McGrath5 wrote: » I don't enjoy paying all the associated taxes that comes with owning and running a car but it is what it is. At the end of the day the rest of society is subsidizing me driving around and if anything the taxes on cars, private ones in particularly should be more than what they are now. Not sure why the OP is comparing us with the US. I been over there loads of times and life is hopelessly dependent on the car. Its common not to be able to walk between buildings that are only a couple of hundred meters apart due to no footpath!
frozenfrozen wrote: » I just saw this headline about america as well "The average cost of a cellphone plan in the US is $113"
NSAman wrote: » First and foremost safety is paramount for me. You don’t get charged the crazy extras (including VRT ) for safety options that you do in Ireland.
McGrath5 wrote: » I don't enjoy paying all the associated taxes that comes with owning and running a car but it is what it is. At the end of the day the rest of society is subsidizing me driving around and if anything the taxes on cars, private ones in particularly should be more than what they are now.
frozenfrozen wrote: » I just saw this headline about america as well "The average cost of a cellphone plan in the US is $113" Unless you have loads of money america will have long congested commutes on cracked concrete highways with about two "curves" on your way to work. They still have 2 litre diesel golfs and priuses over there. it's not great here, especially with exotic cars being pushed out of reach unless you are using loopholes or have stupid money. But I think for average people the effect is the public just end up in a worse specced version of whatever car they would have got anyway, which is a shame but I personally wouldn't trade it for a slice of the USA **** show.
PsychoPete wrote: » I've a friend from Eastern Europe, he has a 3.5 S class out there and it's less than €100 a year to tax
redcup342 wrote: » What part of Eastern Europe ... 100 quid a year is a lot of money in Ukraine :pac: never mind the repair bills from the roads.
Elite Genetics wrote: » Most eastern european countries don't even have such a thing called motor tax, just a car test similar to nct and vehicle insurance which costs pennies and once insured, anyone can drive the car as long as they have a license.
redcup342 wrote: » Most Central and Eastern European Countries. Comparing Polish Insurance to Irish Insurance as expensive is cherry picking once you consider a Polish Salary to an Irish one. Dutch Insurance is very cheap for example in Comparison to Germany but cars are way more expensive and taxes are higher. Then on the other side German Health Insurance can be 3 times more expensive than Dutch (if you are single) So yes you can compare individual things that are cheaper in another country, if you ask yourself the question would you go live and work there the answer is usually no.
smellyoldboot wrote: » Germany and Holland? In a heartbeat. Both years ahead of this place tbh.
redcup342 wrote: » Exactly, I wouldn't move to Ireland because I can pickup a second hand car for peanuts or healthcare is pretty much free vs 360 euros a month. It's all about quality of life not about picking out individual things that are cheaper somewhere else.
Elite Genetics wrote: » Yeah it's free and good luck waiting a year or two for your appointment and try not to die of a heart disease that wasn't diagnosed in time.
Elite Genetics wrote: » Long congested commutes. You do know that Ireland has one of the worst traffic problems in Europe? Which is bizarre considering that it also has one of the lowest populations.https://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/traffic-index/ranking/https://www.statista.com/chart/21084/average-hours-lost-to-congestion-per-driver-in-major-european-cities/ Talking absolute nonsense without any proof. Looking for any excuse to **** on the US without even having lived there and commuted. Commuting is a breeze because of multiple lane wide roads. Everything is designed around cars so it is much better than Ireland in this specific regard.
Andrewf20 wrote: » These photos below are a daily occurrence in Portland and Phoenix during the week pre covid and its a common theme across the USA. :pac: Yep can confirm Traffic is brutal in much of the west of Germany, I spent 3 hours to go 27 Kilometers on the way back from Berlin last time to Dusseldorf Never mind that though, have you ever been in a Traffic Jam in Los Angeles .. Jesus H Christ worst place ever
Andrewf20 wrote: » I've lived in the USA twice and been to 41 states and would tend to disagree. Portland i26 can have horrendous traffic for miles. Similar in phoenix in rush hour on the i10. There's been loads of other places where morning and evening traffic can be horrific. Getting into manhattan is very busy with a load of tolls. Similar in denver, San fran etc. Bigger roads but bigger populations and limited public transport. Ireland has crap traffic in big cities but so too does the USA from my experience.
Andrewf20 wrote: » These photos below are a daily occurrence in Portland and Phoenix during the week pre covid and its a common theme across the USA.
redcup342 wrote: » Andrewf20 wrote: » These photos below are a daily occurrence in Portland and Phoenix during the week pre covid and its a common theme across the USA. :pac: Yep can confirm Traffic is brutal in much of the west of Germany, I spent 3 hours to go 27 Kilometers on the way back from Berlin last time to Dusseldorf Never mind that though, have you ever been in a Traffic Jam in Los Angeles .. Jesus H Christ worst place ever Germany is massively overpopulated with density many times as that of Ireland.
Elite Genetics wrote: » I've been to 50 states, all of regions of Canada and Mexico. Then I've been to every single country in South America and driven hundreds of thousands of miles and I disagree. 1. Most states in US are bigger than Ireland. You cannot just take a massive mega region with population 10 times as that of Ireland and say that the traffic is bad. 2. Dublin has no excuse, it has the population of a district in a big city like New York but still cannot handle the traffic and has one of the worst in Europe with the smallest population. You'd swear that Dublin is a a colossal city on the likes of New York and London, are you really comparing them? London population: 8 million Dublin population: 1 million Dublin is the same size as a regional town in Germany or US and vast majority of them don't suffer these issues.
Elite Genetics wrote: » 1. Most states in US are bigger than Ireland. You cannot just take a massive mega region with population 10 times as that of Ireland and say that the traffic is bad.
Elite Genetics wrote: » I've been to 50 states, all of regions of Canada and Mexico. Then I've been to every single country in South America and driven hundreds of thousands of miles and I disagree.
