14 things Irish people did during the Celtic Tiger (some of which you won't believe)

DrumSteve · 10-12-2013 02:55PM

If Irish people did any of those things... so ****in what.

I forgot; the good things in life are for other people?

**** that.

pappyodaniel · 10-12-2013 02:57PM

ScumLord wrote: »

The banks got into financial difficulties and pulled the rest of us down with them.

So the borrowers are exempt?

jimgoose · 10-12-2013 02:59PM

Aye, the whole country was essentially a giant Big Fat Gypsy Wedding! :pac::pac::pac:

I never did any of the above-enumerated things either. In fact, the whole thing seems to have largely gone around me. :P

Geomy · 10-12-2013 03:00PM

Im telling ye one thing, people have let their gardens go to **** since the recession. ...

Just take a look at people's front gardens, look at all the weeds and overgrown shrubs etc

No need for it is there. ..

vitani · 10-12-2013 03:02PM

I did the Gran Canaria Leaving Cert holiday in 2003. I saved up for flights and accommodation from the money I'd earned working full-time that summer. Is it a Celtic Tiger thing because I had a job or something?

Muise... · 10-12-2013 03:02PM

Geomy wrote: »

Im telling ye one thing, people have let their gardens go to **** since the recession. ...

Just take a look at people's front gardens, look at all the weeds and overgrown shrubs etc

No need for it is there. ..

Good! Maybe the bust will save the bees.

SpaceTime · 10-12-2013 03:02PM

Don't forget the other myth: ah sure nobody saw it coming... (Apart for RTE Primetime, David McWilliams, several other major economists, the European commission etc… everyone in the propertypin website etc and many other people who could add and subtract)

Even my granny was asking where all the money was coming from as she saw neighbours move in and spend hundreds of thousands on renovation when they only had normal jobs.

Anyone publicly pointing to the impending problems was treated as a party pooper trying to talk down the economy.

RoboRat · 10-12-2013 03:05PM

A couple of my mates have multiple properties as it was the done thing... late 20's with a property portfolio, when you think about it, it beggars belief. They tried to get me to invest and thankfully I declined as some of them are now over €1,000,000 in debt (none defaulting on the debt but its a big burden to carry).

I was happy with my little pad that I spent 5 years doing up because I couldn't get a tradesman to even price it up. I remember getting a quote for €8,500 to rewire my 3 bed house, thought to myself feck that and did all the wiring myself and got an electrician to inspect and finish it off - still cost €1500 for that privilege which was about a days work! I still remember asking a tiler to come out and price the job and he laughed at me saying it wasn't worth his time.

I think the most shocking thing about the celtic tiger was labourers on about €1000 - €1500 a week. I don't know how many times I considered jacking my job in to do it but thankfully I didn't.

Stark · 10-12-2013 03:05PM

You can go skiing once a year and not be super rich. Perfectly possible to do a ski holiday on a budget. (I should know, I've gone skiing with people who trade Travel 90 tickets like cash).

Fighting Irish · 10-12-2013 03:06PM

People who can and could always afford to do stuff from that list are still doing them

jimgoose · 10-12-2013 03:06PM

vitani wrote: »

I did the Gran Canaria Leaving Cert holiday in 2003. I saved up for flights and accommodation from the money I'd earned working full-time that summer. Is it a Celtic Tiger thing because I had a job or something?

"Job"? "Saved up"?? Where the fock did you spend the Toiger period roysh, focking Cambodia??

Frank Black · 10-12-2013 03:06PM

SpaceTime wrote: »

Most of us were not living the high life. We were buying overpriced undersized homes in stupid locations because that's all we could afford we were stupid.

FYP

Fighting Irish · 10-12-2013 03:08PM

RoboRat wrote: »

A couple of my mates have multiple properties as it was the done thing... late 20's with a property portfolio, when you think about it, it beggars belief. They tried to get me to invest and thankfully I declined as some of them are now over €1,000,000 in debt (none defaulting on the debt but its a big burden to carry).

I was happy with my little pad that I spent 5 years doing up because I couldn't get a tradesman to even price it up. I remember getting a quote for €8,500 to rewire my 3 bed house, thought to myself feck that and did all the wiring myself and got an electrician to inspect and finish it off - still cost €1500 for that privilege which was about a days work! I still remember asking a tiler to come out and price the job and he laughed at me saying it wasn't worth his time.

I think the most shocking thing about the celtic tiger was labourers on about €1000 - €1500 a week. I don't know how many times I considered jacking my job in to do it but thankfully I didn't.

EVERYONE tries to make as much money as possible. Customers set the prices at the end of the day.

SpaceTime · 10-12-2013 03:10PM

Frank Black wrote: »

FYP

Problem was though, it seemed like that was the only option at the time. You were sold a story that prices would rise and you had to buy now or forever live on your ma's sofa!

The rental prices were high and the quality very low and really mostly only suited to singletons with low expectations So if you'd a job and especially if you'd kids what options did you have other than emigration?

I didn't buy, but it's easy to criticise people who did with the benefit of hindsight.
They did the best they could do in the circumstances they were presented with.

I've little sympathy for people who went on speculation binges and got burnt. That's a business decision and you lost your shirt on a bad investment. However, I've a lot of sympathy for the many, many people of my generation who just wanted a roof over their heads and were basically ripped off royaly by the developers and put into unsustainable debt by idiotic banks.

Your average person isn't a financial genius. They trust experts like banks, mortgage brokers and estate agents and most of all the state itself!

The government just threw a whole generation to the wolves for the sake of getting tax revenues from new build houses and it basically got involved in marketing the Irish Dream of homeownership with a vast mortgage.

It's no wonder there's no trust of the governance system anyone and that people don't bother to engage.

Captain Farrell · 10-12-2013 03:12PM

Stark wrote: »

You can go skiing once a year and not be super rich. Perfectly possible to do a ski holiday on a budget. (I should know, I've gone skiing with people who trade Travel 90 tickets like cash).

Have a lovely ski holiday booked for the kids half term in february, do it every year and have done since 2002. We take 4 holidays a year though and have done since 1996.

People tell me we're "lucky". Bullshit. We've worked hard to be in the position we are, why should we be made to feel guilty just because we have been succesful?

TeddyTedson · 10-12-2013 03:12PM

How many people realistically went to Religious Cerimonies in helicopters.
It's a meaningless list for the most part.

cantdecide · 10-12-2013 03:12PM

I tried to buy a house at 24 in Summer 2006 but it fell through when the house I'd paid a deposit on was withdrawn from the market.

/bullet dodged:cool:

Mr Freeze · 10-12-2013 03:16PM

I did one of those things.

I went on a skiing holiday. Once. Ever.

iguana · 10-12-2013 03:16PM

I would love to do 10 when my little boy is the right age. Though I saw an ad for it recently and the Santa had a fake beard. If I'm going all the way to Lapland for a Santa visit the least they can do is hire a guy with an actual white beard.

MurdyWurdy · 10-12-2013 03:18PM

Captain Farrell wrote: »

Have a lovely ski holiday booked for the kids half term in february, do it every year and have done since 2002. We take 4 holidays a year though and have done since 1996.

People tell me we're "lucky". Bullshit. We've worked hard to be in the position we are, why should we be made to feel guilty just because we have been succesful?

I was in Aldi last Thursday morning because the ski stuff was in and I needed a few bits and pieces. There were hordes of people there so looks like a lot of people will be skiing this year (in Aldi ski suits!)

If you're working and don't have a huge mortgage holidays are affordable. You just need to save a bit during the year.

RoboRat · 10-12-2013 03:19PM

EVERYONE tries to make as much money as possible. Customers set the prices at the end of the day.

WRONG. I had a plumber who worked for very reasonable rates, didn't let the celtic tiger get the better of him. I remember him telling me of an apprentice he had who went solo. He met him during the celtic tiger time and his ex apprentice laughed at him, told him he was mad doing the little jobs and that he now had a team of 10 lads working for him and was driving a new Lexus. Today said plumber is still unemployed with massive debt and cant get any customers because my plumber retained all his customers due to the fact that he was reasonable.

I also got calls from 2 of the tradesmen that I contacted back when I originally bought the house asking was there any work and I politely told them that I am OK with the guys who wanted to do the work back when they weren't interested.

There are many such stories of people who didn't go chasing the big bucks who are doing fine now. Its not all about the money and making as much as possible. That is a very shortsighted view and the reason why this country is the way it is.

jimgoose · 10-12-2013 03:20PM

TeddyTedson wrote: »

How many people realistically went to Religious Cerimonies in helicopters...

Bricklayers mainly, I understand.

jmayo · 10-12-2013 03:21PM

buyer95 wrote: »

No.8 is still very much a done thing. Masses of leaving cert students descend on Santa Ponsa still after the leaving cert.

Just proves that our education system is sh**e when that is the best location they can come up with.

ScumLord wrote: »

...
What were we supposed to do with our money though. Hide it in the banks? I have no problem with people spending their money on whatever silly things make them happy.

Ah the spend it if you have ethos.

Except it wasn't often their money and now they want to dump the bill on those of us who didn't spend our money on silly sh**e.

DrumSteve wrote: »

If Irish people did any of those things... so ****in what.

I forgot; the good things in life are for other people?

**** that.

And a hell of a lot of people seem to forget the bills are not for other fooking people either.

I don't care what people did so long as they are not now whinging about how they need insolvency, debt writeoffs that the rest of us have to pay.

SpaceTime · 10-12-2013 03:22PM

It wasn't just here though. Remember MTV's Sweet Sixteen etc etc

Lavish parties were to be aspired to in the US, the UK and here.

British television (including public service BBC and C4) were wall to wall Kirsty Allsop showing you how to start your own mini property empire.

Or Homes in the Sun.

You were nobody if you weren't remortgaging that 2 bed semi in Essex and buying into the Spanish bubble.
There's a lot of worry that the UK market outside London will go wallop soon!

Cork Lass · 10-12-2013 03:30PM

Shopping in New York - that's something I do every November. I love it and won't justify myself to anyone who comments on it. I work hard all year as does my OH, we never spend what we can't afford and never did. Tempting as it was when all our friends were buying second houses we chose to stay as we were and now our mortgage is all but paid and we can afford a reasonably good lifestyle. We are not rich but are doing just fine.

jmayo · 10-12-2013 03:32PM

SpaceTime wrote: »

It wasn't just here though. Remember MTV's Sweet Sixteen etc etc

Remember that eejit from Dundalk ?

SpaceTime wrote: »

Lavish parties were to be aspired to in the US, the UK and here.

British television (including public service BBC and C4) were wall to wall Kirsty Allsop showing you how to start your own mini property empire.

Or Homes in the Sun.

You were nobody if you weren't remortgaging that 2 bed semi in Essex and buying into the Spanish bubble.
There's a lot of worry that the UK market outside London will go wallop soon!

You forgot the continuity nightmare (is she pregnant is she not) Sarah Beeny and her Property Ladder.
What was even more astounding about that show was the "would be developers" ignoring her good advice and yet making a few quid.

Pingi · 10-12-2013 03:35PM

I was a teenager during the Celtic Tiger, most of my year had part time jobs in 3rd-6th year.

Ush1 · 10-12-2013 03:37PM

Out of interest, how much does a trip to New York for shopping cost? Excluding the shopping.

clairefontaine · 10-12-2013 03:39PM

Cork Lass wrote: »

Shopping in New York - that's something I do every November. I love it and won't justify myself to anyone who comments on it. I work hard all year as does my OH, we never spend what we can't afford and never did. Tempting as it was when all our friends were buying second houses we chose to stay as we were and now our mortgage is all but paid and we can afford a reasonably good lifestyle. We are not rich but are doing just fine.

Why do Irish people do this? Surely with the costs of flying and accommodation you are not actually saving any money?

Montroseee · 10-12-2013 03:39PM

Ush1 wrote: »

Out of interest, how much does a trip to New York for shopping cost? Excluding the shopping.

You can get long weekend deals for about 8-900 per person which is quite reasonable, just have to book when the time is right.

14 things Irish people did during the Celtic Tiger (some of which you won't believe)

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