To ask about Limerick?

[justilou1]

We might be moving there from Australia and I honestly don't know the first thing about the place. Which areas would you move to if you had three kids (lower high school and upper primary), are not afraid of driving, etc....?
I have lived overseas before - The Netherlands, and I loved it. I imagine that Ireland would be a slightly easier transition because there is (almost) no language difference and the sense of humour is similar.

I honestly don't know who to ask!

[justilou1]

Thank you all so much for your help. I'm starting to look online at houses now. I think there's a lot I need to look at, etc - including schools and healthcare, etc. (And whether I can work and study there, etc). Many Aussies find the idea of Ireland very romantic (especially those of us who loathe the heat and are the wrong colour to enjoy the beach.). I think after living in the Netherlands, I'm kind of used to the rain.

[Situp]

If your husband is involved with Munster, they train at UL which i5 minutes from Kilaloe where a lot of the players live and is absolutely stunning

[GlitterUnicornsAndAllThatJazz]

"but we were in a small town close to the German border that had not recovered from WW2 and was not coping with immigrants. I would not say "Foreward thinking" was really their forte. I made some amazing friends, but I was glad to be back. (Especially after being repeatedly told "I guess you're not as foreign as other foreigners because you're blonde....", etc. That made me very uncomfortable.)"

Oh god, well good luck but I'm going to tell you straight up I saw a lot of racism in my time in Ireland, in cities of similar size to other European cities with much higher "diversity" levels. There is a largeish Chinese community in Dublin as a result of the Celtic Tiger, and there are a few other nationalities working in the tech and service sectors, but even in the capital you will see a hugely lower level of diversity than even a provincial British town like Bradford for example.

The cities are often like villages, people know people, there's no sense of anonymity, due to the sheer low population count, although that might be a plus for you.

It makes perfect sense - there's a much much shorter history of immigration, and a lot of the young people are still perpetuating the emigration thing. As an example my bro and sis graduated from Trinity and now live in Berlin and NZ, their mates are scattered around, thr minority stayed in Ireland. And I should add that both of them are professionals in sectors that are booming in Dublin, so it's not like we're talking forced emigration here.

So basically you have high emigration of young graduates and potential creative minds, and low immigration. The result as you would imagine is a culture that is fairly fixed, not frequently "stirred".

I am absolutely not trying to shit on Ireland, I'm just saying don't expect a fully open minded place. You'll also find that as a result of the "warm friendly chat to anyone" stereotype, people are super mega defensive of their country, to a much greater extent than people from countries that are used to getting a bad rap (France, US, Germany, UK, where the attitude is like "whatever, sure, we can be dicks"). In Ireland its just like almost mind boggling to people that you wouldn't see the place as literally the best place in the world. Dylan Moran did a short piece on this in his usual incisive style.

I'm saying the vibe is friendly, you can have a great outdoorsy lifestyle and yes indeed, the pub culture is a real treat. But don't expect not to find racism, and don't expect not to find it all feeling a little repetitive after awhile. At least in your Dutch border town you could pop over to Germany or head to Amsterdam or the Hague. Once you're in Ireland, you're in Ireland, you know?

Anyway good luck however life pans out for you. I don't regret my time in Ireland and I made some good friends there. I had lots of good times - I just wouldnt go back.

[Tringley]

Oh Jesus Christ! Limerick actually has and has pretty much always had the lowest major crimes per capita than any city in Ireland. (And Ireland, even at it's worst has extremely low crime rates by any metric.) In the mid-90s as the IRA, which had previously controlled any drug trade, loosened that grip a number of crime families started to emerge to fill the void. In Limerick two families wrestled for supremacy and a few of them killed each other in short succession and the media went into a frenzy about it. Everybody else went on with their lives unaffected. Though the Garda (police force) presence was increased due to media pressure. I was in my late teens, early 20s at this point and the city was so safe, I'd often walk the mile and half from the city centre to my home at any time from 11pm-4am without ever feeling remotely threatened. I had a lot more issues living in Dublin and London than I ever did in Limerick.

Limerick is a very sports orientated city. Rugby is king and Limerick is one of the few places where there is no class connotations to the sport. Though there is also soccer, gaa, numerous water sports, roller-derby, etc. So in some ways it might suit people used to a sporty Australian lifestyle, though the weather is truly, truly dire, probably the some of the worst in Europe due to our position on the Shannon estuary. In terms of schooling, like all of Ireland, if you aren't ok with some very full on Catholic schooling it won't be easy. There is one CofI and two multi-denominational primary schools in the city region. One CofI secondary and a multi-d due to open in September (though I don't think the cite has even been confirmed yet). To add to the pain in the ass of that, one multi-d primary is in the city centre and very over subscribed, the other is in Mungret and easier to get places in. The secondary however is opening in Casteltroy, so a 20 minute drive apart, which isn't helpful in terms of transitioning children from one school to the next.

In terms of housing, there are lots of really nice areas to live in but we are currently experiencing a housing crisis meaning there is very, very little to rent or buy especially if you don't have mega-bucks. I have my suspicions as to whether this is real of artificially manufactured but as 3 years ago it was possible to buy a large detached house on half an acre in a great area for a price that wouldn't get you a shitty studio now, I lean towards the latter. In terms of where to live, suburbs like Castletroy, Mungret, Annacotty and Raheen all have lovely areas within them, though I have a preference for city suburbs like the areas around the Ballysimon Rd or Corbally because I prefer to have everything I need in walking distance rather than having to be car reliant. There is also the option of living more rurally, Castleconnell is an absolutely fantastic village but still only about 25 minutes from the city centre, or areas like Ballyneety, Kilonan for a fully rural home a short drive from town.

Limerick isn't by any means perfect. It's a small city that has been very badly managed by local government and some very, very bad decisions were made in the last years of the Celtic Tiger (or more correctly at the start of the recession while developers were still in denial). So there are unfinished developments and whole blocks that were bought up, cleared out for redevelopment but abandoned when the money ran out. There are a number of projects starting now to finally finish these projects but it will be a few years before the damage is undone. There are also some areas that you really wouldn't want to live in. But overall it's a very easy place to live and my quality of life is much, much higher here than it was in a bigger city. Though, I'm not sure how that would compare to your life in Australia.

[Trinity66]

You're really making us out to be backward hicks Glitter How long ago did you live in Ireland? and where are you from yourself, most countries have racist arseholes by the way not just us Ireland

[fifig87]

I live in Kilkenny in a small town which is a bit backwards but it's not all bad! My sister went to university in Limerick and enjoyed her time. Most towns/city's have bad areas/ bit of trouble.
School wise where I live there is no problems getting into the primaries and secondary school. If I wanted them to go to a diff secondary in the nearest big town it would be harder.
It is a bit of a pain in the arse will travel around Ireland! No decent rail system etc
Prepare yourself for the million random questions about yourself and you will be grand!!
Zebo 😍😍😍

[squoosh]

Zebo indeed. What a hottie.

[metacrisis]

but even in the capital you will see a hugely lower level of diversity than even a provincial British town like Bradford for example

What with Bradford being one of the most multi cultural places in the UK, of course you bloody will!
Ireland doesn't have the history of immigration that the UK does for obvious reasons, but considering its only about 20 years that anyone wanted to move to Ireland, the place actually has a high level of multiculturalism.

So basically you have high emigration of young graduates and potential creative minds, and low immigration. The result as you would imagine is a culture that is fairly fixed, not frequently "stirred"

What bollocks. There is a lot more creativity and imagination and forward thinking in Ireland than there is in Brexit Britain!

I am absolutely not trying to shit on Ireland, I'm just saying don't expect a fully open minded place

Yes you are, and you're both wrong and offensive.

[duckponds]

Probably not very helpful, but have you read Angelas Ashes?

[metacrisis]

what has that got to do with anything

[GoEasyJulia]

Angela’s Ashes? Really? How is that going to help the OP moving to Limerick in 2018?

[SixInTheBed]

duckponds that's likes suggesting someone reads Charles Dickens for an overview of modern Britain , so I can only assume you are having a laugh.

OP, Ireland is a generally modern, tolerant, democratic society with a higher standard of living and outward looking young population. There has been major social changes , in terms of legislation and attitudes, since the 1999's. I won't bore you with the details, though I could . Of course it's not perfect , lots of problems, but it's no longer a priest ridden, impoverished backwater and hasn't been for a long time.

Limerick would be more conservative than Dublin certainly as it's a small city in a rural hinterland so hardly unexpected. Irish people in general share an attitude of live and let live.

As Irish, I may have a bias if familiarity but DH and I meet people from many different countries/ travel a lot for work and I've found good and bad everywhere. Based on my experiences I think Ireland is a pretty good place to live. I'v also spent time in small town Netherlands , and indeed DH works with a lot of Dutch colleagues so I have also experienced the conservative attitudes you mention and such attitudes are not as widespread in Ireland.
A history of emigration means Irish society has a big world view and you are bound to meet people who have lived / worked/been born in other parts of the world.

With regards to Limerick I'm a frequent visitor to family there, mainly around the beautiful village of Adare , but am no expert. Great university, lovely countryside, restaurants, sports clubs. Obviously Munster rugby is everything there ( and I agree it knows no class nor creed ) so I can guess you will be very much welcomed if that's your area.

[JaneJeffer]

people are super mega defensive of their country

Irish people are generally self-deprecating but we are proud of the good things about our country and people are mostly welcoming and approachable.

[metacrisis]

Irish people have had to put up with offensive stereotyping for a long time.

[gabsdot]

If I was going to move to Limerick I'd live outside the city a bit. The road out towards Shannon is nice.
It's not the most fantastic place to live in Ireland but it's ok.

[Situp]

have you read Angelas Ashes?

Absolutely. In the same way as anyone moving to Australia should watch Rabbit Proof Fence to know what it will be like in 2018

[SixInTheBed]

I don't think Irish people are "super" defensive , or at least not blindly defensive, but are frustrated with outdated stereotypes .

We are also, really, really good at talking about ourselves as a society ( a good thing) and I think, quite critical amongst ourselves as a nation.


Which is why threads like this turn into intense treatises on Irish social and political life, both past and present. National self analysis is the norm and has shaped the many social and cultural changes that have taken place in the last twenty years. The Irish State is not a century old and was poor and conservative for much of that . Social and economic catch up, when happened very quickly in a comparative context.

Best of luck OP in your new adventure, the south and west of Ireland is a magnificent landscape and Limerick is a great place to explore it from.

[OhCalamity]

PMSL at Angela's Ashes.

Yes, it's relevant if the OP is moving back to 1935 with not a penny to her name.

[MakeMisogynyAHateCrime]

Angela’s Ashes? Are you taking the piss?

Also OP if you decide to visit London when you visit this hemisphere why not use Bleak House as a guide to Holborn Hill? Jesus.


Limerick is fine IMO. I’m from a different part of Ireland and now live in the U.K. but find myself in Limerick for about 6-8 weeks a year and it’s friendly and pretty. I find it to be pretty easy going, open and welcoming. My Muslim travel companion got far more hassle in Dublin than she did in Limerick or Galway.

Do you have a preference for “city” living (Irish provincial cities like many in the U.K. aren’t that hopping), suburban or country living? Lots of people see anywhere outside Dublin or Cork as Culchie but I dread to think how they’d cope with the bloody likes of Cavan or Letterkenny.

[Trinity66]

Lots of people see anywhere outside Dublin or Cork as Culchie

I think anyone from Dublin would consider us in Cork as culchies too

[squoosh]

A night out in Dublin V a night out everywhere else in Ireland

Amirite?

[MakeMisogynyAHateCrime]

Haha very true Trinity
I dread to think what Dubs think of people from the arse end of nowhere border towns who only got traffic lights in the mid-eighties.

[MakeMisogynyAHateCrime]

Squoosh

Ah now, I don’t know if that’s fair, I heard someone say some young one was spotted drinking that Malibu in Monaghan last weekend.

[Trinity66]

A night out in Dublin V a night out everywhere else in Ireland

Amirite?

[Fatbergs]

Trinity66 - Culchie is ALWAYS positive in my view - my family are all proud culchies.
no jackeens here :)