Living in Ireland vs living in Italy

Oruam · 14-05-2017 10:35pm #1

I live in Northern Italy and I've never lived in Ireland, but I am considering the possibility to move there.

Can anyone who has lived in both countries (better if in Northern Italy, since the lifestyle is very different in the South) give his/her opinion about pros and cons?

I myself can already guess some Italy's pros:

food: I've been in Ireland, and I loved your food (meat, mostly), but I believe that nothing can compare with our cuisine.

sun: the green island is not really known for its sunny days. I'm already a pale guy, I don't know how light my skin would become in Eire!

Yet, the Italian summer is way too hot and humid: saying that it's unpleasant is an understatement!

the sea: where I live, the sea doesn't offer the clear blue waters you're probably used to see on touristic booklets. But, at least, from June to August the water is warm enough to go bathing. Don't think I could be brave enough to swim into the Atlantic waters more than 5 minutes!

health system: afaik, in Ireland almost everything in this area has to be paid, and quite a lot. In Italy, many things are free for a lot of people, and even when you pay, it's not that much. Here I know nobody who has a medical insurance.

beautiful towns centres: every Italian town (like many villages, in some areas) has a beautiful historical centre, with many medieval or Renaissance houses and plazas. Don't know if it can be said the same for Ireland.

Some pros of Ireland (the only ones I can think about, not having lived there):
beautiful green landscapes;
more affordable sport clubs;
very friendly people (at least, according to the little experience I had of Irish people);
a great tradition of folk music! (I love it)
pubs with folk music played live;
not many problems to find rooms to rent, I think.

I'll be grateful to anyone who will tell me their opinions!

skallywag · 15-05-2017 4:26pm

Oruam wrote: »

not many problems to find rooms to rent, I think.

Take care on this one, there is a major housing crisis in Ireland at the moment, fueled by a major shortage of rental properties.

I'm from Ireland originally and now live in central europe, about 2 hours or so from the Italian border. What would your motivation for moving to Ireland be?

cml387 · 15-05-2017 4:29pm

Can we swop?

Seriously though I wonder why you want to move unless it's for a specific job. I've been in Italy quite a lot on holiday and I'd prefer Italy....
..if I had infinite riches and could by a hilltop villa in Tuscany.

Oruam · 15-05-2017 5:26pm

skallywag wrote: »

Oruam wrote: »

not many problems to find rooms to rent, I think.

Take care on this one, there is a major housing crisis in Ireland at the moment, fueled by a major shortage of rental properties.

[/quote]
Really? Looking at daft and rent.ie it seemed that there were a lot of offers.

Oruam · 15-05-2017 5:28pm

skallywag wrote: »

I'm from Ireland originally and now live in central europe, about 2 hours or so from the Italian border. What would your motivation for moving to Ireland be?

cml387 wrote: »

Can we swop?

Seriously though I wonder why you want to move unless it's for a specific job. I've been in Italy quite a lot on holiday and I'd prefer Italy....
..if I had infinite riches and could by a hilltop villa in Tuscany.

[/quote]
It would be for a specific job, indeed. I'd like to become a Garda, you know. Of course if I had so much money to buy a villa on the hills of Tuscany I wouldn't think of moving anywhere, but it seems that you have to be a noble, an upper-class Oxford graduate Brit or a Chinese businessman to be that lucky!

Oruam · 15-05-2017 5:49pm

To explain it better, at first I wanted to become a secondary teacher in my country, and I enrolled in a master's degree in History for this purpose.
But it's become a major challenge to qualify to teach: I'd have to spend another year to take additional exams (out of the university, that means paying a lot for each one) and to prepare for the next year selection for a 3 years student teacher course.
All this to do one of the worst paid graduate jobs ever, with tons of responsibilities and no consideration from the government and the "fellow" citizens. You see that it's not really worth the effort and the expenses.

So I've decided to look in other directions, also considering that I'd already thought of moving abroad.

And since I like Ireland and I like the idea of doing what I think is a necessary and helpful job (and satisfying, I think), I'll try to join An Garda Siochana (but I'll compete also for the Italian police, however)

Oruam · 15-05-2017 5:58pm

But from your comments I would say that you consider Ireland quite a bad place to live in, am I wrong?

cml387 · 15-05-2017 6:03pm

No not at all. It's just if I had money and choice I'd live elsewhere.

Ireland's not a bad place overall. The health service is worse than some European countries but better than others.

I'd look at the reasons why you want to leave Italy and see if those can be fixed by moving here.

Stephen15 · 15-05-2017 6:09pm

I visit Italy regularly. Love the country espeically the food, weather and people. I find Italian people very friendly espeically in the south but the northerners are friendly too. I think I'd prefer Italy. Italy espeically the north has much better facilities than Ireland like better public transport, better healthcare etc.

Stheno · 15-05-2017 6:11pm

Oruam wrote: »

Sorry, for some reason the post got duplicated.

To explain it better, at first I wanted to become a secondary teacher in my country, and I enrolled in a master's degree in History for this purpose.
But it's become a major challenge to qualify to teach: I'd have to spend another year to take additional exams (out of the university, that means paying a lot for each one) and to prepare for the next year selection for a 3 years student teacher course.
All this to do one of the worst paid graduate jobs ever, with tons of responsibilities and no consideration from the government and the "fellow" citizens. You see that it's not really worth the effort and the expenses.

So I've decided to look in other directions, also considering that I'd already thought of moving abroad.

And since I like Ireland and I like the idea of doing what I think is a necessary and helpful job (and satisfying, I think), I'll try to join An Garda Siochana (but I'll compete also for the Italian police, however)

Have you researched the guards recruitment process?

cml387 · 15-05-2017 6:17pm

We have a saying, I don't know if there's an Italian equivalent, but it is "The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill".

You could join the gardai but you need to be here at least a year before you can apply, and applications only open irregularly so you 'd need to find work as something else first.

Oruam · 15-05-2017 7:49pm

cml387 wrote: »

No not at all. It's just if I had money and choice I'd live elsewhere.

yeah, it was a little provocation ;)

Stheno wrote: »

Have you researched the guards recruitment process?

Yes, I've done it. I'm going to apply for the current drive, in fact.

cml387 wrote: »

We have a saying, I don't know if there's an Italian equivalent, but it is "The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill".

You could join the gardai but you need to be here at least a year before you can apply, and applications only open irregularly so you 'd need to find work as something else first.

[/quote]

No, it seems it's not necessary, at least reading the conditions for entry:

(a) Be a national of a European Union Member State, or[/quote]

(b) Be a national of a European Economic Area State or the Swiss Confederation; or
(c) Be a Refugee under the Refugee Act, 1996; or
(d) Have had a period of one year’s continuous residence in the State on the closing date of the advertisement for the competition for the vacancy to which the admission relates, and during the eight years immediately preceding that period, has had a total residence in the State amounting to four years;

That or tells me that you don't need to live in Ireland if your a EU national.

Stheno · 15-05-2017 7:51pm

Oruam wrote: »

yeah, it was a little provocation ;)

(b) Be a national of a European Economic Area State or the Swiss Confederation; or
(c) Be a Refugee under the Refugee Act, 1996; or
(d) Have had a period of one year’s continuous residence in the State on the closing date of the advertisement for the competition for the vacancy to which the admission relates, and during the eight years immediately preceding that period, has had a total residence in the State amounting to four years;

That or tells me that you don't need to live in Ireland if your a EU national.[/quote]

They are not currently recruiting?

Oruam · 15-05-2017 7:55pm

cml387 wrote: »

We have a saying, I don't know if there's an Italian equivalent, but it is "The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill".

It's almost the same in Italian: L'erba del vicino è sempre più verde (the neighbour's lawn is always greener). But in your case it's true!

Isn't Ireland the green island?[/quote]

Oruam · 15-05-2017 7:59pm

Stheno wrote: »

They are not currently recruiting?

[/quote]
Yeah, a recruitment campaing was launched last Friday

bee06 · 15-05-2017 8:02pm

For me it really depends on the part of Ireland you're taking about living in. I'd hate to live in Dublin in particular.

I live in the country, near Cork City so I have all the benefits of living in the country but still close to the city for all the convenience that offers.

Stheno · 15-05-2017 8:07pm

Oruam wrote: »

Yeah, a recruitment campaing was launched last Friday[/quote]

Good luck it's very competitive

Geuze · 15-05-2017 8:16pm

Oruam wrote: »

I live in Northern Italy and I've never lived in Ireland, but I am considering the possibility to move there.

health system: afaik, in Ireland almost everything in this area has to be paid, and quite a lot. In Italy, many things are free for a lot of people, and even when you pay, it's not that much. Here I know nobody who has a medical insurance.

I'll be grateful to anyone who will tell me their opinions!

Please note that since 1970 hospital care is free of charge to all residents, except for some (small) charges.

It is financed by taxes.

Oruam · 15-05-2017 8:17pm

Stheno wrote: »

Good luck it's very competitive

[/quote]
Thanks! Yeah, I know, it'll be hard. But in theory there will be some more recruitment drives over the next years, according to the irish times. It will be confirmed only after this campaign, though.

I hope so, because during this competition I'll be busy with my master's thesis too, and I don't really know how many chances of success I have the first time, being a non native speaker.

Oruam · 15-05-2017 8:18pm

Geuze wrote: »

Please note that since 1970 hospital care is free of charge to all residents, except for some (small) charges.

It is financed by taxes.

[/quote]

Sorry, my mistake then. I read it on the FB group of the Italians living in Ireland. They said that, for example, you have to pay also the GP

Oruam · 15-05-2017 8:25pm

bee06 wrote: »

For me it really depends on the part of Ireland you're taking about living in. I'd hate to live in Dublin in particular.

I live in the country, near Cork City so I have all the benefits of living in the country but still close to the city for all the convenience that offers.

I think I would rather live in a town or in the countryside than in Dublin, but, in case I really had the fortune to become a Garda I wouldn't mind. Dublin would be more exciting, maybe, talking about policing work.

Stheno · 15-05-2017 8:27pm

Oruam wrote: »

Sorry, my mistake then. I read it on the FB group of the Italians living in Ireland. They said that, for example, you have to pay also the GP[/quote]

You do fifty Euro or so a visit

Oruam · 15-05-2017 8:32pm

Stheno wrote: »

You do fifty Euro or so a visit

[/quote]
Woah! That's a bit weird for an Italian to hear that! Here it's totally free. 50€ it's a bit more than the ticket for some specialist visit, and only if you're not an elderly one or a child, or too poor to pay or with a serious sickness (for this people it's free of charge)

This is a con of Ireland, I think.

Stheno · 15-05-2017 8:37pm

Oruam wrote: »

Woah! That's a bit weird for an Italian to hear that! Here it's totally free. 50€ it's a bit more than the ticket for some specialist visit, and only if you're not an elderly one or a child, or too poor to pay.

This is a con of Ireland, I think.[/quote]

He no it's not a con it's how our healthcare system works unless you have a medical card.

For public treatment in hospitals it's free but there are waiting lists so lots of people go private and have insurance recently I went to a private clinic rather than public and paid 250 and got results quickly whereas the public system would mean I'd be waiting a year for a scan that I had privately within a week

Oruam · 15-05-2017 8:43pm

Stheno wrote: »

He no it's not a con it's how our healthcare system works unless you have a medical card.

[/quote]
Yeah, I mean a con if compared to Italy. Even though it's more and more like that here too: long waiting lists and many people relying on the private clinics. But, at least in Northern Italy, the hospital system is still quite good, for now.

la ultima guagua · 15-05-2017 8:58pm

BTW : Boards has its very own Garda Recruitment forum

www boards ie vbulletin forumdisplay.php?f=1081

( cant post a URL, I'm a newbie )

Oruam · 15-05-2017 9:20pm

la ultima guagua wrote: »

BTW : Boards has its very own Garda Recruitment forum

www boards ie vbulletin forumdisplay.php?f=1081

Thanks, I know, it's the reason why I joined the forum

[/quote]

cml387 · 15-05-2017 9:43pm

Well anyway the best of luck and if you do come you'll get a great welcome. Unless you're related to Toto Schillaci (you might want to research that;))

road_high · 15-05-2017 9:49pm

Brilliant why not op? Lots of Italians living here I'd say. To us it's seems strange but Italians seem to really like ireland...!
One of the main tourist groups to Ireland tends to be Italian, there are huge links between the 2 nations in every aspect of life.

Oruam · 15-05-2017 10:15pm

cml387 wrote: »

Well anyway the best of luck and if you do come you'll get a great welcome. Unless you're related to Toto Schillaci (you might want to research that;))

[/quote]
Hahaha! Thanks!
I had heard this name, but it sounded like a singer's name, not a football player's. Is it because he scored against Ireland in the '90 world championship, perhaps? (Yeah, I made my research) :D

road_high wrote: »

Brilliant why not op? Lots of Italians living here I'd say. To us it's seems strange but Italians seem to really like ireland...!
One of the main tourist groups to Ireland tends to be Italian, there are huge links between the 2 nations in every aspect of life.

[/quote]
It's true, we love your country. Don't know why, but I think that some Italian folk rock bands that drew their inspiration from your folk music helped.
Many people who love Ireland love your folk melodies too, including me.
But there must be something more. Maybe, subconsciously, there's also the fact that you have a strong Catholic history, like us.
Speaking for myself, other reason are your landscapes, your castles and ancient abbeys, and your history: I've always felt empathy for all the suffering your ancestors got from the Brits throughout the centuries.

la ultima guagua · 15-05-2017 10:27pm

Many Gardai are members of St Pauls for health insurance

see : medicalaid dot ie

Living in Ireland vs living in Italy

Comments