Stuff you miss about Ireland when abroad

Depraved wrote: »

Irish drivers. Laugh it you will, but you don't have to stare death in the face every day dodging motorbikes, jeepneys, motor tricycles and street kids playing on the roads. I'm pretty sure that simply being alive qualifies you for a drivers license here.


Paths you can walk on. Seriously. Some bright spark here thought it would be a good idea to plant large trees in the centre of every path at 10 meter intervals. Think I'm joking? Have a look:
http://www.streetchildadvocate.com/2015/03/02/thou-shall-not-pass/

I've driven in Sri Lanka, Germany, Netherlands, France, Greece, Curacao, the US, the UK to name a few.

Ireland is the worst, people make up the rules as they go along, at least in Sri Lanka they all followed the same rules. In Ireland they have rules but people think some of them are not really polite so will stop on a main road to leave someone out of a side road.

Or get out of their car in a car park and whack their door off the car next to them and think nothing of it.

Paths in some places around Ireland are shocking, there either isn't one, it disappears into nowhere/is too narrow to walk on.

I miss Lucozade ... that's about it.

I've been away for the last two years (bar xmas 2013) and Im moving home this week! I'm so excited ☺
mammy has been under strict instructions to bring club orange, double deckers and 6 pack of King to the airport.
I miss the homely food, my friends, my family, a proper trad session, the chats over pots of tea when someone is down, a Sunday session, proper seasons, the west coast, the gigs, penneys and dunnes, my dog, not having to change my words so people will understand, the passion, hurling, wearing coats, wearing shorts when it's 18 degrees, throwing a few words of gaelic in!
roll on Wednesday 😊😊😊

I honestly just miss Ireland itself...which I did NOT see coming.
Of course my friends and family too, but I know I'll miss my friends here when I leave.
On a materialistic level I miss decent chocolate and Penneys.

keithclancy wrote: »

I've driven in Sri Lanka, Germany, Netherlands, France, Greece, Curacao, the US, the UK to name a few.

Ireland is the worst, people make up the rules as they go along, at least in Sri Lanka they all followed the same rules. In Ireland they have rules but people think some of them are not really polite so will stop on a main road to leave someone out of a side road.

Or get out of their car in a car park and whack their door off the car next to them and think nothing of it.

Paths in some places around Ireland are shocking, there either isn't one, it disappears into nowhere/is too narrow to walk on.

Hang on. Drivers in Greece and the US are much worse than the Irish. Much, much worse!! I know you're entitled to your own opinion but the Greeks in every facade of society don't give a f*ck for rules. They are aggressive on the roads. In the US people are selfish drivers. There's no common courtesty of staying in lane on a freeway and leaving a passing lane. People don't indicate and that's been in every state I've driven in which is almost half of them. I drive an hour each way to work, in my previous jobs I drove very early in the morning and missed the traffic.

It's lethal. I get nervous before I set off for work these days. Not because I lack faith in my own driving skills but because I know others on the road won't indicate when they switch lanes. That's lethal when you're going 65mph. I never had an accident in my 9 years in Ireland. 3 years here, I've got in one.

The no right turn on red has it's downsides too, ditto the staying in the box to go left. Pedistrians getting a green when the lane turning right onto the walkway at the same time is so unsafe.

In the States, efficiency is placed above safety

BeerWolf wrote: »

When you go to a country, that experiences a heat wave of 45*C temperatures... then you'd most certainly miss the cool and overcast weather of Ireland... :pac:

Some truth in that. I didnt really know I was missing some of our strong wind untill I got a propper refreshing blast of it in Portugaul.

Kiwi in IE wrote: »

Really? Chocolate? I don't like most chocolate here at all it is weird tasting. Cadburys here tastes like raisins.

What I'd give to be able to get Whittakers, Donovans or Van H chocolate in the local shop. And Kapiti icecream and cheeses and Barry's Bay Cheese. And Pegasus Bay wine. And Nestles reduced cream with Maggi Onion Soup. Bluebird and Eta crisps......................

The only food items I could honestly say I would miss if I went back to NZ would be tea and Irish butter. You can keep the rest. I'm being a whingeing foreigner but I really do not like the food here much at all. Probably doesn't help that I'm living outside a rural town where all they eat is bacon and cabbage and roast dinners. My opinion would probably be vastly different if I lived in Dublin and had easier access to supermarkets other than Dunnes, Supervalu, Aldi and Lidl, but I have to say the average run of the mill stuff available in the average supermarket doesn't do much for me. Maybe I just still don't know where to shop after 5 years.

I'm in a moany homesick mood today so don't take offence that I'm giving out about the food

Is chocolate different in NZ compared to Australia? I had the chocolate in Australia and it was awful. I think it's because, like in the US, they put a preservative in the mix to ensure it has a higher melting point.

If you're main exposure is bacon and cabbage and a roast, I don't blame you at all. Any chance of moving closer to a town with more options? Dunnes and Supervalu usually have some good stuff. Something I miss a lot are Irish butchers and the sauces you can get in a supermarket.

Wompa1 wrote: »

Is chocolate different in NZ compared to Australia? I had the chocolate in Australia and it was awful. I think it's because, like in the US, they put a preservative in the mix to ensure it has a higher melting point.

If you're main exposure is bacon and cabbage and a roast, I don't blame you at all. Any chance of moving closer to a town with more options? Dunnes and Supervalu usually have some good stuff. Something I miss a lot are Irish butchers and the sauces you can get in a supermarket.

I'm actually not sure if our Cadburys and Aus's are the same. To be honest I'm not a Cadbury fan anywhere in the world but sometimes when I'm desperate and sneak some off Little Kiwi it does strike me that it tastes of raisins (weird I know). I don't remember thinking that about Cadbury's in NZ.

My main exposure is definately Bacon and Cabbage and Roast Dinners, even in a lot of the local places to eat out it doesn't get any better. The whole moving thing is becoming something we are looking at. I'm from a city, not a huge one but a city none the less, and after 5 years I am coming to the realisation that if we are to stay living in Ireland, Dublin is the place for me, rural Ireland and I are not meant for one another (as beautiful as it is to look at).

Im in the basque country at the moment,what i miss most is the friendliness that is just instilled in all us irish....the people here (for the most part) are unhelpful unfriendly and bad mannered.

other things.....

taco chips
chicken balls
toasters!
fresh bread
fresh milk
decent pint of the black stuff
a real irish coffee
a real irish bar...(the irish bars here are owned by spanish lads with little to no english, who dont have the 6 nations or irish football or premier league on tv, for paddies day they got a spanish rock band in......idiots)
places being open on a sunday
english commentary on sports
decent internet...the net here is slower than what my parents had back in the 90s, im not kidding!

keithclancy wrote: »

In Ireland though you have

People driving the wrong way down the motorway.

They abandon cars all over the place

Right Lane Hogging

This mentality of overtaking and then slowing down to a speed slower than you were driving at previously

Sticking the nose of the car out onto the road and then when you drive around them they start beeping their horn and flashing their lights

Randomly flashing their lights for any reason.

I'll leave my car in the disabled space for "2 minutes"

And for some reason most of the cars are covered in random dents and scrapes.

Nobody seems to know how to use roundabouts, its pretty common someone will use the outside lane to go the whole way around the roundabout.

In the US is was pretty relaxed, you just stay in lane and all cruise along at the same speed.

Greece I found fine, the cities are sometimes a bit wonky, but that's the same with most cities, Dublin for example has cycle lanes inside a bus lanes, absolutely bonkers, no point in having those cycle lanes.

Out of interest, where in the US have you actually driven? Because my experience is very different. Las Vegas and the highway surrounding it stands out in particular. It was like a real life game of Mario Cart. Aside from that, I've seen a complete disregard for the rules in every major city I've been in, but admittedly, it has been quite relaxed in rural areas. More to do with lack of cars and great roads than anything else though.

I'm not saying Ireland doesn't have its share of bad and selfish drivers, but I think it pales into comparison with the US alone.

I read an article about this last week,
some us shops are importing uk chocolates,into the us,
because the same brand chocolate made in the usa ,doesn,t taste the same .The ingrediants are different in us factorys,
they use cheaper ingredients .
Not the original formula , as still made in the uk .
Most irish people got a drivers license without driving on a motorway .
IF i,m cycling i cycle on the inside nearest the footpath,
unless theres a small lane inside a fence .
MY rule is anything bigger than me has priority,
ie give way to all vans,cars,bus,es regardless on the rules of the road.

riclad wrote: »

I read an article about this last week,
some us shops are importing uk chocolates,into the us,
because the same brand chocolate made in the usa ,doesn,t taste the same .The ingrediants are different in us factorys,
they use cheaper ingredients .
Not the original formula , as still made in the uk .

Yeah, Have seen UK chocolate in a few grocery stores. I will say, most widely sold chocolate in the US is crap BUT I've also had some of the best chocolate that I've ever had in my life over here. It's just very expensive

Kiwi in IE wrote: »

And Nestles reduced cream with Maggi Onion Soup.

I've seen some Maggi products in Dunnes & Mr Price. Don't think they had soup though... Saw them in Galway & Dublin, so maybe urban Ireland is more 'you'....:D

Also shocked that you couldn't get dill!! Have you considered growing some herbs? I imagine you have some sort of garden out in the country.