Homesickness

anto9 · 31-08-2013 11:30AM

lufties wrote: »

I thought the dutch generally peak english very well?

Couldn't believe how bad people's english is germany.

Yes ,most Dutch speak English fluently .Its when they are speaking amongst themselves in Dutch you can feel left out .Dealing with officials in Government etc ,will also leave you at a disadvantage as they will sometimes claim not to know ENGLISH .
In Germany most of the young generation ( certainly under 35 to 40 ) have reasonable English .The older generation do not it is true .

bohsboy · 31-08-2013 11:53AM

weisses wrote: »

Where did you go/stay ??? (bible belt) perhaps ?

Maastricht / Kerkrade area. Boring.

Micky Dolenz · 31-08-2013 12:00PM

I rarely ever get homesick. Home is where ever I happen to be.

Am a bit sick I couldn't be back for EP though.

anto9 · 31-08-2013 12:14PM

I will miss the "Gathering " this year .sob ,sob .When i was back last September i got great deals on Hotels ,car hire and eating out .The recession does have its advantages .

RachaelVO · 31-08-2013 12:29PM

lufties wrote: »

I thought the dutch generally peak english very well?

Couldn't believe how bad people's english is germany.

They do speak good English, sure they don't dub films or programmes, all sub titled. As soon as you speak dutch and they hear an accent they'll tell you that your dutch hurts their ears and speak english to you.

NoCrackHaving · 31-08-2013 12:43PM

I think people mistake politeness for friendliness in a huge amount of cases. In my experience a lot of Dutch people are incredibly, incredibly polite but NOT friendly. They'll never invite you out a drink or to go watch some football or go grab some food etc. I've only ever met one Dutch person in my life so far that I would actually go friendly and outgoing, most are just unfriendly and tight bores-very, very polite bores but bores nonetheless.

crockholm · 31-08-2013 12:45PM

I get homesick quite a bit, came back from a 3 week holiday in July,and within 2 days had booked 2 weeks at Christmas.

Sometimes life works out even in shytty times,I would have preferred to stay in Ireland,but the option on doing that would probably mean long stints of unemployment.So I left,but always with the dream of restoring an nearly 200 year old Parsons stone house that was nearby when I came back.

Met a girl in Sweden,did a quickie marraige, had a baby (perhaps another on the way,fingers crossed),and life is here.For now.

She absolutely loves Ireland,and would consider living here.The little things like people talking to her in the street,people calling around to the house we stayed at,the kettle,coffee machine on the boil the whole time,people volunteering to babysit so we can have a night out.And family.The ties that bind families are not so strong in sweden,it is quite often a cold and individualistic place to live.We had friends,family,neighbours and cousins calling almost every day in Ireland. When we got back home,it was silence,just ourselves in our private little bubble.

She's a nurse,so I don't think she would find trouble working back home,especially if we leave it another couple of years,it's more myself I worry about on the jobs front,also,childcare is cheap here,about 150 euro per month for 1 kid,operates on a sliding scale if you have more,so we must also be patient,raising kids before school is expensive in Ireland,according to most.

We may never get that old stone house after all,but it would make me so happy to point it out to the kids everytime we pass it on the road home.

lufties · 31-08-2013 03:32PM

RachaelVO wrote: »

They do speak good English, sure they don't dub films or programmes, all sub titled. As soon as you speak dutch and they hear an accent they'll tell you that your dutch hurts their ears and speak english to you.

damned if you do damned if you do not!

dd972 · 31-08-2013 04:04PM

bohsboy wrote: »

Maastricht / Kerkrade area. Boring.

Maastricht is a cracking wee city, loads of students, cultural stuff going on, even the John Mullins mock Irish pub is good.

Heerlen, Kerkrade and the rest of Limburg is dull, but you can get a bus to Aachen or a train to Liege from Maastricht and be in either place in 30 minutes.

On the main topic, where I come from is a ****hole so homesickness has never been an issue for me.

Aidric · 31-08-2013 05:00PM

Living in Prague for 3 years now. I am being transferred by my company to Zurich next month so see myself there for the medium term at least.

The only thing I miss about home is my family but I'm only a couple of hours flight away so can pop home when I want to. My career is very important to me and I will work in the best place to further this aim. My family understands this so it's no biggie really. I love working in different countries and integrating in to new cultures as well as making whole new circles of friends.

osarusan · 31-08-2013 05:05PM

Been living in Japan for about 8 years in 2 different goes.

Never really got/get homesick at all. Apart from missing Limerick FC winning promotion to the premier division earlier this year, I can't remember any event I wanted to be at home for. I'm married to a Japanese woman and have 2 kids, so maybe my own family here has an effect on this, but I wasn't married for the first 5 years here, and felt the same.

Aidric · 31-08-2013 05:06PM

bohsboy wrote: »

Dutch are robotic obnoxious bores.

Nothing could be further from the truth in my experience. Granted I only spent one summer there but it was the best summer of my life. Met, befriended and partied with a lot of dutch people and found them to be very open and sociable. As for the Dutch chicks, maaaan, tasty.

Caonima · 31-08-2013 05:07PM

crockholm wrote: »

I get homesick quite a bit, came back from a 3 week holiday in July,and within 2 days had booked 2 weeks at Christmas.

Sometimes life works out even in shytty times,I would have preferred to stay in Ireland,but the option on doing that would probably mean long stints of unemployment.So I left,but always with the dream of restoring an nearly 200 year old Parsons stone house that was nearby when I came back.

Met a girl in Sweden,did a quickie marraige, had a baby (perhaps another on the way,fingers crossed),and life is here.For now.

She absolutely loves Ireland,and would consider living here.The little things like people talking to her in the street,people calling around to the house we stayed at,the kettle,coffee machine on the boil the whole time,people volunteering to babysit so we can have a night out.And family.The ties that bind families are not so strong in sweden,it is quite often a cold and individualistic place to live.We had friends,family,neighbours and cousins calling almost every day in Ireland. When we got back home,it was silence,just ourselves in our private little bubble.

She's a nurse,so I don't think she would find trouble working back home,especially if we leave it another couple of years,it's more myself I worry about on the jobs front,also,childcare is cheap here,about 150 euro per month for 1 kid,operates on a sliding scale if you have more,so we must also be patient,raising kids before school is expensive in Ireland,according to most.

We may never get that old stone house after all,but it would make me so happy to point it out to the kids everytime we pass it on the road home.

I hear that. I married a nurse, too, and she was blown away by how nice people were back home, and we're working on a plan to get back home (or to the UK) in 3 years. We went back for a wedding and everybody treated her really well and she just lapped it up. Well, apart from the skangs in Dublin muttering their usual garbage behind our backs.

Wompa1 · 31-08-2013 05:50PM

Living in Phoenix. Very homesick. I actually really like the people here, they are very friendly for the most part. I like the city, the roads are amazing, no tolls, road tax is cheap, income tax is low etc. For me it's the weather, the air quality and distance and time difference between here and home.

I also miss little things like going to watch a match on a Saturday afternoon. I e-mail friends every few weeks but don't talk to them a whole lot. I only talk to my parents on weekends over Google Hangout and it all depends on if they are available.

For anybody here looking for 'Irish' Foods. Frys Supermarkets have Digestives, Hob Nobs, Crunchies, Kerry Gold and a few other things.

jester77 · 31-08-2013 06:16PM

I've been gone a long time from Ireland, never been homesick. A lot of what pissed me off about Ireland is not an issue here, so that's what probably makes it so easy.

Caonima · 31-08-2013 06:20PM

jester77 wrote: »

A lot of what pissed me off about Ireland is not an issue here...

Such as?

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater · 31-08-2013 06:20PM

lufties wrote: »

I thought the dutch generally peak english very well?

Couldn't believe how bad people's english is germany.

Most likely better than our German...

jester77 · 31-08-2013 06:30PM

Caonima wrote: »

Such as?

Everything doesn't revolve around the pub and alcohol.
When I do want to go for a beer I am not under any time restrictions, I can go for a meal at 10pm, go to a pub at midnight and have a few beers until 4 or 5 in the morning.
People don't piss and puke all over the street after a night out.
I've never seen a fight after a night out.
Large variety of clubs playing good music, specific genre and are not full of pissheads and people trying to pull.
Excellent health care.
Excellent public transport that actually arrives on time and runs all night, haven't ever needed to purchase a car.
People don't begrudge your success and are genuinely happy for you.
No ridiculous obsession with property and property prices.
Proper summer weather and not too hot, never goes above 35.
Good childcare system.
Good unemployment system, you get 60% of your salary for the first year, you then have to liquidate any assets you have before you get further assistance.

Gummy Panda · 31-08-2013 06:33PM

WindSock wrote: »

I don't get homesick often, thankfully as it is ****ty feeling, but what makes me really sick are the people who have to emigrate and who want nothing more than to stay in Ireland with their friends and family with the dignity of having a decent enough job. It makes me sad that so many people don't really have the option to return.
Although I do count myself lucky that I have the option to emigrate as I am not bound by family / debt / mortgage / misc.

stop fishing for tayto and barry's teabags!!! :mad::mad::mad:

31-08-2013 07:11PM

Lived in the UK for a year, was constantly home sick. I'll never live away from Ireland again. Even not living near home is ok (temporarily) once it's in Ireland, though my ultimate aim is of course to settle at or near home.

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I rarely ever get homesick. Home is where ever I happen to be.
.

Home for me is my home place where I grew up. I've no more attachment to other places I've lived than a hotel room, even after years living there.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy · 31-08-2013 07:20PM

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Serious offer. Pm me your address, I'll post you Lyons or Barrys teabags, tayto and Cadburys.

Wouldn't it have been funny if I'd got fcukin loads of PM's!

Caonima · 31-08-2013 07:25PM

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

Wouldn't it have been funny if I'd got fcukin loads of PM's!

Your offer is very nice, actually

But I couldn't in good conscience ask for that. Getting deliveries like that tends to exacerbate any nascent homesickness I might have. The only fuckin' thing I really miss is Turkish delight and battered sausages (not together

)

Esoteric_ · 31-08-2013 07:36PM

Caonima wrote: »

Your offer is very nice, actually

But I couldn't in good conscience ask for that. Getting deliveries like that tends to exacerbate any nascent homesickness I might have. The only fuckin' thing I really miss is Turkish delight and battered sausages (not together )

I'll send ya some Turkish Delight if you like? Anything to get that disgusting stuff out of the country. :pac:

Caonima · 31-08-2013 07:43PM

Esoteric_ wrote: »

I'll send ya some Turkish Delight if you like? Anything to get that disgusting stuff out of the country. :pac:

If Electric Enda Kenny had any feckin sense, he'd set up a shop in the Irish consulates and embassys around the world, selling teabags and cadburys and tayto crisps. Jaysus, that'd be a lot of bang for your expat buck there

Jamsiek · 31-08-2013 11:23PM

Ariel Miniature Palate wrote: »

I'll never live away from Ireland again.

If you can stay in Ireland and have a good job then you're doing very well.
Lots of people don't have the choice.
It's not called Generation Emigration for nothing unfortunately.

Personally I like living abroad as long as I have a good circle of friends which i am glad to say I do and I like the place where I live.

HerrScheisse · 31-08-2013 11:54PM

By God, you all make Ireland sound like the Hotel California - you can check out but never leave.

I left long ago, before boom and bust. I can delight in simple things when I return, I can cry at the changes, but I can distinguish between the two, and live happily not knowing the difference.

01-09-2013 12:07AM

Jamsiek wrote: »

If you can stay in Ireland and have a good job then you're doing very well.
Lots of people don't have the choice.
It's not called Generation Emigration for nothing unfortunately.
.

Out of my main group of friends I've known since school only one is living abroad and it's both temporarily and by choice. The rest are in pretty secure jobs, building or buying houses etc. Even if I cast the net a bit wider I know an awful lot of people still living around the area never mind the rest of Ireland. We all came out of college right at the start of the recession.

It would appear from my personal experience that there is at least some exaggeration on how bad things are and how many people are leaving. Obviously some are forced to leave but I think a lot are leaving by choice.

Jamsiek · 01-09-2013 06:02PM

Ariel Miniature Palate wrote: »

Out of my main group of friends I've known since school only one is living abroad and it's both temporarily and by choice. The rest are in pretty secure jobs, building or buying houses etc. Even if I cast the net a bit wider I know an awful lot of people still living around the area never mind the rest of Ireland. We all came out of college right at the start of the recession.

It would appear from my personal experience that there is at least some exaggeration on how bad things are and how many people are leaving. Obviously some are forced to leave but I think a lot are leaving by choice.

Agreed, my brothers went to Australia during the boom because they wanted to travel but now they are still there.
I was in the UK too during the boom.

Some people like to blame the recession for everything when a lot of the time it's down to personal choice.

Gummy Panda · 01-09-2013 07:09PM

Years ago I was in Australia (during the boom), I got homesick for Ireland. I.missed the rain. I like winter in Ireland

CountingClocks · 01-09-2013 08:20PM

RachaelVO wrote: »

I know, I would if I could, Dutch hubby, kids, mortgage...

Costs a fecking fortune to live here (health insurance is compulsary and costs a fortune, although good health care system). It's mostly the rudeness and total lack of service that kills me off though.

I'm living in Amsterdam but planning to move home in the future. I've loved loving here, I speak Dutch fluently which has definitely helped and Amsterdam is a great city but getting older now and having no ties here I want to be where my family is. A lot of my friends here have either left over the years or had kids and moved out of Amsterdam so it's not the same anymore having a much smaller social circle here.

If I had to name any frustrations with living here it would absolutely be rudeness and lack of service.

Homesickness

Comments