Were you happier in the Celtic Tiger or are you happier now in the Failed Economy???

HellFireClub · 12-03-2011 01:53PM #1

I noticed lately that I've a lot of mates who are unemployed, I was so myself until very recently... But at the same time, people seem to be utterly relieved that the big charade of the Celtic Tiger is over, albeit that they may be unemployed, the pressure to buy a house and then another house is gone, no need to get decking, your neighbours no longer feel proud of that 5 Series in the driveway, three sun holidays a year and a Crimbo shopping to NY, ask me arse now seems to be the attitude to those things of the Celtic Tiger...

People now seem almost more proud to admit that they are completely broke and haven't a pot to p*ss into... It's like this great big relief that we no longer have to go around codding each other with the pretensiousness that was the Celtic Tiger, personally I never bought into it, the whole thing disgusted me, loo-laa's working in a job for 6 months, getting a mention for a management job and next thing they have to go out and buy the BMW...

OR, were you happier back when you were obviously more flush, three sun holidays a year, Crimbo shopping trips to NY, weekends in London, Dom Perningon in Lillies, the 800 Euro Louis Vutton handbag, the 700 Euro Jimmy Choo heels???

AckwelFoley · 12-03-2011 01:54PM

with money > no money

phasers · 12-03-2011 01:56PM

No real difference, although I miss doing a weekly food shop

grrrrrrrrrr · 12-03-2011 01:57PM

I preferred the naivety if believing every RTE and Politicians said. Now I dont know what to make of any of them and it really fcuks with my head.

3DataModem · 12-03-2011 01:58PM

I flipped off to another country when the poop hit the fan. So yes I am happier. I'll be back after you sort out the debt lads, sorry for helping cause it.

wyndham · 12-03-2011 01:58PM

Schadenfreude makes me hard!

TanG411 · 12-03-2011 02:00PM

I was much happier in the Celtic Tiger years. Probably because I was 7-8 years old and had no worries about the real corrupt world.

mojesius · 12-03-2011 02:01PM

I was a broke and busy student during the boom, now I am reaping the rewards. :cool:

The cheaper booze helps too.

wantano · 12-03-2011 02:03PM

i didn't benefit hugely from the boom. But happy out now though broke.
anyone who spent like that generally couldn't afford it anyway. and people who are full of crap are still full of crap i find!

whiteonion · 12-03-2011 02:05PM

Reckless consumption makes me unhappy, seeing people being more frugal makes me happy. Austerity is the path to happines people.

westies4ever · 12-03-2011 02:06PM

happier during the boom - i don't mind having no money but i hate worrying about paying the bills and the pressure/stress that brings. we're both working but income seriously reduced and hubbie is getting seriously manipulated by his employer (slave labour for a lot less money).

never bought into the big house/car/3 holidays thing but it was nice to be comfortable.

Krusader · 12-03-2011 02:06PM

Never thought i'd say it but i really miss working for my sanity 1st and foremost and the for money 2nd. As i didn't purchase a house and probably never would've been abled to if the economy didn't crash i'm relieved in that sense its over

SafeSurfer · 12-03-2011 02:24PM

At least during the boom you had choices. If you wanted to buy a BMW because the neighbours had one chances are you could get a loan to do so. Now in the bust people's choices are much reduced whether its big ticket items like holidays, cars etc to eating out the type of food they eat heat or light etc.

I for one am happy when I have the freedom to choose.

12-03-2011 02:47PM

I was a broke student then so I'm happier now

clouds · 12-03-2011 02:49PM

I didn't do any of that boom crap.
And still don't. So not much has changed for me. Am luckily still employed though so ask me again next year

bonerm · 12-03-2011 02:54PM

Happier now. Much easier for me to buy a house now on the cheap.

12-03-2011 02:56PM

I'm happier because I'm travelling.. I was lucky, study during boom, get a good job at the start of recession and benefit from cheaper rent etc. Now I'm gone and have my experience.

If I came out earlier, I definitely would have been an idiot with money and would probably have a house.

Pauleta · 12-03-2011 03:04PM

The celtic tiger was a magnificent era in our nations history, possibly our greatest. This place would be a dive if it never happened. People shouldnt hate it because we messed it up. Its like hating an ex girlfriend because you acted like a dick and messed the relationship up. People flocked to Ireland to live the dream of freedom and wealth. We were on top of the world and we must strive together to raise the Celtic cubs into ferocious, meat hungry, stealth like assassins just like the mother that raised them. A mother who we killed and sold its fur to poachers.

Saila · 12-03-2011 03:17PM

As long as the country can get back on track [and by that I dont mean celtic tiger attitudes to money and the inflatable prices of houses

] and doesnt end up like Haiti or somewhere like that Il be happy and content

smk89 · 12-03-2011 03:40PM

Rent is cheaper, food is cheaper and those dicks who criticized me for going to university instead of working in the construction industry are now silent.

ricero · 12-03-2011 03:45PM

it hasnt affect my life at all its all the same being honest

Mike 1972 · 12-03-2011 03:46PM

Always knew it would end in tears so I moved North in the early days of the boom and missed out on most of it and the subsequent bust.

Not going to let myself get too smug though as I suspect the full effects of the bust in the UK have yet to be felt although If the shyte hits the fan Im toying with the idea of relocating again beyond these shores.

SafeSurfer wrote: »

At least during the boom you had choices. If you wanted to buy a BMW because the neighbours had one chances are you could get a loan to do so. Now in the bust people's choices are much reduced whether its big ticket items like holidays, cars etc to eating out the type of food they eat heat or light etc.

I for one am happy when I have the freedom to choose.

Even if this means living in a fools paradise ?

weldoninhio · 12-03-2011 03:51PM

They say money doesn't make you happy.

I'd just love the chance to put this to the test.

Mike 1972 · 12-03-2011 03:57PM

weldoninhio wrote: »

They say money doesn't make you happy.

Money can buy Prozac

clouds · 12-03-2011 04:00PM

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Money can buy Prozac

Eff buying happiness, it can buy feckin ecstasy!

Not condoning drug use btw

smk89 · 12-03-2011 04:34PM

weldoninhio wrote: »

They say money doesn't make you happy.

I beg to differ, several UK studies show that earning over £50k means you are happier. It also decreases your scumbag co-efficient considerably.

PrincessLola · 12-03-2011 04:39PM

I was a young teenager in the celtic tiger years and couldn't do anything fun.

So yeah I'm happier now that I'm old enough to go out and stuff.

clouds · 12-03-2011 04:39PM

Earning over 50K - I thought it ws £39k stg, btw - may make you happy but it doesn't keep going up. There's a limit, over which more money makes no difference.

There are lso studies which say tht winning the lotto or any other big windfall doesn't make you any happier once the initial excitement has worn off. After 12 months people are back to the levels they were t before the win.

Alter-Ego · 12-03-2011 04:51PM

Same ol', same ol'

seanbmc · 12-03-2011 05:04PM

Finidng a part time job now when you're a student is a bitch, places don't want to even look at you if you don't have any expierience or if you're not willing to work full time.

So I have to rely on the Ma for money, which isn't much at the moment. You know things are bad when you're looking through a change box before a night out. :pac:

HellFireClub · 12-03-2011 05:24PM

Pauleta wrote: »

The celtic tiger was a magnificent era in our nations history, possibly our greatest. This place would be a dive if it never happened. People shouldnt hate it because we messed it up. Its like hating an ex girlfriend because you acted like a dick and messed the relationship up. People flocked to Ireland to live the dream of freedom and wealth. We were on top of the world and we must strive together to raise the Celtic cubs into ferocious, meat hungry, stealth like assassins just like the mother that raised them. A mother who we killed and sold its fur to poachers.

Hard to run with this analysis... I think the Celtic Tiger showed us up as a nation for what we have aways been. A lazy and fearful constituency of sheer gobshytes who were afraid of hard work, afraid to take a punt on ourselves, hence why most of the employment that was initially generated here when the boom started, was by way of FDI that was imported here by the IDA throwing money at multinational organisations. Then when a bit of money started knocking around, the popular business activity became investing in property and the "no brainer" business opportunity. To me, real entrepreneurship has always been about risk and reward. The only time people in this country put their back to the enterprise wheel was when they thought that (1) it didn't involve any risk, sure won't property always keep going up and (2) it didn't involve any hard work, just lunches with your relationship manager in your branch and rinse lather repeat.

For a while now, I've been completely and utterly ashamed to be Irish after what I've seen in recent years, the dysfunctional work ethic of the place, the ingratiated smugness after a few short years of higher than usual growth, the false modesty, the need to buy cars with certain brands to make a statement about yourself because underneath the style that you can bolt on to yourself by way of a BMW purchase, you have absolutely no substance, f*ckin' overweight spastics paying 40 Euro in a restaurant for a bottle of 5 Euro LIDL wine congratulating themselves on being on the top of the world, "aren't we all just great altogether?!?" you could go on and on...

Were you happier in the Celtic Tiger or are you happier now in the Failed Economy???

Comments