galah wrote: Taxes are a lot higher as well, so in comparison, it's not all that cheap if you actually live in Germany.
Commander Vimes wrote: ive been going across europe for the last two weeks and this is why its better than ireland: 1a. the pedestrian crossings have sensors too. they know when there's a person standing there and change to green 11. the police have guns and therefore some form of authority and the world didn't collapse when they were given them
stevejazzx wrote: is this correct? income tax lower in geramny is 15% vat is 16%
galah wrote: VAT will be raised to (I think) 19 % soon. And don't forget all the "funny" taxes, like church tax, rainwater tax (yes, it does exist! Houseowners pay a tax on the rainwater that falls on their property), property taxes, water taxes, council taxes, solidarity taxes, eco tax on fuel, etc etc...
r3nu4l wrote: Take the Metro in Paris for example, Pickpocketing is rife despite Armed police officers with attack dogs on some platforms!
The Champs Elysses in Paris is wonderful especially if you sit outside for a Beer at night, only costs €11 (as of July 2005) if you are silly enough to stay and pay that!
r3nu4l wrote: I agree with a lot of what you say but these countries have serious problems too. Take the Metro in Paris for example, Pickpocketing is rife despite Armed police officers with attack dogs on some platforms! Naples is also full of pickpockets at the central train station and taxi drivers there are often as bad as some of those in Dublin for ripping off their customers! The smell of p1ss from the streets of central Rome at 6 am on a warm July morning is incredible The Champs Elysses in Paris is wonderful especially if you sit outside for a Beer at night, only costs €11 (as of July 2005) if you are silly enough to stay and pay that! Brussels gets as much if not more rain that Ireland and I would rather the Gardaí any day over their police force. They have had serial murders, massive paedophile scandals dwarfing our own and corruption that makes the Gardaís troubles look like a minor event. Italy and political corruption go hand in hand to a greater extent that Ireland (CJH would have been a legend in Italy ) Those are just some of the problems... Having said all of that, continental Europe is a wonderful place, I love it and we could learn a lot but let's not start saying that they have everything right and we have everything wrong! And loathe as I am to admit this ...*choking* Britain has had special constables (volunteer reserves) for a few years now and it works well for them so *struggling to say this* we could do with taking a leaf out of their book. :eek: So I say to you OP... What's the matter you eh? Gotta no respect... ...Itsa not so bad, Itsa nica place Ah shuddupa your face
toomevara wrote: to be honest I don't know why anyone bothers to live here...and why oh why is half the population of Europe queuing up to get in here and work, I mean its unfathomable.....oh wait...must be something to do with the rocketing economy, our totally open labour market, free and relatively uncorrupt political system and refreshing absence of bureacracy and state control (dont believe me... just try and open a business in France, or for that matter fire an incompetent employee, its about as easy as finding a pauper in the fianna fail tent at the Galway races) not to mention the vast personal wealth its possible to accumulate with a little hard work. Oh and then there's the live and let live attitude of the vast majority of the people who live in this beknighted place...no society in western europe has ever undergone the type of demographic and cultural change Ireland has undergone in the past 10 years..we are a giant experiment my friends and guess what? We're doing really, really well. Now I know thats not what you want to hear but just 20 years ago this was to all intents and purposes a quasi-third world backwater with f**k all to offer except the ferry/plane out. yeah yeah sure we've got problems, crap health sytem, feral skangers , huge growth in wealth disparity...but France..ha! economically stagnant and a racial timebomb (dont want to share their fabulous republican ideals with those dusky foreigners you see and if your under 25 a 1 in 4 chance of being unemployed, yep, i in 4, insane!!!!! Germany also stagnant and ageing with no social mobility. Italy...hopelessly corrupt and run by cartoon characters. appalling... Yeah sure, the trains run on time but frankly so f**kin what.... All of old europe is failing, sure they may have nice transport services, but there is zero dynamism and only pessimism about the future.... ....so yeah continental europe...its Great!!! Will the last one out of Ireland please turn out the lights....
jester77 wrote: I find it difficult to go out and have a normal night in Ireland, so much pressure to get hammered and if you don't everyone around you is and it's not much fun. It's so much more relaxed here on the continent and a much more pleasant atmosphere. I guess it's each to their own, or perhaps I'm just getting old and boring
Ponster wrote: 50 people pickpocketed on average per day out of 4,000,000 isn't that bad really.
toomevara wrote: I can definitely sympathise with that...irish binge drinking culture is insane, but then so is the UK's, much of scandinavia's and large chunks of Eastern Europe's. And from my travels in Germany well, lets just say there are some pretty big drinkers there too!!!! As a non drinking Irishman, yes we do exist...I dont allow other peoples perceptions or opinions of what constitues a good night out, i.e drinking oneself into a stupor and vomiting down a drain to affect me. I have an excellent social life, alcohol free....it can be done...its up to you to resist the peer pressure if you dont feel comfortable with it....
galah wrote: OP - nice post, and Germany is GREAT for a holiday - but you would not want to live there - the bureaucracy would drive anyone mad! It's great to have a competent and strong police force - until you get your first fine for jay-walking, or riding a bicycle that does not have the correct lights on, and the list goes on... To foreigners, Irish people are still very helpful as well, I mostly found an awful lot of grumpy people in Germany, who couldn't care less if you were lost or not. People in Germany generally don't apologize if thy bump into you, or if they're in the way or anything - somehting I find quite nice in Ireland! Taxes are a lot higher as well, so in comparison, it's not all that cheap if you actually live in Germany. The German government, although efficient, stuffs up an awful lot as well. It just means that the fcuk ups are done more efficiently... The public traffic system is great in larger cities - try any smaller town, and it's the same cr*p as in any Irish town. Admittedly, the health care system in Germany is fantastic (had to go to casualty one day, and after half an hour's wait, a nurse came over to apologize that we had to wait "so long" - I couldn't believe it!), but comes at a price, and driver's are way better educated - it's actually still fun to drive in Germany, cause people in cars know what they're doing, and for a journey of 200 km, you can calculate about 1.5 hours - not 4 like in Ireland... But apart from that...
#Elites wrote: Yes, when i finish School (19) Im of.
jomanji wrote: I mean, is anyone else sick of waiting half an hour for a dart only for an announcement to come on and say that it's been cancelled? If we had some of the efficency of the continent in that kind of regard, then Ireland would kick a hell of a lot more ass than it currently does! It's a nice country and it'll be great when it's finished
Commander Vimes wrote: 1. the urinals have a sensor that make it flush as soon as you walk away
r3nu4l wrote: 1. Link? 2. Is that people caught, prosecuted successfully, incidents reported? 3. Remember that only a tiny fraction of successful pickpocket events are reported and many feel that they have simply lost their wallets, or whatever. 4. ...Lies, damn lies and statistics! I witnessed four pickpockets in action in about thirty minutes spent on the RER platforms in Paris in a single day, as I'm safety concious I have never been pickpocketed.
toomevara wrote: Try the tube in london for 4 years if you want inefficiency and lack of customer care...you aint lived till you've spent 2 hours stuck in a northern line train in 33 degree heat, with absolutely no idea whats going on, and women and kids passing out all round you...Ireland will be great when its finished, so will everwhere else...perfection is not possible in this world...but we ain't doing too bad.
