Best and worst of the last recession

24-10-2019 01:04PM #1

The worst thing, my husband has to go to London for work and use to get up at 3 am on a Sunday morning to go to Dublin airport and came back on a Friday.

The best thing purchased a house for a really good price and got a builder to refurbish its at a great price and no waiting for him to start he was delighted to get the work.

Lewis_Benson · 24-10-2019 01:05PM

I had no job, it was shyte.

the beer revolu · 24-10-2019 01:10PM

The rise of Aldi and Lidl was a good thing, imo.

SusanC10 · 24-10-2019 01:12PM

The worst thing was losing my job following shortly after my husband's paycuts.

The best thing was learning how to do with less and to cut our spending and stop wasting money.

keano_afc · 24-10-2019 01:12PM

Best thing: Being able to actually choose a rental property to view and secure tenancy with an offer below the asking price.

Worst thing: Same as yourself, lots of extended family and friends having to leave the country for work. So far, very few of them have come back.

24-10-2019 01:17PM

I would also say the last recession has made people wary of debt execpt for mortgages debt which is a good thing.

jiltloop · 24-10-2019 01:18PM

Worst things building industry collapsing meaning my best move was to abandon my construction based college course half way through. My 2 brothers emigrating to Australia, just recently got the last 1 back after not seeing him for 7 years. Also lost my best mate to emigration.

Best thing...… things became cheaper, less traffic and general congestion on the roads and public transport.

the beer revolu · 24-10-2019 01:20PM

mariaalice wrote: »

I would also say the last recession has made people wary of debt execpt for mortgages debt which is a good thing.

I'd say it's more of a case that people don't have access to much credit anymore.
As soon as lending is relaxed, we'll be off again having learned nothing.

Ten of Swords · 24-10-2019 01:21PM

Made me very careful with how I spend money on day to day essentials and how I invest for the future. Also made me significantly upskill my education which I am reaping benefits from now

beejee · 24-10-2019 01:23PM

Best thing: woke me up to how easily people follow bad ideas (crazy mortgages, "soft landing", generally pompous and wasteful lifestyles, arrogance to avoid responsibility)

Worst thing: realising the above was depressing. Especially seeing it coming again now, talk about short memories

WesternZulu · 24-10-2019 01:23PM

There was nothing good about the last recession.

lawred2 · 24-10-2019 01:25PM

Having stable/increasing incomes while cost of living decreased was great..

But the general mood was depressing

24-10-2019 01:26PM

the beer revolu wrote: »

The rise of Aldi and Lidl was a good thing, imo.

Best: similar to the above, the explosion of Dealsrush, Pigsback, groupon, grabone, living social and all the other voucher sites that had excellent bargains when they first came out. Mostly full of tat these days or crappy hotel deals with awful T&C's. I got a suit and shirt for €130 that I wore to about 12 weddings and a golf deal in Mt Juliet that I still can't believe (2 rds of golf, 1 nights accommodation, buggy for €125 each.....think it's €75 for one round these days).

Worst: Pay cut after pay cut, while listening to people telling me I was lucky to still have a job (the same people that had for years previously had been telling me to ditch the public sector job as the money was awful and they were creaming it in the private sector). What made it worse is they were saying it wasn't really a pay cut, yet hit the roof when the cuts were reinstated and all of a sudden it was now a pay-rise. Go figure.

Ush1 · 24-10-2019 01:26PM

Decking and patio heater prices fell off a cliff.

24-10-2019 01:26PM

the beer revolu wrote: »

I'd say it's more of a case that people don't have access to much credit anymore.
As soon as lending is relaxed, we'll be off again having learned nothing.

I genuinely think there is a different attitude to debt now except for mortgage debt, spending less has become fashionable.

Arghus · 24-10-2019 01:28PM

The only good thing about it was renting was cheap.

Ush1 · 24-10-2019 01:28PM

mariaalice wrote: »

I genuinely think there is a different attitude to debt now except for mortgage debt, spending less has become fashionable.

You reckon? I think it's got worse but in different ways. PCP finance wasn't really a thing before the first crash but it's crazy popular now.

spacetweek · 24-10-2019 01:31PM

Worst: Watching mates get angry at the state of the country, then very angry, then emigrate. Many never came back.
Best: I didn't lose any really good mates to emigration and the cost of things came down a bit and there wasn't much traffic on the roads or overcrowding on public transport.

JohnnyFlash · 24-10-2019 01:33PM

Bought 3 apartments for rock bottom prices.

24-10-2019 01:33PM

Ush1 wrote: »

You reckon? I think it's got worse but in different ways. PCP finance wasn't really a thing before the first crash but it's crazy popular now.

Nobody in my circle has a new car, the second-hand bargains are too good, the second thing is talking to someone in the hospitality industry about weddings they say the days of couples borrowing 20k for a wedding are gone its paid fo rby the parents or saved a shift in attitude about money.

touts · 24-10-2019 01:35PM

Worst things
Pay cuts. Just barely back to that level now.
Tax rises. Still paying more tax for less service.
3 years tacked onto my retirement age. 65 to 68
Negative equity. As I live outside Dublin my mortgage is still more than the house is worth.
Cutbacks at local hospital. Now have to travel an extra 50km to an A&E
Local post office and Garda station closed down and never restored
Local shops closed down and never reopened.

Come to think of it why are we talking about the "last recession". Last indicates it ended. But outside Dublin for most people it is still the "current" recession.

dxhound2005 · 24-10-2019 01:36PM

It was different from previous recessions. Negative equity never happened before, because lending rules used to be strict. There was large scale immigration during the recession, which never happened in previous ones. 60% of Irish people who emigrated were in employment here when they left. In previous recessions, they would mostly have been unemployed.

https://www.thejournal.ie/emigration-and-unemployment-in-ireland-1639006-Aug2014/

PhilOssophy · 24-10-2019 01:39PM

Best : People stopping being idiots with their money (e.g. SUV's, shopping trips, etc).
Worst : The queue for the microwave and coffee machine in work. Gone from straight to the machines to 5-6 people in front of you.

And the worst outcome of it all is that the tacky tasteless SUV's are back in vogue.

suicide_circus · 24-10-2019 01:39PM

best: had my pick of places to rent, plenty of illegal raves in disused industrial units, i was genuinely happy to have a job

worst: suicides, constant doom and gloom

Berserker · 24-10-2019 01:40PM

mariaalice wrote: »

I would also say the last recession has made people wary of debt execpt for mortgages debt which is a good thing.

The number of brand new cars on the road would suggest otherwise.

Ush1 · 24-10-2019 01:41PM

dxhound2005 wrote: »

It was different from previous recessions. Negative equity never happened before, because lending rules used to be strict. There was large scale immigration during the recession, which never happened in previous ones. 60% of Irish people who emigrated were in employment here when they left. In previous recessions, they would mostly have been unemployed.

https://www.thejournal.ie/emigration-and-unemployment-in-ireland-1639006-Aug2014/

Yep, two friends of mine emigrated who had jobs. They just wanted to go off on a jolly.

Stevieluvsye · 24-10-2019 01:41PM

I was fortunate. Pay rise YOY, plus increased bonus YOY. Wife's business grew YOY also. We actually managed to purchase a place abroad for a third of what it's worth today

But haters will always hate!

Stroke Politics · 24-10-2019 01:42PM

Best: Being able to do my 3.5k run every other morning and not in fear of being knocked down by the commuting traffic. The jobs dried up and so did the traffic. This has resumed now and I wouldn’t attempt to walk the road now with people in such a hurry.

Worst: Having to buy €35 worth of heating oil weekly from the petrol station as we couldn’t afford a proper fill from the oil company. I have the barrel and the hand pump still in the shed...

dxhound2005 · 24-10-2019 01:45PM

Berserker wrote: »

The number of brand new cars on the road would suggest otherwise.

2019 has slowed down compared to 2018. Maybe an indication that the next recession is on the way.

https://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/transport/vehicleslicensedforthefirsttime/

GreenandRed · 24-10-2019 01:45PM

Customer care improved during the recession. And people starting ignoring price tags in shops and asked 'is that your best price' including taxis.

q85dw7osi4lebg · 24-10-2019 01:47PM

Worst: friends parent committing suicide over loans

Best: had a few years of chilling out after graduating

Best and worst of the last recession

Comments