Quality of life here. How is yours?

babyducklings1 · 22-10-2022 11:27pm #1

So it seems everyone is really busy here. No time / always occupied, work, errands, traffic etc It wasn’t always like this here and people seemed to have more time and time for each other, but now everyone seems stretched. Is our quality of life disimproving - thoughts?

[Deleted User] · 22-10-2022 11:57pm

Your health care/mental health could do with a rehaul. As your justice system.And the hurry up and wait system might need a look at.

Wanderer2010 · 23-10-2022 7:28am

It depends on what measuring tool you use as quality of life. I have my own flat, a good job, am healthy and enjoy connections with my family. I have access to clean water, warm clothes and have the opportunity to travel. So on paper my quality of life is high.

However, if i use social media as my yardstick, then im a complete loser as im single and only have 1 close friend. Thats why i try to stay away from instagram etc. as there is this whole other side of what life "should" be like- birthday parties, daily goals, hiking each weekend and all the polished pictures of smiling couples and families. I know a lot (but surely not all) of social media is fake and people only show their good side but its an extremely influental and powerful platform and has shaped a lot of our culture nowadays.

Its an odd one. My life is a million times better than people who slept rough lastnight or those looking for shelter from Ukraine..but at the same time its a million times worse than the lads and ladies on sociap media "living their best life"!

Ger Roe · 23-10-2022 10:25am

I think generally my quality of life is getting worse, if measured by being content.

The state of the country and the world has my head wrecked, I seem to spend more and more time working for less and less disposable income. Then my 'free time' is more and more being taken up considering ways to avoid being scammed by the government, the energy companies, the supermarkets, the broadband and phone providers, the petrol companies etc, who seem to be continually making up ways of ensuring we pay more for using and consuming less.

My 'free time' and mental contentment is also being eroded by now having to spend more time on stuff that used to happen without requiring my forensic input, like wading through over complicated elec and gas price plans that keep changing on an hourly basis. Why do we have to spend precious private time researching car and house insurance markets every year, to ensure that our present provider does not rip us off? I don't see a consumer advantage to the brave new world of industry sector regulation that apparently introduced 'competition' into these areas. I totally avoid social media ... just because life is too short for all that crap.

When I was in school in the 1980's, we were told to expect more free time, higher standards of living, abundant and affordable energy, a just and caring society, efficient health care services.... and hover cars, by the 21st century. I remember in economics class being told that we would need to be sure that we had non work interests to pursue so that we could use our additional time in a productive and healthy manner, since we would not be in so much of a rat race. Right now... I think we are going backwards as an Irish society and as a planetary race. I see pensioners that planned and looked forward to their retirement, now struggling to survive because of increased costs and reduced government services and they can't make sense of what is going on at the moment. I fear that my day too is coming when despite that best preparations I can make, I am going to be disappointed with what I am left with.

More than anything else, I am angry at people in power making a balls of things, here and around the world. If quality of life is measured by contentment, I could be doing better.

Mr. teddywinkles · 23-10-2022 10:51am

Yea I'm definitely fairly prudent with my finances with little debt. yet i seem to have less spending power year on year and it's a worrying trend to be honest.

elperello · 23-10-2022 11:05am

I'm happy out, thanks for asking.

Always have been good at managing time and money.

I have just as much social contact as I want.

And as a footnote, isn't Ireland lovely in Autumn ? 🙂

maninasia · 23-10-2022 11:13am

As somebody who returned from a well functioning state with pre 'market competition' ideas I can see a stark difference in some parts of my quality of living.

Healthcare access and expense probably 5x worse

Electricity and fuel costs 3x where I was.

Insurance 5x

Eating out 2x

Renting 3x

Schooling access getting very difficult in many areas due to large population increase but lack of investment .

Pay lower than what I was getting overseas and much higher taxes.

Yeah I am feeling the stress lol.

Only thing significantly cheaper are good prices in the supermarkets (milk and eggs and cheese half price) along with excellent quality locally produced food.

Along with the above poster, I noticed very early the weird scam of pretend competition in the phone, broadband , energy and insurance markets. You have to spend hours and hours wasting time and comparing and switching just to save a few pennies in an already crazily inflated market and then repeat every year. None of this new fangled market seems to have reduced prices in the slightest! It just gives the illusion of competition.

Quality of life things that have improved in Ireland would be nicer towns, cleaner air, Dublin bus, better range of food in supermarkets, better internet (but still poor mobile internet) pedestrianisation and much better roads than years ago . For me I'm working as hard as I ever have, that hasn't changed.

I noticed my friends with steady jobs and houses seem happy enough with their settled lives in the suburbs , those trying to purchase a house definitely more stressed , obviously.

The older in laws on pensions I could see their worry level ratchet up hugely regarding heating and energy costs. They haven't adjusted their lifestyle massively yet but I could see it happening. They enjoy their lives the most still with loads of free time and plenty of hobbies.

Cushtie · 23-10-2022 11:29am

I find the here and now not too bad, am OK debt wise, manage to put food on the table and pay the bills without too much stress.

It's the future I stress over, started saving for pension late so have alot of ground to make up. College funds etc, have special needs kid who will require 24/7 care as an adult when we are gone.

Jim_Hodge · 23-10-2022 11:37am

Happy days compared to a few decades back or what my parents had to endure. Comfortable living, enough free time, family time not a problem, ample food available, an active social life. All in all quality of life is just where I'd want it to be.

If chasing up temporary savings on phones or broadband is a measure of quality of life, people need to look at what they value in life.

SuperBowserWorld · 23-10-2022 11:57am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119782601#Comment_119782601

Said comfortable person in ivory tower 🤣

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs

Jim_Hodge · 23-10-2022 12:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119782672#Comment_119782672

The question was asked and answered. So it doesn't suit your view: Tough.

Strumms · 23-10-2022 12:50pm

Elements of QOL are dis-improving and will continue to for many people because of ‘international’ situations we are seemingly forever put upon to help and that we have no input over and no possibility as citizens to press pause or stop…cost of living is rising.

Personally though mine is good.. I want for nothing really at this point in life… I’m once again healthy after recovering from a difficult medical condition and prognosis…live in a nice place, nice amenities, positive family / friend relationships… doing a lot more socially since restrictions eased…enjoying sport, music, making plans to travel….

SuperBowserWorld · 23-10-2022 1:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119782721#Comment_119782721

Well you did say that people who are trying to save money should ask them selves what they value in life.

That makes no sense.

Maybe they are trying to save money so they afford the medication they need or keep warm or or

amacca · 23-10-2022 1:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119782396#Comment_119782396

Fantastic post couldn't agree more with all of it

The **** time consuming researching of avoiding being done by all and sundry ...in the name of competition really struck a chord

I kept a record of time spent on researching switching last year and it was basically a couple of holidays worth of man hours....I also help my parents out as they wouldn't be too tech savvy

If I don't do it it's Thousands down the drain.....we have been sold a pup in the name of competition....I'm more tied down with fuckology than I ever was......its such a waste of a chunk of your life that's been forced upon rational people....

It enrages me at times....its like a subtle form of slavery

And then **** vodafone contrive to make sure you don't have access to your online portal at contract renewal time....

23-10-2022 2:55pm

My quality of life is excellent for me. I don't measure it against anyone else so am fairly immune to the pretence of Instagram and the likes. This is brilliant because if I wasn't I'd surely be in a heap.

I have very few close friends, one deceased parent and another with Alzheimer's, no big celebrations or days out with mam, no sisters to bond with, no regular holidays, no gym body, no large detached home we built. I could go on.

We all have different ideas as to what constitutes a good quality of life. As long as you have a bit of peace within yourself, some perspective and the ability to laugh at yourself shure you're winning.

gameoverdude · 23-10-2022 3:08pm

As I get older I seem to need less and care less, so on that note I'm happy enough.

Plus the kids are becoming more independent and are feckin off.

banie01 · 23-10-2022 3:29pm

My quality of life is great tbh. In social and economic terms at least, I/we are good. Financially secure, a good circle of friends and able to pursue my interests rather than worrying about earning.

In just lifestyle terms I do have a few serious ongoing medical issues and while they are controlled? On a bad day, it can mean a lot of pain meds in addition to the stack of meds I need usually, but I get on with it. My mobility and stamina is quite restricted these days but we manage to deal with it well.

I was medically retired a few years ago and I am lucky in that prior to that happening I was mortgage free and in a relatively secure financial position. That security, the lack of worry about needing to pay mortgage and balance income/outgoings has allowed me a huge amount of peace of mind.

My son has started Uni this year and that is expensive but, it was something I'd long being building a pot for.

The other thing that I'm thankful for regarding my position and my QOL is that earlier this year my wife was diagnosed with Breast cancer. She started her treatment in July, has had 2 surgeries and is starting chemo next week. Our experience of the HSE through this has been brilliant, empathetic, supportive and really great at addressing any concerns. We do have private health insurance but throughout the diagnosis/treatment she has been a public patient and there has been no difference in the quality of care.

Why my Mrs having cancer is relevant to our QOL? Well as I'm medically retired? I get to spend all my time being available and supporting her without needing to book time off, worry about letting down clients and similar issues that would weigh on us if I were still working FT.

The inflation of energy and food prices has been very stark and noticeable. It has certainly made life a lot more expensive.

That said? It's manageable and even with my Mrs off sick for the foreseeable? It won't make a difference to our QOL as we are lucky enough to be in a position where even were she unable to return to work, we can stay quite comfortable living within our means.

That's a far better position than many are in and its something that I'm very grateful for. I was lucky enough to have a successful period in my 20's & 30's that laid that foundation. If I could however change 1 thing from that period? It would have been to get myself an income protection policy.

Furze99 · 23-10-2022 3:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058268633/quality-of-life-here-how-is-yours

Reasonable to good. But as a question, apart from the answers being individual, it's also dependent on what stage you're at in life.

23-10-2022 5:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119782601#Comment_119782601

For some people looking for deals on phones and the like are necessary.

riclad · 23-10-2022 7:38pm

Quality of life depends on your income, where you live, are you in a good relationship, can you pay your bills without getting stressed ,are you in debt, is your health good, do you live in a nice quiet area, do you find your job boring or routine ,eg people are getting stressed as things like energy, gas, rise in price ,they have to cut back on things they pay for granting like paying a subscription for netflix or broadband ,do you have a good social life . no one is perfect , I know people who like to rip other people off or borrow money and not pay it back, even its a trivial amount like 20 euros.

[Deleted User] · 23-10-2022 8:02pm

Happily retired, healthy, wonderful spouse, own home owner, three pensions coming into household, financially comfortable, private health care, no real worries. One elderly parent aged over 90 still alive and may go on for another decade, so waiting patiently to inherit 50% of the value of her house (Dublin 6 semi-d) which will give us money that we don't even need. Sounds wonderful - and it is -

BUT

two kids, both in their 30's working in Dublin with postgrad qualifications, decent jobs, good partners and not a hope in hell of owning their own homes for the foreseeable future. They're the ones that have the poor quality of life and the ones whose day-to-day lives make their parents feel frustrated, powerless and really, really pissed off.

Pissed off with whom? Well with vermin like Bertie, McCreevy and Cowen for starters, as they're the self-serving con-men who laid the foundations for the clusterfuck that so many young Irish taxpayers must live in today; next with money grabbing egotistical hypocrites like Mickey Dee who gleefully trousers his five pensions and the tax-free proceeds of the investment property he flogged in Galway a couple of years ago, as he talks the talk and acts as though he cares; and finally with the utter arseh0les in government today whose clueless woke policies are laying the foundations for an even worse future for the country that I can no longer love.

I could add the smug, fence sitting Soc Dems who act as if they have the answers to everything but who still ran a mile when invited to participate in the current government because they took the strategic view that expanding their little party was much more important than helping to improve the country that pays their fat salaries and expenses.

So my quality of life is great - until I think of the quality of life of the two wonderful kids that I brought into the world and who I love dearly and who, together with their friends, are facing a bleak future - regardless of what crowd of power-crazed cretins may be in government. And those kids are the poor bastards who are working hard to pay their parents' small pensions as well as the enormous pensions enjoyed by the likes of Bertie, Charlie, Noel Dempsey, Michael McDowell, Fatso Harney, Mickey Dee and Biffo, to name but a handful of a very long list of failed political parasites.

..................... and there the rant ends and he resumes gazing sadly into space and drinking his Gordons and Schweppes.

Ger Roe · 24-10-2022 9:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119783000#Comment_119783000

The point about also having to do the anti scam research for elderly parents/relatives, is one I forgot to mention too. It is disgraceful that those who have less capacity/ability to understand what is going on, are the ones who suffer most from not being able to help themselves. How many pensioners are on highest rates for gas/elec/phone/broadband, just because they don't have the capacity to wade through the process required to continually move around? We probably all know several pensioners where their quality of life is being badly affected by the worry of such things.

There is also a massive GDPR issue there .... I have passwords and bank account details for several relatives who can't cope with the need to do everything online and to do the research needed to avoid rip off's. Even the ever changing and more complicated security arrangements that keep getting made up, are too much for them. My mother has an online bank app that requires a near immediate phone message response to allow access to her own money, but by the time she is prepared to go for it, the window of opportunity has passed. How many sons and daughters call up utility, insurance companies etc and impersonate their parents, just so they can negotiate a better deal?. The companies and regulators all know this is happening, but they ignore it to perpetuate the impression that they take personal security seriously.

Technology should work for people, not against them. At the moment, it is working for the various utility and comms companies and their appointed regulators don't have a clue, or give a damn.

This frustration... also affects my quality of life.

murpho999 · 24-10-2022 9:09am

Most people here seem to equate quality of life here to finances but that's not the only relevant measure.

tayto lover · 24-10-2022 9:34am

My quality of life has improved a little of late. I seem to have more time for myself and myself and the other half get more breaks away on the continent or visiting my son across the Atlantic. I'm playing more golf too and i have cut down on the drink which is doing me no harm. All the wee birds have left the nest too and we now have grandkids staying the odd night at weekends which i really enjoy. My debts are finished and I have no mortgage so have a wee bit to spend on the grandkids and an extra holiday or two.

Ger Roe · 24-10-2022 9:34am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119786019#Comment_119786019

It's more a mental health aspect actually, but if someone has the financial resources not to be affected by the constant attempts to rip them off, then it probably won't affect their mental health.

Personally, I can probably pay the unreasonable demands, but I don't like myself, or vulnerable family members being taken advantage of, and I resent the increasing time and effort required to avoid it... particularly when there are government persons and agencies appointed to apparently look after my interests as a consumer, but they are failing to do so.

Unfortunately, the ability to enjoy the softer aspects of quality of life measurement, like friends and family, for most people, is also largely dependent on managing your limited and probably decreasing financial resources, while also trying to prepare for an increasingly uncertain future.

It's like the old saying.... money doesn't buy happiness, but it certainly makes it more attainable.

StrawbsM · 24-10-2022 9:55am

I don’t feel I have a good quality of life. I always said it wasn’t my kids leaving home when they were old enough, but me! I always wanted to travel the world. That didn’t happen.

I went straight from looking after my children to looking after, first one, then two parents who require constant supervision. If I go anywhere, they are all I am asked about. There is nothing of me in my life anymore and there’s no end in sight. Myself and my husband can’t just book time off and go anywhere. He can but I have to seek permission from strangers first.

I just know that when my role is eventually over I will get sick myself. I hate 80% of my life and don’t get the chance to enjoy the other 20%.

notAMember · 24-10-2022 9:58am

My QOL is pretty good here, comfortable house, enough job opportunity, enough income, schools / education are good. Food supply is good quality. Healthcare is good. Loads of leisure activities available with sports, music, pubs. Security is ok, no invading state, but street crime is a nuisance.

It could be better.

I still need to maintain a car, even though I live in a city because public transport is not well developed. Civic facilities are not plentiful or accessible by public transport. (Parks, playgrounds, forests, lakes, beaches etc)
Air quality and pollution is bad. That's again part of the lack of clean public transport, but also attitudes to burning turf / wood, littering is a problem.
Highly regulated Nanny state. It's very difficult to redevelop housing or commercial property for example, a lot of red tape and barriers. Smaller irritations like inability to buy a bottle of red wine to make a stew in my morning shopping, can't buy a packet of ibuprofen or paracetamol without a cross examination. And in parallel, the expectation of some of our citizens that Mammy Govt will provide all their worldly needs and desires.

corner of hells · 24-10-2022 10:05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119785985#Comment_119785985

Have you considered looking to become a power of attorney, there is some criteria but there is the option of a general power of attorney allowing you provide a wide range of support for your relatives.

I know from supporting vulnerable individuals in through my employment, most banks/institutions operate a vulnerable customer policy .

On a personal level , if you can manage it , don't shoulder every responsibility yourself.

thomil · 24-10-2022 10:08am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058268633/quality-of-life-here-how-is-yours

Speaking as someone who emigrated here, I'd consider my quality of life as generally good. Okay, there are some things that could be better, public transport in particular is lightyears behind what it could, and should be, but in general, I'm in a pretty good spot here. I live in a nice flat with enough space not to feel cramped, and more importantly, I'm able to afford this flat by myself and don't have to share it. My finances are a bit too tight for my liking but honestly, I don't think that situation would be any different back in Germany, certainly not if I wanted to live in/near a city of similar importance to Germany as Cork is to Ireland. Massive inflation & cost of living crises aren't simply Irish issues. What's more, a recent hospital stay left me pleasantly surprised with the public health system here, which is not something I'd ever thought I'd write.

Most importantly though, I have a job that I like, with a great team, and career options that I never would have had in Germany. I'm a school dropout with a CV that doesn't fit into any conventional category, so my options in Germany would generally have been either living on social welfare or low-level jobs in security or call centres, both of which I did stints in. Ireland's job market, for all its faults and problems, is a lot more open for "oddball" candidates like me, especially when you're bilingual. Recruiters here just aren't as hung up on having certs, forms, diplomas and other forms of paperwork as their counterparts back in Germany would. Experience does actually count for something here.

Having said all that, I am worried about the future. The world seems to be going to hell in a handbasket, between pandemics, worsening climate change, the Ukraine war, rampant and pathological individualism and numerous other issues. We seem to be hell-bent on forgetting the lessons that were learned the hard way 70-80 years ago and I can't see this situation changing anytime soon. I'd say that worry and trepidation has the biggest negative impact on my quality of life at the moment.

HerrKuehn · 24-10-2022 10:11am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119786019#Comment_119786019

It isn't the only relevant measure, but it is one of the most important. Money is a bit like food, if you have enough you don't think about it, if you don't have enough it is the only thing you can think about.

Ham_Sandwich · 24-10-2022 10:42am

goverment should be doing more

Quality of life here. How is yours?

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