perfect weather every day in the summer turns any outdoor activity into a catastrophe in other countries, if the weather doesn't cooperate. I've (not) attended far more "cancelled due to weather" events in the last ten years in France than I did in 20 years in Ireland. The most recent one was last August. It wasn't entirely cancelled, but had been organised as a Covid-aware outdoor event to round off a month-long exercise and suddenly had to be relocated to an indoor venue with all the Covid-implications of same.

snotboogie

CelticRambler wrote: »

Expecting perfect weather every day in the summer turns any outdoor activity into a catastrophe in other countries, if the weather doesn't cooperate. I've (not) attended far more "cancelled due to weather" events in the last ten years in France than I did in 20 years in Ireland. The most recent one was last August. It wasn't entirely cancelled, but had been organised as a Covid-aware outdoor event to round off a month-long exercise and suddenly had to be relocated to an indoor venue with all the Covid-implications of same.

I never said you can expect perfect weather every day however the weather in France is far more predictable than it is in Ireland.

snotboogie

snotboogie wrote: »

I never said you can expect perfect weather every day however the weather in France is far more predictable than it is in Ireland.

You move from comparing Ireland to Paris and now Ireland to France. France is big. Pick an area.

I would guess that Paris gets more sun than Dublin but similar rain.

Tyrone212

Has anyone ever lived in Iceland? What did you make of it?

Tyrone212

Tyrone212 wrote: »

Has anyone ever lived in Iceland? What did you make of it?

Not as Icy as you’d think.

Don’t get me started on Greenland.

snotboogie

[Deleted User] wrote: »

You move from comparing Ireland to Paris and now Ireland to France. France is big. Pick an area.

I would guess that Paris gets more sun than Dublin but similar rain.

I never once mentioned Paris

seenitall

Last summer in London was absolutely scorching. Now, if we could get those kind of days here in the west of Ireland even a third of the time, we’d have something approaching a proper summer, and with all the beautiful beaches here..... ahhh heaven (one can only dream).

The frustrating thing is that London is really not that far away!

Graces7

McGiver wrote: »

Gothenburg vs Skåne makes a difference, but yeah winters are long and days short there I hear, the latitude makes a difference. I've always been in Scandinavia only in summer.

I lived in Orkney many years and daylight in winter 4-6 hours. The summers made up for it and you get used to it.

seenitall

seenitall wrote: »

Last summer in London was absolutely scorching. Now, if we could get those kind of days here in the west of Ireland even a third of the time, we’d have something approaching a proper summer, and with all the beautiful beaches here..... ahhh heaven (one can only dream).

The frustrating thing is that London is really not that far away!

London in the heat is not that nice. The real temperature is much higher than the met office official results. It depends though on the humidity as in Ireland. A dry heat is grand anywhere.

(Until you drop dead of dehydration but that’s another story).

seenitall

Deleted User wrote: »

London in the heat is not that nice. The real temperature is much higher than the met office official results. It depends though on the humidity as in Ireland. A dry heat is grand anywhere.

(Until you drop dead of dehydration but that’s another story).

Yeah you see I think it depends on what you grew up with, basically. That can be your preference a lot of the time. My daughter is Irish and she positively loves the rainy, windy weather we have here all year round. I will never get that, as I grew up with the hot, dry summers (miss them so much!) and below zero winters (don’t miss them as much, tbf).

I’m in heaven when I’m sweating like crazy on a hot summer’s day and I have to tip a bottle of water over myself to cool myself down in the street. Within 10 minutes I’ll be dry again. It’s such a good feeling. I did live my first quarter century with the summers of up to 35 C easily, so that sticks I guess, and I miss them.

CelticRambler

snotboogie wrote: »

I never said you can expect perfect weather every day however the weather in France is far more predictable than it is in Ireland.

As fvp4 points out, you're going to have to be a lot more specific in your comparison/contrast. The weather in Brittany (one part of France) is pretty much identical to Ireland. The weather in the new Hauts de France region is completely different to the new Nouvelle Aquitaine region. The latter is same size as the whole of Ireland (give or take a few square kilometres), and the weather in the top right-hand corner is nothing like the weather in the bottom left.

In fact, the expression "quatre saisons dans la même journée" is used to describe the typical weather in several parts of France (Brittany and Normandy for a start). And one of the most popular widgets on our national forecaster's website is the "Pluie dans l'heure" tool - will it, or won't it rain, in the next hour. I've been using it all day to plan my outdoor work and breaks today, and I don't live in any of the regions I named as examples above. Funny that a country with supposedly predictable weather would go to the trouble of developing such a popular tool!

seenitall

CelticRambler wrote: »

As fvp4 points out, you're going to have to be a lot more specific in your comparison/contrast. The weather in Brittany (one part of France) is pretty much identical to Ireland. The weather in the new Hauts de France region is completely different to the new Nouvelle Aquitaine region. The latter is same size as the whole of Ireland (give or take a few square kilometres), and the weather in the top right-hand corner is nothing like the weather in the bottom left.

In fact, the expression "quatre saisons dans la même journée" is used to describe the typical weather in several parts of France (Brittany and Normandy for a start). And one of the most popular widgets on our national forecaster's website is the "Pluie dans l'heure" tool - will it, or won't it rain, in the next hour. I've been using it all day to plan my outdoor work and breaks today, and I don't live in any of the regions I named as examples above. Funny that a country with supposedly predictable weather would go to the trouble of developing such a popular tool!

I spent a week around Deauville area last summer and it was hot and sunny every day. I mean real hot. Tout le monde was on the beach there. Is that some fluke of luck I had there, or is it that their summers are a tiny bit better than we get here, quand meme?

The west of Ireland, we had the summer 2020 of 5 days from end of May into June, and a few days in August, by all accounts. (By a summer, I mean enough sun to get us into the very early 20s C at least, at which point I run to the beach, as I know it won’t last!). Every 5 years or so, we get a proper summer here, where 25 C will last some weeks. 2018 was the last one.

Kivaro

Deleted User wrote: »

Not as Icy as you’d think.

Don’t get me started on Greenland.

Not as Green as you'd think?

seenitall

seenitall wrote: »

Yeah you see I think it depends on what you grew up with, basically. That can be your preference a lot of the time. My daughter is Irish and she positively loves the rainy, windy weather we have here all year round. I will never get that, as I grew up with the hot, dry summers (miss them so much!) and below zero winters (don’t miss them as much, tbf).

I’m in heaven when I’m sweating like crazy on a hot summer’s day and I have to tip a bottle of water over myself to cool myself down in the street. Within 10 minutes I’ll be dry again. It’s such a good feeling. I did live my first quarter century with the summers of up to 35 C easily, so that sticks I guess, and I miss them.

I don’t like wet or windy weather. I’m talking about the major heat islands you get in London. The street I was living on had a temperature of 50C according to my measurements. The general temp was mid 30s but they measure outside London or in Hyde park. My street was narrow, concrete buildings and pavement, south facing, had tube exhaust tunnels etc. Nasty. No air con either.

CelticRambler

seenitall wrote: »

I spent a week around Deauville area last summer and it was hot and sunny every day. I mean real hot. Tout le monde was on the beach there. Is that some fluke of luck I had there, or is it that their summers are a tiny bit better than we get here, quand meme?

Which week? One of the 2-in-100-years heatwave weeks, perhaps?

You can pick any example of how the weather during one holiday in one country was better (or worse) than your general impressions of what you remember the weather being like when you lived in one part of another country at some point in the past. The long and the short of it is, though, that choosing to move to a different country purely to have different weather is a gamble, as any single country can have different weather patterns in different regions, and climate change means that whatever you might think you're signing up for could be historical by the time you move.

seenitall

CelticRambler wrote: »

Which week? One of the 2-in-100-years heatwave weeks, perhaps?

You can pick any example of how the weather during one holiday in one country was better (or worse) than your general impressions of what you remember the weather being like when you lived in one part of another country at some point in the past. The long and the short of it is, though, that choosing to move to a different country purely to have different weather is a gamble, as any single country can have different weather patterns in different regions, and climate change means that whatever you might think you're signing up for could be historical by the time you move.

Really? So it was just pure luck and I was in Normandy last year on a 2-in-100 years’ event week? Blimey, that climate sounds much worse than Galway even! Thanks!

CelticRambler

seenitall wrote: »

Really? So it was just pure luck and I was in Normandy last year on a 2-in-100 years’ event week? Blimey, that climate sounds much worse than Galway even! Thanks!

Well I don't know for sure, as you haven't said which week. But Normandy recorded its highest ever temperatures last summer during the heatwave (worse than 2003). Most of the northern parts of France experienced temperatures higher than the southern half during that period.

zweton

Anyone bought in Seville or living there currently?

flipflophead22

Anyone else considering moving to continental Europe after this is all over?

ancapailldorcha

flipflophead22 wrote: »

Anyone else considering moving to continental Europe after this is all over?

Yep. I'd love the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Germany or France. Just had my first job application binned.

completedit

I always get lonely in France for some reason. I always feel very isolated and alienated while there. I have such fond memories of long summers down the south of France but when you're there as an adult, you're not near the sea, it's winter and it's cold and dreary and everywhere is closed on a Sunday, just gives me a sad feeling

Hamachi

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Yep. I'd love the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Germany or France. Just had my first job application binned.

If you choose Germany, start learning the language before you leave. It’s not extraordinarily difficult, but it takes longer to get to the point of basic proficiency vs. Latin-based languages.

Too many people are under the impression that all Germans speak English. They don’t. They’re usually pretty accommodating of non-German speakers for your first year or two in the country. However, if you aren’t showing decent proficiency at that point, they’ll think that you’re taking the piss.

Gorteen

Portugal.... and more specifically, east Algarve

Feria40

Spain, South of Spain. Perhaps Torremolinos and I don't care who judges me

Mister Vain

flipflophead22 wrote: »

Anyone else considering moving to continental Europe after this is all over?

I'd love to but getting a job is the problem. Prague or Vienna would be great.

humberklog

Feria40 wrote: »

Spain, South of Spain. Perhaps Torremolinos and I don't care who judges me

A really handy thing about Torremolinos is that it's just a 25 minute commuter bus spin into Malaga City which is not a bad town at all and it has high speed train links to some cracking places for really cheap fares.

I love France but I can't be the only person to find it sorta boring after staying for a little while and in winter the shutters just get pulled down and the people sorta hibernate.

I'm actively looking at property in Crete at the moment, it won't happen for another year or two but I'm keeping an eye on the market to see what effects Brexit is having on it.
Lovely weather, people and food and good scope for working in what I do here.

Feria40

humberklog wrote: »

A really handy thing about Torremolinos is that it's just a 25 minute commuter bus spin into Malaga City which is not a bad town at all and it has high speed train links to some cracking places for really cheap fares.

If I could just figure out the part of making enough money to support a family in reasonable comfort..:pac:

Crete, another fine spot and great people

josip

completedit wrote: »

I always get lonely in France for some reason. I always feel very isolated and alienated while there. I have such fond memories of long summers down the south of France but when you're there as an adult, you're not near the sea, it's winter and it's cold and dreary and everywhere is closed on a Sunday, just gives me a sad feeling

yes, plus all their houses are back to front.