Do you see yourself living in Ireland permanently

No, Eventually I shall move back to Portugal.

Used to live in the Netherlands and if things had gone differently for me over there work and money wise I'd have probably stayed. It's a high taxation economy but you get what you pay for in terms of your living environment, public services and quality of life.

People who go and see Amsterdam don't get the full picture of the country, cities like Den Bosch, Nijmegen or Maastricht are clean, pleasant, efficient and enjoyable to be in, in addition to the fact that you're merely a train ride away from Brussels, Cologne or Berlin.

A lot of the famed Irish friendliness is overrated as well, we may have a loud, brash and superficial hail fellow well met manner, but I actually found people on the continent far easier to connect to and have an in depth conversation with.

Weather here is another minus point, dislike London but even wouldn't mind being over there to get some sun at the minute.

Don't know, but put it this way, the thought of living in Ireland permanently doesn't perturb me in any way.

can't see myself back in ireland more than a handful of times again in my life. it's a mess of a country, both in terms of governance and the people in it. rampant alcoholism under the guise of socialising, sweet FA to do and still a fierce backwards mentality about most stuff. i couldn't in good conscience let my kids grow up there

Octavia Ashy Suffix wrote: »

A lot of bull in that post. For a start the country is not a mess that's tabloid stuff. Socialising is one of the best things about Ireland and I know people who have moved to Ireland and its one of the main reason they want to stay. There is very little you cant do in Ireland that you can other places if you want to and its extremely insulting to the country to call it backwards. Its also probably one of the best places in the world for children to grow up.

In short we are better off without you with an attitude like the above.

look, i was born and reared in ireland. i spent 25 of the first 26 years of my life there before jumping ship three years ago before the sh1t really hit the fan. socialising is fine, but the irish mentality isn't about socialising. it's about getting drunk, first and foremost, followed by whatever else as being secondary. the entire social structure of the country revolves around getting drunk. the pub is the first port of call for everything. it's embarrassing, and i genuinely didn't realise how bad it was until i left. i don't want to raise my kids in that

you say that it's tabloid crap that the country is a mess? it's definitely not. the country was a mess long before i left, even during the celtic tiger days. it's corrupt, for all the "friendly" ireland stuff the people there are getting increasingly antisocial, and there's very little opportunity for most people to do anything meaningful with their lives, as it's simply not encouraged. it never has been.

any kind of public amenities or facilities that are constructed are usually magnets for underage drinkers and scumbags to ruin, while companies are simply out to gouge as much money as they possibly can from the public. there's no such thing as a long term project in ireland, it's quick fixes all the way from governance through to industry

ireland is far from a good place for kids to grow up. there's little for them to do. they're witness to chronic alcoholism on an almost daily basis. there's very little drive in irish people to do more than get by. the "fùck it, it'll do" attitude doesn't serve to create winners, it serves to create mediocrity, and it's the reason the government continually gets away with running things into the ground.

if you're happy enough to spend your life there and raise your kids there, well for you. personally, my kids will have a better shot at life than that

Octavia Ashy Suffix wrote: »

The above is one of the things I love about living in Ireland, you can go out and enjoy yourself properly regardless of the event

you know you can do that without getting shìtfaced drunk every time right? it's true. amazingly, that's how they do it in other countries. sometimes they don't even drink at all. crazy huh?

IrishAm wrote: »

You are spouting bollix. I hear this crap all the time by my local "community leaders" when services are cut. Within walking distance from here are; a shopping centre, cinema, six public parks, basketball team, seven soccer teams, a soccer stadium(SRFC), two youth clubs, one of the biggest libraries in the country, two boxing clubs, karate clubs, kickboxing clubs, Irish language groups, homework clubs, athletic clubs, a swimming pool, two GAA clubs, and I am only getting started.

That's quite a lot of child friendly activities on your doorstep.

it's mickey mouse stuff compared to the facilities over here. regardless of how much you think kids are offered over there, it's garbage compared to decent countries