Your reasons for emigrating

12-02-2014 12:23PM

Funerals in Ireland are great, believe me I know, people really muck in and get behind the family. I would not change that for the world. When a close relative of mine died, an old man from the neighborhood brought the males of the family outside and poured three large whiskeys. He then proceeded to tell us what was going to happen over the next couple of days, what we should do over the next couple of months, basically how to play things. Amazing, One thing Ireland should never let go is its funeral tradition.

zweton · 12-02-2014 12:27PM

jester77 wrote: »

Have you lived in Ireland all your life?

You can't do anything but someone has a comment on it. If you buy a new car, instead of congratulating you people will pass comments on it based on the year of the number plate. Too old and people will say you are cheap, too new and people will say are you trying to compensate or prove something or a rich aunt must have passed away. Go on a holiday and people will be saying, isn't it well for some that can go away instead of wishing you a good time. Get a job promotion and most people will wish you well through gritted teeth.

never a truer word, this is ireland.

jank · 12-02-2014 12:56PM

Jamsiek wrote: »

Yes Canada is more expensive than the US but it has a very high standard of living with 3 of it's cities in the top 10 most liveable cities in the world according to the Economist magazine. Much safer than the US too.
I suppose it's the same reason Scandinavian countries are the most expensive in Europe.
By the way the top US city is Honolulu at No 29.

Those 'most liveable' cities surveys should be taken with a pinch of salt. E.g. Adelaide is ranked at number 5 with Calgary. Don't get me wrong Adelaide is a nice spot, a nice place to settle down and have kids but is it better than Paris, New York, San Francisco or London.. again it is all subjective and depends on your outlook. I know there are millions of people who dream of going to New York, I doubt there are more dreaming of setting up shop in Calgary or Adelaide.

Jamsiek wrote: »

Canada is actively looking abroad for new immigrants as it's such a huge country with so many untapped resources.

From what I hear, the US on the other hand, isn't looking for immigrants as it has unemployment problems due to the economy. However some parts are doing much better than others so it depends on where you go.

You are wrong and right here. The problem at the moment in the US is that they do not have a modern dynamic immigration system like Canada or Australia. There is talk about reform in the next year or two (Ireland may benefit with E-1 visas) but in the US all this stuff takes ages and there is always pay offs and political objectives to everything. However given all that over 1 million people migrated permanently and legally to the US. For Canada the figure is less than 200,000… even with all the problems of the US, there is still huge demand for people to go there. If the US offered similar easy access to their labour market as Canada do, I can imagine the figure to be far far higher which is my fundamental point.

Jamsiek wrote: »

I'm sure you could be right as it has better weather for instance and is cheaper to live in but the US doesn't seem to be the same land of opportunity that it used to be or they would have more visas on offer.

Don't get me wrong, I live near the border and love going down there. I would like to live there sometime in the future. I am a permanent resident in Canada and would like to get citizenship. That might help me if I have opportunities in the US too somewhere down the road.

There are opportunities, plenty of opportunities to have 'The American Dream' however one must be educated and have some skills on offer that is in demand. The problem is two fold. Lack of legal visas for unskilled workers (and skilled workers) and competition for jobs for unskilled jobs. Canada being a smaller country social problems are less pronounced, in the US well its just bigger problems cause its a bigger country. People forget that the guts of 320 million people live there.

Jamsiek wrote: »

Vancouver is a beautiful place and has a great lifestyle, the natural scenery is amazing. Mountains in the winter and beaches in the summer and it gets hot believe it or not.

It's expensive but a lot of that is down to demand. It constantly scores near the top liveable city in the world. It was No 1 an few years ago, I think it's at No 3 now but I'm not sure.

Yes the competition is very high lately, my girlfriend is out of work and finding it tough. She's an engineer so we are considering a move to Alberta as it's booming over there.

Yes, Canada is much smaller population wise but the cities are all growing and the north of the country is also undergoing development due to mining and oil and gas.

I would like to live in the US sometime for the experience of another country and I've always liked it there but being an engineer I would have to adjust to the olde worlde measurements. That might take some getting used to :-)

I was thinking about going to Canada in two years as I still would be eligible for the IEC visa. However quick glances at the forum here puts me off a little. Wages are not meant to be great for my Industry (IT, could earn more in Dublin?), high cost of living (sick of that living in Sydney, you want to pay $670 a week rent?) and tough competition for jobs due to many high skilled people with easy access to visas. This has a knock on effect which of course the winners are the companies and business that can keep wages low. Saying that I may still make a trip over there but I will become an Australian Citizen in the next month or two so am looking into the US where Australian citizens get offered an E-1 visa. Basically much easier to get a working visa unlike the H1B. All you need is a firm job offer and a proof of a degree…and boom here is your visa… Might be thinking either east coast (Boston/NY) or California but we will see. If one can get a similar job with lower taxes and lower cost of living than Canada then it is a no brainer in some ways but again its all subjective. I lived in NZ and its a great spot BUT tis a little bit quiet at this stage of my life and it doesn't have much a culture. Canada just reminds me of NZ but just bigger. Again, it is all subjective. NZ is a place I would like to retire to or when I am approaching late 40's, semi retire, get a job in the Public sector and live the rest of my days in peace in a beach house. If you are young and want to make your mark on the world, I would not be going to NZ. OZ, UK, USA or even Canada would have more to offer there I think.

Ill stop rambling...

lufties · 12-02-2014 01:18PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

That wasn't how it was for me when I lived there. Just sayin'. Sounds like country life in absolutely every country on the face of this planet.

I actually haven't come across one person on this thread who says they enjoy life in rural Ireland. when i was home last year in south Tipp, i was in a local watering hole. I saluted/waved at a few girls i went to school with and was completely blanked, they actually looked away. Its not a big deal of course but i couldn't help feeling a little bit disappointed.

If you aren't involved in the GAA to a degree, your not in the' in' crowd. I honestly find people genuinely unfriendly and insular, never really got asked what i'm up to or how travelling the world has been. Hence I empathise with other posters with similar to say. Legs I know you lived in Dublin and its a bit different, but im sure you aren't oblivious to what's being said here with regard to rural Ireland.

Legs.Eleven · 12-02-2014 01:38PM

lufties wrote: »

I actually haven't come across one person on this thread who says they enjoy life in rural Ireland. when i was home last year in south Tipp, i was in a local watering hole. I saluted/waved at a few girls i went to school with and was completely blanked, they actually looked away. Its not a big deal of course but i couldn't help feeling a little bit disappointed.

If you aren't involved in the GAA to a degree, your not in the' in' crowd. I honestly find people genuinely unfriendly and insular, never really got asked what i'm up to or how travelling the world has been. Hence I empathise with other posters with similar to say. Legs I know you lived in Dublin and its a bit different, but im sure you aren't oblivious to what's being said here with regard to rural Ireland.

I'm from North Dublin County (a town of about 9000) and I understand cliquey perfectly well. In my hometown it's rugby that's the exclusive, exclusionary sport (but there's the Gaelic clique, the Soccer clique etc. as well). I also understand nosiness and everyone knowing your business and pass remarkable people and downright unfriendly people too but my town wouldn't be as conservatively Catholic as a town outside Dublin. My point was, you'll find rural life is similar wherever you go. My students from rural towns have complained about the same. I mean, it goes part and parcel with living somewhere so small with not much else happening. And unfriendly people are everywhere.

You have people from the country moving to cities in foreign countries comparing their own rural backgrounds to urban life, which is like comparing apples and oranges. Nobody moves to rural areas, so like-for-like comparisons can't be made. If you've lived in Dublin, those attitudes are absent and people are more open-minded because Dublin is a decent-sized city.

lufties · 12-02-2014 01:48PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

I'm from North Dublin County (a town of about 9000) and I understand cliquey perfectly well. In my hometown it's rugby that's the exclusive, exclusionary sport (but there's the Gaelic clique, the Soccer clique etc. as well). I also understand nosiness and everyone knowing your business and pass remarkable people and downright unfriendly people too but my town wouldn't be as conservatively Catholic as a town outside Dublin. My point was, you'll find rural life is similar wherever you go. My students from rural towns have complained about the same. I mean, it goes part and parcel with living somewhere so small with not much else happening. And unfriendly people are everywhere.

You have people from the country moving to cities in foreign countries comparing their own rural backgrounds to urban life, which is like comparing apples and oranges. Nobody moves to rural areas, so like-for-like comparisons can't be made. If you've lived in Dublin, those attitudes are absent and people are more open-minded because Dublin is a decent-sized city.

Ok, I misread your post, thinking you were saying 'I can only speak for dublin, with fingers in both ears going la la la la. I just wanted to make you aware that peeps who hate on Ireland proably have reason to( i know you hate those type of threads) from your posts. I don't like that kind of misery porn either, but can relate to what posters here say.

I'd love to put the parochial town where i'm from in the past and forget about the unfriendly, godforsaken place, but my parents live there and I love to visit them.

wuffly · 12-02-2014 02:22PM

I must be an exception non GAA head that loved growing up in the country, granted there were a certain number of twats keeping up the parochial stereotypes but never really took any notice of their crap and most of those people have never left and will never leave, works for them. Been gone since I was 17, so maybe i missed the worst parts... then again small village by the sea, 2mins from the village, 20mins from town, 30mins from the city pretty good life. Deep dark west might be different....

Ray Palmer · 12-02-2014 03:14PM

jester77 wrote: »

Have you lived in Ireland all your life?

You can't do anything but someone has a comment on it. If you buy a new car, instead of congratulating you people will pass comments on it based on the year of the number plate. Too old and people will say you are cheap, too new and people will say are you trying to compensate or prove something or a rich aunt must have passed away. Go on a holiday and people will be saying, isn't it well for some that can go away instead of wishing you a good time. Get a job promotion and most people will wish you well through gritted teeth.

Never experienced any of this and lived here for most of my life bar when I was travelling. Is that down the country as that is one reason I would never move to rural Ireland? If you live in any rural area I would expect people to be paying attention like that as the community is so small.

I can ignore my neighbours if I choose but like to be social. Never pay listen to gossip so don't encourage it.

kuntboy · 12-02-2014 04:14PM

maninasia wrote: »

There are unanswered questions regarding aboriginal rights in Oz, I don't think that's really been dealt with at all (i.e. mineral rights..shouldn't they belong to the tribal groups that occupied that land for 1000s of years)?

Sorry but that argument is rubbish. Throughout history invading armies and successive waves of migration have ousted and usurped existent populations. To the victor the spoils.

But you can revel in white guilt, if it makes you feel better.

Electric Sheep · 12-02-2014 04:48PM

jester77 wrote: »

The whole funeral thing in Ireland is ridiculous. Here when someone dies, it's immediate family, mourn a few days and back to normal. None of this wake, removal, blocking the roads, funeral, meal afterwards nonsense that goes on in Ireland where the majority of the people attending barely even know the person that passed away and the people mourning are suffocated and given no time to mourn in peace. I definitely don't miss that.

As for the rest, it's no different. Community spirit is alive and well. Often have BBQs and beers with neighbours, sport together, help each other out, organise things together, like window cleaning, gardening so we get bulk deals. Community playgrounds where the children hangout together. No real difference to life in Ireland.

I have to agree. They draw out the whole wake/funeral thing way too much in Ireland. My mother passed away last year. I did not find the whole charade in any way helpful.

Legs.Eleven · 12-02-2014 05:21PM

lufties wrote: »

Ok, I misread your post, thinking you were saying 'I can only speak for dublin, with fingers in both ears going la la la la. I just wanted to make you aware that peeps who hate on Ireland proably have reason to( i know you hate those type of threads) from your posts. I don't like that kind of misery porn either, but can relate to what posters here say.

I'd love to put the parochial town where i'm from in the past and forget about the unfriendly, godforsaken place, but my parents live there and I love to visit them.

I'm talking about city v rural life. My town is not as parochial or as suffocating as the ones described on this thread but it's more rural than not. Everyone knew your business or knew your family or knew what your father did for a living or that your brother was brought to court for being caught pissing in the street, for example, and being a bit alternative growing up wasn't tolerated (I was a Grunger along with my friends back in the day

). I know I'll never live there again or in any town that size or smaller. I prefer urban life and have done since I moved into Dublin city when I was 20 (when my life changed for the better immediately). Perhaps instead of writing off Ireland, maybe consider that you simply don't like living in rural areas and urban life is more your cup of tea? Rural life is not for everyone.

happyviolet · 12-02-2014 05:52PM

jester77 wrote: »

Have you lived in Ireland all your life?

You can't do anything but someone has a comment on it. If you buy a new car, instead of congratulating you people will pass comments on it based on the year of the number plate. Too old and people will say you are cheap, too new and people will say are you trying to compensate or prove something or a rich aunt must have passed away. Go on a holiday and people will be saying, isn't it well for some that can go away instead of wishing you a good time. Get a job promotion and most people will wish you well through gritted teeth.

Yet another reason I want to travel and take a break from this island.

crockholm · 12-02-2014 06:20PM

Ok, I'm going to go against the grain with all the angela's Ashes stuff people are talking about here. I'm from a Town/village/hamlet of 2500 people or to be more precise,I'm from that Towns greater Metropolitan area ;-) .

However,I do not recognise any of the references to curtain twitching or begrudgery,and I say that as a person who has lived in 5 different counties and 2 cities/large Towns.

Nobody anywhere has commented snidely on my holidays,or commented on my choice of car.

I honestly get that we all have different aspirations-I know a lad from Listowel in Kerry who loves living anonymously in Stockholm,though I may have bruised his ego when I suggested that perhaps everyone there wasn't discussing his Daily activities.

Give me the semi-rural Life any day

lufties · 12-02-2014 06:35PM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

I'm talking about city v rural life. My town is not as parochial or as suffocating as the ones described on this thread but it's more rural than not. Everyone knew your business or knew your family or knew what your father did for a living or that your brother was brought to court for being caught pissing in the street, for example, and being a bit alternative growing up wasn't tolerated (I was a Grunger along with my friends back in the day ). I know I'll never live there again or in any town that size or smaller. I prefer urban life and have done since I moved into Dublin city when I was 20 (when my life changed for the better immediately). Perhaps instead of writing off Ireland, maybe consider that you simply don't like living in rural areas and urban life is more your cup of tea? Rural life is not for everyone.

Not all rural towns are awful though, living in Naas would be way better than living in say strokestown..it all comes down to the town itself. If you are a GAA star you'll probably have the best pickings of a wife, and carry high status and popularity.(honestly the GAA lads get the best looking girls in the town) Those of us that that aren't need to scarper and get to a city where there's a better ratio.

Legs.Eleven · 12-02-2014 07:34PM

lufties wrote: »

Not all rural towns are awful though, living in Naas would be way better than living in say strokestown..it all comes down to the town itself. If you are a GAA star you'll probably have the best pickings of a wife, and carry high status and popularity.(honestly the GAA lads get the best looking girls in the town) Those of us that that aren't need to scarper and get to a city where there's a better ratio.

Course not! My town is great but it wasn't all that great growing up in it as a teen. I understand families wanting to live there though.

c_man · 12-02-2014 08:36PM

I've been thinking more and more of emigrating next year. I mean I don't have any real pressure to do, I have a good job which pays well, no debts or anything. I just feel that I should head off somewhere to live for a few years. I think I'd be happy to settle, grow older in Ireland but feel that I really should go away while I can.

Electric Sheep · 12-02-2014 10:04PM

c_man wrote: »

I've been thinking more and more of emigrating next year. I mean I don't have any real pressure to do, I have a good job which pays well, no debts or anything. I just feel that I should head off somewhere to live for a few years. I think I'd be happy to settle, grow older in Ireland but feel that I really should go away while I can.

I don't know if you should emigrate just for the sake of it. If you have a job you like that support you well and would be happy to settle in Ireland, maybe you should just stay.

One thing about emigrating is that you are pretty much starting at the bottom again. It's not something to be taken lightly unless you have nothing to lose.

I say this as someone who emigrated 20 years ago and is very happy that I did so.

Daveysil15 · 12-02-2014 10:30PM

lufties wrote: »

I actually haven't come across one person on this thread who says they enjoy life in rural Ireland. when i was home last year in south Tipp, i was in a local watering hole. I saluted/waved at a few girls i went to school with and was completely blanked, they actually looked away. Its not a big deal of course but i couldn't help feeling a little bit disappointed.

If you aren't involved in the GAA to a degree, your not in the' in' crowd. I honestly find people genuinely unfriendly and insular, never really got asked what i'm up to or how travelling the world has been. Hence I empathise with other posters with similar to say. Legs I know you lived in Dublin and its a bit different, but im sure you aren't oblivious to what's being said here with regard to rural Ireland.

I've never really experienced the whole GAA thing in rural areas tbh, at least not in the pubs anyway. It's usually cow-tipping and boweling.

It's funny actually, I have spoken to quite a few lads living in Dublin and big towns who say the girls are a lot more friendly in rural areas. Yet people in rural areas often say the opposite. I live in a small town now and would consider it quite cliquish, but I've seen that just as much in the cities as I have in rural areas.

beks101 · 12-02-2014 11:10PM

I think the best thing about emigrating for me has been the perspective it's given me - on myself, my life and my home country.

If I hadn't emigrated, I wouldn't have discovered my enormous capacity to adapt to adversity and roll with the punches, as it were. Living far from home and everything you know is challenging, terrifying and sometimes very isolating. You grow enormously through it.

If I hadn't emigrated, I wouldn't be as intent as I am in keeping in regular touch with family and friends. The strength - and weakness - of some friendships has shocked me, being honest. I haven't heard from some of what once were my "best friends" in four years, when I left the country.

Equally, I've been surprised and overwhelmed by the support, generosity and friendship of some people who would've been on the periphery of my life before I left. Friends of friends who helped me find housing, a job, opened their doors to me, invited me along to things, befriended me when I most needed it. Just because we had a person in common, or sometimes - just because I'm Irish. The support of the Irish community abroad has been incredibly heart-warming to me while I've been overseas tbh.

If I hadn't emigrated, I probably wouldn't have realized how much more suited I am to a "small fish in a big pond" kind of lifestyle. It's easy when you're at home to just accept the status quo - you don't see outside the box because you're so damn used to the same four walls. Being abroad shows you that actually, there are many different paths you can take and many many different ways you can live your life. And you have a hand in choosing which one is right for you.

I think the hardest thing about being abroad for me though was the constant revolving door of arrivals and departures in my circle of friends. My friends were a mix of Irish and locals - and in a sense, those people become your family, because your ACTUAL family is an ocean away. Your friendships become more intense, more important - and for me, after a few years, it seems like there was a leaving party every other week.

And it never got easier. It was always like losing a member of your family as someone moved on, moved home, whatever. You get close to and share all these monumental life experiences with someone and then, in one swift flight, they're gone and will never have that same place in your life again. I felt sad and bad every single time - and felt the same when it was finally my own turn to move on.

I think that's a reality of expat life that isn't talked about all that often. I think it makes you a bit thick-skinned and emotionally guarded over time.

crockholm · 12-02-2014 11:13PM

Daveysil15 wrote: »

I've never really experienced the whole GAA thing in rural areas tbh, at least not in the pubs anyway. It's usually cow-tipping and boweling.
It's funny actually, I have spoken to quite a few lads living in Dublin and big towns who say the girls are a lot more friendly in rural areas. Yet people in rural areas often say the opposite. I live in a small town now and would consider it quite cliquish, but I've seen that just as much in the cities as I have in rural areas.

Got that too,my Town was once a big GAA Town,but I never played it,never got grief over it either.There were other sports and lots of lads played multiple sports with minimum fuss.
Really perplexed by what rural Ireland means to different posters on this thread.

SamAK · 12-02-2014 11:16PM

beks101 wrote: »

I think the best thing about emigrating for me has been the perspective it's given me - on myself, my life and my home country.

If I hadn't emigrated, I wouldn't have discovered my enormous capacity to adapt to adversity and roll with the punches, as it were. Living far from home and everything you know is challenging, terrifying and sometimes very isolating. You grow enormously through it.
I think that's a reality of expat life that isn't talked about all that often. I think it makes you a bit thick-skinned and emotionally guarded over time.

+10 to all of this. Great post. Wonderful!

zweton · 12-02-2014 11:59PM

nail on the head.

CountingClocks · 13-02-2014 12:08PM

beks101 wrote: »

I think the best thing about emigrating for me has been the perspective it's given me - on myself, my life and my home country.

If I hadn't emigrated, I wouldn't have discovered my enormous capacity to adapt to adversity and roll with the punches, as it were. Living far from home and everything you know is challenging, terrifying and sometimes very isolating. You grow enormously through it.

If I hadn't emigrated, I wouldn't be as intent as I am in keeping in regular touch with family and friends. The strength - and weakness - of some friendships has shocked me, being honest. I haven't heard from some of what once were my "best friends" in four years, when I left the country.

Equally, I've been surprised and overwhelmed by the support, generosity and friendship of some people who would've been on the periphery of my life before I left. Friends of friends who helped me find housing, a job, opened their doors to me, invited me along to things, befriended me when I most needed it. Just because we had a person in common, or sometimes - just because I'm Irish. The support of the Irish community abroad has been incredibly heart-warming to me while I've been overseas tbh.

If I hadn't emigrated, I probably wouldn't have realized how much more suited I am to a "small fish in a big pond" kind of lifestyle. It's easy when you're at home to just accept the status quo - you don't see outside the box because you're so damn used to the same four walls. Being abroad shows you that actually, there are many different paths you can take and many many different ways you can live your life. And you have a hand in choosing which one is right for you.

I think the hardest thing about being abroad for me though was the constant revolving door of arrivals and departures in my circle of friends. My friends were a mix of Irish and locals - and in a sense, those people become your family, because your ACTUAL family is an ocean away. Your friendships become more intense, more important - and for me, after a few years, it seems like there was a leaving party every other week.

And it never got easier. It was always like losing a member of your family as someone moved on, moved home, whatever. You get close to and share all these monumental life experiences with someone and then, in one swift flight, they're gone and will never have that same place in your life again. I felt sad and bad every single time - and felt the same when it was finally my own turn to move on.

I think that's a reality of expat life that isn't talked about all that often. I think it makes you a bit thick-skinned and emotionally guarded over time.

Agree with all of this, especially the revolving door. I've seen dozens of friends leave over the years and it can be really unsettling.

There's no doubt that living abroad broadens the mind and brings experiences and challenges you would never had at home, you learn so much about yourself in the process.

I'll shortly be returning to Ireland after a long period abroad and I've loved every minute of it, I have fantastic memories and I've made some great friends here. If I had my time over I wouldn't change a thing, and would advise anyone who is curious about living in another country to just do it.

DenMan · 13-02-2014 12:41PM

I'll let you all know in October as I will be moving to Italy to teach. I've lived abroad before (three years in England at Uni (Bolton) and a year working in Malta. My own brother has been living in Shanghai now for 17 months and loves it. Congratulations and well done to everyone who has emigrated and the very best of luck to those considering it/leaving soon.

bodice ripper · 13-02-2014 12:43PM

My family have been immigrants for generations. It is just sort of expected that you will go out from where ever you are to seek your fortune. I gacve it a shot, its not for me, I want to come home.

RahenyD5 · 13-02-2014 07:21PM

Wanted to say thanks for making an informative thread, interesting to see what others think and how others have experienced. I was thinking about this, flirting with the idea and it's unsurprising that lots of people are thinking the same with how the country is at the moment.

Have to agree about the begrudgery and the nosiness going on. In my workplace, a colleague is getting married, she kindly sent everyone an invite but that didn't stop a couple of busybodies overheard gossiping "Oh she must be expecting, must say she has been putting on the weight lately".

I was pleased to see this thread on here so thanks again!

RahenyD5 · 13-02-2014 07:30PM

Are any of you still in Oz or have moved back? Did/do you like it over there? I did think about Australia but it doesn't have the culture & history that Europe is blessed with, you wouldn't find the beauty of Connemara, Cashel castle ruins, cities such as London, Rome and Paris and medieval central European old towns etc. over there.

Isn't the Aussie climate too intense for our pasty Celtic complexions? Easy to get skin cancer? A three week 40C+ heatwave when it is far too hot to go out and do stuff? The idea of applying sunscreen every day, not just in summer, seems unappealing. Anybody worried about killer spiders and sharks?

Sorry for all the questions, just wondering.

cowboyjoe · 13-02-2014 07:38PM

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

In Australia you wouldn't need to turn on the heating when you're on the couch watching the tv. Win!

Yes you do! Have you experienced a winter in Melbourne
, Victoria? Not much difference between our winters and there's imo...got to Melbourne in May and it was cold and rained like little old Ireland....now the summer down there is a different story

BlurstMonkey · 13-02-2014 07:59PM

Daveysil15 wrote: »

I've never really experienced the whole GAA thing in rural areas tbh, at least not in the pubs anyway. It's usually cow-tipping and boweling.
It's funny actually, I have spoken to quite a few lads living in Dublin and big towns who say the girls are a lot more friendly in rural areas. Yet people in rural areas often say the opposite. I live in a small town now and would consider it quite cliquish, but I've seen that just as much in the cities as I have in rural areas.

It's a universal truth that rural areas are more insular and less friendly. It applies to Ireland as much as anywhere else. I'm from a rural area. For an area with little population density everyone is surprisingly far up everyone elses arse.

And cow tipping isn't real. And if it was you'd be getting the living **** kicked out of you for trespassing and trying to cause harm to livestock.

Daveysil15 · 13-02-2014 08:10PM

BlurstMonkey wrote: »

It's a universal truth that rural areas are more insular and less friendly. It applies to Ireland as much as anywhere else. I'm from a rural area. For an area with little population density everyone is surprisingly far up everyone elses arse.

And cow tipping isn't real. And if it was you'd be getting the living **** kicked out of you for trespassing and trying to cause harm to livestock.

I don't agree with that, and its not what I've been hearing from the city boys. Cities can be just as bad depending where you go, but we could argue that all night. And believe me cow tipping is real, but maybe its only certain rural areas where you can get away with it.

Your reasons for emigrating

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