Things from the Celtic tiger you actually miss

bleg · 30-04-2014 09:33AM

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

Bearing in mind, I consider the Celtic Tiger to be 1994-1999: therefore, being able to turn on the TV at newstime without hearing about the following:

-George W Bush.
-9/11.
-The Iraq war.
-Bertie Ahern defending himself over payments made to him.
-Rip off prices after Ireland joined the Euro.
-Anglo Irish bank.
-Constant negativity.
-Seeing way too many so-called 'economists' on our screens.
-Politicians justifying cutbacks and they living in luxury.

9/11 happened in 2001.;)

Legs.Eleven · 30-04-2014 10:31AM

The feeling that most things were possible and the feeling of having options.

ivytwine · 30-04-2014 10:38AM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

The feeling that most things were possible and the feeling of having options.

This, the CT coincided with my childhood and teen years. Things never changed at home for me, my mother struggled between various low-paid jobs for years and we never had money (she got the job she's in now in 2008 :O)

I remember being told by our teachers that the world was at our feet and we could do anything. There was great positivity about our age group. Many would argue that led to problems later on (I personally don't think we're all entitled brats

) but it was exciting to be the first generation of Irish people who were bound to make it.

We all know how the story ends!

anncoates · 30-04-2014 10:39AM

No raft of stealth taxes.

30-04-2014 10:43AM

amdublin wrote: »

And you miss this??

bleg wrote: »

9/11 happened in 2001.;)

Well I know what you two have missed....

the point!

Tabnabs · 30-04-2014 10:43AM

A pay rise

Legs.Eleven · 30-04-2014 10:46AM

ivytwine wrote: »

This, the CT coincided with my childhood and teen years. Things never changed at home for me, my mother struggled between various low-paid jobs for years and we never had money (she got the job she's in now in 2008 :O)

I remember being told by our teachers that the world was at our feet and we could do anything. There was great positivity about our age group. Many would argue that led to problems later on (I personally don't think we're all entitled brats ) but it was exciting to be the first generation of Irish people who were bound to make it.

We all know how the story ends!

Yeah, despite all the bitching (I was too young to be raking it in and left Ireland in 2004 anyway), it was a great time to be young (I'm almost 34 now). Dublin city was buzzing, part-time jobs were plentiful, I was doing a degree that wasn't just for career prospects that I really enjoyed and I really believed I could do anything I wanted. I don't think I have a sense of entitlement now as a result but how I feel now is in stark contrast to what I felt then. Even if it was all an illusion, it was still a very positive time in Ireland from many people's POV.

Bubbaclaus · 30-04-2014 10:46AM

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

But if - as you argue - it was all their fault, it didn't just catch up with them, it caught up with you as well. Or were you just trying to make a point, albeit one that was petty and a perfect example of schadenfreude?

Nothing caught up with me as I, and the rest of my immediate family, were not living beyond our means.

Dfmnoc · 30-04-2014 10:49AM

cocaine

Sinister Kid · 30-04-2014 10:52AM

Dfmnoc wrote: »

cocaine

LOL! I knew somebody would put this up!

30-04-2014 10:56AM

I was only a child/teenager and we weren't exactly a "Celtic Tiger" family. We never had any money really anyway so didn't make a difference. My Mother has the same job she had then, and is earning about the same. I went to college and now I have a job, grand!

anncoates · 30-04-2014 10:56AM

The fact that despite Ireland supposedly being full to the brim with lazy long-term unemployed people, the overwhelming majority of people chose to work when actual jobs existed.

conorhal · 30-04-2014 11:23AM

I miss the government giving me back a reasonable and proportionate amount of my wages as opposed to inventing new, creative and not so creative ways of robbing me blind to keep their Celtic Tiger excess rolling.....

ivytwine · 30-04-2014 11:31AM

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

Yeah, despite all the bitching (I was too young to be raking it in and left Ireland in 2004 anyway), it was a great time to be young (I'm almost 34 now). Dublin city was buzzing, part-time jobs were plentiful, I was doing a degree that wasn't just for career prospects that I really enjoyed and I really believed I could do anything I wanted. I don't think I have a sense of entitlement now as a result but how I feel now is in stark contrast to what I felt then. Even if it was all an illusion, it was still a very positive time in Ireland from many people's POV.

What's really funny is that I remember in my LC year, 2007, while all the rest of our teachers were like, "Things are great! You'll be presidents! Taoisigh! Heads of multinationals! etc", our business teacher was talking to us one day and told us not to get carried away. She said she could sense a change. This was before Lehmans or any stuttering in the US. She said she thought that things would be very, very hard for us and she was glad she was not starting out then. Weird. We all ignored her and she was the one who was right.

Yeah it's a very stark contrast. What I felt down about most though was looking back over my yearbook (another Celtic Tiger American affectation no doubt!). There was a hell of a lot of very talented people in my year and none of them are nowhere near where they could be

Macy0161 · 30-04-2014 11:41AM

I miss people going travelling after finishing college. Now they are forced to emigrate by the Government.

Ilyana 2.0 · 30-04-2014 11:43AM

I was in school for most of it, but I miss the optimism of the CT. Not worrying about which college course I might pick had the best job opportunities at the end of it. The reassurance that a nice job and house would be part and parcel of the future.

Holidays. We had lovely family holidays at the time. Nothing too extravagant, but nothing like we can afford now.

Better tips at work. They're picking up again, but they were brilliant when I started waitressing in 2008.

Red Nissan · 30-04-2014 11:48AM

Women looking fabulous in figure hugging wafer thin outfits at the checkout in Dunne's Stores.

trancemuzic · 30-04-2014 11:53AM

The banter in work , everybody seemed so happy and everyone always had a few quid in their pockets

You were seen as a tight **** if you didn't spend at least 10 euro in the shop at lunch

Naux · 30-04-2014 11:54AM

I miss all the new millionaires that were around(for a short time) in the CT............................miss all the Range Rover Vogues as well.

Pinch Flat · 30-04-2014 12:01PM

The developers helicopters whizzing over an back. Brought out the inner plane spotter in me.

ManofStraw · 30-04-2014 01:02PM

ivytwine wrote: »

What's really funny is that I remember in my LC year, 2007, while all the rest of our teachers were like, "Things are great! You'll be presidents! Taoisigh! Heads of multinationals! etc", our business teacher was talking to us one day and told us not to get carried away. She said she could sense a change. This was before Lehmans or any stuttering in the US. She said she thought that things would be very, very hard for us and she was glad she was not starting out then. Weird. We all ignored her and she was the one who was right.

Yeah it's a very stark contrast. What I felt down about most though was looking back over my yearbook (another Celtic Tiger American affectation no doubt!). There was a hell of a lot of very talented people in my year and none of them are nowhere near where they could be

This for me really is the saddest part of the Celtic Tiger. I did my LC in 2008 and everyone was ambitious about their job prospects. Now I see smart people with good skills scraping by on unpaid/jobsbridge interships. People with First Degrees in things like Law, Commerce and Dentistry working in places like Gamestop/Lifestyle sports where its a job rather than a career.

Then the people who emigrate (outside of trades) can have great difficulties in being sponsored to remain in the country, which limits job prospects too. I know people who have finished their Oz visa returned home, still no work and are now on their Visa in Canada/US and when that runs out their only realistic option is to return home with poor job prospects. I'm not making excuses for anyone and seeing a different part of the world is great but these things do delay career building and job progression.

wrt40 · 30-04-2014 01:55PM

ivytwine wrote: »

What's really funny is that I remember in my LC year, 2007, while all the rest of our teachers were like, "Things are great! You'll be presidents! Taoisigh! Heads of multinationals! etc", our business teacher was talking to us one day and told us not to get carried away. She said she could sense a change. This was before Lehmans or any stuttering in the US. She said she thought that things would be very, very hard for us and she was glad she was not starting out then. Weird. We all ignored her and she was the one who was right.

Yeah it's a very stark contrast. What I felt down about most though was looking back over my yearbook (another Celtic Tiger American affectation no doubt!). There was a hell of a lot of very talented people in my year and none of them are nowhere near where they could be

She could sense a change in 2007?! She must have had a crystal ball :rolleyes:

ivytwine · 30-04-2014 02:02PM

wrt40 wrote: »

She could sense a change in 2007?! She must have had a crystal ball.

I know it sounds like bull but I remember it so clearly. It stuck in my mind because she was so adamant about it.

She was far from a hippy-dippy type, very hard-headed and a total capitalist and she had some pretty solid reasoning behind it- competition from developing markets if I remember rightly.

She was wasted in a small-town school, she should have been whispering in Brian Lenihan's ear!

Toby Take a Bow · 30-04-2014 02:06PM

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

Nothing caught up with me as I, and the rest of my immediate family, were not living beyond our means.

I know plenty of people - myself included - who didn't live beyond their means, and in fact didn't really benefit much from the Celtic Tiger. But I have spent much of the last four years trying to get a full-time permanent job, and am only now in a position where this might be possible. And even when that happens, there is the increased tax in order to pay off all those debts. An increase in tax that will probably be with us for generations.

Toby Take a Bow · 30-04-2014 02:08PM

wrt40 wrote: »

She could sense a change in 2007?! She must have had a crystal ball.

There were economists who predicted some sort of collapse. Even a cursory glance at how economies work would suggest a cyclical nature, where you go through a boom only for a bust to be inevitable.

wrt40 · 30-04-2014 02:09PM

ivytwine wrote: »

I know it sounds like bull but I remember it so clearly. It stuck in my mind because she was so adamant about it.

She was far from a hippy-dippy type, very hard-headed and a total capitalist and she had some pretty solid reasoning behind it- competition from developing markets if I remember rightly.

She was wasted in a small-town school, she should have been whispering in Brian Lenihan's ear!

Edited my post to include a sarcastic smiley. sarcasm just isn't the same when you point it out.

castletownman · 30-04-2014 02:10PM

Special deals on Fat Frogs (alcohol version)

They were delicious

ivytwine · 30-04-2014 02:10PM

wrt40 wrote: »

Edited my post to include a sarcastic smiley. sarcasm just isn't the same when you point it out.

Ha! No worries, there really should be a sarcasm font of some kind. Plan for the day: Invent one!

eviltimeban · 30-04-2014 02:19PM

Happy hour in the Chocolate Bar - cocktails for £2.

ivytwine · 30-04-2014 02:20PM

castletownman wrote: »

Special deals on Fat Frogs (alcohol version)

They were delicious

Fat Frogs full stop!

Things from the Celtic tiger you actually miss

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